fdeviant

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Witch Hunt Cast

Sixth Sense

Part 7

Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Time: Late Afternoon

---

Marie let out a sigh of relief. The day’s excitement was finally coming to a halt. She relaxed her tense muscles, brushed off bits of dust and viscera left behind by floating displays and Ben’s transformations, and took a moment to herself.

”Marie?” Holt’s voice melded with her thoughts, the ethereal and familiar raspy tones soothing her even more. ”Are you alright?”

Marie chuckled softly to herself, hoping the others weren’t paying attention. Holt’s concern was always genuine and appreciated, yet, given his stoic nature never ceased to surprise her.

”Yes,” she responded internally, ”I’m fine . . . for now. I’m more concerned about Ben. He’s been through a lot today and he won’t remember a fair portion of it. Can’t be easy living like that, not knowing where you go when you lose yourself.”

”It will come to him with time. Such is the way with werewolves. They rely upon instinct. The more he learns about himself, the sharper those instincts will become, not unlike your instincts as Gwyneth, which you have clearly displayed this evening. It is no small feat, compulsion, and to coax a werewolf into its human form . . . that is a power the likes of which I have scarcely seen, certainly not in this century. Have any memories returned?”

”No, unfortunately. But the power was familiar; it comes in waves. I can’t imagine what Gwyneth must have been capable of at full strength.”

It was both an empowering and deeply troubling thought. It occurred to Marie that, aside from the glimpses she had been granted of her former self, she knew nothing of Gwyneth’s character. If she possessed great power, how did she use that power, to what end?

Marie dwelled on this thought longer than she realized, for her pondering was interrupted by a small knocking on the storage room entrance. This was, undoubtedly, the caretaker Ben had mentioned earlier. He was from the “Agency,” if Marie recalled Ben’s words correctly, an organization about which she knew next to nothing, but one who had a reputation for meddling in the affairs of magical folk. However, seeing as this caretaker was here to help Ben, not contain him, Marie felt no need for animosity.

”Holt,” Marie engaged her familiar silently, ”Go to the Red Devil and bring with you a few of Puck’s imps to help clean up this place. I don’t want him or this Agency thinking that I’m incompetent enough to risk exposure.”

Holt gave a silent nod before fading into the shadows of the room. As time passed and the group readied to leave the museum, feint whispers filed into the space followed by a slight chill, broken statuettes, pedestals, stone flooring and pieces of the wall slowly being mended by invisible agents of The Red Devil.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Witch Hunt Cast

Sixth Sense

Part 6

Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Time: Late Afternoon

---

Marie let out a long sigh of exasperation after Barron’s departure, too mentally fatigued to notice the guardsman who had wandered in and left under the effects of Barron’s powers. She fell to her knees, burying her hands into her face and taking a moment to rest. All of her muscles were tense, this was the closest she had come to exposing herself. She lifted her head and swept back her hair just to do something with her hands.

A swift breeze passed over the group and when Marie’s eyes settled upon the wolves, a third had arrived. She bore a striking resemblance to the other girl. Assuming they must have been sisters or in some way related, Marie didn’t lash out at the newcomer.

Instead, she looked up and, in a rather sarcastic tone, asked, ”Anyone else?” It seemed that this was to be the final arrival for the moment, but it was imperative that those present remedy their immediate situation and remove themselves from the museum, lest the threat of exposure greet them once more.

Marie stood up and walked slowly over to Ben and the twins.

”I would love to make time for some proper introductions and other pleasantries, but with our luck some other other beast will come barging in here at any moment. We need to change him back into a human and get out of here before things escalate. I’ll explain the circumstances that led to Ben’s transformation once we’ve relocated.” Marie kept a level head as she spoke, knowing that the key to keeping Ben calm was to keep herself calm.

She looked at the twins, recalling the first’s earthen barrier and the gust of wind that come from the second’s arrival. ”I saw what you did back there, the stone wall. That you have some level of control over the elements means you’re no stranger to magic. I have a few magical skills at my disposal, one of them being a very limited power of compulsion that I used to delay Ben’s transformation. I’m hoping that I can tap back into that power enough to convince Ben’s human form to emerge.”

