Birds of a Feather

Clandestine Intelligence

Zach was not receptive at all, which was really not a surprise, just a hindrance she hoped to overcome quickly enough. She could tell by the twist of his mouth and the way he shook his head as he sighed that he was going to resist. He said he didn’t believe it, and asked for proof. Haleigh countered that he’d just make excuses for them anyway. Ashley defended him, saying that he’d know who he was dealing with. Zach tried to say that a bunch of them had been at Hellfire, and Haleigh countered that the Amazons always acted like they were above reproach, regardless of anyone’s disagreement with their tactics or decisions. Haleigh tossed her gaze back at Ashley.

“He tried to save me for the same reason he wants to forgive them, despite everything I’ve just said. He still wants to believe they’re his friends. He gets engulfed in their emotion and he can’t think straight. You saw what happened with Persephone. The sooner you accept it, the better equipped you’ll be to cover his weakness, because he’s never going to be able to overcome it.”

She explained commiseratively. She was not trying to insult or provoke, but she knew she wasn’t likely to get a better opportunity to warn Ashley about it.

Zach: “I’m right fucking here.”

Haleigh looked at him, not unkindly.

“Zach, every woman is not suffering the way your mother did.”

She said, and Zach stared as if she’d just stabbed him. Griffin cleared his throat uncomfortably. Haleigh knew she’d delivered a direct hit, and she was actually sorry for it, but Sharon was known to kill men who crossed her —so was Alycia— and Haleigh didn’t want Zach to die giving either of them the benefit of the doubt.

Zach let the air out of his lungs slowly, and then asked what she was expecting from him here. Haleigh looked at him considerately. She knew it was a lot to process and she acknowledged that. She might not have convinced him that the Amazons couldn’t be trusted, and if he didn’t believe that he’d likely doubt the adoptive couple in question wasn’t compromised either. She pointed out that even so, removing Jake from the Sanctuary compound and placing him with a couple of flatscans represented an unacceptable amount of risk that Kelly and Helena could easily take advantage of.

“He’d be much better protected if you adopted him instead.”

She suggested, and he immediately balked. Ashley tried to shield him, saying he needed time to think. She asked when the paperwork would be finalized. Griffin answered:

Griffin: “Whenever the judge signs off on it. The emergency hearing was filed for this morning. They’re on call in the event there’s an opening today, but we project the case will be heard tomorrow morning.”

“I wish we could’ve given you more time Zach, but that wouldn’t have made the decision any easier.”

Haleigh told him, as she watched Zach shake his head gently in disbelief of the whole situation.

Zach: “You always used to rationalize that our lives were too dangerous, that it was reckless and cruel to subject children to such an upbringing.”

“Yeah, and I still believe that, but it doesn’t matter what I want. Somebody needs to take responsibility for this boy. If you won’t do it, then I will.”

She replied firmly, and Zach glared at her, asking her what that was supposed to mean. Griffin decided to interject tactfully.

Griffin: “Zach, I don’t like this development any more than you do. Children should not be involved in our conflict. Unfortunately, the former Queens of Hellfire don’t share our reservations, and they already tried to take Jake once. We can either take definitive action to protect him now, or accept the risk that we may face him as a child combatant in the near future.”

Zach: “A child combatant, Gods almighty.”

“It’s the adverse reality of the situation.”

Haleigh replied agreeably.
 
Clandestine Intelligence

Haleigh: “He tried to save me for the same reason he wants to forgive them, despite everything I’ve just said. He still wants to believe they’re his friends. He gets engulfed in their emotion and he can’t think straight. You saw what happened with Persephone. The sooner you accept it, the better equipped you’ll be to cover his weakness, because he’s never going to be able to overcome it.”

Haleigh was telling her these things like she didn't already know them. She knew exactly how he was with his "friends". But that also was what made Zach Zach.

Zach: “I’m right fucking here.”

Ashley squeezed his hand again and gave him a small smile.

"Having humanity is not always a weakness."

And then, she did it.

Haleigh: “Zach, every woman is not suffering the way your mother did.”

Ashley's sharp intake of breath was audible. Her eyes snapped to Zach's face. How dare she use something like that against him. Haleigh was JUST like her sister. Sadly that made the point even more valid, that Zach trusted people he shouldn't, because he always saw the best in people. His greatest attribute was also the most detrimental to him.

Ashley was ready for them to walk out of there and not look back. But Zach kept talking, asking what he was expected to do. Which was when Haleigh suggested Zach adopt Jake, and Zach took that better than could have been expected. But there was no time for planning, or thinking - the Amazons had made sure of that. So they had to act now or let Jake be adopted by people who might turn him into a weapon.

Zach: “You always used to rationalize that our lives were too dangerous, that it was reckless and cruel to subject children to such an upbringing.”

Of course, so she could get her way. Obviously.

Haleigh: “Yeah, and I still believe that, but it doesn’t matter what I want. Somebody needs to take responsibility for this boy. If you won’t do it, then I will.”

Ashley choked on the air at that. Imagining Haleigh adopting a child was like imagining Mickey Mouse throwing hand grenades. And from the way Zach looked, she thought things might finally come to blows.

Griffin: “Zach, I don’t like this development any more than you do. Children should not be involved in our conflict. Unfortunately, the former Queens of Hellfire don’t share our reservations, and they already tried to take Jake once. We can either take definitive action to protect him now, or accept the risk that we may face him as a child combatant in the near future.”

Zach: “A child combatant, Gods almighty.”

This had gotten out of hand quickly. Ashley shook her head.

"The problem is not facing a kid across a battlefield - I mean, come on. The problem is throwing a kid that Zach cares for potentially to Hellfire to be raised."

She stood up.

"Give us a minute, will you?"

She looked at Haleigh.

"And pretend you aren't listening in."
 
Clandestine Intelligence

Haleigh tried to tell Ashley exactly what she thought was wrong with him, and she was entitled to her opinion, but it was irritating to be talked about like he wasn’t there. He interjected that he was RIGHT here, and Ashley gave his hand a squeeze of consolation, then reminded Haleigh that having humanity wasn’t always a weakness. Thank the Gods she understood, because Haleigh was somewhat correct; Zach was never going to change, but that wasn’t because he couldn’t. He didn’t WANT to become as jaded as Haleigh was.

He was going to say so, but then Haleigh brought up his mother. Zach was stunned. He knew that Haleigh could be an absolute emotional assassin, but the experience of it was still so staggering that he was at a loss for words. He was so glad that he had left her. What a solid favor he had done himself in that moment. Then, he was caught suddenly by the trace of remorse across the table. She was sorry to have said it, though he knew she wouldn’t apologize. That was when he realized her intent, and he forgave her for saying it. She had mentioned that he got engulfed in emotion and couldn’t think straight when that happened. It was her hint at him to why she’d shut her own emotions down, to give him room to breathe and a chance to think about a very emotional topic. But she couldn’t stop feeling things forever, and though she was very skilled at stifling her own emotions, they were starting to seep out again.

“Message received, Haleigh.”

He said, and he let the rest of the air out of his lungs slowly, then asked what she was expecting of him. Clearly she wanted him to do something about all this. He was floored to hear her suggest that HE should adopt Jake instead. She said it as if it were a very simple choice, as yes or no, when in reality it was the kind of life altering decision that affected everybody involved. She admitted that wished she could’ve given him more time, but Griffin made it clear that time was running out.

“You always used to rationalize that our lives were too dangerous, that it was reckless and cruel to subject children to such an upbringing.”

He recalled, realizing sadly now that her logic had merit. Hadn’t he almost died more than once in the last year alone? Even without the threat of death, they were always fighting some significant evil. He distinctly remembered how scared Jake had been at the courthouse. How could he sign Jake up for a lifetime of that fear and uncertainty?

Haleigh: “Yeah, and I still believe that, but it doesn’t matter what I want. Somebody needs to take responsibility for this boy. If you won’t do it, then I will.”

“Just what is THAT supposed to mean?!”


