Casualties of War

Hellfire — The White Wing

Heidi faced off against two of the legendary Six, but wasn’t really impressed by either of them. Emiko popped in to play as well, focusing an illusion on the blonde one’s greatest fear of snakes, which made both Emiko and Heidi laugh cruelly. The little sister started acting real heroic then, saying she wasn’t afraid, but Heidi pointed out that instead of brave it just made her stupid.

She drenched the little camp fire, at first underestimating how much it would take to snuff her out, but then quickly doubling her efforts and soon crushing the firefly with more and more water until the pressure was enough to pulp a flatscan, and in this case was certainly enough to put the fire out. Big sissy wasn’t too happy about little sissy being a weakling, and after a short bit of monologuing, snapped Heidi’s head clean off with one of those little portals.

Heidi’s head rolled off her body, bounced off the floor, and then rolled to a stop by Emiko’s feet. Her body stood there steadily. Out of the stump of her neck there was a fountain of water instead of blood, and the molecules coalesced into the shape of a head. Then Heidi’s face was back, and she was reaching up to tousle her wet hair again. She glanced at Emiko, who was holding Heidi’s previous head like it was a new toy on Christmas Day.

“Seems this skinny bitch has never heard of the legend of the Hydra of Lerna. And she’s Hecate’s modern day descendant? The irony is RICH.”

Talisman: "The Sorceress Supreme...taken out by gunfire...now that's a headline."

Heidi smirked, standing over Blaze’s drenched and nearly lifeless form. She nodded respectfully to the Black Queen.

“Well now that these little prawns are taken care of, we can go see if there’s any other fish left to fry.”

She said, and then the White Queen emerged from her suite, looking irritated as she instructed Emiko to go evacuate the Red Queen. Then Diana turned to Kelly.

Malice: “We’re being DENIED access to our own security feeds. Is that the son of Set I sense in your wing, Kelly?”
 
Hellfire Mansion - The Black Wing

Steel didn't realize at first that Andrew had been hit by Cobra's blade, until Andrew made a noise.

Cobra: "Strike two, "Chief."

Steel made sure to threaten her with killing the snake for the antivenom.

Cobra: "How poetic, Steel. You're truly wasting your artistic talent being buried in the basement of the New York Police Department..."

"Oh, I know how to use my talents very well."

Cobra: "I certainly hope the NYPD isn't as much of a failure as the Los Angeles branch has been. 16 charges. Sentenced to death, and here I am in a mansion about to kill a pig."

"Maybe I'm what you'd call fluid with regard to the whole arrest thing. Make no mistake, you aren't walking out of here alive."

He slammed into her and threw her to the ground, ready to smash the smile off her face. But then she had his foot and was curling around his body.

Cobra: "Well you're certainly fit, aren't you? But it's no matter. Eventually I'll wear you down."

"Sorry, Sir Hiss, you can squeeze me all you like but I'm not that kind of girl."

Somehow she got enough purchase to uncoil herself like the string in a top, sending him flying through the air, back the way they had come. Back towards the laser grid. And the chunky Black Guard.

He landed with a thud and skidded down the hallway. When he came to a stop, he looked down his body. He was alive, and not melting.

Oracle [via com]: "I turned it off for you, John honey."
 
Black Widow
Black Widow
‘John honey’, is it? :p
Hellfire Mansion - The White Wing

The chaos unfolding at the Hellfire Mansion was downright brilliant. Her omni sight gave her a clear and rather vivid depiction of everything that had unfolded since war was declared. Helena was fighting for her life against Alexis Quartermaine, a woman she still couldn't believe had avoided her sight for so long. And Diana was playing a very interesting game. Perhaps it was the stress of Scion in Hellfire, but her presentation was decidedly different. She went immediately for possessing Scion when she could have dispatched any number of them herself with less effort. It didn't make sense. But Kelly didn't very well let Diana tell her she was doing something wrong in her lab, she wasn't about to step on The White Queen's toes. They each had their roles to play, and Kelly's job was to protect their assets and their work above all else. But she also had a personal agenda.

If they wanted to get a run on The Sisterhood, Kelly wasn't going to let them leave without getting in a good shot, literally and figuratively. The Six was so fractured, and it was well timed. She trusted both Diana and Helena but shit seemed to be hitting the fan in more ways than one, and Kelly realized that they all might not get out of here alive. She, personally was resolved to live - so she would take care of what she needed to take care of and try to help get them both out of there. When she knew that her Knight was effectively protecting The Black Wing, Kelly made her move.

"There's our girl..."

Talisman reached out with her omni sight, looking for Morgan Victoria. Ever since she had arrived in the timeline, she had found the witching world to have an unbelievably biased ranking. They were like a different copy of the same woman. In short - none of them were re-inventing the wheel. Meanwhile Kelly was capable of crafting the modern day version of just that. If she was going to live in this reality for a while, it would help to be Sorceress Supreme - the boost in power was worth it. And all she had to do was kill four witches - Morgan, Karen, Dominique and finally Alison. Then she could claim the mantle for herself. Possibly before she had to kill all four. After all, there was no sense in holding a title if there was nobody around to lord it over. But she had to start with Morgan, and thankfully for her, it seemed like Morgan was off her game. She watched the encounter between Emiko, Heidi, Morgan and Blaze with amusement. She of course had yet to fill her court, but she couldn't deny Diana's choices. They were effective, and she could use her sight to keep an eye on Amanda, who was valiantly protecting The Black Wing and their work.

"Here we go."

Morgan was distraught over Blaze. Being so incredibly weak, and thinking she had actually gotten the run on Fathom. For a moment, Kelly felt less bad for drowning her baby in the Agean sea. But only for a moment. She would never be caught as vulnerable as this. From her black silk garter belt, she drew her Omni Pistol, cocking the chamber and squinting her right eye, waiting for the right time to shoot. And she found it. Her mystical bullet whirled through the air, a forcefield like energy rippling behind it as it went, making contact with Morgan's neck. The Black Queen's cobalt blue eyes smuldered with self satisfaction. It was at the exact moment she watched with her sight as Ben shattered Ruby into a million pieces. The Black Court was making a good show, something that had been long overdue. Especially after they had all suffered through a Dominique Devereaux Queenship. But she wasn't particularly interested in Ben, he was merely a dog with a bone that served her interest. If he was to be any real use to her, he would have to be rebuilt. He would have to put his hours in at The Body Shoppe before he could serve her in any official capacity. Her court remained empty partly because she was new to this timeline, but mostly because she was as untrusting as they came. She required unfaltering loyalty, one that could only come from devotion of her. She had given Amanda a new lease in life. She had been a junkie. A murderer. A stain on society, and Kelly had turned that all around for her. Amanda would die for her, and that was what she wanted in her other appointments. Especially now. Scion was unruly. Gia was unreliable. Alek's loyalty was in question because of Persephone, and well Persephone, was..Persephone. She wouldn't tolerate this kind of mess from her own court.

She moved in shadows until she was right behind Spellbinder, greeting her as she struggled to turn on her feet.

"The Sorceress Supreme...taken out by gunfire..now that's a headline."

Spellbinder stumbled to her feet, only now realizing the blood that stained her hands. She was truly shocked. And it made Kelly hard. It was about time somebody declared war on Spellbinder, and she was just the woman to do it.

Morgan: "What did you do to me, you bitch."

The Black Queen moved forward, getting closer to Morgan, wanting to survey every solitary body movement. It was too good. Spellbinder was struggling to stay on her feet.

"Such language. But I'm not just a bitch, Morgan..I'm a certified cunt..."

