2013.09.19 - Beast Of The Woods

North Gotham is where there are still forests in the city that people mostly think of as a smoggy, overcast, dangerous, crime-infested, gargoyle-designer's-playground. They may not be all uninterrupted trees or anything, with several of them mixed in with the neighborhoods of the rich and well-to-do, but at least one area is kept cordoned off and more or less completely natural in the form of a forest preserve. Tall walls keep most people out. That also means it's out of sight of most people and thus a place where those trying to remain hidden might go -- if they can scale the walls or enter through one of the gates that are usually kept locked.
There are streams throughout the forest preserve, but there's a river not too distant from the preserve itself unconnected to such. Dead bodies keep finding their way down the river, sometimes not even making it into the water and instead just being located on the river banks. The bodies are not just those belonging to humans, though they also make up the majority. The fact that animals -- whether they be some of the few wild creatures in the area like deer and birds or more domestic ones like cats and dogs -- are all turning up dead, in awful condition that indicates a variety of different murder tools from knives to localized freezing cold, to claws and teeth, indicates that whatever is out here it's not any normal criminal. It might not even be just one killer.
The area all around the preserve has been investigated with no sign of who actually conducted the killing. But skilled detectives, those with analysis tools or teams to support them, or even means of investigation that go beyond the mundane and into the realm of the paranormal or supernatural, may have determined that the forest preserve itself may be where the killings are taking place.
...However that is possible. Getting inside the walls is a hurdle only for normal people, really, and even then if they get the proper clearance and a ladder or have a bat grappling hook or something they can just get inside.
There's no sign so far that the killing is going to stop. Someone has to do something.
But going into the den of the killer or killers seems kind of unhealthy...
---
It's early evening, but it's already nearly completely dark, and getting darker quickly. The night will be total soon. It's autumn now, but already many Gotham trees have begun shedding their leaves. Those that have not have already gone brilliant orange and yellow and brown and red, providing a beautiful sight in many parts of the city... But not here. Here the trees surrounding the preserve are already bare or nearly-so. A chill wind whistles through their branches, making them sway, and their spindly appendages click and clack together like an audience of skeletons applauding with boney hands. The leaves all over the ground, knee-deep in some areas, rasp dryly. But in the area of the walls that surround the forest preserve, the leaves have simply rotted away. The transition from the colors of autumn to a mulchy decay of black and brown is not hidden or subtle. The walls around the south and south-west in particular seem to be rife with the squishy layer of fallen foliage.
The same side as a certain nearby river.
The south gate lies unlocked, swinging and creaking, in the wind. Occasionally banging against the wall with a loud, metallic clatter. That gate should be locked and closed, but it's not.
That would be a truly awful place for a child to go wandering.
"Saaaaaaallyyyyyyyy!" A young, cultured, Italian-accented female voice calls out.
"SALLY!" A male voice, also Italian, and possibly even more cultured is right behind hers.
A pair of twin flashlights cut through the fog and the gloom as they scan through the woods, aiming them this way and that. They could likely see better without them, but even these people liked to do things like normal people sometimes. That's how Bianca Tonetti came to be in these woods. Sure, she could have sent some of her father's mooks out into the woods, but they'd probably just end up dead. If you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself, that's what the debutante always said! So here she is, wearing fancy designer jeans, a stylish, dark-brown leather jacket, sneakers, and even has a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head that's worth more than most people's living room furniture. In the woods.
Hey, this is 'dressed down' for Bianca Tonetti, daughter of alleged mob boss of the Tonetti Family.
Carlos is with her, as he was about the only other member of her household that Sally was like as not to trust besides herself, being the closest thing to real family that she had. He was wearing a rather well-tailored, dark gray dress shirt, a suede coat, and black slacks, his blonde hair slicked against his head.
And just what were these two civilians doing out in the middle of nowhere with a crazed animal-murderer on the loose? Calling for someone named 'Sally', apparently.
"SAAAAAALLYYYYYY!"
It's a bit stereotypical, but Rain likes animals. Especially the cats. Friggin' witches. Given she now lives in Gotham, this has proven very relevant to her interests. She has a warm scarf on, none of her animal companions with her. She has her long duster coat on, and yes, she's riding a freaking broom. She has a small battery powered lantern with her. And a flashlight in her pocket. Because redundantly is how she /rolls/. Also, there's something about the forest that she feels drawn to. Maybe it's how old school her magic is and trees are friggin' awesome. Her flight path will have her land a ways past the gate, preferably somewhere not super visible. Can't get swarmed by people wanting owls.
If there's one thing SHIELD had in abundant supply in Gotham (besides storage space and unfinished case files), it was computer support; software that could collate unusual happenings, display it, and then alert the right anaylsis that... /something/ was up. A lot of dead creatures, reported to authorties (included bodies) found in a centralized area. Some investigations, but no leads; typical of an underfunded police force who had enough local crime to deal with then a few dead bodies out in the sticks. For people who saw the pattern, however... well. Their job was odd things.
On the other side of the woods, next to the open gate, a group of three men, all of them in orange vest and camoflauge clothing, two with shotguns, and one with a well-worn but servicable Russian battle rifle. They all had the proper permits, and all had proper IDs. If anyone checked on them, they were hunters that had just gotten lost.
Hunters with /very/ expensive communication gear.