He asked, concerned by her grim determination. Haleigh had always said she was ill-suited to raise children. She couldn’t possibly mean she was thinking of adopting Jake. More likely, she meant that she’d eliminate the ‘threat’ altogether, and she would go to the end of days telling herself that she’d done the right thing, that she’d saved the boy a lifetime of suffering, by ending it prematurely. Griffin interjected in a kind tone, clarifying the matter.

“A child combatant, Gods Almighty.”

Haleigh added that it was the adverse reality, and Ashley weighed in on the real problem: allowing the potential for Jake to be raised by Hellfire.

Haleigh: “Slice it however you like, if Kelly gets a hold of this boy, it will be a problem.”

“The kind of problem you terminate?”

He asked, and paid attention to the shift of her emotion. She was a little hurt, and he felt bad for it, but he wouldn’t ease up, he wouldn’t let the emotion cloud the issue — not this time. Haleigh replied that nobody wanted that outcome, least of all her.

“But you just said it didn’t matter what you wanted.”

He countered, and her sigh was laced with sorrow. He was prepared to press further. He needed her to admit it, he needed to know what decision he was really making. She acknowledged that it was understandable if he’d lost faith in her recently, but she was going to do everything in her power to prevent that from happening, even if it meant adopting Jake herself. And that was alarming enough, but what she said next was beyond the pale.

Haleigh: “It wouldn’t be the worst outcome, and I mean, how hard could it be? Like taking home a puppy from the pound. Except he can talk.”

“Adopting a child is NOTHING like getting a puppy!”

Haleigh: “Sure it is; feed him, train him, protect him from danger, what’s the big difference?”

“Oh my GODS.”

He remarked, and Ashley stood up, asking for a minute. The weird part was that the man Haleigh had called Savage abruptly stood up as well. Zach had honestly forgotten he was there. Zach pushed his chair back as he nodded, getting up and leading Ashley to an adjoining lounge. The room smelled of cigar smoke and leather chairs. There was a minibar and Zach went straight for the whiskey, pouring two glasses.

“I don’t even know what to think right now, how about you?”
 
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The Astral Plane

She blasted him with a psi javelin that knocked him off his feet. It would’ve been enough to kill a lesser being, but he was resilient. He was also still so insolent that she blasted him AGAIN. She was growing tired of his antics, but before she put him down for good she explored the options for her return to the corporeal form. She ran them all across Cameron, just so she could see him panic when he realized her goal.

Cameron: “Why would you want to inhabit Nicholas King, Diana? He's beneath both of us. Look at how easy it was for you to try and scoop up his power? And what's wrong with me? I mean I'm usually your first draft pick? What is it? Have I aged?”

“YES. More to the point, you’re MORTAL. Also, Nicolas is better LOOKING.”

She replied with a cutting smile. Cameron wanted to talk about Haleigh some more, but really it was an opportunity to brag about how much better HE was. Was he ACTUALLY trying to argue that she should take over HIS body? How amusing. He told her that Haleigh would destroy everything to be there for him if he needed.

“That WON’T be an issue when you’re DEAD. Haleigh will move on, like she always has. The girl’s got a lot of practice letting YOU go. How many of your funerals has she attended? She probably won’t even shed a tear.”

She said, and he started to fight back again in earnest. She was filled with sorrow, pain and regret, things she hadn’t felt in years. The most FUTILE of emotions, she hated them all. Then there was anger, RAGE, and that was something she could USE. It felt like she was on FIRE! She scowled at him.

Cameron: "I told you I was going to kill you and I meant it. You do what you think you need to do, I'm done trying to stop you. I'm done with these stupid fucking conversations. You really want to win this pissing contest? Show me what you got."

“FOOL! I have everything YOU’VE got, and THEN SOME!”

She snarled back. His power was washing over her, and that only made it easier for her to siphon it off him. She started with what he was using on her. Emotional manipulation would be very useful going forward. Yet she wasn’t going to stop there. She would drain him dry, until he couldn’t even return to his own body, and his astral consciousness was trapped here. His body would die, and he would be forced to wander this realm for eternity.

She would take over Nicolas’ body, and unleash Set on the world, and if that didn’t work out in her favor, she’d get Kelly to move them to another dimension, one where she could get back to her own body. However, it was more likely that when she let Set free, she would gain an ally in him. It was a gamble, but worth the risk. She was willing to try it, because the alternative was staying here with Cameron, and she was already DONE with this little tête-à-tête.
 
Clandestine Intelligence

As much as she wanted Zach to wake the fuck up and recognize Sharon and Alycia for the bitches they were, she understood that that just wasn't who he was. She wasn't sure how bad a thing they'd have to do for him to see it, but hurting Jake had worked with Haleigh, so maybe now his eyes would open. But she wasn't going to try and force him. It would be easier to move a mountain. And she wasn't interested in changing who Zach was, turning into someone bitter and cruel. His humanity and compassion was what made him Zach. And Haleigh should know that. Maybe she did, and just didn't care.

Taking out a child who was trying to kill you wasn't anything new in the world, but these people were missing the fact that Zach cared for this boy. And she said so.

Haleigh: “Slice it however you like, if Kelly gets a hold of this boy, it will be a problem.”

Zach: “The kind of problem you terminate?”

That could not be allowed to happen. It would destroy Zach. Having Haleigh raise the child - which was the alternative she seemed to be suggesting - couldn't be much better.

Haleigh: “It wouldn’t be the worst outcome, and I mean, how hard could it be? Like taking home a puppy from the pound. Except he can talk.”

Zach: “Adopting a child is NOTHING like getting a puppy!”

It kind of was, but Ashley wasn't going to say it. Instead she stood up. This bullshit had to end - Zach could not possibly be asked to process what was happening with these two - well, three - dickheads staring at him. She had expected the others to leave the room, but Zach actually led them next door. It smelled like heaven, and she sank down into a leather chair while Zach poured them a drink. She didn't want to go back to the other room.

Zach: “I don’t even know what to think right now, how about you?”

She took a big drink of the offered whiskey and shook her head.

"Doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what you think."

She emptied the glass and then stood, leaving the glass on a side table. She went over to him, and put her hands on his shoulders.

"What do you want, Zach? Everything else is noise."
 
Clandestine Intelligence

Haleigh suggested that Zach should adopt Jake as the ideal solution to their problem. She could tell Zach was overwhelmed by it all, but unfortunately she hadn’t really been able to give him more time. Perhaps she should’ve warned him about the Amazons earlier, but she’d had other priorities in the last several months. It was only now that the moves Sharon and Alycia were making really raised alarm.

As far as the kid went, he was mostly safe at the Sanctuary, even with the Amazons there. There was a network in place, of people and technology. This sudden move to isolate Jake was not a good sign. It necessitated an immediate response, which was why Haleigh was bringing Zach into the fold. She got the feeling, however, that Zach wasn’t so excited about the whole thing. When he repeated her own logic back at her, it had been a peek at his initial thoughts on the subject. She had to acknowledge that she still held the same opinion; their lives were too dangerous for children. But this child in particular was already in danger, and regrettably Haleigh had a part in that. She accepted her responsibility in it, and was ready to accept more if Zach wouldn’t.

Zach questioned what she was implying by that, clearly displeased. Haleigh couldn’t hold it against him though, she never felt less suited to taking care of a child than she did at this point in her life. Yet, as always, she would do whatever she had to. Griffin stepped in to gently delineate the stakes. Zach didn’t like it, and Haleigh agreed it was adverse, but reality. Ashley didn’t have a problem with child combatants in theory, but recognized that this particular kid going to ‘Hellfire’ was not good. Haleigh didn’t clarify that Hellfire wasn’t the issue, because she didn’t want to get into that whole argument. They had enough on the table in this discussion already.

She did highlight Kelly as being a problem. Helena would avoid any children like the plague, but Kelly had some unrequited maternal impulses left, and her complete lack of ethics disturbed Haleigh deeply. Then there was the high probability that Kelly would attempt to accelerate the development of Jake’s abilities— which had already emerged to somewhat disastrous result. If Jake was taught to use his power with ruthless precision, it would be a very big problem, and if Kelly had anything to do with it, they’d be dealing with it very soon.

