8676/The Secret Life of Jack Drake: Writ in the Book of Skelos

The Secret Life of Jack Drake: Writ in the Book of Skelos
Date of Scene:	17 November 2021
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Our heroes arrive to stop Sophia Crowne. ...They all get interrupted by somebody else.
Cast of Characters:	Lonnie Machin, Tim Drake, Zachary Zatara, Jonathan Sims, Zatanna Zatara, Martin Blackwood

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Lonnie Machin has posed:
After Sophia Crowne absconded with the Book of Skelos, locating her became the top priority. ...However sometimes, things are found entirely of their own volition.

Many of them run through the first part of of November, because that is the Time of the Dead.

Wayne International Plaza, the tallest building in Gotham City. At 11:59 PM, the top of the building goes up in a flash of green light that illuminates the plaza below. Then the clouds begin to gather in a swirling circle, like an angry, green-lit eye.

At the observation deck atop the building, Victoria Crowne dabs her fingers in the blood of a dead security guard, and opens the book of Skelos. "A needle to pierce the Eye of the World," she says, "In the dark of the night... in a City of Darkness, black mirror of Bright Atlantis-"

"I invoke thee, Ancient dread-named first ones."

"I invoke thee, Thulsa Doom, the many-faced one, master of treachery. I invoke thee. I invoke thee, Vathelos the Blind, who gouged out his eyes so that he could see all. I invoke thee. I invoke thee, Zhered-Na the Enchantress, who commanded kings to dance at her whim. I invoke thee...!"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Late night mystical meetings shouldn't feel this exciting, but Tim can't help himself. All he needs is an invisibility cloak and a maurader's map and then this will fulfill a good chunk of childhood fantasies.

    But for now, though, Tim only has an oversized hoodie in black, though it's advertising some sort of gothic punk band with a lot of magical imagery in their branding so... maybe? A little bit? Kind of the same vibe? In this analogy, the map is his phone.

    Which, before he, Zatanna, and Zach can really even start discussing things like strategies and traps to lay for Sophia Crowne, buzzes angrily in his pocket. Followed shortly by the smart watch on his wrist, doing the same.

    Facial recognition match on the security cameras at Wayne International.

    One quick text to Jon--well, okay, given Tim's texting style, several shotgun-style texts fired off at him--while he grabs some gear from the trunk of his car, and then he nods at the Zataras.

    "Let's go get that book back."

Zachary Zatara has posed:
    While Zachary was more along for the ride of just wanting to hang out with his feathery friend and his best cousin, he is very excited to help try and capture Sophia Crowne. He may not know as much about what is going on like Zatanna does but he is very good at trapping people and being overall bait. With his flair and love for the theatrics, this is easy.

     His goal was to match the seriousness of this conversation, but Zachary doesn't do well with... well, boring. So he went for comfortable, which is Korean inspired streetwear. Is he perhaps copying a famous k-pop star? He won't say. The magician is wearing a grey sweatshirt that feels light against his skin and the bomber jacket that blends well enough on the outside, being black! Although the bright orange lining for the inside might stand out... But it's fine. He has black combat shoes on along with leather and chain harnesses, one that crosses his chest and the other wrapped around his waist and thighs.

    Zachary is sitting on the couch, sprawled out, when Tim says that it's time to get the book back. His eyes widened as he blinks slowly at bossman before shooting to his feet, "Wait, we're going on a mission? We doing something? I have the perfect thing!" He is yelling as he trips over to his backpack, digging in furiously before pulling out a black facemask that covers half his face, putting it on with a now hidden grin. He has no idea what type of people they're going to run into and he's not about to get infested with their germs.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    It's a good thing Jon stayed up late tonight, otherwise he'd have already been dressed for bed given his normal training wake-up times. As it is, all he has to do on the way out the door is grab an ICER and his staff--and make sure his husband is coming along, of course--and then it's quinjet to Gotham in time to drop on the street and get into the building, which Tim made sure they have access to.

