11933/15 Fears: Charred Remains

15 Fears: Charred Remains
Date of Scene:	08 July 2022
Location:	Robbie's Apartment
Synopsis:	Cael, Jon and Lydia investigate the ruins of Robbie and Rien's apartment with the pair alongside. They all find that it wasn't as empty as originally thought and what was existing there spells grave danger for the JLD as a whole.
Cast of Characters:	Chas Chandler, Cael Becker, Robbie Reyes, Jonathan Sims, Rien D'Arqueness, Lydia Dietrich

---

Chas Chandler has posed:
    The ruined shell of Robbie's apartment had been cordoned off by authorities. It was being treated as an accident, but even so evidence needed to be collected to prove that. But since when have vigilantes (like the Dark Justice League) let silly things like police and fire cordons stop them from looking into threats of their particular bend. Especially, threats to their own.

    The apartment is a charred and blackened wreck. Walls, ceilings, floors, it's all been charred to ashes and rubble. The black burns extend onlt a few inches past the confines of the unit--which is either a testament to Rien's ability to confine it or the direct sign of its targetted nature. Either way, it's clear the unit is a total loss. What they're looking for... is to them but maybe asking Robbie what actually happened would be a good start.

Cael Becker has posed:
    As the group arrives on scene at the burned out building, Cael approaches one of the beat cops with a serious expression on her face. "We need access to the apartment," she remarks simply, holding out a SHIELD badge. "We brought the residents to walk us through what happened. A specialist should be arriving later - Lydia Dietrich. Let her through when she arrives."
    "I didn't realize SHIELD was taking over the op," the man protests.
    "Look - if this is the sort of shit we think it is - NYPD's better off not having to deal with the case. If we're wrong- it's all yours." She gestures the group through, giving them a brief lecture on how not to contaminate a crime scene. "And don't touch //anything," she concludes. "Unless you really want to be potentially arrested. Is that clear?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
As one of the aforementioned occupants of the apartment-- well. *Former* occupants. Robbie's tagging along, much to his general chagrin. To say he isn't in the best of moods is putting it very lightly; there's a veritable stormcloud hanging over his head, and the dark circles under his eyes look even darker than usual. Probably owing to the sleep he didn't get last night, after they resettled at Rien's safehouse.

He's dressed somewhat scruffily, per the norm for him, in a faded black hoodie, shredded jeans and a Dodgers ball cap today. There's a pack of cigarettes burning a hole in his pocket, but given the givens, he's been resisting going for them. Cael and her conversation with the cop are watched, instead, from a short distance away.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon flashes his SHIELD badge as well, just to back Cael up. Not that he looks much like a SHIELD agent just now, in jeans and a green polo, but--well, he /is/ wearing the polo. Maybe he looks like a consultant of some kind. A tech guy. Something. He nods along to 'not contaminating a crime scene,' while opening his Third Eye.

    He blinks a few times and shakes his head, then glances at Robbie. Whatever he saw, it was a bit rattling. He clears his throat and looks between Robbie and Rien. "I think we're going to need the whole story, once the locals are cleared out."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien has her hand in Robbie's, fingers laced, her head on his shoulder and looking worn out and somber. She doesn't seem overly interested in the conversation, more just staring into the middle distance. It even takes her a moment to respond to Jon, giving a listless nod before tucking in closer to Robbie's side.

While she'd been able to contain the fire, it had taken it's toll and she hasn't really recovered. Dressed down in dark jeans and a dark blue top and some sneakers, she looks towards the building, shuddering slightly, then letting out a breath. "Let's get this over with..." Then she's heading isnide without waiting for permission from the police.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    The NYPD, with some reluctance, starts to depart moving back to squad cars and CS vehicles. The lead officer gives Cael a nod. "Just, give us a call if you need us to come back. We're going to go get some chow. Been on this place for a few hours already. Something about it all just... it doesn't feel right, you know?"

    After a moment, the sound of multiple vehicles departing gives evidence that the JLD investigators are truly alone on the premises.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I know exactly what you mean," Cael agrees, flashing him a brief, sympathetic smile. They clearly don't want to be here at all... And she can't blame them.
    "So. What're you getting?" Cael asks Jon quietly, as they move carefully through the ruined apartment, her hands in her pockets, and a faint frown on her features. "It's a good thing no one here got hurt - I mean, you got Gabe stashed somewhere safe, yeah?" she asks Robbie, looking towards him for confirmation.
    The smell of char, and burnt wiring and plastics is still rather overpowering. She can't imagine what it's like for Rien...

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Despite -- or possibly partly because of -- his dour mood, Robbie fairly exudes protectiveness over his girlfriend at the moment. He gives her hand a squeeze when she pulls in closer, and kisses her temple before murmuring something in her ear.

Then, once the cops begin to clear out, he accompanies her toward the burned out husk of their former residence. "Yeah, he's at Rien's place," he answers Cael after a moment. "Stocked him up with food and video games, and the place is warded, right?" He looks to Rien for confirmation.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon swallows as they step into the apartment, frowns over at Rien for a moment, worry on his features. He waits until the NYPD have cleared out to relay what he's seeing.