Zach asked if it was the kind of problem Haleigh would terminate. As much as that hurt, Haleigh understood why he might be concerned. She sincerely told him that nobody wanted that, least of all her. He didn’t accept that as an answer, and countered that she’d just said it didn’t matter what she wanted. Well, he had her there. She sighed, realizing with regret that she only had herself to blame for him assuming the worst.

“Zach, I understand if you’ve lost faith in me recently. I’ve had to make some tough calls and you’ve had to grapple with the fallout. But on my honor —what little there is left of it— I have made it my mission to do everything in my considerable power to prevent this boy from getting killed. I’ll do whatever it takes, even if that means raising Jake myself.”

She could tell Zach needed a definitive statement, and she delivered with the kind of conviction he wouldn’t doubt. She knew from his expression that he didn’t have a lot of confidence in her child-rearing capabilities, but how hard could it be? It was like bringing home a puppy, albeit one that could talk. She said as much, and Zach freaked out, saying it was nothing like that.

“Sure it is, feed him, train him, protect him from danger, what’s the big difference?”

It wasn’t fucking rocket science. Zach could only exclaim to his gods as he looked at her like she was suggesting a ritual sacrifice, but Ashley didn’t seem so outraged. In fact, Ashley had been a lot more helpful and less confrontational than Haleigh expected. See, I told you she was okay. She might even be good for him… and for the cause. She thought to her mother, but Malice was silent, and Haleigh glanced around to realize she wasn’t even in the room anymore. She wondered at what point her mother had left, and why. Ashley wanted a minute alone with Zach, and asked Haleigh to pretend she wasn’t going to eavesdrop.

“Oh, yeah, totally gonna respect your privacy.”

She replied, overplaying it to the point of caricature. She looked up, way up, at Arthur after they left the room. She raised an eyebrow at him standing there, and he shrugged as he stepped away from the table to begin slowly pacing behind their chairs.

Savage: “I know, you said men don’t do that anymore. It’s a hard habit to break.”
 
Clandestine Intelligence — Griff’s Lounge

Haleigh oversimplified raising children, to the point of comparing the task to getting a puppy. No, just no. It was way more complex than her short list of feeding, training, and protecting. How about teaching him how to be a decent human being? Did she really think she could pull that off? Zach himself was concerned he wouldn’t be successful with such a tall order. But hard-charging Haleigh wasn’t going to let herself be intimidated by anything, so Zach just left the topic there and was grateful for the chance to lead Ashley to an adjoining lounge where he could retreat from the onslaught. He poured them some whiskey to take the edge off.

“I don’t even know what to think right now, how about you?”

He said, soliciting her opinion. She replied that it didn’t matter what she thought. He sipped at his whiskey, thinking that it mattered to him what she thought. He was about to say so when she redirected him, asking what he wanted, saying everything else was just noise. She put her hands on his shoulders.

He set his whiskey glass on the bar top and slipped both his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. He took one deep breath, inhaling her scent and the calm support she was offering, and then he exhaled slowly. Some of his stress melted away. The rest he held onto, not wanting to put it on her. He released her from the hug, but not from his arms, pulling back just enough to look at her.

“I want… for her to be wrong, about any of it. I want the Amazons to be trustworthy, I want Jake to be safe, I want to be relieved of this unfathomable situation where no matter what choice I make, there is going to be some inescapable consequence.”

He said, and then he sighed, because he knew it was probably too late for any of that. Haleigh’s suspicions about Sharon and Alycia, while based on circumstantial evidence at best, shook the foundation of trust he once had with Amazons — a foundation already cracked by their recent dismissal of him in favor of Rose. Jake would not be safe with some random human couple, even if they weren’t ‘compromised’ as Haleigh suspected. And Zach was faced with this situation whether he liked it or not, so he must make a choice, quickly.

“I want to know what you think about adopting a kid, because this isn’t a decision I can just make for the both of us, like ‘look babe I got us a puppy!”

He added, searching her face.

”We have a lot going on right now, with the new house and the wedding planning, and I won’t think any less of you if aren’t prepared to sign up for such a huge responsibility literally today. I’m not even sure I’m ready, to be honest.”
 
Clandestine Intelligence — Griff’s Lounge

It was so much better when she and Zach were alone. It was a comfortable room that smelled pleasantly of cigars, with leather chairs and an excellent whiskey. He was asking what she thought, as if that mattered. She would do whatever he wanted. Always. But it meant something that he cared. It meant a lot.

Zach's arms looped around her, and she hugged him back tightly. She could feel him breathing against her, feel his heart beating. When he pulled back, he kept a hold of her, and she gripped him tight.

Zach: “I want… for her to be wrong, about any of it. I want the Amazons to be trustworthy, I want Jake to be safe, I want to be relieved of this unfathomable situation where no matter what choice I make, there is going to be some inescapable consequence.”

"Do you think she's wrong?"

For once she wasn't taking a dig at Haleigh. And she wasn't saying that he was wrong. It was an honest question, whether he truly deep down thought Haleigh was wrong about this.

"The life you lead...there will always be consequences, Zach. You aren't (sadly) the guy who works the register at the McDonald's on Sixth and gives me extra fries. All you can do is the best you can, which is something you do better than anyone I have ever known. And we can face whatever fucking consequences come, together."

She gave him a little smile.

Zach: “I want to know what you think about adopting a kid, because this isn’t a decision I can just make for the both of us, like ‘look babe I got us a puppy!”

That thought sidetracked her for a moment., as excitement splashed across her face.

"Ooh! Can we get a puppy?"

Zach: ”We have a lot going on right now, with the new house and the wedding planning, and I won’t think any less of you if aren’t prepared to sign up for such a huge responsibility literally today. I’m not even sure I’m ready, to be honest.”

"I'm behind you, all in, whatever you decide. Do you want to adopt Jake? If he wasn't being adopted by someone else, would you want to? Because if the answer is yes, if that is what you want, then I want it too. But if not...then we know people, you know, who are very good at coming up with alternate plans. Ones that don't involve Haleigh becoming a mother."

She put her hand on his cheek.

"We can figure out a solution to this - if I have to kidnap Jake from his new adoptive parents, we will make it work. But first you need to figure out what you want. Not what's best for Jake, not what keeps Hellfire at bay, what YOU want."
 
Heritage Bar - Brooklyn

He was relieved that Rae had finally decided to tell him what was going on with her lately, but what he heard turned his stomach in knots that existed only conceptually.

Jezebel: "The White Queen is not dead. And worse, she's desperate to return."

Danny gritted his teeth as he recoiled in emotional pain. He had lived with Diana as a telepathic chronic illness for his entire life. At first, when he didn't understand his power, he could never tell why every six months or so, he became bed ridden, hospitalized, sick beyond diagnosis. And how one day it would fade completely. It had been because of her. Because of all of Hellfire. They were a cancer on the city, and they acted as a cancer quite physically for Danny Donnelly. His life had been a series of blackouts and wakeups colored by the long term actions of Hellfire. Burying their fucking mansion where it wouldn't be found for thousands of years had been the single most thrilling act of heroism in his life. He knew they would eventually return. and he felt like a fool for forgetting who The White Queen was. She always persisted. Even when she was down, she was never out.

"Goddammit!"

He smashed his fist on the wood table between them. And then it just got worse. The guy who was so confident in his ability to kill The White Queen needed help. Because of course he did. For the most part, the city loved Cameron King. He was a good guy, but his bouts of darkness were legendary. When he chose to sin, he made sure they were good ones and there was more than a few bodies buried in The Parthenon. But overall, the city was okay with it. Cameron usually ended up doing more good than harm, but his bravado and arrogance was something Danny hated. The way Cameron played with the city, both personally and in business, was not something Danny liked. The kid wanted to be loved just a little too much, and it often required Danny to help in cleaning up Prophet's messes. But that was a story for another time. If they had that long.

