8899/The Return of Old Enemy Part 3

The Return of Old Enemy Part 3
Date of Scene:	01 December 2021
Location:	Hibernia Mines - Rockaway Township, New Jersey
Synopsis:	Sara and The Witchblade were rescued from the Thule Society, the impostor destroyed thanks to the team work of Cael Becker, Artemis, Deadpool and the Ghost Rider.
Cast of Characters:	Sara Pezzini, Cael Becker, Artemis, Johnny Blaze, Wade Wilson

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Sara Pezzini has posed:
What started at the Museum of Natural History then lead to Elizabethport, New Jersey was now going to take the team to the Hibernia Mines in Rockaway Township, New Jersey. The mines had closed a long ago, though at one time had a rich deposit of iron that ran two miles in a north, north-west direction. The area in general was littered with mines, most closed and left to nature as bat conservation areas.

It had taken a little time for Alis to align herself with the /real/ Witchblade, to ensure that when she made the leap along that magical bond she ended up where Sara was and not with the impostor. The two were so similar, almost completely interchangeable now, but some how the ghost teen had managed to make the jump to find the location, then make it back to Cael with that information. The Thule Society has created their own space off the mine itself, the entrance to it hidden to the naked eyes, but Alis would be able to lead the group right to that location without a problem.

No, the problem would be how to deal with magically enhanced individuals, in tight quarters, basically on their turf, in a bat conservation sanctuary. The mines were patrolled regularly by unseen eyes that Alis could feel were there, but never saw anyone or anything... magic at it's finest. In the area where Sara was being held, trapped in some sort of glowing energy, there had been a large number of artifacts and people working like crazy for some purpose she didn't bother to stick around and find out. The impostor Witchblade seemed to be running the show, barking orders, pointing fingers, demanding action... and that's when he apparently noticed Alis and it was time for her to leave.

Now back in Elizabethport, she was among those waiting for the team to assemble... is it assembling like Avengers or just grouping up? Yes, these are the things the ghost teen is thinking about.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael places two urgent phonecalls in the minutes after Sara disappeared. The first was to Wade, as the young agent speaks into the phone in what she hopes is a controlled tone that nonetheless communicates the seriousness of the situation. "Wade, Sara's been taken by some... imposter Witchblade. Alis has managed to track their location down to some mining caves in New Jersey, but they're doing some sort of ceremony over her. It... can't be good. I'm going to call in some transport for us - can you meet me in Elizabethport?"
    Once she's off the phone, her second call is to bring in the Quinjet. She waits for it, and its pilot, pacing while a nearby factory burns to the ground - swarming with police, and firefighters.

Artemis has posed:
    In what may seem like an incredibly mundane method for an Amazon to travel, Artemis reaches the designated location in a taxi. It's not her fault nobody thought to provide her an invisible jet. She pays the driver then looks around the area, getting her bearings before heading over to Cael.

    "I'm here, what happened to Sara? I am ready to assist." Despite the situation, she smiles a bit and asks, "So this time, am I allowed to use a forceful response? Thanks to Sara and the Internet, I've got a better grasp of the current state of things."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny was just having a beer when he gets a text from a number he doesn't recognize. He reads the contents to the letter.

Next second? The engine of the Hellcycle roars to life as he's racing over to New Jersey. He's announced before he even shows up to the meeting, dressed in his full leather get up as he drifts to a stop. "Give me a sitrep." Johnny asks. They need a guy who can handle mystically enhanced individuals? Ghost Rider can accomplish that mission. But Johnny is ready to go.

"Point me." He tells whoever is in command.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Wade arives in Elizebethport (at the appointed place because that's how comics work right?) on his crotch rocket. Not the most respectable bike but it gets him where he needs to go and gets him there fast.

    He arrives in his usual garb. Red and black supersuit (freshly mended and repaired.) Red and black mask. Red and black undies too (with his logo on them no less, where does he get this stuff?) And a plethora of weapons on his person seen and unseen.

    He waves to Alis and Cael. And gives a look at Artemis, trying to place her face. Nothing comes to mind immediately but he likes the cut of her form and her go to for a solution. Then he notices Johny. "Whoa... you called in a Ghost Rider?" he says suddenly. "Christ on a cursed stick... the big guns are getting involved." He looks to one side and adds (to absolutely no one in particular,) "I don't think I've ever actually worked with one of these guys before. Usually when I go to hell I get kicked out... take a pictures lovelies, you're watching a limited run today."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The quinjet arrives on scene in a matter of minutes, choosing a location well away from the burning warehouses to land, no sense is adding winds from the blades to the things the fire fighters have to deal with. The back opens once the machine has safely touched down, the pilot moving to wave the others inside before returning to his seat.

With everything that's going on, Agent Cael Becker gets to remain in charge of this situation, which could go a number of ways really. Alis is standing with Cael when the others arrive, clearly visible, but not talking. She's been training to be useful, which means keeping her mouth shut unless asked a question or muttering something when the 'boss' isn't looking.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Thanks for coming. Load up, and I'll explain. We should be able to fit the bikes if you like." Cael is tense - and what armor she's wearing is hidden beneath more normal looking clothes.
    It doesn't take long to get everyone onboard and the ship in the air, while Cael explains what's going on, briefly. "We've been tracking these assholes for a while. Thule Society - deep Hydra ties. Think 'Hydra Wizards' if it helps. They stole something from the Natural History Museum and managed to knock Pezzini unconscious a the time. We tracked them to here - and they blew up their own damned factory. A fake Witchblade attacked Sam Wilson - he's handling the follow-up with the emergency services down there," his wings wouldn't be of much use in a cave, after all. "Pezzini went to back Wilson up, and somehow the fake Witchblade managed to subdue and take her. Swain," she nods her head towards the silent and rather out-of-place teenager, "has a link to the Witchblade. She was able to track it and Pezzini down to a cave system not far from here. They have Pezzini restrained, and they're doing some sort of ceremony using artifacts - we don't really know what they intend.
    "So that's the situation. Get into a cave that's being very heavily guarded and surveiled. Fight it out with a bunch of wizards - and //don't// trap us in any cave ins. These assholes have no respect for life - their own or others. So yes, //forceful// responses are entirely appropriate. Questions?"
    She eyes her rather hodge-podge mix of allies, her expression grim and determined.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny raises a brow at Wade, looking slightly alarmed. "How the hell do you know what I am?" He questions him. "You have experience with Ghost Riders?" He questions curiously, looking equal parts curious and cautious. But he's always like that around new people. Johnny looks at Cael and he nods. "Alright." and he starts trying to load his bike.

"Thule society?" Hydra wizards. "Ah. Weird." He looks at the kid then turns back to Cael, raising a brow. "Think they're trying to rip Witchblade off her? These crazy wizard types love shit like that."

But he nods.

"Yeah. Done deal. No big explosions, understood. Do we have an escape plan -if- there's a cave in? Magic devices, shielding tech?"

Artemis has posed:
    Once she's in the Quinjet, Artemis finds a seat and listens to Cael's rundown of the situation. "Not really. It seems to be fairly straightforward in the basics, but you can never tell what magical opponents may have prepared in advance."

    Looking at the others in the plane she asks, "Either of you two especially magic resistant? It'd be handy if one of you was, but we'll manage either way. I take offense to anyone trying to hurt one of the few friends I have."

    As she speaks, she is adjusting straps and buckles on her armor, making sure it fits as it should so that she's ready for the upcoming fight.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Wade shakes his head at Johnny, "I've met your kind a few times... not here... elsewhere... else when?" he waves a hand. "Doesn't matter. I even became one of you not that long ago... again, not here..." He shrugs. "It's complicated. If you want the skinny on it I can give it to you after we rescue my girlfriend."