She kicked her spiked heel into the woman, knocking her back into the mirror, shattering it around her. She didn't usually like to kick somebody when they were down, but this was too delicious to resist.

"I don't know why every other witch on planet is scared of you, but I'm not. In fact, I think you AND your mother - are quite pathetic."

[smirking]

"Forgive me. It's been a moment since I've had an archetypal soliloquy. It's not often I have such a captive audience..."

[continuing]

"Right now you'll feel a heavy hit to your stamina and vitality. And...I can tell you're trying to harness that good old eldritch type energy, but find yourself unable to..."

Kelly admired her manicure as she continued speaking.

"Of course there's probably some nausea. Racing heartbeat. Overall loss of motor function, but fret not - it's not permanent. Once a great deal of your magick has been drained, you'll start to feel normal. Well...not normal, but when infected with a virus of this magnitude, one shouldn't ever hope to feel normal again..."

Now Kelly was admiring herself in one of the shattered fragments of the mirror, tucking a strand of her deep brunette hair behind her ear. Morgan began to slowly fall to her knees. It would be so easy to take her out right now, and while Kelly would get immense pleasure in slitting the Sorceress Supreme's throat with her impeccable nails, she enjoyed a bit of healthy competition. And she wanted Morgan to suffer. While Kelly had no real claim to Cameron, Kelly King had shown her that Morgan had not been good to him over the years. And for some reason, Cameron was so eager to please her, to prove to her that he was worthy. If she eliminated Morgan, she could draw him closer. And she wanted him close. Cameron was not unlike Haleigh in that his darkness knew no bounds. But Cameron was considerably more malleable than Haleigh. She had never seen anybody who wanted to be loved and accepted more than Cameron King. In short, he was currency that was stronger than even the Euro and Kelly would have been stupid to not try and spend him.

"Welcome back, Fathom."

Her eyes shot a glance to the recomposed White Knight.

Fathom: "Well now that these little prawns are taken care of, we can go see if there's any other fish left to fry."

She rolled her eyes into the corners of her head, pretending to think about it for a moment.

"I prefer my fish to be raw, but you're right. They're [Blaze and Morgan] down for the count.."

The Black Queen clacked her heels against the white marble as she stopped several inches from the huddled mess of Spellbinder, leaning down, brushing a bit of her blonde sweat stained hair from her face, grabbing her cheek, knowing Morgan was too weak to resist her.

"Tell your mother I'm coming for her next..."

She threw her back down to the floor. At that moment Diana appeared with a sour look on her face, instructing Emiko to go evacuate the Red Queen, which troubled her for a bit. Had Alexis gotten the run on Helena? Surely not.

Malice: "We're being DENIED access to our own security feeds. Is that the son of Set I sense in your wing, Kelly?"

That part made Kelly's blood run a bit cold.

"What is she trying to do?"

[calmly]

"He is. Currently in a scuffle with Gorgon - and the odds don't seem to be in Ben's favor. Diana - I know The Six is headed here to attempt a hit, but you can't be thinking of using Set against them? It would kill us all, and I really don't feel like seeing Dominique today, I've only recently got the smell of patchouli out of the drapes."
 
The Clocktower

Zizi was monitoring both groups at the same time, as well as flipping through the other various security feeds that were available from the mansion. And she was in communication with Mina at a nearby building.

Mina and Seraph, meanwhile, had finished their spell. They sat across from each other, the array of ingredients and talismans for the spell between them. Mina took a breath, and left a beat of silence after they had finished before speaking.

Mina: "Did you see anything? Any indication that the spell was successful?"

Seraph: "I didn't notice any difference. But I don't know what was supposed to happen - again, not my kind of magick."

Mina [via com]: "Oracle, we have completed the spell. Any progress with Ava?"

[via com] "We?"

Mina [via com]: "Karen Victoria sent us a witch."

Seraph: "I prefer the term magick user."

Mina didn't acknowledge the comment.

Oracle quickly flipped to a security cam on the roof of the building where Mina had set up, and indeed there was a young woman there with her. She started a facial recognition search, and saw that this was the proprietor of a small apothecary shop. Her story checked out on face value, but certainly required a deeper dive. If Karen had sent her, of course, there could be no greater reference.

Her attention was sidetracked by video on one of her screens of Recall dispatching a Black Guardsman via laser grid. Oracle's fingers started moving over her keypad as she disarmed it in case they needed to return that way. While she did so, she returned to her conversation with Mina. Zizi had been watching the events unfold in the Red Wing, but there wasn't a clear answer to Mina's original question.

[via com] "There was a strange gold light that came over Persephone - but she had been stabbed with Prophet's psionic blade, and rendered unconscious. It's hard to say what effect your spell had, if any - we won't know more until she wakes up. If she wakes up."

Zizi rubbed her eyes. All of this could not be for nothing.

Vivica's voice came over the com.

Recall: [via com] "Oracle, how far are we away from Nicolas and Cassandra? It's like a labrynth in here."

She switched over to respond to just Viv's team.

[via com] "About a hundred meters. Keep going."

Then she flipped back to Mina.

[via com] "Even if it moved the needle a little bit, Mina, the spell made a difference. Thank you, and thank your friend for me."

Mina [via com]: "She is not my friend."

Oracle's eye caught a flicker on the screen in front of her.

"Oh my goodNESS!"

The group in the Black Wing had been attacked; Andrew had been cut in the leg. Steel was going after the assailant, but there seemed to be more going on there.

Mina [via com]: "Would you like me to provide assistance inside the mansion?"

[via com]: "Stand by please Mina."

Zizi flipped on Recall and Andrew's coms so she could hear what they were saying to each other. Andrew had been poisoned!

Mina [via com]: "Oracle?"

[via com] "Stay where you are, Mina - I may need you for an emergency extraction."

She didn't like to ask Mina to give in to her feral side without good reason.

On the rooftop, Mina looked at Alix, bristling a bit.

Mina: "I am not accustomed to being 'backup'. My car is downstairs. Might as well wait comfortably, rather than on this filthy surface."

Zizi's focus returned to the group in the Black Wing, who were fighting the Black Knight, code named Cobra. Steel seemed to have the upper hand - Cobra was trying to constrict a man made of steel, after all - but then she managed to send him flying through the air back down the hallway they had come. Zizi groaned, feeling it as Steel landed hard and slid down the hall. He looked at himself like he was surprised to be alive.

[via com]: "I turned it off for you, John honey."

She checked in on the Red Wing. Persephone had been evacuated - it could only be assumed to safety but if not it was out of the Birds' hands. Ashley and Zach had made contact and the violence seemed to have stopped. Until Alexis and Helena Quartermaine rolled out into the hallway. Zizi had of course studied the history of the Six, and the story of Blackout was one of the most tragic. If only Alexis had taken Helena out while she was with the Six. Zizi chastised herself for wishing for someone else's death. But the feeling was still there, despite her efforts to quash it: Zizi wanted Helena Quartermaine dead. Perhaps it would happen now, while she watched.

But it was only seconds before the White Rook blinked in and rescued Helena, blinking them both away. Zizi searched for them over all her screens. Finally she spotted them, and alerted Zach and Ash.

[via com] "The Red Queen has been taken to the Catacombs - what looks like the Queens Conference Room."

She checked Zach's maps quickly.

[via com] "And tell the Six that Spellbinder and Firebird are both unconscious in the hallway of the White Wing. The White and Black Queens are there. Recall, Steel and Titan have met resistance getting into the Black Wing, but..."

She watched helplessly as Ruby was brutally turned to stone by Gorgon.

