Owner Pose
Jonathan Sims     The moon has risen by the time the sun sets on the day of the Strawberry Moon, bathing Queens in a silvery glow. The name has nothing to do with the shape or color of the moon; it refers more to the ripening of wild strawberries during June. The Heliopolitans have gathered to patrol the streets of Queens, just in case the werewolves they've been dealing with over the last couple of months decide to come around and cause more trouble.

    With Khonshu still sealed away and Marc Spector therefore "normal" by superhero standards, the balance of the little group is different than usual. Three of them have their ways to fly, and so are surely heading over the rooftops. Marc, of course, is nearly as fit as the Gotham sorts even without Khonshu, so he /could/ be Parkour'ing his way across the brownstones. Nonetheless, Marc is still coordinating the group via comms. He's still the leader, after all.

    Jon, for his part, /loves/ this whole "jumping across the rooftops" business. He's wearing his super suit, which has the look of the sort of ritual vestments Moon Knight and Scarlet Scarab were (though leaning more toward the latter than the former) in gold and teal and blue. He's also pulled forth the power of Ma'at, so he has wings flaring from his back and the circlet on his brow as he hops along rooftops while twilight fades into night proper.

    <<All clear thus far,>> he says into comms. <<Do you have anything on where they might be...?>>

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    In a high-rise apartment in Chelsea, Cael Becker has been grounded from field work, and a good thing too. She's feeling terrible tonight, to the point where she wouldn't kiss her boyfriend as he left on patrol. Pizza has been ordered, and Jon's daughter, Agnes Montague, is sitting on the couch in a living room with floor-to-ceiling windows that let in the light of of the full moon, holding a gaming controller loosely in her hands. She's peering down the hallway, frowning.

    "Are you okay, Cael? Are you sure you don't want to come out and sit on the couch? I could move if you need to lie down."
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Soaring over the rooftops, Layla's wings actually make her look birdlike as she soars overhead, albeit far large than any bird has the right to be. Still! She glides, keeping an eye out for anything telltale. Lights in a dark store, fires, car chase, the usual sorts of things that indicate mayhem. Though, this not being Gotham, the latter two are less likely.

<<Clear up top so far.>>

She swoops, banking left to try cheking down some of the alleys for suspicious amounts of acitivity around back doors to places that should be seeing back door activity.
Marc Spector     Marc is in one of his earlier suits, it will at least provide protection from most mundane sources and gives him the anonymity he requires. Would he rather be in the Mk III with its carbonatium and adamantium lining? Absolutely but the weight of it slowed him down too much for his liking without the strength of Khonshu on his side so the Mk I.5 would have to do for the evening.

    <<My sources have been reporting sightings of a large feral dog in the southern districts so that is all we have to go on>> he says through his comm. He can glide as well, even if his route is along the street on a motorcycle that looks like it came from the set of Blade Runner. There is a center console with a number of dials and switches giving the vehicle a number of auxiliary functions but for the moment communcation and radar were enough for his liking. <<I just hope that it's not just another stray German Shepherd like the last time these sightings flared. Just keep your eyes peeled, they're rather adept at hiding so... even the smallest sign of curiosity could be them. Alert us to anything.>>
Lydia Dietrich     Lydia, for her part, doesn't really have a costume. She just likes to dress up the part of a vampire sometimes. Black wool slacks over matching black pumps on the bottom. A ruffly burgundy button down top over which she's wearing her thick trenchcloak that flaps behind her most satisfactorily when she flies.

    Tonight she's running stealth, the glow of her ectoplasm turned off so she's flying on ebony black wings. She makes a slow circle around the area she's scouting only to pause here and there to sniff the air to see if she can't catch a whiff of them.

    <<I'm not picking up on anything either, other than an occasional dog here and there.>> she sends over the comms. <<I've followed a couple of the scents in case we get lucky, but nothing really panned out.>>
Cael Becker     Cael has not had a great day. She'd been jittery and anxious all day - restlessly pacing, or spending time in the gym. She'd also been //irritable// - snapping at Jon, and even Agnes more than once. It was almost like she was uncomfortable in her own skin. As evening set in, though, her head had begun to pound while her body ached, and her stomach roiled uncomfortably. She has also been rubbing at the back of her neck and her shoulder frequently. She hasn't even //looked// at the pizza.
    "I really don't want to get you sick," Cael insists, emerging from her room in her 'Golden State Warriors' shirt and a pair of warm, fuzzy pants, to make her way into the kitchen. "I'm just- I'll try some ginger tea, and lie down for a bit," she says reassuringly, flashing the girl a small smile.
    Bear lifts his head from his position on his massive dog bed, his gaze following Cael as she turns the kettle on, and gets a packet of ginger tea out of the cupboard. She settles this into a cup with a squeeze of honey and a splash of lemon juice.
Jonathan Sims     <<It's strange,>> Jon comments as he hops from one building to another. He's not bothering with stealth, really. He's not much good at it. <<I'd blame the lack of werewolf activity on their Alpha being killed, but we've been running into stragglers accosting people on the streets. But this month, instead of getting /more/ active toward the full moon, they've gotten /less/ active. It's... disconcerting.>>

