Skai

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

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Eli's attention turned towards Natalie as she began to speak. Her eyes moved over Nat's face as she noted the expression on her face. It looked like a more intense and deep rooted hate. The same bloodlusted expression on her face as she fought the masked gunmen, but with a tone of revenge that made the bags under her eyes show through the makeup for a moment. So, was this the reason Natalie was such a sad soul?

She listened to Nat continue. Her heart sunk into her stomach and she felt her eyes brim with tears. And yet, her anger and determination only grew stronger. Eli pressed her lips together and swallowed, her eyes looking up to the ceiling of the ring to keep the tears at bay. She looked back in time to hear Amelia agree to the plan and nodded towards her.

Nic explained his ability, and Eli blinked as she processed the information. His spores were... creepy and invasive, but they would be extremely helpful on The Spire. It sounded like he could infect multiple officers and staff and then lead them to the spot they needed to go to. His mention of a hideout back on Earth was touching, but Eli felt her stomach twist every time someone mentioned plans for after their trip to the Spire. Escape pods... safe houses back home... Eli had hope to see them, of course, but... She didn't feel like they would.

Lynn's words definitely solidified that feeling. If they were caught on the Spire, they wouldn't make it back to the Ring. It would either be a fight for their lives, or a life spent in solitude. Probably a life spent in agony at the hands of the Spire's tech department or science division. She glanced at Natalie. There was no way Nat would submit to another life of needles. She'd go down fighting for her life. Lynn would too. Nic, she wasn't sure of. She couldn't imagine Keaton killing with her own hands. Even after Eli watched her put a few bullets into the Silent Court.

She heard Keaton mention Packet's name and turned her head towards her next. Before she could answer, Keaton made a point about telling Nic what their own abilities were. If Nic wasn't sure what their options were, he could make a wrong move in the Spire. Eli nodded in agreement and stood there as she waited for the group to explain.

Her heart constricted again. Archie... You're no accident waiting to happen. She felt her throat tighten. She felt even more guilty for feeling so afraid of him. Of how she even had one thought about avoiding him for the rest of her time on the Promise. He looked like he was ready to give up. Like he had no other option. Yet Eli had a feeling that none of them really had a chance at living a long and safe life. Their lives were at stake every day no matter what their ability was. They were parahuman, and that put a target on their back.

Eli took a deep breath as Archie locked eyes with her. Before she could even explain, she sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear. It was still hard to look at him. Especially now. "I gave Packet an ultimatum before we ended our meeting. If I text him and he agrees, then he is with me-well, us, 100%. No matter what the consequences are. If he doesn't respond, or tells me to delete his number, we can't expect help from him."

"If he does agree to help, we just need to set a date a time. Whether that's tomorrow, or a week from now." She suddenly had an idea and she turned towards Nicolas. "If you were to infect some staff that travel between the ring and the Spire, we could gather intel while we wait."

As for the Keaton's earlier question, Eli wasn't sure if she even wanted to put Packet in that kind of position. "Keaton, I know that bringing him along would be extremely helpful... but... He's so young, and I feel like he has a chance to live on the Ring if he stays behind. I can definitely ask him if he will come with us, but I already feel guilty for putting him in this position in the first place. I'm not sure if I could focus in the Spire if I was worried about his safety too." She bit her lip and shrugged.

"Still... There's a chance he'll want to come." She looked around at them again. "It sounds like everyone is willing to take this risk. I'm... extremely grateful to have you all here with me." She glanced at Archie and nodded. "All of you."

"What happens next is that we plan which day to do this and prepare for it as much as we can. We can look up the old schematics of The Spire through the records. But only once, so that it isn't suspicious. I think Keaton has the best chance at analyzing them and figuring out the best places to search. Nic could infect as many staff as he could handle until then, just to figure out what the security is like over there. I'll message Packet and if he responds... well, we're going to the Spire."

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

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The second Lyss freed herself and Maya of the cuffs, she took to rubbing her twisted wrist and the shoulder that broke her fall out of the van. Her cheek was still burning from that bitch's backhand, and to be honest her pride was hurt. She slowly rose to her feet and tore the sticky note off of her forehead. Half tempted to crumple it up and toss it, Lyss stuffed it and the bobby pin back into the pocket of her jeans to deal with later. Her silence spoke volumes as she followed Maya inside of the casino.

While Maya seemed to brush off the event easily, Lyss didn't feel the same way. She headed straight towards the bathroom. Standing at the broken and dirty mirror, Lyss rubbed her sore eyes before she saw the state of her lipstick. "Fucking bitch," she muttered before wiping the smeared paint off of her lips onto her soaking wet tank top.

As always, Lyss carried her lipstick in the pocket of her jacket. She pulled it out and took her time to reapply before storing it away again. Her hair was wet and clung to her skin, but at least the rain had washed away the streaks of tears on her cheeks. She didn't look that bad, aside from the red mark on her cheek.

