2013.10.11 - Old Fashioned Devilry

Last time on: THE DEFENDERS!

"That's it?"

Mephisto nods. "That is it."

Amethyst lowers her head, blonde hair framing her downturned face. "You have a deal. I promise."

TONIGHT!

When people are rich enough to buy airplanes but not rich enough to buy commercial airplanes, they shore up their insecurity by parking them in a private lot. Gotham has a fair share of people who fit this description.

Farley Northwest Regional Airport is a stretch of chainlink-enclosed land that serves them. It runs alongside a road two steps removed from the highway, ringed by trees on all sides. Since this is Gotham, it's old growth, thick and spooky. There's a fog, too, blurring the lights from the administration buildings. Only the administration buildings are lit; no one would be landing at this time of night. No access, even for private customers. Security concerns. It's Gotham.

Foreboding weather doesn't specifically aid spell casting, but it sure as hell makes Amethyst feel better. Dropping blind into a situation via magic isn't weird to her, but pretty much everything has been making her feel jumpy since speaking to Mephisto. She thinks that's a fair reaction to have. The fog makes her feel stealthy, even wearing the bold fashion statement that is her royal armor.

"I don't hear a plane," she murmurs, testing her footing now that she's standing on concrete and not the hardwood floors of the Sanctum Sanctorum. No Omen mindlink makes stage whispering the next best option.

Amethyst looks over her shoulder. "Um. Maybe we should have worked this out beforehand. Booster, do you have any... sensor... things?"

Several runways are set parallel before them. There is a large paved lot area, the edge of which the party stands on. Buildings run alongside the right of the runways, hangars on the left. No one in sight.

"I have a lot of sensor things," says Booster, who is not glowing at the moment as that makes fog even more difficult to see through. "I tend to go easy on stuff like... you know, like x-ray vision because that can get gross really fast." He waves his hand a little, making the mist swirl before him. "I figured I'd step into this kind of cautiously because what if I screwed up some kind of flight controller or pilot? People tend to get pretty angry about that kind of thing!"

There's always a guy in a business suit. And if there's not, there should be. Wisdom /at least/ isn't wearing his sunglasses at night: they're in his inside jacket pocket. His cigarette smoke -- he didn't light it until after the dead goat it took to get them there -- hangs weirdly blue in the fog, absolutely not helping visibility, but certainly helping his own nerves. "Do your sensor things detect a plane?" he asks Booster, sotto voce, possibly a trifle over-patiently. "It's too fucking quiet. I hate too fucking quiet. Something is going to come out of that fog and give an inhuman shriek of rage before trying to eat our faces."

The fog is great for hiding from people, yep.

That's why a short while after the Defenders arrive, there's suddenly a shadowy outline looming up behind Amaya, with a mane of bright red trailing above like a torch that streams blood instead of flame. A pair of dead-white slit-like eyes set in the dark figure's face look out upon those present. Practically wraith-like, Batwoman is just there. Red lips on pale flesh curve upwards slightly at the edges. "Shrieking would be counter-productive for remaining quiet, and your face doesn't look very tasty," the figure in black and red inserts into the conversation. Then she focuses on Amaya and asks, "I'm assuming you already know what you need here?"

"Given its cargo," Doctor Strange suggests as the the last scintillating traces transportation magic lingering in the air flicker out, "it may well be felt before it's seen." He is, for a man who died a few days ago, looking pretty good; he hasn't spent much time outside of his study, though. His fingers brush lovingly across the Amulet of Agamatto's surface as he takes a step away from the gathering; despite his hypothesis, the bauble snaps open in response, allowing the Eye within to observe the world and watch for signs of their mystical quarry.

And then Batwoman emerges, drawing the Eye's - and the Doctor's - attention to her immediately.

"We are," he tentatively supplies as his swirling red cloak settles around his body, "waiting for a very important shipment to arrive; it cannot be allowed to leave this airfield, except in our hands."

Well, Rain likes Pete and Amaya really. Even if poor Pete sometimes needs mending. But you know, that's how friends are. Rain likes them and all their foibles and hang over havings. And being shottings. That's always a bit rough. She is quietly grateful she got healing and not something like 'turns into a really mean platypus' or something. Though, that would be handy in combat. She sort of quietly ambles up through the fog. For who and what she is, she seems to just freaking APPEAR out of nowhere somehow. Freaking witches.

"... hi, sorry." She seems apologetic for being late but here she is. She even has her broomstick slung over her shoulder. Because - well, that is partly why there's less dude witches. %rToo quiet AND too dark? Both problems are easy enough to solve. When a person can absorb sound, honed hearing is sort of par for the course. Granted, Alison is NOT particularly sneaky unless she means it, and she didn't dress for sneaky. She dressed for a text message from Wisdom: 'Be at this place. Bring lasers.' - Jeans, boots, a jacket for the weather, and a ball of light in her hand because seeing in the dark is NOT one of her most impressive powers.

"Also Hi," Dazzler says warmly, arriving just after Rain. "Less with the sorry, though."