    He gives a look to Artemis. "I'm not exactly magic resistant, but I can't be killed. Like... literally. Throw me into the sun, I'll just show back up after reconstructing a body from molecular particles in the solar wind. So... does that count?" he asks.

    He moves aside from that and give a nod to Cael. "Magic big wigs, huh? It's good that I happened upon these in my stash the other day then." He draws the katanas from his back. These are different from the standard issue blades he usually carries. They have a strange blue glow to them, putting off light instead of reflecting it like metal would, there is a subaudible hum in the air as he moves them around. "Lightsabers count as magic right?"

    He looks to his audience again (they're there, he swears) and says, soto vocce, "Okay, so they're not lightsabers really, they're Asgardian vibroblades... but that's too complicated to explain to other people so we're going to go with Deadpool is a Jedi, got it?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The pilot takes off, clearing his flight path to the mines. He already knew that landing would be tricky, given trees and other natural things around the mines, but he'd earned his pilot wings for a reason. When he got there, he's ascertain the situation then touch down as close as he could, or they'd all experience a standard SHIELD air drop in.

Alis remains quiet, listening, watching everyone. She doesn't bother to sit down or put on a seatbelt, she doesn't look armored at all, in fact she's wearing a pair of mechanics coveralls, a backpack, and there's an ICER sticking out of her pocket. Cael's the one in charge, she just happens to be their 'magical eyes', a WAND agent in training, it was /so/ exciting, and she'd be excited if she wasn't worried about Sara. She'd seen the woman in the magical field, she looked unconscious but in pain all the same.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Look - Deadpool is strange. He talks to people that aren't there, he knows things he shouldn't - but only about some people. You just except and move on, or you go crazy. Take your pick."
    She lets out a huff of air before adding, "As for cave-ins - I think we have some shielding tech that can hold back debris, but if its the weight of an entire mountain coming down on us - well. It'll only hold so long. We'd still have to get back to stable ground and wait for SHIELD to dig us out - but at least they'll know where to find us. So. ...let's try not to cave in the mines until we're out." After that - she just doesn't care.
    "If you need some extra supplies you can //borrow// from the equipment on the quinjet." She starts putting words into action - stripping off the outer layer of clothes that had allowed her to pass as a mere civilian, and starting to load down with tear gas, flash bangs, and other handy supplies. She straps a flashlight to her arm as well, and grabs a portable face mask to throw on if she starts lobbing the tear gas around. "You might want to grab one of these," she tells everyone simply.
    When she's done she makes her way over to Alis, speaking in a quiet voice. "I think I might need my meds for this," she murmurs. When she'd gone into that tunnel with Blackwood there'd been a few hairy moments when she felt her control over her panic slipping.
    She really can't afford that right now.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny gives Wade a long look, the kind of look that suggests that Johnny is both confused and probably losing track of the conversation. As Wade suggests more information after the mission, Johnny shakes his head. "Whatever you say, man." Johnny moves on, and Cael's words make him tilt his head.

"Yeah, I got that impression. Sara mentioned it a couple times." Though talk about what they can do if there's a cave in makes Johnny a little bit more comfortable about the rescue. It would suck if they all got squished because they weren't prepared. "Thanks, I'm good on what I need." He has the chain and a shotgun. He's doing pretty good.

"Hope nobody is claustrophobic."

Johnny looks at Artemis and he nods. "Ghost Rider has some resistance, yeah. Not overwhelming, but enough to avoid getting teleported to Maryland or something. You?"

Artemis has posed:
Watching Deadpool with his 'lightsabers', she raises an eyebrow, but given Cael's explanation of his strangeness, she shrugs and says, "As long as he's focused on the enemies when a fight starts he can talk to invisible people all he likes, as far as I'm concerned."

    Looking over at Johnny, she shakes her head, "I'm fairly resistant to elemental forces, so if they try and burn or freeze me I'll be ok, but magic in general affects me just like anyone else."

    Finishing up with her armor, she wanders over to the equipment locker and pokes around in it for a minute. She ends up grabbing a couple gas and flash bang grenades as well, stowing them in the pouches on her belt. That done, she returns to her seat to await their arrival.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool grabs a single item from the equipment locker, a gasmask. "Most useful tool in the book and yet they haven't managed to make them pouch sized... SHIELD should get in on that" he says looking at Cael and Alis.

    He slips it on over his mask. "At least it's still colored right. More black never hurt red in my opinion."

    He presses a button on the Asgardian vibroblades and the hum and glow around them fades making them look like normal katanas. He slips them back in the sheathes on his back. He takes a glance out of the window at the wooded area they're flying over. "We're not low-dropping are we? I did that a few times with Special Forces back before I got all mutantized... not the most graceful of landings, even with a parachute. I mean, I figure we can take it. Mu ankles will come back from a sprain in about 53 seconds, but well... unless you've picked up flying while I was in Saudi Arabia--" he cuts off, "You didn't hear that" he says, pointing a finger at the four others in the cabin of the jet.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Alis swings the backpack off and sets it down, fishes through it for something then whatever it was she was looking for goes to Cael with a bottle of water. Now that the pack is off, she actually looks over the armor. A tac-suit goes on right over the coveralls which seem to disappear once she's covered with something else, then some of the armor is strapped into place on her body. She'll probably be incorporeal for most of this, but better safe than sorry. Once that's done, she pokes extra ICER rounds, some more ammo, an extra hand gun, and a few other items that might be needed into the pack, then puts it back on.

"The main tunnels of the mine are patrolled by... something," she offers. "I couldn't see what it was, but I could feel it. The entrance to their little part of the mines is about a mile in. I can see it, Johnny should be able to see it, but I can open it if no one else can see it."

"Coming up on the mines," the pilot announces. "No clear landing sight near the entrance. Can you two clicks west to land, or open the back for a combat drop of forty feet." Clearly he intends to let Cael decide which the group will be doing.

The sun hasn't risen yet, though it's only a few hours away. Below the Quinjet the ground is sparse forest, just enough trees to block a landing, but no where thick enough to block the view or get tangled in. The entrance to the mine itself is located in a naturally occurring divot of rocks, from the air it looks much like a single massive finger scooped through the earth to create the spot. There are no trees around the actual entrance, but the space is no where near large enough for a Quinjet to land.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael opens the pill container quickly, and washes the medicine down, before tossing them both back to Alis. She gives her sister a nod, then turns her attention to the pilot.
    Two klicks - that'd take them about ten minutes on foot. "...we do a drop," Cael decides, taking hold of one of the rapel lines and snapping it onto her armor. The winch was calibrated to drop them at a fast, but steady and manageable rate - hopefully everyone's done one of these before. "If you want your bike in those tunnels," though that sounds like madness to her, "You'll have to take the long way," she tells Johnny simply. She'll make sure everyone seems to know what they're doing, providing simple instructions as necessary - before she jumps out the back of the plane.

Artemis has posed:
As Artemis listens to Alis and Cael, she seems to be centering herself somewhat, eyes closed and breathing deep and even. When her eyes open again, she seems somehow harder, prepared for what awaits. She stands and moves to the back of the Quinjet, looking down to see what is below them. When she spots an opening in the trees below, she simply jumps out of the rear of the plane, landing forty feet below in the classic superhero landing pose.