    "Hellfire," he says, flicking another glance toward Robbie. "The place is just... /full/ of Hellfire. Sulfur and brimstone, anger and violence. And something..." He frowns, reaches up a hand to feel at the air. "Something /oily/ behind it all."

    They frown, and focus on the couple, asking in a soft tone, "What happened?"

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
She tries a small smile at the kiss which mostly succeeds, then gives a small nod to his whisper. Looking around the remnants of the apartment, it's hard just not gagging on the acrid, chemical-laden scent of burned everything. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small tin of something and dabs a bit under her nose to help mute the smells.

Staying tucked in next to Robbie, she looks to Jon, "I was asleep when it started, so I can only tell you what happened after. So maybe Robbie first, then I'll give the other part of it." She glances up at RObbie and murmurs, "Yeah, the safehouse is warded. It would take a good bit of juice for anything to get in there."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Good. That's good - look, if you ever need help keeping Gabe safe, getting him somewhere safe, not that the two of you aren't perfectly capable on your own, you know? But we've got your back 100%. He can hunker down with Agnes - hell, maybe they'd even be friends, you know?" Cael remarks, glancing at Jon to include him in this promise, with utter confidence that he will agree without any qualms or reservations.
    She falls silent after that, walking slowly to look for anything out of the usual, while listening to Robbie's response.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
As he's asked for his version of events last night, Robbie visibly tenses. Rather than go picking around in the rubble and contaminating an active 'crime' scene, he behaves himself and stays put, gripping Rien's hand firmly.

"I don't.. completely know what to tell you," he mumbles, looking over the ruins of what used to be his kitchen. Charred metal and warped walls and the spindly remains of a burned-out plant on the burned-out windowsill; and a thick coating of grey, brittle ash settled over it all. "I fell asleep on the couch. Had a really weird dream, that.. I was talkin' to a copy of myself. But it wasn't actually me? I don't think? Kind of like.. a reflection in the mirror." His eyes flick to Rien at that.

"He told me that I should take the Rider's power for myself. That I could fix everything, if I had it. That I could.." Here, he looks away again, possibly ashamed. "Be the one in control." After a minute, he continues, jaw tight. "I remember feeling angry. So fuckin' angry, I tried to kill him.. me. My reflection. And then I woke up, and everything.. everything was on fire. It's my fault. I did it."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon nods firmly in agreement with Cael, but doesn't say anything, instead listening to Robbie's explanation. His eyes go a bit distant as the man speaks, looking around the ruins of the apartment like he's not quite seeing the place. Whether he's looking at the magical resonance of the place or lost in a memory is hard to say.

    As Robbie gets to the end of the story, though, the Archivist's attention snaps right back to the Ghost Rider. They /stare/ at him, eyes narrowing and then widening, and then their gaze casts back around the room. They start walking around looking at things closely without actually touching anything, half-idly gesturing for Rien to tell her side of the story.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien flicks a worried glance up at Robbie when he mentions a mirror reflection of himself, then stares down at the floor, brows drawn together and frowning.

When he comes to the end, she shakes her head lightly, "It's not your fault." RIen glances up at him, "It's mine. Whatever latched onto me found you... this is my fault. I knew I should have gone somewhere else..." She sighs heavily and rubs at her face, then nods to Jon.

"I woke up at the first scene of fire. Got dressed, came out to find Robbie standing at the couch, looking like he'd just grabbed someone by the throat... but everything was on fire. And I mean everything. The floors, the walls, the ceiling, the furniture. Everything. Then Robbie seemed to.. snap out of it. Came back to himself. He yelled for Gabe and kicked his door in to save him. I opened a portal and sent them both through, then I stayed to keep the fire contained until the fire department could arrive. I managed to keep it localized so it didn't spread to the other apartments... but it was like being back in Hell..." Rien slips her free arm around Robbie's waist and rest her head on his shoulder again.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    By the time Lydia arrives the police have already departed the crime scene, which leaves her free to go up and join the others. The smell hits her like a truck, and it takes her a good moment or two to adjust to it to the point where it isn't overwhelming everything.

    She's here in time to hear Robbie's explanation. "Maybe, maybe not." she tells him. "Could have been your subconscious or something, but it could have been something else coming in your dreams and provoking you." Her eyes flick at Rien and shakes her head. "I wouldn't blame yourself either. Who knows if distance means anything to it. You could have been half way around the country and it still might have come for Robbie."

    She scowls as she pokes around the living room, eyebrows furrowed as if she's looking for something. "Rien... do you smell that? I mean, buried under all the brimstone and smoke. It's a kind of rotten smell."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Besides. Seems like the sort of deal where the two of you would be at 'fault' in the same sort of way that I'm at 'fault' for trying to eat Agnes," Cael mutters under her breath. "Neither of you //did// this. And... more importantly, no one was hurt. So we take this as a wake up call, and figure out what the fuck is going on so it doesn't happen again." Becase this shit is too dangerous for a repeat performance.
    At Lydia's mention of a 'rotten' smell, Cael looks around curiously. "Seems odd that anything could remain rotten in this mess - and not just be charred carbon."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie frowns slightly at Lydia. "Ain't matter if anyone provoked me. *I'm* the one who did it. And it wasn't my fuckin' subconscious, it was *me*. Just.." He scowls. "Not me." He wraps both arms around Rien when she tucks her head against his shoulder, and pulls her in tight against his taller frame.