As a rule of thumb, normally Othello does his best to stay away from Gotham due it being under the protection of the Bats, but since one of its' denizen did recently wreck havoc upon his world, he decided it is only fair to return the favor to Gotham. Othello lucked upon hearing about someone out of town laying down some bribes at the airport, and with his usual brand of persuasion.

When he arrives at the location, he is a bit suprised to see so many other people gathered. Othello rubs a finger across his fedora, "So, did everyone here get a letter from Mr. Body?"

Amethyst glances toward Pete and then smiles apologetically at Booster. Wisdom speaks her mind for her, albeit with added profanity. "Maybe if you just--what?!"

The princess whirls and raises a hand. No lasers. The red hair is kind of a giveaway. "Oh, dude, Batwoman. Seriously, wow. Guys, this, is... um. Batwoman. I called her. She's cool." Probably should have mentioned that one too, Amethyst.

The princess exhales. "Hey, Rain." She doesn't have the energy to be surprised anymore, blankly watching Dazzler stroll up. "And you're Dazzler."

That's everyone, then--no, wait, turns out Amethyst does have some surprise left in her. The princess steps forward, holding a glittering blade that wasn't there a moment ago. She extends it toward Othello, looking dire. "You've got five seconds: are you here to do some smuggling or are you Batfedora or something?"

A man crouches atop one of the administrative buildings. He isn't actually there. Well, he is, but sensor thingies and magical eyes don't think so. It's all in the hood. He crouches next to an exhaust outlet, watching with resigned disgust. "That's the fucking sorcerer supreme," he says, soundlessly. At least, soundlessly to sensor thingies. "That's the fucking sorcerer supreme and they're having a tea party."

A pair of eyes burn in the darkness behind the man. "Plane's almost here, boss."

"It's a disgrace," the hooded man continues. "The fucking sorcerer supreme."

"Boss?"

"Yeah, I heard you. Get the rest of the boys and, I don't know, do whatever it is you were planning on doing. Maybe you'll kill the fucking sorcerer supreme and his knitting club, for all I know."

The eyes fade. Overhead, the faint droning of engines can be heard by people with great senses of hearing or bat ears.

Booster Gold turns, one eyebrow arched, when Batwoman drops in quietly. Amethyst vouches for her, however, so it's all cool. "Hi, Batwoman. Also, hello Rain, and Ms. Dazzler. Ah..." He does not know Othello, but Amethyst is going to stab him or something so apparently that situation is going to be settled in one way or another. Trying to focus on the task at hand, Booster says, "It's kind of weird. The only people I can pick up here are... well, us. I'm surprised there's no one here to at least meet the plane... which is landing in a few moments, by the way." He points upwards, and a little obliquely. "It's the kind with... what do you call them. You guys still use them in this era." There is a long pause. "Propellers."

Pete spreads his hands at Amy after Dazzler walks up with her globe of light. "I figured," he says, "lasers. Helpful." Then he ashes, and sidles over to Rain to give her the requisite tiny hipcheck. Apparently, healers and people who have trouble dying make him slightly more comfortable in the face of pea soup fog and goat teleportation and potential hoary hosts of hoggoth, and also, people in bat ears and capes.

Of course, then he *stares* in the direction of Booster's voice. "This," he says distinctly, "era. Good. Hurray. Plane coming. Doctor, the cargo: is it explosive or easily damaged, large, small--?" Amethyst's the one with the sword, and all, if she's gonna stab Batfedora or not, it's totally handled. Apparently he thinks more like Booster than either of them will ever know.

Batwoman isn't quite as stand-offish as Batman, but she still offers only a nod as a greeting to those who greet her. This isn't a social outing. After taking in all of those present, the new arrivals that appeared after she revealed herself, the radio equipment in her mask is tuned with a red-gloved hand brought up to the side of her face. She's trying to listen in on any radio chatter going on nearby -- particularly the kind related to the incoming plane and communications between that and people on the ground. "A cargo that can not leave here in their possession. How easy will it be to move once we have it?" She raises her other hand and clicks a button on a small remote control. There is a quiet hissing noise and suddenly a really awesome motorcycle that Amaya is familiar with rolls out of the fog -- though with some additional options installed on it, given it appears to be able to run near-silently, using some kind of air-jets to propel itself as it approaches its owner.

"And I'd like to know if this is something potentially dangerous if something happens to it too." A harpoon-launcher-like device pops up on the back of the motorcycle, but there's no harpoon.

Strange turns towards Othello when he speaks, but since Amethyst seems to have things under control, he keeps his arms loose at his sides and beneath his cloak. The drawn sword earns a passing grimace, but--Gemworlders; what can you do?

When Booster points out the plane, the Doctor tilts his head up and squints in a futile, but brief search for the craft, then lifts a foot or so off of the ground. "I'm fairly sure that it wouldn't survive a plane crash, if that is what you're asking," he answers Pete as his eyes slide shut; there's a hint of humour underlying his words. The tiny orbs around the Amulet of Agamotto's outer edge glow, and then begin to meld together as they rotate around the bauble. The Eye within pulses, bulging slightly out of its housing with each revolution; with each palpitation, another would-be cargo thief's mind is brought into a shared mental space to keep contact as fluid and effortless as possible.