<<Home, this is Geiger. Currently on site with Senior Agent Antwerp and Field Agent Hopkins. Currently ready to begin investigation of perserve showing unusual killings. Confirm QRF on standby.>>
A pause. <<Geiger, Base copies. Be advised, QRF from Metro is on standby; transport time is 45 minutes.>> Martin cursed silently to himself. Never there when you needed it. Well, just have to make do. With a forward step, he leads, the other two 'hunter's following him into the perserve, past the open gate. Gate shouldn't have been opened... which was a concern.
Dead bodies weren't uncommon to Gotham City. Deep down Hawkman wondered if Gothamites were becoming insensitive to the concept of death. The fact people are noticing disturbing trends about multiple dead bodies, from many different species of being, washing down the river within the forest preserve. The fact that the killer or killers are switching from man to beast tells Hawkman one thing about him/her/them already: They're either a savage, mentally deranged, or connected with some mystic following or religion that required sacrifices if not a combination of the three. Either case this makes the killer(s) extremely dangerous. 
Flying over the wall he lands quietly then begins to look about. Various lights are about. Grabbing his tried and true friend, the mace, that hangs from his belt Hawkman starts to move with it. All sorts of people are about the place. The name 'Sally' carries in the distance, "New victim," he thinks low then pushes off the ground taking to the air. Better to have eyes in the sky to see things most people on foot wouldn't be able to.
The forest preserve is about the size of a large city block, but at night like this, where boundaries remain visually uncertain, it seems far larger. While most of the 'visitors' have light sources of some kind, and some may not even really need such, the darkness here seems to move in to fill any empty space as quickly as it can. Like black sand spilling in to replace the void when the light has left. The cold wind makes the trees howl a low, mournful tune. The voices of two people calling out a name echoes, but perhaps does not quite as far as one might expect. And yet far enough to get something's attention.
A dead, dry branch cracks loudly somewhere to Carlos's right.
The view of the ground from the air is obscured by the trees, but there is still a gap of about 15 yards between the walls and the outer layer of trees -- that act similarly to a second wall. Landing within that range -- just inside the walls or gates -- is easy for those with flying capabilities. Easier than trying to find an opening between the branches. While the trees outside the walls seem to be shedding their leafy coats quickly -- like someone with a necrotizing virus just sloughing off their skin -- the trees within are perfectly healthy. Vibrant, really. But though the boughs are full of leaves, dense enough to block out sunlight during the DAY let alone at NIGHT, there does not truly seem to be anything healthy about them. The bark has been damaged in places, as though something heavy had rubbed against it. The leaves are a green so dark they appear black. Pale moss, speckled with green and red, is completely out of its native environment is overtaking several areas.--Wait, is that even moss? From the smell it's... More like mold.
As Hawkman takes back into the air, he'd find the same issue Rain would have. The foliage is dense, blocking any view from the air. Not even the flash lights being used pierce the leaves and the gloom. Somewhere in there are people, to be sure. But actually seeing them without walking towards them on the ground or trying to wrestle a path through the tree tops themselves seems unlikely at this point. A certain sense of unease may come to Hawkman as he looks from above. Sort of a wave of nausea and confusion. And it's not Hawkman's own. There's... Something down there. Not someone, someTHING. And it's not well. If he approaches the trees, even from the air, the feeling intensifies depending on what direction he goes.
Whether humans or beasts, it does not seem the killer or killers care what is made a target. But three men, armed and ready, are surely more than enough to take care of whatever is responsible. They have strength of numbers! And probably courage bolstered by the same! Their training helps too, no doubt. But it is cold, and dark, and as the gate swings open in the wind, creeeeeaking slowly... Something that sounds like a voice whispering can be heard by one of the agents.
"Over here."
Turning to look in the direction the whisper seemed to come from will reveal nothing immediately visible nor any cover that something that could hide someone. Maybe it was just the imagination? But... It sounded like a child's voice from beyond the gate.
"Sally?" Carlos swings his flashlight in the direction of the sudden noise and starts to take a step in that direction. He starts to, but comes up short when Bianca grabs his sleeve between her thumb and forefinger and frowns up at him.
"Stay close to me, Carlos." The dark-haired woman shines her light in that direction and takes the lead, keeping a hand on her male companion's arm as he follows along a half-step behind and to the side. "Sally? Is that you, sweetheart? Mommy's here."
And then, louder, Carlos calls out. "SALLY? SALLY, ARE YOU THERE?"
The woman turns around and swats at him, causing him to raise his arms to defend himself from the lackluster beating. "Don't do that!" She hisses. "You'll scare her! You know how she gets when she's nervous."
The team slowly starts to move in, Martin frowning as he seems to hear a voice out in the distance, sounding like... perhaps someone calling out a name. It was hard to make out, but certainly, they'd want to stay away with them, if possible. The less people asking questions about their presence here (or asking them for help they shouldn't or couldn't give), the better. The darkness was almost all encompassing past those trees, the moonlight not even reaching through them... which is why Martin pauses before them. "Go electronic, people." He says, as the three men pull out a mix of commercial and 'surplus' night vision equipment, strapping them on and activating them to see through the dark... or something of the type. The problem with night vision gear is it only amplified light, and there wasn't a lot of that to begin with.
