The folly of Bianca

[Harbinger]

the parthenon- conference room

:: Harbinger made no moves to intervene as Morgan then Ava became physically agressive with Bishop. All those times he made moves to hurt Sharon and the rest of them without a care or moment of remorse? Why should she have any concern for him NOW?::

:: Nicolas held out hope that Delilah might still be alive. The seer shifted her eyes at him as he asked her if it was a possibility.::

Nearly ALL things are possible, no matter how REMOTE. I of ALL people know that very well, but the death glow...it consumed her before my own Seer's eye. I don't know WHAT ELSE to take that to mean...

:: still, this once, she certainly mind Nicolas or Haleigh somehow prooving her WRONG on this.::

::Haleigh prevents Ava from going TOO far with it. after all, they'd wind up having "innocent" blood on their hands if they killed him NOW without just cause. As they turned their attention to the documents on the table, Bishop suggests that in all the time he and Delilah were at the cabin, they didnt have time to look them over. Alison frowned a bit. She knew immediately how absurd THAT claim was. ::

I find it hard to believe that someone who values information as much as YOU did would not have wanted to go through these documents as soon as you had a respite.

:: she said in a cold, disbelieving tone. Haleigh and Nicolas both echoed her sentiment as Haleigh began to go over the documents and found information about Morgan's battle with Black during her time with Valiant, as well as Black's confrontation agianst Alison in the Citadle and then his battle with Alison & Karen during the Inferno!::

She has been fixated on Black & his Sword of Anger for quite sometime. She even reached back for information on Morgan that PREDATES the Six.

She's doing the same thing Barbara would have done. Using all her resources to leave no stone unturned on her quarry. She's much like Barbara AND the original mainstream Helena Quartermaine.

She owes Barbara Minerva MUCH for being the person she is now...using her nature and her resources as she does. And how does she repay her? by BREAKING into the home that Barabara opened up to her...STEALING from the vault...and doing the very thing Barbara tried to teach her NOT to do...acting out of petty emotion! she's a DISGRACE to Barbara's legacy!

:: Alison's contempt for Bianca was palpable. She took her role as Harbinger seriously and to have her home violated by someone who was a ble to do it right under her nose was something that had been pissing ALison off to NO END this whole time. The others may not have immediately thought about it until now...but what would ALISON do to Bianca once she got her hands on her??::

:: Bishop decided he should be able to just LEAVE after all this? Alison looked over at him with a flicker of anger in her colbalt blue eyes::

You're not going anywhere! How DARE you think you can just leave! You are, in NO small way, RESPONSIBLE for a large portion of what we're dealing with now!

:: she was prepared to restrain him but Nicolas is on the same page as her as he TK's the doors shut and commands him to stay put.::

and don't bother trying anything. I'll know your moves BEFORE you make them and deal with you accordingly.

You're going to stay the course on this...just as you would have if you were trying to KILL one of us. I would think YOU of all people would want to see this through...for Delilah's sake either to help her...or AVENGE her.

:: Holding on to her Time Staff still, Alison stands between a seated Ava and Morgan now and first places a reassuring hand on the goddess' shoulder, squeezing it a bit then doing the same to Morgan, who is leaning forward with her hands covering her face. Harbinger turns her attention to Haleigh. Whatever the hybrid has in front of her regarding Black's encounters with Morgan, Alison and Karen...Alison can fill in any important gaps of information.::

 

[Bishop]

The doors to the room slammed. He turned his head back and raised his eyebrows at Nicolas, who “suggested” he stay. He turned back to face the room.

“Well, I’ll give you one thing, Nic – you’re polite.”

”I find it hard to believe that someone who values information as much as YOU did would not have wanted to go through these documents as soon as you had a respite.”

Jesus, these people were dense. He spoke to Alison, incredulous.

“Look, we weren’t safe…we had to be ready to move – obviously. There wasn’t time for [searches for the word] research.”

and don't bother trying anything. I'll know your moves BEFORE you make them and deal with you accordingly.

Maxim waves a hand in the air, replying sarcastically.

“Okay, sister. I came all the way back here just to start something with you. You got me.”

He sat down heavily, putting his feet up on the table.

You're going to stay the course on this...just as you would have if you were trying to KILL one of us. I would think YOU of all people would want to see this through...for Delilah's sake either to help her...or AVENGE her.

His amused mood suddenly vanished. He stood up quickly, his feet now back firmly on the floor.

“BIANCA IS DEAD. You weren’t there, you didn’t see that explosion. She didn’t walk away from THAT!”

He extended his right arm and pointed as if to the cabin’s location. He would be damned if Delilah had died for nothing. Bianca couldn’t be alive. He lowered his arm.

“You want to know who’s really responsible for her death? ALL OF YOU. If you had just let me leave on that island, Delilah would never have known I was alive, never known about Bianca until she was DEAD.”

He looked at them all in turn. He spoke more calmly, evenly now.

“Not working alone on this was a mistake, one I aim to rectify now. So don’t you talk to me about ‘avenging’ Delilah. Vengeance is all I have.”

 

[Persephone]

Haleigh quickly stopped Ava from literally ripping Bishop's wind pipe from his throat. She knew it was an easy way out for him. She knew that he WANTED to die and she would only be giving him what he wanted. But she wanted to kill him SO BADLY. She wanted to watch him gargle blood as he tried to take in his last breaths. She wanted to watch his eyes glass over until they were devoid of life. She wanted to watch his muscles twitch until all function left in his brain was gone. But Ava pulled back. Standing, she looked at Haleigh--eyes blacker than coal--before stepping away from her sister and Bishop.

Leaning against the edge of the conference room table, Ava took some sanitary wipes that were inside the medical kit Nicolas provided Bishop and began to clean off her bloody hands. She didn't look at him, or anyone else for that matter. Her temper was flaring and she was thirsty for blood, which was NEVER a good combo when it came to Persephone. Therefore she focused on something she could control--cleaning off her hands.

Though she seemed like she was zoned out, Ava listened to every bit of information that was said amongst the group. Haleigh asked what Delilah and Bishop were doing in the cabin all those hours that prevented them from looking at Bianca's files. Scoffing, she shook her head having a pretty clear idea what they were doing. She didn't--couldn't--blame Delilah for the vulnerable moment...but Bishop? Yes, she could blame him for taking advantage of that moment. But this was all clearly speculation on Ava's part. Then he revealed that Bianca didn't have anything on the six, just information about Black and Spellbinder back in her Valiant days. Apparently Bianca has an axe to grind with Morgan and Delilah was just collateral damage. He then had the audacity to say he was leaving. THAT made Ava look up with narrowed eyes.

Nicolas immediately denied his request and shut the door behind him, preventing him from leaving. Alison protested, exclaiming that just because Delilah was dead didn't mean he was simply off the hook. Ava just gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white. She immediately felt Alison's touch with a reassuring squeeze. Taking a long breath in through her nose, she slowly exhaled through her mouth in an effort to cool down, but Bishop had to open his own mouth, blaming THEM for Delilah's death.

Bishop “You want to know who’s really responsible for her death? ALL OF YOU. If you had just let me leave on that island, Delilah would never have known I was alive, never known about Bianca until she was DEAD.”

"You're a real piece of work, do you know that? We didn't let you leave that island because we had reason to believe that you were tied to the anomalies that were plaguing us for WEEKS. And guess what? YOU WERE. So don't you DARE stand there and suggest that we have ANY blood on our hands after everything you have done to HER [Delilah] past AND present."

Bishop: “Not working alone on this was a mistake, one I aim to rectify now. So don’t you talk to me about ‘avenging’ Delilah. Vengeance is all I have.”

Shaking her head, Ava couldn't believe that HE wanted vengeance when HE was the one who put this entire ordeal into motion.

"I'm DONE with his pity party."

 

[Harbinger]

Parthenon- class is in session

"You're a real piece of work, do you know that? We didn't let you leave that island because we had reason to believe that you were tied to the anomalies that were plaguing us for WEEKS. And guess what? YOU WERE. So don't you DARE stand there and suggest that we have ANY blood on our hands after everything you have done to HER [Delilah] past AND present."

:: Harbinger exhaled with an almost surprised, short LAUGH before looking at Bishop and returning to a deadly serious glare.::

The arrogance you have...the conceit! to think that your pathetic army surplus TOYS could possibly be the end of one such as Bianca?! You BUFFOON! YOU IMBECILE!

:: narrowing her eyes , a rushing chiming sound is heard as Bishop is FORCED to sit down in chair he once sat in.::

Bianca is NOT a mere human! NOT ANYMORE. She CAN'T die or hadnt you heard the MULTIPLE comparisons between her and OUR fallen ally, Barbara Minerva!?

:: Harbinger leveled her Time Staff, pointing it at Bishop as the garnett jewel in the crown of the staff began to glow and pulsating light.::

This is what happens when FOOLISH, STUPID HUMANS LIKE YOU meddle in the affairs of your BETTERS! you annoying little FLATSCAN!

:: to help TEACH him something, Harbinger uses her own power of visions, specifically retrocognition to generation images of situations, events or people in "total recall" and perfect clarity as she continues. images that in some cases, he would "remember like it was yesterday"::

:: his original meetings and dealings with her and his subsequent interactions with Alycia and later the Six::

YOU were HIRED by her, to be her catspaw in one of her many attempts to exact revenge on Morgan, on US. So BENT were YOU on vengence and some perverted, SUBJECTIVE sense of "justice" over your own loss that you were willing to wage an unjust war on people who NEVER harmed you and saved you and the world over MANY times.

The woman whom SHE was taught how to properly utitlize her ability was Barbara Minerva,

:: Images of Barbara in this timeline, the MoE time and her OWN original timeline manifest.::

A woman whose hunting and tactical prowess would make anything YOU have done look like the nervous attempts of a rank amateur.

Bianca has bided her time because she has nothing BUT time. She DEFIES it in such a way that even I could not detect her in my own domain until it was TOO LATE. She's managed to stay "one step ahead" of us, SIGHT UNSEEN...until YOUR unexpected and most definately UNWANTED return.

Lest you forget...but for truly DIVINE intervention, you'd still be rotting in the ground...and hopefully in HELL where you belonged. It was DELILAH'S self consuming guilt and GRIEF over you that lead to YOUR return and thus shed an unexpected light on what had been up to that time an ongoing ANAMOLY throughout Minerva's Mansion.

:: images of his first revelvations about Barbara to Black Widow, Rampage and Harbinger replay::

YOU were the one who INSISTED on going to Bianca's domain...and YOU NOMINATED Delilah yourself. WE objected. But because we DO LOVE and TRUST her...we let HER make her descision but we did what we could to watch over her. It was not enough. Bianca still got the drop on us.

YOU said you could "protect Delilah!"

Instead of impressing upon her the need to contact US for back up even as Bianca's troops and assault were bearing down on you...you decided, ONCE AGAIN, that YOU were all SHE needed. WE protect OUR OWN. We dont BAIT the spider at the center of her web.

and there is NOTHING you can do NOW without US. You BARELY survived your LAST encounter with her and you think she's DEAD?!


WRONG. WRONG. WRONG!

:: she said with unrelenting force, as if she were playing the role of "Margaret White" from the movie "Carrie"::

Now you just SIT THERE and SHUT your mouth and let US do what needs to be done!


:: she lowers the time staff and leaves Bishop to sit there while she too returns her attention to Haleigh. ::

 

[Black Widow]

Bishop: We had a lot to talk about, but that's none of your business.