    There is, indeed, an eerie stillness in the city, almost as if it's holding its breath. Oh, it's not /entirely/ still. New York never is, even in the depths of the night. But anyone who spends a lot of time on these streets would recognize the difference. Not as many people out on the streets, not as many rats in the corners, fewer birds perching on buildings.

    Jon pauses on the roof of a brownstone to watch Moon Knight going by on his bike and glance up at Scarlet Scarab flying overhead; Lydia's too stealthy for him to see just now. <<Marc, do you know where their lair is? Even any ideas? Maybe they're all gathered in one place and we could get the jump on them.>> Hey, it's an idea!

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    "I could make the... oh, fine." Agnes sits back down from the half-standing position she'd been in. "So I'm not to come in if I hear horrid retching from your toilet, then?"

    The other dog in the room, Lady Grey, who's sitting on the couch next to Agnes, has been watching her with golden doggy eyes. Now she suddenly starts to growl, low in her throat, and Agnes frowns at her and puts a hand on her back. "Hey, Lady, what's wrong? Cael's just making some tea."
Marc Spector     Moon Knight treats a stop sign as a suggestion as he banks hard left at an intersection at a speed that is far past the legal limit. <<If I had a clue as to where their lair was I would've taken us right there>> he grumbles over the comms. <<Trust me, I've tried to find it. It's possible they have magic that prevents others from sensing it and without Khonshu's gifts my abilities in that department are as good as your average investigator.>>

    Another turn is made, with utter disregard to traffic laws, hard right and he speeds along. <<Somethings wrong though... the night feels... too quiet. Too calm... even without his blessings I can feel it.>> He slows the motorcycle to a crawl and draws up at a corner. <<Is that just me or do you guys feel it to? It's like the evening is waiting for someting?>>

    He looks up at the full moon overhead. He should be at the height of his strength tonight but again he feels... empty. Powerless. Lost.
Lydia Dietrich     Lydia pauses in her flight and closes her eyes to take in the sounds around her. <<No,>> she sends over the comm. <<It's not just you. I'm surprised I didn't notice before but it /is/ too quiet. I'd be able to hear... well... a lot more than what I am right now.>> She shakes her head as she does another circle, this time /listening/. <<I should have noticed this earlier,>> she chides herself. <<Too focused on smell.>>
Cael Becker     "Definitely don't," Cael says with a quiet groan, ignoring Lady's misbehavior. "No one needs to see or smell //that//. I'll be fine." She pours the hot water into her cup, and then with her tea in hand she offers Agnes a brief smile before she returns to her bedroom.
    All is quiet for a while, as Agnes plays her video game, and nibbles at her pizza. In her bedroom, Cael sits on the edge of her bed, sipping slowly at her tea to try to calm her stomach, while she ignores the aches and pains in her body. Abruptly, everything grows so much worse - her head swimming, and her heart racing. The pounding in her head is so palable she could almost swear she could hear it - and the mug slips from her fingers, to shatter on the floor.
    Putting her head in her hands, her fingers feel... strange. Longer. Sharp. That... can't be right. Blinking her eyes, she straightens enough to peer hands - is she... hallucinating? Is she- "Oh. ...Fuck." Realization and understanding hits her in an instant. "Agnes! Get out!" Her voice sounds strange - harsher, more guttural. "You need to get ou- ou- ooooOOOOOoooo!" And inhumane howl escapes her lips - and then, there's quiet in Cael's room.
Jonathan Sims     <<Well... shit.>> Jon turns around in a circle, frowning as he tries to see the teal threads of fate he's just beginning to be able to make out, the lines connecting and weaving lives together into a grand tapestry. The problem he's been having is that the city is /full/ of people, criss-crossing every part, intersecting and separating and intertwining.

    He shakes his head. <<I can't... there's /something/ underlying everything, but I can't... quite... there's too much else in the way to see what's going on. Damn it. But there is... /something/. Layla, do you feel anything...?>> He hasn't moved from where he's standing atop that brownstone, letting the others get further away.