Agent Hopkins quickly turned. "Did you hear that?" He says, taking one step forward, before a hand clamps on his shoulder, causing him to jump. "We move together. You take point, but we're going to be on your tail. Keep close, and do not break up." He says, voice full of wise caution. There was a bit of a maxim one could follow in this situation. The world's best shot with the world's best pistol isn't going to kill Superman. And three well trained men with okay weapons may not be... ready for whatever was waiting in there. But they had to move forward. So. The only option was caution.
Time to kick on the ole magic senses. Maybe she should've brought incense and tried to commune with the spirits. They like that, right? Rain adjusts her hat, peering out and around. Did she hear someone? Hm. Just rustling. She couldn't see much from above, which isn't entirely surprising. Competition for sun leads the trees to build their leafy armor. In some forests, it's dark even during the day. She'll settle for landing near the trees. And she'll try to feel for any magic in the area. "Let's see..." Does her path take her near the agents? Maybe. For now, she settles on magic sight and having a lantern.
Feeling that presence on him causes Hawkman to lower back down to the ground. Granted the leaves don't help the whole flying thing either. Walking about the trees Hawkman refrains from just making himself a path by cutting into the various branches that are in his way. Moving through odd spaces with wings strapped to your back is a bit awkward. He fights the urge to make malch because this is a tree preserve. IF everyone was somewhere else he would be cutting down anything in his path. Trying to figure out something when he approachs the trees that feeling of dread and unease returns. Walking in one direction it lessens but walking in another it intesifies. Breathing hard he begins a slow pace trying to find where the feeling is strongest and follow it. The more he feels like throwing up Hawkman figures the closer he is to finding something that wishes not to be found.
Around the time that Bianca reminds Carlos how Sally is when she's nervous, there is a sound of several heavy impacts or foot falls on the ground, and the sight of the soil and leaves being kicked up by something running... But no sign of what it is that's coming. But the disturbance in the air, the growl of something unseen, indicates there's probably something big and hostile coming. And just as quickly the sound and sights fade and vanish, with only a rush of air to mark the invisible menace's passage before even that disappears. The growls that trail off into the distance are unusual, and don't seem to stick to any one animal. What... Just happened? Something invisible ran at the man and woman and then stopped being there at all, not just invisibly? Was it some sort of haunting manifestation? Admittedly that might be a concept Bianca and Carlos can grasp just fine, but this... Still isn't what they're looking for.
But the sound of someone vomitting in the distance -- the same direction that weird invisible monster came from -- may take attention off this bizarre encounter and back onto the matter at hand. The small, high-pitched coughs that follow the getting sick indicates there's a child in that direction. And if that thing comes back... Well, there's no guarantee that a sick child is going to remain safe. No words are heard, just retching over and over. But beyond the trees, there is a small clearing, and the smell that emanates from it -- the smell of death -- should be enough to navigate by even if the sound weren't enough.
Meanwhile, as Martin and his agents proceed into the forest, moving together and avoiding the helpless civilians blundering around in the woods, the whisper does not repeat. But the south gate slams shut loudly after they're several yards past it, and then proceeds to lock itself. The leafy terrain is hard to tell the exact level to the ground in the dark, and the fog -- like a sea of phantoms crawling along the forest floor -- becomes denser further in, but there's clearly a slope heading downwards from where the trio are. And the sound of foot falls can be heard in the silence that follows the gate's closure. Foot falls and leaves rustling, and not too far away. If someone looks quickly enough they may see a short, pale shape, perhaps in a dress or gown as it goes behind some trees. But that glimpse isn't quite enough to be sure of the location of whatever that was.
Meanwhile, as Rain tries to look for magic, she'd see something unusual right away. There is a sort of... Grey-green light everywhere. The pungent mold that Rain probably would have noticed lying everywhere, growing on the trees, etc. seems to be something more than mundane and not just out-of-place, but its exact properties are unclear. It's abnormal, if not magic. But there are imprints. Places where green outlines indicate a hand or a foot has touched. Larger patches where something may have been lying. And a large green shape that is currently charging right at Rain, passing through the trees like they aren't even there, and growling in a chorus of various animal sounds like it can't decide exactly what kind of terrifying, giant, invisible predator it actually is. As it gets closer, it stops passing through the trees intangibly and starts kicking up the dirt and leaves, and brushing against the trees -- inflicting that damage to the bark that also may have been noticed. The trees shake from the impacts, but remain standing. Then the misshapen invisible thing makes clear it is heading for Rain specifically when it stops being invisible, leaps through the air at her, and tries to land upon her with claws and fangs ready.
It looks like someone took the bodies of all the dead animals that have been found so far and put them together in a nightmare shape that wouldn't actually be able to survive if it were a living thing. It doesn't even seem to have an identifiable head. Not that such minor details are likely to stand out when a thing with six different visible mouths and three powerful lion-wolf-eagl arms ready to rend flesh is flying through the air at you.
As Hawkman tracks the sensation of nausea, he finds his way to a serrated black obelisk that seems to have just thrust itself up out of the ground. It does not appear to have been built and clearly does not belong here. If his vision can handle the deep darkness of the forest, he may even notice the red it is slicked with. If not, he'd only have the feeling that something is nearby and violently ill, and that whatever this stone is it does not belong. Not just doesn't belong HERE, but simply DOES NOT BELONG. One doesn't need magic senses to tell that. It's sharp edges seem to be cutting the air and making it bleed. This is... Something bad.