    Rising to her feet, she watches the enterance to the mine, making sure nothing comes out at them as the others make their way down from the jet. She still has no visible weapons on her, but that doesn't seem to worry her in the least.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
"Fair enough." Johnny tells Artemis then with a lift of the shoulder in a shrug. He stays seated, making no motion to to get up and resupply. He tilts his head at Deadpool's vibrodaggers, but makes no comment.

Looks like they're jumping in.

He jumps out of the plane, landing on his feet with a squadt and a grimace. "Ugh, those landings are so overrated..."

Wade Wilson has posed:
    en minute hike or broken ankles. He watches Atermis and Johnny jump and shakes his head. "I'm good but not that good" he waits another beat and then with a running jump he leaps from the plane angling toward one of the larger oaks. He hits a main branch of the tree with enough force to knock the wind out of him, braces himself and then starts swinging and scrambling down like a monkey. He drops the last 10 or so to the ground in a roll and pops up next to the other two.

    "You two jumping from the jet..." he says brushing himself off. "Defintiely putting that in my spank bank. So hot." He gets the last few bits of leaf and bark debris off his front and then reaches around to his back.

    "Uh oh... that's not good" he says as he turns, trying to see what's got his attention. As he turns a branch, maybe two feet long and 3 inches in diameter sticks out of his back, already blood is pooling around the puncture. "Umm... could one of you guys just jerk that out for me?" he asks casually, not seeming to care or even worry about the deep looking wound.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Just before Cael jump, Alis steps over to her and the teen just disappears from sight, along with everything she was wearing and the pack. Once everyone has made their jump, the Quinjet moves off to that landing location the pilot spoke of, leaving the team at the entrance to the mines.

Long ago a thick steel gate was set in the stone and over the opening. The gaps in the metal are large enough for bats to come and go easily, but too small for a person, even a child, to get through. It looks as if it's been there, undisturbed, for a very long time as evidenced by the fact that moss has begun to grow on part of it.

Beyond the gate the shaft is dark, pitch black, blacker than night, however one views the utter darkness that looms ahead is their own to decide.

Alis reappears out of thing air, no puff of smoke, no wrinkling of a portal, just suddenly there, and looks through the openings in the gate. "Whatever it is that's patrolling," she whispers. "It's coming this way."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Swain," fuck it's weird addressing her sister that way, "let us know when it passes," Cael murmurs quietly. "Who's good a popping locks - quickly and quietly?" She gives a nod to Artemis when the woman volunteers, and the small group takes shelter - in the hopes of remaining hiding while whatever magical force is 'patroling' passes them by.
    "When we get in - let's stick to night vision for as long as we can. When we're in, we move as quickly as we can without spoiling the element of surprise. We don't know what they're doing to Pezzini, or what kind of timeline we're on here."

Artemis has posed:
    Artemis moves over to Deadpool, puts a hand on his shoulder and grabs the branch with the other, then yanks it out of his back, commenting "Gotta watch out for those trees. They seem peaceful, but I think they're just faking it." She drops the branch at his feet and turns back to the mine entrance.

    After Alis gives the all clear, she steps up to the gate, examines it for a moment, then looks over her shoulder to see where the others are standing. Then she grabs the gate with both hands....

    And rips it out from it's frame, launching it off into the wilderness in a direction that has no teammates in the way. "One problem, I can't see in the dark. Don't suppose you brought an extra pair of goggles with you?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny lands, and almost immediately he starts to burn and sizzle. He growls as he senses what's coming. Hell, he knows what's coming better than most. He sees it ahead of time and he frowns. "They're moving in a pack. Six of them. Hellhounds!" Ghost Rider comes up to the fray with a roar immediately after that.

He transforms immediately in a burst of fire, clearing the flesh and muscle and vitae immediately as flames consume the skeleton with hellfire.

The Rider immediately takes point, as if to take up the attention while the others can pick off the beasts. He widens his stance and growls, embers leaving his mouth as it roars in a sound that no definition applies for its depravity and unholiness.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool rolls his shoulder a bit as the branch is torn from his person. "Thanks" he says as the wound seals itself shut with no visible difference to it. "Oh joy of joys..." he says. He looks to the Amzonian woman. "I got an extra set if Human Torch from Hell over there ever goes out." He then draws a lightsaber (never going to stop calling it that) and activates it as well as a heavy caliber pistol from his hip.

    "Can these things go down with enough bullets or we on magic only?" he asks the Ghost Rider, hoping the man can give him a quick answer before the beasts engage, otherwise Deadpool might end up needing some white for Purina Logo.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The Hellhounds were as large as English Mastiff's, perhaps even larger. Pitch black, oily looking fur covered their massive, muscled forms, massive yellowed teeth fill their mouths, and their eyes glow with an unholy light. The invisibly had offered them the freedom to move around the mines without being seen or disturbing the bats, but at the sound of the gate being removed from its hinges they come charging back at top speed. Exploding out of the shaft in all their flaming glory, six howls straight from Hell ring out in the night and echo through the forest, sending chills up the spines of anyone who hears it.

One heads for Deadpool, one goes Cael, two see the Rider and howl even more enraged, while the remaining to head for Artemis. And Alis? Well she just disappeared from sight because that's what her training taught her to do.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Well. So much for that fucking idea," Cael remarks dryly, reaching for her pistol and drawing it in a smooth motion. She starts firing off shots - but her eyes go wide as it doesn't seem to phase the creature. She backs up towards Deadpool, as she tries to switch things up, hoping to slow and disorient the beasts. "Flashbang!" She warns the others just before she tosses it with her left hand, hoping to land it just in front of the charging pack - while reholstering her useless pistol.

Artemis has posed:
    A grin graces her lips as the foolish beasts come out of the tight tunnels and two charge her. Artemis stretches out her arm and calls "To me, Mistress!"

    With a flash of light, an axe appears in her hand. Axe may be an understatement as the thing is over six feet long, with an appropriately oversized head wider and thicker than most people.

    As the hellhound leaps at her, the axe blurs into motion. It cuts through the hound easily, bisecting it lengthwise so that the two halves pass on either side of her. Given the position this leaves her in, instead of trying to bring the axe around for another strike, she merely uses the handle to bat the other one aside as she spins, making sure none of her allies are in trouble.

    She turns her attention back to the other hellhound as it rises from the ground and growls at her, fire leaking from it's jaws.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
"Magic is the only way."

Ghost Rider whispers like some kind of moving darkness that they can all hear as if it spoke to their very souls. The Rider doesn't have vocal chords, so it speaks directly through more mystical means. Two dogs are going for it, and the Rider immediately charges forth with its bare hands, reaching fortis hounds jaw and neck to snap it inwards, or try to. The other is probably gonna try and yank his leg off.

Good thing that's pretty much impossible without specific weaponry...and that the Rider can't feel pain.

It tries to keep its eye out for the others.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Wade also fires a single shot at the Hellhound, getting a test for it, even as Ghost Rider's words reach him. "Nope. Pissed him off good though..." he says as the beast foams at the mouth increasing its pace for him. He keeps the gun out though and a smile creeps into his tone. "Maximum effort..." he says locking eyes on his target.

    "Yo, Cael, ever used a sword before?" he asks as he moves to one side to be closer to the woman and swings dodges at the last second out of the way of the beasts attempt to hamstring him. Even though he manages to not lose his knee ligament, the skin and flesh of his calf are ripped as the animal (or demon, or something in between) tears into him.

    "I got a spare if you can grab it. Button just below the eyeguard activates it."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Hellhounds don't die so much as implode into black smoke and literally just disappear off this plane of existence. The material that formed their body falls to the ground out of that black smoke, leaving no trace beyond a fine powdery ash that they ever existed. They are tenacious, single minded beasts... maim, kill, devour, and nothing would stop them from doing that, save the one who summoned them.