His voice lowers to a rough murmur, "No. Not your fault. Not your fault it hurt you. Estamos a salvo, Gabriel esta a salvo gracias a ti. Esto no es tu culpa, carino." Cael's words make his frown soften a touch, but he doesn't seem ready yet to relent. "Yeah, there's something.." His eyes flit around briefly, then fix on the dilapidated, burned-out remnants of the bathroom. "Over there."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon stops his pacing around the room at the charred and broken remains of a television on the floor. He turns, drawing a line in the air from the spot to what looks to be the remains of a couch some distance away. "You fell asleep watching the television." It's a statement, not a question. "Hmmm."

    They turn to look at Rien and Robbie. "You have the same resonance as the piece of mirror does," they say to Robbie. "On your eyes, specifically." They turn to Rien. "You have it, fading, on your face." A gesture, toward the twisted and burnt-out electronics on the floor. "The television has the resonance as well. So... that's what this thing attacked through. Two incidents isn't enough to say it definitively attacks through reflective surfaces... but it's enough to say that we should be warding them."

    A pause. "Whatever it is, I'm fairly certain it's from Nullspace." He waggles the fingers of his right hand. "/This/ resonates with it all." He turns in a circle, and then starts toward the bathroom, though someone could definitely try to stop him.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien shakes her head and looks towards Lydia, "We already know this isn't just our 'subconscious'. This is something else. Something bad. And it's using me to get at people." Her eyes shift to Jon, "You heard Elizabeth. I'm the -gateway-. That means we need to hurry. Because whatever this thing is, it's already gotten to Robbie. And I've been in contact with each of you as well." She looks up at Robbie, "I can't stay at the safehouse. If it gets to Gabe..."

Then she's letting out a breath and looking to Cael, "Big difference. You had no idea what was happening to you. I not only knew something was happening to me, I was forewarned that I was being used. We were already planning to get Gabe out of the apartment so he couldn't be affected too. We just.. thought we had more time." She swallows hard, then turns, facing the apartment and reaching up to wipe away the smear of whatever she'd put under her nose to help mute the smells.

Drawing in a deep scent, its sheer force of will that keeps her from retching over the odors. Forcing herself to shove aaside the unimportant (to this investigation) scents, so she can try to trace it's origins. First she starts to sniff around Robbie, then moves towards what's left of the tv, but neither of those seem quite right. Her head turns again and she scents around, moving towards the... bathroom. Stopping herself before stepping inside, Rien murmurs, "It's the bathroom. The mirror... it has to be where the mirror was... where it started..."

Something instinctive and potent has her backpedalling until her back hits the charred wall, then she's turning away, "I won't go in there. I don't... I don't want to make it worse."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia doesn't try to stop Jon. In fact she goes in after him once it's clear that that's where the odd smell is coming from. "Ward the mirrors at home," she murmurs, "Got it."

    "If it's getting in through the mirrors," she muses thoughtfully, "we could use one to set a trap. Ward them all save for one, and then lay in wait for it. Or construct a circle that will bind whatever it is. Since we're pretty sure that it's from Nullspace that'll make it easier for us to bind it."

    Once they're in the bathroom proper she pauses, her nostrils flaring as she scents the air. After a fight of coughing to clear her nose she nods, "Yeah. The scent's stronger in here." She picks her way through the bathroom, avoiding the mirror altogether. She stops suddenly and holds up a hand. "Shh! I hear something!" When the others fall silent she gets down on her hands and knees near the bathroom vent. "Something here... I can't quite make out what it is..."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "But we knew //something// was happening. Jon redflagged me - took my guns," Cael points out wryly. "I have... generously, not retaliated for that." She flashes Jon a brief, teasing smile. She hasn't liked the move - but she'd understood it.
    Lydia's arrival earns a nod, and she looks curiously towards the TV, and then towards the bathroom - holding back for a moment to let the others explore it. As Rien starts back-peddling away from it, though, she takes a cautious step towards the woman. "Whoa... Hey, Rien, you're okay right now. We've got your back, alright? We'll get out of here soon."
    Lydia's words earn her attention, however, as she looks towards the bathroom with a frown - and unsnaps the strap keeping her pistol in her pocket.
'

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Logically speaking, if Rien's infected, and Robbie's infected too.. then Gabe's no safer alone with him. Which the young mechanic points out as the blonde pulls away from him. "I can't stay there with him, either." He sighs, and reaches for her again when she backs up into the wall, attempting to draw her back into his arms if she permits. "We'll send him out of state for a little while. Tonight, okay? As soon as we get back. I'll-- I'll figure out something." They have no family anywhere, after all.