"One way or another, our--guest will reveal himself, shortly, I'm sure," he notes as the spell's pyrotechnics die down, opening his eyes enough to peer first at the Princess, and then at Othello, "though it would behoove him to do so quickly--and wisely."

Rain pauses at Othello. She waves, possibly recognizing the man. "Hi there," She greets people. She seems curious, somewhat uncertain about Batfedo-- Othello. She smiles faintly. "Yeah, propellers." She remarks quietly to Booster. She smiles to the princess, seeming duly respectful (she's sort of still thinking of herself as the equivalent of her homeless self. Also, royalty. And smitings. An alarming number of royalty seems equally capable of the smitings). She just looks quietly concerned for a moment.

She seems curious, but smiles and returns the tiny hipcheck. There's Miss Dazzler, too. She pauses. "Those are good questions," She considers. For her part, she is thoughtful.

"Aww, I think it's cute when he gets all flustered by Old-Timey things," Alison tells Pete otherwise appropros of nothing much in regards to Booster. But hey, things are starting to pick up so she's starting to pay proper focused attention... more or less. Also aside to Pete is a quiet, "I see what you mean about Princess Amethyst of Game of Thrones," because seriously. Sword. Grit teeth. Anyway! DR. STRANGE IS TALKING!

Adding helpfully to Strange's pronouncement of people revealing themselves, Dazzler chipperly announces, "I brought lasers!"

"Five seconds? I do not remember anyone attacking you when you were looking into that stolen manuscript." Othello smirks behind his mask, "I believe descending from the heavens deserves someone to be more confrontation than quoting line from a movie, but that is just me." Cinque says, "I don't know what a Batfedora is, so I guess I am not that, and I would have to be a stupid smuggler to announce my present to you.

Othello peers at the group for a moment and realizes that he knows most of these people from when he was still Tousaint. Some he saw at the expos. Some at the the museum, and one even used to work for him briefly. He turns his attention back to Amaya, "Since I am taking the time to explain myself to you and your merry little band, it probably means I am have some do goodery business to do here too.

Amethyst stares hard at Othello. She lowers her sword, but that doesn't mean her expression gets any nicer. Then she hears something and whirls around. "Did you really call me Princess Amethyst of Game of Thrones? I used that joke first, you dork!"

The princess frowns.


 * "Whatever. Booster, can you fly up and check on the airplane without scaring the pilot? Maybe follow it down. Let's get out of the open, this is kind of freaking me out."|

Somewhere down the way, around the administrative buildings, an engine starts up. Several engines, actually, soon joined by the squeal of tires. Headlights round the corner of the building, marking a fleet of five driving onto the runway and gaining speed.

They're service vehicles for the facility. As in, two seater golf carts with truck beds. They're deceptively fast.

Each carries two dark figures. The passenger of the lead cart stands up, a dark shape with burning eyes. The fog peels away: his face is a twisted mask, grotesquely carved red flesh with curling horns and vicious teeth. And he's wearing a pinstripe suit. They're all wearing pinstripe suits. And fedoras.

The demon in the front raises a tommygun. "DIE, COPPERS!"

Thick, living flame bursts from the barrel. Hellfire. The other carts open up, lighting up the night.


 * "Sure, I can tap into their radio chatter to keep tabs, too..."| Booster is just starting to lift off of the ground when the carts barrel in. Rather than continue up into the sky, he dives forward trying to get himself between the incoming fire and the group, a translucent golden dome opening around him. As flames wash over the force field before him, he says, "Yikes, that is -really- hot. I mean it's fire so of course it's hot, but I mean... hotter. Than fire." He likes to be clear about these things.


 * "It was remarkably appropriate, Highness,"| Wisdom glosses breezily, already stepping away from the group-- especially the more sparkly parts of the group. Lasers! |"Ali, maybe you want to put that out and move. Just say--RAIN! DOWN!"| Aaaand there's why. Abruptly, Pete's moving a lot faster to get out the way of those tommyguns, ditching his cigarette-- he stays low, then takes some initiative and flings a couple of hotknives toward the vehicles, rolling away from where he made a big flash of light. He's watching closely even after he hits the dirt, putting his sunglasses on-- and he does his best to guide the knives toward front tires, despite their being moving targets.

"Condescension. The fool-proof way to win over an audience." Batwoman intones in a way that is clearly sarcastic without actually having a sarcastic voice tone. Other possibilities for Othello being here that she does not voice include, 'he's a distraction', 'he has a really bad sense of direction and is now BSing to cover himself', or Batwomans favored paranoid theory at this point, 'he is trying to convince them he's on their side because he has his own personal plans for this plane and seeming like a good guy without identifying himself to them or giving a definite answer of why he is here so he has a verbal loop hole to claim he never actually SAID he was with them when he betrays them -- if he even cares about justifying himself'. The lack of radio chatter being picked up strikes her as a bit ominous. Also... "There were only two security guards I spotted on the way in. That strikes me as too few if this cargo is really that important."