    One will note this quinjet does not have a pilot. The pilot /is/ the quinjet now. Agent Rzewski and the jet have become one. Do you have worse than /that/ to throw at the world, Ms. Crowne?

    Jon twists the bracer on his wrist, and his eyes glow gold. The Archivist shakes his staff out from its collapsed state and runs on in--hopefully Martin will just follow along behind. Poor Zachary's first meeting with Thoth Dad and his husband will be with a pair of quasi-government agents, even if one of them has a magic staff and glowing eyes.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Restless all day, Zatanna paced her home looking out the windows of the interdimensional rooms like she was expecting a tornado. The best part of the was having Tim and Zach's presence ostensibly for planning. Their excitement infectious as two kids preparing for Halloween dressed as magicians alleviating some of her distress. Though in Zach's case, it's hardly pretending. The more magic wielders on hand, the merrier.

"Listen, you two, I have to apologize for being so..." Tim, the one-person phone alert system interrupts the sentence.

"Yes, let's go get that book and be careful as we can," Zee nags, following the two for Tim's gear. "This woman will stop at nothing."

"Do we know where we're going? Text Jon and Martin, and we'll group up on the floor below where she conjured. I'm guessing that was one big spell."

Zee traces a portal next to the car, a black square that blocks the view. With a small hand flourish, she invites the two to follow. They are a fashionable family, not just powerful magicians, dressed in a tailored black suit straight from Harajuku, Zee disappears through the portal first.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin gives instructions for Pilot/Quinjet Rzewski to keep a wide perimeter from the vortex and wait for extraction protol Gamma-Tango-Foxtrot-Omega before coming back in. Once confirmed he heads in after Jon.

    He is dressed in a black leather jacket, grey shirt, jeans, and combat boots. His sidearm is holstered. He doesn't like to use it but it's been proven to get rid of wayward witches before so... maybe it'll go two for two.

    His newest addition is a pair of black gloves that have strange arcane looking symbols etched into them. A gift from SHIELD R & D based on his own design. He's not sure if they'll do what he wants, but today was as good a day as any to try them out.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
"...And greatest of them all, Skelos the Undying, Lord of Life and Death, I invoke thee. I seal my pact," She says, placing an ancient, beaten golden badge down on the ground, "By spitting-" She spits on it, three times, "On the memory of Hated Atlantis, three times thus, and turning my back upon it." She does so, "And all its works."

"And now, with fingers wet with living blood, I make the secret signs," She begins a series of elaborate gestures. A streak of green-yellow lightning slithers across the sky. "To turn the rusted key and open the Western Gate, for Immortality awaits only on the other side, in the Land of the Dead..."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The top floor of the Wayne International building is all executive suites, and resplendent with expensive, tasteful decor in the way only a multi-billion dollar company can manage. High-backed leather chairs and works of fine art alike are lit by the sickly green that glares in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, which give a panoramic view of Gotham, as well as the swirling storm that has begun to gather above it.

    As soon as they're through Zatanna's portal, Tim bends over a desk likely meant for a secretary as he taps at his laptop. "The building is being evacuated," he reports, which Jon and Martin will have witnessed first hand, as a security guard lingered behind only long enough to give them access to the elevators before he escorted the last of the cleaning crew outside. "We're in lockdown. Whatever it is she has planned, we don't let it leave the building."

    Not unless she takes the fast way down to the ground.

    His hoodie does a decent job of concealing the body armor he's wearing underneath it, and he has a couple of tools hanging from his belt. Knee pads, steel-toed boots, gloves. Whatever they do here he's going to have to do it without his usual bag of Bat-tricks, but they're not particularly useful when it comes to magic books or the evil women who try to use them for their nefarious purposes.

    What he does have, though? Is an authentic Japanese katana in one hand, courtesy of Zachary Zatara. Who knows what precisely Zach got up to after they parted ways in Tokyo, but apparently "finding a sick ass sword to enchant for Tim as a gift" is one of them.

    Look. Swords are Damian's thing, generally. But Tim knows how to use them, has taken fencing lessons, and... he's kind of a weeb. Who's going to say no to a magic katana???