Marie turned from the twins and knelt down to Ben, gently extending her arm to cup his snout. She looked deeply into his eyes, calling to his human half. He had entered her mind before, a broken voice following a disheveled train of thought, but she had heard him nonetheless. Marie hoped that she could reach out to him through that connection they shared and lull the wolf back into its slumber.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

The Three Witches

Medea’s Flight

Location: Aeaea, Capital of Colchis, Ancient Greece
Time: Midnight

---

Historians, philosophers, and tragic poets have long told the tale of my flight from Corinth. Most famously, Euripides wrote of my husband’s betrayal, my agony and longing, my deceitful murder of his bride to be, and the murder of our sons by my hand. None of this, however, is to be taken as truth.

Indeed, ‘twas I who dismembered my brother so that Jason and I could flee Colchis together, I who, with all my magic and cunning, gave Jason his fame, and I who, in my desperation, turned the people of Corinth against me. But it was my vile husband, Jason the Argonaut, who murdered his “beloved,” who slaughtered our children. Their deaths came by way of my craft, but were caused by his infidelity. And though it was common for Greek men to take more than one wife and custom for the first wife to sit idly by with his children and wealth, I neither was nor am a Greek. I am Medea, daughter of Aeetes and princess of Colchis, granddaughter of the Titan, Helios, and descendent of the mighty Gods, niece of Circe and sister of her mighty art, and humble servant of Hekate, the greatest of the immortals. I was no mere woman, no simple wife, but a witch. I would not be treated as anything other, but my damnable husband cared more for his culture than the one who pledged her eternal life and love to him . . . but I digress.

I wish not to speak of my woes, for those have been extensively documented by men of many creeds, but to speak of my ecstasies and triumphs that followed soon after. These same men would have me bounce from one city to the next; from Corinth to Thebes, from Thebes to Athens, always chased away by the denizens therein. Some say that I helped the famed Heracles escape a curse from the Gods, others that I became a being of worship in Iran and other places. There is some truth in this. I did happen upon the demigod in Thebes and did bear a son in Athens. And I did return to Colchis with that son, Medus, who slew my traitorous uncle that had usurped my father’s throne. But then what became of me? Poets lost their muses, the Greeks lost their faith, and so the mysteries of the ancient world were no longer scribed. Yet I lived on, blessed by the agelessness of my parentage and my craft, and so follows the story that has never been written.

---

“Two parts powdered mandrake, one part ground rosebuds . . .” Medea recited the formula from memory, dropping the reagents into a large, bubbling basin. Her auburn hair fell in tight curls over her exposed, pale shoulders. She wore a simple white tunic with a scarlet sash and went barefooted around the marble palace.

“Two crushed myrtle berries, seven drops lavender oil . . .” she continued, walking clockwise around the mixture as it boiled, dropping in each ingredient with care, stirring gently and taking in the sweet aroma. It filled the palace’s halls, grand structures built by the ensorcelled sailors who passed the island by, drawn in by siren song and bewitching nymphs, kept there in suspended age in forms alien and primal.

“And three strands of a maiden’s hair. Simmer, strain, bottle, and bathe in the Moon’s rays at the height of her ascent for three nights.” Medea did just this, setting the mixture on a balcony overlooking the sea, midnight cascading across the rolling waves, bouncing off the glistening walls of polished marble. Below, wolves howled in a jungle scene, but they did not run nor stir in excitement. Instead, they stood idle, on trace of the wild left in their veins.

“A love spell?” the question echoed through the halls and spires, rich, sultry, and highly melodic. In the corridor stood the sorceress, Kirke (Circe to the Romans), dawning a luxurious emerald fabric draped elegantly around her torso, a golden sash around her waist, with hair bright and golden like the son kept in place by a jeweled circlet. “Dearest niece, there are no men on this island, and the affections of the attending nymphs needn’t be gained by magic.”