And then directly behind Hawkman comes the sound of someone vomitting. And if he turns around he'll see it. A gaunt figure less than a foot away from him, pale, with long, white hair, no eyes in its face, and a sharp-toothed mouth that continues to spill the mold that is spread all over the forest. It reaches for him with hands that have had the fingers replaced with knives.
Something coming at them? Carlos seems unnerved by the idea, and frankly looks kind of like someone one couldn't count on in a fight in the first place! He backs up a half-step, but Bianca pays him no heed and just keeps her flashlight sweeping ahead. And then it's... gone! Whatever it was. Yes, the woman appears to be the much braver of the two, delicate little debutante flower that she is.
They both turn towards the sound of the retching, then look at each other, sharing a silent frown.
"Could it be Sally?" Carlos tilts his head.
Bianca immediately shakes hers, long ebony tresses swaying with the motion. "Sally doesn't get sick." A beat. "Let's go." And then she's moving forward, towards the sound of the person tossing their lunch. Her shoes crunch through the underbrush, neither of them taking any care whatsoever to cover the noises of their approach. Or maybe they are and they're just really, really bad at it. Like civilians tend to be.
"Sally, honey? If you're there, just call out! It's Mommy!"
Huh. She blinks. A nosewrinkle. Rain will go for a sample, perhaps with a vial. Before that happens, though. She blinks. Growling? An animal? Well, that explains the - before her engineering brain can put together how this, and that, and this are all put together - was ergot involved? There's some mingling of science and magic and - OH SWEET MERCIFUL CHRISTMAS KRAMPUS! The signs all point to 'get out of the way, you dolt'. Rain is not the predator here. Not by a longshot. She doesn't have time to think beyond that.
Clinging desperately to her lantern, before she can even draw a pistol, Rain screams and throws herself sideways to avoid being eaten by the world's most alarming chimera. A chimera? Is that you who patrolled the forests? But the parts - "Aaaaaaah! No, bad!" It's probably not going to take obedience training, which might be funny if she weren't in fear of her life. For now, she's putting some space between her and it, drawing one of her guns.
Martin's head turns, slightly, as they /all/ hear that gate slam shut. "Anyone bring any explosives?" He says, slightly, before Antwerp looks at him funny. "Civilian cover, boss. No lakes to go dynamite fishing in, in any case, so the police aren't going to need much." He says, as they move deeper in to the forest. "We'll use the shotguns." Martin says simply. "A round should take care of any lock that we can't pick-"
As they go sliding down the slope in front of them, one set of eyes flashing atound to see a pale shape darting around the trees, image less flat in the NVGs then they should be. "Something's here..." He says, bringing his weapon up, rifle on his shoulder, "Sounds like a child. Maybe got lost..." He notes, as they follow the sound.
Right up until there's a loud screeam off in another direction, cutting through the gloom. "All right, that's something. Quick and quiet!" He raises his voice just slightly, and starts jogging toward her position, the yelled words making it easier to navigate than it would be normally... but with a chance to get lost, all the same.
Seeing this thing that just doesn't belong here makes Hawkman hold the mace a little tighter. He approaches it trying to examine it from a safe distance. He doesn't consider touching the blood or getting anywhere close enough where splatter can get on him. If it's wrong then feeling it, touching it and any other contact with it would probably be just as bad for you. 
Sounds and a rustling from behind causes him to whip around. "That's new," he says low seeing the person with no eyes and vomiting. A hero's life is very far from boring. Grabbing the strap of leather he spins the mace then uses the added momentum to create additional force as he tries to deliver swiping motion with the mace aimed at the guant figure's torso. He's prepared to shield himself with the wings just incase whatever is lurking within No-Eyes is just as wrong as the blood from the nearby object. "Not today," he growls out defiantly toward the thing.
Whatever it is keeps on making its sick noises, but the rustling as it gets to its feet makes it clear it heard the voices. When Bianca and Carlos enter the clearing, they should find in the dark and the fog that there's a number of partially-eaten bodies lying around, and something that seems to stand out in the dark with even the most minimal light. Something short, mostly humanoid, and vaguely female. Something with wiry white hair, pale flesh, an absence of eyes in its face -- just smoothed over skin where they should be -- and a sharp-toothed mouth that is wet with moldy puke. Its spindly arms and legs, its sharp toes and fingers that look to be in some transition from bone to metal, its emaciated frame, all indicate it is not human in any meaningful sense of the word regardless of what its origins might be.
It coughs repeatedly at them, while backing away and baring its foulness-soaked teeth. Its hands are raised, showing its semi-inorganic digits, but it doesn't appear to be looking to fight so much as engaging in a threat gesture while it puts some distance between itself and the danger. The mold is splattered all over the place, in huge mounds that have arms and legs sticking out of them.
These things do not belong here.
Rain evades the leaping monster, it hits the ground lightly despite its size and evident weight. As lightly as a cat that has righted itself in mid-air. And then the mish-mash of shapes and forms and bits and pieces all shift, in a wave of flesh, and eyes belonging to dozens of different things -- mouths as well -- migrate from one end of the creature to the other. Its various limbs reverse their joints. Suddenly, despite lacking any real face, the monster is once again facing Rain without having to turn around. It starts running after her right away, once again all of the slamming into trees leaving green energy behind, bark damage, but no real damage to the wood itself. It chases Rain for a number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is she's running from it -- and when something runs, the instinctual response is to chase.