To Jon, "Yeah, I did. You're saying it.. came through the television somehow? You're sure?" He squints at the remnants of the thing. "Why.. reflective surfaces?" As Lydia drops to her hands and knees, he tries to pull Rien further away from the bathroom, and put himself between her and it.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon focuses their attention, firstly, on the spot where the mirror used to be. "Same resonance," they murmur. "Same... residue. It feels... dirty. It's... seeping in." They /want/ to pull away. They /try/ to pull away. They /try/ to just turn around and walk right out of that bathroom.

    Instead they tilt their head and look down toward where Lydia's kneeling. "I can almost... it's like a TV heard through the wall, in a language I don't /quite/ understand. Like guessing at Spanish because you know French and Portugese." A pause. "Loneliness. Emptiness. Silence. Forgotten. You will be forgotten? No. You... /are/ forgotten?"

    A pause. "You are no one?"

    He's not aware of his hands clenching into fists, or the way his heart's sped up, though those with super-senses could feel it. Lydia can surely smell the sharp spike of fear, adrenaline coursing through his system. But he doesn't move.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien shakes her head, "It's not a physical thing that you catch. At least... not yet. That's why the reflective surface.. it needs a face because it doesn't have one." Turning back towards Robbie, she adds, "It won't be that easy Lydia. First, Nullspace is surrounded by Null energy... that stuff I channel that literally unmakes things. The very antithesis to life and creation. Just... just touching it, being near it, is detrimental. Which comes to the second point, it houses the worst of the worst the galaxy has to offer. So we have no clue if what's coming after us is one of the natural inhabitants of that dimension, or one of the interdimensional criminals that's been put there because they're too strong to kill and too dangerous to leave free."

She looks up at Robbie, "We'll figure something out." She looks to Jon, "If it has the potential to come for you and Cael, you might want to look at sending Agnes somewhere, too." Then she's letting out a slow breath and turning towards Robbie again. At least until Lydia and Jon talk about a voice in the vent. Her eyes widen. "Get out! Get out of there now!"

And unless stopped, Rien will try to telekinetically yank them both out of the bathroom.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Yeah, exactly," Lydia says, nodding at Jon as he explains what it is that she's hearing. She looks over her shoulder to Rien. "I know. It's the stuff we channeled in order to bind Michael. We've worked with it before. The circle was a bitch to figure out, but we can use the same principles to construct something that'll hold a being from nullspace."

    She turns back to the grate, "Now I wonder..." she reaches as if to open it up but then pauses, when she hears Jon's sped up heartbeat and smells the adrenaline pouring from him. When Rien calls out to get out she leaps to her feet just in time to get yoinked out of the bathroom by Rien with a squeak.

    If Jon is also safely yanked out she instinctually throws up a hand and a golden glowing shield springs froth blocking them from the bathroom. "What is it?" she asks Rien.

Chas Chandler has posed:
    Just as Rien draws them from the bathroom, a fog pours from the vents. It fills the room and presses agaisnt the shield Lydia forced into place. Whatever it is, and however it works, it's -strong-. The shield buckles a bit under the pressure but it holds fast nonetheless.

    More of those whisper not-words linger on the air. It's no language that anything on this planet speaks. Just as the language of the angels brings to mind the feeling of bells and chimes and choral tones, this language is discordant, foul, and leaves and oily disgusting feeling on the body of those that hear it. It's rank and dark and the Rider inside Robbie can tell it's ABSOLUTELY evil. Unrepentantly so.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "What that //actual// fuck?" Cael asks as Jon and Lydia are pulled out - and the madness starts in full.
    "Okay. Remind me again why I thought it was a good idea to join this crazy group when I know fuck all about this shit? How do we- we can't just let that thing loose in New York! So how do we get rid of it?" Her hand is firmly planted on her pistal, but she doesn't draw it because- honestly, what good is a pistol going to do against something like this?
    The words give her shivers, and make her feel like something... slimy? is crawling over her skin. "And can we SHUT the thing UP?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The Rider's reaction to this is immediate and violent. Right on the heels of Rien yoinking the pair out of the bathroom, and him spotting the foul smoke pouring into the room, the change begins to race through him. His eyes burst in their sockets, his face cut open along the left side from hairline to chin, and he's clearly struggling for control.

"I don't know what the Hell this is--" He hisses in pain as his left hand ignites.. then the flesh begins to reform again. "But the Rider wants a fuckin' piece of it. Bad." He shoots Rien, and then Jon a glance, eyes still smouldering pits in his very human face. "I could try to banish it."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon flies back out into the living room, stumbles over the remains of the sofa, but he's started speaking, without meaning to, without wanting to. A half-trance state that Cael, at least, would recognize as a statement.

    "The One Alone. Isolation. The feeling that you're just... alone. Maybe there's no-one else there at all, maybe you just can't connect. Not as terrible as the others. Subtler, quieter. Even the fear is gentle in the fog."