[via com] "...they are still en route to help Rampage. Ruby is down."

The poor, sweet girl.

Andrew: "You should leave me and go. I'm a goner. Tell my mam I love her."

[via com] "Titan, you're going to be just fine. Hang in there, I'm going to get you help as soon as I can."

It was too dangerous to send Danny in while they were still fighting Cobra. But thanks to the Black Knight, they knew how much time they had. Steel and Recall just needed to come through.
 
Hellfire — The White Wing

Bishop peeked around a corner, and finding nothing that was going to immediately kill him there, he continued on. Almost as soon as he got into the hallway a dark haired woman and group of White Guards came out of a room.

Masque: “Well, hello you devastatingly handsome mountain of a man.”

She signaled to her guards to wait.

He went with it.

"I don't mind the mask if you don't."

Masque: “Say, are you one of ours or one of theirs?”

"I'm a good friend of the White Princess. You seen her?"

Of course, the fucking guards made him.

Masque: “Heartbreaker.”

Masque executed an excellent kick, knocking his assault rifle from his hand. No problem, he had plenty of weapons. He pulled two grenades from the strap around his chest (rigged to pull the pins when he did so) and tossed one into the mass of guards behind her and the other he dropped at her feet before leaping backwards out of the way and rolling to his feet. Then he pulled a handgun from his hip and pointed it at her.

"We don't have to do this. Maybe you'd like to be Princess, huh?"
 
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Hellfire Mansion - Black Wing

Oracle: [via com] "I turned it off for you, John honey."

"Thank God!"

[into com]: "Oracle, we night need an evac."

She looked over to John who was recovering. The Black Knight had a very unique physiology from what she could deduce. She seemed to be able to compress and contort and shift her body in incredible ways, but the more she moved, the more Vivica would be able to figure out ways to kill her - it was a more active part of her power - active field training with real time results. Recall wanted to get the heat off John for a moment so he could really get the run on her, but she didn't want to leave Titan. So she took a large vase from the side table and hurled it at Cobra, smashing into her as she hit the adjacent wall, the vase smashing into pieces around them.

"I hate pigs as much as the next bitch, Cobra. But Steel ain't no pig. Got it?"

Growing up, Vivica had seen her fair share of crooked cops, and demented "public officials". She could smell a rat a mile away, and John couldn't have been further from the accusation. And Vivica felt people deserved to know that. Cops took a lot of heat.

Oracle: [via com] "Titan, you're going to be just fine. Hang in there, I'm going to get you help as soon as I can."

[int Com Link] "We got 39 minutes and 15 seconds left...give or take."

She turned back to Cobra who was now charging at great speed towards her, like a snake in it's strike path.

[to John via Com]: "Bowl her over, keep her pinned and then I can shock the fuck out of her, we steal her venom and get Drew OUT of here. Sound like a plan?"
 
Hellfire Mansion - The Red Wing

Cameron feigned ignorance at Valkyrie's mention of The Purifier Event. Nobody was truly healed from that experience yet, but it angered him. He had been taken. Unable to help his friends and family, very narrowly got out alive. And if there was a piping hot trigger for Cameron is was being perceived as a victim or damsel in distress. It had happened to him more times over the years than he ever cared to remember. He would not be held captive tonight. Tonight he was going to wipe Diana from existence, absorb her and explode her from the inside out. And he needed to focus on that alone. But it was taking a lot for Cameron not to just mind fuck the people he didn't want there, grab Delilah and go. And then Zach spoke.

Zach: "Oh, would it please you if I asked you 'high high, sir as well?"

He couldn't help himself as he whispered into Zach's mind.

[to Zach]: "Why yes, yes it would..."

He had known Zach long enough to know that Zach needed to have his little 'pro-women' disney prince outbursts or he'd spontaneously combust, so he let the man finish.

Zach: "Well, you can fuck right off with this 'let me handle it' bullshit. Because while YOU were contemplating kill teams for Haleigh and Ava? I've been tyring to recruit anyone who'd listen to help me come save them. After a Gods-damned decade of enduring your utter contempt, I'm not looking to you for leadership, you arrogant fucking prick."

A smile curled up in Cameron's lips. The world could have been crashing down around them, he was still going to poke the bear when it came to Zach.

"Seems like you've mostly been planning a wedding, but by all means let's get a cross to hoist you up on."

Delilah: "The help us, Zach. Let's finish this thing. Help me. So I don't have to worry that Malice will get to me by hurting my daughter."

"That too."

Cameron winced a bit at the thought of it. He knew that even if she didn't use Haleigh to do it, it was not out of the realm of possibility. Diana had an inexplicable hatred for Delilah that Cameron never understood. But she had done the same thing to his mother. Perhaps there was a pattern - a connection? His mind shot back to the conversation at hand.

Zach: "You get the White Queen, we'll get the Red. Ava's out, that's good. Make sure the same thing happens with Haleigh and we can all go home happy."

"Good. Let's go."

Alek: "And what's the reasoning for killing the Red Queen again? Shouldn't everyone focus their efforts on Diana? I mean, just in case the Boy Wonder over here can't do it with one snap of his fingers?"

"She's been killed before, Alek. We decapitated her. We can't just rip her body apart, though Delilah has a hell of a move for that, we have to destroy her psyche completely, and to do that I need her focused on me."

He didn't need a reason to kill Helena. If she got in the way, she'd die like Diana. And honestly, he might try and make sure that happened before he left Hellfire. Seeing Alexis, he knew she could only be back for one reason - revenge. Well that, and because he had seen her trying to shank the woman in her bedroom earlier. He had always blamed himself for not being there when she turned. Well Helena manipulated her against the team and caused her death. If he could help her get that revenge - he would do so with glee (and then he would try and get her back to The Six.) Meanwhile everyone was telling Alek the laundry list of reasons to kill Helena, and he felt better - there was no way somebody was going to leave without attempting a hit, even if it wasn't Alexis.

Ashley: "Oh, I don't know Alek, Helena only tried to ruin my life, plotted to kill Persephone, who you supposedly "love", she killed my best friend's boyfriend while she watched, AND she's a hateful old hag. Do I need to go on?"

He lowered his voice speaking only to Haleigh

"Ah babe, it's like you, me, Zach and Alycia back in the day. It's almost cute to watch...almost."

He took a moment to squeeze her hand. He turned his attention back to the group.

Scion: "Just in case Helena happened to see you standing there with all of us. You know, in case you need a cover story later."

Haleigh was doing a lot to bring to Alek into the fold which piqued his interest, but it didn't change the fact that Cameron felt Alek was too strong of a tie to Hellfire for Ava to have. He had never been in agreeance with anyone's Hellfire affiliation like Sharon or Dominique. Retaining membership for social reasons was complicit bullshit. They knew what Hellfire did to all of them, and were willing to rub elbows with the people who did it. It sickened him. This was not a morally grey area to Cameron. You either stood with The Six or Hellfire. Never both.

Delilah taking the lead with Zach was working as he agreed to help them out.

Delilah: "Just keep Helena distracted, so she can't help Malice."

Zach: "You need any help, Delilah, just let us know."

It was gross. But Delilah was his best friend and he had more than his fair share of friends she didn't necessarily like. So he let it go. Plus, Delilah just kind of made everyone like her very easily. So it was likely genuine and not just Zach trying to dig at him.

Ashley: "Now, let's go kick Helena's ass."

"And we're off to visit with Diana."