Haleigh narrowed her eyes at him, and Bishop quickly looked away. Out of her peripheral vision, Haleigh saw Nicolas pull a face that indicated he was suspecting the same thing SHE was about the whole mess. Alison frowned and Ava scoffed. There wasn't a person in the room that believed his bullshit, but no one else seemed inclined to hold him accountable for it. Alison pushed a bit harder:

Alison: I find it hard to believe that someone who values information as much as YOU did would not have wanted to go through these documents as soon as you had a respite.

Bishop: Look, we weren't safe... we had to be ready to move - obviously. There wasn't time for [pause] research.

Haleigh looked about ready to leap from the table and take HER turn beating the pulp out of Bishop. Perhaps the others were willing to let it go and take Bishop's word for it that it was 'none of their business', but Haleigh could think of a reason that WOULD make it their business-- and their responsibility to hold him accountable.... and it wasn't sitting well with her.

"No time for research, but plenty of time for -- what did you call it? -- oh yes, 'talking'. Well... nobody here is as stupid as you're hoping, and we ain't buying that lame shit you're selling, so I'll just say this: If Delilah gave her consent of her own free will and with her full mental capacity, then that's fine. But If I find out that she was doped up on medication for the pain and you took advantage of her...... I will cut out your spine and butterfly you like a shrimp, and if you think I'll let you fully die in the process, you are sadly mistaken, because I'm carrying the T virus, which affords me the wonderful ability to reanimate your mutilated body, trap your miserable soul inside, and keep you as a zombie pet for the rest of eternity. So you'd better PRAY that when Alison looks back in time, she finds that Delilah declined medication in favor of a clear head."

Bishop tries to leave, only to be stopped, of course. As IF they'd actually let him walk out of here. Haleigh turned back to the discs in front of her, scanning it with her eyes and gathering all the information from it so that she could share it with the others. Bishop's outburst about Bianca being dead brought her back out of her own head.

"Bianca is NOT dead, you dumb fucking neanderthal. Now stop your bitching and moaning for five goddamn seconds so WE can discuss what we're going to do next. [to the others] Look at this video of testing done on Bianca."

She says, putting the disc she was scanning down on the table and reproducing the footage she'd found on it. On of the TVs on the wall switched to a new screen, showing Bianca getting injected with something. Haleigh explains that it is the same chemical cocktail used in lethal injection executions sanctioned by state and federal governments. A team of medical professionals monitor her vitals and then physically check for any signs of life after the drugs have taken effect and she flatlines. Her time of death is noted, several minutes pass, and then Bianca miraculously comes back to life. The next video shows Bianca in a tank filled with toxic gases. She dies, and the team, dressed in biohazard suits with gas masks, come in and make sure she's dead AGAIN as the room gets drained of the deadly air and filled with fresh oxygen. Bianca breathes anew once more.

"This disc is full of 'tests' like these. Obviously she passes them all, because she's still around to be a giant pain in our ass. Alison, what can you tell us about what happened with Black during the Inferno incident? Not all of us were here for that, as you well know, and none of Bianca's testing predates the Inferno."

 

[Bishop]

”.. So don't you DARE stand there and suggest that we have ANY blood on our hands after everything you have done to HER [Delilah] past AND present."

They continued to act all “holier than thou” with him. Not that expected any less – it was typical. Most people can’t see what’s right in front of them, but still. He smirked and shook his head.

“Hey, at least I admit when I’m wrong. You all pretend like nothing you do has any consequences. You don’t apologize for anything. Jesus – no wonder Delilah could barely stand to be around you. I’ve admitted MY mistakes. I’ve TRIED to make them right. What have YOU done? I may not be better than you, but you’re sure as hell not better than me.”

Alison was the worst. Thinking he should be SCARED of HER. As if he cared what she did to him. He hadn’t cared whether he lived or died for a very, very long time. She used her powers to make him sit back down in his chair. Woo, scary.

She showed him a bunch of images of a woman called Barbara Minerva. He broke in, meeting Alison’s eyes unafraid.

“Yeah, so if she was so indestructible, your precious Barbara would still be ALIVE, now wouldn’t she? I will NOT believe that Delilah died for nothing, not without PROOF.”

He slammed his fist down on the table.

Lest you forget...but for truly DIVINE intervention, you'd still be rotting in the ground...and hopefully in HELL where you belonged.

“Sister I know exactly where I belong, and I expect one day I'll see you there. Look, I didn’t ask to come back. You think I wanted to hurt again, to watch her DIE?! Alison, go ahead and do your worst to me because there is nothing – NOTHING – more horrible than the things I’ve already seen.”

Physical pain meant nothing to him. He’d watched his wife and children brutally murdered in front of his eyes. The human part of him had died that day – maybe Delilah had brought some of it back, but with her death it was lost once again. The pain would be a welcome distraction.

Instead of impressing upon her the need to contact US for back up even as Bianca's troops and assault were bearing down on you...you decided, ONCE AGAIN, that YOU were all SHE needed.

“Don’t you stand there and pretend you couldn’t find out EXACTLY where she was if you wanted, with all your *powers*.“

He wiggled his fingers in the air on “powers”.

“YOU abandoned her to protect YOURSELVES, didn’t you? She wanted to protect you and you LET her do it. Cowards.”

And Haleigh took her turn, being crude and disgusting in the process. He let her finish.

…So you'd better PRAY that when Alison looks back in time, she finds that Delilah declined medication in favor of a clear head."

“Miss Davidoff? [leans forward] If you were a man, I’d kill you for suggesting what you just did. Super powers or not.”

He leant back as Haleigh played the video off the data cards. He watched as time and time again Bianca seemed to re-animate. It truly was an amazing sight.

“She-she couldn’t have really been dead there. Your heart can stop and still be revived. People don’t just come back from the dead. Right?”

 

[Harbinger]

The Parthenon- conference room

:: The disc that Haleigh broadcasts over the various monitors in the conference room confirm Barbara Minerva's own journal writings with such grim detail. Bianca, becoming more and more aware that she was no longer the woman she had once known herself to be, was becoming more and more bold and daring in "testing the limits" of her new found being. In some ways though, she reminded Alison of HERSELF...when she was the young adolescent girl who left home, driven by instinct, visions that would make nostradomus cower in fear, and relying on her own wonderous powers that had manifested early on.::

:: By the time Bianca washed up on the shores of the island that was home to Minerva's mansion, the woman was all too aware of her newfound status and had become something of a daredevil. Between this and her vast financial resources and connections, she had nothing else to lose really. Barbara took her in, trained her as best she could, unwittingly making her the DANGER she now was to the Six...to Delilah and Morgan.::

"This disc is full of 'tests' like these. Obviously she passes them all, because she's still around to be a giant pain in our ass. Alison, what can you tell us about what happened with Black during the Inferno incident? Not all of us were here for that, as you well know, and none of Bianca's testing predates the Inferno."

::nodding::

By now, most of you are aware that Morgan had a brief, tumultuous career as a one time member of the London based superhero team Valiant. That was when she would FIRST encounter any aspect of Mystech as "Spellbinder."

:: holding her time staff up above, the garnett jewel shimmers and gleams as a rushing chime sounds off and Alison activates the aspect of her powers known as "retrocognition" the room itself seems to flow and spin but really they are simply being treated to "real as life", total recall "visions" that show just what Alison knows or can "see."::

Black was a member of Mystech's Axis of Evil, a team designed to be their "enforcement" unit. KNOWING who Spellbinder was and her connection to the 2nd generation consortium of Mystech lead by Malice & Helena Quartermaine, BLACK was this terrifying "energy creature" sent out to destroy her and capture Foxfire (Blaze Fielding)...which he very nearly did.

FLASH

<< the terrifying scenes from the final battle between Spellbinder, Foxfire & Black playout with no censor. Foxfire, attempting to protect a wounded Spellbinder FALLS before the wrath of Black, apparently DEAD. Morgan, shivering with pain and extreme cold shock, criese out. She looks so battle worn. >>

<< Shift to the last battle between Spellbinder and Black, where he attacks her again and again with his powers and his Sword of Anger. She can't survive another direct assault from his physical contact of her. She displays nimble agility even in her wounded state but even as she dodges her MAGICKAL powers are USELESS against Black. She's left with nothing more than her flight, super strength and stepping discs. >>

<< After Black catches her in midflight and knocks her out of the air, he looms over her. For the CURRENT team of the Six...to see a younger Morgan so TERRIFIED and utterly ALONE, facing down what was...IS truly one of her most deadly personal enemies...its hard for them to watch.>>

<< Black taunts her and mocks her for failing to keep her sister safe and promises she'll be much more effective as a CORPSE in the labs of mystech under the "care' of her father!>>

<< at that last moment, Morgan rises up, with all the strength she has left, having thought of one last desperate option. She disarms Black of his sword with a STEPPING DISC, teleporting it from him, to HER. Grabbing hold of it, she is IMMEDIATELY jolted , BOMBARDED by the vicious, painful POWER of the blade, its as if BLACK is touching her once more as the black lightning and mysterious dark energy RAVAGE her hand gripping the sword, arm and shoulder. But even as SHE screams and Black laughs in astnoishment at her moxy...she LUNGES forward with all her power, strength and emotion and PLUNGES the sword DEEP into Black's chest, his HEART. She falls on top of him as he topples to the ground, but he backhands her away , leaving her to lay on her side, barely alive as HE seemingly succumbes to his own sword and dies...somewhat "melting" into a semi solid state.>>

FLASH

Harbinger: As the history leading to the formation of the Six goes, Morgan was brought back to America, New York City, where Karen and I cared for her. She was barely alive, and for a time, catatonic. She nearly LOST her arm because of that battle and Blaze was seemingly DEAD, her body never recovered. DELILAH offered to REPLACE Morgan in Valiant long enough to tie up any loose ends as the Team soon disbanded after losing three of its members in the fight against the Axis of Evil AND to make sure there were no lingering threats to Morgan as she was now officially RETIRED as a super heroine.

But that wasnt the end. Not of Blaze...and not of BLACK.


FLASH

<< An evening of chaos and horror began to sweep across NYC. Harbinger, THEN known as Guardian, had moved to save Cameron aka Prophet and Alexis Quartermaine aka Shockwave. Having foreseen the events of this evening and knowing that THEY, along with Black Widow, Spellbinder, and Eva Valentine aka Tempest would form the only line of the defense against the growing evil nightmare of Mystech... THE SIX.>>

<< Guardian pulled Alexis up>>

Keep moving....things just got WORSE!

<< she pushed Alexis forward...to usher her to make a run for Illustra>>

HURRY!!


<< turning around...she ran back for Prophet....reaching the crater....she gestured once more....accelerating time around the armored demons themselves...causing them to spin so fast..they became disoriented...and simultaneously accelerating the molecules in their armour....one by one they exploded....Guardian bent down and held her hand out to Prophet>>

Get up here NOW!!....we dont have much time!!!


<< Alison KNEW what was coming.....the Sentinels AND the Techno Organic virus was quickly rising through the pipes and mechanical workings beneath the city.....and they had to get inside....where the MAGICK would keep them all safe from infection>>

<< she yanked him up>>

RUN FOR IT BOY!