Lyss made her way back towards the girls just in time to see that they had all recovered too. She also came in just in time to hear Maya vote for herself to be the new leader. She grimaced, but her attention was quickly pulled away when she saw that Emily was still cuffed.

"Turn around, Emily. I can get you out." She murmured, pulling the bobby pin back out of her pocket. She was quiet as she stepped up to the girl and picked the locks on the cuffs. She tossed them aside, and then quickly removed the inactive dart from Emily's ass too and let it drop onto the floor. Next, she made her way over to Ellie and offered her some help to stand again. Then she turned to face the group.

"We just got our asses handed to us by the FBI." She started before pausing for a moment to think. "No," she thought aloud, "They couldn't have been the fucking FBI. There's no way they followed government regulations." She frowned and rubbed her eyes again. She was too flustered to think clearly.

"I don't know. I don't like this. Whoever they were, they're dangerous. They easily overpowered us, and we outnumbered them." She put her hand on her hip and winced. Her wrist was still sore. In fact, her whole body ached. Lungs, face, wrist, shoulder- everything.

She wanted to scream at Emily for turning tail and trying to run. She wanted to scold the girls who did nothing to defend the group. Now was not the time. She was sure that the others felt just as shameful with how things went. They didn't need to be scolded. They needed to figure out a plan.

"We need to be prepared next time they decided to drop in on us like that. I mean, what if it had been the vampires from Greenwood? We should expect them to fight back too, right?" She sighed and walked over to the table. Her shoulders sagged as she took a seat at her usual spot.

"That group. The agents, or whatever the fuck. They're not going to just disappear because we talked them out of killing us." She glanced up at the girls. "Yes. Their bitch of a leader threatened to end us if we don't comply. Something in me says that they're completely capable of it, if we're not stronger the next time they come around."

Her hand balled into a fist as she felt anger rising in her like bile in her throat. "I, for one, will do everything in my power to make sure we aren't beat again. I hope that all of you will do the same."

Then there was the matter of explaining their "conditions" set by the people that had just kicked their asses.

"The leader. Meifeng. She told us to stay off of the radar. If we need to settle a fight, like with the Greenwood Coven, we need to do it professionally and without leaving a trace."

"She found us because some of you didn't even change clothes before going to Dairy Queen. Could you imagine if the actual feds found us? We'd all be in jail right now. Use some common sense, girls. Who else do you think noticed our group because of that? What other groups like them are out there? What if a witch hunter had figured us out?" She sighed and shook her head.

"No. I don't want to be the leader. I want everyone to do their part in this group. No more fighting. No more sitting around. We all need to work on our abstractions and try our best to defend our sisters."

"That bitch and her goons will come back. She told me that we owed them a favor. Riley, Maya, and I have to meet with one of them every day to update them on what we've been up to. I'm going to use it as a chance to find out who they really are. Maybe even squeeze some information out of them. I mean, the person she assigned me with is just their IT guy. I overpowered him pretty quickly."

She looked over at Maya. "He likes you. Use that to your advantage. Flirt with him. I know you think he's cute too. Maybe you can get him to slip up if you're cute with him." She glanced at Riley and had to think for a second before coming up with a plan for her. "Riley, I want you to tell him that all we do at meetings is gossip about the latest celebrities or vent about our day. Make him think that we're just a bunch of girls grabbing coffee."

She looked around at the others. "As for everyone else, I think we need to start teaching each other tricks. You're all smart and capable women. We all have something to share and teach."

"When Madison, Kayla, Jess, and Molly get back we need to let them know what happened while they were gone." She pressed her lips together. If they survived their meeting with death. She didn't say that out loud. Instead, she looked around at the girls. Her words had come out in a muddled way, but she said what she wanted to say. She just had to hope that it sunk in, and that they would go along with it.

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

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Lyss slowly turned her cold stare from the big guy towards the little one. Her head tilted as she refused to turn her back on the asshole before her. She looked Trevor up and down as he rambled on about the pile of evidence they had on the group. Why did half of the Coven have to be idiots? She had to remind herself that most of them had never been in a fight before. There goes our chances of denying it.

She glanced back at big guy as he stated their mission, but the blonde woman confirmed Lyss's suspicion that it wasn't their only reason to be here. From her knowledge, the Coven hadn't even been on the map until the Greenwood fight. Surely the FBI, even a special forces team, wouldn't come to Tampa just for their dysfunctional group alone. She eyed the big guy, who chose to move on from that topic. Just as she was about to ask what the other "mission" was, he finally accepted that Lyss was the leader. Step one. Convince them they have the right girl. Step two. Convince their boss we aren't worth the paperwork. Trevor stepped towards Maya, and Lyss inwardly seethed when the jerk grabbed her arms. She was tense as he walked her towards the door, but she complied with his silent command to move in that direction.

Maybe we can work this out, if the little one would just shut up. Although, inside she was proud that she'd at least tagged one of them. Especially proud that she'd tagged the biggest one. She let the picture of the big guy vomiting onto the musty carpet keep her from thinking about the tight cuffs on her wrists.