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    Even before Cael howls, Lady Grey is up and barking, loudly, enough to maybe bother the neighbors. She climbs down off the couch and stares down the hall toward the bedrooms, barking her warning. Something is wrong. Something is /wrong/.

    Anges frowns and stands up. "Cael?" A pause. "Cael, are you... alright?" She takes a moment to try to /see/, but that talent is still just coming out of the latent stage. Frowning, she says, "Lady, heel," and starts for the hallway. The dog pads along at her side, no longer barking, but a continual growl in her chest.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Layla gets a feeling... a premonition? A vision? A voice in her head? She turns suddenly, hard, and starts zooming towards Manhattan. <<Trouble in Manhattan! We have to go NOW!>>

She doesn't have precise coordinates, or even a name, just this tense feeling building in her chest and a borough. Presumably, she, or one of the others, will be able to pinpoint it once they're getting closer. For now, Layla reacts on instinct and heads directly for Manhattan. As the crow flies, she should reach the district pretty quickly, wheeling up higher so she can get a true bird's eye view. Taweret has never steered her wrong, and certainly not when someone else's life is in danger.

<<Marc? Jon? Anyone in Manhattan that's important to either of you?>>
Marc Spector     Moon Knight frowns at Layla's sudden insight. <<I have contacts on the island, but no one close enough to warrant this sort of reaction>> he says as he revs the bike and wheels into motion again. The motorcycle is something of a prototype from Spector Corp. Near silent in its operation via the electrical battery and sound suppression systems. Not only that it can reach output that rivals the highest end Ducati's. On top of those it has one more feature that marks it as special.

    A flick of a switch and the motorcyle transforms. It takes only a few seconds before Moon Knight is no longer on a bike, he's on a mobile air speeder. It takes him a moment to stabilize but he rockets up toward the roof where Jon stands. <<Your daughter...>> he says to the man. <<Where is she?>> he asks with concern in his tone.
Lydia Dietrich     Lydia doesn't question Layla's feeling at all. She knows all too well to trust those feelings especially when you're dealing with the mystical. She experiences a brief twinge of panic when Marc mentions Agnes. <<Jon...? Is Cael with Agnes? If Agnes is in trouble...>>

    She wheels around in the air and rockets off towards Manhattan, heading straight for Jon, Cael, and Martin's apartment. Usually her cruising speed when she's trying to get somewhere is around 60 mph. Now? Now she's going /much/ faster, pushing the limit to her power, almost scaring herself with how fast she's able to go. <<I'll be outside your apartment soon, Jon. Just... open a window to let me in.>>
Cael Becker     Was it Agnes' voice that had attracted the attention of the //thing// in Cael Becker's room? Or the barking of the dogs - as Bear joined in, and followed on the teen's heels as well?
    Or maybe it was just their smells.
    Either way, the silence in Cael's room is broken by a loud thud against the door, rattling it in its frame. It holds for the moment, but the door cracks and groans. A second impact, however, allows the growing cracks to shatter, allowing a massive, furred creature with elongated limbs and a snarling snout filled with sharp teeth. The tattered remains of a blue shirt cling to the creature's chest. It is tall and massive, allowing no room to pass further down the hall, as the hulking figure must weigh nearly three hundred pounds - and there is intelligence in the eyes that stare at Agnes and the two dogs, but no pity or recognition.
    Instead, there is an unfathomably hunger to rend, tear, and devour flesh. Another howl emerges from the creature's throat before it springs forward.
Jonathan Sims     Jon freezes for a moment. <<I live in Manhattan. The address is 105 West 29th, we're on the 50th floor. Balcony's on the south side of the building. I can open a portal and open the door from the inside.>> His voice is terse, absolutely no emotion at all. <<Cael's home with Agnes right now.>> Cael, who's been acting weird for weeks, more and more so as the moon got more full, and... it /can't/ be that. Can it?

    He takes in a deep breath, then turns and creates a door in the side of an air conditioning unit taller than he is. Weird place for a door, but that's how his portals work.

    "I'll see you in Manhattan." And before Marc can respond, he jumps through the portal, the door closing behind him.

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    Agnes, predictably enough, stands there and screams for a moment on seeing the creature in the hallway. Her second reaction is about as instinctual as the first, not so much a thought of bravery or clarity as defense: she raises her hands and fire pours out from them, bathing the hallway in a gout of flame that chars wood and peels paint even as the girl keeps screaming. It might be enough to hold off the werewolf, even if it doesn't actually touch her.

    The portal opens in Agnes' bedroom, unfortunately for Jon. He jumps through and runs out into the hallway, and balks at the creature between himself and Agnes. "Agnes?! Agnes, where's Cael?!"