Jezebel: "It's GOD like energy. It's someone with the power to re-shape reality as we know it. Every flash I get...the Boy with the Crown calls out to me. Like I'm supposed to help him. But I don't know how. All I know is that if I don't...it's just black. There's nothing left. It's the end, Danny..."

"It's Set."

Danny almost didn't survive Set. In fact, he couldn't tell for sure, but he had a deep suspicion that magick was the only thing that allowed his existence to continue. That kind of energy coming into the city had made him a conduit. The second Set's energy set foot near him, it completely took over. All he wanted to do was expend that energy, make it permeate every part of the city and himself. And as much as magick had caused him to go back to normal, his psyche was not his own. While he couldn't tell every story of the city, he could perceive multiple timelines in NYC, though mostly in flashes. Sometimes he would pass through a wall of a hole in the wall bar in Brooklyn, and get a flash of what it was in another timeline. He knew something had been altered, and he knew that it involved both Hellfire and The Six. It was when he started heavily surveilling them.

Jezebel: "The Birds of Prey are just BARELY moving on after grieving a loss...and these members of The Six...I just see them bathing in the blood of Hellfire. I'm not sure they'd LET me help. I see two guardians around The Boy With The Crown. The Light and The Dark. Their gauntlets firmly holding either of his hands. But I can't do NOTHING anymore, Danny. I'm not sure I have much time..."

He took a deep breath and easily slipped into his role of Knight Commander of NYC.

"We can't trust The Six with this. Even if it involves one of their members. They're completely fractured and have recently taken over Hellfire. I never know what the hell is truly going on with them, but I know our odds are better with the birds..."

Danny cupped Rae's right hand with his own and looked at her intently.

"It makes sense to bring this to Oracle. I know she's been grieving, but i've been watching The Clocktower. She's no slouch and she hasn't stopped her work. I think she'd welcome the distraction. And with what you just told me I feel better having all of them in the city. This might act as a call home."

Jezebel: "I'm so sorry to put this in your lap, darlin....but we gotta do something. And FAST."

"I believe you, Rae."

He smirked pensively.

"And I'm glad you stuck around for this. Maybe a leopard can change it's spots."

Rae: "It's Cheetah print and I resent that, ya old bastard."

"Right."

Danny stole on of Rae's whiskey shots from out under her and downed himself quickly, smacking it down on the table, desperately searching for levity. He didn't even know if this would really register as a big deal to these high falooting city supers, but for Danny, this was a high stakes at it got. if the Six or the birds or the witches fucked this up, the city would lose it's Herald. She needed him. He needed her. He had no choice to succeed.

"I can have Albie lock up. And I'll shoot Oracle a message. Let her know we are headed towards her way."

Rae: "And tell her we don't need any snacks. I swear to fucking god everytime I go there, I'm up to my tits in cheese danish. They're always eating, it's insane."

"Roger."

>> To Oracle: What's up pussycat? Did you have time to hear about a possible apocalypse scenario about to unfold? Coming through with Rae in about twenty minutes."

He grabbed Rae's hand after leaving the keys with Albie and made his way out of Heritage, taking the scenic route to The Clocktower, his heart beating faster than he was comfortable with. For a few months, he had felt free and healthy. Now, he could feel the darkness creeping in. And he was tired of it. But he had no choice. It was live or die for Danny Donnelly, and he wanted more than anything to live.
 
Clandestine Intelligence

Zach felt a little better, being here with Ash. She relieved his stress, and not having the others bombard him with more terrible news was also a great relief. It gave him time to regroup and consider his thoughts. The pressure to decide was still there, distantly. Ash asked him if he thought Haleigh was wrong. He sighed, wishing he could say yes, but he didn’t have enough to go on either way.

“I don’t know… but I do know that she’s probably considered all the possibilities and she thinks in terms of ‘better safe than sorry’. And she doesn’t just throw around words like ‘my mission’ or ‘whatever it takes’. If she’s this serious about, we probably should be too, because something’s going to happen, even if it’s not exactly what she thinks.”

He replied, and she told him that there would always be consequences, but that they would face them together. It was a small comfort, and he gave her a wan smile for it. It didn’t erase the looming decision, but it wasn’t one he could make himself. He asked her how she felt, because it was quite a bit more complex than getting a puppy. She got sidetracked with excitement about puppies, which he wasn’t opposed to but they had a lot going on and he said so.

She expressed her support, which was wonderful, but pressed him on what he wanted. And she asked him the most salient questions, the kind that needed to be considered. She suggested they could find other alternatives, ones that didn’t involve Haleigh becoming a mother. He grabbed his whiskey glass again and she reached for his cheek.

Ash: "We can figure out a solution to this - if I have to kidnap Jake from his new adoptive parents, we will make it work. But first you need to figure out what you want. Not what's best for Jake, not what keeps Hellfire at bay, what YOU want."

He drank some whiskey, and dropped his gaze. It took a while for him to be able to talk. He couldn’t stop thinking about how he had abandoned Jake and the Sanctuary after the purifiers attack.

“All these years, a part of me wanted to take care of Jake. All these years I’ve let any and every excuse get in the way.”

It didn’t feel good, but he wouldn’t be doing anyone a favor by failing to admit the truth. Haleigh was right, he always got wrapped up in the emotion and let it cloud his decision-making, often to his own detriment.

“If it weren’t some vague emergency I wouldn’t be agonizing over it. I wouldn’t even be considering it.”

He told his whiskey glass. He didn’t want to look up and see her reaction to his failing.

“If I really wanted to adopt Jake I would’ve tried to do so already.”

He wouldn’t have abandoned Jake after the Purifiers, he wouldn’t have let Rose and the Amazons push him out. For fuck’s sake, Haleigh had gone into whatever-it-takes-mode for Jake, and he still wasn’t ready to do that. He felt horrible, but he didn’t think he was up to the task, not having all the reservations he did right now.

“Maybe we can find some better alternative, like you said?”
 
Fair Folks

Zizi was having a very pleasant coffee date with Alexis. Every time they met up, it surprised her anew that the blonde wasn't more...damaged. She was angry - incredibly angry - but being a statue for ten years hadn't driven her insane. Zizi couldn't imagine the strength of mind it would take to come through such an ordeal as that, virtually unscathed. Not that Zizi felt what she went through was not a big deal - it was. And what the Six did was terribly wrong. It was that Alexis impressed her.

They discussed that infuriating new professor at the university, and the wedding plans for Ashley and Zach. Alexis was a least talking about Delilah and the Six, albeit sarcastically, which was progress in Zizi's mind. The barista had just brought them refills when Zizi's phone buzzed. Her eyes slid downward to where her phone sat on the table.

>> Citadel To Oracle: What's up pussycat? Did you have time to hear about a possible apocalypse scenario about to unfold? Coming through with Rae in about twenty minutes."

"It's Danny. The world is apparently ending. Again. He wants to meet. Wanna come with?"

>> To Citadel: Danny, honey! I'm out with a friend, but will meet you there in 20. I'll bring the snacks!

She tapped her phone a couple of times, putting in her usual "company" order at the bakery on the corner across from the Clocktower. She could pick it up on her way home. She turned her attention back to Alexis, and smiled, sighing out.

"It never ends, does it?"
 
Clandestine Intelligence

Zach believed Haleigh, at least he believed she believed what she was saying. So he didn't suspect some sort of hoodwink from Clandestine at least. And he would at least have his eyes open to the potential threat that was Sharon and Alycia.

He didn't seem super keen on getting a puppy though.

Then she encouraged him to decide what he wanted, and then they could go from there. They could figure this out, but she needed to know what it was that Zach wanted. Because that's all she cared about.

She stayed quiet, looking into his face as he considered what she'd asked.

Zach: “All these years, a part of me wanted to take care of Jake. All these years I’ve let any and every excuse get in the way. If it weren’t some vague emergency I wouldn’t be agonizing over it. I wouldn’t even be considering it. If I really wanted to adopt Jake I would’ve tried to do so already.”