Medea laughed as she moved about the room, resting on a comfortable bench near the balcony. “’Tis not for my personal use, but for a friend.”

Kirke scoffed. “Friend? What friends could you possibly possess?”

Medea looked hurt, briefly, then waved the comment away.

“Oh, I meant nothing by it.” Kirke apologized, sitting next to Medea and placing a hand on her shoulder. “But given your colorful past, I had reason to doubt that any would still call you their friend.”

“’Tis for the daughter of an old maidservant of mine. Her mother has taken ill and she hasn’t the money to see her well.”

Kirke squinted her eyes in confusion. “So you toil over a love potion instead of bringing the girl a medicinal salve or tonic?”

Medea nodded. “The mother did not wish it of me. She asked that I grant her daughter peace after her death, so I shall do both with one spell. I shall give the daughter this potion before her mother’s death, have her woo whatever prince or warrior she desires, and with his fortune, aid the sickly mother. All are happy.”

Kirke grinned. “How cunning you are, Medea. Quite the testament to our kind.”

“It is the work of our Mistress for gifting us such an art. To her I give all of my thanks and praise.”

The two took each other's hands, raised their heads, and closed their eyes, sending a silent prayer to the Mother of Witches. Soon after, a warm breeze entered the palace, bringing with it a piece of the night, a shadow given life.

“My beautiful daughters” the familiar voice emanated from the thick shadows, becoming a dark apparition, then turning swiftly into a most beloved form. Hekate had come to visit her most favored followers.

And so Medea and Kirke received her well, and the pair become a triumvirate of witches. They spoke of those things that were held in the night, their midnight arts and craft of the wise. They sang and reveled in each other’s company, dancing to the rhythm of the waves crashing onto the land and the dull roars of docile beasts. They flew above Aeaea with bliss and ecstasy, filled with all the powers of heaven, earth, and sea. Such was the witches way.

---

Such was our way in those forgotten days of old. Such was my night after my return to Colchis, the truest account of my flight from Corinth. This was how my days were spent after ridding myself of the loathsome Jason; in the company of those I held most dear. The next three centuries I spent here upon Aeaea, dancing the nights away with my aunt and our patron, selling my gifts to those whom I had known or those who knew of me. But eternity there grew tiresome.

So I traveled. Riding upon the sands of time I spiraled on in a different guise, stopping in each new century to sing the praises of my lady and grant the needy or willing the knowledge of her art. I led many a wyrd in those years under different names, inspiring new poets with my magic, becoming their muse. Such was my way until the new millennia when I once again longed to be held by my greatest love, my mentor and mother in the craft.

I sought her out and found her among her kind, and now we are together again. What magic will we unleash upon this new world? What is my lady’s greatest desire?

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Witch Hunt Cast

Sixth Sense

Part 5

Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Time: Late Afternoon

---

Calamity . . .

That was the only word that aptly described the sheer and utter chaos that was now unfolding in the Museum of Natural History. Marie was left in speechless after the Efreet’s flight from the building, jumping quickly at his ascent, left in anger and desperation at Barron’s words, and left in perpetual worry for the kids trapped behind the vampire’s blood wall. Nothing was right. Nothing was easy. One act led to another, forever sending them all spiraling down into greater danger. Now, not only were they faced with the threat that was the vampire, Barron, but so too came the risk of exposure, which, annoyingly enough, worried Marie more.

As the alarm blared, Marie stepped closer, now much calmer but still quite rigid and firm in her stance and tone.

”Fine,” Marie called to Barron over the harsh echoes of the alarm, ”Go, we don’t need your help. We’ll figure this out on our own. You’ve done more harm than good, and I doubt Ben could calm down enough for you to help him anyway. Leave us.” Marie was almost pleading at this point, her voice shaking, brought nearly to tears by anxiety. She was panicking.

”Calm yourself,” Holt’s voice crept into Marie’s thoughts. He had returned to her shoulder, nestling his head against hers to provide momentary comfort. ”I’ll halt the alarm and bind the doors shut once the vampire leaves. Fear not, you will succeed in this and in your mission.”