    Not Tim Drake, that's who.

    When he bumps open the fire escape door that will take them up to the roof, the alarm doesn't sound. More of his keyboard warrior doing, no doubt.

    He looks out at the people who are here to back him up on this, to help him fight an enemy Tim himself isn't sure he can take down. "She might focus on you two," he says, nodding to Zee and Zach, because of their Homo Magi blood. So he looks at Jon and Martin. "I'll do my best to keep her distracted too, see if I can goad her into talking about my father. If you see an opportunity to separate her from the book...."

    The unspoken 'Do what you think is necessary' lingers in the tight resignation of his eyes, the determined set of his mouth. Tim nods, and then leads the charge up the stairs.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Lightning cracks turning the outside world a sickly green on the other side of the portal that Zatanna has opened for the three. The branching light is like a withered hand reaching for the building. Ozone and the smell of black magic are thick in the air even a floor beneath the magic circle.

While Tim performs his keyboard warrior magic allowing them access to the roof, Zee prepares protection for them. Fearing the worse, she triple protects the three.

Backlit by the lurid light of the storm forming over them, the magician stands straight, tension showing in the set of her jaw, hands to her side as she recites her backward spells,".skcatta lacigam morf em draW .skcatta lacigam morf hcaZ draW .skcatta lacigam morf miT draW," (Ward Tim from magical attacks. Ward Zach from magical attacks. Ward me from magical attacks.)

"That should help. /You/ be careful. They might go for the non-magic users first."

Eyes lingering on the katana, "Like father, like son, you weeb. Ready Zach? I'm ready when you are."

Zachary Zatara has posed:
    Following Tim's lead through the portal, Zachary stands back as the chaos unfolds around him. To say he is nervous is an understatement, as this is Zachary's first time going up against someone that actually has him a little tense. The feeling of Zatanna's protection spell does give him a confidence boost, knowing that his own protection spell would not be up to par whatsoever. Unbuckling the chain that sits fashionably against his thigh, Zachary whispers, "Worg," which immediately causes the small chain to triple in size, hitting the floor with a satisfying clunk.

    He doesn't exactly have a plan in mind but at least he can act like he does!

    Quickly wrapping up the chain around his right arm to keep it together, Zachary follows the group leader. "I love the spotlight," he mutters, doing little finger guns to the floor, hoping no one hears him. Although he does snort loudly at the mention of weeb, covering it quickly with a, "I'm ready to flirt with a scary women, absolutely!"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist frowns briefly at Tim. "Dead or alive?" There's a hard edge to his tone, that Jon will regret later for sure. But whatever Jon Sims thinks, the Archivist is willing to kill, at least if the gods will it so.

    And somehow, he thinks the gods will judge this woman's heart heavier than the weight of a feather.

    He stops, for a moment, to peer out the windows at the green-and-yellow lightning. Then shakes himself and follows Tim and the two homo magi on up the stairs and out to the roof, to face the woman down. He makes note of Zach's own backwards spell--he's like Zatanna, then, and Zee was vulnerable to the woman's magic before. Hopefully the two powerful spellcasters won't need much backup if it comes to it, but they shall see.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    "Would being under the veil of invisibility help us at all?" Martin asks, watching Zatanna speak in reverse and shaking his head. It always gave him chills to hear the reverse words and feel the effect. And now there's another doing the very same thing in Zachary.

    He rolls a shoulder and sets his jaw. It'll be an effort to effect seven individual spells at the same time but not impossible. He begins to move his hands and arms in a series of intricate motions. Turquoise concentric rings begin to form around his wrists and fingers and after a moment two columns of similar colored energy appear around Jon and Martin before settling over them both in an aura.

    His arms continue to move and more concentric rings form over his forearms and wisps of arcane symbols in the same blue-green color appear around the concentric circles. Then with a slow lift of his arms at his sides he brings up rings of the energy around all five.

    His gloved hands continue to glow and sweat is forming on his brow but he nods. "There... we should be concealed. She won't see us coming. The spell will drop with an act of aggression. So make sure the first one counts. Let's go..."