"Well, that's that then."

She nodded, with conviction, as if the matter was settled.

Zach: “Maybe we can find some better alternative, like you said?”

"First thing to do, is tell Zizi everything. If anyone will have a plan, it's her."
 
The Astral Plane

Diana: "That WON'T be an issue when you're DEAD. Haleigh will move on, like she always has. The girl's got a lot of practice letting YOU go. How many of your funerals has she attended? She probably won't even shed a tear."

"Puhlease. I'm not entirely sure Haleigh is capable of crying. I don't need her tears, Malice. Haleigh moves on, but she never forgets. You can take whatever you think you deserve of her mind, but i'll always have her heart. And that's not something you'll ever have. Even if it you rip it right from her chest."

He was getting to her, and that was good. Cameron knew they couldn't continue like this. Diana may have been willing to destroy The Astral Plane to prove a point, but he wasn't. He wasn't as desperate.

"I told you I was going to kill you and I meant it. You do what you think you need to do, I'm done trying to stop you. I'm done with these stupid fucking conversations. You really want to win this pissing contest? Show me what you got."

Diana: "FOOL! I have everything YOU'VE got, and THEN SOME!"

And she did. She used his energy flex to draw more power for herself.

"Clever Girl."

Her powers were so heightened here that Cameron had barely calculated for it. A mistake on his part. She was no empath, but the amount of emotional energy she was able to manipulate here was miraculous, even for a telepath of her stature. It took everything Cameron had to keep control of himself. He knew her plan. The woman was really so crazy she would unleash Set to prove the point that she was the ultimate survivor of this timeline. And that was when Prophet knew he needed to change tactics, despite how scared it made him feel, and how scared it might make the people at home scared for him, though Diana would sense nothing of the sort from him.

"YOU...have....[gritting his teeth against her power, flexing with this own] NOTHING!"

Prophet beamed with power, jolting Malice back several hundred yards in front of him. He shook his head in disbelief and determination. If he was going to truly kill Malice, he was going to have to die. It was Plan D, but it was his only option at this point. The only way he was going to kill Malice was to get her from an angle she couldn't manipulate, lest she risked the one thing she was clearly desperate to keep - her life. It was going to have to be a sneak attack, and as much as he hated the idea, as much as he wanted to rip her heart from her chest while making eye contact, there was no other way.

"You KNOW nothing!"

He wholeheartedly accepted her blows, contorting his face in an excruciating pain, letting himself slip away from this plane. Prophet's mind went to his family. All of it had been taken from him by her. Diana had warped his mother so deeply for seemingly no reason. She had been the head of The Axis of Evil, famously almost killing Spellbinder and then she was some kind of chaotic mental shell of a woman. It never made sense to him. WHY? She had taken both Kelly and Erika's minds and destroyed them for sport. Hell, Alison wouldn't have admitted it, but Diana destroyed her too. Cameron didn't have many memories of his childhood, of his infancy in Westwood, California. Mostly it came to him in images. Kelly and Alison had been close. When Kelly changed...when Diana made her truly insane was when Alison changed as well. He remembered reaching out to her from his crib once, scared and hungry. Alison hushed him and continued to read her book, seemingly annoyed at his existence. She closed herself off entirety and found herself in the arms of Morgan Victoria, a co Victim trying to hold the monopoly of the pain MysTech had inflicted on all of them. He never knew why Malice had gone after his family, and at this point in his life, he knew he would never get those answers. And knowing what had become of them, lately Cameron had thought he just might have been better off without them. It didn't take the sting away as he flexed his power BACK at Diana, their energies swirling through The Astral Plane with chaotic feedback.

"I'm gonna KILL you, you BITCH!"

Cameron had found his true family in The Six. He had a million reasons to kill Diana. Most of them were incredibly short sighted and vengeance based, but the ones that weren't....were simply enough. As Diana tore through him yet again with her power, those reasons became even more clear.

Delilah. Haleigh. Ava. Alexia. Those were the people he cared about. They were his family.

Delilah was his best friend. She had been the first person close to Morgan to not immediately write him off, despite how close they had been. The best thing they had ever done was to step out of the shadows of Alison and Morgan and make their voices heard. There was nothing he would not do for Delilah, and it was the same for her. It was one of the only loyalties in his life he didn't question. And he was the godfather to her child. That meant that no matter what happened, they would be in each other's lives forever. And there was Haleigh - the love of his life. Plain and simple. There was nothing she could do to him. There was nothing she could say. He would never not be insufferably in love with her, and he was so done with playing games. He loved her. She loved him. And he knew that there would be no problem with the other proclaiming that as soon as things smoothed over. And he had gone to far to not get there. He didn't care what it looked like. He didn't care about semantics anymore. He didn't need to own her. If there was any way in the multiverse that Cameron and Haleigh could be happy together, he planned to find out when this was all over.

Thinking of Ava brought him great distress. It was a crime of passion. He had hated her when she first joined the team. And the feeling was mutual. But knowing how much Ava had taken care of his sister over the years, Cameron had no choice but to soften on the goddess. After a certain point, he had invited her so deeply into his life. He had even given her a stake in his business, which was his own baby. They had mourned the loss of the children in The Purifier Event before it even happened. He felt so close to her. And she left so quickly. He had been so angry. Haleigh was a big girl. She could have survived Hellfire by herself. But Ava couldn't help herself. He knew that The Six wasn't sustainable for a force like Ava, but he never imagined her being truly bewitched by Hellfire. But she was. It was why he had wanted to try and carve Persephone out of her. He saw it in her eyes. Hellfire was torture...but Ava seemed to thrive in torture. He had to come back from this if only to apologize. The last few months had shown Cameron that The Six weren't the heroes they so desperately once wanted to be. They were deeply flawed people with enough power to do some good sometimes. But they were also inherently dark. And maybe denying that had been part of the problem all along.

Cameron was ready to move himself to the next part of this battle, which was timed divinely as a PSI javelin RIPPED through his heart and shoulder.

"UGH!!!!!!

This was it. He had to attempt to bow out gracefully. He would die on this plane if it meant she would later on for good. He had an anchor on the other sde, thanks to Alison. It would be the first time he wasn't scared of death. So he went willingly.

<<< BEEP. >>>> BEEP...beep beep beep. Beeeeeeeeeppppppppppppppp.

His life monitor began to go off in the lower levels of The Parthenon. Cameron was flatlining. He could feel himself waivering between two worlds. He was ready to go.

Diana shattered him on the Astral Plane completely, ironically as Delilah did Diana in Hellfire. He shunted enough of his consiousness to his body to keep his body "alive" as his spirit headed towards the great white light. It engulfed him as he free fell through Other Side, weightless and empty before finally becoming engulfed in complete darkness. He felt himself pulsing even without a body before there was...nothing. He felt in stasis. Diana would soon go after Nicholas but it would take a hell of long way to get there with the amount of magickal protection Isis had enshrouded Nicholas in, as well as his relationship with Morgan. Nicholas all but had a magick PSI screen. She would need time to gain her power, even in the Astral Plane, and she would have to exhaust a GREAT deal of it to possess a man who was tied to an ancient God...and WHEN she exhausted that power, Cameron would STRIKE. But first, he needed to find his anchor, and he needed to make contact with Rae. For now, he wandered, letting his power guide him.
 
Clara Oswald
Clara Oswald
This is a great post!
Things hadn't been going well, persay, for The Sisterhood, now that they were only down to two members, but Kelly was an optimist. Most scientists were. Right now, there was nothing but opportunity in front of her and Helena, and while Helena was licking her wounds and recovering from the immense betrayal she had just experienced, Talisman was stepping in. She paid no mind to the machinations of the little girls (Ava and Haleigh) trying to play Hellfire in their absence and instead she looked towards the future, althought selfishly so. Months ago, the former black queen had delivered a crippling blow to Morgan Victoria, current Sorceress Supreme of Earth, and ever since then, Kelly had been planning her next steps. If Hellfire proved to be a lost cause for them, they needed a way forward, and Kelly had put all of her eggs in the basket of the future. So she made a list.