All of a sudden, the Red Queen's front doors splintered in pieces as Helena and Alexis came tumbling out, still attempting to squeeze the life out of the other. Cameron froze for a moment. He had seen her in his mind, but to see her in person it was a different feeling altogether. It was familiar, but so much darker. She was fueled by anger and vengeance, and he could sense that she had no real feelings for anyone around her. Completely cold and closed off. Decidedly different than the often huddled mess he remembered. He wondered if he was sober, and then felt bad for all of the times he coerced her into breaking her sobriety to have fun with him. It sounded cliche, and at that moment he felt very....old. The last time he had seen Alexis, they were children. Who knew what they would all become then?

Alexis: "Fuck."

He watched her lift her watch her mouth as Helena was immediately taken out of the are by some unseen force. Delilah's eyes met Cameron's, but he wasn't sure if it was from relief or shock, before she shot a glance at Haleigh.

Delilah: "How is she here? And why here?"

Ashley: "How did she get in here and why the hell are the Red Guards listening to her?"

All eyes went to Haleigh.

Haleigh: "I see you're about as astute and well-informed as an Amazon too. She's the Red Bishop. But why do you care anway? Let's just thank her and stop wasting our 30 seconds."

"Alexis was an energy projecter but she was also a metamorph. But there's no way she wouldn't have been protected. She'd need some BIG help..."

[pausing] "But I agree. We can't waste anymore time. We can sort this shit out later. Lets get into place."

The teams broke off, heading their separate ways. A pulse began to race in Cameron as they began to exit the Red Wing and head to the White Wing, on a collision course with Diana. This was it. This was the night they would kill Diana and cripple Hellfire. He had never been more ready. A bit worried, but ready.
 
Hellfire — The White Wing

Adriana came out of her room and ran right into a tall-dark-handsome in the hall. She told her retinue to hold their fire, while she asked the man who’s side he was on. He replied that he was a good friend of the White Princess, and asked Adriana if she’d seen her.

“Not since last night.”

She replied, and was about to offer to escort him to Scion’s room, when one of the guards leaned over her, showing her his phone. On it was a mugshot of Mr. Handsome. The guard told her that Bishop, as he was known, and Scion weren’t such good friends anymore. In evidence was the fact that Scion had put out a capture-on-sight order for the man, just the day before yesterday. To be taken ALIVE, Adriana silently read off the man’s phone. Also noted was that Bishop was Scion’s to kill.

“Heartbreaker.”

Adriana commented, and then she kicked the rifle out of his hands. She expected him to surrender, but instead he pulled grenades off his vest, one in each hand. He tossed the first over Adriana’s shoulder at the gaggle of guards. They all scattered immediately, shouting about the grenade and trying to take cover to save their own skins. Adriana shifted to look over her shoulder, flicked her wrist dismissively in the direction of the grenade, and watched it glow as it skittered along the floor into Gia’s bedroom, going much further away than Bishop had intended to throw it.

Then she glanced back to see Bishop drop the other grenade right at her feet. As one of the guards scrambled past her, she stuck out her foot and tripped him, grabbed him by the arm and neck, and guided his fall onto the grenade in front of her. He went sliding across the floor from her left to her right, with more momentum than might be natural, as a bright golden aura surrounded his body. His body dragged the grenade with it as he slid hard into the wall, and it exploded beneath him, several feet away from her.

She watched the explosion for a second, and held up her hand in a stop gesture, to slow the kinetic energy of the blast. The Guard’s mangled remains all went to bits and sprayed towards her, but came to a stop as if frozen in midair. The gore hung there for a second then dropped straight to the floor. Adriana’s gaze shifted back to Bishop, who was standing there with a gun drawn. Behind her mask she smirked as he told her they didn’t have to do this. She brought her hands up, nice and slow, a mock surrender.

“So Scion has marked you as hers to kill, eh? Must’ve been a bad break-up. What’d you do, sleep with her best friend or something?”

She asked him blithely. She kept her hands up, fingers splayed, palms towards him, and made no sudden movements.

“Out of curiosity, how do you think it’s going to go when you find her? You’re armed to the teeth.... with weapons she can control with her mind. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t shove one of those grenades up your ass. But.... you’ve got the ‘drop’ on me, Handsome. So what would you like, then? Shall I take you to her?”
 
Hellfire — The White Queen’s Chambers

:: Cameron King. One of Diana’s favorite little MICE. He was there with Scion, putting things in her head. Malice could’ve blocked it all, even from this distance, could’ve shielded Scion from seeing it, but it was more useful to let her see it. She focused on holding control of Scion, even as Cameron tried to weasel his way in. And she had complete control for a time, but he was much closer to Scion and didn’t have to push himself out very far to shunt Diana’s mental hold back.::

:: Diana scowled in her room across the mansion. Let them come to her, there was no doubt they would. And when they brought her daughter back to her, Diana would show those CHILDREN just how limited their abilities were. She let go of Scion for now, and cast around the mansion for intel. The security personnel were panicking because they were either getting massacred in the field or they were in the command center, realizing they had no access to their surveillance apparatus. They were trying to issue blind orders, and listening to their men die on comms.::

:: None of that really moved Diana, except to irritate her. Scion hadn’t been bothering to scramble the cameras, even before Diana took control, which meant someone else was doing to the tampering. Judging by the presence of the Birds of Prey, that someone was likely little Oracle, who clearly had not learned her lesson last night. Diana vaguely wondered if she’d learn it today, given how many of them would die here, but it wasn’t something she really cared about.::

:: The commotion outside her door was quieting down. Heidi and Emiko had made short work of the self-styled ‘sorceress supreme’ and her little pyromaniac sister. Did they think they could just waltz into Hellfire and do as they pleased? Clearly they were the epitome of arrogance, splitting up into pairs and spreading themselves thin across the mansion. If it weren’t for all their little sidekick friends they’d probably all be dead already. They’d even apparently resurrected that lush Alexis and unleashed her on Helena.::

:: Diana opened her door to see Kelly standing over Morgan and Heidi standing over Blaze. It lifted her mood, and she almost smirked, but then Emiko was making Heidi’s severed head move its mouth and spout riddles about water. Diana stared at that for a moment, trying to decide if she was amused or disturbed by it. Heidi herself seemed amused, but it might’ve been a victory smile. It was hard to tell with Heidi’s fluid thoughts, and Diana didn’t have the time or patience to sift through them just now.::

:: Diana told Emiko to go get Helena, who’d spilled out into the hall where she could’ve been overwhelmed by the group there. Then she turned to her fellow Queen and asked for confirmation that the son of Set was in the Black Wing. Kelly confirmed it, though not without cautioning Diana against releasing Set and subjecting them all to seeing Isis. Diana couldn’t help but smirk at the comment about getting the patchouli smell out of the upholstery.::

“Try not to WORRY so much Kelly, you’ll give yourself another WRINKLE.”

:: She replied dismissively, looking down upon Morgan and Blaze. Diana turned to Heidi, who seemed no worse for the wear after having regrown another head.::

“Have the guards bind and suppress our captives, they’ll be useful to us alive, FOR NOW. Keep them here, so the little so-called HEROES are hesitant to fire on us for fear of collateral damage.”

:: She instructed her Knight, who nodded and waved over some guards to do her bidding. Diana herself went to diamond form, and then astral projected herself into the Black Wing, just in time to see a piano smashing down on Nicolas. The piano passed clean through Diana’s astral form, but battered the physical form of Nicolas. Diana leaned over Nicolas as he began to pick himself up. With a hand on either side of his head she closed her eyes, and SIPHONED his psionic power right out of his body.::

:: Her astral form went from a mostly transparent spectral apparition to an almost solid looking spirit. She gave the FORMER telepath a sharp smile before she returned to her body back in the White Wing. She took a deep breath, feeling the surge of power in her body. It would be a nice little boost to refresh herself before killing Cameron. They began to hear explosions throughout the mansion, mostly in the Red Wing although there were a couple of small bangs at the other end of their own hall.::

“Fathom, you keep control of our hostages. Kelly and I will DISCIPLINE the children.”
 