    "The I Do Not Know You. The unknown, the uncanny. That kind of creeping sense that something's not right. That guy you saw that might be following you, might mean you harm. Taxidermy and mannequins, clowns and masks."

    "They are pushing on the walls of the world, slipping through the cracks in reality. They have already touched us, but they do not know us. They are looking for us, because we will fight them. They have touched us, and made us what we are. They are already here, and they have never been."

    They turn their head to stare at Rien, eyes wide. "They came here because of you. Because of me. Because of us. It's too late to run, too late to hide. You are the gateway, and I am the key, and the gates are open, and the crawl--"

    With an effort of will, they put their hand over their mouth, making a choking, strangled sound behind said hand. They shudder in terror.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien lets out a yelp as Lydia's shield starts to buckle, throwing out a hand and adding her own to reinforce the golden one. Those words, that utterly repellant language. Its... almost familiar.

She shudders, then growls and pushes on the shield a bit more, as if to force the thing back, "Epgoka fahf agl! ymg' ahorna mgep f'!" The words are distasteful in her mouth, but it's at least a language the thing will recognize. Not it's own, not that oily, unsettling that's felt as much as heard.. but one not too terribly removed from it.

Tears stream from her eyes as she sobs and looks to Robbie, "Do it. We can't let it stay here, the damage it could do..."

She looks back to Cael and tilts her head to Jon, "Get him out of here. Wait in the hallway while we finish this, we'll be there in a moment... try to calm him down..."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia grunts under the strain of keeping the shield intact. "Holy hell this is strong!" She gets her feet up underneath her and pushes her way up to standing, throwing her other hand out to reinforce the shield. She looks over at Rien grateful when she lends her assistance.

    The sound of the language is unsettling at best but seems to have a lesser effect on the vampire, still the sound of it causes a look of distaste. "Okay," she says when Rien and Robbie come up with a plan. "Let's drop the shield on three. One... two.... THREE!" With the shield gone she wheels back out of the way, letting Robbie take the lead to banish it to... anywhere other than here.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael doesn't need Rien's prompting - she's already moving towards Jon, putting her hands on his shoulders to give him a firm shake. "Jon. Jon. //Jon.// Snap out of it. Shut it out. Focus on me, and shut it out. I'll- I can give you a statement. I can- The day I met Barnes. I'd just hotwired a car, and I was driving it towards the shop-"
    She tries to draw him out of the apartment, desperately trying to prompt him into his usual spiel. 'Cael Becker on her first encounter with the Winter Soldier - statement begins.' "Com'on, Archivist."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
In the fetid, damp dark of what used to be his apartment, his *home*, now bleeding ash and char and pooled with water from the firefighters' battle with the remnants of the fire.. Robbie allows the Rider to do what it will. Consume him, *I Do Not Know You*, burn him from the inside out until all that remains is the demon ablaze.

"Move," shudders the voice like glass breaking, like metal tearing, as he shoulders past Jon, unmoved by the tears pouring down his lover's face, *They have touched us and made us what we are*.

Then Rien commands him to *do it*, and he stretches his arms out, burning fingers extended, his whole body trembling with the effort to contain and channel his power while he waits for Lydia to drop the barrier. And then with an explosion that can be felt through the floor, a seven foot mobius ring of runed fire screams into existence at the entrance of the bathroom; warping the air around it, distorting everything seen through it.

Exhausted, he slumps back against the wall.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon, for his part, locks eyes with Cael, lips still moving behind his hand but no intelligible words passing into the open. Whatever he's saying, whatever he's seeing, he keeps it from spilling out to the others, locks it inside himself and the Archive. He lets the Rider past him, lets Cael drag him out of the room. The whole time, his eyes are wide and terrified, almost pleading. But what is there to do but let Robbie banish the thing?

    As the ring of runed fire explodes, Jon gasps in relief, drops their hand, and slumps in the ruined remains of the hallway, shuddering. "Oh, gods," they manage. "That... th-that was..." They keep staring at Cael, reach out to grip her shoulders. "It knows us. /It knows us/. Oh, gods."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien drops her shield with Ldyia, right as Robbie/Rider steps in and opens the portal that will banish it to somewhere unpleasant. Letting out a breath, Rien straightens, just in time to catch Robbie as he slumps. Thankfully, she's no slouch in the strength department, and even exhausted and terrified and sleep-deprived, she's still able to prop up Robbie like it's nothing. Looking to Lydia and murmuring, "We should go. And this apartment should be closed off. Warded from the inside so nothing can get out."

Moving into the hallway, she looks at Cael, "I'll get in touch with WAND. I consult for them. This apartment needs to be heavily warded and -nobody- should go inside. Especially not NYPD or the arson inspector from the NYFD. No insurance adjuster, either. This place needs to be -sealed- to anyone but high level SHIELD or WAND or the like. Robbie's banished it, but that won't last long. It will return."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia stands there, watching as the Ghost Rider banishes the Nameless Horror. When it's finally gone, she shudders in a whole body shiver. "Eugh. I can still /taste/ it's words." Now that it's gone she can feel the oily residue its presence left on her soul and she stands there just kind of feeling ill about it.