<< an eerie sound...that of the city powering down....as many power cells were being ruptured from the chain reactions of the Citadle's shake up/meltdown/lock up.....the sounds of auto accidents could be heard...people screaming....chaos was beginning to fill the air>>

Guardian: Black Widow, her soldiers and Tempest should be arriving shortly......goddess hope that that prideful wench doesnt become her OWN greatest enemy....there forces here that even SHE cant comprehend. << Guardian began to make a run for it herself....she was several paces behind Shockwave and Prophet........>>

FLASH

Harbinger: That evening...THE SIX was born. Our FIRST mission was to rescue BLAZE who was in fact alive and being held, TORTURED by her own father deep within The Citadle, a hive like fortress underground this very city as all of you in this room have come to know it. We were HARDLY the "family" that we are now, as you could tell even from that brief vision. But the urgency of saving Blaze, the CITY, OURSELVES, trumped even the most heated and bitter personality clashes...for the most part.

:: Glancing at Haleigh with a bit of a smirk. Neither one would ever forget Alison setting Haleigh and Cameron up as ANT LION bait in the underground tunnel leading to the dock/bay area of the Citadel.::

It was INSIDE the Citadel that not only SPELLBINDER, but Shockwave and I BOTH soon after were confronted with the reality that Black was still ALIVE.

FLASH

:: the shadows lengthened and stretched, casting themselves along the floor and underneath the heeled boots of the two witches as they walked away. He immediately burst forth, standing upright and moving with the speed of a high powered train, he SLAMMED into Spellbinder and Guardian, sending Guardian flying side ways and over a desk hard and he grabbed hold of Spellbinder placing one of his massive hands around her arms...and holding her::

:: he growled ...salivating as he held her in his grasp::

ahhhhhhhhhh.......Spell....binderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

:: he immediately began to unleash jagged bolts of the shroud energy through her...radiating her body before she could even summon a disc to escape his grasp....he placed his other hand around her head...completely covering it ...the sound of the onslaught was like the sound of an endless crashing wave....Spellbinder's PAINED SCREAMS were muffled but her body was ABLAZE as her hair flowed upward and it seemed the very life was being BLASTED out of her body::

FLASH

:: the conference room shifts again as they get more of this shocking and disturbing history lesson, even Black Widow had not been with this part of the Six during this situation. SHE was held captive and tortured by Imagiomg. SHE would soon be infected with the T.O. Virus during this first night of The Six.::

FLASH

::her time in the citadle had clearly put a strain on her powers and her magick, for this was the second time Guardian had been blind sided. it was such an unusual thing....but despite her ice cold demeanor, the physical damage from the vicious physical attack just now was telling, as she went flying a few feet off to the side and over a desk...slamming into the floor::

ohh goddesss.....ugh....this creature...the files i read.....::cough:: dont even BEGIN to convey the brute force he ...commands.


:: she struggled....trying to get to her feet. she knew what was happening...::

Spellbinder......he's hurting her....he'll KILL HER.....ive got...to GET UP!!


:: she gritted her teeth...as she used the desk to pull herself up ....and saw the horror. Black brutalizing Spellbinder.....and the fury of fire and emotion as Foxfire attacked Black.....with all her heart and soul::

:: Guardian had a couple broken ribs she felt the pain ...as she stood upright....and as she began to make her way toward them...she desperately searched for a way to assist Foxfire::

:: she raised her hands...and gestured..her voice now sounded stereophonic...as she ignited a spell::


Earth, fire, water, wind
To my will, you will bend
Against my enemy I do send:
a vortex of hellfire with no end.

:: a strange sound is heard...as the heat in the air is now bent to Guardian's will.....combining with the flames of Foxfire...a powerful blast is heard as a seven pointed star of PURE DARK EVIL FLAME forms above Black's head....drawing from Foxfire's flames as well as the heat in the air....the star begins to spin faster and faster...raining down a violent cascade of fire...the fires of HELL itself down on Black....pelting his body...ravaging his form...and at the same time as Foxfire herself attacks his INTERNAL structure with her flame.......Black drops Spellbinder ...as he puts his hands to his face.

FLASH

Harbinger: Foxfire got Spellbinder away from Black at that point, while I found myself a new personal enemy as well. The FILES I had on Black the VISIONS from Morgan's own trauma involving him during her time with Valiant...they just DIDNT convey how truly DEADLY this creature was...

:: she says that now and even NOW after all this time she sounds...HAUNTED by it. a telling thing indeed.::


FLASH

:: Black spasmed violently in the hall...shifting from side to side till the pain of the intense two fold attack by Guardian and Foxfire subsided. He'd been viciously clawed and bitten, burned inside and out....he'd taken so much damage..but he would not stop. not till spellbinder was DEAD.::

:: like a tidal wave that swells with one last furious crest...Black barrels through the glass window again....roaring as his fanged white teeth show. He has his sword griped in both hands pointed downward, he lunges for Foxfire and Spellbinder intending to strike them down with his Sword of Anger. The force and speed of the monster.....it rivaled that of Juggernaut...his determination was like that of a great white shark::

:: as he reached the arch of his lunge, he beared down on the two sisters...about to destroy them both::

Guardian:NOT TONIGHT BLACK!! NOT WHILE I STILL BREATHE!

:: a chime sounds off...as a HEFTY dome of teke AND magick forms around Foxfire and Spellbinder. Sheilding them from Black::

:: Guardian stands...visibly in pain...as she gestures..and forms a powerful mystical/telekinetic barrier to protect the two sisters. The force of his blows against the sheild rocked the floors...and caused Guardian to stumble..she winced with pain...but she continued to maintain the barrier...::

Guardian:Shockwave....GET THEM OUT OF HERE.......I will........stay behind...and fight him......to the DEATH.


:: Guardian's voice sounded so grim...and shakey...yet firm....she had used her magick just moments ago...a reminder to Shockwave that she was no slouch either when it came to being a witch....and now...she protected spellbinder and foxfire from Black, the creatuer continued to smash and crash against the barrier....trying his HARDEST to break the barrier...roaring with frustration::

HURRY!! take them....down to the bio systems lab........there's no more point in staying here.....Black...will not stop until Spellbinder is DEAD..but...i've seen that she will LIVE.......just take them and go...NOW!!


:: Guardian...struggled to maintain the protective barrier between them and Black. She herself was on the same side as Black...the express elevator was behind Shockwave....it was clear that Guardian was laying down her life to see that the ultimate goal was reached. proof positive of just how WRONG Shockwave and the others had been about her all this time.::

<< scenes shift and swirl to moments later>>

Shockwave: "Takeher somewhere safe...Guardian and I will be there soon."

:: Before Foxfire could react or protest, the elevator doors slammed shut. Placing her hand on the elevator door, she closed her eyes and accelerated the speed of the elevator, as it went shooting down to the Bio Lab level. Slowly...Alexis opened her blue eyes. She couldn't leave Guardian to die...whether she hated the woman and wished her dead, NO ONE should die at the hand of Black. Alexis felt his power...his rage...his hate. She had to help. Turning away from the elevator, she sprinted back to Guardian and Black. The sound level was heightened...the temperature was cold, everything was dim. Alexis looked at Black.... ::

"Let's get ready to rumble..."

:: Alexis sarcastically said as she turned to Guardian. ::

"Let the barrier down! I'm not leaving you here to die!"

:: Alexis demanded Guardian dropped the barrier. She didn't know if Guardian would be stubborn and keep it up, risking her life to protect Alexis' as well...but she only prayed she would actually listen to her. Shouting again, her eyes went from Black to Guardian. ::

"Alison! I can help you! Morgan and Blaze are safe in the biolab! Drop the barrier so I can help you!"

:: Shockwave, LONG before her seduction by the Hellfire Club and subsequent betrayal of the Six, a founding member that Nicolas had never known personally, only as a statue in Ororo's garden.::

:: Seeing the barrier around Guardian only now, a look of concern washed over her face as she saw Guardian hunched over in pain. With rage, Alexis' eyes faded to an eerie white as she snapped her head in the direction of Black. ::

"BLACK!"

:: She screamed trying to get his attention away from Guardian. Alexis had absolutely NO idea what the hell she was supposed to do to stop this creature seeing as how her powers had no effect on him...but she couldn't leave Guardian to die. Especially die from HIM. Waving her arm violently like Prue, energy disks began to form under desks, large debris, and anything that looked like it could put a damper on Black's plan to kill Guardian. One by one, the disks flew towards Black, throwing the debris violently at him. Disk after disk after disk appeared under more objects, as she continually "TKed" them at Black. ::

"Alison! Go for cover!"

:: Alexis was strictly doing this to divert Black's attention away from Guardian so she could have a few minutes to rejuvenate herself. But she knew Black would be royally pissed off by Alexis' attack. Finally, she stopped "TKing" the debris at Black...it was time for something a little more powerful. Soon, electricity could be seen surging from the tips of her fingers and to the ground. It began to surround Alexis in the form of a circle, sparking and burning anything in it's path. The lights began to flicker--some bursting from the amount of energy in the room. Bolts of electricity flickered in Alexis' eyes as she made eye contact with Black. In a very cold tone. ::

"I'll give you one guess to WHY people call me SHOCKWAVE!"

:: The energy sunk into the ground and began to travel towards Black, with great speed. The white tile floor began to cracked and burst as a wave was formed from the concrete ground. Within seconds, the five foot wave crashed into Black like a freight train sending him flying back. The floor exploded on contact with Black releasing all the electrical energy into the air in the form of lightning bolts. Thrusting her hand out, as Black was in mid-air, the bolts surrounded him like a snake constricting it's pray. Holding her palm out towards him, she kept him hovering in mid air, allowing the electricity to burn and electrocute him. ::

FLASH

Harbinger: but even then...it was not enough.

FLASH

:: Black was pummeling the dome that protected a visbily shaken Guardian. He wanted to finish off the witch...by now..he was fed up with the women constantly evading him. He was used to brutalizing his victims before destroying them utterly. He kept at Guardian..but her magick and her teke combined kept him at bay::

::growling with anger, he spun around to see Shockwave....he lunged at her, but was forced back by her powerful onslaught...smashed with such impact, he staggered back before being caught up in the air and bombared...his body writhed...and convulsed but no sound came. his eyes even flamed violently....his muscles were beginning to finally fatigue from the back to back onslaughts of the women and now Shockwave was finally slowing him down...he gritted his teeth....unable to get a foot hold on solid ground, he EXPLODED into a spray of dark twisting tentacles of shroud energy.....the tentacles were spasming allaround shockwave as they soon focued and began to shoot straight at her...lashing at her face and her body. whipping her, smacking her...grabbing her throat and pulling her down to the floor...dragging her across the debris::



:: Guardian was half laying down on the floor...her arms wrapped around her stomach area...she was suffering from severe internal injuries and and the pain from Black's extreme physical brutality left her partially stunned. She was a witch like Spellbinder...she could easily see how Black had menaced Spellbinder all those years ago now.::


<< zooming over to Guardian.>>

:: she was shaking...and dizzy...watching with a tremendous feeling of surprise to see Shockwave RETURN to help her. adversity could bring out the best or worst in a person....this night..it brought out the best in both Guardian and Shockwave...if only this once::

::But even as the metahuman unleashed a truly awesome multifront assault against Black. He rebounded again...this time attacking her in one of his altered forms::

Guardian:I've...got to pull her out of his grasp... before he....strangles her!!

:: slowly..and shakily extending one of her hands...Guardian looks up...her face rather pale, as she holds out her hand....she locks onto Shockwave...and Teleblinks her from where she is...causing her to reappeare INSIDE The protective force dome.....::

:: her voice now softer and shakey...Guardian looks over at Shockwave::

you're....youre safe now....my magick...and my teke...are strong enough to repell Black...at least..for now...but none of us...will survive..unless Black is BANISHED from this time and space!!