Hellfire — the Red Wing

Ash: "I know where I've seen you before! You're that guy who got kidnapped by the Purifiers! We rescued you. Hey, how you been? Anyone abducted you lately?"

Zach didn’t bother to hide his smirk at that. It was made all the more amusing by Cameron’s reaction. The man didn’t say anything, but inwardly he was bothered by it, and he backed off Ashley at that point. Alek was asking Ash about Zach, and Delilah was surprised by the news of their engagement. Ashley was quite pleased to be announcing it now, a turn from her reluctance to tell their friends the night before.

Haleigh, meanwhile, was irritated by the whole topic and muttered about Zach buying the ring last week that Ash was now wearing. Zach didn’t say anything, because he knew this wasn’t the place to have the discussion with Haleigh that he knew he probably needed to have. He let the topic drop for now, as Haleigh turned to Alek and started talking him into killing her, which was not something she apparently needed to twist his arm for.

Ash volunteered to help as well, which gave Zach mixed feelings, but he couldn’t address it because Cameron was starting to be his controlling asshole self again, in record time. Zach wasn’t having that for a second, and pushed back hard. Cameron continued to bait him as usual. Zach had a strong urge to punch him, and barely held himself back, but only because he didn’t want to give Cameron the power to provoke him.

Cameron: "Seems like you've mostly been planning a wedding, but by all means let's get a cross to hoist you up on."

Zach’s eyes rolled that facetious comment away, as Delilah broke in to be the voice of reason. As frustrated as Zach was with Cameron, he was still patient with Delilah, because she had done right by him. Also, she was always kind and considerate. So he didn’t mind working with her at all, and strongly preferred it to dealing with Cameron.

Delilah:"Then help us, Zach. Let's finish this this thing. Help me. So I don't have to worry that Malice will get to me by hurting my daughter."

He nodded, but then his gaze darted over to look at Haleigh, who was managing to look stoic even though she was suddenly drowning in remorse and self-loathing. Zach had an urge to console her, but held off, instead turning his attention to Alek, who was shying away from the plan for Helena. Ashley succinctly provided several reasons to kill the wretched woman, and Haleigh tacked on another, although in Zach’s opinion, Haleigh was a bit too permissible towards Alek’s obvious conflict of interest. Zach wasn’t nearly as forgiving. He still owed Alek an ass-kicking, for Ash at the very least.

“Look asshat. You’re getting a rare second chance to decide where your allegiance really lies. You really want to waste it on Hellfire and the Red Queen? This place will be a smoking ruin by lunch-time, and Helena is gonna get what’s coming to her, whether you like it or not. If you love Ava, like you say, you won’t fight her friends and defend her enemies.”

Ash: "Now, let's go kick Helena's ass."

Zach smiled at his bride, nodding and offering his arm for her to take.

“Yes, my love, let’s.”

He said, and then with a crash, their prey presented herself right in front of him. Some other woman was clearly trying to kill her already. So this must’ve been what Haleigh meant when she’d said Helena was currently distracted. Part of Zach was pleased, part disappointed. Ashley was surprised, and made a wish for an unbreakable shield, plus twenty naked virgins. Zach leaned in to whisper in her ear salaciously.

“Your wish is my command. I can even have them all hot and bothered for you. But you want all females, right? Because male virgins are generally terrible in bed.”

He whispered, and it was unclear how serious he was being. Seconds later Helena was rescued by the White Rook, and Zach threw up his hands in frustration as everybody else reacted to Alexis Quartermaine being back. Zach only vaguely remembered Alexis from years ago, and remembered her turning against the Six, going to Hellfire and then being turned into a statue in Ororo’s garden. And sure, he was mildly surprised to see her. But in their lives something like this was really par for the course, so he took it in stride. Not acceptable, though, was Haleigh’s Amazon dig at Ash.

“Damn it Haleigh, Enough of that.”

Oracle: [via com] "The Red Queen has been taken to the Catacombs - what looks like the Queens Conference Room."

“Awesome, Valkyrie and I are on it, thanks.”

He replied, and Oracle added on comms the status of everyone else on the two teams. Zach relayed the info about Morgan and Blaze, as well as the rest. Haleigh seemed to need less than a second to calculate before she was issuing her assessment.
 
Hellfire — The Red Wing

Cameron: "Ah babe, it's like you, me, Zach and Alycia back in the day. It's almost cute to watch...almost."

“At least as cute as a fuckin’ train wreck.”

She quipped, smiling gently when he squeezed her hand. They were all starting to reach conclusions as a group, and then Helena and Alexis crashed out into the hall. Some were surprised, some were confused, some just shrugged it off because they were jaded by everything they’d seen so far. A transmission came in over the Bird’s com channel, which Zach related to them. Haleigh scanned the surveillance network to catch up on what she’d missed before she started giving them her assessment a second later.

“Nic can handle himself fine, especially with three friendlies en route. They’ll crush the opposition. It’s too late to save Cass.”

She said soberly, feeling a pang of guilt, but then she moved on to tactics, focused on keeping the rest of them alive.

“Zach, you and... Valkyrie....”

She had a tone of slight annoyance when she said the bitch’s name that dissolved back into professionalism quickly.

”Go down to the catacombs and keep Helena busy. Watch out for each other, there’s no telling who will come to her rescue.”

She said, then turned to her squad of Cameron, Delilah, and Alek.

“With both the other Queens in the White Wing, that’s where the rest of us need to head. Be ready for me to turn. I’ll fight my mother’s influence as hard as I can, but the closer we get the harder she’ll be to resist.”

She warned as they began to walk out of the Red Wing. She paused here and there to manifest and plant pipe bombs along the way, setting the timers to 20 seconds. She set off the fire alarm to start an evacuation of the building, since security apparently hadn’t bothered.

Zach: “You’re giving the enemy a chance to escape?”

“They aren’t ALL evil incarnate, Zach. Some people just work here.”

She replied calmly, and then gave him a little salute as he and that bitch Ashley split off to go towards the catacombs.

“Happy hunting.”

She glanced back at the others as the pipe bombs began to explode, caving in the Red Wing behind them section by section.

“Cameron, Delilah, you two take the lead. Alek and I will hang back. Alek, just a heads up, Delilah will likely be the first person I target after Diana mind-fucks me. Well, either her, or the man who’s holding the White Bishop at gunpoint. And here, take this.”

She manifested an EMP baton, and handed it to him.

“The on button’s right here, and that dial adjusts the power output. It’ll give you an edge when you need it.”
 
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Hellfire — Back in the Red Fucking Wing

Ashley may have promised Zach to help save Haleigh, but she hadn't promised to be nice to her. And this bitch.

Haleigh: “Hey Valkyrie, you know I have to compliment you....on your Amazon-level ability to be a vindictive harpy for no good fucking reason.”

Ash put a finger to her temple and raised her eyes to the sky, giving her head a little tilt in mock thought.

"Hmm...you and your sister both tried to kill Zach. And probably will again. That's all the reason I need."

She flashed Haleigh a fake smile. If she wanted to take this to the next level, Ashley would have no problem obliging. But instead, Cameron kissed Haleigh, which seemed strangely out of place to a person who spent more time kissing Zach than doing anything else on any given day.