    Rien's words gets her to move, though. "Yeah," she says, turning and hurrying for the hallway. "Yeah, let's go. I'd say we burn it to the ground and salt the earth but Robbie already tried that and it didn't help. What the hell /was/ that, Rien?"

    Once safely out in the hallway she shakes her head and shivers again. "If it knows us," she says, her eyes flicking to Jon, "Then we need to protect ourselves. Not just mirrors but... /anything/ that can be reflective enough, if it was able to get through the television." She starts to rub her face and groans. "Oh God. How paranoid are we going to be about this?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    As Jon slumps, Cael supports them, worry in her gaze as she keeps both hands on them, with one arm holding them up. "We'll figure this out. We always figure it out," Cael reassures Jon in a quiet, but confident tone.
    She nods to Rien and Lydia as they approach, with the exhausted Robbie in tow. "I can put in a call to SHIELD to get the right team out here for that. You- look, you, Jon, and Robbie all look like shit. You know that, right?" She lets out a heavy sigh. "Do we go and... heavily reinforce a single location with more wards so we can all support and protect each other? Or is that inviting more trouble by concentrating everyone in one place?"
    Maybe she's just hoping the latter is the case - so //she// doesn't have to feel crowded...

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "We have to get the kids out. We can't... we can't risk..." Jon shakes his head. "I'm such a fool. Such a... a prideful fucking /fool/. The mirror, the piece of the mirror, it's /at home/. With Agnes. Oh, gods. Oh, gods."

    A pause. "We... we're supposed to... go to England. But I suppose maybe..." He closes his eyes. "I can't think. I... am having a panic attack. Ahh." Swallows, and opens his eyes, staring around at Rien.

    "It's not done with you. I don't know how to stop it. I'm sorry. I... gods, I'm so sorry. I'm not sure it matters where we go. /They know us/. All of us. I... I don't know what'll... spread it to anyone else. But... but maybe... umm..." Clearly trying to think through the panic attack, which is probably not the /best/ idea.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Shaking ehr head, Rien murmurs, "This is a building that houses a -lot- of people, I'm not burning them alive over this thing." She leans herself and Robbie back against the wall and draws in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, "He didn't stop it from burning down, -I- did. I wasn't going to let a building full of people burn to death, and that wouldn't close the doorway anyways. It's been opened. Even if there's nothing physical there, the doorway still exists." Sliding down the wall until her butt hits the floor, she drops her head against her knees.

There might be a few more tears shed before she's lifting her head to look at Cael, "I haven't slept in two weeks, Cael. I was hoping if I didn't sleep, I wouldn't dream, and that would keep it from spreading any further." She lets out a dry laugh, "I was wrong." The questions have her shaking her head, "Wouldn't matter. It's seen us all now, it's touched me, Robbie, Jon. It can find us wherever and whenever it wants. Reflective surfaces are helpful but I'm a fucking gateway for this thing."

Her eyes shift to Jon and she lets out a rusty, humorless chuckle, "Now you know why I was so freaked out. Why I've avoided people for the last couple weeks. Why I'm so fucking tired..." Still, she doesn't disagree, "I'm going to ask Logan to stay with Gabe when we find a place for him to be. If you want, we can have Agnes go with them. My father, despite his reputation, is actually very good with kids and teens. And he will tear apart anything that tries to touch them. That adamantium on his skeleton also makes him resistant to mental or emotional manipulation."

As for the apartment, she looks at it for a long moment, "We need this place warded for the Gods. Maybe even call in some angelic assistance. Make sure that THING can't get out into the city through that doorway."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia gives Rien /a look/. "I didn't mean that /literally/ right now raze the building and damn anybody inside." She pinches the bridge of her nose, and murmurs, "God, I may be gone but I'm not /that/ far gone."

    She folds her arms and leans against the hallway's wall opposite that of Rien. "So if you're the gateway then we ward /you/ while you get some sleep. Look. Jon's Statement already told us half of what we need to do. You're the gateway." She points at Jon, "He's the key. We just need to find the lock he fits to close it off and..." she flails a hand, "find a way to stuff it back into whatever negative dimension it came from."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Mariposa... look at me. Look at me. I'm right here, we're together - and we're going to figure this out. Okay? Rien's got an idea for keeping Agnes safe, and we'll be together - and we'll be alright. Okay?" She reaches up to run her fingers through Jon's hair, massaging their scalp as she knows how soothing that is for them.
    Her eyes are still on Jon as she answers Rien. "Not sleeping forever is just not an option. We'll find another one, okay? We need you rested if you're going to be any good to us. Now - do we go home and call this in? Or do we stay here, all it in, and wait until someone arrives to take over the scene for us?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon closes their eyes for a moment, letting Cael help calm them down. They've already counted five things they can see; they move on to four they can hear, and so on, grounding themself. Not ending the panic attack, but reining it in. "Thank you, love," they murmur, as they open their eyes again.