Hazel Hawthorne. Dominique Devereaux. Karen Victoria. Alison Marble. Morgan Victoria. These were the women she would need to kill in order to become Sorceress Supreme. In that order. It was a farce really. Kelly had never really connected to the world of witches because she hated their overall presentation. They used magick to do what any other religious group in the world did - create division, distrust, and reinforce some inane power structure that begged to be followed. Despite Kelly's personal beliefs about it, she couldn't deny that the Sorceress Supreme had immense power in this realm. Whoever held the mantle could barely be denied. Witches followed them, even deities respected them. And while Kelly had no respect for any of it, she wanted the power for herself, because of course she did. So she decided she would go down the list one by one. Hazel was the easiest to find, thanks to her self aggrandizing title of "Keeper of Witches". She was a beacon to any magick user looking to find the worst path possible to power and control. Sybil kept a large estate just outside New Orleans, where she tried to show the Cajun witches and Voodoo Queens a different path, that was actually not unlike any of the others. Still, people seemed to respect her here, which made it the only place Kelly would want to publically leave Hazel's body. She had watched Hazel for week's and now she was ready to strike.

She could have done the trailing with her Omni Sight, but Kelly had grown tired of watching from the sidelines. She wanted excitement. So every night for three weeks straight she had trailed Hazel in her vintage 1969 Chevy Stingray. Always a wanton slut for the finer things, Kelly liked to create a bit of flair and drama, and something about sitting in that Corvette in her rare Black Burberry Trench and Ferragamo shades that made her feel like she was making up for lost time. This particular night, it appeared like Hazel felt like celebrating the coming weekend, not know she would not live to see it. She bought groceries from the market and a copious amount of wine, and headed back to her estate. Despite the hemlock propaganda Kelly had faced since coming into this timeline, she was relieved to see that Hazel had chosen a very good and rare Chardonnay as her drink of choice for the evening. Maybe she wasn't a total idiot.

Kelly trailed her down the road, listening to music. George Harrison. "My Sweet Lord". He was her favorite Beatle and the first to venture out on his own, something she really admired. Despite his personal success as a solo artist, Kelly cherished the album and his trailblazing. Soon, Hazel was home and on her third glass of white wine, listening to Steve Knicks, which Kelly tried to forgive (she didn't.), dancing around her living room before settling into her recliner chair. Talisman smirked. She had broken Hazel's home wards almost as soon as she had sensed them. Hazel was hers. A crackle of electric energy sparked from Kelly's hands as she turned the dial up on the radio of her car as Hazel's music began to change to Kelly's and the area felt dull and cold, but full of energy.

"Clever girl..."

Hazel: "Who's there?! Show yourself!"

Talisman couldn't resist the invitation as she shimmered from her car and into the front of Hazel Hawthorne's vision.

"Hallelujah~"

Hazel: "BACK!"

Sybil's power flexed against her hard, catapulting Talisman into the wall, crashing into the television and fireplace with gusto, cracking the wall behind her and extinguishing the fire as she fell to the ground in a huff of ash and smoke. Kelly exhaled and smirked, her cobalt blue eyes shining in the pitch black, glancing at Hazel with haunting familiarity.

"Sorry Hawthorne, your wards were a bit pedantic to break. In FACT--"

Talisman was on Hazel instantly, blasting the furniture to all sides of the room in chaotic pattern, her eyes enshrouded in shadows. She grabbed Hazel by the neck and didn't loosen her grip for a second. Hazel's eyes widened against Kelly's chokehold as Talisman admonished the woman with great venom and putrid in her voice.

"You're NOTHING.. You're a mid level marketing manager in some supernatural MLM scheme. And what's worse...you've given yourself a title. [mockingly] The Keeper of Witches? What does that mean exactly? I'm glad you asked, let me TELL you...."

Kelly flexed her power, knocking Hazel off balance and cracking several ribs as she was held against the wall by Kelly's magick. Talisman was going to kill her, but she was going to get a few things off her chest first.

"You find down on their luck men and women scared by their natural affinity to affect energy on a molecular level and you convince them...that this power was handed down to them by some kind of GODDESS. That without ritual, without dedication to some archaic Book of Shadows, that they will never reach their true potential. Not without bowing in reverance to irrelevant gods who time forgot for a REASON."

Talisman spit directly in Hazel's face, releasing her from the airtight chokehold, watching Hazel gasp for breath as she continued, knowing the woman wouldn't dare leave.

"It's ridiculous. And reductive. And I know from experience. The power that I have? It was granted by nobody other than MYSELF. Because I was able to see through all the bullshit and patchouli. I was able to put in the work REQUIRED of us. When I conjure the eldritch energies? When I spew dark lightning from my hands? When I conjure the tolling of the bells? I know where it comes from. I know it's chemical makeup. I know it's origins. And it's certainly is older than any God you choose to worship and give credit to."

Talisman became surrounded by a dark and crackling primal energy that flickered electric blue, her power signature.

Hazel: "You are an ungrateful bitch, Kelly. You wouldn't even have this kind of power outside of birthright! Bow DOWN to the women who gave you power!"

Hazel SPIT in Talisman's unmoved face. Slowly wiping her face, she flexed her power again, easily taking control of Sybil's body.

"I care nothing for my lineage. Here? My daughters salivated at the fact that Hecate's blood coursed through their veins. They foolishly believed it made them something. In some regard, they were right, it made them entitled idiots who deserve death. And if Hecate has a problem with my words, she's more than welcome to come and strike me down for my heresy."

The skies crackled with thunder but nothing happened as Kelly predicted.

"Guess she's busy. Now let's get to the brass tacs of things shall we?"

She struck Hazel with her power, knocking her against the wall, breaking her spine as she fell. Kelly continued.

"While I disagree with the entire lot of you witches, one thing I cannot and will not ignore is the power that the mantle of Sorceress Supreme carries in this timeline. So many of you willing to be domesticated and thrown into line by one person, in some arbitrary pointless game of tit for tat. The pageantry is ridiculous, but the rewards are vasts. And as a former, very emphatic student of academia, I love rewards."

<< CRACK! >>

Talisman threw Sybil like a rag doll across the room, watching her neck pop out of place with great fervor as it connected to the foundation of the house, her blood spilling against the white wallpaper of the room, a moment Rorschach would have been proud of. Kelly traced one of the walls with her finger, picking up a trail of Hazel's blood on her index finger as she went.

"So..I'm going to kill you one by one. And I'm going to make it graphic and macabre. I want Spellbinder to watch as I murder her cult of celebrity one by one, and not be able to do a damn thing about it because I've neutered her. And I chose you to be the first because, well...it's probably going to reallllly piss off Alison. In my timeline I never had kids to play with, so I thought I'd really get my hands dirty here and succeed where Diana could not. And then I'm going to take Morgan's mantle. And I'm going to walk into Limbo and lay waste to everything she ever created just to show her how little she matters when it comes to wielding magick."

She drew her index finger to her lips, taking in the taste of the blood with her. It was sweet, and for the most part pure. Perhaps Hazel really wa who she said she was. Talisman didn't care to find out

"And then? Well...you know, the standard super villain takes over and creates a New World Order trope. Honestly, I haven't thought that far. Right now? All I can do is take in the scent of your fear and let it wash over my body like i'm climaxing. And Hazel?"

[whispers in her ear] "I'm close."

Talisman snapped her fingers, watching every bone in Hazel Hawthorne's body to break at the same time, and watched her body slink to the ground as some kind of gelatinous cube and fade away.

"One down, four to go."