Outside, Lyss was happy to see that Riley was fighting back too. She only grew worried for the firecracker's safety when the big guy was ordered to take care of her. Lyss eyed the older woman, whom she assumed was Supervisory Special Asshat, but also gave Riley a glance that would warn her to be cautious. Be careful, girl. She thought before she was lead into the fed's obvious van.

What will the neighbors think?

She was now being held by another older woman, who held her arms with a vice grip and stood like a soldier. Military, perhaps? She remembered seeing the woman outside standing by shards of green glass. At least the big guy can't cut Riley. She thought before remembering the way he held the knife. Seriously, where the hell did these feds come from?

Lyss stared the leader of this group down with a blank expression. She kept her shoulders high, and her arms relaxed within the hands of the female agent. Appear meak, and she'll tear you a new one. Look like a bitch, and she'll treat you like one. Trevor was explaining the situation, and Lyss had to suppress the urge to smirk when he glossed over the part about her target practice. She could hear it in his voice that he was embarrassed. Poor guy.

The supervisor moved towards Maya. Lyss tensed when Maya's head flew to the side, but she stood taller as the leader moved her way. The backhand hurt. Her head whipped to the side, but she did not buckle like Maya had. She grit her teeth. The side of her face was burning and her cheeks flushed. Her chest was rising and falling as she took heavy breaths to keep herself calm. She didn't break beneath this woman's force, but instead slowly turned her head back to look at the woman with the same blank expression. This time with flushed cheeks and a tense jawline. It was taking all of Lyss's might not to spit on the woman's shoes. Fucking bitch.

Lyss continued to stare at her, giving the woman nothing but the physical signs that she was trying to contain her anger. Maya sounded brave, despite how fragile she'd looked when she was hit. It kept Lyss sane. I am steel. I cannot be bent or broken. She told herself, trying to gather the courage to keep this meeting civil. She didn't have a physical abstraction, like the other girls. She'd had to get along in the black market on wit and strategy. This situation could be handled verbally. No one here deserved to be hurt. Especially not her friends.

A kill order? Are you serious? The woman was bluffing. She had to be. Lyss couldn't believe that they'd go full Salem on anyone that caused trouble with their magic. The government didn't kill normies that got into fights, so why kill witches for the same thing? Still, the threat had Lyss's stomach churning.

"I'll let our illustrious leader convince you not to kill us all."

Lyss took a deep breath through her nose so that her voice wouldn't waver. This was an extremely delicate matter. Even if this woman was bluffing, the girls could face jail time for the brawl. Especially for assaulting an agent. "I'm sure the last thing you want to happen is to push that button. Whether it's a real option for you or not."

"Thanks to Trevor over here, I'm also sure you're aware that we made this group with the intentions to find a home together. We're just a group of outcasts trying to get along in this world. What you call a "gang war" was just a simple fight."

Fuck, Lyss. It wasn't simple at all. You have to say more than that to get this woman off of your back.

"You'd do anything for your colleagues, right? If one of them was threatened, you'd hunt down the person that hurt them and let them know not to mess with you." She nodded her head towards Maya. "You just hit my friend here because she harmed one of your agents. That fight you heard of was just our way of doing the same. One of theirs tried to kill one of ours. So, we helped our friend get them back."

"I'll admit, the fight got extremely out of hand, and I won't let that happen again, but now those vampires won't attack our friend ever again." She added one last thing with a stern voice. It was mostly directed towards Maya. "Just like my friend here won't attack your agent again."

Meifeng paused. She was completely still as the girl explained the whole situation to her. A group of outcasts, right? It made sense, everything she said made sense. She turned towards Trevor for a second before her attention went to Maya as she smiled, "Girl, don't tempt me." Before she turned to Trevor and asked him, "What did you gather from their little internet conversations?"

"Wellllllll...." Trevor trailed off as he grinned at Maya. "They talk a lot about magic and stuff, but I ain't see nothing, like, bad." He shrugged.

Meifeng sighed, "You are correct, I would do anything for my subordinates-"

"Hey, she said colleague, there's a diff-"

"Zip it, Trevor," Meifeng said, "-but, what you girls did was commit several crimes; assault, battery, vandalism, tresspassing, destruction of private property, destruction of public property, and public indecency - in the span of about ten minutes. You've given me a reason not to push that button Miss..?"

"Lyss."

"... But, tell me why I shouldn't haul each and every one of you to jail, then?" Meifeng asked. "Two members of your little Coven thought it'd be a great idea to attack my agents and regardless of what your idiot friend-" Meifeng narrowed her eyes at Maya, "-says, that is still a serious crime. I have full authority to eliminate any threats to my mission... and somebody willing to attack a government official sounds like a serious threat to me."

Lyss pressed her lips together. Even though the boss understood what she said and agreed, Maya could still take the brunt of the consequences here. Lyss wasn't sure what to say that could 100% help the girl. Damnit, Maya.

