Casualties of War

Their argument was heated -- a back and forth over who was in the right and why. But the underlining issue wasn't Haleigh, it wasn't even the fact that Ava came back to Hellfire again to risk her life trying to save Haleigh, it was that Alek was treating Ava like she was a stranger. The look in his eyes and overall demeanor made it seem as if he hated the sight of her, like he hadn't fallen as madly in love with her as she did with him. The long nights together in Hellfire, the passion, the love, all of it was vacant in his eyes as he screamed at her that she was acting like a child because she had an emotional response to him snapping Haleigh's neck. It was infuriating because she came to Hellfire FOR Haleigh, and none of that seemed to matter to either of them when they decided Haleigh's life was more problematic than fixable. They had no idea how Haleigh would react during the transfer, or if it would even work. NONE of them did, and Ava told Alek exactly that, with a fury that matched his own. But he dismissed her, YET AGAIN.

Alek: "You don't think she calculated all of that? It's what she does."

"For fuck sakes Alek, she makes rash decisions to protect the people she loves despite her calculations!"

Hence why she and Haleigh were even in Hellfire to begin with. But Ava would never fault Haleigh for that, nor would she hate her for it. It selfishly brought Ava to Alek...the one light throughout her entire fucked up journey of torture and hell.

"But instead of understanding why I'm upset, you're standing here looking at me like I'm a stranger and telling me to suck it up? I'm still ME, Alek. And even if Ava wasn't present, I would STILL be pissed at you for breaking my sisters neck."

Alek: "If Ava wasn't present, you'd be UNLEASHING HELL ON DIANA RIGHT NOW for what she did to Haleigh. AND you."

"I WILL DRAG what's remained of Diana down to HELL for what she did to me AND my sister, don't you DARE get that twisted. SHE WILL DIE TONIGHT."

She growled back, fed up with the notion that Alek seemed to have about Ava being some kind of weakness. But what frustrated her even more was him calling her Ava -- like Persephone was somehow GONE to him. She called Alek out on it with aggravation before looking away from him and to the battle continuing. It almost seemed to slow as she and Alek fought.

Alek: "I thought...I thought he killed her."

Ava scoffed.

"Apparently you and Cameron have that thought in common."

She snapped before realizing Alek was only lashing out in anger because he thought he had lost his Persephone. Sighing out, her face softened as she looked at him, shaking her head gently.

"There is no Persephone without Ava.....and no Ava without Persephone. We are ONE, but whatever Cameron did somehow balanced our co-consciousness. I'm still here, Alek....i'm still the woman you fell in love with. I still have all of my feelings for you, all of our memories, our experiences...everything that happened to me in Hellfire. It's why I came back...not just for Haleigh, but for you. I love you--"

The lights in the room went bright causing Ava to look over to see the climax of the battle come to a crescendo. Delilah unleashed a massive attack against Diana with Cameron by her side, doing an equally as dominating attack. They both went in hard, Ava's eyes widening as she saw Diana's diamond form begin to crack.

[in disbelief] "They're actually doing it..."

And as if on cue, Diana's body splintered into a thousand pieces, exploding outward and raining shards of diamonds onto the floor of the White Wing. The White Queen...the woman who took pleasure in torturing herself and her sister...was DEAD. Diana was dead.
 
The White Wing

Ava was acting like there wasn't a battle going on, like he hadn't been trying to keep Haleigh alive all this time for her. Like she hadn't put herself in danger by coming back and making things a whole hell of a lot more complicated as a result. And then she yelled at him for calling her Ava.

He hadn't even realized he'd been doing it. Consciously he hadn't let himself dwell on the idea that Persephone was dead, even though he'd thought it from the moment he'd lifted her into his arms and carried her to the helicopter, when he'd told Helena that she was dead. And behind that thought was another, that Ava didn't love him the way Seph did.

Ava: "There is no Persephone without Ava.....and no Ava without Persephone. We are ONE, but whatever Cameron did somehow balanced our co-consciousness. I'm still here, Alek....i'm still the woman you fell in love with. I still have all of my feelings for you, all of our memories, our experiences...everything that happened to me in Hellfire. It's why I came back...not just for Haleigh, but for you. I love you--"

"I thought maybe you wouldn't want me anymore."

The corner of his mouth turned up. He found that his body had relaxed, the tension and anger having left it. He moved towards her, slipping his hands under her elbows and pulling her closer to him.

"I just wanted you to be safe. You shouldn't have come back here."

He brushed her hair off her face.

"Are you really alright?"

Seph was looking towards the battle, still going on so close to them. Her eyes widened, and he followed her gaze in time to see Malice's diamond form shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer bitch."

He looked back into Seph's face.

"But I wouldn't count her out just yet."
 
The room went black as Helena enveloped it in a cloud of darkness. It overtook the little flashbulbs attack, dampering Morningstar's powers to give relief to the Queens. Helena was prepared to unleash an attack of her own when she felt an explosion between herself and the two other Queens. Flying away from them like she were being shot from a canon, Helena tumbled to the ground in a heap, groaning as she rolled to a halt.

Alexis: "Boo, bitch."

The cockroach was back like the pest that she was, grabbing Helena by the throat and lifting her into the air. Helena felt her entire body being pushed against the wall by something heavy, but there was nothing there, just Alexis. Her windpipe was crushed closed, her chest cracking as ribs began to fracture. Helena's eyes were wide as she gasped for the smallest amount of air, then POP. She could breathe again and the heavy pressure on her body was immediately gone. Helena crumpled to the floor, falling next to Alexis who was groaning in pain. It didn't register to her what had happened, or who had just saved her, but Helena knew well enough that she wasn't DEAD. Coughing out violently, she rolled to her side, trying to get as much air in her lungs as possible. That was when Kelly shimmered next to Helena, kneeling down.

Kelly: "I made sure not to kill her outright. I figured you deserved those honors."

Helena looked up at Kelly as she heaved in and out, eyes bloodshot and watery, throat bruised with finger prints. She didn't know what Kelly was talking about until she looked to the side to see Alexis laying on her back, shot. Blue veins were prominently racing up the side of Alexis' neck, cheek, and temple.

"You.....insufferable little BITCH...."

Helena struggled to her hands and knees, towering over Alexis now as she looked down at her daughter. The thorn in her side since before she was even BORN. Helena put her hand onto Alexis' wound, pressing all of her weight down onto it as she watched Alexis scream.

"I have found you hideous on every conceivable level since the moment you were born. And NOW YOU WILL DIE!"

Helena's powers began to weave around Alexis' writhing body, manipulating her reality and increasing the probability of the pscionic poison from Kelly's bullet to overtake and KILL her. But everything was brought to an abrupt halt as a flash of light illuminated the room causing Helena to look up. There was Diana, in her diamond form, being attacked by both Kelly's son and that little twit, Morningstar. For the first time in Helena's entire life, Diana was struggling against the attack causing panic to flood the Red Queen.

"Kelly! Shimmer her out!"

But it was too late to do anything, Diana's diamond form fractured and violently exploded outward, Helena's eyes widening in horror.

"NOOO!!!!!!"