Kelly wiped herself off and faded into the distance, but she didn't stay there. Her power had alerted her to the struggle between Cameron and Diana were causing on the astral plane. All of her telepathic informants were down for the count, and now she could feel her would be son, his death rippling through the timeline. It couldn't have been it for him. Kelly wouidn't allow it. Diana would not be coming back to this timeline if Kelly could help it. She wasn't looking to serve any more bosses. She was ready to move on. And she wasn't about to have her namesake fail so miserably against the former white queen, either. Kelly faded from the blood bath of Hazel Hawthorne's house and back into her Stingray, as she manifested a Thelma & Louise scarf around her head and drove towards the highway, thrilled by the prospect that she might actually help her would be son keep her biggest rival at bay.

"What a time to be alive."
 
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The Parthenon, NYC - Underground

Delilah was sitting at Cameron's bedside, listening to the rhythmic purr of the machines, the steady beat of his heart. She held his hand gently, but her head was bowed, her eyes shuttered. Everything was shit. Everything had turned to such shit.

Her life felt like it was divided into two sections: seeing Alexia and the time waiting to see Alexia the next time. She could hardly bear it. Even when Alexis was helping her "facetime" her daughter - she wasn't there, they weren't together. And the Six? There was no Six, not anymore. They were just people, living separate lives, as different as the points on a pentagram. They felt like strangers.

All except for Cameron, and he wasn't here. He was off fighting Malice. And though it was where he should be, right now she wanted her friend here with her. The only friend she had left. He would help her unfuck everything.

She reminded herself that he was doing the very most important thing that could be done right at this moment in order to bring Alexia home. Killing Malice was the lynchpin to everything. But it was hard. And her strength was fading.

She looked up suddenly as alarm bells rang out from the monitors and the ECG stopped its rhythmic beeping, the staccato lines being replaced with a plain horizontal one. Equipment started to move in the room as Delilah stood, wiping her eyes, looking down into Cameron's face. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"You kill her, Cameron. I believe in you, you can do it. Kill that bitch and come home."

A chamber formed around Cameron's body, completely enclosing him, and the alarm bells cut out abruptly, leaving the room eerily silent.

"It's plan D then."

With a last look at Cameron's enshrouded body, she turned and left the room, heading for the elevator topside. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Haleigh as she rode upward.

>>> Meet me in the Danger Room of the Parthenon asap.
 
Clandestine Intelligence

Haleigh sat languidly in her chair, listening to Zach and Ashley in the other room. She put a small speaker on the table in front of her, piping the audio through so she didn’t have to relay it to Specter or Savage. The two in the other room discussed the likelihood of Haleigh being wrong. Griffin looked over at Haleigh.

“It’s a fair question.”

She replied, shrugging her shoulders. They had wanted evidence, but all she had was circumstances and instinct. There was a slim possibility she was incorrect, but it was highly unlikely. Even so, she was NOT wrong about the kid being at risk once he left the Sanctuary. Even in Zach’s care, that would be the case, but they could bolster his defenses. Also, if anyone was suited to raise the child, with ethical consideration, it was Zach.

There was more talk in the other room. Zach seemed very concerned with the consequences, but Ashley expressed a willingness to do whatever he wanted, saying they could face the consequences together. That was good, Zach needed that kind of support. It wasn’t going to happen though, Zach wasn’t feeling it for some other reason. He explained it vaguely, but his bride didn’t seem to hung up on his decision. Haleigh wasn’t either, she had given Zach the option out of respect for him, but there were a lot of logistical problems to solve to try to get the boy to Zach.

Now she didn’t have to forge the paperwork or figure out how to effectively ruin the adoption in progress. They could more completely sidestep the Amazons, and they could move the boy to a more unpredictable location, making it easier to defend him. Griffin clarified the new plan, offering temporary security detail until extraction. Haleigh didn’t like sending men to slaughter, and if Kelly showed up it would be an absolute massacre.

“Surveillance only, make sure they understand they are NOT cleared to engage. If the enemy engages they will retreat and report. I’ll extract the boy as quickly and quietly as practical. If the Amazons cover his new position too long, we’ll—”

She stopped abruptly, as the audio from the other room was replaced by a steady tone. Griffin looked at the speaker in mild confusion, while Arthur curiously tilted his head. Haleigh stared at the little box, horrified. She knew what the sound meant. For months, it had been the steady beep that represented Cameron’s pulse. She had been monitoring it in the back of her mind, quietly, but now that it had changed she could hear nothing else. A wave of grief crashed over her, and she felt like she might drown in it. She remembered to breathe, and silenced the speaker.

Give him back, you can have me instead, I’ll do whatever you want.

She thought desperately, but her mother didn’t respond, not even to laugh maliciously. She briefly wished she had run away with him when they’d had the chance, but quickly realized that would’ve been trading some lives for others. It was her fault this was happening. The decisions she’d made had brought them here. There was nothing she could do to fix it. Looking back did her no good. The only way out was through. She ran her fingers into her scalp absent-mindedly.

Delilah texted her to meet in the Danger Room. Had Delilah been overtaken by Malice? Was that where her mother had gone? Was she about to have to kill her too? As hard as it was, Haleigh did believe dying would be better for Delilah than being Malice’s puppet. There was another possibility, that it was simply Delilah having lost her best friend, and needing support. Haleigh stood up so abruptly that her chair toppled over.

“We’ve lost Prophet, I have to go.”

She managed to say, before heading to the door into the lounge. She didn’t bother knocking.

“If Oracle has a better idea, let me know.”

She told Zach and Ashley, and then she disintegrated. When she reappeared she was in the Danger Room.

“Are you okay?”

She heard herself ask Delilah foolishly. Of course she wasn’t okay. It was an illogical question, but Haleigh was lost in a place where logic and reason were meaningless and useless. Prior experience losing Cameron had not given her an advantage. It was all she could do to keep her own head from detaching. She remembered she had a bereavement protocol.

“How can I help?”
 
Clandestine Intelligence

Zach decided it was best to be honest, even if it made him look bad. Perhaps he was being selfish, but he hadn’t intended to adopt Jake before and trying to do it shotgun style now felt inauthentic. Rose had forbid him from even seeing Jake again and she had the Amazons to enforce her wishes. Zach had accepted that without much of a fight, because he had wanted to be a positive person in Jake’s life but not so strongly that he was going to raise hell to be there. He admitted to Ash that if he’d wanted to raise Jake he would be doing so already.

He was surprised to find that she wasn’t disappointed in him, that he wasn’t the kind of guy to throw caution to the wind and heroically step in the save an orphan from some shadowy potential threat. It seemed she was perfectly content to move on. He asked her if maybe they could find another solution, because leaving Jake to be raised by Haleigh did strike him as a risky outcome. Ashley suggested that the first thing to do would be to talk to Ziz. Zach loved working with Zizi, so he nodded enthusiastically and downed the rest of his whiskey. Then he stopped, his gaze going toward the door.

“Something’s wrong.”

He said quietly. He didn’t think it was possible that Haleigh was upset about his decision. Haleigh didn’t get upset about tactical decisions or mission planning. Something else had crushed her. The door opened, and there she was, looking suddenly haggard. The blood had drained from her face, her hair was disheveled despite its braid, her mouth had more pout than usual. She told them to let her know if Ziz came up with a better idea, and then she was gone. Zach looked through the empty doorway at a thoughtful Griffin.

“What was that about?”

Griff: “Prophet just died.”

Well, that was no real tragedy as far as Zach was concerned. Cameron reminded Zach of his father, and the world was a better place without the senior Armani in it. It would likely be good in the long run without Cameron too, though Zach would lend his support if possible to console his friends who might feel grief over it. He didn’t have anything nice to say, so he changed the subject as he returned to the conference room, pulling Ash along with him, his arm still around her waist.

“I’m not taking Jake.”

Griffin: “That’s completely understandable, Zach. Haleigh just wanted to give you the option, knowing you’d been forced out by the others.”

“Is there anything else I can do?”

Griffin: “Neglect to mention this meeting to the Amazons, and in fact forget it even happened.”

Zach nodded. That would be easy enough. Sharon and Alycia hadn’t spoken to him in months, though he was sure they would come find him when Jake’s adoption soured. He would think of a diplomatic way to deal with them. He reached up to rub his beard with his free hand.