Maya shifted her feet so she was in a steadier stance, just in case she got slapped again, and met Meifeng's narrowed eyes with one of her own. "I felt threatened." She let out a sharp sigh. Time to play the trauma card. "For a start, my hearing is kinda funny, y'know? So I didn't really register the FBI part..."

"... We literally have FBI all over our armor." Meifeng flatly said as she pointed towards her own.

"English also isn't my first language," she continued. "And this big guy was coming towards us and I freaked out and attacked in retaliation. I've got some past baggage with large men, you see."

"Meifeng," Cindy rolled her eyes, "I think she's just stupid."

"Stupidity is not an excuse," Meifeng said.

"Wellllllllll..." Trevor said as he added on. He had a plan in mind, a plan to get in this girl's drawers and it required her not being in jail. "How about we let this slide, boss? Just this once? Besides you know, we're going after a bigger target and we can totally sweep this under the rug... and there are lots about today I want to sweep under the rug." Trevor tugged at his collar.

"And just look at her!" Trevor put both his hands out towards Maya. "She won't last a second in jail! She's too fun-sized!"

If Maya could she would've put her hands together in a prayer position, but instead she just tried to make herself look as unthreatening as possible. Which wasn't hard, considering.

"Trevor..." Meifeng trailed off.

"I'm just saying this Coven of witches aren't out to do malicious things," Trevor started off, "They seem like a bunch of lonely lesbians... and Chris Hemsworth."

Lyss rolled her eyes, but she wasn't going to complain when the little agent was helping her friend.

Meifeng turned towards the leader of the group, "... Tell me, Lyss, what are your goals as an organization? What do you want to even accomplish?"

"I'm going to be completely honest with you. We honestly don't have a clue." She glanced towards Maya and thought of the others before looking back into Meifeng's eyes. "This is kind of like a safe haven for us. A support group, kind of. We all have been through a lot. We have a lot to learn and a lot of things to work on, but we're here for each other."

"What I can promise you is that we have no ill intentions."

"... Meifeeeeeeeng," Trevor said with a smile. "I hate to pull this card but you know how it feels to be lonel-"

"Trevor, I swear to God," Meifeng hissed as her accent slipped and she began sounding more... Chinese.

"I'm just saying, maybe you should let this one sliiiide," Trevor said.

Meifeng sighed as she got up off the seat and walked over towards Lyss and didn't break eye contact for a second. She had her hands folded behind her back. She got real close to Lyss' face as she said, "Perhaps we can... cut a deal, yes?" Meifeng said as she got back into her chair and folded a leg over the other. "... So tell me, are you willing to play ball?"

"I've played a few games before," Lyss said cautiously.

"I've longed for the joys of... feminine companionship, so I'm going to let this slide on a few terms," Meifeng chuckled as she raised one finger up into the air. "First, you dumbasses keep whatever activities you and your lesbian sex cult are up to off the radar. I'm not even going to bother telling you not to do it; because obviously you don't care. Long as I don't hear about it, I can focus on more important things."

Meifeng raised another finger, "Second, I am doing a huge favor for you all, so I expect the same thing when the time comes. Just.. a favor. So be ready to be called on."

She raised another finger, "Third, I want to know about any and all supernatural nonsense you run into. Like any threats... and if you come across somebody in a black robe and a deer skull, immediately drop what you're doing and tell me."

She shrugged, "Then you're going to want to run. After you tell me... I quite frankly don't care what you do."

Another finger went up, "Fourth, I'm putting you, you, and the bitch who threw lightning at me on probation. As in, I'm keeping tabs on you all and you have to report to me once a day - actually, Trevor. You're going to report to Trevor."

Trevor looked awfully excited. "Finally, "Trevor-Duty" I look forward to!"

"I'm glad you picked the cutest agent," Maya said with a thumbs up behind her back. "I mean, the least scary looking."

"... And if I catch you two fucking I'm cutting it off," Meifeng hissed at Trevor. "Mark my God damn words."

At this point, Lyss was just glad it wasn't going to be the big guy. This negotiation was going a lot better than she'd expected it to. "You have my word." Fuck my life.

"Good," Meifeng said as she got up and walked towards Maya, "But one last thing."

She slapped Maya one more time, but this time... open handed right across her cheek.

Maya hissed at the sudden impact, head twisting to the side and falling down onto one knee. Fuck that hurt. She pulled herself back up onto her feet.

"Supervisory Agent, no more slaps!" Trevor said as he reached and snatched her phone out her back pocket... and he effortlessly got past the passcode because he saw it in the camera of the Dairy Queen when she opened it. He punched his number in, making his contact name BIG TREV and slid it back where he got it. Trevor said as he wrote down his contact information on two stickey notes. He slapped the note onto their foreheads as he said, "She's a delicate flower!"

Afterwards Meifeng pressed her ear piece as she said, "All agents, withdraw from the field."

"What about the kids?" Maximilian asked.

"Leave them."

"Affirmative," Maximilian answered as the agents began to withdraw.