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stop the tears and the shaking. Marie stood straight, waiting for Barron to make an exit. In the meantime, Holt kept true to his word. Flying over to the employee door, he dragged his ethereal claws across the door’s surface, shutting it and willing the alarm to cease. Museum security would soon be upon them, but he hoped that Marie and the wolves would have enough time to reverse Ben’s transformation.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Witch Hunt Cast

Sixth Sense

Part 4

Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Time: Late Afternoon

---

Marie let out a quick gasp as Barron began his bloody onslaught, blood rising from the grotesque pool of flesh left behind by Ben’s transformation and boring into the wall raised by the stranger. Holt placed himself between Marie and the fight that was sure to unfold, but the vampire’s efforts were aimed only at the wolves. Within seconds, all three strangers were encased in a cage of blood, drawing them in closer.

”Enough . . .” Marie mumbled, head facing the concrete floor. Rage coursed through her veins. This whole ordeal was taking its toll on her, setting her back from her goal. First a werewolf, then another, and now a confrontational vampire. Gwyneth’s memories were spiraling in the opposite direction while Marie and company stood at a stalemate in New York. It was all too much.

”Enough!” Marie screamed, head raised, malice filling every corner of the store-room. A cold chill began to spread over them all as Holt, responding to Marie’s mental cues, allowed his essence to fill the air, frost creeping across the floor, ceiling, and resting displays. Large tables and busts began to rise into the air, influenced by Marie’s anger. They circled Baron’s wall of blood, hovering menacingly.

”You,” she pointed at Baron, ”You just had to come along and make matters worse. Everything was falling into place, he was calming down, we were closer to a solution, closer to getting the hell out of here before you decided to rear your ugly head, but no! Nothing’s ever that easy! You waltz in, offering to help, and then you go all aggro on everyone just for the hell of it, I am so sick of these set backs.”

Marie drew closer. Despite the chill of the room, she carried with her a supernatural wave of heat, which passed through the wall of blood, bathing the strangers in it. An ethereal wind began to swirl around the room, the clashing elements and temperatures producing a low rumble.

”I haven’t been feeling like myself lately, and Elder-Breed Vampire or not, I won’t hesitate if you lift a hand to any of them. So you can either get over yourself and help us, or get the hell away from us. But I swear, make the wrong decision and you will regret it.”

Marie heard her words, she felt all of her movements, and yet there was a distance between her and her actions. Such a thing happened once before, the first time she felt Gwyneth’s true power, or a fraction of it, in the fight against the Silver Sorceress in Diplodoc’s base. She wondered if that was happening now, if she was tapping into that part of herself which she had forgotten. This confidence was new, rather, new to her. In truth, Marie’s confidence was over five centuries old, and it had made her far more brazen and transformed her into a greater threat.

---

Meanwhile . . .

Witching Hour

Part 1

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, The Witches Stronghold
Time: Late Afternoon

---

Deep beneath the desert sands,
Below the mountains and arid lands,
Cracked Earth unfolds to a lively hell,
‘Tis here where all the witches dwell.

The Las Vegas underworld is far more literal than what its denizens may realize. Just beneath the sinners’ feet lies a haven for even greater sins. What rebellions take place on Earth are nothing compared to those that occur at its center, and the greatest rebellion of all, Witchcraft, finds a just as humble a home beneath the Earth’s surface as in her dense forests. It is here where the most noble reside and mingle, the leaders of the Five Families of Las Vegas, powerful witches and sorcerers whose influence spreads far and deep. They are the ones who support this city, who keep it aloft. And it is here, for now, where their queen resides.

Hekate, in her truest form, floats about a blackened room, walls covered in occult markings and lined with shelves upon shelves of arcane knowledge. This is her temple, her throne room, the center of her operations in the country. The circular room is host to other fantastical and ethereal features such as vines creeping along marble rafters, starlight reflecting from ornate mirrors forged in the Otherworld, a garden of poisons and herbs to fuel the witches pharmaka, their spells. But at its center lay something from a faery tale, a large well filled with light from a distant land.