    It was more spellwork than he had done in a while but he was satisfied with the results and a proud smile plays on his lips to emphasize the joy.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    "...Open, the gate of destiny, the road to the Undiscovered Country before me..." Sophia Crowne says, as she turns, and extends her hands out to the sky. Green lightning begins to jag across the sky in rough circles, as the center of the swirling mass of clouds grows lighter. "The Great Eye opens upon the universe once more and I, the receptacle of this knowledge."

She turns again. "This was something you and I were supposed to SHARE, Jack. Immortality! You could've been young and fresh-faced and beautiful like Tim is now, FOREVER-" She shakes her head, as she undoes her hair, sending it blowing about in raven-colored ringlets. "Maybe I'll bind your soul into your son's body. What a beauty he is. Now that your bitch wife's gone, you'll see things my way again. 'I'll have a better kind of immortality through my son.' What a load of bull! What a DISappointment!"

At the heart of the anomaly in the sky, something dark appears. A pinprick at first, but growing closer, like something - or someone - descending a set of stairs. She turns, and looks, and her eyes narrow. "What- that's not-"

Tim Drake has posed:
    "I'm sorry, Ms. Harajuku, are you sure you want to go down that road?" Tim asks, though it's really a meager attempt at playful humor. His heart's not in it, not now. He has a white-knuckled grip on the katana at his side, and even with his body armor, the wards Zatanna wills into being around him, and then Martin's invisibility spell, Tim knows that he's about to run headfirst into a situation he is woefully unprepared for.

    But it's his fault that the Book is out there, now. His and his father's.

    He looks up, over at Jon, and the bob of his throat as he swallows isn't subtle. "I--don't want anyone to die," he admits, because it's true. He never wants that, even at his lowest. But then he looks up the stairwell. "We have to stop her."

    Well, that's not exactly an answer, is it?

    They're going in guns blazing, inasmuch as spells and enchanted blades and magically enlarged chains can be counted as such, and before Tim crosses the threshold, he hazards a glance back. One by one, he makes eye contact with each of them. Martin, Jon, Zach, then Zatanna.

    "Thank you all for being here. I know this is--it's bad. But we're going to stop her." As if repeating that last part is going to will it into existence. Not from Tim, it won't, at least. But he needs it to get him up those steps, so he mutters it to himself once more as his feet begin to move.

    He slips out through the door, onto the roof and into the maelstrom Sophia has conjured from the book, unsheathing the blade as he goes. There's a moment where he has to stand still, steady himself against the wind as he stares upwards, but even the terrible things she's saying about Tim's father, about his *mother*, aren't enough to stop him.

    At least until Tim spots a figure descending from the sky. "Uhh... were we expecting company?" he asks on a stage-whisper.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Tim's joke brings an affectionate smile to her face. Zee's disembodied voice though calm, carries tension, "Thank you, Martin. We need you here. Do you feel it? She will destroy the world, trying to live forever. Our objectives: The woman and the book. I will try to take care of Crowne."

Zatanna is glad for the invisibility, though if Crowne is worth her salt she will feel their presence even in the excitement of her spell casting. Hands clenched, she steps out onto the roof.

The presence over them is as frightening as walking into a quarrel between the Gods of the Underworld. Malevolence fills the air.

Zachary Zatara has posed:
    Oh shit, pretty colors and lights! Zachary seems very much in awe as he watches Martin move his arms while rings of magic circle his hands, the colors very vibrant. He poured over all sorts of magic while he was growing up, knowing the basic idea of just about any type of magic out there, but seeing it in person is an entirely different story. Absolutely mesmerizing.

    Now he is definitely going to try and copy those effects. Later, not right now.

    Zachary cannot help but tense up as Tim speaks about the possibility of them dying. Tim saying this is definitely not good vibes. He doesn't respond the way he normally does, with his obnoxious self, as this is a very serious situation. No, he stays silent, giving Tim a small nod when they make eye contact. Whatever happens, happens, and it's going to be a fun ride.