    Then he pulls away from Cael and goes over to crouch next to the French mutant. He wraps his arms around her, biting back all the panic that rises in him as he does so. "We'll figure this out. But Cael's right--you should sleep. Promise me you'll /sleep/, Rien. Please." He takes in a shuddering breath. "We'll talk to Chas. Fuck, I'll talk to Saint Michael if I have to. He /owes/ us. And this is /precisely/ the kind of shit he's supposed to be protecting the universe from."

    After a moment, they add with a sigh, "But I very much doubt he can or will go much further. And I'm not sure we'd want him to."

    He looks up and over at Lydia. "Not that kind of key, Lydia. Something I did helped to let these things in. Something Rien and I both did. I don't know what, I just know... there's a reason they're after us. The Justice League Dark. I don't know why, I just know they /are/. Maybe we can't stop them coming after /us/, but hopefully we can keep any civilians out of the crossfire."

    A pause, and then he pulls back from Rien. "Alright. We split up for now. Rien, you go talk to your father about getting the kids safe, and then you and Robbie get some bloody sleep. Cael and I will wait here for SHIELD. Lydia, go pull /everything/ you've got on angels and Nullspace, all that research we did when we bound Michael. Maybe there'll be a clue to reversing it, somewhere in all of that. Everyone... avoid people, as much as possible. And let's all try to get hold of everyone else in the JLD and make sure they're not having weird dreams."

    They look back to Rien. "We'll meet at the Velvet Room tomorrow, make further plans. And have a talk with Chas, I think."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
To say Rien is surprised when Jon moves in for the hug is an understatement. But the surprise fades and she reaches up one hand to give a squeeze to the prosthetic arm so as not to add to the panic while showing appreciation for the hug. "I will sleep... when Gabe is safely away from me and I can be sure that whatever is coming for me, for us, won't get him. Another day, maybe two. I can hold out, it's not pleasant, but my regeneration will keep me from experiencing the usual symptoms of severe lack of sleep." Then she'll sleep and let the floodgates open.

Giving a nod, she murmurs, "The angels absolutely owe us. Warding this apartment will be a dent in the debt they owe. And a fulfillment of a duty that should be theirs anyways." Letting out a breath, she looks up to Lydia, "Sorry, I'm not trying to be snappish, I'm just... tired. Very tired. And scared. This isn't some demon or God... this is an Old One. Whatever we do, it has to be strong enough to even affect them. And that is... that usually means the Silver City and the heavenly host."

Swallowing hard, she straightens when Jon pulls away and gives a nod to him, "We have to. It can't wait any longer. You saw it. You saw what it... it's coming for me, hard, and I don't know how much longer I can hold out. It's like every encounter it takes another piece from me and I just don't know how many more pieces I can lose before... before I'm not me anymore."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia nods at Jon, "Yeah. I'll go pull the notes I have and the books we used for research and leave them in the Velvet Room's library for others to take a look at." She purses her lips in a thoughtful moue, "I already have a couple of ideas to work through in order to put something up around Rien so that she can sleep in peace."

    Speaking of, she nods at the Frenchwoman. "It's okay. Tired, scared, and stressed, is not a good combination. If you need somebody to keep watch when you /do/ get a chance to sleep... well... I don't sleep at night."

    "After I... find something to eat, I'll hit the books," she says. "For the things I have in mind, we might not need the archangels. Not yet. If my initial theory holds, Chas's angelic energy might be enough to power the ward. If it's not then..." she sucks her teeth, "Yeah. We'll need the big guns."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "It's after you and Rien. Maybe it's after everyone who was involved in the trap that held Michael?" Cael points out bluntly. "You used null energy. This thing has null energy. It seems the most obvious solution." Their chickens come home to roost after accidentally ending the world for a second. Well - ending all of reality.
    Towards Rien, Cael adds firmly, "We won't let that happen. We won't let you lose yourself. You saved me - we'll save you. Yeah? It's- it's what we do for each other.
    That said, she pulls out her phone, starting to thumb through her contacts as she looks for the right phone number at SHIELD.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon glances at Lydia again at 'something to eat,' but he's too exhausted and frightened to comment. Instead he merely nods to her, and glances to Cael. "Maybe," he murmurs. "But Robbie wasn't involved in any of that. We can't presume it won't spread. I'll get in touch with people while you call SHIELD."

    Then he turns back to Rien, gripping her shoulders for just a moment. "Hold on, okay? Just... hold on. We'll figure this out. You can't... you can't just disappear on us, okay?" He sniffles back tears. "What'll Robbie do, huh? Be miserable, that's what, and then we're stuck with a fucking miserable Ghost Rider. So you've got to hold on. Okay?"

    A swallow, and a squeeze and then a clap on the shoulders and then they pull away, to turn away and pull out their phone before they just break down entirely.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Rien offers a faint smile towards Lydia, "Thank you for the offer, but the less exposure you have, the better chance you have of solving this before something -really- bad happens. When I say that this thing is taking pieces of me, I mean it's literally taking my essense. It's... taking pieces of who I am. If it takes enough of -me-... that means I'm just an empty vessel to be filled with.. something else." She lets out a slwo breath, "Which is why I haven't been sleeping. I can't.. it comes when I sleep."