"Oh, just one last thing," Meifeng said as she raised her hand up into the air. The two girls were pulled together by their handcuffs as they were connected to each other the second they made contact. It was probably awkward as hell. She grabbed the two by the arm as she walked them out the door before throwing them off the truck. "Go back on our deal and I'm placing that kill-order with impunity. I have the authority and the power to do so."

"Oy, what about the handcuffs?" Maya yelled back, struggling to get back into a sitting position having both been thrown down the stairs and connected to Lyss.

"That wasn't in the deal," Meifeng said with a grin. "Adios, just remember... I'm always watching..."

"... Wazowski." Trevor added on his best impression of that slug monster thing.

Maya gave Trevor the biggest puppy dog eyes in an attempt to beg him to get rid of the cuffs.

Trevor closed his eyes as he looked away and Meifeng slammed the door closed. They heard the truck coming alive as the vehicle began moving and what few FBI agents were in the area simply left towards their rally point.

"...So, you don't happen to know anyone who can control metal?" Maya asked.

Lyss groaned.

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

---

Lyss was 100% ready to take one for the team. To tell the feds that she was the leader and talk the group's way out of this. She had the big guy's attention for a split second before she heard Emily's shrewd voice pipe up from across the room. Lyss rolled her eyes when Emily began to point her way. She watched the girl from her spot on the floor. What Emily said was, to be honest, completely true. Lyss hadn't exactly done much in the coven so far, but Emily? Hadn't she just seen Emily heading for the door instead of standing up for her sisters?

Lyss turned her head towards Trevor and raised her head towards him as if she was about to tell him a secret. "She's just mad they voted her out of the position." Which was entirely true, as well. For being in a situation that requires lying, I'm telling a lot of truths. She rest her head back on the ground and sighed as she heard Maya shouting back at Emily.

"I don't think she meant to say communists." She murmured through Emily's retaliation, to anyone that might be listening.

The agent she'd humiliated moved towards her, and she instinctively flinched as his hands reached for her. She was grateful for the help, but she wasn't fond of being manhandled like this. The way his hands grasped her arms brought forth memories. Situations she wasn't happy to recall. His comment about the big guy brought her back to the moment and she chuckled. "Can't get any uglier than that."

She jerked forward when she saw the big guy point his knife at Maya, but felt herself held back by the agent behind her. She was about to make a comment. To defend her Coven for their actions that caught the FBI's eyes, but then the big guy sent Maya flying. Lyss jerked again, her expression changing to anger. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, asshat!" She seethed. "Ugh, get your man hands off of me," she hissed back at Trevor. Just as she began to struggle again, she felt his hands pull back. She stumbled forwards a step, but caught herself. "Thank you," she muttered, but as she turned to look at him she saw him groping the female agent.

"Really, Emily??"

She turned to see Emily walking away and scoffed. "What a fucking leader you are."

The big guy headed their way, and Lyss stepped backwards so that his elbow wouldn't nick her in the face. The display of power was impressive. Especially because he was able to break Babylon's sigil with a single hit. We're fucked. She took a deep breath, her lungs still sore from the gas. Her left eye finally felt better, and she could open it to get a full view of the rest of the feds break the sigil above the female agent's head. Then she turned her head in time to see Emily get a dart to the ass. She had it coming, honestly.

Maya surrendered, and Lyss was just grateful that she hadn't been hurt by the big guy's attack. Lyss turned back and walked right up to him, her puffy eyes narrowed. His height was unexpected as she neared him, and she found herself tilting her head back to look up at him. As intimidated as she was by his size, she didn't show it. Her anger was fueling this courage. "Hey, big guy. Let's all just calm down, okay? Whatever your leader wants, we don't have it. That little tussle you somehow managed to pin on us was a huge misunderstanding."

She gestured with her head towards all of the fallen Coven members in the room. Even Elise had found her way back inside and was curled up in a fetal position. "Let these girl's patch themselves up, and take me to whoever the fuck ordered this."

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

---

While Lyss was done fighting back, Maya certainly wasn't. Even though her twisted wrist hurt like hell in the cuffs Lyss grinned. The big guy didn't like her taser dart and he fell. She watched in disappointment when instead of collapsing to the ground, he was helped by his black blob of a colleague. She frowned, but the grin soon returned when she realized his mask was askew.

"Here, let me help you."

Lyss turned to look up at Trevor with a confused look, but saw that he'd reloaded her empty weapon. A second later and she was writhing on her side, looking like a fish out of water with her hands cuffed behind her back like this. She grimaced and gasped for air, which only sent her into further hacks and wheezes because of the gas. From this position on the ground, though, she could see the big guy choking on his own tear gas. HE FUCKING PUKED! She laughed her ass off, which sounded like a mix of laughing and a mix of huffing as much fresh air as her lungs could get in a short amount of time. The electricity running through her body still hurt like a bitch, but at least she could watch the big guy suffer too.