Almost as if on-cue, engines start up and now here comes the bad guys. They appear to be demons of some kind. In pinstripe suits. With... Tommyguns. Really? Black cape with red interior swirls as Batwoman turns and in one smooth motion swings her leg over her motorcycle and then takes off immediately. It seems it was already running this whole time, even though it wasn't producing any noise. The hiss of jet-like air propellant is the only noise it produces as the bike speeds over the tarmac -- TOWARDS the demons with their hellfire-belching tommyguns!?

Wisdom threw some knives at the tires, so that should keep them distracted at LEAST, not to mention the bright yellow forcefield. But its the riders that are the problem, not the golf carts of doom. As the red-haired heroine approaches, she flips a switch in the handle bars, and a grappling hook fires from the side of the motorcycle. It's normally intended to help make sharp turns. It's being used in this instance both for that, and... *Thwip!* A second hook is fired. Both of them are meant to punch into the sides of at least one of the vehicles, preferably two, and allow Batwoman to make a sharp circular turn to drive around them, and use the cables to tie the riders to their own carts.

Of course they're demons, so who the hell knows if that will stop them.


 * "These flames are not of Earth!"| Strange exclaims as he rapidly ascends to outpace a stream of hellfire. It's a worryingly narrow race until the Doctor puts an abrupt end to it by zipping straight at, then just over Booster's forcefield dome, leaving the infernal fire to splash against it.


 * "My apologies,"| he thinks, shooting Booster a contrite look as he sweeps up into the air with a hand outstretched towards the incoming vehicles. |"Your barrier is very impressive, though, I must say."|

The next words that the Doctor utters come not because he must, but because he can: in fluid Atlantean, he offers a prayer to a nature spirit spirit, and with a wave of his contorted hand, tries to grow a pine tree from sprout-hood to maturity within the space of a few seconds--and one of the carts' engine blocks.

Rain listens. It still takes a bit to get used to b-mail (brain mail). She watches, dark purple eyes intent on the railway. An amused look at Othello's response. But huh. Those service vehicles are going fast. Then again, Rain realizes she'd totally race those things too. Or golf carts. Golf cart races are always a hoot. But that's her inner immature imp speaking, maybe. Rain doesn't however, have much time to think about it as she's told to get down. She grunts as she hits the dirt, too. She stays near a familiar presence, and pauses.

Wasn't that a scene out of Godfather or something? Mafia movies all tend to blend together sometimes. And then Batwoman takes off, Rain looking alarmed. Wait. She can NEWT THEM. This is like, the best spell ever and mom would probably end her if she ever found out (for contributing to negative witch stereotypes and also riling up British people). But hey. There's perks for being kicked out of the Easy Bake Coven. And that's complete freedom to newt things. Which she totally will, although her magic is slower to deploy than Strange's. It's will-working. And now this newt is an ex-demon.

Put it out? PFFT! Ali doesn't react with fear for being shot at - which is probably a problem given the fact that she HAS been shot before and it didn't go especially well - but frankly these things announced themselves and, "They're flying BIPLANES for crying out loud!"

Thrusting her forearm in front of her, Dazzler's globe of light blossoms into a larger, more disc-like shape with enough of a convex shape to direct anything that doesn't get vaporized by her light-shield back out and away from her. Let PETE move, she's heroing! GAWD! She and Rain should be well-enough covered by the shield, unless the bullets ignore things like mutant physics. Fingers crossed on 'nope.'


 * "If someone wants to do something about the fog, now's a good time! Otherwise it's going to get awfully hard to see once I open up the throttle on the lasering!"| Dazzler is holding off on the promised lasering. For now. Because not blinding people unintentionally is on her list of things to do.

It is hoping that this use of magic is not strong enough to harm him, but he is not trying to take that chance either. There is something to be said for having great reflexes, dexterity, and superspeed. He decides to use his super speed to race down two of the last carts and throw concussive bombs in the direction of the demons and their carts

After he tries to pull off this trick, he pulls out his revolvers to prepare for some rapid fire of his own.

The hellfire sticks where it hits Booster's shield, burning hotter and hotter until it chokes itself out. With enough focused fire, even the Man from Tomorrow may feel threatened. Since he's initially the most obvious target, this is quickly becoming a reality.

Pete's hotknives go wide, thanks to the quick handling of the cart drivers. Most of them, anyway--one catches a knife in a front tire, flipping end over end and spilling its demonic passengers onto the tarmac. They get up and break into a run as soon as they stop rolling, one flicking out a switchblade and the other a crowbar, both glowing hot with infernal magic.

Strange takes out another cart with a tree. It goes flying into the air, caught between a branch. One demon goes tumbling out, hitting limbs all the way down, his hat drifting lazily after him. The other slams uselessly on the brake and looks as lost as demon mobster can, suspended in the freakishly tall magic tree.

A third cart is now being driven by a newt. It promptly crashes into the sudden tree. The passenger, unwilling to accept the recent changes to his reality, goes flying through the plastic cart window and skids face-first for several feet.