    Then he gets a look at the tattered shirt hanging off the body, and... oh. Oh, /shit/.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Layla doesn't bother to waste time, she just turns and starts towards Jon's address immediately. And blessing Taweret for giving her a flight speed that lets her reach the apartment with a quickness. No time to deal with doors and locks, she angles the sharp tips of her wings forward, tucks her head down, and busts straight through the window with a KEE-RASH and tinkling of glass. Sliding across the floor, she throws the wings out to provide a wind break, halting her forward momentum as she summons a pair of Egyptian-style short swords, one in either hand.

There's barely a glance, then Layla's edging in front of Agens and looking over her shoulder at the teenager, "Take the dogs, go down to the lobby. This will be easier for us if we don't have to worry about them being underfoot. One of us will come get you when it's safe, okay?" Because her first concern will always be the innocents in the room.

Turning back to the beast at hand, she flicks a glance to Jon, then back to the werewolf and brings the wings up in a defensive posture, "Cael?"
Marc Spector     Moon Knight is on Layla's heels as she crashes through the window. He taps a few buttons on the control panel of the vehicle and the hatch slides open. He's going to have to time it just right or there will be a Moon Knight splattered along the side of the building or the ground hundreds of feet below. <<Frenchie, take control and get the Speeder to the roof>> he says. <<I'll be there when I am done. If I'm in once piece.>>

    An exasperated man's voice with a French accent comes over the comms. <<Roger, Knight. Godspeed.>> The speeder turns and Moon Knight jumps through the opening left by Layla. He's a fair size larger than her and the glass shatters as he enters and rolls along the ground, but it doesn't pierce him.

    "Agnes... listen to the woman. Dogs and you... downstairs now. We'll be there soon." He's removing a pair of crescent darts from his belt as he turns to face the hulking beast. Super strength or none, he has to help. This woman is one of his people. His family.
Lydia Dietrich     Lydia arrives only moments after the rest, going through the hole already made by Layla's entry. It only takes her a moment to see what's happening: Big horkin' werewolf in the hallway, Jon behind it and Agnes out front, backing away from the beast. The pungent smell of wolf hits her, but underneath that? Traces of Cael.

    "I think that's Cael!" she shouts reaching out with a hand and forming an ebony black barrier between the werewolf and Jon. "Let me get in front! If I get tagged I won't get infected like you all might!" She rushes forward to interpose herself between the rest of the Heliopitans and the werewolf, the ebony wings dissolve and reform into two pairs of tentacles.

    "Hey!" she shouts at what was once Cael. "Look at me! /I'm/ the one you want!" There's a commanding tone in her voice, the same kind of voice that she uses to make sure high schoolers do what she asks them to. "Vampires are mortal enemies of werewolves, right? So I'm right here!"
Cael Becker     As Cael sprang forward, it was Bear that immediately interposed himself between Agnes and the monster - snarling and barking for all he's worth to defend his person. The hundred pound dog momentarily arrests the monster's movement, as it swipes at the pup, opening a gash in Bear's side, as she hurls it against a wall, giving Agnes the time to scream in shock - and then gather herself to respond with fire.
    The flames melt and ignite the creature's fur - and sets parts of the shirt on fire, causing an unnatural scream of pain from Cael - as she turns towards the sound of Jon's voice. Again, there is no recognition those eyes, only that desperate need that fuels her as she moves with frightening speed towards Jon - clawed hands raking towards his stomach.
    If this thing really is Cael - at least it seems incapable of using everything she know about the man's fighting capabilities against him.
    Lydia arrives a moment later, shouting aggressively - which saves Jon from further attacks as she drops to all fours, only long to leap bodily at the woman, leaving long guages in the floor as three hundred pounds of muscle, claws, and teeth attempt to tear into the vampire.
Jonathan Sims     The crash through the window is enough to get Agnes to stop the fire and lower her hands, scrambling back away with wide eyes. She doesn't quite notice Bear, and stares around at Layla and Moon Knight for a moment like their words aren't quite registering. As Lady Gray goes lunging at Lydia, the teenager manages to think clearly enough to tackle the smaller dog and hold her. "Lady, no! Dad, what do we /do/?! DAD!"

    Jon is busy, for a moment, not getting /eviscerated/. The armor saves him from that fate, but even if Cael isn't thinking tactically he can't quite manage to do much against her, because he can /see/ that it's Cael in her aura. "Cael," he manages, voice strangled, "Please, Cael, don't--please, love, listen to me--"

    Then Lydia interposes herself, the barrier saving him from another swipe, and he has a moment to catch his breath. He stares around at Agnes, who's struggling to hold Lady back from lunging at both Lydia and Cael, while barking her head off, and sees Bear lying on the floor. He conjures up a barrier and uses it to sweep Agnes and Lady into the wall against Bear and pin them there, next to the kitchen. There's no going down to the lobby with Bear injured.