    Zachary's attention is diverted, his eyes widening as he listens to the woman's ranting about Tim's father. "This woman got a bee in her bonnet," he whispers in his most country accent he could muster up. That amount of crazy within one woman is too much, so no flirting for him tonight. He follows after Tim and Zatanna, "S'ti cirtcele. Eigoob eigoow eigoow," he mutters, the chain wrapped around his arm quite literally sparking. Again, he has no plan, but he's going to act like he does!

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist nods to Tim, gravely, as the younger man catches his eye. Try to avoid killing anyone. Definitely avoid letting any of them die. He can do that. He hopes. But, then again--there's a quinjet out there, waiting to retrieve them if need be. The entire world could be in danger, give some of what's in that book. This is serious as serious gets.

    He stops dead behind the others as he comes out onto the roof. The swirling mass of clouds holds him transfixed, eyes wide, hands clenched on his staff. To say the Archivist is afraid would be an understatement--no, the Archivist is /terrified/, the kind of terror that usually leaves one gibbering in a corner. It's a good thing they're all invisible or he'd be a sitting duck.

    The reason becomes clear as he says, "That /fool/ woman. It's not immortality she's brought on herself. 'The un-dying awaits the opener of the gate.'" He swallows. "That's a gateway to the Land of the Dead."

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin keeps his concentration focused as much as he can as they make it to the roof. The situations escalation has him looking up and blinking in dumbfounded terror though. "That's... not a good thing..." he says softly. "I think... that's our countdown..." he mutters.

    He's going to have to wait to take his shot at the witch holding the book, the seven spells in effect are right up against his limit, once one of the invisibility effects drop, he can take a shot but he is on support duty until that moment. "We have to move... now..." he breathes out.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    The descending figure gets closer. Once far away, it seems to be walking with unnatural speed. As it draws closer and closer, the outline of its shape can be seen - armored shoulder pauldrons, with the ragged line of a cape blowing out away from it to the side, a dark hood, and glowing red eyes. Its figure is powerfully muscled, but... emaciated, somehow? Blue-gray skin, as of a being long dead, and clad in the tarnished remnants of once-silver armor.

Sophia backs up, and begins to go through an incantation to close the gate, and though it trembles, the figure lifts a hand, and with a single gesture, the aperture widens further, and mist begins to rise up from the stones of the building, forming a pathway, a bridge to the observation deck.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim has no idea who that is, trying to make a return from the Land of the Dead per Jon's revelation. He's not even really sure what the Land of the Dead is, given his general awareness at the staggering amount of apparently quite separate cultural mythologies that maintain their own planes of existence beyond the physical realm.

    What he does know is a villain when he sees one.

    "Help her!" he yells, pointing to Sophia as he turns back towards the rest of the group. His eyes are wide, not panicked, but deeply concerned. It's to Zatanna that he looks first, aware to some degree of the magical power she wields. Then he looks to Jon, because Tim has come to understand that the Archivist can bring the weight of several gods to bear should it be necessary.

    And right now, Tim thinks it's necessary. "However terrible she is, whatever that is, it's worse! We have to close the gate!"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Even if the whole human race lives close to the veil between worlds, opening it spells death to mortals. The Archivist nailed it in one. Her thoughts go to the Goddess Persephone.

Zatanna fills with rage at the risk Crowne has taken. "Pure hubris," she thinks but remains silent. Zatanna had walked onto the roof, ready to silence the sorceress - and is appalled at having to help her.

Tim's intuition is pure gold. Who could it be but the book owner come to reclaim it?

".EGDIRB EHT FFO TUC .ETAG EHT ESOLC" (Close the gate. Cut off the bridge) Hand raised, eyes glowing, the homo magis summons all the magic she possesses. Persephone help me, she thinks.

Zachary Zatara has posed:
    It was at this moment, Zachary knew, she (Sophia, obviously) murked up. Gateway to the Land of the Dead? This has got to be a joke.