Batwoman's grapple thwips into the side of a cart. They engine block covers are made out of plastic. Evidently, it finds something more solid underneath. The engine makes a deathly groaning sound, the driver turning to compensate for the pull of the motorcycle while the passenger roars and fires. Batwoman's quick turn throws this all out of control: the engine makes a clunk, the cart dies, it flips over. On the downside, the grapple is now tangled up.

The bullets--well, hellfire--are still physical fire. They may be magical physical fire, but light doesn't normally form coherent shields in nature. Dazzler catches any stray rounds, but the drop-off in the number of shooters is definitely making the barrage more manageable.

Othello's grenades explode without much effect. The demons are not flesh and blood creatures, it seems, and made of sterner stuff than concussive bombs. They take the revolver fire gamely. The two most obvious targets are the ones running down the tarmac, eager to mess up someone's pretty face.

Amethyst, the brave warleader she is, takes refuge behind Booster's shield. It's the first thing they teach you in Gemworld. Shields up, don't be that wizard that gets shot in the face with an arrow at the beginning of a magical duel.

The plane starts to come in for a landing. It is already aborting its run. The hellfire and shields and dazzling are really hard to miss. The pilot mutters something and finds a gun pointed to his head. "Hey. Thinking of taking off? Don't worry, I'm already here."

The man holding the gun looks out the window. "Bunch of fuckin' lunatics. Get it in the clouds, I don't want them tailing us."

The princess jabs a finger up at the sky, indicating the plane passing over the runway rather than landing. |"Don't worry! I have a plan!"| Somewhere in the forest, the horrific sound of metal on metal can be heard. Then, footsteps.

Amethyst beams. |"There he is. Totally got that thrown in, since Mephisto didn't want it."|

"Wowzer," says Booster, as areas of his forcefield seem to burn. Now he is rather glad he ballooned it away from him, instead of letting the field form-fit to his body. |"No need to apologise, Dr. Strange, it's what me and my forcefield are here for."| Looking around, Booster dips towards one of the disabled carts, reaching a hand out for it. The golden bubble around him swallows the vehicle as he moves in, and he grabs it with one hand, the grip of his fingers deforming the plastic and metal. Then, he brings it up and kind of whips it side-arm style to fling it towards some of the demonic shooters.

Aaaand-- thereupon, finally figuring out what's going on -- sort of -- Wisdom scrambles to his feet and takes aim at the runners, fires off ten fingers' worth of severe body damage; they're demons, so odds aren't great fire'd hurt them, but-- his knives are *plasma*, maybe, maaaybe that counts for something. Also, cutty. Cutty might count, too. |"Princess. /What/ didn't Mephisto want? What's Mephisto getting out of this?"|

The scraping sounds grow larger and larger, before trees fall in the wake of something very large: a large golem mech, so recently hidden by Amethyst and created only a short time ago by Doctor Strange's magic spells, emerges into view. It possesses crystalline wings that supports it in flight, a large plate symbol: House Amethyst.

The Fist and Steel of the Earth, Gilad Anni-Padda had arrived.

The plane's flight path as it keeps circling is met by the giant mech with a leap, crystalline sword flashing in its hands, moving to intercept...

Amethyst sounds very pleased with herself: |"He didn't want our totally awesome giant golem sitting in his arena."|


 * "We should be on gu--"| the Doctor warily begins before the Fist of Earth and Steel bursts from the forest and--well, diminishes his concerns, if nothing else; at least now he knows that Demon Hitler won't be using his golem for evil.


 * "Be ready to intercept the cargo,"| he exclaims, rising towards the plane's flank, |"the pilot, and anyone else aboard; there is no room for casualties tonight!"| Following that warning, he utters a brisk chant that brings a breeze swirling across the runway and lightens the fog hanging over it, in the hopes of alleviating Alison's fears of blinding everyone.

Heh heh. Newting. Rain is somehow amaed at how well that seems to work for her. |"And thanks for the barrier and help."| Why not? She's a well mannered witch. There's a blink, as Othello throws a grenade. She looks worried, closing her eyes as the grenades go off. Also, Rain is a squishy caster and doesn't stand up front. She's a good healer, but healing herself is something she can't do too well. Wait. What in the world? Rain just STARES at Gilad and that mech. She's in awe and somehow kinda terrified. For her part, she'll just stick to freezing over a demon's pants so it's a ripe target for hot knifing or smiting. Epic brave hero, this one.

Oh, thank God, bullets aren't so magic that they cut through - taking the hours to come back from the dead aren't the best use of time. Once the initial spray stops, Doctor Strange gets a quick nod and a |"Thanks, Doc!"| and then there's aiming to do: Risking dropping her shield for a moment - making use of the UTTER distraction of the arrival of Gilad and lobbed grenades from Othello; newts are small targets, but demons that remain are prime for facially-localized PAFFS! of magnesium-bright light.

Since he used an assortment of concussive bombs and grenades to destroy parts of Sentinel, Othello figures he has to do some preventive maintenance of his gear to make sure it is at the right level, or maybe some tech from Cadmus has been messing with his gear. He makes a mental note to check his bombs before he goes out on his next assignment. He fires another blast from his plasma pistols, before quickly puts them away using his super speed to pull out his titanium sharp blades and charge at the demons. When He is not sure where a demons vulnerable parts are but it is always good plan to start with the groin, then go to the other vital areas.