“I thought this was going to be about the Hellfire rumors.”

Savage: “You need not fret. It is under control.”
 
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The Parthenon - Danger Room

The flexibility of the Danger Room was one of its most useful features. The other was its durability. Delilah thought both would be necessary in this instance.

The room was empty at the moment, save for two wing back chairs and a small side table with a decanter of whisky and two glasses on it. Delilah had poured four fingers in each. And then Haleigh appeared.

She didn't have time to be annoyed that this was allowed on Parthenon premises, because Delilah's attention was fixed on Haleigh and her odd behavior.

Haleigh: “Are you okay? How can I help?”

How can she help? A long walk off a short pier would be a start...

Delilah indicated a chair.

"Please, sit down."

Delilah herself sat in the other chair, folding her hands in her lap. She didn't really care if Haleigh stood or sat, but when breaking difficult news to people who were likely to take it badly, sitting them down was SOP. And she really didn't feel like potentially having to pick Haleigh up off the floor.

"Cameron is okay."

Best to preface everything that was to come with that.

"When we were making our plans to kill Malice, we ran a lot of simulations. War games. Cameron planned for every eventuality we could think of, no matter how remote a chance of it occurring."

She reached for the glass of whiskey nearest to her and took a sip. She trusted Cameron, so she pushed away all the doubts that were threatening to invade her mind. She would not let herself be derailed.

"One possibility was that Cameron would need to let Malice kill him on the Astral plane."

Delilah studied Haleigh to see how she was reacting to this so far, before continuing on to the next part.

"Just before I texted you, Cameron flatlined. Protocols immediately went into place to cryogenically preserve his body. When Cameron returns to it, I can deactivate those protocols, or he is able to do it telepathically."

She took a longer drink of whiskey. The glass was still at her lips when she next spoke.

"I thought you should know what was going on."
 
The Parthenon

Haleigh had arrived in the Danger room, prepared to either help Delilah in any way she could, or to put her in the grave if she turned out to be under Malice’s control. Combined with the loss of Cameron, the situation had Haleigh in a surreal state of mind. Delilah was eerily calm, a fact that served to heighten Haleigh’s stress. Delilah invited her to sit down, and Haleigh watched Delilah (or Malice?) sit first before sinking into the other chair suspiciously. Delilah(?) said that Cameron was ‘okay’.

“Well that’s debatable, but certainly he’s probably better off than the rest of us right now.”

Haleigh replied, in a voice that sounded stronger than she felt at the moment. Her mother would know that, her mother would likely at least smile sharply at the comment, if not laugh at her blatant weakness. But Delilah didn’t even smirk, she just serenely explained that this was all part of the plan, and apparently it was within the parameters of their simulations.

“War games,”

Haleigh repeated in an agonized groan, as she propped her elbows on her knees, lowered her head into her hands and listened to Delilah say Cameron had been prepared to allow Malice to kill him on the Astral plane. Was Delilah on drugs? Was that why she was so placid? They must be good. She probably shouldn’t be mixing them with whiskey. Whatever it was, Delilah remained incredibly stolid as she said that Cameron had flatlined, and his body had been cryogenically preserved for when Cameron came back.

Ah okay, she’s in denial, Haleigh realized. Well, Haleigh wasn’t in denial. If she was in a single stage it was ANGER. She was FURIOUS that this had been part of any plan they’d actually carried out. IRATE that Delilah just ‘thought she should know’ right now that Cameron had full ass planned to DIE going up against her mother. She wanted to slap the glass out of Delilah’s hand and shake Delilah out of her trance. She wanted to toss the furniture and smash the whiskey against the wall. She wanted to rage that they should’ve left her in Hellfire, that they had come up with the worst plan ever and proceeded to waste the lives she had descended into Hell to preserve, that she didn’t deserve a single one of them planning to DIE trying to save her from the prison of her own making. She was LIVID with herself, for all the things she had done to avoid losing them and that all she had managed to really do was to drag them all down to the Ninth circle with her. She exhaled audibly through her nostrils and lifted her head to look up at Delilah.

“This poisoned?”

She asked flippantly as she grabbed the other glass of whiskey, with no hesitation before she drained it completely. She went quiet again, taking another deep breath to cool her temper. She set the empty glass down, deliberately careful not to smash it. Then she looked back at Delilah, as the rage gave way to remorse.

“I used to find it really difficult to understand why you tried to commit suicide after you shot Bishop. Couldn’t fathom why you even struggled with having eliminated him, when he was such an obvious threat. I used to be stone-cold skilled at the justification of the lesser evil. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, recently. I’ve been thinking about the detestable things I did so I wouldn’t have to watch any of you die. Contemplating the SHITTY choices I made, all the myriad ways I compromised myself, those may not have been the worst options but still leaves stains on the soul. Even if it turns out I saved the fucking world, I’m never going to be able to right those wrongs.”

She paused, then nodded her head.

“I get it now, how you reached the point where you thought it was just better to end it.”

She made herself smile, grotesque though it may be, she would not let herself cry. Crying would do absolutely no good whatsoever right now. Now wasn’t the time for tears. It was the time for grit and wit. She would need both to out-think her mother.

“Well, if Malice is unsupervised on the Astral Plane, there’s a one HUNDRED percent chance she’s doing her damndest to weasel her way back to life. Any ideas on what she might try first?”
 
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The Parthenon - The Danger Room

Delilah had started off pretty amiably, she'd thought, putting Haleigh's mind at ease that Cameron was okay.

Haleigh: “Well that’s debatable, but certainly he’s probably better off than the rest of us right now.”

This bitch. There was a perturbed wrinkle of her nose and a sharpness to her eyes as she responded.

"What he's doing isn't easy, Haleigh."

For chrissake, Cameron was fighting for all of them.

Haleigh put her head in her hands as Delilah explained what was happening. When she finally looked up, she reached for the drink Delilah had offered.

Haleigh: “This poisoned?”

"Oh, fuck you."

She waved her hand in the air.

"Take my glass if you want, for fuck's sake."

If Delilah was going to kill Haleigh, she wouldn't do it with poison, that was for certain. Delilah waited patiently, though, as Haleigh drank from her own glass, filled it, and drank it down again.

Haleigh: “I used to find it really difficult to understand why you tried to commit suicide after you shot Bishop."

That was NOT what Delilah was expecting to hear. THIS should be good.

Haleigh: "Couldn’t fathom why you even struggled with having eliminated him, when he was such an obvious threat. I used to be stone-cold skilled at the justification of the lesser evil. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, recently. I’ve been thinking about the detestable things I did so I wouldn’t have to watch any of you die. Contemplating the SHITTY choices I made, all the myriad ways I compromised myself, those may not have been the worst options but still leaves stains on the soul. Even if it turns out I saved the fucking world, I’m never going to be able to right those wrongs. I get it now, how you reached the point where you thought it was just better to end it.”

Delilah scrutinized Haleigh closely.

"So this is what, your suicide note? You, what, want me to tell you not to do it? To do it?"

Delilah shook her head.

"I went into that water because I'd lost everything I'd ever cared about. I sacrificed Bishop to protect my teammates - and they hated me for it. Even though Bishop ended up being RIGHT. But Morgan wouldn't listen when I told her that some day we would make a huge mistake and innocents would die. She never LISTENS."

She scoffed.

"Just because you feel guilty now because you're starting to realize the end doesn't always justify the means, or because you're pissed off that no one fucking bows down and thanks you for all the shit you've done in their names. Whichever it is, killing yourself - if that's even possible - isn't going to fix it so you might as well stick the fuck around so Cameron has a damn reason to come back."

She finished her own drink then.

Haleigh: “Well, if Malice is unsupervised on the Astral Plane, there’s a one HUNDRED percent chance she’s doing her damndest to weasel her way back to life. Any ideas on what she might try first?”

"Kelly? Malice could have had her build her something for this exact scenario. I hear she and Helena have been hard to find lately, though."
 
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