She screamed out, lunging forward as if she could somehow stop Diana from getting killed. Her face was stricken with horror and pain, her eyes glassy as she watched the diamond pieces fall to the ground. Diana, the woman whom had been her best friend for nearly three decades, who had helped her through her hardest trials and tribulations, who she had built an EMPIRE with, was gone. Flashes of red blinded Helena as she immediately wanted to retaliate and KILL THEM ALL, but she also knew if they had the power to kill Diana, an outright battle right now in her weakened state would end with her losing her life as well.

Helena clasped Kelly's hand, who was on the same page as her, both Queens shimmering out of the Hellfire Club.
 
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Hellfire — The White Wing

:: Diana was managing to subjugate her daughter, but it was WEARING on her. The girl was BEYOND STUBBORN, and possessed a mental toughness that Diana might have been impressed by, or even mildly proud of, if it wasn’t so FRUSTRATING. Diana forced pain on the girl’s mind, UNBEARABLE pain. Yet still, Haleigh resisted. ::

:: If Diana shifted her focus AT ALL, she’d lose control of Scion. She forced a SHUTDOWN of the girl’s emotions, which diminished Haleigh further and made it a little easier, but Diana was FATIGUING. Malice needed to finish this quickly. She designated Scion’s targets with extreme prejudice. Cameron first, then Delilah. They would be EASY to destroy now that they’d both been knocked on their asses.::

:: Diana could hear Helena and Alexis struggling somewhere nearby, but she couldn’t afford to pay it any attention. Helena would have to take care of her niece. Diana had her hands FULL. So did Scion, it seemed. Alek and Ava were slowing her down. Scion tried to brush them off like the GNATS they were. Diana made Ava a target TOO, but low priority. She could die at her would-be sister’s hands later, BUT FIRST, Cameron needed to be DEALT WITH.::

“Talisman, do you think you could deign to make yourself useful at all here? Or are you just resting on your laurels as usual?”

:: Diana asked coldly. In the time it took her to cut her gaze over to Kelly, Haleigh convinced Scion to SURRENDER and Alek snapped the girl’s neck! The connection was INSTANTLY SEVERED, but Diana wasn’t dismayed. Haleigh would wake up on Sheena, and Diana had a PLAN for that. Haleigh dying actually made it EASIER for Diana. She turned her focus on Cameron, and just in time. ::

:: He tried to BLAST her, but she got a hand up and projected psi lightning back at him. Their respective powers CLASHED a few feet out in front of her. Initially her psi lightning was a strong, steady bolt stream, but as the seconds passed it quickly DETERIORATED! She was EXHAUSTED. The INCONCEIVABLE was happening! She was getting OVERWHELMED by him, DRAGGED across the floor towards him despite her resistance. She sent a psi javelin at him to disrupt his efforts. She wanted it to LIQUIFY his brain but she knew she was too drained to produce a strong enough javelin for that.::

:: Morningstar BOMBARDED Diana too, a cacophony of sound that RATTLED her teeth and a strobe of lights that seemed to SEAR her eyes. She went to diamond form. She had to get out of here, FAST! Delilah was somehow drawing power from the thoughts of her daughter, Alexia. Diana looked for Helena, and found that Kelly was helping her up. But before Diana could tell them that they needed to regroup elsewhere, Delilah blasted her. Diana was left with no choice but to leave her sister queens behind. She RETREATED to the Astral Plane.::
 
The Hellfire Mansion - The Black Wing

Vivica was running on adrenaline and anger. She hadn't completely healed from The Purifier Event, despite her having a bit of a conflict of faith afterwards. She could not understand how any god would deign to sign off on the death certificates of upwards of fifty children. There was no sense in that and no lesson worth the cost, but it had happened. And now this - an actual war between Hellfire and the supers who'd had enough of them. And Vivica had most definitely had enough. She watched impressed as John cleared a great distance in between them, locking with Rampage and already making a path towards the exit, leaving the hulking stone beast alone, his eyes darting towards her as she said a silent prayer, mustering whatever faith she had left into it, and grabbed one of her boomerangs, running forward a few paces before turning around and throwing one of the curved vibranium blades outward, causing a flurry of sparks as it richocheted against a wall and back to her hand, and mere seconds after the sparks?

<< BOOM! >>

The hallway errupted in violent flames charging towards her body as Vivica's eyes met Gorgon's once more. He had killed Cassandra and unfortunately Steel had set a heavy precedent on how The Birds of Prey dealt with those who crossed them or their allies. There were the bones of The Black Knight in the black wing to prove it.

"Come and get it, mothafucker!"

Thankfully she had a bit of knowledge about Gorgon that she realized upon laying eyes on him. Much of Vivica's field work in Clandestine was in the UK and Gorgon had been a part of the legacy of the short lived London MysTech branch. His father had killed for his ineptitude but Clandestine always kept tabs on him. He had been a killer for hire and he was good at it, but he was also on a list of people that Clandestine had classified to kill on sight. While she was not on active duty, she took her vows seriously.

"You shoulda stayed in London, Benji. You might have survived all this!"

Vivica threw one her boomerangs, calculating a perfect hit with a spin against a bookcase that caused it to catapult right into Gorgon, breaking all around his strong body. The only way she could kill him was to somehow knock him out, get him to shift into human form and throw him in the flames, all in about fifteen seconds. It was foolish but Vivica pursued.

Gorgon: "You're out of your league, bitch!"

<< BANG! >>

A giant marble pillar fell from the ceiling, crushing Ben into a million pieces as it fell through the floor, a GIANT explosion unleashing from another part of the mansion that looked like The Fourth of July in Hell. Vivica's eyes widened as the flames reflected in them. They were coming straight towards her and she was a LOT farther from the exit than she wanted to be. Mustering every single bit of her peak human speed, she ROUNDED The corner just as the fire Vivica started met the fire from the opposite side, causing another BRILLIANT explosion as she was catapulted into John and Nicolas' arms, finding themselves flying back a distance of about twenty feet as the mansion continued to be destroyed around them.

[via Com Link] "Birds of Prey ROLL CALL! We need to get the fuck out of here! Where can we rendezvous?!"

She turned to John and Nic.

"Are you guys okay?"
 
Hellfire Mansion

Meeting Mina Harker had been a thrill, but it did little to distract from the sinking feeling Danny was having as he watched from a safe distance the war that was unfolding at Hellfire. The city had let him know that this was indeed an important battle, one that would define the immediate future of New York City as a whole. So Danny had little choice but to have a stake in all of this. He was rooting for the good guys but his allegiance was not to them. He would do what needed to be done to ensure the city never went through another event like The Purifiers. Or The Inferno, when he had nearly died.

The White Queen and Cameron King were engaged in a pissing contest of the highest degree and he really couldn't tell who would win, but the city would bet money on Cameron King. The telepath was not just a good business man on his own, he was a favorite of the city, and it was why Cameron was able to own a large part of it. Diana had a much more tumultuous relationship. She had waned over the years, she used to be a fresh faced ingenue looking for a bit of fame and she had turned into an absolute monster. She had caused the deaths of thousands in New York and the sooner she was gone, the faster everyone would heal.

"Holy Shit."

Danny watched as Delilah and Cameron unleashed a brutal assault against Diana as the entire area began to quake and shake coming down around them, Danny making sure to contain this area so that nobody innocent would die from the fallout. This place was about to go nuclear and fast.