Booster sends a cart tumbling down the runway. Demons may be mystically tenacious, but no one can gracefully dodge roll in a pinstripe suit. The cart takes a demon right off his feet, carrying him with it as it bounces further away. Picking up a 7 10 split is always iffy.

These guys aren't just any random tainted souls. These are hardened, hell-tainted criminals with lava in their veins and a very deep hate for prohibition enforcers. Pete Wisdom looks close enough. One of the dismounted demons comes straight at him with a tire iron, hotknives thumping into his chest. They're fast, even in dress shoes.

The demon staggers the last few steps, hissing, his mouth full of blood. He swings wide and misses, thanks to his suddenly frozen pants. The light goes out of his eyes, finally. The vigor of the dying can be terrifying. Tire irons don't feel good upside your head, either, so it was a win all around.

As tough as these demons may be, they don't function well without sight. The remaining stragglers howl and curse in demonic tongues, their vision robbed from them one by one. It makes them easy prey for a superspeeding Othello to slice up. He has his choice of how to dismember them, partially disabled as they are.

The plane tries to veer off from the surprise golem, but there's only so much you can do with four propellers and a belly full of crates. Inside, the Hood has the following thoughts as he stares out the cockpit window:

"No fucking way."

He punctuates this with a pistol butt to the side of the pilot's head. The pilot slumps forward onto the controls, leaving Hood to step backward into a glimmering portal, shaking his head in angry disbelief.

The plane turns sharply, its old frame shuddering horribly. It keeps turning, engines screaming, losing altitude as it pushes its ungainly form too far. In its last moments, two of the engines die. It doesn't matter. It has more than enough momentum to finish crashing into that totally awesome golem. It's not pretty.

On the tarmac, a brief flash of light is all that heralds the Hood falling out of another portal with a large wooden crate. Right behind Pete. With surprise and daring on his side, he has enough time to raise his pistol and shoot Agent Wisdom right in the back of the head.

The Hood, with his eponymous garment hiding his face, raises another pistol to cover the gathered heroes.

"Rubber bullet. Just one in the mag. Next one gets you a trip to see Papa Mephisto." He pauses, eyes darting from person to person, guns following. "I want to make a deal."

Amethyst, having watched her brilliant plan eat a plane, is in a prime location to be the first with a weapon pointed at the Hood. Make fun of her Game of Thrones sword routine all you want, but it does a good job of unnerving most people. The princess gets a gun pointed in her direction.

"I'm going to pull him away from you," Amethyst says, her voice tight with control. The Hood adjusts his grip and nods. The princess crooks her finger, sliding Pete across the runway on a bed of air. |"Rain, can you check on him? Move slow."|

"Oh, man." Booster looks up from demon-fighting to see the plane wheel out of control and into the magic mecha. Hopefully Anni-Padda can pull the poor pilot to safety. When the Hood appears and shoots Pete, Booster looks more offended than angry. Almost reflexively, the golden bubble vanishes from around himself and appears around the Hood as Booster drops down in front of him, saying, "You're a jerk! If you shoot any of them you are going to be so freaking sorry."

There was little time to spare, clearly, if one wanted to spare the fall-out from hitting anyone on the ground. And so Gilad pilots the mecha heads-first, directly into the plane.

The resulting explosion causes debris to rain, but controlled enough, as crystalline wings shatter to the wind, metal shears and falls...

Of the pilot, nothing remained.

And of Gilad...?

Something large and meaty falls out of the sky, landing in an audible thud behind the Hood.

Easy to dismiss as cooked meat, at the very least... at least until it suddenly rears to its feet. Smoke floating off Gilad's burnt body, his face a cooked mess of crispy-sizzled hair and melted skin, the Eternal Warrior closes the gap, staggering into the path of the pistol like the undead, heedless of the danger...


 * "Demons of Denak--the pilot!"| the wide-eyed Doctor exclaims as plane and mech interwine. With a deeply creased brow, he impels the Cloak of Levitation to speed him to the site of the unfolding catastrophe as quickly as its enchantments will allow.

"Lest this doomed soul be cast down to Satannish," he chants, hands curled before his wind-battered face as he and the sorcerous threads unfurling around him near ground zero, "let it and I together vanish!"

A pair of bright, blue lights flash amidst the carnage as the two great crafts destroy one another; seconds later, when Gilad hits the ground, two more blue lights briefly appear among the group before fading to reveal a crouched and beleagured-looking Doctor Strange and an unconscious pilot. When he lifts his head and sees that he's got a gun drawn on him, he does a double take before quickly drawing upright and bringing his hands up in arcane readiness.

"What, exactly, is going on here?" he lowly wonders.