From the entrance of the mine a tall, slender, blonde haired woman emerges. She wears a very fine tailored suit of black wool, the emblem of the Thule Society on the lapels. Her hair has been pulled up into a bun on her head, a pair of simple rounded glasses rest on her nose. She looks for all the world like a bookworm or librarian, but there is a shimmering to her form as she moves.

While the Hellhounds continue their attacks she seems to just stand there, looking from person to person, then to a place of nothing near Cael. It in that spot that Alis stands, the Rider the only one who can presently see and hear her.

"She's not really there, it's a projection," Alis warns, hoping the Rider will relay that information. Sure the woman can see her, but appearing because of it might make her a target and it's easier to 'skin ride' from incorporeal, so she's waiting to see what this woman is up to before deciding what she might do.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I mean - it's not my weapon of choice!" Cael admits, but seeing as everything she's doing has done so little to slow the dogs down, she's willing to try. She reaches for Deadpool's sword, and activates the thru- sorry, vibrating action, skirting around the man for a moments as she gets a feel for the sword - and leaving him an easier target for the dog's attack. After all, she knows it won't take him long to heal from the attack.
    And then she steps out a moment, later, swinging hard for the dog's shoulder, and through into its back and chest. "There's a woman at the entrance!" she calls as a warning, as she pulls the sword free, ready to take another swing with it.

Artemis has posed:
    Before she can assist any of her team who need it, she has to make sure she's not giving the other one she faces a free shot at her back. She circles it slowly, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

    The hellhound crouches then opens it's jaws to release a cone of flame at the woman who killed it's packmate. Artemis brings Mistress' head around in front of her like a shield, and can easily ignore the small flames the lick around the axe head.

    With the axe in that position, it's easier to hit the hound with a backswing. Given that the head opposite the cutting blade is basically a three foot long spike, this doesn't make things any easier for the hellhound. The spike plunges through the beast's side and bursts out the other side, leaving it impaled on the axe. She pulls it closer and kicks the dying hound off the spike, then turns to see if any of the others need assistance.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
SNAP!

Ghost Rider waves hands through the black smoke to make sure it didn't have a parasite on board. those suckers are nasty. Though the one biting on his leg is curved stomped into the ground with a flaming foot, then takes out the hellfire shotgun and plugs in two shots center mass to make it go poof. Hopefully.

The Rider sees the woman and it growls. "Deceiver." The Rider speaks. "this is a falsehood, a projection. It can do us no harm...but the caster is close." The chain is drawn but not unfurled. It starts to sense and expands his sensory range.

"Where are you...."

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool plugs another two shots into the massive hellhound he's facing before shouting, "Toro! Toro!" As the beast lunges for him, eyes blazing and mouth frothing he drops the gun in favor of a two handed lunge forward.

    He feels the remaining smoke mass of the other hound dissipate around his back while burning saliva hisses against his suit and serated jaws snap at his arms as he drives the lightsaber down the beast's gullet into its insides, ignoring the smoke and ash that boils off of it as the blade destroys its innards. "Just die already..." he says as it thrashes a bit more. He lifts a leg and pushes it off the humming blade, watching as it dissipates into a puff of smoke before it lands.

    He looks at Cael. "So... decided if you want one yourself? I hear the valkyries love to use them for... nightime adventures. If you want I can put in a good word with my supplier." If he could ever remember who he got the things from.

    "Also... I'm going to have to tell Sara about you handling my sword, you know how it is" he says, more humor in his voice. I mean, it seems like Ghost Rider's on the chase for their projection witch and Artemis seems to have her doggy under control. No problem with a little friendly banter, right? Esepcially from the Merc with a Mouth.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The woman offers a charming, award winning smile and starts a slow clap for the heroes outside her lair. The Rider is where her eyes end up however, watching the flames licking around the skull that is his face. Not a pretty thing really, but to a magical being he is perfection.

"You came for Sara," she says, her voice carrying further than it should. "Convince her to leave the Witchblade and you can have her, other wise I'm afraid she will be dead before you reach the sanctum."

Even as she speaks the image that she is fades away and is replaced by a visual of Sara strung up by what appears to be blue-black flaming chains around her wrists and ankles. Normally The Witchblade was a wide silver cuff bracelet that looked easy to put on and remove, placed on her right wrist. Presently it was a two inch wide solid silver band around her wrist, the massive red stone glowing fiery hot red, the eye open, but both Witchblade and Sara were trapped inside a blue-black haze, smoke or perhaps just the effects of the magic itself. Standing beside her in that blue-black magic is the impostor, a bastardized version of Witchblade over a male form. His 'gauntlet' is touching the aura around Sara, as if trying to break into it or perhaps he is the reason it is there in the first place.

The woman's voice can be heard, "Go on, tell her you're coming to rescue her, tell her how you will be too late... or tell her to give up what is rightfully mine. You have thirty seconds to decide."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, well, just make sure you add how much I enjoyed the experimentation," Cael answers Wade with a straight face - just before the witch starts with her IMAX presentation.
    Cael's jaw clenches, as he hand likewise tightens around the sword. "If Sara dies, then we'll bury you in the fucking mine and leave you to sufficate, and die," she announces with cold, grim determination. "You can save yourself a lot of pain and bloodshed if you hand her back - but since I'm sure you won't..." Cael starts to stride towards the cave's entrance, and down into the darkness.
    What other choice do they have? It's a //cave// - how many ways in could there be?

Artemis has posed:
Artemis looks at the cave entrance and sighs, then says "Mistress, be gone." The axe vanishes from her hand with a silent flash of light. Following Cael, her hand drops to one of her pouches and pulls out a hilt. Her finger slides over a section of it and a blade springs into existence. Looking back over her shoulder at Deadpool she says, "Now who's got the lightsaber?"

    It should be noted, however, that the blade does not hum nor is it made of light. Once it takes shape, it looks like a normal metal blade. She continues into the darkness of the mine, hoping that Ghost Rider gets in here fairly quickly before she walks into a wall.

    Not being at her best in the dark, she simply follows the tunnel, keeping the sword blade pointing at the ground so that if she runs into Cael she doesn't impale the woman.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Ghost Rider growls when the woman seems to offer a smile and a gregarious clap for the group's efforts after clearing out those goddamned dogs. Though others like Cael express extreme violence and hostility towards this woman if any harm comes to Sara, including pain of death. Ghost Rider's 'eyes' seem to grow with more intensity to the heat, 666 degrees of fury.

"You're pretender will die slowly."

Ghost Rider states with finality, as if it just spoke a law of the universe into existence. Though the look on the demon's skull face tells nothing of emotion because it /can't/ make any emotions, the Rider starts to move forward, as if to power past the illusion.

"She's stalling."

The Rider has no desire to wait for the woman to finish talking. With Cael and Artemis having similar mindsets, the Rider doesn't say it, but brimming with approval.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool moves forward and stops at the image of Sara in captivity. "We're coming for you, babe... just hold out a bit longer. We'll be there in no time." He reaches a hand up as if to touch the illusory image of his girlfriend before dropping it and shaking his head following the rest down into the dark.

    He makes his way past the demon to step up by the Amazonian. "We got past the first leg, here" he says, handing her a pair of night vision goggles from one of his many pouches. "Just don't stare at Bone Daddy or my swords too long and you should be good." He's getting a handle on this team player business it would seem.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
With the Hellhounds taken care of, the passages were clear of any signs of hostiles. Alis finally reappears, holding the ICER in her hand as she points down the largest of the tunnels. Her combat training wasn't complete, so even though she wanted to help, there was no way that she could really... but she still came prepared, just in case.