    "Marc, tell me you've got /something/ to stop a werewolf besides killing it."
Marc Spector     Moon Knight scowls internally at Jon not having -any- tact when it comes to being a caped hero. He'll have to explain the necessity for secrecy when there ins't a massive werewolf--no, not werewolf; werejackal their faces. "I do!" he says, but it might take a moment to charge up and we have to slow her down some before we can be sure of its efficiency."

    He flings one of the crescents at the hulking beast, past Layla and Lydia and over the head of Agnes. The blade and piercing tips of the projectile are coated in a silver and adamantium alloy--the latter for durability, the former for creatures like the one before them. He doesn't know it it will hit her given the natural human speed he manages the toss, and frankly he's more concerned with his contengiency.

    "La--Scarlet Scarab" he doesn't want to be a hypocrite as he moves up to stand behind his wife. "Here!" he offers her what looks like a thick cattle prod. "Get in close, hit her with this and press -here-." He indicates a red button on the black baton. It should give her enough of a stun to incapacitate her momentarily." It's not fool proof and it's not a solution by any means. But... "It'll buy us some time at the very least."
Lydia Dietrich     "AUGH!" Lydia cries out as she's slammed to the ground by the werewolf. Being a vampire gives her a speed advantage against most humans, but so do werewolves so they're mostly matched at this point. She doesn't have time to chide herself for not armoring up first as Cael claws bloody rents in her chest. She /did/ manage to armor up an arm and get a forearm up fast enough to keep Cael's jaws from tearing off her face, though.

    "JON!" she shouts, as she struggles with both the beast that is Cael and her inner beast telling her that she must /rend/ the werewolf apart. "Get a- ACK!" She manages to get a tentacle around one of Cael's arms before it can disembowel her. "Get a portal open to the VR's training room! We can- AUGH!" She was too busy talking to be able to react quickly enough as the other set of claws tears open her bicep. She's shutting up now and concentrating on making sure she'll survive this.
Cael Becker     Cael tears into Lydia with a berzerker's fury - the claws striking with force, and tearing large gashes in her flesh, while her teeth struggle to find purchase. It doesn't give her the satisfaction she seeks, though. What little blood comes from the vampire has lost its vitality - and the flesh lacks the appetizing aroma she seeks. This is not //food.// And she wants to feed.
    Still - she continues to try to disable the creature - though her head whips back in a howl of pain as the crescent slices deeply across one of her arms, and into her back.
Jonathan Sims     The idea of /attacking/ Cael is horrible to Jon, but he at least tries to return the favor to Lydia and pulls up a barrier around her to help protect her from some of the worst of the attacks. "A /cattle prod/ are you--" Well, no, Cael is currently several hundred pounds of monster right now, it might just knock her out.

    Jon takes a moment, in the middle of all of this, to... let go. He glows teal, as Ma'at takes over even more, merging his consciousness with the goddess. Not for power, for once, but for stability and clarity. Jonathan Sims is terrified of losing his girlfriend; Ma'at may be concerned for one whose soul is tied to her realm, but she's not freaking out about it.

    "I cannot make a portal into the Velvet Room, Lydia, but I can--Moon Knight, go back to the Mission. As soon as you're there, contact me. I can open a portal directly to you--but it will be /right/ next to you." Even as they're speaking, they create a lasso of green energy and try to wrap it around Cael, to pull her off the vampire and give Layla a shot at tasing her.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Taking the baton from Marc, Layla gives a nod and flashes a quick grin towards him, "Wish me luck." Then she's watching the fight, holding the baton in her hand as she looks for an opportunity. She doesn't know what the VR is, or what they mean, but when Jon tells Marc to get to the Midnight Mission, that much she recognizes.

Glancing back to Marc, she offers, "Hey. Try to be ready to dodge aside, I'll try to make sure to be between you and her." Then Layla is darting forward, standing overtop of Lydia. One arm with its metallic wing brandished as a shield, using it to bat at Cael's claws and snout, keeping them away from her as she thrusts forward to press against Cael's stomach. Hitting the red button as Marc explained, she tries a three second jolt before backing up to see how well it worked.
Marc Spector     Moon Knight does indeed jump back as the prod of Steven's design is used for the first time. At Jon's suggestion he nods. "Got it!" he says and calls over the comms, <<I'm going to need my ride back, Frenchie!>> Without waiting to check, he jumps from the open widow into the air. The cape spreads out in a crescent behind him, silohetting him against the moon above.