The taser dart soon wore off, thank satan. She laid back on her back and her body went limp. She was exhausted, and her eyes still stung. She looked up at the ceiling and panted. She was just glad to have fresh air now. Her head turned to the guy who'd darted her and gave him a smug smirk. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that I overpowered you."

"Everybody! Calm Down! Who is in charge here?!"

Lyss turned her head towards the big guy and shouted as best as her hoarse throat could. "Don't listen to the 24 karat girl. I'm who you're looking for. Now, what the hell do you want with us?"

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

---

Lyss was still struggling to breathe. Her eyes were getting sore from the amount of tears they'd produced in the last five minutes. Five minutes. It only took five minutes to bring the Coven to their knees. She'd noticed the blue astral birds above them. That's how the gas canisters went unnoticed. FBI and witches. Since when was that a fucking thing.

She heard Herik shout out. At least the man wasn't unleashing his size upon the FBI. If any one of them battered an agent there would be serious consequences. Lyss hadn't exactly been in a raid before, but she'd heard stories. She also was sure that there might be a file on her in the FBI's black market ops division. Big sellers do go unnoticed by the government. As sneaky and smart as they'd been in the market, there had to be some level of evidence to trail. She wasn't sure what they'd have on her, but she hoped that this matter could be settled easily without any last names given.

"Fuck you!"

Oh, fuck. Maya.

A second later, Lyss tumbled backwards as Maya's psionic sound wave crashed into her. She found herself tumbling backwards into the FBI agent that had blocked her path.

There goes our perfect behavior. She thought bitterly.

Lyss immediately turned to crawl onto the agent, her hands reaching for any sort of taser she could use to stun him. He was a smaller guy. Maybe when he was standing and she was crouching he could overpower her, but now they were both at a level playing ground. He was gaining focus again. The blast probably made him hit his head a little hard when he fell. Lyss could hear the other agents firing something. Bullets? No, they wouldn't shoot to kill. This bastard must have something I can use!

She felt his hand grasp onto her left wrist, but it was too late for him. Lyss's right hand found what she was looking for. She grasped the grip of what she had a feeling was the same weapon the other agents were firing and turned. After all, the small agent beneath her only had one weapon. She could see the big guy hovering over Maya. "There you are, fucker." She hissed. It was hard to see through her tears, and one eye was refusing to open at this point, but she had enough practice that she could at least make her mark.

The agent below her was reaching for the dart gun, but Lyss was too fast for him. She pressed her knee against his chest to keep him down. Then pulled the trigger. The dart flew straight towards the big guy's leg. Maya might have thought that Lyss was thinking of her in that moment. It was true, Lyss was definitely looking out for Maya. For any of the other members of the Coven too. The other part of Lyss just wanted to make this guy hurt. "No one fucks with my girls." She hissed before going into another fit of coughs. In a half-hearted attempt to help the others, Lyss sent other darts towards the other masked agents in the room. She wasn't sure if she was getting anyone, but she didn't care. They needed time to gather themselves before being hauled off to an interrogation room.

The dart gun soon 'clicked' instead of fired and she knew that her time to shine was over. She dropped the weapon and loosened her hold of the agent below. He was smart, she had to give him that. The second she stopped putting pressure on his chest, he threw her off of him. Lyss didn't fight back. She'd done enough to these agents. She just hoped that she managed to make the big guy squirm. Lyss felt her arms being pulled back and slapped into cuffs. She knelt on the ground and wheezed. Her lungs ached and her eyes felt swollen and red. "Do you think I could have a glass of water?" She asked the agent.

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

---

Lyss's smile soon faded as Riley started spitting fire towards Emily. She released some air through her nose and tried her best not to listen. What's worse? Going to piss off the Hound, or sitting here with these bombs? She busied herself with examining her nails as she listened to Riley. She'd filed them down a bit after the field trip to Greenwood yesterday and she had to admit that she'd done a pretty good job. She just needed some moisturizer on her cuticles, and they'd look damn near perfect.

She saw Maya turn towards her in her peripherals and set her hand back down on the table. Lyss nodded in agreement as she looked at Maya. "I definitely didn't join this group expecting to be the Avengers or anything. Honestly, I was just hoping to lay low and learn some spells." She shrugged. Her attention was turned towards Emily as the witch turned her attention onto the rest of the group. She stared at her with a blank expression. In Lyss's opinion, Riley and Emily were equal in terms of dependability. It just happened that Emily had an almost all powerful entity in her meatsuit.

The canister fell directly onto the table across from Lyss, and her eyes immediately widened. "Everyone, get down! Cover your faces!" She ducked beneath the table without another word and pulled her tank up over her mouth and nose. She didn't know who had sent in the gas bombs, but she sure as hell didn't want to inhale any of the shit coming out of them. She began to crawl towards the closest exit, but soon the smoke covered her view. Unfortunately, the thin tank wasn't helpful at all. Lyss did her best to hold her breath, but as soon as the gas touched her eyes she gasped in pain. The smoke flew into her lungs and began it's attack.