...I know a spell.....that can help us..... it.....

<< an IN YOUR FACE view of Black interrupts that moment between Guardian and Shockwave>>

:: Black slams into the dome...having reconstituted his form. He slams down on the dome with both fists with such force...the shock of the impact rocks both women off their feet back down to the floor.....::

:: he continues his relentless attack. Guardian appears to be losing consciousness::


Shockwave:"You can't pass out on me now, Alison! You have to keep this barrier up!"

:: Shouting, the noise was so heightened at this point. It seemed like silence was no longer apart of this world....Turning back to Black, her stomach dropped as the barrier began to grow even more faint. Oh god....no no no.... Alexis thought as her breathing began to quicken. Looking from the pounding Black to the almost unconscious Guardian, Alexis knew at any moment the barrier would fail. Seeing Alison's eyes close, Alexis screamed. ::

"ALISON!"

:: She quickly maneuvered the woman in an upright position, placing both palms on either side of Alison's cheeks. Soon, ripples began to form on Alexis' body and travel down towards her hands and into Guardian. Alexis was giving all remaining energy to Alison in order to keep the barrier up. Alison need to cast that spell. She needed to stop Black. She needed to do it not only for Spellbinder, but in order to continue with the mission to stop Adam and Christopher. Growing sick to her stomach, Alexis' muscles began to grow weak as her energy drained into Alison. As Alexis grew weaker, Alison and the barrier began to grow stronger. Although her energy would not take the pain Alison felt away, it would give her a giant power boost, enough to keep them both alive, and do what she needed too. Continuing to hold on, Alexis' brilliant blue eyes began to fade from blue to white....finally, she released her grip from Alison's cheeks and slumped onto the ground, motionless. Although not dead, Alexis was completely drained...only leaving a very minimal amount of energy left in her body in order to keep herself alive. The energy would soon multiply and grow with strength...but as for now, Alexis was at the mercy of Alison and her spell. ::

::Guardian's eyes fluttered....for a moment she had in fact passed out, her shield began to fluxuate. Shockwave sat her upright and transferred energy to her....it worked, as Guardian revived.::

GUARDIAN:


::GASP!!::

::Guardian bolted up right...shaking her head from a dizzy feeling...and wincing from the pain of sudden movement. the Sheild renewed itself and its protection remained strong as ever, blocking Black's continued attacks::

:: she looked down at the now drained Shockwave...a look of exhaustion was on the metahuman's face. she knew what shockwave had done...and intended to make sure that Black's reign of terror ended::

Across time and space
you leave not a trace
Force of light
I send you from my sight!


:: Guardian held her arms out at either side.....as the whirling sound of power could be heard in the air...a bell tolled and thunder blasted as a radiating swirl of light formed behind Black. A beautiful smooth faced ruby surrounded by a beautiful gold ring with ancient inscriptions appeared...floating in the air. The Siege Perilous, a powerful gem of cosmic origins that has been accessed by only the most powerful practicioners of magick, now can be seen.::

DEMON BEGONE!

::the gem began to sparkle as it expanded and grew rapidly.....soon it became large and wider than even Black himself.....and the bell tolled once more as the face of the ruby flashed and changed to bear the aspect of the starry blackness of space itself...thunder blasts as a POWERFUL vacumm ignites with such force....that the office pool begins to shake ....anything and everything begins to get sucked into the Siege Perilous::

:: the winds rage.....the office pool is scoured with the power of the gem...as all in its path are pulled into it with unrelenting force. Guardian herself exclaimes with pain...as she is jarred by the sudden shift in force and gravity....she holds onto Shockwave...and tries her best to anchor them using the utmost of her teke::


GODDESS!! PLEASE!! HELP US!!!

FLASH

Harbinger: It was at that moment, that ORORO first appeared to aid the Six.

FLASH

**She stood tall, her white gown flowing and accented by a beautiful blue robe..her silver hair was long and flowing, framing her face. She was older but very regal and beautiful and as she shimmered into full view, she turned and looked at Guardian and Shockwave..a look of true concern on her face as her sapphire blue eyes looked over each of them. As Black's roar of rage thundered in the air...she turned back and faced him. She was unaffected by the pull of the Siege Perilous...she appeared to be in an astral form of some sort**

Your time here is at an END , monster! Your reign of terror is OVER! Your power only goes so far....and I am here to ensure that you get what you truly deserve!

**Ororo raises her hands, billowing pure white whinds sweep from behind her...adding their power to the pull of the Siege Perilous and as her sapphire blue eyes became solid white, large, jagged bolts of pure white lightning charged forward...slamming into Black's chest...beating him back....staggering him and herding him closer and closer to the gateway of the Siege**

LEAVE THIS PLACE, CREATURE OF DARKNESS! YOU WILL NOT HARM THESE PEOPLE ANYMORE!! I banish you to the void of space ...where you will have NO POWER...no chance for redemption!!

**Like a conductor of an orchestra, Ororo leads the symphony of elemental fury to a climax....gesturing as the room is flooding with the POWER OF NATURE the winds scream, the lighting slices, the thunder smashes...and the bell tolls once more....as the elements and magick bow to Ororo's power and combine to strike Black with a force of JUSTICE...for that is what powers the Siege Perilous**

:: Black was roaring and growling with a feral rage at the older woman who had appeared. He couldve snapped her in two if he could just grab her...but his physical might prooved useless against her. His eyes widened with shock as he condemned him to the blackness of space. He was caught in a malestrom of magick and elemental fury....he was being assaulted..damn near RAPED by the powers of justice and nature unleashed against him.::

::HE SCREAMED FOR HIS LIFE as his body was blown off its feet and encompassed by the fury of Ororo's assualt. He was then raptured by the power of othe Siege Perilous! he screamed and WAILED helplessly as he was pulled into the mystical gem....his body flailing helplessly as he was swept fully into it. He passed through the gateway of the gem and was then shunted into the blackness of outer space...where his body began to writhe and fluxuate. He was then savagely pulled PULLED APART limb from limb by the savage, unforgiving vaccumm of Space ....his screams echoed even after his body was destroyed in space......his sword of anger destroyed by a bolt of Ororo's lightning.::

:: Guardian's spell and Ororo's power had pushed him to the brink of oblivion...the one thing he couldnt fight or over power. He was swept away by the power and destroyed...and that was the justice that Ororo must have spoke of. ::

FLASH
------

:: Alison takes a moment. These visions, these MEMORIES werent just "mere history"...she had LIVED through them, as had Spellbinder. Though much had changed for these women since then...some of the oldest hurts and HAUNTS remained. Until a person had actually DEALT with...or rather SURVIVED Black, they couldnt know how TRAUMATIC that would be. When Morgan returned to America following her final encounter with him...the state she was in was both shocking and terrifying for her mother and Alison. and ALISON could now call herself a SURVIVOR of Black as well.::

Harbinger:That should have been the end. But I ....I didnt know the ULTIMATE nature of the Seige Perilous. I summoned it without even really KNOWING what I was doing because i was DESPERATE...He was going to KILL Shockwave and I and then go and find and KILL Spellbinder and Foxfire. ORORO came, and saved us from him, she didnt waste time on the details, she simply helped us to SURVIVE so that we might see and fullfill our destiny.


Spellbinder:I feel rather ILL at the moment...I'm going to the ladies room.

:: Alison understood how Morgan felt. With everything leading up to this journey down memory lane and knowing it had something to do with what was going on NOW...and knowing that Morgan couldnt get "death glow" out of her head OR the struggle she was feeling over Delilah and whether she was truly DEAD or not...it was not unlike that night she first had reason to believe BLAZE was not in fact dead after all.::

:: Alison AND the others allowed Morgan to exit the conference room, it was one of those moments where someone would need a moment to themselves. She closed the doors behind her as she left and Alison was ready to continue on.::

Harbinger: The Seige Perilous will hold a person in cosmic judgement, weighing his/her life and deeds in the ultimate cosmic balance and IF deemed worthy, they will be returned by in a truly NEW aspect, rearranged with NO memory of their former life.

<< The garnett jewel in Alison's time staff shimmers and sparkles as the scene around them shifts to "Infero's EVE.">>

FLASH

<< an increasingly agressive and violent Spellbinder was sitting on top of a massive butte that jutted out from the pacific ocean, it was a mile or two off the coast where ERIKA KING'S cliff side Villa rested. The rest of the team was there, they were on another caper that wasleading them into direct confrontation with Cameron and Alison's MOTHER, Kelly King, ANOTHER member of Mystech's axis of evil.>>

Harbinger: We didnt know it then...well...some of us did but chose not to heed the warnings, but Spellbinder was undergoing a true BREAKDOWN and subsequent transformation. THIS is the moment where she reached the point of NO RETURN! The moment when the SPARK of othe Inferno was formed!

::those in the conference room witness Morgan's bizarre and impossible astral episode where she has a CONVERSATION WITH BLACK who is apparently ALIVE and was returned to existence as Morgan's NEW "chief demon in LIMBO"...having been her ultimate stalker and tormentor BEFORE, he was recast as her ultimate SERVANT and "right hand man!"::

::NONE of them had witnessed this first hand and it is truly bizarre to watch. It is probably for the BEST that Morgan LEFT the room before this part was shown.::

::they watch as he TALKS with her and encourages her to KILL her team mates and show them ALL how truly SPECIAL she is::

FLASH

::Black puffed more on his cigar as he pumped his fist in support of Spellbinder::

Black:SO KILL 'EM ! HELL...KILL 'EM ALL! Why worry, why fret? just think of your inferno as a way of clearing out all the dead wood.

Morgan, ya gotta stop trying ta be Ororo or Karen...that's not who yer meant ta be.

You are one of the DARK TRINITY...you can do so much with your power but ya hold back. Always have....and even now, the pull of Limbo calls to you like a song...

::Black holds out a massive hand ...with the back of it facing Spellbinder....each of his nails sparkles and soon a face appears in each nail....each face represents a different facet of Spellbinder: the super model; the super heroine; the prim and proper high priestess/white witch; the ordinary single mother; and finally....the demonic,dark, intimidating sorceress supreme. each face so different ...yet all cut from the same template::

You can chose your destiny Morgan. these are tha most prominent facets o' your being...tha lives you have lead or COULD lead. What ya might know remember is that in Limbo, time and space dont apply. YOU can reinvent yaself any way ya like!

picke of 'em and take tha plunge Morg! throw off them restraints and let go like you've always dreamed of! ya got nothin ta lose!


::Black smirked....as he awaited her next choice::


<< Spellbinder was taken aback by Black and his perception of the situation. He seemed to be as intuned to her extreme agitiation as Ororo or anyone else who truly knew her mightve been. but the fact that she was fraternizing with a brutal, powerful demon that once was the scourge of her existence was an alarming indicator of just how WRONG this "dream " was. >>

<< she stood....the winds blowing her cape that she held just so to keep herself some what covered in Black's presence. She looked upon the demon as he presented her with the "five option"....looking at each facet of herself....showing a little curiosity as Black explained to her the choice tha now was before her>>

oh...well this is really an opportunity is it? to hurt those that hurt me...without any worries about the reprocussions.....as if any of them could possibly do anything ANYWAY.

<<Spellbinder rolled her neck...before sighing>>

aw what the hell.....its only a dream right?