”You are a smart one, Broker,” she whispers to the pool, perhaps calling to Greed’s mind, sending him a message of congratulations, or perhaps admiring his work. The well revealed pieces of his thinly veiled plan, a newly crafted Soul Stone hovering in the water’s reflection. ”To use lost souls in such a way is both commendable and deplorable, but either way, you have crafted a truly dangerous artifact. One has to wonder, what poor soul did you manipulate to create such an unholy stone?”

Hekate posed the question to the well, waving a hand over its surface. The water shimmered, a thick fog obscuring her vision. Curious . . . she thought. Reaching for a vial of dark liquid, a few poisonous herbs, and a small wand, she began to conjure a spell to peer through the wall of obscurity.

”Graeae, agents of Fate, hear me,” she began, tossing the herbs into the well, allowing a few drops of the black, viscous liquid to break its surface, and stirring the waters with the tip of the wand. ”Lend me your aid. I call upon your omniscience. Grant me your sight, grant me your Eye.”

As she spoke the invocation, the cloud began to peel away, a woman’s figure floating in the water’s surface. Her shape was clear, but her face was still unseen, masked by magic. Hekate was annoyed, but she watched the figure for a while, seeing what it was that made her so special. The woman walked into an ornate building, a museum, surrounded by elements of the craft. Hekate recognized this place as the Museum of Natural History in New York.

”She is but a simple girl, Broker, a lowly witch. How could she have performed and survived such an ordeal?” Hekate continued watching the scene unfold until something caught her interest. There was a spark, a surge of energy that even Hekate felt. She moved in closer, watching the woman take something from a display. When the two touched, Hekate noticed an invisible glow around the girl, a flash of something powerful. Interesting . . . she thought. I’ll have to keep an eye on this girl, but first I need to know who she is. And for that, I may need some assistance.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind that her chamber door opened, allowing a veiled woman to enter. Hekate almost raised her voice to the intrusion, but then she felt the woman’s presence, felt her longing heart. Hekate was touched, brought to the brink of tears.

”My dear, is it truly you? Have you come to stir my heart and ease my mind?” Hekate moved in close, feet touching the cold stone floor.

“Yes my lady,” the woman responded “It is I, and how I have missed your embrace.” She moved in close, engaging in a long hug with the goddess. Pulling back, the woman removed her veil, long, dark locks falling effortlessly onto her pale shoulders, flawless, rosy skin and supple lips kissing the goddess’s cheeks.

There stood the legendary sorceress, daughter of Aeetes, granddaughter of Helios, niece of Circe, and loyal follower of Hekate. There stood the witch, Medea.

Hekate smiled, pulling her in closer once again, happy to see one of the few true friends she had ever made. ”My dear, we have much to discuss.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Witch Hunt Cast

Sixth Sense

Part 3

Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Time: Late Afternoon

---

Marie let out a sigh of relief as the pair reassured her of their connection to Ben and the knowledge of his wolf form. She wondered briefly how they managed to track him down, assuming that there was either magic involved, or they too were wolves in human guise. Marie eyed the female stranger as she let out a string of accusatory and generally hostile comments about Marie’s choice of venue.

”Right,” Marie shot back, still overwhelmed at having witnessed Ben’s transformation, ”Sorry that I wasn’t in my right mind, it’s not everyday that you get a fledgling werewolf dropped in your lap during a leisurely stroll through a museum, my bad!”

She was incredibly frustrated, but there was no sense in taking out that anger on a stranger and risk further upsetting Ben.

”Sorry,” she quickly apologized in a lowered voice, ”this was just so sudden, I wasn’t sure where else to take him.”’’

Just as the other girl spoke, the cavernous storeroom was filled with an echoed applause. Marie turned to find a tall, brute of a man in fine dress standing in the doorway. He introduced himself as Barron Vanderbilt, a name Marie might have heard in passing, but she clung to what came from his lips next.

”E-elder Breed Vampire?” she questioned Holt in her mind. He flew from his position between Ben and the others and perched himself on Marie’s shoulder, remaining unseen.