Lyss wheezed, her eyes tearing up immediately. She could feel the waterworks running down her cheeks and she stopped crawling as she tried to catch her breath. Air. I need fresh air. She grimaced. Fuck! Where's the exit? She closed her eyes tightly, giving them a moment to rest before one eye peeled open and searched through the gas for any sign of a door.

"FBI!"

"Oh-" COUGH. "HELL NO." Lyss hissed. She crawled faster, but her line of sight was interrupted by black combat boots. "Shit!" She looked up to see a black gas mask looking down at her and she growled.

Her lungs were on fire. To the point where she couldn't move any further. She gave up on her escape and doubled over. Her hand reached up to hold her throat as she kept trying to cough the gas out. The gas was fading, fortunately, but with every breath she took in more of it. ^{"What fucking right-"}" She muttered between her heavy breaths.

Her blurry eyes immediately turned towards the big guy with the badge. The one that just told them to give up or suffer longer. They were icy cold, despite the fact that they were squinting to stay open. For a moment she was glad that she had the best waterproof mascara. Her lipstick, on the other hand, she wasn't too confident in.

"You've got us surrounded," she breathed. "What more do you-" COUGH. COUGH. "-fucking want?"

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

---

"What's up, Madison? Are you in trouble?"

The hound? Lyss's eyebrow quirked. As someone who came from a family of black lux, Lyss was aware of what the Hound was. She turned her head towards Babylon. For once the spirit didn't look mischievous or smug. Her description of the hound matched the way Lyss's grandfather had described it. So why does Madison want to - Babylon asked her question before she could even finish thinking it.

Lyss wasn't phased by Madison's sudden hostility. She was surprised to see that Babylon was intimidated. Who would win in a fight? Babylon and Emily, or Madison and her Jaws? She watched the two carefully and prepared to take action if a fight broke out.

She glanced over at Herik as he voice his opinion. The One-Eye was smart to keep himself out of the Hound's line of sight. He was wrong to think that the Hound would just take one of them for fun. Lyss grew up with her family's philosophy that Death was anything close to a god. He understood the balance between life and death, and only served as an overseer for those whose time had come. The Hound merely acted as a middle man. It wouldn't kill unless Death was close by.

The rest of the group was right. If Madison wasn't going to explain her reason to meet with the grim reaper, why would the group want to help her? Kayla was attacked by her buyers, so naturally the group would want to aid her. What had the Hound ever done to Madison to make her so defensive about this?

Lyss's eyes traveled around the room to read the Coven's expressions. She watched Madison closely and could tell that the girl's earlier gusto was fading. As much as Lyss wanted to help a friend out, there was still a part of her that told her to stay out of this one. It was extremely unwise to piss of the Hound. The only way to keep him around long enough to answer Madison's "question" would be to basically trap him. Lyss would make it pretty easy to do so, but she didn't want to be the reason the Hound was late to greet his next soul. She sat back in her chair and didn't voice her own opinion. Madison would either have to give up, or do it on her own. Lyss just hoped that she would make the right choice.

Lyss sighed softly. She hated to pass up an opportunity to help.

Agatha began to usual briefing. It was the reason they all were meeting, anyways. Lyss looked up at the dusty chandelier above the table and fiddled with her grandmother's ring as she listened to Agatha speak. It wasn't odd to hear that another witch wanted to join the Coven. Was I the most recent to join, or was it Molly? She couldn't remember. The only red flag that Lyss could see off in the distance was that this potential already knew of the Coven and happened to live in the area. Are we that popular?

Kayla, of course, was the first to comment. Lyss agreed with her wholeheartedly. Did they take a vote when they accepted me? Is this person trying to lay low, too? She watched Agatha for her reaction. Off to the side she heard Herik agree. The corners of her lips turned down slightly. Who said that he had any right to vote about this?

A few of the girls agreed. Emily made a few more snarky remarks. Lyss rolled her eyes, even though she agreed that some of the girls (and the man) had voted too soon. "So, why bother with the vote. You all are going to accept whatever trash comes our way and ignore the actually sensible people here because... the lonely one offers his hand far too quickly to whomever he encounters." She had a point, there.

Lyss's eyes followed Claudette and Agatha as they stepped away to chat. The other's comments faded into the background as Lyss tried to hear what the girl was telling their leader. She leaned back further in her seat. Her ears strained as she tried to listen. She really only heard the complaints about the other members and a small smirk appeared on her lips. What would Agatha think of me? She wished that she could have heard that.

It only occurred to her that the others, Madison leading the way, had left the casino. Lyss turned back to look at the remaining members of the group and gave them all a smile. "Well, I'm certainly looking forward to meeting this new member. I don't think it's a good idea to blindly accept her, or him, or them, but you all accepted me. Agatha's certainly the most paranoid out of the group, so I doubt that she hasn't done any research about them. But, if the group doesn't like them, we'll kick 'em out."