<< Morgan thrusts her hand out, point her own well manicured nail at the evil, demonic, demon sorceress supreme image which is on the last finger nail of Black's hand>>

Black's smirk became a demonic glint as he responded::

Black:WRONG, SPELLBINDER!

::he LUNGES forward....STABBING Spellbinder in the center of her chest with his pinky finger nail, the one that contained the image that Spellbinder chose.::

Dreams are a facet of REALITY...especially in a place like THIS. And YOU have just REDEFINED YOUR REALITY!

Enjoy it sweetie....you ASKED FOR IT!


::Black laughes heartily and evily...his voice echoes through the air as the winds howl and whip into a frenzy::

Spellbinder: <<GASP!!!>>

<<Spellbinder's eyes with sudden SHOCK as Black lunges forward and STABS her in the chest with his finger nail....the pain, the shock the violation! She staggers back and her eyes roll in the back of her head as she falls in slow motion to the floor....a demonic red symbol glows into appearence in the center of chest as she hits the floor......and that "Reality" SHATTERS like a glass screen as a chime sounds off. Morgan Victoria has now given herself over to darkness....her soul corrupted to its core. She is now back on the land mass out in the middle of the stormy ocean....laying posed just as she was when she fell in the dream.....unconscious....but younger looking just as she had become in the dream. Her hair was now longer as well. Her costume had changed as well....she was now wearing a most provocative outfit that showcased her feminine, toned body in a way even SHE had not done before, but it also indicated her new persona. >>

FLASH

Harbinger: and of course, Haleigh and I PERSONALLY know what happened next.

<<a quick but no less thorough montage of the moment the Inferno was upon them. Spellbinder obliterating Black Widow's original body; Her first deadly pass at the Six in Limbo ; Tearing Prophet's skeleton out of his body and placing him in a pillar of Amber. EVERYTHING leading up to that FINAL battle atop the Empire State Building, which itself had grown to an impossible dizzying HEIGHT as the barrier between Earth and Limbo was now at its weakest and the city was overrun with dark magick.>>

Harbinger: all leading up to that battle on the Empire State bldg. Where Black, ONCE AGAIN manifested, only this time, he was at MORGAN'S beck and call. He went after Karen and Ororo with savage glee while I protected Cameron, whom Morgan intended to sacrifice and use his blood to permanently bridge the portal between Earth and Limbo.


FLASH

<< a burning hot, EVIL night in New York City. innocents scream, demons cheer, magick radiates and BLOOD RUNS. The INFERNO.>>

<< that traumatic event unleashed by a truly MAD Spellbinder given over to the "darkchild" persona of her soul as she rains fire, magick and vengeance down upon the city and intends to bring LIMBO TO EARTH.>>

<< it was a different time for the Six. A different roster but it was the FIRST of many times they would face a mortal threat from one of their own!>>

<< Only hours EARLIER Spellbinder was pushed over the edge by Black Widow and Prophet. She snapped and her response was to MURDER Black Widow outright. Alison, then known as Guardian and ORORO attempt to contain her before she can assert herself in her new "Dark" aspect but its too late she moves the battle to LIMBO and attacks her team, her "friends" in ERNEST. Striking at Prophet especially as she seals him in AMBER and then brings forth his SKELETON from his still live body!>>

<< atop the empire state blding! >>

<< Karen, PRE "Shadow Weaver" identity and power level, though still plenty powerfull, and ORORO battle a positively insane DARKCHILD and her minion BLACK. It is a scene out of HELL that is no less captivating and painfull for the survivors of it to watch now as it was to LIVE through then. >>

<< Karen and Ororo work in concert, presenting a united and multifaceted front against Spllbinder and Black. But the battle is hard and far from easy and both women are in danger, for one misstep and they will be destroyed and the last line of defense for the remainder of the six and the city against this dark spellbinder will be lost. ALL will be lost!>>

ORORO[/B]manages to check and BANISH Black from this plane of existence, sending him screaming in agony and defeat in a pillar of white light, flame and elemental wrath BACK to Limbo. That leaves her, Karen and Guardian now to turn their full attention to Spellbinder. They manage to FINALLY check and subdue her as Karen and Ororo reach her on the astral plane and WREST HER FREE from the dark coils that ensnare her very soul, bringing her back to HERSELF.>>

<< that's the SHORT version of it.>>


<<they eventually manage to REACH MORGAN within her mad darkchild aspect and she subdues HERSELF allow them all a brief respite before Ororo and Alison set about the delicate and difficult task of resetting time.>>


<< It should have ended there....the dark, bitter memories contained among them. It SHOULD have ended there...>>

FLASH

Harbinger: but...now, to view things from a slightly DIFFERENT angle.

FLASH

<<atop the empire state building, the Inferno during the fever pitch battle and its climax.>>][/B]

<<ZOOMING down one of the sides of the empire state bldg., to the 95th floor, Ceasul-Malta’s offices. What was supposed to be a normal, if not productive day for a young woman, another innocent, became a truly horrific nightmare that ENDED HER LIFE.>>

<< across the office, screams were heard as inanimate objects came to LIFE, enchanted by the dark magick, and attacked the hapless workers. No one was safe...and blood shed was plentiful. the blding rocked....and GREW to impossible heights...the temperature raising to HELLISH levels and those who could see outside....couldnt believe their eyes as they saw winged creatures and other things...the stuff that sci fi...or NIGHTMARES were made of!>>

<< another example of innocents caught up in Spellbinder's wrath...and yet not just ANY other example.>>

<<flashing in closer onto the woman who hides in her office, under her desk...too shocked to be terrified...but still very afraid for her life as she realized she was one of the VERY few left still alive.>>

<< she doesnt see the battle raging atop the bldg. between Spellbinder & BLACK, weilding his SWORD OF ANGERonce more vs. Ororo, Guardian and her own mother Karen Victoria as they fight to save her...themselves AND the city. THe battle reaches its violent fever pitch as Spellbinder attempts to bridge Limbo to Earth via NYC. The firefight/power struggle between the witches & ororo AGAINST earth's modern day sorceress supreme reaches its breaking point as their colliding energies backlash out in every which way, including spiraling down/striking the building at various levels. Spellbinder had opened this horrific gap and now Ororo, Guardian and Karen were prepared to use their very LIVES to close it and STOP Spellbinder.>>

<< in that final moment of no return...the EYE of the storm seems to be upon them...upon that lone woman in her office as a BOOMING explosion is heard...but it fades out almost as soon as it rocks the air around her...there's a bizarre bright LIGHT...and everything EXPLODES...and yet FREEZES in mid motion! The battle for the city is OVER...as the Ororo, Guardian and Karen successfully turn back the demonic invasion and close the mystic gateway.>>

<< it is well known howthe story ended for them...but as always...there is someone...something overlooked that eventually manifests itself sooner or later.>>

<< back down on the 95th floor....the young woman known as Bianca Ceasul's life ENDED in that explosion...and yet it did not! she was impossibly caught in the riptide of opposing magicks...pulled out of "synch" with time and space JUST enough to allow her to slip through the proverbial crack just as the rift was closing. Nothing else that happened mattered to her. She thought she was DEAD. Maybe she was and this was her HELL? No...it was something else. Something beyond even HER wildest imagination.>>

<< Awareness would soon return to her as she realized that she was still somehow ALIVE...but forever changed. She was now "one step outside of time and space"....a walking temporal ANAMOLY.>>

<< But the six never knew of her, what had happened to her and so...she was left to try to make sense of things...to try to pick up the pieces of her life. A life now filled with impossible circumstances and outcomes. Just when she thought it couldnt be any worse...she was noticed by someone ELSE who had a SIMILAR status in physical reality that SHE did. A woman who had an odd, small but no less important connection To the Six AND Spellbinder's cross time alternate, DARKCHILDE. Another temporal wayard in the form of Barbara Minerva. From the MOMENT Bianca was displaced in the timestream....Barbara Minerva, a world reknowned archeologist, huntress and adventurer who had PURPOSEFULLY moved through time and space and now had a similar status to Bianca, became aware of her. Indeed, Barbara was aware of the INFERNO and recognized the energies that affected Bianca, but these were energies associated with DARKCHILDE from the MoE timeline, as she had always known. She set out to discover the source of those energies in THIS time that she was now in.>>

<< Barbara, in true expert form began to seek out and track the young woman. It was only a matter of time before their paths would cross.>>

FLASH

Harbinger:When Ororo cast Black out once more, his sword was lost to him AGAIN. It was found BACK in Europe by Barbara during one of her expeditions in this timeline and when she discovered its origin, who it belonged to and what its purpose was for, even though she had not YET met this world's counterpart to Darkchilde, thinking of her trusted ally, she took the sword into her custody and sealed it in the Vault where it reminded until BIANCA, whom Barbara had DENIED access to the catacombs during her original visit there, STOLE.

The Sword of Anger's POWER is ONLY accessible by Black. Ive read that from Barbara's own file which contains excerpts from declassified Valiant documents. So in Bianca's hands...its JUST a sword. That's not to say she isnt DEADLY with it as a conventional weapon. She was taught the art of sword weilding/fighting by one of the BEST.

:: the precog looks rather grim.::

BUT...if the sword...SPILLS blood, innocent human blood OR a witch's blood, it's power to REUNITE itself with BLACK will activate!

:: and of course, Morgan was NOT in the room when Alison said this.::

 

[Spellbinder]

The parthenon- ladies room

<< Morgan didnt know how fortunate she was to have missed out on the next visions Alison provided. >>

<< now alone in the beautifully styled and posh, but rather dark powder room, she stood in front of a mirror. She had just splashed water on her face and was now drying her face off and reflexively touching up her hair.>>

<< but as she looked at herself, she seemed to look PAST the image in the mirror. she wondered if this is what it felt like for Alison, to "see" beyond what was obviously there. But for her it wasnt a moment of pre/retro cognition...it was just her mind down to her subconscious now once again dwelling on things from her past that she was never truly OVER. Namely BLACK. Both before AND after his passage through the Seige Perilous.>>

<< in a moment of weird reflection, Morgan stared at...THROUGH herself in the mirror as she imagined BLACK standing BEHIND her.>>

<< there was the faint sound and echo of a dripping faucet somewhere in the dimly lit powder room. aside from Spellbinder's own breathing and heartbeat, this was the only sound that the sorceress heard as she continued to stare...and as she slowly moved her right hand over to her left shoulder and arm...she touched it.>>

FLASH

of BLACK touching Spellbinder, VIOLATING HER down to her SOUL. HURTING HER! another MAN...a MONSTER...HURTING HER in the WORST way! From the FIRST night he touched her, ASSAULTED her in Valiant's tower....to that LAST battle in the forest just outside the tower when she did what she had to in order to save her life...

Cant....WON'T let him touch me EVER AGAIN....AGAIN....AGAIN..