    The speeder flies by him and with Frenchie's expert remote flying manages to catch him with the mildest of rough landings. He'll feel it tomorrow and will likely have one hell of a bruise over his lower body to answer for the landing. Even so, he takes over controls and switches back to the comm. <<Give me 2 minutes, Jon>> he says as he engages the throttle of the speeder and jets off back to Queens.
Lydia Dietrich     She's not gonna lose it, she's not gonna lose it, she's not gonna lose it. The urge to just let go and go feral is strong. Even though her bleeding is slow and oozing, there's enough damage that all she wants to do is sink her fangs into the creature on top of her and take all that blood back. She's not gonna lose it.

    Scarlet Scarab's shield gives Lydia enough breathing space to finally armor up, her ectoplasm pulling to her skin, it's black carapace protecting her from further slashes. Still. The damage was done. She's not gonna lose it.

    She manages to get a tentacle around the beast's chest, that should be able to keep it from pulling off of her and reaching any of the others. She's not gonna lose it. "Jon!" she shouts through fanged teeth, eyes wild and red. "What's the plan?" Whatever it is, she has to keep it together, and keep Cael from hurting anybody else for another two minutes.
Cael Becker     The furious clawing and biting against Lydia's form continues - as the creature lets out growls of frustration that she has yet to tear her foe limb from limb, and that she seemed to be finding less purchace.
    As the lasso wraps around her, it isn't so much Jon's pull that opens space between her and Lydia. Feeling herself being restrained, Cael starts to turn on Jon, intent on removing the impediment. She doesn't get very far, however, as Lydia's ectoplasm wraps around her, and Layla closes in on her. She takes a swipe at the Scarlet Scarab, which is deflected by the shielding wing, and then the prod is shoved into her stomach.
    She doesn't even make a sound as she crumples to the ground - momentarily perfectly, and worryingly still.
    And then she takes a breath.
    In the sudden silence, the quiet whimpering from Bear can be heard, as he huddles with Agnes and Lady.
Jonathan Sims     Jon hops back easily away from Cael turning on them, furled wings trying and failing to stretch out there in the hallway. "I'll open the biggest portal I can, and once the door's open, Lydia and Scarlet Scarab, you shove her through!" Yep, that's all there is to it. Grand plan, there.

    And then Cael's down, and--aside from any potential backlash from the experimental prod--they can all take a breath. A brief, slow breath. "Alright. Agnes, wait here and bring Bear through once I say it's okay. Got that?"

    The teenager, who's been watching all this with wide eyes, nods. "Okay. Okay. You're gonna fix this, right? Y-you're gonna..." She presses her lips together, stops herself from babbling any more.

    At the first crackle over the radio from Marc, Jon/Ma'at turns and creates a door next to Cael's slumped and still form, which opens to reveal a portion of the Midnight Mission on the other side. Time to shove the werewolf through.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly After use, Layla's still holding onto the prod, not expecting any sort of backlash from the item. She assumes Marc would have mentioned anything like 'oh and this might explode after use'. But there goes the old adage of assumptions making an 'ass' of 'u' and 'me'. When it starts to crackle and sizzle, Layla looks at it for a moment, then has just enough time to huddle in over it with the wings wrapped around herself as a muffled 'BOOM' is heard.

Unfurling as Jon opens the portal, she has some quickly healing scorch and burn marks across her skin and garb even as she nods at Jon. Moving in closer to Cael, she looks to Lydia, "If you'll use that tentacle, I'll try to keep between Cael and everyone else."

Then the portal opens and there's no more time to plan or talk. Layla grabs Cael's furry form around the waist, hefting her up with Lydia's help and diving through the portal, into the Mission. As soon as they're through, she'll try to push the unconscious werewolf-Cael a little farther away so nobody is stepping through the portal and into swinging claws. "WE'RE THROUGH!"
Marc Spector     Moon Knight was true to his word and the area on the other side of the portal looks to be part of the armory. The immediate interior of which is an open door to a cage. There is a strange sheen to the bars something that glimmers too much to be steel or iron. Again, tests hadn't been done on this either, but there wasn't much use in testing it either. Likely if it failed, he wouldn't be alive to face the reprucussions.

    He helps guide the monstrosity--at least as much as he can, 300 is a bit heavy for him right now--into the cage and stands at the door for a moment while the others lower her to her new bindings. "You guys all coming through?" he asks Jon. "I ask because I'm not sure how long that shock will keep her down for and... I don't want to end up food tonight." It would be his luck to face utter destruction on a night when he would be at his peak were his god not sealed away.
Lydia Dietrich     And like that, the pressure is off. She bounces to her feet, snarling, as if she's about to go feral herself, but she shakes herself, regaining control. She reaches out with a hand, and tentacle after tentacle lashes out and wrap themselves around Cael, tightly binding her in case she wakes up. That should be able to hold her. Her ectoplasm is strong enough to throw cars around, it should be strong enough to keep the werewolf bound.