A few minor tunnels break off here and there as the miners followed where the iron once was, but for the majority of the distance it is one direction through the broad, dark tunnel. The marking on the wall, should someone pause to look, are clearly made from hand pickaxes and hammers, this mine worked entirely by manpower over a hundred years ago.

About a mile is what Alis said, and the distance was just that, about a mile. The only sound that can be heard along the walk is the sound of boots against the earth beneath them. There is no sign of the bats that supposedly call these tunnels home, not even their droppings on the ground. She stops there, at a place where the tunnel splits from the single broad tunnel, into two smaller tunnels. Reaching out she touches the wall, a shimmer appearing beneath her hand, and a set of intricate double doors crafted of metal appears beneath her hand.

"This is it," she whispers very quietly, making sure there is no chance for an echo. "It's all beyond this door."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael sets a brisk pace down the tunnel - not wanting to exhaust anyone before a fight, but she trusts that everyone is fit enough to handle a bit of a jog. As they arrive at the door, and Alis reveals it to them, she takes a look at her team - making sure she everyone is ready. She has a fresh clip loaded into her gun, which she holds in her right hand. Wade's sword she's switched to her left hand for the moment.
    After allowing everyone a moment to prepare, she nods - and simply yanks the door open, ready to open fire on any 'wizards' inside the room.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The cavern beyond the doors is massive, so much so that the ceiling isn't visible in spite of the fact the space is well lit, best guess would put the length as over three hundred yards across, and likely over a hundred feet up.

All along the walls are balcony like over hangs that have doors off to rooms, but there are no visible ways down from them to the cavern itself. The majority of this room is covered in carved ritualistic patterns that are all presently glowing in a faint blue/black light. Dead center of the room is a circular raised dais about ten feet in diameter, that all the runes and carvings run to. It is on this dais that the Impostor stands over Sara. She still looking unconscious, but the eye of the Witchblade is watching, he sees the arrival of those who would aid his Wielder.

All around the room are people in uniforms that match those from the museum, too many to count. Near the dais is a woman who stands over six feet, her entire body comprised of what looks like basalt, or some other hard stone. Near her is a man whose form looks to be entirely made of lightning.

The Impostor does not bother to react to the door opening, instead he merely says, "Earn your pay."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...okay that's a lot," Cael remarks as the door opens. Of course, she simultaneously opens fire. No warning, no negotations, no 'surrender now!' She just starts shooting center mass on as many of the people around them as she can - switching targets as they fall.
    "Do any of us know how to disrupt this magic? Can was rub out or smash some of the symbols?" she suggests urgently. "Ghost Rider, can you get Pezzini down from there?" Sure - she'd be sending him literally into the most dangerous part of the fight.
    But hell, it's not like she even likes the guy.

Artemis has posed:
    Artemis keeps up easily after taking the goggles from Deadpool. When Cael prepares to open the door, she pulls a knife from her belt and holds it ready to throw so she has a ranged option available.

    When the doors open, she charges in, sees the size of the room and grins with a slightly unnerving glee. As she mentally marks enemies in order of difficulty, the two archers stand out as a problem. Skidding to a stop, she flips her sword so she's holding it like an oversized throwing knife, then throws both knife and sword at them. With her strength, they both streak quickly towards the archers. Strangely it is the knife that gets dodged. The sword impales one archer and with the force behind it, actually pins him to the stone wall.

    Hands now free and in a large open space, she again calls "To me, Mistress!" and the massive weapon appears in her hand. She charges towards the lightning being, Mistress coming around in a sweep as she reaches him. The axe sweeps through him, apparently without any real effect. Arcs of lightning run up the handle and into her hands and arms, but that doesn't seem to slow her down. She spins the axe around to prepare for the next attack.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
They could send armies.

All they did was send lambs to the slaughter. The Ghost Rider was the shark, and there's blood in the water. He can see the evil in their hearts. They may have special abilities, but the might of a human pales in comparison to the true might of the demon. Though it is indeed more than they were likely prepared to face off against, but the Rider nods.

"I can."

To Cael in particular. Even if it means he's going into the thick of it, the Rider growls, chain in one hand and clenched fist for the other, the Rider suddenly -roars- a hellish cry, even as it starts to speak. "Cael, Alis...stay in the rear. Be ready to engage, but keep the fight to a distance. Wade...Artemis...we run front." Then, without another word, the Ghost Rider charges forth!

It swings the chain in a wide arc in front of it, completely disintegrating three minions who thought they could stand there and rely on their magic shielding.

There's a stone woman in his way though. But the Rider doesn't stop, instead attempting to literally punch her off to the side with a heavy handed blow, enough that it could potentially send it sailing! The Rider's target was the false Witchblade, however.

...even if he can't make it, and even if it puts him at the center attention. It works out though, because it hopefully makes a helluva lot of openings.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool moves in after Ghost Rider with a look of violent determination under his red mask. He takes a number of shots from the magical bolts, the burning pain searing through his mind but only heightening his resolve. He's experienced and survived worse.

    He lived through fire burning his body nearly to cinders. He experieneced the vacuum of space boiling his blood in his veins, every excuriating moment of agony and his body just refusing to stop living. The pressures of the depths of the ocean making his bones twist and contort even as they knitted themselves back together, water filling his lungs and yet he still lived. This was just another day in paradise for him

    His heavy caliber semi-auto returning fire upon the archers high above. The bullets taking them down one by one. He does a quick sweep at one of the ground level foes, the vibroblade severing flesh and bone alike as he cuts one cleaning in half at the waist before kicking the torso into one of his fellows to distract long enough for a bullet to enter the brainpan.

    He takes a moment to think of going after the stony woman but watches to see if Ghost Rider's strike can end this one quickly so they can move to the true threat in the room: Sara's captor.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Like a mountain, the stone woman takes that punch and doesn't so much as falter in step. A smile breaks across her face before she cracks her neck and says boldly, "Finally... a challenge." Then she takes a swing at the Rider, a massive stone fist not unlike Hellboy's, though smaller than his over all, appearing where her hand was.

The Impostor continues to ignore what is happening around him, protected from the bullets by the barrier, his attention remains focused on Sara and The Witchblade. He seems more annoyed than worried, but really it just means he has to work faster and thus kill Sara quicker... her loss.

The archers begin to take a new tactic, firing arrows before retreating back through the doors and popping out on another balcony. Then something happens that no one could expect. One of the archers starts firing at her own people, mostly the other archers as they pop out. Cael it the only one who might know what is going on up there, but the archers, only a few left after Wade's assault on them, become confused, irritated and start turning on each other verbally while in protective cover to figure out what the hell is going on.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael lets out a cackle of delight as Alis sows confusion and dissension amongst the ranks of the archers - in no small part because she'd been hit by one of those bolts already and //fuck// did it hurt.
    She continues firing on the many individuals armed with guns, hoping to take them out before they manage to seriously injure someone. She's taken a few hits herself - but other than graze to one arm, they were getting stopped by her vest. "Artemis! Can you break or disrupt any of the symbols on the floor?" she calls urgently - as she approaches one, trying to drag her foot through it to see if it would simply smear like wet paint.
    But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Artemis has posed:
    Artemis spins Mistress, scything it through the lightning again and again. With each hit lightning climbs up the weapon and arcs over her, but she seems unaffected by it beyond the light show it provides arcing along the buckles and metal sections of her armor. Narrowing her eyes, she strikes again and again, her arms and weapon merely a blur of movement.