FLASH

<< his roar of defeat and her own frantic, panicked voice echoed in her mind as her shoulder , arm and hand seemed to TINGLE and twinge. After all these years, the trauma...the pain it was so PRIMAL that her body STILL reacted to even the thought of it.>>

<< For the first time in a LONG time, Spellbinder dwelled on ALL of that. Her return to America, a catatonic mess and nearly losing her arm. DELILAH stepping in to help tie up loose ends with Valiant and ensure nothing about them OR Black would come back to haunt Morgan. But that was BEFORE the night of the Citadle melting down, BEFORE the revelation that Blaze was in fact ALIVE.>>

<< everything was so different then. INCLUDING Morgan's friendship with Delilah.>>

<< Morgan continued to look at the mirror and reflection. She seemed unmoved, at least in facial expression by her own imagining of Black standing there behind her.>>

<< even though she had left BEFORE Alison shared this with the team in the conference room, she remembered that impossible conversation she had with him the night she gave in to her DARKchild aspect on the butte out in the pacific ocean. WHere as he was once her greatest tormentor, suddenly he was her "right hand demon"...and he helped catalyze her head long dive into darkness!>>

<< more rapid fire images, MEMORIES, SENSATIONS. Her arm twitches again as she shudders.>>

She...has the sword of anger....she wants REVENGE against ME....

<< now thinking about Bianca.>>

I never should have allowed things to go the way they did.

It's just like the night of Master Mold....I caused the Inferno. if she IS a survivor of the Inferno and THAT'S why she's after me...I should be the one to answer for it...not anybody else, CERTAINLY not Delilah!

We NEVER should have went along with Bishop's STUPID PLAN!

<< Morgan snaps out of her gaze, shaking her head.>>

<< a short time later, Morgan exits the powder room, but opts NOT to return to the conference room. She doesnt want to look at Bishop AT ALL. She wants him DEAD. :1900: She doesnt care what anybody says...he's already out lived his usefulness in her opinion and no one understand why this is all SO UPSETTING TO HER and so she just decides to go down to the main floor and try to clear her head. She wont be of ANY use with the way she is feeling right now.>>

<< down on the main floor, a less distraught Morgan returns to the Moonlight Lounge, sitting at a table for two near the back, she takes in the last song of Dominique's well received set this evening. She allows herself to be carried away by Dominique's voice and music, letting her mind wander as images both abstract AND distinct come to mind. but its all just a temporary distraction.>>

<< the more she sits and listens, the more CLEAR she feels her mind becoming and the more she knows what she wants...somehow HAS to do.>>

<< she has NO idea that somebody ELSE is thinking the SAME THING and has already set in motion a series of events that will lead them BOTH to collide both in train of thought AND in reality...>>

 

[Millennia]

Far across the city, as the sun was setting on the New York skyline, two figures kept vigil on a familiar landmark. The twilight air was clear and crisp, the rooftop illuminated against the oncoming darkness by the city lights. At the very top of the famed Empire State Building, a predator awaited her prey. And Delilah Trelaven was the bait.

Bianca’s loose, lustrous brown hair blew around her in the wind. She gazed out at the city before her, the city that was hers. She could have anything below her that she wanted. Anything at all. She smiled.

Her eyes looked nearby, where, trapped in a cage of adamantium – Bianca always was partial to traditional things – Delilah was just waking. Her smile grew.

“Well – finally! I thought you were going to miss the festivities.”

Delilah stirred, began checking herself over, groggily. Being yanked out of the timestream abruptly, such as Delilah had been, wasn’t easy on the body. But then again, Delilah had brought it on herself, hadn’t she? Delilah’s hand went to her throat, to the collar affixed there. Bianca walked casually over to the cage.

“Isn’t that fabulous?”

Bianca knelt so that she was at just above eye level with Delilah.

“I picked it up after MysTech went under. You know, it really is a shame I wasn’t aware of their existence earlier. It would have made a profitable acquisition.”

She stood again but still looked down at Delilah, and pointed a finger in the air.

“And if I was running that company, you can be sure, it would still be around today.”

She laughed, a melodic, enchanting laughter – clearly one that had been practiced and perfected for maximum effect. The smile left her face.

“Any attempt at using your powers will be completely useless. So I suggest you just sit there, and wait patiently.”

Delilah: “Why…why are you doing this? What do you want?”

Bianca turned away and looked out over the city again. It was full dark now.

“What do I want? Well, now, that’s an interesting question.”

She began to pace, her fingers steepled in front of her.

“What do I want…”

She stopped and turned abruptly towards Delilah.

“I want my life back.”

She continued her pacing.

“You see…your [airquotes] ‘BFF’ Morgan Victoria made me into a freak, perhaps you’ve noticed? I was rash in my intial attempt when I hired the poor fellow known as ‘Bishop’ to kill her and her friends. But you know all about Bishop, don’t you? The elusive Connor St. James? You blew him to smithereens then paid for his funeral. Cute.”

Bianca winked.

“This time I won’t be so hasty. I’ve planned this one out, and I’m going to make it count.”

Delilah: “Morgan didn’t do anything to you.”

Bianca’s eyes narrowed, and she looked on Delilah with anger.

“Didn’t she? Because of her, I can’t die. No, sorry, THAT would be a gift. I do die, and then I wake up. Again and again. I’m an abomination. And your friend Morgan – who was trying to destroy the world at the time, by the way – is to blame. And as soon as she gets here, she’s going to pay. If I must live for millennia, I will make sure that those who have wronged me will not.”

Now it was Delilah’s turn to laugh.

Delilah: “Even if you COULD convince Morgan to come here, YOU are no match for HER.”

Bianca’s face turned into a cruel smile.

“Well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? I’ve sent her an invitation already. After all,”

She waved a hand in the air.

“There’s no need to be uncivilized, now is there?”

 

[Black Widow]

Bishop: Hey, at least I admit when I’m wrong. You all pretend like nothing you do has any consequences. You don’t apologize for anything.

"You are an insufferably presumptuous motherfucker if you think we don't hold ourselves -- and each other -- responsible for our actions. But you know what? Why don't you take your arrogant ignorance and GO FUCK YOURSELF, because NONE of us have to justify or explain ourselves to YOU, of all goddamn people."

She didn't need or want his approval OR his forgiveness, and she knew every one of her comrades felt the same. They had sacrificed more blood, sweat, and tears to saving the entire planet than any other entity in existence. They had sacrificed more of themselves than they had COST others. But she could let Bishop go on believing whatever the hell he wanted to believe. SHE knew the truth. Her FAMILY knew the truth. No one else mattered. They had never been thanked by anyone for what they did, and Haleigh had long since given up on ever BEING appreciated. Now she just saved the world for the good it would do her family, and fuck anyone who thought that wasn't a good enough reason to go on doing it. The world still got saved in the end, didn't it?

Bishop: Don't you stand there and pretend you couldn't find out EXACTLY where she was if you wanted, with all your *powers*. YOU abandoned her to protect YOURSELVES, didn't you? She wanted to protect you and you LET her do it. Cowards.

Haleigh sneered at him as he called them cowards, not knowing how hard it had been for them to sit on the sidelines, not understanding how much courage they had to muster to put their trust in the shaky, underpowered plan to begin with.

"You're the biggest goddamn cretin I've ever met."

Bishop: Miss Davidoff?

"Mr. St. James."

Bishop: If you were a man, I'd kill you for suggesting what you just did. Super powers or not.

"Luckily for you, I'm a woman. Otherwise, you'd surely insist on humiliating yourself in front of a group of your superiors. But you know what? [leaning forward in answer] If you're feeling so very fucking offended, why don't we disregard gender for a few moments, so you can attempt to MAKE MY FUCKING DAY."

They reviewed the video feed. Bishop was the most surprised, even though he himself was resurrected. But hey, he was new to this. And also, he was an idiot. Things had to be dumbed down for him to grasp them.

Bishop: She-she couldn't have really been dead there.

"Why the hell not?"

Bishop: Your heart can stop and still be revived. People just don't come back from the dead. Right?

[massaging her temples in exasperation] "WRONG, you goddamned fucking retard. You are sitting in a room full of people resurrected. I have come back several times. Delilah's come back. Ava's come back. Morgan's come back. YOU yourself are newly returned."

Alison started to shed a little light on the subject Haleigh had previously asked about, showing them many detailed recollections of Valiant, Morgan's downfall and the Inferno struggle. All of it was new information to Haleigh, who was either elsewhere fighting for her life against Imagiomg, or otherwise DEAD. Haleigh felt a renewed sense of remorse for her part in that debacle, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. It was over, and things had been put right. Or at least MOST of them had. Alison shot Haleigh a little smirk as she reflected on the 'personality clashes' [aka attempts to kill one another] that occurred that first night of the Six. Haleigh returned a bemused smile. How long ago those clashes seemed now. A lifetime ago, an eternity. How different she'd been. She had DESERVED it then.

Alison and Alexis worked together that night to hold Black off. Haleigh grit her teeth at the reminder of Alexis, and the betrayal she'd inflicted on them. Alison took a moment to rest and gather herself and Morgan excused herself for a breather. No one protested. They knew what was coming was the Inferno. Alison started up again. They witnessed a surreal conversation between Black and Morgan, one that occured just before Morgan's break with reality and the subsequent Inferno incident.

Alison: and of course, Haleigh and I PERSONALLY know what happened next.

"Ah, yes, the very first time I truly died.... My virginal death, if you will."

She said with a bit of a smirk. She needed to have a sense of humor about it. Now she watches everything that happened while she was dead, and then--

Alison: but....now, to view things from a slightly DIFFERENT angle.

The Inferno as it occurred to Bianca. Haleigh understood that it must have been very frightening for a mere human to experience, but she wondered.... why was Bianca still so bitter about it now? Obviously she'd been bestowed with an incredible gift-- to be a master of death! To be capable of reviving oneself at will! What was her problem, exactly?

Alison: The Sword of Anger's POWER is ONLY accessible by Black. So in Bianca's hands... its JUST a sword. That's not to say she isn't DEADLY with it as a conventional weapon. She was taught the art of sword wielding/fighting by one of the BEST. BUT... if the sword.... SPILLS blood, innocent human blood OR a witch's blood, its power to REUNITE itself with BLACK will activate!

"Well then we need to make sure she doesn't go poking anybody with it. If it's JUST a sword in her hands, I can strip her of it when we find her as soon as I lay eyes on it -- or otherwise locate it within our realm. Obviously if she's hidden it in some kind of WRINKLE in the time-space continuum, I'm going to have some difficulty."

 

[Persephone]

Watching the events that unfolded during the inferno, Ava had obviously heard about what had happened, however to actually see it was a different story. Seeing the onslaught that Morgan, Alison, and Alexis suffered was enough to lower her eyes from the "vision" and reflect on her OWN experience with Black in her timeline. She remembered when he attempted to destroy Darkchilde in the Hellfire Club and came pretty damn close to it. It took a collective effort on hers, Alessandra's, and the other higher leveled MoE members to take Black down. It was a cold reminder of how relentless Black was.

Morgan excused herself from the war room and Ava watched as she left. She debated on whether checking on Morgan would be a good idea or just stress her out more. Deciding to stay put, sometimes a few moments alone was better than any comforting words someone could give a person. Looking back at Alison as the "visions" moved onto Bianca, Ava watched thoroughly until the overview was over.

"Fabulous. A psychopath with a vendetta who can't die. What's next? A psychopath with an obsession over a team member who comes back to life? Oh wait...."

An obvious jab at Bishop, Ava rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the task at hand.

Alison: The Sword of Anger's POWER is ONLY accessible by Black. So in Bianca's hands... its JUST a sword. That's not to say she isn't DEADLY with it as a conventional weapon. She was taught the art of sword wielding/fighting by one of the BEST. BUT... if the sword.... SPILLS blood, innocent human blood OR a witch's blood, its power to REUNITE itself with BLACK will activate!