[via Com Link] "Oracle...I'm sorry but I gotta bury this place before it blows and judging on what you are seeing in the black wing you know it's about to come. I will get as MANY of them out of here as I can, give me a drop point, but I gotta go fa--"

<< BAM! >>

Everything went white as a giant explosion happened simultaneously in The Black Wing. The entire mansion was in flames as explosions from medical and security equipment lit the place up with flashfire lighting as they exploded. Danny went into action, encasing the entirety of the Hellfire Mansion in his energy. Phasing through the mansion he wove himself through, warping all of the remaining birds of prey to the designated drop point as he worked his power, warping and shifting the entire property, under ground, deeper and deeper as it burned and blew through foundations and pipe systems and metro tracks, Danny warping it through all the while before encasing it in a deep pit of earth deep under the city, no exit, no way out unless through him. Where Hellfire once stood, a non descript brownstone building appeared and a "For Lease" signed popped up in the window, as if the mansion had never been there at all.

[via Com Link] "I'm going back in and I'll keep you posted! Let me know if I missed anyone!"
 
Sheena Island — Arklay Replica

She hesitated. It meant eliminating her own immortality, to turn all these switches. It probably meant a lot more, too. There was so much she didn’t know about this lab and Project Scion. She withdrew her hand and let the plastic cover spring closed again. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t flush so much potential down the drain. Not when she could take control of this mansion, and the island it was on.

She interfaced with the mansion’s control server. There were still personnel throughout the mansion, light staffing of scientists mostly. She considered letting them go, but that was a risk she wasn’t sure was acceptable. She put the mansion in immediate lockdown and activated every containment protocol available. She marked herself as the only person permitted on the premises. All others were considered intruders, to be eliminated immediately.

With the mansion hermetically sealed, she located the lab that tested chemical weapons. She released the sarin gas canisters into the HVAC system and manifested a mask. Anyone that breathed the air would find their respiratory systems completely paralyzed, and would asphyxiate quickly. Her copies would be protected as each Scion pod was equipped with its own air filtration system to supply the respirator.

As Haleigh pulled her mask on she also manifested her battle suit onto her body. All other life forms within the mansion died as the sarin gas permeated throughout the structure. The remains could be dealt with later. Haleigh locked down the Scion lab and booby trapped it in case anyone made it past the sarin. She secured this place so she could go back to New York and help her friends finish off the Queens.

She reappeared in the White Wing and pulled off her mask quickly as she scanned the scene to take stock. Haleigh gave Alek a smile and a little salute when she saw he was holding Ava. The Queens were gone. Under her boots and everywhere on the floor were diamond shards. Delilah was glowing. Cameron was unconscious on the floor. Haleigh rushed over as soon as she saw him and knelt down to check his pulse. Her own heart had stopped for the moment, but his was still beating. She breathed a sigh of relief and lifted his body up onto her shoulders, looking around at those remaining. Alexis was slumped against a wall, but Zach was picking her up.

“We need to egress immediately. Delilah, a wormhole, if you will?”

She asked, before her gaze went to Alek and Ava, a little ways down the hall.

”Oh, and will one of you grab Bishop? He’s still unconscious under that debris pile over there.”
 
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Alexis could see the life leaving Helena's eyes as she continued to crush her body against the wall. The air had left her lungs, and Alexis could feel Helena's chest caving in as the bones began to fracture. She kept her invisible field pushing harder, flexing her powers on and around them both. Despite her back being turned to the battle, Alexis had her shield up in a bubble around her, making sure NO ONE could intervene this time.

"Give my regards to Ravena."

She hissed as she pushed even HARDER onto Helena, knowing the woman was SECONDS away from death. When suddenly...BANG! It felt like a hot poker slicing through Alexis' flesh and exploding throughout her back and chest. Her shield immediately dropped, as did the attack she was inflicting onto Helena, as she collapsed forward into her aunt, both crumpling to the floor.

"AHHHH!!!!!"

Alexis screamed out in agony, gritting her teeth to try and muffle her cries. Her entire shoulder and upper chest was on fire, the burning feeling like it was coursing through her veins, up her neck, face, and into her head. She immediately grabbed her shoulder as Kelly shimmered next to her and Helena, it then dawning on her HOW she got shot. Despite the pain in her eyes, Alexis glared at Kelly knowing she used some sort of pscionic laced bullet from her Omi Pistol to get through Alexis' shield.

"Fucking...bitch!"

She managed to cough out, the pain getting worse as the minutes passed by. Throughout all of this Helena was recovering from Alexis' attack, until finally, her aunt was hovering above her. It didn't take long for Helena to start with her venomous words, but it was the sudden pressure Helena inflicted on Alexis' shoulder that caused an outward reaction from the mutant. As Helena began to purposely lean on her bullet wound, Alexis cried out in agony, the pscionic energy building in intensity as her aunt began to weave and manipulate Kelly's attack even further.

Helena: "I have found you hideous on every conceivable level since the moment you were born. And NOW YOU WILL DIE!"

The veins in Alexis' chest, shoulder, neck, and side of her face were all pulsing dark blue as her body began to be ravaged by both the pscionic poison and Helena's powers. But just as the attack began to increase to the point of rendering Alexis unconscious, it stopped. Weakened, Alexis's watery eyes weakly opened to see Helena screaming 'No', causing the mutant to slowly roll her head to the side just in time to see Diana explode into a thousand pieces. Even in her weakened state a smile tugged on Alexis' lips at the sight, the wicked bitch of the White Wing finally fucking dead. Alexis didn't see Helena or Kelly shimmer away, her mind drifting back to the pain that was taking over the left side of her body. She began to try and push her body back in an attempt to retreat herself. She managed to move up against the wall her aunt was previously pinned to, attempting to phase to her invisible form to hide from any other possible threats. But that act alone began to make her body shake uncontrollably as she 'flickered' from visible to invisible. Slumped against the wall, Alexis held her bleeding shoulder as her body finally settled on visible, no longer strong enough to keep her powers going. She could feel the entire mansion rumbling around her, the sound of explosions in the distance.

"I'm sorry..."

She whispered softly, her bloody hand moving from her shoulder to the necklace Ororo had given her. She clasped onto it tightly, her vision blurring until everything went black.
 
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Cameron sat in the church pew of a cathedral he had built in his mind. Most telepaths had well built inner worlds - some were gardens, parks, studies, libraries with thousands of shelves, but Cameron's was a cathedral. One with rooms that housed his greatest fears and traumas, locked tightly away by his own will. It had been something he learned from Diana, though she didn't know it. And he was hoping it would be something he could use to kill her. Everything around him went in slow motion.

Delilah: "Boom."

In his mind he moved through the pews, passed the candles sparcely lit with photos of those Cameron had wanted to save in the past and likely failed at doing so until he found a staircase. He moved with purpose down each set of steps, further and further down. Years ago, he had been violated by Malice and his sister Erika for months before he was trapped by Barbas on The Astral Plane and tortured even further. His mind was in The Citadle, both physically and mentally and it took him some years of reflecting to realize that the Citadle in his mind was actually Diana's psyche. His mind was a cathedral and hers was a prison, a vortex of darkness. She was a telepath of the highest degree and the kind of energy she weaved didn't leave the body quickly. In fact it remained there for quite some time. And that was when Cameron began to wonder where it went after it left, and over the course of a decade he followed the scent until he found a door into her. In the basement of his "cathedral" - a door that would lead him into Diana's mind and psyche.