    "I'm going to need to feed after this," she warns those assembled. "Healing this much damage is going to use a lot of blood." Indeed, the thick ichor of her blood has already stopped oozing out of her wounds, but there are still thick tears and rents in her chest exposing bone, and her left arm is dangling uselessly.

    With Layla's help, she manages to push Cael's gigantic form through the portal and follows her through, pushing her into the cage. She'll drop the tentacles as soon as that cage is securely shut. "I'll stay here with you tonight, Moon Knight," she says. "She got the jump on me once, but I'll be ready if she manages to break out."
Cael Becker     Three hundred pounds of dead weight are dragged through the portal. Not the easiest task - but certainly not impossible for this group of individuals. Other than the quiet rise an fall of the creature's chest, Cael remains still, and limp as she's manhandled out of the now badly damaged apartment, and into the Midnight Mission.
    As she's being shoved into the cage, there's a slightly louder huff of air.
    The creature shifts slightly of its own accord.
    Eyes flutter open, and flick around.
    And just like that - the werejackal is conscious once more, struggling against the bindings she can feel constricting her movement as she forces herself to her feet. Even with her arms bound tightly to her side by black tentacle-like ectoplasm, she still lunges towards Layla, the nearest beating heart, her jaws open in a snarl as she attempts to trear into the woman with her teeth.
Jonathan Sims     "Thank you," Jon says to them in his own voice as the group gets Cael through. "Lydia, you can feed from--"

    Before they get too much further, Cael's up again and going after Layla. Tawaret's avatar has proven herself capable of handling plenty of damage, so Jon drops the barrier he had around Agnes and the dogs and calls, "STAY THERE. I'll be back!" Then they slam the portal door shut.

    "Hold her attention, Shield of Tawaret," Ma'at says, and it's much more Ma'at speaking now, their eyes glowing teal as they reach into Cael's mind, down beneath the rage and hunger, until they find Cael herself wherever her consciousness is wrapped up. This is going to take some time, and the werewolf will surely struggle in the meantime, but once she finds Cael's psyche the goddess binds a mental cloth around her eyes and whispers, "Sleep." One hopes it will work.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Layla throws both wings up as Cael lunges, letting them take the majority of Cael's attack. Pushing back against the werejackal to make sure she stays inside the boundaries of the cage. Even those hits that land don't seem to stop her. She hisses as skin parts or punctures. But even as the wounds start to seal, a brackish ichor is pushed out with it, ensuring the Shield is not infected with the same curse as Cael. A touch of her Goddess' favor.

Once she has Cael in the cage, Layla braces there under the onslaught, tanking against the werejackal as Ma'at takes over to send Cael to sleep to end the attacks. As soon as Cael slumps back, Layla with slam the cage shut and close any lock that might be available on the cage door.

Stepping back from the cage, panting lightly, Layla looks around for Marc, the charge of her Goddess to protect him first and foremost, making sure he's uninjured before she looks back to Jon/Ma'at, "If you like... I can heal the dog, but I would appreciate coming back here. Taweret has charged me to protect the Moon Knight and while She," Layla nods towards the cage, "is here, he is in danger."
Marc Spector     Moon Knight was lucky, but only barely. The cape of his suit was snagged in the revived frenzy of the creature, but the the fabric tore away from him. Even so, he looks terrified; pressed up against one of the racks holding pieces of one of his stronger suits. His chest heaves with the panic of almost being eaten, a fear he hasn't know for years.

    Once the door is closed and Cael is clearly confined. He runs to one of the consoles and violently wretches into it. "I hate this..." he mutters. "I hate feeling powerless. It's like when Bushman killed me, only there's no offer for survival this time. Just... silence."
Lydia Dietrich     The damage done to Lydia must have taken its toll on her. Normally she'd be able to keep the werejackal from lunging at Scarlet Scarab, but she's lost... so much blood. Still, her efforts are enough to keep Cael from overpowering Layla and breaking out of the cage, giving Moon Knight a chance to close the door.

    Once the door is closed, she drops her ectoplasmic tentacles, letting them dissipate into black mist, and she sags, stumbling backwards. Gripping her slowly healing arm, she scowls, "I should have been better prepared, but her speed.... it took me by surprise."