She turns her attention to Jon and gives a nod, "That's what I'm trying to do Jon, but I don't have a means to fight this. I don't even know what's happening until after I've woken up." She smiles faintlya nd pushes upright, pulling Robbie close. "I'll make sure Logan can watch over the kids and see if we can't find them a nice place to stay for a week or two."

"As for why us... I make a gateway because of my unique parentage and history, as well as the fact that I prevented my own birth here by fulfilling my life's purpose where I come from. I'm literally an anathema, a living paradox, both existing and not." She chuckles dryly, "I am Schroedinger's Sorceress." Looking to Jon, she offers, "You're an Archivist who died. Really died. All that magic tied into the Archive and Archivist... but instead of -passing on-, you -came back-. You came back from being -really dead-. That's something that Old Ones might take notice of. Something that makes you unique. In a manner, we both... exist, and don't." She waves a hand all around, "And we've lead it right to a group of likeminded people that also come with interesting dichotomies and issues, and magic."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia considers Cael's suggestion thoughtfully. "Maybe. Rien was channeling the null into the circle when the universe blipped. That might be why she's the gateway. Meggan was supposed to do the same but she ended up doing her own thing so who /knows/ how that affected it." She shakes her head. "One of us should get a hold of her and warn her about it just in case."

    She listens to Rien and nods to her. "Or that." She furrows her brows, though. "If... you don't know what's happening when you're asleep I think that's even more reason why one of us should be there when you do. It'll give us a chance to try to /stop it happening/." She lets out a small sigh, and unwinds her arms, letting them flop to her sides. "Look, I know you're trying to protect us, but I think we have a better chance at being protected if you let us protect /you/."

    "Give me twenty four hours. I should be able to create a ward that will buy you enough time to sleep," she suggests. "We'll set it up and then watch over you as you sleep. If it manages to get through, we'll wake you before it gets a chance to take a greater chunk out of yourself."

    "I'll also get to work on seeing if it's possible to make a spell to anchor you in existence," she says, pulling out a small notebook from her pocket and a pen and starts jotting down notes. "If the problem is that your... waveform hasn't collapsed we might be able to force the issue and settle you solidly on the 'existing' side of things and close off its access to you."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon shakes his head to Rien. "No, the dying and coming back..." A pause. "You consider it uncommon, and strange. To my ancestors, it was as natural as the sun rising in the morning. And by that time, I'd sworn off using Nullspace energy. I don't think any of that makes a 'key' for this. No, it's... something else. I'm sure it'll come to me if I think about it."

    But then he seems to almost slip off the subject and focuses on Lydia and Rien. "We're all trying to help. Let's get the kids out of the way and then see if a ward helps or not. We shouldn't really be standing around /here/ pondering how to fix the problem. That's why I said let's meet up later, okay?"

    He sighs. "And regardless of anything else... I'm still heading to Oxford in a couple of days. I need answers, if I'm going to be able to handle this."

    He glances at Cael and sighs, then goes to fish out both his cigarettes and his gold lighter with the web design. "I need a smoke. Cael, I'll be outside. Let me know what WAND's ETA is."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"I mean, given the number of times I've died and come back, I wouldn't say I consider it uncommon. But the practice of your soul making it all the way to the judgment and still being brought back? That's a little out of the ordinary, even if it happened to every Archivist, that's still one soul every... two generations? Three? And you didn't come back alone, you came back attached to a Goddess. That's a -lot- of magical oomph for a single mortal." Rien lifts a shrug, then looks to Robbie with a smile, "But I think for now we'll head back to the safehouse."

She nods to Jon, to Lydia, to Cael. "Thanks, all of you, for coming to check this out. And... I'm sorry if this gets any of you involved more deeply than you were. We'll see you tomorrow." Then she does that thing, where they simply disappear in a blink of light blue energy.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Alrighty, it looks like I've got my homework cut out for me," Lydia says, making a few more notes before pocketing the notebook. "Rien, I'll..." she looks up and the woman is already gone. "Nevermind."

    She unleans herself from the wall and nods to those who are left. "I'll see you all later." On her way out as she passes Jon she gives him a nod. "Let me know what the plan is for Oxford, 'kay?" With that she spreads her wings and departs.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon is already out the door and down the stairs, a cigarette out and in hand, lighter ready as he heads toward an alley along the side of the building. As he hurries along, barely seeming to notice where he's going, he bumps into a woman coming down the street. Mid-30's, tallish, thin, dark-skinned and with short bleached blonde hair, dressed in a leather jacket and skirt-and-leggings combo that's too heavy for the New York summer heat.

    "Sorry," he murmurs. "Wasn't looking where I was going."

    "No worries," she replies, her voice smooth and rich, with an accent that marks her as being from England by way of somewhere in Africa. She looks him over and smiles brightly. "Nice lighter."

    Jon just nods, half-distracted, and ducks into the alley for his smoke. And the woman? She just nods, still smiling, and continues on her way.