For a moment his mind saw a lighthouse, which meant Delilah was there with him. The moment they decided to kill Malice they began to train for it. She was an investigator of the highest degree and Cameron helped train her mind, so much so that if Delilah concentrated hard enough she was able to manifest small telepathic feats. The locked doors that housed Cameron's trauma had been created after his first attempt at escaping The Citadle years ago. Every corner he rounded felt the same, until he broke her, for just a second and reached a door he wasn't supposed to. The handle STUNG him upon touching it, but he saw enough. A young girl, forced to be a PSI hound for perverted men only interested in her body and her power. He understood the monster that Diana had become because Cameron always knew that had he made a few different decisions in life he might have tried to give her a run for her money. She captured him again, but in touching that door he suddenly found out how to make them for himself, to protect him from things that no longer served him or were too painful. After The Blue Moon, Cameron taught this to Delilah, to lock the pain away, to give her a way to move on with her life. And now, they were both going to unlock the doors and make sure Diana felt EVERY BIT of it. His free hand grabbed Delilah's and gripped it tighter than he ever thought possible.

"CHECK....MATE!"

He opened the door in his mind as he felt her start flowing through The Astral Plane and grabbed right on to the bottom of her. She had gotten a head start, and he couldn't let her leave this place. He felt himself leave his body, immediately moving into astral form, where he was much much faster. She was moving like a bullet train and he needed to ground her before she got too far.

"STOP...RUNNING!"

Prophet moved like a BLUR as he was able to fly up to Diana's level, grabbing her around the chest and freefalling with equal speed and force, the two of them plummeting through the astral plane as swirling chaotic orbs of bright white energy, flickering and cracking thunder could be heard in the distance. In his mind he saw the door to his pysche and the flickering candles of the cathedral ready to welcome him before he felt his entire being take a hard right as the dripping metallic smell of The Citadle filled his senses and he heard the spinning padlock of it's locked doors clink behind them as they continued to fall. He was going to have to kill her in her own mind, but he had no time, everything faded to white as his physical body fell to the floor a huddled mess, the entire mansion seemingly destroyed around them but somehow contained. Cameron's battle was not over, but for now, the others had a chance to regroup.
 
Hellfire — the Catacombs

Biohazard dogs were the first thing they were tasked with putting down. It wasn’t difficult, but Zach found it irksome enough to comment that dogs deserved better than to be experimented on. Ash replied that he could write an angry letter to MysTech when it was all over. Zach gave her a wry smile as they left the room.

Crimson heads were out in the hall, another mild challenge. It was a good thing they’d been to the range recently. Ashley led the way while Zach covered their rear. In addition to the Crimson heads, there were guards that had been caught up in catacombs and turned. That was a blessing in disguise, Zach thought.

More targets to deal with, but after they were dispatched, Zach was able to pull ammo magazines from their dead bodies as Ash dealt with the door, and stuck the extra mags in the pockets of his pants.

Ash: "This leads to a passage parallel to the main corridor. Should get us where we need to go."

Oracle: [via com] "I'm containing the bio hazards the best I can, but it's like herding cats. I'm afraid you're still going to have some to deal with."

Ash: "This way."

Zach reloaded his rifle and nodded. He continued to follow her, and together they were able to dispatch the biohazards in their way fairly easily. Zach ran through quite a few magazines of ammo, but that became a secondary concern as they neared the sounds of explosions. He could feel the tide of emotions on the other side of the door, some of it positive, some of it negative. When they breached the last door, Zach found a scene that looked as chaotic as it felt. Cameron and Delilah were assaulting Diana and it was a sight to behold. Diana spalled into a million diamond shards.

Zach spotted Helena struggling with Alexis, but before he could aim and shoot, Helena was gone. He nudged Ash with his elbow and when she looked at him he tipped his head in Alexis’ direction before heading over to her side. He dropped the gun and squatted down next to Alexis, who was definitely wounded. She wasn’t a teammate and he didn’t know her well, but they couldn’t just leave her here to die. He scooped her up off the floor, giving her an empathic boost as he cradled her.

Alexis: “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize, stay with us, Alexis. Stay with us.”

He encouraged as he stood up. Haleigh asked Delilah for a wormhole, but Hellfire was coming down around them. Rafters and other rubble started to shift and fall between them and the rest of the group, cutting off a path to join the other escaping through the wormhole. Zach turned to Ash, shifting Alexis’s weight in his arms a bit so Ash could reach the watch on his wrist.

“Hey babe, turn that dial three clicks and pull it out.”

When she did, the three of them were all transported to the Clocktower.

“We’ve got wounded here!”

He said urgently.

“Looks like she was shot in the shoulder, but I think the bullet must have been poisoned.... her veins are all bluish and weird. I’ve been giving her an adrenaline rush but she’s still pretty out of it...”
 
Hellfire — The Catacombs

Ashley was enjoying this. Her and Zach, traipsing through the Hellfire Mansion at their leisure - something that would give Helena hives if she knew, the satisfying SLICE! of her sword through the occasional biohazard...it was almost relaxing. Plus, Zach was wearing that body armor of his and carrying a rifle. As long as they didn't let themselves get overwhelmed, they could easily do this all day.

But when they reached the White Wing, it was clear they weren't going to have all day. The fucking entire place was coming down. Including pieces of Diana. She'd never have believed Bishop's ex could have pulled this off, but somehow the bitch had.

Ashley's eyes scanned the room.

"Damnit! We missed everything!"

She stomped her foot, looking over at Zach in exasperation. The biggest middle finger to this fucking place to ever happen, and she had missed it. And missed her chance at Helena.

Zach nudged her and indicated Alexis freaking Quartermaine, down but alive. He checked her out (he'd better NOT check her out!) and picked her up. She had helped them, so they couldn't really leave her to have a building fall on her. And hey, she was probably the only person on the planet who hated Helena more than Ashley did.

Oracle [via com]: "Malice has been destroyed. The Red and Black queens have fled. Time to go."

[via com] "Uh, Oracle, we're cut off from the Six..."

Oracle [via com]: "Roger, I'm sending transport."

But Zach was shifting so she could see his watch. She smiled at him.

[via com] "Negative, Oracle, we've got an alternate route."

Zach: “Hey babe, turn that dial three clicks and pull it out.”

She did as he instructed, and found herself inside the deafening silence of The Clocktower.

Zach: “We’ve got wounded here!”

Security System: "Recognized: Valkyrie, b zero 2. Orion, b zero 3. Unrecognized: Intruder. Initiating security protocols."

Zizi: "Countermand!"

Ashley rushed forward, pushing the contents of Zizi's dining table onto the floor.

"Put her down."

Zach: “Looks like she was shot in the shoulder, but I think the bullet must have been poisoned.... her veins are all bluish and weird. I’ve been giving her an adrenaline rush but she’s still pretty out of it...”

Zizi: "We have a magick user here...Alix!"

"Zizi, I need the sharpest knife we've got, boiling water and that moonshine you got for Christmas. Zach, the first aid kit from the bathroom."

She ripped open the shoulder of Alexis' shirt. The blue veins were definitely coming from the wound. She lifted Alexis' shoulder to check for an exit wound. There was none. Then there was a stranger at her side, who could only have been this supposed magick user. She set down a large bowl of water on the table next to Alexis, wrote something on her hand, and pointed it at the water, which instantly began to boil.