    She looks around for a place to sit but decides that anywhere is just too far so she sinks to the floor. "If I had gone full out at the start...." She shakes her head and changes the subject. "I need to feed, but I don't want to leave Marc alone."
Cael Becker     Cael continues to struggle against Layla, even without the use of her arms. She relishes every bite she gets in, every tear of the woman's flesh, every taste of blood - all the while seemingly unaware of Jon, and Ma'at worming their way into her mind.
    In the end, though, it's effective - and the strange, elongated form of the werejackal slumps to the floor, lying still once more - breathing slowly, and steadily in the convines of her silvered cage.
Jonathan Sims     When it's done, the goddess merely nods once. "Child of Hatsepshut, you may take some of my blood to feed yourself. Then remain here with Cael Becker while I ensure the child and the animals are safe." She flicks a glance to Layla and Marc. "Shield of Tawaret can you take the Fist to see to any wounds he may have? My avatar will return here once I am done. I doubt I can keep them from her for long."

    A sigh, and a shake of the head. "We have been distracted by other matters. This stealing of Lord Anubis' power... troubles me." A pause, and she shakes herself, nodding once and then turning to offer Lydia her wrist.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Layla looks to Lydia, "He won't be alone. I've been charged with his protection." She turns, watching Marc, already making plans, only for Ma'at's voice to turn her head once more. She inclines a nod towards the Goddess, "Yes, Goddess." Pausing, Layla looks a little chagrinned before she adds, "Taweret says to tell you..." She draws in a deep breath and smiles wide, twiddling her fingers towards Ma'at, "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Blinking, she shakes her head and turns away towards Marc, reaching up to rub a hand in light, gentle circles around his back. "Hey. C'mon, let's get you settled for the night, hm? I'll make up some broth and tea to helpp settle your stomach, we can catch up a little." She offers a faint smile towards him, brushing that wild hair back from his forehead.
Marc Spector     Marc nods to Layla and pushes himself to his feet. "There's a lot to cover" he says to the woman. "But... yeah, it needs to be done." He glances to the ravaged vampire and Jon. "I'll be... I'll be alright. Lydia, Jon... thanks... for having me out there with you guys tonight. Even without... well, you know.""

    He looks at the slumbering wereform of Cael and sighs. "We'll figure out how to help her. I swear." Then he's heading out of the armory and likely to one of the apartments in the Mission to settle in for the night and try to give his wife some insight into the life that led to their separation.
Lydia Dietrich     She looks up gratefully at Jon? No, Ma'at. She briefly wonders how different the blood will taste from the last time she supped from Jon's wrist before hunger overtakes her and she sinks her fangs into the avatar's flesh.

    After nine months of being a vampire, she has had ample time to learn to control how much pleasure, or how much pain, her host feels when she feeds. Even now when her hunger is all consuming, she's cognizant enough to keep this feeding from being painful. It's pleasurable, but not debilitatingly so. It wouldn't do to bring Ma'at's avatar to the heights of extasy.

    But for Lydia... blood is everything. Blood is life . Already her wounds start healing at an astonishing rate. She moans in pleasure as she greedily takes more until her wounds are fully healed, and then it takes an astonishing amount of control to finally pull back with a gasp. If her inner beast had it's way, she'd drink until Jon was dry.

    "Thank you," she says, bowing her head, her cheeks flushed from both the feeding and embarrassment. "I hate that I have to take from you in situations like this." She looks up as she stands, giving Jon a slight grin, "It's no small thing to give your blood to a vampire, and I am always grateful to those who donate."

    She nods at Layla and finds her way over to a chair to properly sit. "While you're up there can you grab me a t-shirt or something?" She puts her fingers through the tears of her blouse which is showing an indecent amount of skin. "I don't think Cael would appreciate seeing my boobs first thing when she comes to."
Jonathan Sims     "You're quite welcome," the goddess replies. "Perhaps clothing for Cael Becker as well," Ma'at adds. She was quite calm through the feeding, merely closing her eyes for a moment as if enjoying the sensation. Now, she watches Layla and Marc go with a thoughtful expression, eyebrows narrowing slightly.

    After a moment, "The Archivist will return shortly. She should not wake until morning. My avatar will need rest, but you know how he is. Stubborn. He may well have to sleep here." A shrug, and the goddess turns to open a portal in the wall and step through.

    Shortly thereafter, Jon will return with Agnes and Bear and Lady Gray, the heroic dog all healed up. The three of them will get situated in a room, Layla and Marc will talk, Lydia will keep vigil over Cael's sleeping form. In the meantime, an eerie stillness settles over the Mission once more. Dark matters are afoot, but their trials are not over yet.