Poor pilot and Gilad. Rain looks horrified by what's happening. And PETE! Poor Pete! |"Okay, really slow,"| Though the worry in her thoughts is apparent. At least she can ride her broomstick to and fro if she really needs to pick up the pace. Though, going super fast on a broomstick is akin to motorcycling at high speeds. Terrifying and thrilling all at once. She doesn't have much time to think about the fate of the pilot and/or Gilad. She's not really sure who or what Gilad is besides really fighty and all of the titles. Granted, she's not likely to question any of it. If he said he was the Queen of Sheba, by the goodness, he's the Queen of Sheba. They both had curly hair, anyway.

Nevertheless, she will carefully tend to poor Pete. And move slowly so as not to paint a giant 'please shoot me, I'm a healer and will run around screaming, flailing and bleeding all over the place which might be kinda hilarious in a dark way.'

Oh for crying out -- frozen in finger-gun-pointing Charlie's Angel pose #4, Dazzler watches the rapidly unravelling fight and likewise confrontation with the guy she can ONLY guess is the head demon honcho on this heist-run, |"Booster, he can *teleport!*"| Which means he probably won't SHOOT, but he's less likely to stay in one place. Dazzler otherwise lets other vie for space and time, because she's mostly concerned with Rain getting to Pete safely. Amethyst, Strange and the others can handle the 'Bad Cop/Worse Cop' routine, she's got a pair of backs to watch until they are settled safely elsewhere. Othello is not exactly sure what is going on here, but he has heard of Hood by his reputation. Othello peers at all the power that is trained on the Hood, and raises his pistols on him too

The Hood is briefly suspended in a bubble. He glances around himself, then turns a gun-wielding hand around so he can flip Booster off. Then, he slips into the air again, appearing on the other side of the crate.

"Fine, jackass. I'll just take this--hkk!" he's already halfway disappeared, reaching out to touch the crate when the hand of burnt man clamps around his throat. It's difficult to distinguish the sound of an eternal warrior hitting the pavement amongst all that scrap raining down.

Amethyst gestures, quick and decisive. A gem whistles through the air. Thunk. The Hood slumps in Gilad's grip, probably with a broken nose.

The princess gives Strange a look, over her shoulder. "It wasn't sharp this time. See?"

In the cheery glow of the burning remnants of plane and giant fighting golem, the runway is finally peaceful. The demons are strewn about in various stages of dismemberment and unconsciousness. Batwoman has gone to discover the fate of the airport's security guards. Wisdom looks alive, being tended to by Rain. The pilot is out, too, but he'll just wake up with a headache and not in Satannish's Hellish. The Hood is firmly in grim grasp of Gilad.

Then there's the crate.

"Um. Booster, you're super strong. Open it?"

Booster does look more than a little affronted when the Hood makes a rude gesture his way. Once the hooded figure gets clobbered, Booster folds his arms and says, "Yeah, that's what you -get-." The force field bubble pops out of existence. Booster then turns his attention to the crate, examining it for a moment before he reaches for it. Rather than just smashing it apart, he rips the top of the crate off, accompanied by the loud but brief sound of splintering wood.

Inside the crate, beneath the packing material, is a stone tablet. Big. Ten Commandments times three big.

The burns slowly heal, cooked eyeballs slowly regain sight, and Gilad is, at the least, looking recognizable by the time he can finally speak, a deep raspy voice temporarily ruined by smoke inhalation. Any time the Hood stirs, there is the tightening of an unyielding grip. "Hhhnh. A tablet." In a language he could read?

"Your lessons seem to be paying off," Strange says with a nod and a small, humourless smile in Amethyst's direction as he heads for the crate. When he's close enough, he starts to reach for Gilad's shoulder, before stopping a foot or two short and just moving on to examine the tablets with a murmured reminder: "He's unconscious; you needn't crush his windpipe."

He - and, perhaps more importantly - the Eye of Agamotto begin scanning over whichever tablet is visible, with that; if he can, he'll run his fingers over the text to help himself along, too.

Instinctively, Ali shields her face a little bit - magic business, jocks ripping open crates of unknown mystical relics, "Haven't any of you here seen Indiana Jones? Augh!" Granted, after a few moments no one's face seems to be melting OFF (Gilad's seems to be melting /back together/, notably), she lowers her hand and dares a peek over Amethyst's shoulder, "So, what exactly did we just prevent from falling into the wrong hands?"

Othello peers around at the area, and decides that this is enough chaotic scene to equal the chaos that befell him from one of Gotham's denizen. He puts his pistols back into their holsters and grins behind his mask, "Everything is balanced out." Othello looks around and realizes that there is nothing here that he wants take back and study, so he decides it is probably a good time to leave while the heroes are doing their thing. Othello turns around and prepares to make his way out of there.

Gilad can read it. It's Sumerian, or perhaps Akkadian. The Akkadians stole a lot from Sumer.

The tablet does not disintegrate Doctor Strange. The Eye reveals its secrets: it is old, thousands upon thousands of years. It is not inherently magical, but it holds a magic within it. It is one of the first magics. The first civilized magics, anyway.

Amethyst stands over the crate, her expression uncomprehending. She turns her head to look at Alison as she answers: "I don't really know. How much did Pete--" The princess stifles a laugh and covers her eyes with a hand, shaking her head. "Sorry. I'm really tired and I can't get over the fact that you're Dazzler."