But then, once more, it loses substantiality. The thudding foot falls fade in volume and though the growls and howls and screeches coming from its malformed body continue more faintly, the thing fades out of sight and form and seems to just vanish. Rain is no longer being chased. Maybe. But she also has three armed men coming her way too.
The pale shape that Martin saw remains behind, looking after him. It is so confused, and lost. SHE is so lost. She feels sick, and she can feel other things in the forest that are also sick, but she knows she needs to stay away fromn them. But she thinks she heard mother. Though she hurts, though she feels a nausea she hasn't in a long, long time, her feet rustle the leaves as she tries to navigate the foulness that interferes with her thhoughts -- that warps her sense of direction or even of who she is exactly. She knows she wants to find her mommy, but she can't remember what mommy looks like or why she's here.
But she does know one thing for certain: She doesn't want to be alone, and she wants to find her mother. She's been wandering around in these woods for days at least, unable to remember where she was or why or what she should be doing or even if she wanted to leave. But that concept... The concept of 'mother' has given her direction she lacked. And now a young Japanese girl with long, black hair and pale skin follows the feeling that overrides her confusion and her sickness. The sense that mother is nearby.
Meanwhile, Hawkman's mace crunches into the thing's torso and hurls it aside. More mold vomit spews from its mouth all over the place, and possibly splashing onto the hero as well, but it does not seem to do any immediate harm. It's just disgusting and cold and smells awful. The thing is vaguely female, but is skeletal structure is all wrong for being a human. Its ribs are too high, and there's too many of them. There's a big, dark hole in its side where the mace sunk into its body. And out of its torso -- where its lungs and heart and stomach should be -- there is a cavity in which a smaller version of the monstrous no-eyed thing is crouched. It looks under-developed, like an infant, but it's already the size of a two-year old child. The monster coughs at Hawkman as it gets back to its feet, one of its knife-hands trying to cover the hole. It coughs and bares it teeth and tries to flee. And the whole time, that obelisk just keeps scraping away at the walls of reality. Making the darkness feel like acid on one's skin in its immediate vicinity. Radiating waves of nausea and wrongness.
But the obelisk needs to wait. Because there's a monster on the loose, and it looks like it might have another on the way as it nimbly dashes through the forest despite its withered appendages.
They hear someone yelling through the trees, sharp ears pinpointing the general direction of the sound, more or less, though the rebounding nature of the trees makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly beyond 'over there' somewhere. Bianca looks at Carlos, Carlos looks at Bianca. More of that unspoken communication stuff before the male takes a step in the direction that voice came from. Bianca continues forward.
Yeah, they just did the stereotypical movie trope of splitting up.
While Carlos runs with all due haste (and quite a bit of it, much more than a normal man should have), towards Rain's location, Bianca steps forward, into the clearing. The bloode, the bodies, half-masticated. She doesn't pay attention to any of this. Instead she lands her eyes on the sickly creature that has been eating them as her flashlight falls over it.
She lowers the beam to the ground right in front of the creature, crouches... and smiles. "Hey there, little one. Shhh, shh, shhhhhh... No, no, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Her voice is calm and soothing, and she tries to hold it's eyes, to will it forward, holding her hand out like a person summoning a timid dog.
Meanwhile, Carlos skids to a stop behind a tree, looking out from behind it cautiously as the sound of the ruckus just... fades. He uncovers his flashlight and steps out, almost directly into Rain's path! "Ma'am? I heard your scream, is everything okay?" He calls out to her, attempting to get her to slow down. After all, he doesn't see anything chasing her!
That's horrifying. Rain has next to no sense of self preservation, it's true. But this gives it a healthy reboot. She scrambles on her feet, realizing that fire will take too long to cast, and a bullet would be as ineffective as slap fighting it. Humanity never forgot being hunted by great beasts. Some seek revenge, and sometimes, a deep seated part of the brain gives flight. RUN. That's - it would be more fascinating if she could stop and pet it or something. Then it disappears. She looks over her shoulder. "Um."
Words, Rain. Use your words. "Be careful. It - was - I guess invisible?" She is reeling. "Tracks all along the trees." Words spill out like milk from a dropped bowl, splashing. "I'mokay," She finally manages. Are those armed men? She puts her pistol away, breathing a little heavily. Freaking running. She looks over her shoulder. "I think - I think I'm going to get a sample of that fungus moldy stuff..." Sense of Self Preservation: Gone again. "... but did you see it? It was like, a lot of animals altogether."
The three man team does accomplish something; they run around in the forest away from the one possible clue they could use in this forest, to a girl that was steadily moving out of danger. Still, who could blame them, given the circumstances? And at least Martin does see someone else in the forest, squinting through the lenses of his night vision equipment, before pulling it off his face and flicking a penlight up to Rain's. "Oh... /really/. DO you know how to stay out of trouble, or do they not teach that in Gotham schools these days?" He remarks, pen light following over to Carlos, as his two men move to the flanks, covering in a defensive position. "Lot of people out here at night. I thought this wasn't supposed to be open right now. What's going on?" He says, a curious request for information from the Italian man.