Alix: "It's psionic in nature. Even if I heal the physical wound it would keep poisoning her."

"We've got to get that bullet out. I'll be damned if I'm going to give Helena Quartermaine the satisfaction of killing her niece."

Zizi returned with the knife and alcohol. Ash doused her hands with the alcohol, then shoved the blade in the boiling water, before pouring alcohol over it as well. She turned to the stranger beside her.

"Can you put her out?"

This was going to hurt. Ashley took a swig of the grain alcohol.

The woman nodded, drawing something on Alexis' forehead. Ashley dug the knife into Alexis' wound, following the bullet's path.

"Zach, hand me that gauze. Then wash the tweezers in there with the alcohol."

She used it to soak up the blood, so she could see.

"I've got it."

She took the tweezers from Zach, and plucked the bullet out of the flesh it was embedded in. She dropped it into the boiling water.

"Give me the sutures from the kit."

Alix: "No need."

Alix held her hand over the wound in Alexis' shoulder, a silver glow emanating from it. The wound began to knit together and heal, until the skin was just faintly pink where the bullet had entered.

Ashley exhaled deeply, picking up the bottle of alcohol and taking a longer drink this time.

"What do we do with her now?"
 
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The Clocktower

It was difficult to not focus her attention on what was going on in the White Wing. Helena was there, and so was the Six, which now apparently included Persephone and Black Widow once more. But their focus was Malice, which to be fair was prudent of them. But it wasn't Oracle's main objective.

Zizi's priority in practical terms was her people in the field. But there was a not tiny part of her that was willing Valkyrie and Orion to move faster, so that Ashley would have the opportunity to fulfill her promise to take out Helena if she could.

Oracle was in control now of most of what was still functioning in the Mansion. She was strategically locking and unlocking doors, trying to keep the biohazards away from the people inside, while also keeping them from getting outside. She knew Danny would keep his promise, and level the building and everything inside it if he thought the city at large was in danger from it.

[via com] "I'm containing the bio hazards the best I can, but it's like herding cats. I'm afraid you're still going to have some to deal with."

Valkyrie: [via com] "Do what you can, we'll handle the rest."

The two were picking off the things that slipped through Oracle's nets, that she couldn't herd away from them. They made a good team, Zach and Ashley. Zash. She wondered if she and Gabe would have earned a portmanteau of their own someday... Zizi put a hand over her heart until the pain in her chest subsided.

Recall and Steel had just reached Rampage and were about to burn the Black Wing down. Oracle's feed kept cutting in and out from the one security camera left in the White Wing, but MorningStar and Prophet were bringing it to Malice. Vivica eliminated the Gorgon threat just as Malice's body shattered under the assault from the Six. Valkyrie and Orion had reached them now, but at the same time, Helena and Kelly shimmered out of sight.

"No!"

Oracle's fingers flew over her control panel, frantic. She had to find them, they had to be somewhere else in the Mansion. But there was no trace. They were gone. Helena had escaped.

Oracle [via com]: "Malice has been destroyed. The Red and Black queens have fled. Time to go."

Citadel: [via com] "Oracle...I'm sorry but I gotta bury this place before it blows and judging on what you are seeing in the black wing you know it's about to come. I will get as MANY of them out of here as I can, give me a drop point, but I gotta go fa--"

An explosion cut him off.

[via com] "Understood. Danny, The three in the Black Wing first: 40°46'04.7"N by 73°58'09.5"W. Bring them to the Clocktower."

Recall: [via com] "Birds of Prey ROLL CALL! We need to get the fuck out of here! Where can we rendezvous?!"

[via com] "Exfil imminent Recall."

Valkyrie and Orion were in the White Wing with the Six, and she knew MorningStar could get them out if necessary.

[via com] "The others are together at the battle site in the White Wing."

It was only seconds, but felt like years, until Recall, Steel and Rampage were safely inside the Clocktower.

Security System: "Recognized: Steel, b zero 4. Recall, b zero 5. Rampage, s zero 9."

Valkyrie: [via com] "Uh, Oracle, we're cut off from the Six..."

[via com] "Roger, I'm sending transport."

Valkyrie: [via com] "Negative, Oracle, we've got an alternate route."

Citadel: [via com] "I'm going back in and I'll keep you posted! Let me know if I missed anyone!"

Oracle was checking her sensors and remaining security feeds.

[via com] "There's three scientists trapped in lab at the Aqua Ring, and a cook shut in the walk in freezer of the kitchen. Sending you coordinates."

She turned as she heard Zach's voice behind her from the foyer.

Zach: “We’ve got wounded here!”

Zach was carrying a semi-conscious Alexis Quartermaine, Ashley in tow.

"Oh my goodNESS!"

Her security system scanned the visitors, calling out their clearances.

Security System: "Recognized: Valkyrie, b zero 2. Orion, b zero 3. Unrecognized: Intruder. Initiating security protocols."

Zizi quickly shouted the command to turn it off, the system recognizing her voice pattern.

"Countermand!"

She wheeled towards the three as Ashley was spewing placemats and centerpiece onto the floor of the dining area, and Zach was depositing Alexis on the table.

Zach: “Looks like she was shot in the shoulder, but I think the bullet must have been poisoned.... her veins are all bluish and weird. I’ve been giving her an adrenaline rush but she’s still pretty out of it...”

"We have a magick user here...Alix!"

Ashley was giving commands like a general, but Zizi didn't question them, confident that Ashley was the one who'd seen the most battlefield wounds of all of them. She rushed to the kitchen to get the things she'd been asked to. The magick user had heard Ashley's request on her way from the lounge, and was now beside Zizi taking a bowl from the counter and filling it with water.

Alix: "You get the rest."

Zizi moved as fast as she could, returning to the table to see the others examining the wound. There was definitely some kind of blood poisoning happening, though the veins had am unnatural blue color. Ashley asked Alix to make Alexis unconscious for what was about to happen.

"John, Nicolas, please hold her down as well. Just in case. Zach, you keep monitoring her."

Ashley was digging around in Alexis shoulder, until finally she found the bullet and picked it out. Zizi gave silent thanks for the thousandth time as Alix healed Alexis' wounds that Karen Victoria had sent her to them.

Ashley: "What do we do with her now?"

"She needs to rest. Andrew's asleep in the guest room...John, carry her to my room for me please?"

Zizi started to lead the way, but turned back.

"You all...you all did marvelous today."
 
The White Wing

Malice's body was gone, but she knew she wasn't dead. Not yet. Cameron and Delilah had prepared for every step of this, and it was only now that the battle was really beginning. His hand grasped hers, and she held on tight. They were flinging open the doors of Diana's mind. Making her feel every bit of pain she had ever locked away. It was exactly what Malice deserved.

When Cameron's grip on her hand slackened, and his body sank to the floor, she knew he had followed Diana to the Astral Plane. It was all up to him now.

Delilah stood there in the ruins of the Hellfire Mansion as if in a daze, her body still pulsating with energy. Haleigh rushed past her and knelt next to Cameron's body.

"He's alive, on the Astral Plane with Malice. We were prepared for this to happen."

Haleigh was picking up Cameron - of course she was, with her savior complex. But Cameron was the last one who needed saving this time. She blinked, her luminescence finally starting to dissipate, and looked around to see who was still with them. Zach was tending to Alexis, of all people, with Ashley close by. Delilah was surprised the bitch let Zach touch another woman at all. Ava had returned apparently, and she and the Red Knight seemed no worse for wear. Nicolas was telling her that he had safely been extracted.