Alek questioned why they were going after the Red Queen, mama's boy that he was. She listed off several reasons.

Haleigh: “Last night Helena was positively giddy to tell me that Persephone would die slowly and painfully after we dealt with the Birds of Prey. So if you ask me, Helena could choke on a big bag of rubber dicks, and she’d still have died with too much dignity. If you can’t kill her, I get it. But don’t lie to yourself about it, Alek. She would rather lose you entirely than let Seph have any part of you.”

Ashley groaned.

"Ugh - she's right. You told me yourself if you'd left when I did, Helena would have killed you. What do you think she'll do now, when she finds out what you just did. And she will find out. You know that."

They decided she and Zach would go for Helena, and the others would go after Malice. That suited Ashley just fine. Zach offered her his arm, which made her smile as she took it. She suggested they go kick Helena's ass, and at just that second, the red bitch herself crashed through the door of her suite. Ashley quickly wished for other things, since that one had fallen out of the sky at her feet. Zach leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Zach: “Your wish is my command. I can even have them all hot and bothered for you. But you want all females, right? Because male virgins are generally terrible in bed.”

She turned towards him and put a hand on his chest before whispering back.

"I doubt you were ever terrible in bed."

Then they found out that Helena was in a fight, which Emiko rescued her from, and then Haleigh was a cunt again, and then she heard Oracle's voice in her ear.

Oracle: [via com] "The Red Queen has been taken to the Catacombs - what looks like the Queens Conference Room."

Zach: [via com] “Awesome, Valkyrie and I are on it, thanks.”

"I know how to get there from here."

Oracle also said some other stuff about the Six that Ashley didn't care about.

Haleigh: “Zach, you and... Valkyrie...Go down to the catacombs and keep Helena busy. Watch out for each other, there’s no telling who will come to her rescue.”

"We always do."

Haleigh: “With both the other Queens in the White Wing, that’s where the rest of us need to head. Be ready for me to turn. I’ll fight my mother’s influence as hard as I can, but the closer we get the harder she’ll be to resist.”

"Don't forget you promised to kill her Alek."

Ashley grinned at Haleigh, then turned to Zach.

"Follow me."

As they were moving to the stairwell, Ash turned back to Haleigh and Cameron.

"And you two make a great couple. Really."

She laughed, turning back around to lead Zach towards the Catacombs. Once they were out of sight of the others, Ashley held up a hand to Zach.

"Team Zash, FTW. The look on that prick's face."
 
Hellfire — The Red Wing

Delilah was glad to see that Zach was alive and that his team had made it. Except for Valkyrie. That bitch was like the one green potato chip in the bag. She seemed ultra jealous of Delilah and her friendship with Zach, to which she made sure to antagonize her, and then she was starting in on Cameron, and Delilah wasn't having any of that.

Valkyrie: "I know where I've seen you before! You're that guy who got kidnapped by the Purifiers! We rescued you. Hey, how you been? Anyone abducted you lately?"

"Oh will you just shut the fuck up and leave him alone."

Haleigh made Alek promise to kill her if Malice took over her again, and Ashley offered to do it.

Me first, bitch.

Delilah wondered how many clones Haleigh had. How many ways could she make it hurt and still have a spare?

Cameron went over and started kissing Haleigh, which made Delilah and just about everyone else roll their eyes. Zach made a perturbed comment.

Haleigh: “Yeah, ahem. I’d say a quickie in the corner’s not out of the question, but he’s right, we should take care of business first.”

"Just don't try to kill him afterwards, Black Widow."

Meanwhile, Zach & Cameron started having a pissing match. Finally Delilah stepped in, asking Zach to help her - not just for her, but for the safety of her daughter.

But then everything went away, because Delilah saw Alexis. Not her statue, but in the flesh, standing right in front of her. She disappeared before they could even ask her anything about how she had gotten there, but she gave them a head start with the Red Guard. Delilah barely registered the information about Morgan, Blaze, Nicholas and Cassandra.

Cameron: "We can't waste anymore time. We can sort this shit out later. Lets get into place."

Zach and Ashley left to go after Helena, while the rest of them hustled towards the White Wing. Delilah was still in a silent daze, her thoughts running a mile a minute through her head. She really had thought Cameron was crazy when he mentioned Alexis. But Delilah had seen her with her own eyes. She was alive. Despite all the people Delilah had known who had come back from the dead, this still seemed impossible.

Then Haleigh said her name.

Haleigh: “Cameron, Delilah, you two take the lead. Alek and I will hang back. Alek, just a heads up, Delilah will likely be the first person I target after Diana mind-fucks me.”

"Swell. Why change targets now?"

She made sure her tone was good and sarcastic.
 
Hellfire Mansion - The Black Wing

She thought she was about to serve Vivica, Andrew and the rest of the Birds of Prey breakfast, but that bitch Oracle had deactivated the laser grid. Amanda would remember to find a technological wonder for The Black Court. She knew Oracle was watching. She called out to the air.

"You know, had your lover not been murdered, Oracle? The Black Court was going to pursue him. I want you to know, that while we did know Gabriel would be murdered, we did in fact, vote against it. Food for thought while you're tearing through Hellfiire."

Amanda rolled her eyes at Vivica as the bird of prey desperately searched for her last bit of street cred to throw. She hated bitches like Vivica Lennox. She didn't realize how easy she had it compared to others. She thought because she had to share a bed with her cousin she was some kind of victim, or she thought she knew what it was like to truly grow up in the streets of Los Angeles. Vivica was a snowflake. She may have been from Crenshaw, but she lived in a glass fucking jewelry box compared to Amanda. And it was all because of Vivica's best friend - Cameron King.

Vivica: "I hate pigs as much as the next bitch, Cobra. But Steel ain't no pig. Got it?"

"Okay, Uncle Tom. Of course a bitch like you would support the police. Last time I checked they never paid for your school did they? They never hesitated to arrest your friends and family for no reason, did they?! You either eat pork or you don't, bitch. Got it?"

She began to constrict towards Vivica, moving her body very quickly towards the woman. She knew that Vivica was analyzing her moves, and she wanted to cut that bitch off at her knees. She watched as Vivica spoke into her com link. Amanda bolstered herself, getting into a defensive stance, anticipating an attack. And attack he did, in a swift motion Steel grabbed her by the neck and catapulted them into a wall, John revealing a previously unseen strength against her. It was both euphoric and terrifying to The Black Knight.

The way she could manipulate her body was incredible, and the only way she coul situate herself was to contort and wrap her body around the length of Steel's. He was stronger than her, but she could apply an immense amount of pressure. She couldn't snap him in half like she could anyone else, but she could get the run on him.

"Steel! The Black Court has NO reason to oppose you! You have stormed my wing. Unless you back down, we will be forced to use it's resources against you. Do NOT burn a bridge where you don't have to. The folly of every cop."

Amanda clung for dear life. John was a smart man, but she was hoping she was smarter. Andrew was child's play. John was a worthy opponent. And she was testing the Birds of Prey character. Would they be willing to work with dark forces to accomplish a goal, or were they too principled? She would die before she would bow to Steel. And she would not stop until she made sure he knew that.
 
Hellfire Mansion - The Black Wing

Nicolas perceived that Gorgon could turn those who looked at him to stone, as he had with Cassie, so he closed his eyes. but the combination of his telepathic and telekinetic abilities allowed him to still "see" Gorgon and his attacks. He used his axe to focus a powerful psionic attack on Gorgon, hitting him with a path of psionic flame.