Haleigh": Well then we need to make sure she doesn't go poking anybody with it. If it's JUST a sword in her hands, I can strip her of it when we find her as soon as I lay eyes on it -- or otherwise locate it within our realm. Obviously if she's hidden it in some kind of WRINKLE in the time-space continuum, I'm going to have some difficulty.

"It may not be as easy as just stripping the sword from her hands, Haleigh. She obviously put a lot of planning into this and knows our abilities. Your power IS the best equipped to get the sword from her, however we can't make our first move with you in the fore front. Alison, Nicolas, and I need to attack first--distract her. Just because she can't die doesn't mean killing her won't buy us some time. In those test she took a few minutes to "come back", that could be her Achilles heal. And even if we CAN'T kill her for whatever reason, the distraction would give you a clear shot to steal the sword."

 

[Spellbinder]

The Parthenon- Moonlight Lounge

<< Morgan nursed a Lemon Drop that she'd ordered. Dominique had finished her set and received a hearty applause and even calls for an encore but the chaunteuse was not known for giving those often. When her fanfare settled a bit, some slick, smooth jazz began to play over the state of the art sound system in the lounge.>>

<< Morgan was still seated, looking rather blank as images of herself, BLACK, herself...DELILAH...herself...BISHOP all swirled in her head and minds eye.>>

<< She thought about Delilah...how far they'd come...they wre always close friends, they had different lives but there was never any judgement, any division and when Delilah FIRST came to be involved with the Six during the prologue to the Inferno, it was just what the team needed!>>

<< everyone saw in Delilah the GOODNESS that Morgan saw in her. But what Morgan and the others may not have realized for all this time was that they WERE putting Delilah on a pedastle and when that happens, that person cant HELP but to "look down.">>

<< suddenly after YEARS of seamless friendship and harmony, working together, being like SISTERS...there was this RIFT. One that BEGAN when Bishop was stalking Sharon Kelly and thereby stalking the team...one that had nearly widened to an impossible length when they discovered themselves ALIVE on AERIE after their world, their lives were obliterated by Bishop's final plan. The rift closed, they recovered but were things EVER the same?>>

<< no...clearly they werent. Delilah was haunted by Bishop and what she'd done even though everyone knew it was the right thing and thought nothing more about it. MORGAN was clearly not over that trauma, that destructive and sudden halt to her life that she had worked so hard for where she seemed to have this balance as a a successfull super model/business woman & super heroine. When Delilah DIED...just recently, it changed EVERYTHING.>>

<< And through it all, the tension even BEFORE the revelation of Bishop's return, the strain AFTERWARD and up to THIS...It churned in Morgan's mind and soul.>>

what was I missing!?

<< She FINALLY realized that she was just as much at fault as Delilah. NOT that she felt herself BLAMELESS but that she HAD unrealistically held Delilah to an almost ANGELIC status. In some weird way...because ofher OWN Dark nature and mystical heritage...she must have reflexively needed to look toward someone who seemed to stand for "something better"...almost like a....a "Messiah!?" it was truly BIZARRE because unknown to Morgan, SHARON had accused Delilah of looking down on all of them with her "messiah complex"...no one wanted to hear it then, but was it the TRUTH? Had Morgan and the rest of them put her there in order to somehow ease their own conscience??>>

<< Morgan, now deep in thought about this, leaned over at the table she sat at...looking intently but not AT anything specifically.>>

always "the light" or "the heart"....but only when it seemed to BOLSTER us. I mean...YES I love her dearly and YES I ADMIRED her strong stance and discipline...but that was HER, NOT ME. After the Inferno....I spent so much time in shame and guilt that I...I reflexively USED her as some kind of "messiah on the cross" kind of...thing...something i dont know but it that's what it was. I had to findmy own way back and ultimate i DID but I unfairly used her a crutch. We've ALL done it time and again and then when she reacted how she did at Minerva's...or even BEFORE at Illustra that night she left for Bishop....we wre just as much to blame AS SHE.

<< she gulped down the rest of her lemon drop and got up, deciding to walk through the lounge.>>

we all did that...we looked to her as though SHE would make up for what we LACKED. We shouldnt have. I didnt do it BEFORE...BEFORE the Inferno! But AFTER....

<< images, memories of conversations with Delilah...and just as she said in the conference room a while ago...>>

WHAT HAVE I ALLOWED TO HAPPEN!

<< out into the main atrium of the hotel, Morgan stood in front of a LARGE wall mounted, framed mirror and looked at herself as others walked by. Some lingered in their looks at her wondering if she was...[THAT Morgan Victoria??!]>>

I NEVER should have allowed her to go with him.

<< she shuts her eyes tightly...and shudders, trying not to cry right then and there. even with CLARITY , there was no real RELIEF.>>

if that BIANCA wants ME...then dammit, I shouldve GONE to her. We could have come up with any number of plans BETTER than this but Delilah was upset at us just as we were at her. We ALL screwed up ME most of ALL!

<< she opens her violet eyes up.>>

well dammit...this is going to be taken care of...TONIGHT. I AM SORCERESS SUPREME. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER...I'M GOING TO FIND BIANCA AND DEAL WITH HER and if ....if it IS true...if Delilah IS gone...then I will most CERTAINLY AVENGE HER!

<< her violet eyes sparkling with a RENEWED sense of determination and clarity, her face showing an agressive countenance. Spellbinder was NOT going to just sit here...and let Bianca think SHE could call the shots ANYMORE!>>

I AM....SORCERESS SUPREME!

<< it might have been something they ALL forgot, but it was NOT a title to be taken lightly and thus...it was time for ACTION.>>

 

[Bishop]

He enjoyed how easy it was to annoy Haleigh. Man, she really got pissed too.

"You are an insufferably presumptuous motherfucker if you think we don't hold ourselves -- and each other -- responsible for our actions.

Now that right there, was a good one.

“Oh I’ve heard about how you held Delilah responsible for your actions.”

They’d pushed her right off the edge with their looking down their nose at her for things HE’D done. None of the men he’d served with – back when he’d actually been on a team – would have hung one of their own out to dry in that way. SHE hadn’t hurt any of them, but they'd treated her like she had.

"You're the biggest goddamn cretin I've ever met."

There she went again. He gave Haleigh an air kiss in reply.

"If you're feeling so very fucking offended, why don't we disregard gender for a few moments, so you can attempt to MAKE MY FUCKING DAY."

He laughed heartily at that, and turned to look at each of the others in turn. He pointed toward Haleigh.

“Did she seriously just quote Clint Eastwood?”

He sat there, looking at her with an amused smile on his face.

[massaging her temples in exasperation] "WRONG, you goddamned fucking retard. You are sitting in a room full of people resurrected. I have come back several times. Delilah's come back. Ava's come back. Morgan's come back. YOU yourself are newly returned."

Matching her tone, he shot right back.

“It’s not EXACTLY the same thing, now is it?”

Alison had a wand and some neat psycho- psychic trick that let them all see the events of Morgan and Black’s history. They had some nerve saying anything about any of HIS past actions. Holy shit, Morgan had killed most of them at one point or another. And Morgan herself was a hell of a hypocrite, criticizing Delilah for anything and especially for associating with him again (albeit she had only done so to protect their ungrateful asses) – MORGAN had frickin’ HIRED the beast that tormented her, tried to kill her and god knows what else. And then she went on to try and kill a hell of a lot of people. Maybe he hadn’t been wrong about her, after all.

He felt a twinge as Alison showed them Delilah coming onto the scene to help Morgan, but it passed. He killed that feeling as he had done with the rest. He would not let it overtake him, make him weak. Not again.

The last thing Alison showed them was Bianca’s personal history with the Six.

“Soooo…this is all Morgan’s fault. Bianca’s pissed or whatever because she got zapped by some magic hoo doo, and now she thinks she’s Black’s heir or some shit? Am I in the ballpark?”

BUT...if the sword...SPILLS blood, innocent human blood OR a witch's blood, it's power to REUNITE itself with BLACK will activate!

"Well then we need to make sure she doesn't go poking anybody with it.“

Uh-oh.

Ava was talking about stealing the sword back. He interrupted her, raising his hand and standing up slowly.

“Um, excuse me? Guys? I think we may have a problem.”

He pulled up his shirt sleeve, revealing the wound in his arm that Bianca had dealt him.

“What exactly happens if someone gets cut with the sword again?”

 

[MorningStar]

The top of the Empire State Building

Her eyes were so heavy…and as she blinked them open and tried to focus, she could tell that she was outdoors and little else. Delilah’s entire body ached, and something….something just wasn’t right with her. Her vision cleared and she saw that she was in a cage, and that BIANCA was standing not far from her. She raised her hands to blast her way out. Nothing happened. Something was around her throat, and she reached up to feel a metal collar there.

Bianca explained to her that it was one of MysTech’s ability suppressing collars – the Six had experienced them before. Delilah would have to escape another way. Bianca went on to tell her in no uncertain terms that her target was Morgan. She could only pray that Morgan wasn’t stupid enough to answer Bianca’s “invitation”. But she couldn’t worry about that right now. She had to stall for time until she could figure a way out of there. And the best way to do that would be to keep Bianca talking – and distracted.

Delilah stood up, feeling somewhat better but still “off”, and put her hands on the bars of the cage. She noticed there was no lock, no door. After a few minutes of silence she spoke – non threateningly, as calm as she could be.

“Why all this anger towards Morgan? Most people would kill to live forever…”

Bianca looked at her as if she were an idiot.

Bianca: “She ruined my life! It was her magic that did this – changed me, into a freak. That night…”

Bianca turned away from her then, but her voice softened.

Bianca: “That night was horrific. I hid, like a child. The things I saw… And then there was a bright light…pain…and then nothing. I was there in my office once again, as if nothing had happened. But I remembered. I remembered everything."

Her tone became harsh once again as she looked back at Delilah.

Bianca: “Look around you. Your friend Morgan tried to destroy all of this - this entire city – that day. I didn’t want this! All I want is to be normal again.”

And then she smiled once again.

Bianca: “Well, I was never normal, but you get my meaning.”

Despite Bianca’s manner and the circumstances, Delilah found herself hearing herself in Bianca’s words. It had not been that long again that she had shunned the use of her powers, in favor of being “normal”.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no one is normal. Normal doesn’t exist. Your mutation makes you special, unique-“

Bianca became angry then.

Bianca: “I was already special and unique!”

She tried again, soothingly, seeing her chance.

“It doesn’t have to be a curse, Bianca, it can be a great gift. Listen to me, for a long time the only thing I wanted in the world was to be a normal human being again. But that was keeping me from getting on with my life, holding me back from my full potential. I have the chance to help so many people…”

Bianca smirked. When she spoke, her words were full of malice.

Bianca: “I don’t help anyone but myself. And thank you but I have no problem reaching my…“full potential”. Sounds like you need therapy. I’d give you the name of my psychiatrist but I don’t think you’ll be around long enough to use it.”

Bianca held up the Sword of Anger to the light, much like she had done at the cabin, and smiled with self-satisfaction.

Bianca: “When I strike Morgan Victoria down with this, everything with be put right. I’ll be able to leave all of this behind and go back to being perfect again.”

So that’s why all of this. Bianca thought she could reverse the process that had made her what she was.

“Bianca – listen to me! Killing Morgan won’t change anything! But she can help you. If you let me go, I’ll convince her to. Her magick threw you out of sync with time – perhaps it can put you back in. But if you kill Morgan, you’ll never know. Let her at least try!”

Bianca appeared to consider Delilah’s words for a moment, but then shook her head.