Black Widow: "We need to egress immediately. Delilah, a wormhole, if you will?”

Delilah's eyes flicked sharply to Haleigh, and she snapped at her.

"Don't you fucking give me orders."

An explosion rocked the building, and falling debris was blocking Zach from getting to them. She saw him and the others blink out, and decided he was capable of finding his own way home. But they would have to deal with Alexis' return, sooner rather than later.

Black Widow: ”Oh, and will one of you grab Bishop? He’s still unconscious under that debris pile over there.”

"What, can't carry all your men at once?"

Delilah scoffed and threw her hands out in front of her, and while usually her wormholes took time as tendrils of light wove together, now power rushed from her hands with a whoosh creating a swirling vortex of pure white light. Delilah held the wormhole open with one hand, while she flicked the other, creating a giant hand made of the same white light, which reached into the rubble and retrieved Bishop. He was conscious, and scowling. She set him down at the mouth of the wormhole, and he passed into it. She turned to the others.

"Hurry, before this place collapses on top of us."

Once they entered the wormhole, they would find themselves outside and across the street from the Mansion.
 
Immediately she could see Alek's body relax once she reassured him that Persephone wasn't dead, and that she had all of the same love and memories for him despite Ava being present now.

Alek: "I thought maybe you wouldn't want me anymore."

She shook her head, slightly in disbelief he would even think that.

"That would never happen. I came back for you."

His hands went to her elbows, pulling Ava to him. Her own went instinctively to his sides, gripping his shirt tightly. It hurt Ava to think that maybe Alek wouldn't want her the way she was now...that he had only wanted Persephone. But as he brushed her hair from her face as he always had done before, the anxiety that was rising her her chest began to disappear.

Alek: "I just wanted you to be safe. You shouldn't have come back here."

"I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

Alek: "Are you really alright?"

She nodded, though still a little uncertain herself about what happened to her or if it was temporary. The only person who would truly know was Karen Victoria, but she burned that bridge long ago. A bright light lit up the entire White Wing drawing both her and Alek's attention to the climax of the battle. Ava watched as Delilah destroyed Diana, a bit shocked that the bitch was actually dead.

Alek: "Couldn't have happened to a nicer bitch."

Ava scoffed with agreement.

"Wish I had the pleasure of shattering her."

Alek: "But I wouldn't count her out just yet."

Ava looked up at Alek, her own eyes portraying that she agreed. Diana was resourceful and extremely powerful, and despite her physical body being gone, there's no telling where her psyche went. But those thoughts were soon interrupted by the entire mansion rumbling with explosions, causing Ava to look around seeing the marble pillars start to fall. That was when she saw Haleigh, alive. Ava's heart stopped for a moment before seeing Haleigh smile and give them a salute. A small smile tugged on her own lips knowing that this was in fact her sister. All the panicked thoughts and worries disappeared immediately, but that didn't mean they were safe.

"This place is about to come to the ground. We need to go."

Ava saw Delilah open a wormhole for the others, so She took Alek’s hand and began to run over to where the others were evacuating.
 
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The Black Wing

Rampage had landed an uppercut with his axe to Gorgon's chin, and was crouched prepared for the next counterattack, when something large hit his foe in the back.

"Don't look into his eyes!"

It was Delilah's friend, the one from the battle with the Purifiers. Cop, he thought.

Steel: "Leave him, this place is about to blow. Come with me if you want to live."

Nic gave him a look at that statement, but it was clear the guy wasn't going to wait for him. So he followed, increasing his pace as an explosion rocked the hallway behind them. He glanced back to see none other than Vivica Lennox still battling Gorgon. He slid to a stop, already flexing his axe in his hand.

"We have to help her!"

But before they could even react properly, Gorgon was SMASHED to pieces by a falling column. There was another explosion, with flames igniting in the hallway. A steel hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him away. When they pulled up and turned, they saw Vivica come around the corner behind them.

"Thank the gods."

But his relief was short-lived, as yet another explosion rocked the Black Wing and Vivica was thrown forward into them, the three of them pushed even farther backward from the force of it. They untangled themselves and got to their feet.

Vivica: "Are you guys okay?"

"Are WE okay? Girl, are YOU okay?!"

He gestured back down the hallway.

"That...that was amazing, Viv."

Steel put a hand on his shoulder.

Steel: "Malice is dead, the other queens are gone. We're getting out of here."

Danny, who helped out when Rose was in trouble, was suddenly there, and then they were somewhere else. Zizi's Clocktower.

"Wait, Delilah, Haleigh, Cameron-"

Zizi: "They're safe."

Nicolas sunk down in a chair, everything feeling overwhelming for a moment. Especially the silence in his head. That he had needed Danny to transport them here, instead of being able to bring his comrades here himself. He still seemed to have his strength, and his axe still responded to him, but his telepathic powers were definitely not working. How had that happened? Could it be permanent? He didn't know either answer, and Nicolas was a man who was used to having the answers.

And there was Ruby - poor Cassie. He hadn't been able to protect her, even with his powers intact. How was he going to tell the others what had happened? They hadn't even made it to the White Wing. What use was he to the Six, if he couldn't even make it to the battle when they needed him?

There was a commotion behind him, and Zizi was zooming past him in her wheelchair. He rose, and moved towards the activity, only to see a body laid out on Zizi's dining table.

"Alexis? Gods - Alexis! What's happened? And why did you bring her here?!"

How in the hell was Alexis Quartermaine here bleeding in the Clocktower, instead of a stone statue in Limbo? He had see it many times on his visits to Morgan and Ororo there...how had she escaped, and why hadn't Ororo contacted them.

What did she do to Ororo?

Ashley was preparing to take the bullet out of Alexis' shoulder. He wasn't sure they shouldn't leave it in.

"You all know this is Helena's niece, right? Who betrayed and almost killed most of the Six?"

Zizi: "She helped us. I don't know why, but she did. Now is not the time to debate it."

The magick user that Zizi apparently had in a closet somewhere in case of emergencies put Alexis to sleep.

Zizi: "John, Nicolas, please hold her down as well. Just in case. Zach, you keep monitoring her."

He did as he was told, not having the strength to fight about it, one hand on each of her thighs. But Alexis didn't wake, and the bullet was removed, and Alexis was healed. He was somewhat surprised that these people were able to succeed.

Ashley: "What do we do with her now?"

"Turn her back into a statue."

Zizi gave him a look that he remembered from a certain primary school teacher he'd once had.

"I'm serious. There's no telling what she did to Ororo to get out of Limbo."

But how could she have, without his, Morgan or Ororo's help? No one else could have had access to come and go to Limbo. And now, he couldn't even go there to check on her.

Zizi: "We'll sort that out once she's awake. She needs to rest. Andrew's asleep in the guest room...John, carry her to my room for me please?"

"I can guard her, if you want. Who knows what she'll do if she wakes up."

Zizi gave him a warm smile.

Zizi: "Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary."

"Then I should check on Morgan. But I'll have some questions for Alexis, when she's awake."

Zizi nodded, and he looked in turn from John to Vivica.

"Thank you both, for your help. All of you."

Zizi: "If you need a friendly ear, Nicolas, you'll always find one here."