”The most ancient strain of vampirism. The Elder Breed are an elite race of beings with immeasurable power, almost god-like. He knows you for a witch as well, meaning he either possesses a similar ability to the young wolf, or can detect magic through other means. Be weary of this man, Marie.”

”Why are you here?” she questioned Barron, keeping her wits about her and maintaining an air of confidence, whether or not she actually possessed any in the moment.

He mentioned being able to turn Ben back into his human form, but Marie wondered how that was possible, or if it were possible. Then again, what choice did any of them have other than to hear him out? There was no chance of them sneaking Ben from the museum in his current state. Perhaps the vampire indeed held the means to reverse Ben’s transformation, if only for a time. Wanting to speed the process along, Marie gave in to Barron’s request.

She sighed. ”Can we really change him back? If so, how can I help?”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

@LegionPothIX The benefit of having a sandbox RP like this is that it's fairly easy for anyone to jump in whenever, especially because everything that's already happened has little to do with each other's characters or the overreaching story as a whole. So far, everyone is focusing on their own arcs and characters, with a few collaborations along the way, so you haven't really missed anything.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

@VATROU Is he gonna be a part of Witch Hunt or just this particular scenario?

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Witch Hunt Cast

Sixth Sense

Part 2

Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York City
Time: Late Afternoon, The Next Day

---

Marie watched in horror as flesh and muscle slowly peeled away from Ben’s cowering form, small pieces of viscera flying in all directions as he screamed in pain. There was such terror, such desperation in his eyes, his mind and hers once again melding to convey Ben’s helplessness. Marie sat there in the corner, deathly still, watching as Ben shed his humanity away, revealing the wolf with each gruesome motion.

After some time, the transformation was complete. Marie was still in shock, pressing herself against the wall with as much force as she could muster. W. . . what do I do? she wondered, panicking as the wolf inched closer, claws tapping on the floor, leaving the room echoing with a series of sinister clicks.

”Remain calm,” Holt cautioned Marie, reading Ben’s movements as he neared. There was something about his pace and mannerisms that reassured Holt, but such creatures were notoriously hard to read.

Marie shrieked as Ben lunged forward, closing her eyes and preparing herself for either the sharp clenching of his jaws biting down on her outstretched arm, or the sound of a distant whimper as Holt forced him away, but neither occurred. Instead, Marie felt Ben’s hot breath, followed by his wet tongue gliding across her face. She opened her eyes to see what looked less like a terrifying wolf, and more like a large puppy.

”Wha. . . where’s the man-eating monster I was expecting?” Marie said aloud in disbelief, resting a hand on Ben’s head who seemed to accept her gesture.

”Werewolves, as I’ve heard, are heavily influenced by their environments and experiences. They aren’t hyper aggressive as in their lore, but instead react accordingly to external stimuli like familiar scents.”

Marie got that feeling from Ben, that he enjoyed the smell of her. Marie assumed this was more than just her external smell. His reaction earlier to her made her think that he had smelled something like her before, and his attraction to her now confirmed her query.

”Holt, can werewolves smell or detect magic?”

”Hmm . . . I suppose it’s possible. There are different strains of lycanthropy that convey different powers and abilities to those afflicted. Perhaps this strain provides the ability to detect the presence of magic.”

As they spoke, the door to the storeroom flew open, two more teenagers filing in. Ben creeped forward, his movements suggesting to Marie and Holt that he might have known these two, but she also feared for them. What if Ben decided to become violent, what if these kids’ lives were in danger.

”Holt,” Marie whispered, ”be ready.”

Marie crept up behind Ben, Holt, still ethereal, placing himself between the pair of teens and Ben. He would materialize if he believed ben posed a threat.

”Just stay still and remain calm,” Marie spoke to the pair. ”I don’t think he’s dangerous, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

A small reminder, there's the list order and I believe it's fdeviant's turn.

@fdeviant, @Shard, @Luna and @Fallenreaper

@Fallenreaper

I'll try to have something up in the next few days but I have both schoolwork and packing to do for the holidays so I make no promises.