The Uncanny X-Babies - Concluded

---

---

Elara

Location: Mojo... world?
Skills: N/A

Elara surveyed the masses as Longshot explained the history. A whole crowd of Mojo's victims in one place, and no one was acting against him? Or plotting a rebellion? What kind of power did Mojo have, that he could subdue all of these people? It was a grim realization.

"Is there anything we could to do help?" She asked suddenly. She turned to Longshot, her face revealing her emotions. "How could Mojo do this to his people without any backlash? Have there been uprisings before?"

She found herself wondering if Mojo was hard to kill and was shocked by her sudden change in morals. She'd only kill out of self defense. It was only out of sheer luck that she hadn't had to kill before. Was this what this type of job required? The steel to kill an enemy? Elara struggled with the thought, but she found herself relating to Bella or any other member of this group that made killing sound so easy.

"If we inspired them to fight back, would there even be a chance that we'd overtake Mojo?"

If that wasn't an option, Elara wondered if they could get another audience with Mojo. She'd seen this group in action. Surely they could take him down, if there wasn't a chance they'd be sent back to a warped reality the second they were caught by his men.

[color=E5D0FF]"There has to be something we can do to stop this."[/color.] Without getting killed, of course.

Hollow Moon 2240

Traversing through a foreign jungle had never been more difficult... nor more exciting. Yara had seen many jungle like terrain, but nothing like this. It was like every other planet she'd visited combined into one with extra layers and adaptations. Yara had specifically taken jobs that would lead her to each sector of the moon on purpose. Flora collections for a few educational establishments, one small animal capture for a wealthy man with a sugar baby to please, and a particularly dangerous mission to gather an... item from an apex predator. Each job would allow Yara to get as much exploring done on the side as she wanted.

So far, Yara had gathered each plant required to garner two payments upon returning to the Thermopylae. They weren't exactly the highest paying jobs, but so far they were the easiest. She was just on her way to gather the last bioluminescent plant, which would require crossing a river and a field of... whatever plant life was home to something that both burrowed under ground and could also take flight. She'd just spotted the water up ahead when-

Alert. Mixer storm manifesting in - twenty, minutes. Exit Hollow Moon or seek shelter soon.

"Twenty minutes?" She asked herself as she looked down at her navigation system. If she'd had her suit on, she could have made it to her ship 45 seconds into the storm. She let out a puff of air and pulled up the closest shelter to her. "A fifteen minute jungle gym extravaganza. Let's do this."

Yara turned and headed in, unfortunately, the opposite direction of her last prize. She'd have to grab it after the storm. For gathering plant life, she hadn't expected to need protection. Yeah, the storms were predictable and a given on this moon. She'd been warned plenty of times on the station of the horrors. It was the reason why she'd chosen to stick near the shelters for her first day. Just so she could experience the moon's qualities unhindered by a metallic shell. What was disappointing about the storm's future arrival was that she'd expected to get everything she needed before a mixer hit.

Alert. Mixer storm manifesting in - fifteen, minutes. Exit Hollow Moon or seek shelter immediately.

Yara climbed over a fallen branch. Which, on the Hollow Moon, was more like a giant log. She slid off of it, and onto the other side. A sudden thunder in the distance caught her attention. The ominous dark blue clouds off to the side were enough to get Yara's feet moving faster. There was no way in hell she was getting caught in a mixer storm. She'd heard of the affects it had on a cyborg. Imagine what it might do to the metal disks that lined her spine.

"Ugh, I'm wearing my suit tomorrow." She didn't even want to imagine it.

Alert. Mixer storm manifesting in - ten, minutes. Exit Hollow Moon or seek shelter immediately.

Another log, a tall gathering of vegetation to traverse through, and a moment of distraction as Yara checked her navigation to make sure that she was heading the right way. She should be seeing the outline in a minute. It wasn't certain that there would be other beings within the shelter, but at this point Yara hoped to have someone to chat with.

The second she saw the building up ahead, she allowed herself to slow down. She brushed her hair back from her face and adjusted the pack's straps against her shoulders. It would be nice to give her shoulders a break. To sit down for a few minutes. She entered the shelter as a second boom erupted in the air.

"Entry logged at shelter - twelve."

Yara released a sigh as she felt the door close behind her. She immediately removed her pack and set it down on the nearest table. Then she turned her head to scan the room for anyone or thing within the shelter. Two women. Refreshing. Both wearing protective armor. It looked like she'd walked in right when they were getting comfortable. While she was in casual clothing, she always wore her chest and back plate. If they didn't look close enough, they wouldn't even know it was there. The weapon on her hip suddenly carried some extra weight, but she ignored it. Any hole in the exterior of this shelter and they'd all be goners. No one would start a fight during a storm.

"Ladies." She said with a nod towards them. She turned towards her pack and pulled out a flask for water. A generous gulp later and Yara headed towards a refilling station. She took note of the three machines at the charging stations and glanced them over as she filled her flask.

"These are state of the art." She said as she turned back to the women. "Whose are they?"

"I'm Yara, by the way." She added in as she made herself comfortable on a nearby chair.