Zizi, and John carrying Alexis, started to go towards the other room.

Zizi: "You all...you all did marvelous today."

Nicolas didn't feel like he did marvelous. He felt useless. Worse, powerless. But he did need to make sure Morgan was okay. He would have felt it if something dire had happened to her, but he still wanted to see her. In spite of everything.

"If any of you have need of me, you only have to call."

With a last nod to the Birds of Prey before him, he turned and walked to the elevator. There was a door in the Parthenon that would take him to Aerie, since he couldn't go under his own power. And maybe Alison would have some answers.
 
The Black Wing

Steel led the way down the hallway, away from where Vivica had set the wing ablaze. But then Nicolas was stopping.

Rampage: "We have to help her!"

Vivica was still behind them in the hallway, fighting Rampage's adversary. He roared into his com.

[via com] "Recall, leave him, let's go!"

Part of the building gave way, smashing the stone man into pieces and burying him in the rubble. Explosions were going off everywhere, and as Viv starting running Steel pulled Rampage along behind him. When he stopped to look behind him, he saw Viv, an explosion behind her catapulting her directly at them. Both he and Rampage reached out to catch her as the force of the explosion hit them and sent them all flying backwards.

Oracle [via com]: "Malice has been destroyed. The Red and Black queens have fled. Time to go."

Recall: [via com] "Birds of Prey ROLL CALL! We need to get the fuck out of here! Where can we rendezvous?!"

Oracle: [via com] "Exfil imminent Recall."

Vivica: "Are you guys okay?"

Rampage: "Are WE okay? Girl, are YOU okay?! That...that was amazing, Viv."

"We're fine."

Steel grinned at Vivica.

"The Six didn't appreciate what they had. Their loss, our gain."

He put a reassuring hand on Nicolas' shoulder.

"Malice is dead, the other queens are gone. We're getting out of here."

Citadel transported them out of the destruction into the peaceful quiet of The Clocktower. He could barely thank Danny before he was off again, a true unsung hero of this city.

Zizi was assuring Nicolas that his teammates were safe, while directing Danny to survivors to be rescued.

Ashley and Zach arrived, with Zach carrying a blonde woman he didn't recognize.

Rampage: "Alexis? Gods - Alexis! What's happened? And why did you bring her here?!"

"Who's Alexis?"

Rampage: "You all know this is Helena's niece, right? Who betrayed and almost killed most of the Six?"

"Wait - Alexis Chandler-Quartermaine?"

The big time magazine mogul who disappeared off the face of the earth?

Zizi: "She helped us. I don't know why, but she did. Now is not the time to debate it."

She had a gunshot wound in her shoulder, which should have been no big deal, except that whatever the bullet was laced with was poisoning her, and quickly. What was it with these Hellfire people and poison? Nicolas got Alexis' legs, and he held her shoulders, though thankfully (mostly for her) she was unconscious. Ashley took the bullet out - and it did not surprise him in the least that she knew how to do such a thing. Or that immediately before and afterwards, she was hitting a bottle that looked like it had been made by men wearing animal pelts in a shack in the mountains somewhere.

Ashley: "What do we do with her now?"

Rampage: "Turn her back into a statue. I'm serious. There's no telling what she did to Ororo to get out of Limbo."

He was using more names John didn't recognize.

Zizi: "We'll sort that out once she's awake. She needs to rest. Andrew's asleep in the guest room...John, carry her to my room for me please?"

He nodded, and reached down to scoop Alexis up.

Rampage: "I can guard her, if you want. Who knows what she'll do if she wakes up."

Zizi gave him a warm smile, the one where afterwards she said no to something.

Zizi: "Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary."

Rampage: "Then I should check on Morgan. But I'll have some questions for Alexis, when she's awake. Thank you both, for your help. All of you."

"It was nothing."

He leaned in towards Nicolas.

"And I'll keep an eye on her, just in case."

Zizi moved towards her room, and John followed behind, Alexis still cradled in his arms. Zizi moved the covers back on her bed, and John slipped Alexis inside before covering her. Meanwhile, Zizi came from the bathroom with a wet washcloth and wiped the sleeping girl's face. She looked down at her for a moment, before moving to the door. Steel hesitated.

Zizi: "Come, John, let her sleep. She had plenty of chance to kill our people today, and she didn't. I think a little trust is in order."

With one last quizzical look at the sleeping girl, Steel flipped off the light and closed the door behind him.
 
“I DON’T THINK SO!”

Helena’s voice rang out viciously. She wasn’t about to lose it all. She wasn’t about to leave this battle cowering with her tail between her legs without hurting SOMEONE. And she certainly wasn’t about to let ALEK go live a life of bliss when he betrayed her trust so intimately. Helena appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Alek by the hand just as he was about to walk through Delilah’s wormhole. She yanked him from Persephone’s grasp, her red power signature enveloping his body like a vice grip, rendering him unable to move.

Persephone: “NOOO!!!”

Her red signature flexed around Alek as Persephone lunged forward, the serpent like red ribbon crushing his body until he couldn’t breathe.

“HIS BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS [Persephone]!”

As the wormhole began to close, both Helena and Alek exploded in a shower of red light, disappearing from Hellfire.
 
Clara Oswald
Clara Oswald
yassssss
Black Widow
Black Widow
Nooooo!
The Clocktower - Sitting Area

Alix was having a reasonably lovely time, sipping tea with Mina and discussing whether The Silver Scroll Of Jerash or The Coptic Spellbook of Ritual Power was a more powerful magickal object. And then there was chaos in the soft spoken woman's apartment. People were shouting, and Alix stood up to see what was going on. Looking over the sofa, she could see a body being unceremoniously deposited on the dining room table.

She could get the gist of what she was hearing, bullet wound, etc etc etc.

Zizi: "We have a magick user here...Alix!"

"Coming!"

She turned to Mina to explain.

"Someone's injured."

Valkyrie: "Zizi, I need the sharpest knife we've got, boiling water and that moonshine you got for Christmas. Zach, the first aid kit from the bathroom."

Alix met Zizi in the kitchen, taking over the request for water that she'd never get boiled in time the old-fashioned way, filling a bowl and carrying it to the patient. She lifted her foot up and retrieved her stele from her boot, tracing a rune for boil on her hand, it glowing silver as she waved her palm over the bowl, the water bubbling and boiling almost instantly.

Menawhile, the tall blonde was examining the wound, and Alix peered around her to get a look as well. And it certainly didn't look good. She could heal the actual bullet wound but...

"It's psionic in nature. Even if I heal the physical wound it would keep poisoning her."

Valkyrie: "We've got to get that bullet out. I'll be damned if I'm going to give Helena Quartermaine the satisfaction of killing her niece. Can you put her out?"

Alix nodded, using her stele to trace a fine silver-colored sigil for sleep on Alexis' forehead. When it was complete, the girl drifted into a deep and untroubled slumber. Alix stood by and watched as the woman pulled the bullet from the wound, seeming to know what she was doing.

Valkyrie: "Give me the sutures from the kit."

Alix held up a hand.

"No need."

She had already made the symbol for healing on her palm, and as she moved her hand over the wound there was a soft glow and the skin closed. There was lots of discussion of what to do with the girl after that, but Alix stayed out of it, her part in it all complete. She did, however, take a keen interest in the reaction of Nicolas King to the goings-on, and his willingness to allow the woman to die from her wounds. She was under the impression that the young man did not so closely resemble his Aunt in attitude, but it seemed that was not accurate. He would need to be watched more carefully, indeed, with what he carried inside of him. And something else...something felt wrong about him. Something had happened to him. She should make a point to give Karen Victoria a call when she left here.