    Despite the speed she is attacking with, when she finally exhausts the lightning wielder and he is suddenly just a human in front of her, she manages to twist Mistress in time to hit him with the flat of the blade. Granted, he may not survive being batted across the cavern and into a stone wall with her strength behind the blow, but she did refrain from killing him outright, so good on her.

    At Cael's question, she answers as she often does.. with action. Leaping into the air, she brings Mistress down with all her strength, burying the axe a good foot into the stone floor and cutting one of the symbols in half. A bright flash of light fills the cavern and the lines between the symbol she sliced through and the symbols it was attached to on the wall go out.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
*BOOM!*

Ghost Rider seems to find purchase in his blow, though the swing on the boulder lady only seems to have broken off some asphault off of her, nothing too major. That was far less than what Johnny had even begun to hope for. "We are running out of time." Ghost Rider tells the others, his voice ringing into their very souls, though the punch that comes for the Rider only makes the Rider go onto the back foot.

A growl later, and these two behemoths are exchanging blows! A punch to the Rider is a punch to the stone woman and they trade back and forth. Ghost Rider is surprisingly agile, and moves out of he way of some of the more heavier handed blows. The punches arn't doing much to either of them, but eventually?

Eventually Ghost Rider pulls out the shotgun and intends to fire it.

Right between her eyes.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool had hoped for more from the Spirit of Vengeance's blow on the woman as well. "Here we go again..." he says, scanning his path for the best way to attack. "No time like the present" he says as he charges into the midst of combatants.

    He's traded the heavy pistol for a short, but thick bladed knife. He moves in lightsaber (vibroblade) and knife cutting a swath of violence through the crowd of--what is the right word for members of a Society?--Members? Is it members? Then he cuts through the members mumbling "Lorena Bobbitt's got nothing on me" as he angles in towards the back of the stonebodied woman.

    He drops into a baseball slide at the last moment, drawing the magically advanced Asgardian blade across the back of her leg, hoping to hamstring her and give the Rider an advantage to press in his assault.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The hellfire shots from the Riders shotgun create a rippling effect through the stone woman, the basalt moving like waves of water that spreads across her entire body. In the same moment Deadpool slides by and his 'lightsabers' slice through the stone like butter. The woman goes down screaming, rolling around on the floor in pain, the stone that covered her body melting off and leaving a human female there instead.

Two seals broken, the stone woman and lightning man down, the barrier surrounding the Impostor and Sara flickers and fails. The Impostor bellows in rage, "Worthless! I'll just do it myself!"

Turning away from his task with Sara, he springs from the dais like a cat toward the Ghost Rider. The black armor surrounding his body forms a sword in each hand just as dark as the armor itself. One sword aims for the connection of the skill to the spine, the other toward the chest.

Alis continues to keep the archers entertained, to the point that although there are only four or five remaining, they have started shooting at each other, uncertain which is the enemy but knowing one of them is.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael was just slashing through one of the mystical markings on the floor with the sword she carries, while firing off a few last shots with her pistol, when it seems like the spell drops. Good. One less thing to worry about. Would that keep Sara safe? Help her to wake up?
    She has no real way of knowing - she understands so little about magic.
    She holster her spent pistol, rather than bother with reloading at the moment, and pulls out a small item from a bandolier. It's meant to stick to metalic objects, relying on strong magnets to do so, and then release a powerful electric charge. Would that work against a Witchblade?
    This is something else she doesn't know - she doesn't make a habit of throwing dangerous objects at her roommate, but now's as good a time as any to find out. She hurls it at the false Witchblade, before switching the sword over to her right hand.

Artemis has posed:
    When the impostor enters the fray Artemis scans around the area quickly, noting that the only dangerous opponents are the archers, and they seem to be shooting each other instead of dealing with the invaders, so they can probably be ignored. Mimicking the false Witchblade's move, she also leaps from where she is to him, Mistress at the ready.

    The massive axe swings down towards the imposter, her strength and momentum all adding to the power behind the swing. Hopefully at least one of his swords will be needed to block the powerful attack.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Boom. One down.

THe teamwork of Deadpool and the Ghost Rider was a thing of beauty to witness, and Ghost Rider seems to put the Hellfire shotgun back onto a holster on his thigh. Then the Spirit of Vengeance's attention shifts to the major power of the room aside from itself, and that would be the Witchblade itself.

"Guilty."

Is the words of the Rider. Even as a sword is formed in eachhand, the Ghost Rider stands its ground. A blade stabs into Ghost Rider's chest, seemingly going straight through, while the other goes for the space between the neck and the head. It stabs into the bone, but glides off as the Ghost Rider turns its head a certain way.

"Burn."

The demon whispers, in a way that is -not- JOhnny Blaze. Zarathos was here....and the power of the Ghost Rider just spiked 100 percent. The demon roars into the Witchblade's face, strong arms trying to lock the bladed being in place as hellfire spews forth from Ghost Rider's mouth. That's assuming he can grab it at all.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool wants in on fighting the False Witchblade but he's been with Sara long enough and knows enough about her shared roomate that he knows even the blades he carries probably won't cut through the armor, even of an imposter. They're probably on equal ground so instead, while the figure is engaged with Cael, Artemis, and Joh--sorry, Zarathos, he procedes to go toward the dias where the object of his affections is located.

    "You mystic types really ought to pay more attention to movies. There's two out there that showcase to what lengths I'll go if the woman I love is taken prisoner or out of my reach" he says ccasually as he gets to work wrecking the shit out of the circle (he presumes) binding Sara. "Multi-national organizations killed to the last man. Joining the X-Men--as a trainee, mind; I got better--on a vindictive quest for self-loathing." Nevermind that that movies were universe locked to another reality, but the sentiment was the same. "What makes you think I won't decide that the Thule Society is just a new monicker for The Workshop or the Ice Box and that you could look like Francis or the head of the DMC underneath that armor. What is he talking about?"

    All the while his blade skims along the floor, hopefully destroying hours (if not days) of mystical hardwork. Why bother breaking a man, when you can just as easily break their things?

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The Impostor is an exact copy of the Witchblade, the only difference being the lack of intelligence to the armor itself. Fire, hell fire or other wise, normally would have no effect at all. Just as the axe coming down on the armor, magical or not, would normally do nothing. So the Impostor takes the fire to the face, and the axe to his back, laughing darkly in the way that most insane villains are known for laughing.

What he wasn't expecting however, was the breaking of his connection to the real Witchblade. As Wade defaces months of work with his swords, that last of the glowing wards pop in a flash of light and go dark. The only thing that remains are the glowing chains that bind Sara in place.

The sudden wave of electrical energy washes over him, and anyone touching him, as the metal armor works to conduct the energy through the wielder and those touching him. The effect isn't obvious at first, indications appear that it did nothing, when he moves he is slower, as if recovering from a blow.

Magic of this nature was experimental, there was no certainties. The Impostor had no way of knowing what effect the severed link would actually have. He felt the connection break, but the armor on his body continued to respond and protect him, so he continued. Tendrils of metal shoot out from the armor in an attempt to entangle the Ghost Rider, but some also head straight back toward Cael, and out toward Artemis. Tie them down, take them out one at a time, that seemed to be his tactic, even as he used the swords as they were intended, once again trying to break or harm, the Ghost Rider.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Shit. Not sure that did anything. Sara never really told me how to //stop// her," Cael says in frustration. What else does she have that could possibly get through the armor?
    She backs away, slashing at the tendrils that snake towards her with the vibrating sword, hoping that it'll be enough to severe off some of the faux-Witchblade. "Try to keep him busy for now," she orders, her gaze flicking momentarily towards Deadpool who's doing exactly what she'd been counting on him to do - he's getting Sara clear.
    ...maybe they could all retreat and collapse the tunnels after them? That would be nice.