Back to Rain, as his light plays over her, stopping at her pistol. "Odd little weapon to go hunting dear with, I'd guess. Or maybe I'm not the only one who'se heard about the murders out in this neck of the woods. Which would put a lot of your pieces together-" He says, bringing the light over to Carlos, briefly. "Not yours, though." Back to Rain. "To answer your question, I was just chasing what looked like some small person, maybe a child, my party heard when coming into the woods." Work with the reality when weaving a fantasy. "Then you started screaming, and that was the bigger concern."
Seeing the creature tear off has Hawkman press into the ground as if to fly after it then he sees all the tress. "Bad idea," he mutters and looks back to the Obelisk. "Okay, you look like something out of Hellraiser. Now how to send you back without a key to Hell," Hawkman speaks idly. His eyes scan over it before he tries touching it with the mace. Magic is a fickle thing and sometimes what appears to be real isn't. Hitting something solid Hawkman pulls back the mace then remember about the gunk. Pulling off his boot and taking off a sock he uses the sock to mop up again gunk on him the wings didn't cover and he tosses the sock then puts the boot back on. 
Without knowing what else to do he starts to chant and yell, "IN THE NAME OF CHRIST I COMMAND YOU TO GO BACK FROM WENCE YOU CAME!" he says with a hand extend. Nothing is expected but it's probably better then actually trying to beat the object in with the mace. All of the splash back alone would create problems. Plus if the thing flinches at the word Christ at least priests could be used against this thing.
The child-monster just continues letting out a steady stream of coughs and gurgling noises as it backs away from Bianca, keeping its teeth and claws ready. It seems to be orienting on Bianca by sound alone, as she may now notice the absence of eyes in its face. Even its nose is just a tattered pair of slits like someone poked holes with a knife. It seems to have no understanding or at least no willingness to communicate with Bianca. And then, remarkably quietly given it is charging through the forest, a larger version of the monster Bianca is facing off with suddenly comes barreling into the clearing, landing next to the smaller one. It is clearly an 'adult version', given its greater size, further physical development in terms of skeletal structure and musculature the smaller one doesn't have, and the fact it has a hole in the side of its torso that reveals an unborn third monster. The sickly-pallored flesh is visibly growing to close up the hole, but it remains stretched thin over the inhuman skeleton of the thing. The younger monster immediately turns and runs to the older's side when it arrives. The 'mother', if it can truly be called that without any visible sex organs, lets out a great whoosh of sickening air from its mouth and takes several aggressive steps towards Bianca, swinging its arms and its knife-blade fingers.
Great, so this is apparently the nest for these things whatever they are.
And then Bianca is no longer alone with them. Because a little girl's voice says, "...Mommy?" from somewhere behind the Italian woman. It's Sally. Pale as anything, wearing a night gown, bare foot, and with a wound in her upper arm surrounded with a mix of fresh and dried blood. It looks like something took a great big bite out of her shoulder. "I don't... Feel good," she says weakly, wavering on her feet in a way that Bianca has likely never seen. "That one..." Sally says as she totters towards her mother, with her arms outstretched. "...The big one bit me and I couldn't find my way home anymore." It's coming back to her, in bits and pieces. She's still so scatteed, mentally. For a moment upon seeing Bianca she thought the woman wasn't her mother. Crazy, right? Just like she thought her name was Kanami. But she knows better now. She knows she's Sally, and of COURSE this is her mother. But she still feels... Incomplete. And so very sick.
The whole time, just as Sally tries to reach Bianca and hide behind her, the smaller monster tries to hide behind its openly violent and hostile 'mother'. And if what Sally said is true... Somehow the 'mother' monster injured Sally in a way that made her unable to leave here. Maybe it has something to do with the large chunk of shoulder the girl is missing.
Meanwhile, the giant ghost-chimera-thing leaves Rain, Carlos, Martin, and the other two agents where they are. It doesn't seem to be coming back... For now. And as Hawkman yells at the obelisk, the only reaction is that unlike every other sound in the forest so far, his voice doesn't echo. He yells at it and the sound just... Stops. Right here. In this clearing. And then a deep, rumbling, unearthly voice moans from... Somewhere INSIDE the obelisk, as though it were the mouth of some awful cave instead of a piece of stone (if it even is stone. It doesn't catch or reflect light, just takes it all in and gives nothing back), "CARRTEEERRRRR..."
...In addition to being creepy as hell that is probably not in any way a good sign that something heard him that isn't even here and responded to him by name. It did not sound friendly either.
The blonde-haired male looks a little taken aback, trying not to shine his light directly into Rain's eyes. "I-... I'm sorry, I didn't see anything. Mold?" He seems amusedly confused at the young woman. "It's dangerous out here, Ma'am. Perhaps you should head back towards the houses. It's easy to get turned around, confused," He takes a step closer to the witch, reaching out a hand for her shoulder. "And, if the news is anything to go by, there are dangerous animals loose in here. Perhaps that's what you saw. My light might have scared it off." He gives her his best reassuring, fatherly smile.
"You're a curious sight yourself," Carlos remarks at the appearance of Martin and his men, looking them over. "A bit late and well-armed for hunting, aren't you?" Not to mention the complete lack of beer. Hunters had beer on them at all times. This was fact. "I'm helping my sister look for her daughter. Dark-haired girl, pale skin, Japanese. Probably barefoot. Her name is Sally and she went missing recently. She's sometimes unstable, hasn't taken her medication, might be confused or disoriented, maybe even angry and irrational."