    Seeing a guy that could make Imhotep look like a wimp floating towards them told the magician that this is /not a joke/. This is much more real than anyone can begin to comprehend and just downright terrifying.

    He instantly agrees with Tim that the gate needs to be closed but jeez, this is going to be obnoxious. At this point, the only thing Zachary can really do is follow Zatanna's lead. As a novice, he is not about to screw things up too much. Although he definitely would have love to just yeeted the guy back into the gate, he doesn't think it will help. He takes a deep breath and repeats the words his cousin says, ".EGDIRB EHT FFO TUC .ETAG EHT ESOLC", positioning himself behind her and with his arms pointed downward, hands in fists. His eyes are shut, helping him concentrate, the chain still electrified.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist can't help it, the words rip from him in a voice not his own: "Ia, Skelos yar!" Well... if there was any doubt as to who /that/ is...

    He grounds himself with his staff. "Martin!" he shouts, in his own voice. "Grab the book!" Martin has gloves on. Martin is a trained and experienced SHIELD agent. Besides Zatanna--who can't touch the book--he's the one best suited to grab the thing.

    Besides, then SHIELD has it. Sorry, Tim.

    He strides out onto the roof and next to Zatanna. He glares at the other woman up there. "Sophia Crowne, we are going to have /words/ if you survive this!"

    Then he points his staff out at Skelos. "Anpu, First of the Westerners, Lord of the Sacred Land, known to the Greeks as Anubis, hear me! You were lord of the Underworld in ages past! Help us keep that which cannot die from the world of the living!" Doubtful the god is going to appear this time, but unless Skelos can suppress that, his might and power will be thrown behind Zatanna's spell.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin moves forward under the protection of his veil and shield combo. He's had some practice at this sort of endeavor. All he needs to do is get to the book and get it from the woman and get out before that *thing* coming down from on high obliterates them both. Easy, right?

     The gathering of power from the combined Zatana's and Jon allows him some freedom as their own veils come down. He's moved past them though coming from one side, hoping that the Archivist and Homo Magi can keep both the witch and demigod's attention.

    It as time to test out his new gloves. Another series of gestures, and more turquoise energy bursts and he flings out a hand toward the witch. A lasso of energy springs from the glove flying through the air with magical precision aiming straight for the book the woman has in her possession.

    It's a precise working and not something he would've tried a year ago, but time and experience have taught him that expanding his repetoire of spells was only beneficial for his work and the betterment of the world at large.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    ...The gateway trembles... and then begins to close. Bit by bit, it shrinks, as the magic of the Earthbound sorcerers works on it. When Martin snatches the book out of Sophia's hands, she shouts, "NO!" and clutches for it, trying to struggle with Martin's magic to keep hold of the spellbook.

This gives the figure on the other side momentary pause - but then he... says something. It's distorted by passing through the gate - but the portal itself belches out a tremendous outpouring of force. It blasts outward, cracking the masonry of the building and flinging Sophia Crowne off her feet with an "UNGH!" The Book of Skelos goes flying.
    The figure descends downward, and then steps through, clawed feet touching the ground.
    He pauses a moment, and then... he reaches down and picks up the book, by the spine, like you'd pick a book up off the table.. He says something, in a language long, long dead - and then he pauses, and picks up Sophia Crowne. Her eyes widen in horror at what she sees under that hood, and then her mouth opens, as the hooded figure... drinks something out of her. He drops her, and when she hits the deck, she's a withered old crone.
    "That's better. Young man, your education is lacking." The figure says, his voice reedy, but tinged with more than a touch of sarcasm. "You invoked the *Judge* of the dead. A better choice would have been the Guardians of the Gates." He looks over at Zatanna and Zachary, and says, "Powerful... but the Atlantean blood has grown thin. I suppose thirteen thousand years and a cataclysm or four will do that! Aha! Ha! Hahahahahahahaha!"

He throws back his hood, revealing his face - or a lack of it - just a withered, bleached, yellowed skull connected to the sinews of his neck, with eyes as red as coals. Then he looks up, and out at Gotham City.