Artemis has posed:
    Trusting in Mistress, Artemis swings the axe in an attempt to slice the relatively thin tendrils heading her way. Being an experienced warrior, she has contingencies available - if the tendrils are severed, she moves to the attack again, slamming Mistress into his back. If the tendrils don't cut, she will roll backwards in an attempt to dodge them.

    Catching Deadpool's actions on the dais she calls out, "Perfect, free her and perhaps this will all be over!"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Ghost Rider squeezes tighter, not permitting the Witchblade to escape. The swarms of tendrils that come out stab into the Ghost Rider, largely missing bone and striking at empty space between the ribs. "Don't worry about me! Hit him!" Johnny speaks through the Ghost Rider, Squeezing harder as it becomes entangled. But...He has one last thing to try here outside of raw strength.

"Look into my eyes!"

The Rider's 'eyes' glow with the flames of the Pit, hoping to get the Witchblade imposter to suffer all the sins he had ever committed in his life, over and over until his mind shatters from the mental pain and agony. The link was severed, so hopefully they can take this guy out while Wade works to free Sara.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool relaxes as Sara's pain seems to lessen. At least one part of the situation is clear. He contemplates using his blade on the chains but the glow on them makes him reconsider. "We're going to get you out of her, babe. I swear it." There's a seriousness that's not normal for Wade in his tone.

    He turns and surveys the combat behind him. "Hey, Bitchblade" he says, picking up a piece of the destroyed wards and throwing it at the Imposter. He thumbs over his shoulder at Sara. "Let her go and maybe we won't make you as ugly as I am. Don't... and I'll make sure I get a selfie with you in the next hour." Probably won't work, but it was worth a try.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The Penance Stare. None who have endured it ever recover, and the Impostor would have been able to block it out, brush it off, act as if it never happened if not for three key things.

One, Wade severed his link to the real Witchblade, which left the fake with only the power it had managed to siphon off, and against the stare... that wasn't enough.

Two, Artemis axe bites hard and firmly into his back after making short work of the tendrils that should have been strong enough to grab her. The damage to the armor and man were obvious, blood starting to flow.

Three, Cael's electroshock therapy unsealed the man's connection to his fake armor. This left him as nothing more than the creamy center of the fake artifact.

The wave of this mans sins, and there are many, crashes against the mere mortal mind, causing the man inside the armor to scream and wail in agony as over and over again the things he done plays out. The fight goes out of him as he tries to claw at his own head, as is he could tear the images out of his mind with his own hands. The armor, no longer connected to him, no longer powered by The Witchblade, unwraps from his body. Instead of turning into a bracelet or some other item on his body, the metal tendrils snap back over and wrap around Sara's right wrist, seeming to merge with The Witchblade in a flash of red light that expands through the entire room, momentarily blinding everyone.

When the light fades out, Sara is laying free of the chains on the dais, still unconscious. On her right wrist, Witchblade appears different than he was before. Instead of one wide silver cuff bracelet, it looks like two bracelets woven together into one.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not." Cael mutters under her breath, as the faux-Witchblade seems to meld with the real thing. But that's a //later// problem. They have //now// problems, still.
    Reloading her pistol swiftly, the sword goes once again to her left hand, as Cael starts training her weapon on whatever members of the Thule Society are still moving. "If you take any hostile actions, we //will// kill you," she says in a cold, steady voice. "DP, get Witchblade. Let's get out of here and get her some medical help," she orders simply.
    They have to walk a mile to get out of here - and over half a mile to get back to their ride. But hopefully the fight is over.

Artemis has posed:
    Artemis pulls her axe free of the imposter's back, shaking it to get most of the blood off of it. She had noticed Alis recover her sword and dagger, so doesn't need to worry about that. She glares at the other Thule members in the room, her expression almost daring them to try something. So far, they have not been that stupid, but you never can tell with villains.

    Upon Cael's order to Deadpool, she calls over to him, "Deadpool, are you good carrying her, or would you like me to do it?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
"BURN!"

The Ghost Rider speaks in the voice of the damned, the voice of the avenged that this fake Witchblade attempted to harm, especially the sin of harming another, like Sara. But it was. the result of the team's efforts to slay this monster that won the day. And a healthy dosage of damnation and Biblical judgment.

The Rider watches this man lose his shit, and the demon tosses him aside. He looks at Cael. "Judgment has passed." He nods to Artemis. "The blood spilled was the blood of the judged. Your axe is clean." Ghost Rider decides, then the Rider looks at Wade. "She will need you when she wakes."

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool catches Sara before she falls to the ground. He has little trouble carrying her. "I got her" he says shifting a bit. "But I need you to get a selfie with that asshole first in my stead." He tosses a Hello Kitty phone to Artemis before scooping Pezzini into a cradling carry. "We got you love, just like I said."

    "Just... look at the camera with his dying body and make a peace sign at the camera" he says. "Your colors are good enough for the pic." He starts for the exit stepping ginigerly over the dead and dying Thule Society Members (it has to be members, right?) as he makes his way with his precious cargo. "Don't have to tell me twice" he says to the burning Bone Daddy.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The very few that remain standing, and by that we are talking four or five, witness the death of their cell leader at the hands of the flaming skeleton and his companions, all to rescue one woman. Yes, she had been their devoted target for months, and they had spent over a year building up the traps and rituals for this moment, all for nothing. It didn't seem to effect them as one might expect. Instead of being angry or attempting further attacks, each in turn utters the phrase, "Long live the Thule Society, all hail von Strucker!" and bite down on their cyanide capsules.

Cael is the only one in the room to know what comes next. The death of the body inside the uniforms begins a chain reaction that will end in explosions, in fact that is the truth for /all/ the people in the room, some of which have already been dead for several minutes.

Alis reappears beside Cael on the ground level, in her hand one of the fancy bows from the archers. Artemis sword and knife are in her pack, she had time to stow them before popping back. "That was fun," she comments quietly to Cael. "The archers just mentally melted down."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "It was good work," Cael answers Alis with a broad grin. She watches as the surviving members end their own life, and she mutters under her breath, "Fucking Hydra, man." How do they not extinguish themselves with this bullshit.
    That said though, she adds in an urgent place, "If these guys are true to form - this place is going to explode. SO LET'S MOVE." She puts words into action - and starts bolting up the corridor, as she struggles with something in her bandolier. "Com'on, com'on - power up," she mutters, as she punches the controls for the device that will, helpfully, shield them if the tunnels start to collapse.
    "Wade, if you start to tire, pass her off! We can't slow down!"
    She'll feel like an idiot if it doesn't blow - but better than feeling like an idiot for a millisecond when it does blow.

Artemis has posed:
    When Cael starts running Artemis is quickly on her heels. She could easily outrun the woman, but Cael's sort of a friend, so running the smaller woman over is right out. She simply matches Cael's pace and tries not to think about the roof coming down.

    She doesn't think the Rider will have any problems keeping up, but she does sneak a couple of glances over her shoulder to make sure Deadpool is keeping up while carrying Sara.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The Ghost Rider watches indifferently as the survivors bite down on cyanide capsules. Watches the foam rose up to their mouths as muscles contract and the poison seeps in to their very being. "Judgment has passed." Perhaps not in the deaths of their physical bodies, but the torture of the soul that was to come in Hell's burning embrace.