He frowns as Martin answers why they're here, and had come in this direction. "Which way did she go?" The completely unarmed man asks, looking as if he was ready to go tearing off into the forest the moment Martin pointed.
"Oh... honey..." Bianca turns and finds Sally holding her injured arm. She scowls as the ghost-girl explains, turning her back on the pair of monsters. "Well, that simply won't do, will it? You have to be able to go home. I want you to run to Carlos, okay? Go find Uncle Carlos and stay with him."
The young woman, much too young-looking to have a daughter Sally's age (to say nothing of not being Japanese), reaches into her jacket and pulls out an object, placing it over her face. It's a mask, kind of like the ones a samurai would have used with their armor, though it's all black, save for the two suddenly glowing blue eyes appearing in the twin sockets as she attaches it to her face. "Mommy will take care of this."
And with that, Bianca turns around, reaches behind her, under the jacket, and pulls out a foot-and-a-half long, gleaming silver knife. "You stole a piece of my daughter, so I'm going to take yours. Nothing personal." The confident female voice sneers through the mask. Then Bianca... simply vanishes, melting into fog which flows along the ground.
"..." Rain looks apologetic. She squints back at Martin. Weirdest sandwich shop owner guy /ever/. "Hunting deer?" She just sort of pauses. "... no, you're right. There's a lot of - oddity, magic here." There's tracks all over these trees and some kind of weird fungus stuff. I am sorry I screamed. There was a large, chimera-like beast composed of - a lot of animals - and it came right at me after I went in a little ways," She frowns. "Just ... came out of nowhere. And should we go look for that girl then?" She asks quietly. "I am sorry I made you come over this way," She holds up a hand, keeping her lantern close. "Whatever it was, it's either hiding or gone." Time to get a sample of whatever that weird fungusy stuff was and scrape it into a little sandwich baggie. If the trees don't attack her.
"That little girl - we should follow her," Then a pause as no one else saw the chimeras. "No. It was many animals. It turned around by shifting body parts. There's tears on the trees-" She explains, pouting a little. "Nevermind. It's gone now, let's just -" Move on.
Martin Kavanagh deadpands, easily enough to Carlos. "I don't know what you go hunting in, sir, but I'm not one of those pissant purists who things they need to kill deer with blackpowder muskets or crossbows for the challenge. We were heading back to camp when we had to get into this place to hunt fo that girl.... that could have been her, I suppose." He says, before turning around the way he came. "about... 50 yards to our Northwest." He seems to know how to orient himself. Before turning to Rain.
"Yes. Hunting deer. People do that, you know. And don't be. Wouldn't have been able to find you other wise. We've got some numbers here." He says, whistling slightly, and having his men encompass the other two. "Let's see if we can look around and find her. If we find your monster, then, we'll... deal with it." He says, working the bolt of the rifle, opening it to examin the chamber, before sending it back home.
Hearing his real reverberate from this thing makes Hawkman shutter. Digging into himself he clings to something out of pure desperation. His eyes shut as he grips it tighter. As this happens his hand grips onto his mace harder. Slowly Hawkman's eyes open. "MY NAME IS BRIAN KENT! I HAVE BEEN A KNIGHT WHO'S SILENT NO LONGER! IN THE NAME OF GOD AND COUNTRY I SMITE THEE TO WHENCE YOU CAME FOUL CREATURE!!!" as the words are screamed Hawkman approaches the object full tilt and swings his mace with all of his might. Typically Brian carried a sword but the Nth metal mace would have to do. If any previous lifetime of carried the Faith of God it is the night. Remembering much about the night Hawkman turned inward, latched onto that part of himself and decided to unleash it before his eyes were opened and now is the result. If this Obelisk is indeed unholy, like he presumes it is, then it would need something Holy to strike it back into where it came from. A Knight sworn to duty, even if self-appointed, is the best option in this situation. Screaming with defiance Hawkman connects the alien metal against the pitch black object.
Sally nods, still kind of confused-seeming. That wound in her shoulder re-saturates her night gown with new blood every few moments. How long has she been bleeding? She doesn't remember. But her mother is here now and... Uncle... Carlos? She tries to remember him. She can't though. Not until she heads in the direction indicated, and catches sight of a man with some other people. The name and face click then. Oh, of course. Uncle Carlos. Now she remembers. How could she have forgotten? She calls out, "Uncle Carlos!" Disoriented, wide-eyed, pale. Her emotions seem not to be composed of a cold countenance and barely-contained anger as would usually be the case. Just confused, scared even, and running to Carlos's side. All the other people nearby she doesn't recognize. "Mother said to find you and stay with you." She feels so weak. Like she could just fade away at any moment. Is that what she was mistaking for sickness? This... Pervasive weakness throughout her entire body?
Meanwhile, the mother monster and its child both remain aggravated, the mother moving closer and working itself up, seemingly prepared to attack at any moment! Sally may be gone, but there's still prey here! And then the prey is gone. Turned into vapor. The monster continues making aggravated noises, but both it and its child calm gradually. They hear no more prey. They sweep their heads back and forth, searching... There are other prey in the forest, but none of them are nearby. How odd. The mother monster sits down, holding its side that continues to slowly regenerate closed. Their guard is down for the moment.