Bianca: “I’ve had the top minds in the WORLD searching for a cure. I have been assured that THIS is the only way."

“Well then the top minds in the world are idiots.”

Bianca: “Even if that were true, and this doesn't work, the people responsible still must be held accountable for what was done. You weren't with them then, and it really is a pity that you have to be the one to pay for what your friends did to me, but you see I don't care who has to die. All I care about is getting what I want."

She paused for a second, then added thoughtfully.

Bianca: “You haven't asked me how you survived that explosion."

Delilah shook her head.

Bianca: “I took you out of the timestream with me, when you grabbed me. Do you know what happens to me when I slip out of this world? I turn to stone. Does that sound normal to you? Does that sound like a "gift" most people would "kill" to possess?"

Another pause. Bianca got quiet.

Bianca: “Barbara Minerva told me that eventually it's possible that I won't be able to control it, as I lose more and more of my humanity. Some day, whenever any living person looks at me, all they'll see is a stone statue. Would you ask for that?"

Delilah suddenly felt sorry for Bianca. She would one day lose all ability for human contact - she would be completely alone, forever.

 

[Seer]

The Parthenon- an invitation not to be refused

<< an act of WISHcraft couldnt have made it happen any better or more surprising.>>

<< As Spellbinder found her soul and resolve rising up in both anger and determination, she was tapped by a young man. As she turned around to look eye to eye with the tall young man, he nervously informs her that there is an urgent message waiting for her at the front desk.>>

<< Thanking him, Morgan makes away through the main atrium to the front desk in the circular lobby where she is handed the elegant looking envelope.>>

<< opening it with a slightly frowned expression on her face, she pulls forth a card, very nice paper quality, the kind used for....invitations..>>

<< her icy violet eyes scan the invitation as it reads...>>

Dear Miss Victoria,

Please join us.

On this utterly dark occassion as we recall the night Spellbinder and her magick beseiged the city of New York and destroyed the life of an innocent named Bianca Ceasul.

-The Inferno-

January 5, 2011
11 o'clock sharp

The Empire state Building, rooftop.
350 5th Ave
New York, NY 10001

*Failure to attend or arriving with unauthorized guests will result in FATAL consquences and reprocussions for my delightful co-host.
Bianca Ceasul & Delilah Trelevan​

<< and there it was. Morgan FELT all along SHE should have dealt with this head on, and now it was confirmed. Delilah's LIFE was at stake! She knew what it was time to do.>>

 

[Spellbinder]

Limbo- invitation accepted

<< Morgan ran the tips of her well manicured fingernails over the invitation as the words burned into her mind and the voice of Bianca taunted her even from this "formal" announcement.>>

The Empire State Building, rooftop.

the alter of the Inferno...


<< she closed her eyes for a moment and thought of The Inferno....and then Delilah. All the times she'd been there for HER...now it was time to be there for HER. Morgan was of the mindset she was the night she laid life down in the battle against Mastermold, only this time...she didnt see HERSELF dying, she saw BIANCA dying. DAMN her temporal anamoly status...Morgan would find a way and DELILGHT in the endless possibilities of TRYING to end this wench's life!>>

<< thunder rumbles in the air of the hotel...a most unnatural thing...and indicating Morgan's own agression and anger level rising. But she gave no indication she was the cause. instead, she quietly returns the invitation to the envelope and reseals it.>>

See that Miss Alison Marble gets this invitation in no LESS than 30 minutes.

<< she says to the front desk agent.>>

<< and with that, she walks away, down to an off shooting hall and into the ladies room. inside of a stall, a flash of white/violet light is seen briefly as Spellbinder summons a disc and TELEPORTS. leaving the Parthenon before anyone in the Six can immediately be aware of it.>>

<< she doesnt go straight to the Empire State blding...she instead stops in LIMBO, her SUMMIT first.>>

That little tramp is about to find out why I SORCERESS SUPREME! and why you DON'T mess with me...OR MINE!

<< Spellbinder says as she emerges from a disc.>>

TOO LONG did i stand back and let OTHERS handle this. NO MORE!

But I dont need to be a precog or a tactician to know I need to first SURVEY my prey.

<< how interesting, since Bianca also referred to MORGAN as prey.>>

<< inside her throne room, Spellbinder stands before her Scrying Glass, the magick viewing lens that allows Morgan to view ANYTHING, ANYONE , ANYTIME (forward or backward) or ANY PLACE!>>

<< with winds whistling and chimes sounding, Spellbinder extends her hands and weaves a pattern of power , igniting the magick lens ...all through of its facets.>>

She thinks she SO CLEVER!?

<< and soon...a perfectly clear view of the Empire State Bldg. the Rooftop shimmers into view, with each portion of the three faceted lens providing a different moving view.>>

<< There was DELILAH and ...there was...>>

BIANCA.

<< Spellbinder SMIRKED as her face was now partially enshrouded in shadow. She watched as the woman walked, circled and gestured, apparently going on and on about something to Delilah who was trapped in a cage and wearing a power neutralizing collar.>>

She vexed and stole from Alison, betrayed Barbara's memory and legacy, she tried to KILL DELILAH AND TOOK HER HOSTAGE! SHE'S THE ONE WHO SENT BISHOP AFTER US!

<< Spellbinder continued to observe from HER domain. FREE to act and behave more in her dark nature without the others around.>>

So she's "out of synch" with time? SO WHAT! NOW that I know where she is and she's spent all this time PLANNING this "trap"....

I can CIRCUMVENT time and space with my stepping discs! and from LIMBO, i can go ANYWHERE, appear at ANY MOMENT thats happened or WILL happen.

I'll BUSHWACK this theiving, obsessed, psychotic Barbara wannabe and have her BEGGING me to end her cockroach existence!

<< Spellbinder exclaimed with wicked glee as thunder crashed and her hair began to flow upward.>>

YOU ASKED FOR IT.....AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT!

<< the demonic tone in her voice quite clear, she raises her hands as dark winds flow around her and in a crash of thunder, she opens a disc, plotting when and WHERE to arrive on the rooftop just so that Bianca wouldnt see this coming a mile away!>>

<< and with that, Spellbinder, TELEPORTS.>>

 

[Millennia]

Delilah was trying to talk her way out of this. Of course, this was apparent to Bianca. She wasn’t an idiot – far from it, in fact. But it passed the time. Delilah tried to tell her how positively wonderful her powers were. Hrmph. What did she know of it? There were things in her life that someone like Delilah couldn’t possible comprehend. She went so far as to suggest that Morgan herself would reverse the magick’s effects on her. Hah! Why would she help Bianca? What benefit could Morgan possibly see in that? No, Morgan must die, and with her death, Bianca would be put right.

But as she spoke about Barbara Minerva’s horrid prediction about Bianca, she saw in Delilah’s eyes something that infuriated her. She virtually flew to the side of the cage, and raised her voice to shout at Delilah.

“Don’t you pity me! Don’t you DARE to pity ME! I am Bianca Ceasul. I can trace my family history back fourteen hundred years. All of Europe’s best society envies me!”

 

[MorningStar]

Delilah was unfazed by Bianca’s sudden outburst.

“I don’t pity you, Bianca, but I understand what it’s like to feel so alone. I don’t think you need to be turned to stone to feel invisible…”

Bianca snapped back at Delilah.

Bianca: “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I am NEVER alone. I can have anything or anyone I want…including your precious Maxim.”

Delilah just shook her head – she didn’t believe Bianca. It was clear to her she was looking at an extrememly lonely person. It was sad, despite the circumstances.

Bianca: “I can have ten better men than him lined up on my doorstep before you could snap your fingers.”

“But would any of them actually care about you?”

That clearly pushed Bianca’s buttons.

Bianca: “Why, you little guttersnipe – who are you? Huh? Who are you to speak to ME this way. You don’t know anything about me.”

“Then what should I know, huh? You’ve already told me you don’t care about anyone. You won’t let anyone help you…”

Bianca: “I don’t need anyone’s help.”

“You’d rather die than use the gifts that make you different.”

Bianca: “And what should I use them for, hmm? I have no wish to die over and over again. Only an insane person would CHOOSE to die repeatedly.”

Delilah glanced down for a moment at that. She didn’t have time to ponder WHY she had done that very thing.

Bianca: “Or maybe I should be like your friend Morgan, and use my powers to destroy the world?”

Delilah’s eyes snapped back to Bianca’s face. She stood straighter, more defiant.

“Morgan isn’t like that. She’s done more to save this world than you could ever imagine. There’s a bigger picture here. There are those out there that don’t care that you’re Bianca Ceasul of Ceasul-Malta – they sow destruction and death wherever they go, indiscriminately. People like us are needed - necessary – to stop countless threats to the security of the country, the planet. No one is perfect, and sometimes things go wrong, but we do what we can to fix it. We do the best we can and the world is better off for it.”

And in that moment, Delilah had a revelation. Because what she was saying to Bianca was exactly what the others had been trying to tell her all this time. That the good they did far outweighed the bad they didn’t mean to do.

 

[Millennia]

Bianca looked Delilah squarely in the eye for a long moment, as if she were scrutinizing her face as if it were a puzzle. She then took several steps backwards and turned away.

“Well that’s just not good enough.”

She spun around, and her smile was back. She threw her hands dramatically into the air.

“And in any case, I’ve already prepared the festivities – we can’t disappoint your friend now, can we?”

Behind Bianca, stood an altar – replicating the one that had stood on that very spot during the Inferno.

“An escort is awaiting Morgan – but don’t worry”

Bianca held up her index finger.

“They have strict orders not to delay her – she is to come join us tout de suite.”

Below them, Bianca’s forces filled the lobby and surrounded the building, in addition to being posted at various strategic points throughout. No one but Morgan Victoria would be allowed to pass without severe consequences…

 

[Rampage]

Nicolas watched..detached as the histories were played out. He was privy to most of this from having shared Morgan's mind with her what seemed like an eternity ago. He was listening as the people before him bickered and flamed and allowed this...PERSON to push their buttons.

THIS argument was not Maxim's, and as much as he would like to claim to be brand new and different following his resurrection, he handled things the same way, he lashed out instead of reaching out, he was bitter and angry and one other thing that Nicolas decided to explain once Bishop spoke for the final time.

“Um, excuse me? Guys? I think we may have a problem.”

He pulled up his shirt sleeve, revealing the wound in his arm that Bianca had dealt him.

“What exactly happens if someone gets cut with the sword again?”

YOU ARE A FOOL.

The room shook as he said it, his disdain bubbling to the surface as he addressed the human.

You stagger over to our home after FAILING to detain or even bother this wretched creature that you worked for yet have NO intel on...cretin...you slobber after Delilah instead of having the decency to allow her to try to reclaim her own life, you beg your way into a caper that should have only involved your betters...and to top it off, you manage to lose Delilah, try to turn this on us AND get cut by a sword that needs blood in one night.

Nicolas opened the doors.

Go...by ALL means. You cannot possibly do any more harm out there than you have done in our presence. I have tagged you for future reference, so you can be found. GO...and please allow the goddamn stupid and FAIL to leave with you. We will handle saving the world and Delilah if she CAN be saved after being entrusted to you. Thanks.

To be sure that it was not a suggestion, Bishop found himself pushed forcefully out of the door, down the hall, and into an elevator. Nicolas turned back to the others, making a face before speaking to the group.

Morgan has been gone for nearly a half hour...has she contacted any of you? She is no longer here.