He breathes in the air, tastes the pollution, the grime on a dead tongue. "...That's *nice*. You." He points at Zachary, "The Atlantean boy with the saucy taste in clothes. What do they *call* this forsaken labyrinth? I *like it*! I know you're awed by my dread and terrible majesty, but do answer."

Tim Drake has posed:
    There are no words to describe the deep, soul-gnawing levels of antipathy Tim feels as he stands there, the dread wind whipping through his hair and tugging at his clothes, and does nothing. Because there's nothing he can do.

    His father dug up that damned book, hid it under the foundations of his childhood home, right below where Tim had his (dinosaur-themed) tenth birthday, and all he can do is stand there while the cursed knowledge contained within is used for terrible, terrible things.

    Tim is a capable young man. He's mastered more skills in his twenty years on this planet than most people will ever manage in the entirety of his life. He's helped stop apocalypse-level events on more than one occasion, he's escaped capture from a literal hell dimension, and he manages to keep a ragtag team of superpowered teenagers and young adults from killing themselves (and each other) on a day-to-day basis. To say nothing of the fact he has a genius-level intellect with an especially gifted sense for uncovering mysteries, which qualifies him as one of the best detectives in the world.

    And now he's reduced to twiddling his thumbs while two people he considers family and two others who he suspects might one day be among his closest friends struggle against an incomparable foe.

    His eyes follow the movement of Sophia's body as it is dropped to the rooftop, cast aside as worthless. Then he looks back up, at the lich that has just strolled his way out of the Land of the Dead. Tim says nothing.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna doesn't possess the hubris that would make her think she is a match for what faces them, but she has the will to drive him back to the dark world he was summoned from. This Necromancer-God would rip Gotham apart and remake it into a demon's paradise for him to rule.

She watches Martin try to pull the book out of Sophia's hands. Swllowing back her fear when Skelos picks Sofia up, she glances at the others, wondering if they will survive. Now if only they could destroy it.

Zatanna, wrapped in a blue aura of power, faces the armored figure, "The name of this place is of no concern of yours. By all that is good and pure on this earth I command you to ".edoba ruoy ot nruteR .su evaeL (Return to your abode. Leave us.) I make no idle threat. We will invoke powers that will dwarf you, Skelos."

Zachary Zatara has posed:
    With his eyes shut, Zachary misses the initial struggle between Sophia and Martin, although they shoot open when Sophia makes a grunting noise. He is unable to do anything for Sophia. What /could/ he do? Her fate was decided for her from the moment she chose to play with things she did not understand. He relaxes his stance and watches the scene unfold before him.

    This isn't the first time Zachary has witnessed someone die in front of him. There have been plenty of times where a life has been cut short and he was powerless to do anything about it. Once your time is up, that is it. Watching someone die because of more or less natural causes can be traumatizing but witnessing a woman have her very essence of life sucked away like a bottle of coke is a very different type of trauma. One that Zachary will not have time to process until much later as right now, he has to stay on track.

    "I want to go home please." Zachary says with an English accent just loud enough for Tim to hear. He visibly recoils when he sees the face of the figure, "Jesus Christ." The generation Z in him needs to calm down before he gets murked like Miss Sophia. And now he's getting asked questions like he's a damn tour guide, the audacity. Will Zachary say that out loud? Oh hell no. But first, "You think my clothes are saucy? I'm honored, what is this feeling?" Is there a hint of sarcasm in his voice? Absolutely not, Zachary is literally not trying to die, "To answer your question--" Zatanna interrupts, cutting Zachary off. Which is probably a good thing, as he has no idea what he's doing, but he also isn't sure this is the best route. He bounces in place a few times, but overall decides that Zatanna would know best and stays silent.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist growls in frustration. He has more connection to Anubis than the myriad guardians of the gates of the Underworld; his role is to judge those who do not die in the normal course of matters, not keep the dead in or out of the realms of the gods. This /should/ be precisely what he's good at, but, then... he's untrained. As Skelos pointed out. Jerk.