"Oh... gosh, -neat-," Booster says, once he gets a better look at the ancient tablet. He sounds legitimately interested, even though he does not really seem like the type that would be into artifacts. Or anything with writing on it. But he explains, "I was a history major." Booster moves out of the way, however, since he cannot decipher the tablet, nor does he want to pick it up and accidentally drop and shatter it. At least he gives Dazzler a wink in passing.

Doing very little to ease off on the Hood's windpipe, simply because one did not simply ease up on one's enemies lest they come back to haunt you, Gilad moves closer to read it, keeping the Hood lifted and off the ground, dangling as he studies.

"It is Sumerian magic," Gilad growls, his voice still not healed as he studies it. "The Geomancer could read this in full, but I can only read the non-magical parts. One of the lines reads... 'May the south winds blow on our fields and release us from sickness.'"

Gilad snorts softly. "An appeal to the healer/farmer/warrior god Ninurta. The sickness is a demon exercising power over someone, and they are pleading for Nintura to send healing winds."

"It's--" Stephen squints, briskly rereads a passage, then supplies, "--protective magic," after Gilad's explanation He massages his temple briefly, then tacks on, "For the mind, or spirit, rather than the body. Here--" He brushes his finger across a passage not too far below the line Gilad recited. "--the prayer to Ninurta is accompanied by a supplication to the Vishanti." He pulls his hand away, then looks to Amethyst, a frown creeping over his features.

"We will need to study them - thoroughly - before allowing Mephisto anywhere near them."

"Please, we just kicked a bunch of demon ass - Call me Ali," she says, waving off her hand as if that act alone could ward off whatever star-strickenness Amethyst might be feeling. Booster gets a look in exchange for the wink - a slightly narrow-eyed pursed-lipped yet smiling look like she's in on some sort of joke, and then actual grown-ups are talking. Before Amy gets drawn into ALL SERIOUSNESS, Ali adds quietly, "Pete wrote 'Dazzle Me.'" This last Summer's 'Top 5 on iTunes for 10 straight weeeks' dance-pop smash. Because she has to tell Amy this about him before he regains consciousness, see.

Othello uses his super-speed and heads away from the area at top-speed.

"Shut up," Amethyst says, eyes wide. She glances toward the unconscious Pete, biting her lip and probably debating the benefits of ignoring the five thousand year old magic tablet in front of her to get more celebrity dirt.

That tablet may be one of the last remaining examples of a dead art form, but she spent a good portion of eighth grade listening to a Dazzler CD she stole from Best Buy. And it involves a real British secret agent.

The princess groans, but she manages to make it near-silent. She grips the edge of the crate and looks over. "He didn't want the tablet. He wanted... well, I guess this dude has it."

Amethyst gestures toward Gilad's ornamental unconscious man. As if cued, a circular mirror slips out of his cloak and rolls across the ground, bumping into her boot. The princess frowns, bends over, and picks it up.

There is a face in it. An idea of a face, really. Red eyes burn in shadow. It's a common look for Hell, this year.

"Doc?" she says, suddenly uncomfortable.

"What?" Booster's hearing is enhanced when he has his suit on, so even though he was doing a kind of cool walk-by flirtation with Dazzler, he turns back and says, "But that song is so ... well, perky. And upbeat. And I mean that's kind of the opposite of..." He gestures at the unconscious Pete Wisdom. "Actually, that's probably the friendliest I've ever seen him look." He tilts his head back when Amethyst picks up the mirror, and then he finally asks the question he has been avoiding all this time. "Uh, so... just -why- does Mephisto want this stuff, anyway?"

The Hood's dropped mirror causes Gilad to regard the mirror impassively. Wordlessly, he begins shaking the Hood like a rag doll, to see if anything else falls out.

"No? Then--"

Tnk! Strange squints at the mirror rolling across the ground, and follows it over to Amethyst. One look at the sketchy visage gazing out of it is enough to drag his expression of confusion down into a fully-fledged frown; his eyes slide from it to the Hood once or twice before glancing up at Booster. "Paternal instinct, perhaps--if not simple rivalry; it's difficult to guess, knowing the players involved." He turns his eyes back to the mirror, with that, one eyebrow arching.

"But then--I suppose we may not have to, mm? What was your interest in this tablet and that criminal, son of Mephisto?"

"Are we trying to have a rational conversation with a pair of glowing red eyes in a magic mirror?" Ali asks, loudly enough to be heard but not insistently enough to be actually intending to interrupt. "Because every Disney movie ever tells me that isn't generally the best idea."

"Think of what you have thrown away before you count what you have stolen," the thing in the mirror says, its voice some dark whisper from lips just over your shoulder. "You are blind, Sorcerer. When you lead these followers to their deaths, I will eat their--"

Amethyst drops the mirror. It shatters, silencing the voice. "I hope everyone is cool with that." She takes a step back and looks up, gauging a response. "Souls. He was going to say souls." Her eyes lower to the mirror pieces again.

"That's it. We should probably leave before the cops get here. Or Batman."