"Explode?"

The Rider questions with sincerity, then sure enough, everyone is running! The Rider tries to keep Wade and Sara in the middle while he takes up the rear in case something comes after them, or so he can try and block them from the explosion that may come. So, they move! The Rider stomps forth with heavy steps, nobody left behind. Gotta keep moving. "If anyone can teleport, now's the time!"

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool smirked. "Dropping names now Cael?" he says, following easily enough. When not armored Sara's pretty light to be honest and he's at peak level of human ability--maybe a touch more since most of his inhibitors stopped working years ago.

    He smiles over his shoulder. "Wouldn't you know I left my teleporter in the pocket of the -other- belt." There's a note of sincerity in his voice as he says it. "I'll remember that next time--actually, scratch that can we take 'next time' as an open ended action and only opt in if we have to? That'd be keen."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The moments tick by slowly, it feels like the minutes are expanding into hours as the team runs back through the tunnel they came down. Seven minutes, that's all the longer they get before the first of the bodies begin to explode. The tunnel is shaken by the first shock wave causing a few rocks and earth to start falling on them from above.

Eight minutes, another series of explosions are heard, the wave from this group larger then the previous one. The ground and walls tremble with the might of the explosion behind them.

Being in the back, Ghost Rider is the first hit by shock wave, then the wave moves through the group like a bull dozer, throwing them all to the ground. The shield that Cael activated keeps the earth above them burying them, but for the moment they are all in a dome of earth and rock, with no idea how thick it really is.

At the ten minute mark they can hear the final explosion, and in that moment it is likely the remainder of the tunnel and mines is coming down on top of them. Final thoughts may pass through their minds as the shutter moves the ground beneath them.

Or did it...

In that same moment, as the final wave passes over them, then find themselves huddling under nothing in a dark, dank, wet, muddy, tunnel of sleeping bats. Guano litters the ground, causing them to sink a few inches. What the hell just happened?

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I hate being right," Cael grits out as the first explosions go off. She doesn't pause in her stride, continuing to pelt her way up the tunnel, hearing the sounds of footsteps hammering behind her. More explosions hit. And more. And for a moment - Cael feels trapped. For the third time in- what? A month? There's no exit. No fucking exit. "Why does this keep happening to-
    "...me." They'd been buried - hadn't they? Trapped with little hope of escape? But now...? "What the fuck just happened?" She asks uncertainly, looking around to make sure everyone's still present, before she begins picking her way, once more, in the direction she //thinks// the exit should be.

Artemis has posed:
    Artemis had been crouching as the shield kept the rocks and dirt from burying them directly, but there was still no way out. If they were near the entrance, it's possible that between the Rider and her own strength, they could dig out. Maybe.

    As she starts looking for a likely place to begin, suddenly it all vanishes and they are in an empty tunnel. Blinking, she looks around, trying to process the sudden change while still amped up on adrenaline. She goes with the first thing that comes to her and shouts, "Keep moving, let's get out before it changes back!"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Ghost Rider start sto run a little bit faster to keep pace with the rest of the group! Unfortunately because he's at the back of the pack, the magical explosion hits him first. He soars forward, moving through the group like a bulldozer until the flaming 'Bone Daddy' Ghost Rider hits the ground with a huff and a growl. Though strangely, the magic that seems to pass over them leaves them in a strange place.

One that isn't quite right.

The Rider manages to get back up to it's feet, as the flames extinguish until only the bare skeleton remains. Curiously, the flesh and muscle and nervous tissue regains its density and mass over the skeleton, making it such that it was as if Johnny had never transformed at all. He stands up and leans against one of the walls, they find themselves in an empty tunnel.

"That was...weird." Johnny comments with a cough. "I don't know how the hell it happened, but we weren't in the real Hibernia Mines." He looks around. "But we are now. If I had a guess, we broke whatever was effecting the tunnels, and with the magic gone, it's returned to their proper state. Either that, or some weird shit is going on."

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool looks around as the rubble and debris fades into a bare (albeit guano infested) tunnel. "Gift horse. Mouth" he says. "I think we can examine the how once we're above ground and Sara's got some decent coverage on her." It was a bit chilly in the caverns after all.

    He starts for the exit (or well, what he presumes is the exit) and relative safety. "Are we done?" he asks, turning to Cael. "And... did you get the picture?" he asks of Artemis. The picture was pretty important after all.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I'm going to agree with the general sentiment to get above ground as quickly as possible. I'm so fucking done with caves and tunnels." Cael continues to move quickly up the tunnel, gesturing to Artemis to once more break the gate once they reach it.
    "The quinjet should be this way," she adds, gesturing in the correct direction, before she radios to the pilot. "Objective complete - warm the engines up. We need to get Witchblade seen by medical at the Triskelion," she explains tersely. "Radio ahead for them. She's unconscious after enduring unknown magical rites."

Artemis has posed:
    Artemis heads for the entrance to the abandoned mine, shaking her head and telling Deadpool, "Sorry, didn't really have time with the whole exploding thing. I'll give you the phone back when we get to the quinjet."

    When they reach it, the grate is somehow still in place. She barely pauses, simply kicking the grate off it's frame, sending it sailing across the open space in front of the mine to end up somewhat embedded into a tree. She looks around, then heads in the direction the quinjet is waiting.

Wade Wilson has posed:
    Deadpool sighs at Artemis' confession and then looks down at Sara. He got what he came for in the end and that's the best he can hope for. "Eh... he wasn't much of a looker anyway. No worries" he says to the Amazon as they make their way back to their ride back to New York. He hopes that SHIELD doesn't mind an annoying mercenary hanging around the medical ward for a while, because no way is he staying far from the woman in his arms until he is sure she is well.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
"SHIELD it is...though I'm gonna need a security pass." Or maybe just some guards on him. Nobody wants a flaming demon skeleton thing-a-mabob walking around their highly secure establishment. Johnny cracks his neck as he keeps moving. Though Johnny was no medical. He was the paingiver, not the pain-reliever. Otherwise, Johnny is following along with the group, lest they leave him behind!

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The pilot had been sitting with the engines in low mode, conserving energy and fuel by sitting in the dark. When Cael called, he fired the engines up, goes to open the back, and gets the lights shining out to indicate the location of the quinjet. This was a dangerous time, the moment when you announce the location of your escape, so he's standing at the back in his full tac gear, holding a ICER rifle, just in case someone other than the team decides they want to try and take a flight.

Radioing ahead to the Triskelion as he was ordered to do, he's informed medical will be standing by at the landing pad which merely left getting there. Questions were rarely asked in the heat of the moment, there would be time for asking all the 'what the hell?!' questions later.

When the team approaches, the pilot sends the signal with the flashlight on the end of the rifle, waits for the reply, and does not shot anyone as they get on board.

"Medical is on stand by at the landing pad," he informs Cael before heading back to his seat. He doesn't ask about the mud and grime, he doesn't ask about the naked woman, none of that is his concern at this time. For him the job consists of flying them there, waiting, then flying them back.

Once everyone is in a seat and buckled in, the quinjet perform its vertical take off and he clears his flight path to the Triskelion under emergency circumstance. The pilot pushes the engines to limit, injured team member and no further threat meant he could do just that to get them back in under ten minutes.

As promised, the medical team is at the landing pad to whisk Sara away, with the team right on their heels, and not a single complaint from anyone about them going. Unfortunately, the team will have to wait outside in the lobby when they get to those 'Medical Only Beyond' doors, but the promise that they will be informed and collected soon is offered as the doors close behind them.