Gorgon picked up a piano-shaped object and threw it at him. Rampage stuck out his fist, allowing it to smash over it and shatter into pieces which flew in all directions. Nicolas could hear Gorgon's mental signature near to him, and retracted his fist and opened it to catch his adversary's punch, which pushed Rampage with the impact, sliding him backwards across the floor.

Gorgon: "A rough and tumble telepath? Now I've seen everything."

Objects began flying at Nicolas, which he deflected with his TK, pushing them to the sides. But more just kept coming, and finally something large hit him in his midsection, flinging him backwards. Nicolas gave in to it, freeing his mind to reach out to Gorgon's. Rampage made Gorgon believe Nicolas had blinked to the other side of him, and simultaneously cloaked his real body in his shadow form. When Gorgon turned, Nicolas sent a series of psionic blasts in his direction, as he pulled himself up off the ground.

Too late, he sensed MALICE's presence. She was there, her hands on him. He opened his eyes, seeing her in some kind of astral looking form. He pushed at her intrusion into his mind, but she was strong. Stronger.

She smiled as he was released from her hold, and when he reached for her neck, she was gone.
 
Hellfire — The White Wing

Bishop ran almost right into a woman in a mask coming through a door in the White Wing. She didn't attack him immediately, so she asked if she'd seen Haleigh. Couldn't hurt.

Masque: “Not since last night.”

He smirked.

"She still like to be on top?"

But then the jig was up and the blonde came at him. He loosed a grenade on her distinctly lacking in courage guards, plus one on her, which she threw one of her own people on. Not that the guy didn't deserve it for being such a coward in the first place. The chick with the mask did some kind of witchy woo power thing, which stopped the explosion from reaching them. But by that point, he had a gun on her.

She raised her hands in the air, but he wasn't so stupid - contrary to what Delilah and her friends might think - as to think she was surrendering. He suggested that maybe she wanted to help him out, and become the new White Princess.

Masque: “So Scion has marked you as hers to kill, eh? Must’ve been a bad break-up. What’d you do, sleep with her best friend or something?”

He narrowed his eyes at her skeptically.

"You can't know her very well if you think that would get her riled up."

Masque: “Out of curiosity, how do you think it’s going to go when you find her? You’re armed to the teeth.... with weapons she can control with her mind. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t shove one of those grenades up your ass.”

"I've taken her out of commission before."

Masque: "But.... you’ve got the ‘drop’ on me, Handsome. So what would you like, then? Shall I take you to her?

"Just keep walking. Don't try anything stupid."

He knew his way around enough that he didn't have to trust her. But she might be a useful hostage until he got close to Haleigh. He'd find a place to dump her along the way. Bishop picked up the assault weapon he'd dropped. They moved deeper into the White Wing.

"So, what do they call you, sweet cheeks?"
 
The Red Wing

Haleigh and her pals were talking about killing Malice, the repartee which Alek found highly enjoyable. And then somehow they started talking about Helena. He suggested that they should all focus on Diana instead, wondering aloud the reasoning for going after Helena. Ashley rattled off several things that mattered very little to him now that Seph was safely out of the mansion.

Haleigh: “Last night Helena was positively giddy to tell me that Persephone would die slowly and painfully after we dealt with the Birds of Prey. So if you ask me, Helena could choke on a big bag of rubber dicks, and she’d still have died with too much dignity. If you can’t kill her, I get it. But don’t lie to yourself about it, Alek. She would rather lose you entirely than let Seph have any part of you.”

Ashley: "Ugh - she's right. You told me yourself if you'd left when I did, Helena would have killed you. What do you think she'll do now, when she finds out what you just did. And she will find out. You know that."

In the back of his mind, there was still hope that Helena would accept the fact that he needed to have a life, that in order to keep him she would accept his feelings for Seph.

Zach: “Look asshat."

Alek's head swiveled towards Haleigh, and he mouthed, Asshat?

Zach: "You’re getting a rare second chance to decide where your allegiance really lies. You really want to waste it on Hellfire and the Red Queen? This place will be a smoking ruin by lunch-time, and Helena is gonna get what’s coming to her, whether you like it or not. If you love Ava, like you say, you won’t fight her friends and defend her enemies.”

"Hey, Rebound. I know exactly who Helena is. My allegiance is to Persephone, myself and until she's out of here, Haleigh."

He couldn't believe this was the guy Ashley had picked after him.

Ashley: "Now, let's go kick Helena's ass."

Alek's eyebrows went up as Helena came crashing through the door of her suite. He had only seconds to register it until Emiko was there blinking her away. Alek couldn't help but feel a small wave of relief.

Ashley: "And I want an unbreakable shield, and twenty naked virgins in my bed."

"Don't forget to share..."

Then suddenly Haleigh was pointing an AR-15 at him.

"Whoa!"

Haleigh: “Just in case Helena happened to see you standing there with all of us. You know, in case you need a cover story later.”

And then his attention was able to shift to the person who Helena had been fighting. Time was Alexis Quartermaine on all fours in front of him would have been an excellent turn of events. But considering she was dead...

He watched her get to her feet. Was she somehow here with the Six? How could Hellfire not have known that she was "back"?

Mystique's Voice: "I need every Red Guard in the Ring Wing to fortify it, our Queen has been compromised by a telepath. You do not leave this wing unless instructed by ME, do you understand?"

"Oh, you've got to be joking."

So that was why Mystique wasn't following his orders to protect their Queen. Mystique was Alexis. Shit fuck. He spoke softly, with a touch of respect.

"Well played."

Alexis instructed their guards to stay in the Red Wing, leaving the path open to the White.

Alexis: "You have 30 seconds."

So she was with the Six. Except that the members of said little troop seemed just as shocked as he was to see her. And she had also disappeared barely speaking to them. Though they also bickered enough amongst each other to make that not seem all that strange. This was certainly a development, though. Clearly, Helena still wanted her dead. But she always had.

So, most of the people around him wanted to kill Malice. He wasn't totally against the idea. And he knew that Haleigh was probably not leaving Hellfire with Malice alive, whether she wanted to or not. And he didn't like the idea of Malice out there with the ability to stab a telepathic knife into Seph at any moment. But he didn't have any confidence at all that this pretentious dick who was leading the Six now and his merry band of fuck ups could come within fifty meters of killing Diana.

And now Ashley had it in her head that she was going to kill Helena?

Alek had to play this thing right. Because if they succeeded, there could be massive opportunities in the vacuum. But in the more likely scenario of their utter failure, he had to make sure he and Haleigh came out of this unscathed. She had to at least get to her sister and they could disappear together. He could do damage control. Twist it to show how HE had helped defeat the Six and their allies. Seph would find him when the time was right.

"Hang on a sec."

He slipped into his room, fetching the rolled bundle of his knives. As an afterthought, he pocketed the little bear and deer figurines Emiko had given him. When he returned to the group, he hadn't missed anything.

Prophet: "But I agree. We can't waste anymore time. We can sort this shit out later. Lets get into place."

Haleigh told Ashley and her little lap dog to go to the catacombs after Helena. Then she turned to the rest of them.

Haleigh: “With both the other Queens in the White Wing, that’s where the rest of us need to head. Be ready for me to turn. I’ll fight my mother’s influence as hard as I can, but the closer we get the harder she’ll be to resist.”

He nodded, but had a nagging feeling.

"Maybe you should stay away from Malice. Why deliver you right into Diana's hands?"

They moved towards the White Wing, detonating bombs behind them. He looked back at the wing imploding, and felt a sense of loss. That had been his home for most of his adult life. The best home he had ever had.