    "Piss off," he snarls. "Anubis didn't become Judge of the dead until at /least/ the Middle Kingdom, a mere four thousand years ago. Before that, he was the Lord of the Underworld, until Osiris took over the role. I thought I'd go old-school since you're so... well. Old. But since that didn't work..."

    Then he does something... /very/ stupid.

    He spins his staff and pulls on light, the light of the sun, of Amon-Ra. He sends the blast of light at Skelos and then /charges/ at him, jumping forward to try to wrest the Book from the creature.

    Look... Peggy Carter has given him /one/ direct order. The Iron-Bound Book of Skelos is to wind up in a SHIELD vault if at all possible. Here's hoping he doesn't wind up with his youth sucked out or thrown off a rooftop for trying.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin almost had it. He almost saved them the trouble of having to do much else than depart with ease. But then that damn woman had to fight against him. It cost him the moments he needed to get it away from the demigod who now had it.

    He had felt the absolute finality of the creatures power as he grabbed hold of the book. It obliterated his measly construct and made his hands burn with how cold the feeling was.

    He listens to the banter between the Magi and Skelos. Then Jon goes and does something foolish. Like he *always* tended to in these situations. He couldn't match power with that being, even if he tried. But he had to do something.

    He spots the staff on the ground where Jon had been, maybe Tim could use the staff just as easily as Jon had. But he would need to give the man an opening. The Homo Magi and the Genius together could maybe stop it and save his husband before he ended up a husk like the late Sophia Crowne.

    "HEY!" he screams at the man. "You forgetting someone!" He spins his arms, the blue-green rings flaring once more and he unleashes and wave of force at the being in what could only be described as a Hadouken! It likely wouldn't do more than get the thing's attention but that was the point.

    Immediately as the force blast leaves his hands he snaps his fingers and another lasso of turquoise energy lashes out toward the dropped staff. "TIM! Staff and Sword!" he calls as he deftly tosses the staff of the Archivist toward the young Drake.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
If his face wasn't a skull, you'd swear Skelos's eyes widen. "Really. I don't think that- Excuse me."
    And then this creature lifts up the book - this ancient, priceless book of sorcery, that men have fought and schemed and died for since time out of mind-
    And he SWATS Jon out of the air with it, swinging the book with one hand. WHAM!
    "Good gods, I'm not one of Varnae's get, either. Is this what passes for metaphysicians in this day and age!?" He turns... and he winks at Zatanna. "I have no doubt, Atlantean, that you will try. But I am not one of the *lesser* ones. I am Skelos the Undying."
    He looks at the book, and flips through the pages. "Mmmm. It's a *copy*." He tosses the book to Zatanna. "A very, very, very good copy. Old, too. But still, a copy. Besides, I don't need it. I *wrote* it. Now. This is the part where I give all of you - something else to do. ARISE!"
    In a Gotham City alley, a homeless man has been beaten to death by a group of hoodlums. As they're laughing and mocking the dead man, his broken body lurches to life, and the zombie lunges at one of the young men, sinking his teeth into his shoulder.
    In a GCPD morgue, a coroner has the scare of his life when a dead body sits up mid-autopsy and lunges for him. He pushes it off the table and gets the HELL out of there.
    Then he looks down at the crone Sophia Crowne, who gives a feeble groan. A one-handed gesture, and a word of abjuration and the hadouken is flung aside, where it impressively blasts a hole in the masonry.
    "...If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see what this black and midnight city has to offer. I smell..." He sniffs the air, "*Falafel*. It's been... ages. Eheheheh! Ha!" He flicks his gaze up at Tim. "Fight me. Or save her." He nudges Sophia with a foot. "Can't do both. The staff's got the power to bring her back from Death's Door... if you can figure out how to use it." Then... he steps over her, as if to walk right past the heroes and into the building.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    ...Skelos doesn't wait for Tim to respond, either way. He walks THROUGH the pane of glass in the doorway... and doesn't emerge on the other side in the observation area lobby. But he does extend an arm out of the pane, to smash the glass, yanking it back through at the last moment. "Aha! Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha...~!"