But he was leaving, for now, and they were taking the injured woman to a room to rest. This apartment was becoming a hospital unit fast. She took the pause to introduce herself, holding her hand out to the woman who had been wielding the knife, and who now was drinking the remainder of the alcohol they'd used for sterilizing.

"Alix Osborne. Karen Victoria sent me."

The blonde rolled her eyes.

Valkyrie: "Of course she did. Ashley Oldenburg. Thanks for the assist."

Instead of a hand in return, Alix found the liquor bottle in her hand. Which worked for her. She took a good swig then coughed. It's a good thing Mina was already blind cause this stuff could turn them all.

Ashley: "Now it's not that I have a particular beef with Karen Victoria, she's done the occasional helpful deed and all. But that woman..."

Ashley shook her head and took back the bottle. Alix wasn't sure what to make of that exchange, so she turned to the incredibly handsome man who had been wielding the first aid kit.

"Hi, I'm Alix, and you are?"

Ashley: "Engaged."
 
Hellfire — The White Wing

Delilah told her that Cameron was on the Astral plane with Malice, and that they'd expected this. That didn’t make Haleigh feel any better, but she didn’t say anything in reply. She pulled Cameron up to a sitting position, then leaned into him tucked her head under his right arm to situate his torso across the back of her shoulders. Sliding her arm under his right thigh, she lifted him up so she could carry him out of here. As she stood up she saw Zach was picking up a wounded and unconscious Alexis. Haleigh suggested they egress and asked Delilah to give them a wormhole.

Delilah: “Don’t you fucking give me orders.”

“Delilah, please, I don’t want to leave anyone behind, ok?”

She replied. Speaking of not leaving anyone behind, she remembered Bishop was trapped under some rubble and asked Ava or Alek to grab him. Delilah had something snide to say about that, and it made Haleigh grit her teeth. She’d been patient, non-confrontational and understanding thus far, but she was getting more than a little frustrated.

“For fuck’s sake, Delilah. I understand you’re upset with me for fucking your man, but can we address our shit later, like maybe in a building that’s not imploding right fucking on top of us?”

She suggested in an exasperated tone, as Delilah pulled Bishop from the rubble and opened the wormhole Haleigh had asked for. Zach, Alexis and Ashley were cut off from the portal but Haleigh knew Zach had the means to get them out and wasn’t worried. She waited while Alek and Ava made a dash to escape, but Helena intervened, snatching Alek and disappearing before anyone could even react.

“Fuck! SHIT, god damn it. Ava, come on, please! If she wanted to kill him outright she’d have done it right here and now in front of us. She’ll hurt him first, but that will give us time. Let’s regroup first, and then I’ll help you find him. We’ll go after him together, alright?”

She pleaded with her sister. They had to get out of here NOW, there was no time for anything else. On the other side of Delilah’s wormhole, they ended up on the street. Haleigh assumed Delilah didn’t want to take her ‘enemies’ back to the Parthenon, and huffed at that. She scanned the street for options. A couple of sedans and coupes were parked along the sidewalk, all too small for their party.

Haleigh spotted a GMC Yukon, with seating for seven. More than enough. She unlocked it and disabled the alarm, shifting Cameron’s weight on her shoulder so she could open the door behind the driver’s seat and then buckle him into the passenger seat. She shut his door and then climbed in behind the wheel and the engine roared to life. The other doors popped open for the others.

“I’ve got a Safehouse a few miles from here, where we can all get our bearings and decide what to do next.”
 
The Clocktower

Security System: "Recognized: Valkyrie, b zero 2. Orion, b zero 3. Unrecognized: Intruder. Initiating security protocols."

Zach stopped in his tracks, his head on a swivel to try and spot whatever the security system was going to do.

“Whoa, what the damn hell?!”

Zizi: "Countermand!"

“Thank you.”

Zach replied to Zizi as he resumed carrying Alexis into the dining room where Ash was clearing a makeshift operating table.

Nic: "Alexis? Gods - Alexis! What's happened? And why did you bring her here?!"

“Leaving her behind wasn’t an acceptable option.”

Not after she’d helped them with Helena. Zach considered the matter settled, and explained Alexis’ wounds. Zizi tasked a woman Zach hadn’t seen before with helping as Ash dictated who should retrieve what. Zach did as he was bid, and as he came back out with the first aid kit, Nic was voicing his discomfort with the situation.

Nic: "You all know this is Helena's niece, right? Who betrayed and almost killed most of the Six?"

Steele: "Wait - Alexis Chandler-Quartermaine?"

“Yes, we know who she is. You aren’t seriously suggesting we should let her die, are you, Nic?”

Zizi: "She helped us. I don't know why, but she did. Now is not the time to debate it."

Zach glanced at Zizi, grateful that she shut down the brewing discussion so Ash could focus on what she was doing. Most everyone helped after that, and they were a well functioning team. Ash asked for the gauze, and for him to sanitize the tweezers. He nodded as he fulfilled her request.

“Here you go, my love.”

He said, passing her what she needed. Ash wanted the sutures next, but that was when the magick user stepped in and healed the remaining wound. Zach breathed a sigh of relief, but a new debate was starting up, as Ash wondered what to do with her and Nic suggested they try to turn her back into a statue.

"Come on, man...”

Nic: "I'm serious. There's no telling what she did to Ororo to get out of Limbo."

“What makes you think Ororo didn’t get her out? I mean... it’s Ororo.”

Zizi intervened again, and had John take Alexis to her bedroom to rest. She paused to tell them that they’d all done marvelous today. Zach gave her another grateful smile.

“Well, we couldn’t have done it without you.”

He told her, and then he caught the vibes coming off of Nicolas.

“We ALL wish we had done more, Nic. But we each did the best we could, and Hellfire is down and out because of it. Please relay our gratitude to the rest of the Six for their help.”

Nic: "If any of you have need of me, you only have to call."

Zach nodded and reached to shake Nic’s hand.”

“Likewise, my friend. Take care out there.”

He replied. In the silence that followed, the woman who’d healed Alexis introduced herself. Zach perked up at the mention of Karen, who he’d known for years.

“Oh, I haven’t heard from her in a while, I hope she’s doing well.”

Karen was the only mother figure he regularly associated with, and there had been more than one time they’d wound up keeping each other company while the Six was out saving the world. Ash, however, didn’t have such a great relationship with Karen. There was a short awkward silence, and then Alix turned to Zach, who smiled politely. Ash introduced him as ‘engaged’, which made his smile widen a bit. He slipped his arm around his future wife’s waist to reassure her that she didn’t have anything to worry about.

”And I can hardly wait until the day you say married instead....”

He told Ash in a low tone as he leaned in to speak in her ear. He held her close as he glanced at the other woman, his polite smile returning.

“It’s nice to meet you, Alix. I’m Zach. Thanks for the assist, with Alexis, and with Andrew. Speaking of my best man, I think I’ll look in on him, if you ladies will excuse me.”

He said, planting a kiss on Ash’s cheek before splitting off to make sure Andrew was doing okay in the guest room.
 
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