The mold that Rain gathers doesn't try to eat her and the trees don't react violently. The mold is, in addition to being gross-looking, just somehow 'off'. Mold doesn't usually have these colors, doesn't usually look like it comes out of a monster movie as some kind of residue left behind by the terrible creature. It's wet and cold and looks bad and just gives off an unnerving aura no matter how one looks at it. Nothing distinctly magical or dangerous is evident, but it doesn't seem quite RIGHT somehow. Maybe more answers can be gained in the future. For now, everyone is safe.
Kind of.
The Nth metal mace slams into the Obelisk and it seems to just swallow itself, swirling inwards and vanishing. At the same moment that happens, the mother monster and its child both start writhing and hissing out lungless coughs and exhibiting signs of being in extreme pain of some kind. But Hawkman can't see that because he's not over there. He's by where the obelisk used to be. He's next to the hole in the earth that leads to somewhere else. Light shines up out of it, but the light feels slimy on his skin. It doesn't FEEL like light. Whatever this crack in the walls of the universe is, it leads to somewhere that is the antithesis of life, death, and all that lies inbetween and beyond. This hole leads to a bad place.
And as it slowly seems to seal closed, leaves and dirt melding back together as the thing that pierced the veil of space-time has now been removed, Hawkman may see something at the last moment.
An eye peering up out of the ground, seeing him.
Then the breach is closed. Hopefully for good.
Carlos hits a knee and reaches out to take the little girl by shoulder- er, one shoulder and one of her arms. He sees the blood, swallows hard, and forces his eyes back to Sally's face, "Sally! You're... you're hurt!" He sounds completely surprised and taken off-guard by this fact. With a bit reticence, and some hesitation, he picks the girl up, and turns to Martin, his men, and Rain. "I need to get her out of here, she needs medical attention. Don't worry, I have a car waiting."
And with that, he walks off, incredibly briskly, into the night towards one of the gates. He doesn't stop if someone calls after him, though he won't try force his way past if someone tries to physically stop him.
The mother sits down, even as the mist flows along the ground, moving around their feet, and finally coalescing again into the form of the mask-wearing woman... right on top of the 'momma' monster! Bianca tries to get one hand twisted into its gnarly hair, slashing out and downwards several times with her razor-sharp silver longknife, slicing and cutting with amazing strength a human woman simply should not have, blue eyes glowing eerily in the night. Yes, she's doing her level best to simply BEHEAD the thing.
Once that's done, and the creature slumps down or melts into goo or whatever, Bianca's cold, malicious gaze turns toward the child monster, even as she plunges her knife through the larger, dead beast's back and into the unborn fetus within. Quick as a leaping gargoyle, the Lord Oscurita is pouncing upon the smaller version of it, heedless of claws or fangs, striking it in the head with the hilt of her weapon in order to stun it enough to get a stranglehold.
Because Sally might like a new pet.
"I can try to heal her, at risk of just having outed myself," Rain looks worried as the girl shows up, bleeding and injured. She looks to Martin, confused. She nods. "Sure." She'll keep the sample of fungusy mold, and move with Martin and his team if Carlos doesn't accept magical healing. Rain doesn't require nearly as much paperwork as an HMO. Otherwise, she joins Martin and the others. "I am uncertain of why a chimera was here, it was - who the hell combines animals like that? I guess it might explain some of the partial corpses..." Poor critters. "Though, if I am unneeded, I might see if I can follow those tracks."
Waitaminute. Rain doubletakes. "Hey, there's something - that was opened that way. Something bad, for just a second. I think I'm gonna go look, if my healing isn't needed." Rain will bolt along if she's not needed.
Falling to the ground from the burst of light, the energy of a portal closing on itself, Hawkman just needs a second to catch his breathe. It's not exactly everyday a hero does that kind of thing and catches a giant eye staring at him. Slowly the hero rose from the ground and pulled off his helmet. Sometimes the world needs something to believe in. Something to give them hope. In dark times like this is for the parents they need their hope and faith restored. Keeping his face hidden and the mask covered Hawkman pushes off the ground then takes off into the skies. If anyone is looking they'll think an angel is about and with the darkness that lingered in the park now, hopefully, gone they would be more willing to believe in an act of God instead of some guy with a few weapons and a costume. After that Hawkman would just need a breather anyway.
Martin's people turn to the girl that wanders over, looking as if she's bleeding... and then seeing Carlos scoop her up, and look to get out of here as quickly as possible. "Sure, sure. I have a phone. I could..." He says, watching as he quickly runs out of the park. "I don't think he's too concerned with letting us help him..." He muses, as he looks over to Rain. "Oh, lots of things I've heard of. Though, I think if you're smart, you won't mention that. Not to the press, in any rate. Last thing we need are urban comps troucing around the forest and getting themselves killed." He says, before watching as Rain slowly runs off to look for what she lost.
Leaving Martin and his three people alone. "I have a feeling we've missed a lot here... but I think this is out of our jurisdiction anyway." He mutters, running his finger above him in a twirling motion. "EZ, people." He says, before subvocalizing. <<Home Base, Geiger. Mark case as metaphysical and refer it to one of the appropriate groups. Agent Antwerp will act as liason.>>
He /really/ needed to get some mage in the Directorate one of these days. This was the second incident where he'd been caught flat footed and impotent and he was getting... frusturated.
Category:Log