Haleigh: “Cameron, Delilah, you two take the lead. Alek and I will hang back. Alek, just a heads up, Delilah will likely be the first person I target after Diana mind-fucks me. Well, either her, or the man who’s holding the White Bishop at gunpoint. And here, take this.”

Alek gave Delilah a devilish grin while Haleigh was handing him an EMP wand.

Haleigh: “The on button’s right here, and that dial adjusts the power output. It’ll give you an edge when you need it.”

He inspected the wand in his hand, getting a feel for its layout, grinning.

"If I'd known you liked toys, Hales, I'd have suggested some sooner."

They continued on, and Alek came up beside Haleigh. He glanced at Prophet.

"So, you're a couple now? With that guy? Don't you worry that you'll...break him?"
 
The Black Wing

Steel shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs while also being thankful to be alive and in one piece. He could hear the woman talking.

Cobra: "You know, had your lover not been murdered, Oracle? The Black Court was going to pursue him. I want you to know, that while we did know Gabriel would be murdered, we did in fact, vote against it. Food for thought while you're tearing through Hellfiire."

Steel anger flared. That this evil creature would mock a woman in a wheelchair who had just watched someone die that she loved... His gravelly voice called to her from where he was.

"Hey! You pick on someone your own size!"

Steel heard Viv's voice as he was picking himself up off the floor. This snake was no slouch - she was strong, and he had underestimated her. But he wouldn't again.

Recall: [to John via Com]: "Bowl her over, keep her pinned and then I can shock the fuck out of her, we steal her venom and get Drew OUT of here. Sound like a plan?"

[via com] "I'm on it. Be careful, Recall."

He tensed and sprung, making like a battering ram, grabbing Cobra by the neck and pushing her hard into a wall. Cobra contorted herself around him again.

Cobra: "Steel! The Black Court has NO reason to oppose you! You have stormed my wing. Unless you back down, we will be forced to use it's resources against you. Do NOT burn a bridge where you don't have to. The folly of every cop."

"That's officer."

He slammed her against the wall hard again and pinned her tight.

"You chose to associate with murderers of innocents, of children. Now it's time to pay the price."
 
Hellfire — The Red Wing

Haleigh and Ashley painfully agreed with each other on the topic of Helena, trying to convince Alek to bail on the Red Queen. Zach decided to weigh in too, calling Alek an ‘asshat’, which was apparently acceptable even though he wasn’t okay with Haleigh calling Ashley a bitch (despite her inarguably being one).

Alek looked at Haleigh quizzically, mouthing ‘asshat’, and Haleigh just shook her head, letting him see her roll her eyes about it. She didn’t stifle the snort of amusement when Alek called Zach ‘rebound’ either. She hoped it pissed that bitch Ashley off too.

Then Helena and Alexis busted into the scene, and Haleigh improvised to cover for Alek, in case he might still need to talk his way out of this later. Because even though he said his allegiance was to Seph (and to her), she knew he’d been at Hellfire a long time and it wouldn’t be as easy to walk away for him.

After the initial shock and Helena’s escape, Haleigh lowered her gun and they went back to talking tactics, now with a better sense of urgency, though that bitch Ashley still wanted to remind Alek that he’d promised to kill Haleigh, and she had a smug little smirk about it that Haleigh felt quite compelled to smack right off the bitch’s face.

“Afraid if he doesn’t, you’ll actually have to put your money where your mouth is and face me yourself?”

She chuckled at the thought.

“Just like an Amazon, I swear.”

She added, with a nasty smirk. She ignored Zach’s furious glare as she set some pipe bombs up during their departure from the Red Wing. That bitch Ashley said something about Haleigh and Cameron making a great couple, laughing about it like some joke, while Haleigh glared at her retreating form, thinking about snatching one or two of Alek’s knives and aiming for the bitch’s glutes.

Alek: “Maybe you should stay away from Malice. Why deliver you right into Diana’s hands?”

“Maybe you’re right, but I just can’t run away and hide while they risk everything to face her. Not when I can be the bait to distract her. If she tries to turn me it’ll require her focus and leave her more vulnerable to their attacks. If she doesn’t try to turn me I’m going to make her eat a fucking missile, and she’s gonna know that. So maybe it’s not the safest play, but I’m gonna beat her at her own game if it kills me. Just look for the halo, and don’t let me kill Delilah.”

Delilah: “Swell. Why change targets now?”

It was clearly meant to be a facetious and rhetorical type question, but with a huff, Haleigh decided to answer it.

“Well Delilah, if I could pick my own damned targets, there’d certainly be some changes.”

It started as a defensive retort, and then the floodgates opened.

“But considering it depends entirely on the White Queen’s whims, you’ll have to ask her. If I had to guess I’d say she wants to kill Cameron herself, and probably to make me watch her do it.”

There was a concerned twist of her brow at that, and the set of her mouth was grim as she continued.

“And since her assignments for me seem invariably designed to punish me as much as anyone else, I’m fairly certain she’ll set me on you again, since it was only when I refused to kill you that she started her extra fucking fun little mind-raping game at all.”

She disguised an involuntary shudder with a shrug of her shoulders, trying to detach herself from what she was facing.

“However.... I wouldn’t put it past her to have me target Max first either, given that making you suffer through me killing the father of your child was her original Bishop plan to begin with, but I failed to execute that plan too.”

Plus now Diana was pissed that he almost got his revenge the other day, but Haleigh wasn’t going to mention that to Delilah, or really anyone else if she could help it. Haleigh turned back to Alek, who was in stride with her. She pushed an EMP baton into his hands, and showed him how to use it. He was grinning so wide that she smirked a bit too, expecting some innuendo and not being disappointed by his remark about her liking toys.

“Ah, missed opportunities. I guess it’s just too bad you didn’t make a better effort to get to know me. Too late now.”

She replied, smirking at him. He asked her if she and Cameron were a couple now, prompting her to look at Alek with a very wtf? expression. Then he went on to ask her if she was worried that she’d break Cameron.

“I can be gentle when I want to be, thank you very much. Not that it’s any of your fuckin’ business. Anymore.”
 
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Hellfire Mansion - The Black Wing

He was dying. Oh god, he was dying! And he was going to die with one leg!

Oracle: [via com] "Titan, you're going to be just fine. Hang in there, I'm going to get you help as soon as I can."

"Thank you?"

Zizi was nice. And her voice was comforting. But it didn't stop the sense of impending doom. If only he hadn't squandered all his money. Or if he'd stayed working on the docks in Belfast. Or not worked in a dress shop! His Mammy would probably be happy to have him gone, when he was so useless as to get himself poisoned before he'd had a chance to really do anything.

Recall: "We got 39 minutes and 15 seconds left...give or take."

"Oh god!"

Recall: [to John via Com]: "Bowl her over, keep her pinned and then I can shock the fuck out of her, we steal her venom and get Drew OUT of here. Sound like a plan?"

"I like the getting me out of here part."

It was kind of gross, the way this lady was wrapping her body around John. He was getting some good wacks in though. And she deserved it. She'd insulted Zizi and John, hit Viv and John (again), tried (and probably succeeded!) to kill him - and John also made a good point about Hellfire hurting children.

If he was going to die (which he obviously was!) he would have liked to have gotten at least one good lick in. So as to not be a completely useless failure.

Andrew moved slowly as to not spread the poison coursing through his veins (he was sure he could feel it moving!) and reached into his pocket for his knife. He brought it out and flicked it open. Waiting for his moment, he flicked his wrist and sent the blade soaring at Cobra, sure he could feel it when it sank home.
 
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