Owner Pose
Jonathan Sims     Grand Central Station is busy. The current plan is two major battles, and hopefully the end of the invasion, within the week. Despite the losses on Sunday, the Terminal is known to be safe and relatively off-limits to the angels. Nick Drago's song "Carry Us" has been played at various times to bolster spirits, and the overall atmosphere is positive.

    The meeting to make sure plans are finalized is located in the Dining Concourse down underneath the Main Concourse. The Shake Shack and Central Market stand abandoned, but pizza and soda and coffee are provided as people settle around the tables and chairs and benches arranged in a circular fashion around the central kiosk.

    Jon's using a crutch still, though his broken ankle's healing remarkably rapidly. He sits down once he's sure people have arrived, though, and says, "So I just wanted to kind of... touch base and make sure we all know what's coming. This will be a busy week or two, probably... there's Lydia's Seal to manage and then, ahh... other business as well."

    He looks around. "Just in case... is anyone still unclear on what's going on and why we're doing this? Besides, you know, 'angels invaded Manhattan.' I mean more the overall..." He waves a hand, vaguely, "reason they're doing this."
Sarah Rainmaker     The battle has moved from the tactical to the emotional point. Beyond that necessarily of just fighting and securing ground. Now they'll have to try and hit the enemies emotionally and psychologically. Which is far beyond the ken of Sarah Rainmaker. So she's just sitting over on a crate that's been put out, looking tired. Her face having been recently washed off extensively, her hair looking horrible, and her somewhat burned outfit keeping her barely decent. So she's resting wiht her hands on her lap and just watching. Waiting for the game plan.
Johnny Blaze Somehow, the atmosphere here is positive.

They haven't won quite yet, but they've pushed back the angelic hordes more than once. And maybe it's good enough. Though Johnny had arrived only recently on his hellcycle, though he was not quite transformed. Not yet. There was no reason to be. Now, if Angels were invading GCS? Then there would be concern enough to come in...Blazing.

Cue shades for the pun.

Though as people start to gather, Johnny approaches his arms resting at his sides as he looks at the currently wounded Jon as he talks. "Plenty of other business, I imagine." He hums a moment then. "But no, I'm up to speed." Johnny informs of Sims, as if to try and save him from making a rallying speech.

Though his attentio nrested itself on Rainmaker, a quiet pondering if she was alright after the last encounter with the angels.
Sara Pezzini For Sara, the past couple of weeks had nothing to do with angels or Manhattan. She'd been living in her own personal hell and trying to find enough pieces to get all her ducks in a row. Most of those ducks were in place now, a few kept running off to play in the pond, but in general she was as ready as she was going to be to face life again.

Entering Grand Central with Johnny, she heads toward the old food concourse where the gathering is taking place. Coffee was her beverage of choice, anyone who knew her knew that much, two sugars, one cream. A slice of pizza was also taken, even as she nudged Johnny and pointed at the food. The non-verbal nag.

From there she made her way to a table and sat down, collecting some napkins from the holder, she looked around at those who had shown up. She had no questions regarding the reasons for doing what they were doing, so she offers nods of greeting and remained quiet.
Cael Becker     Standing near the refreshments table is a youth with dark skin, and short black hair - some will recognize him as Amit, a teen who swears to be 'nineteen' - and has been helping Cael with her Quartermaster duties. Right now, though, he seems to be making sure that there's ample cups, cream, sugar, plates, and- "Forks! We don't have any forks!" he suddenly points out.
    "Amit. Who the fuck uses forks with pizza and coffee?" Cael replies - as she pours herself a cup of coffee, and adds a splash of whiskey from a nearby bottle. She carries that, along with a cup of tea, over towards Jon's seat. "What sort of pizza you want?" she asks him quietly. After all - it's easier to help with some of these things, with Jon still using his crutches to get around.
    While Cael's checking in with Jon, Amit's run off towards Sarah, offering her a friendly smile on his youthful features. "You want me to grab you a coffee, Miss? Or tea? There's pizza too," he offers in a hopeful tone.
Phoebe Beacon     Phoebe comes out from the North Concourse, which has been operating as 'magic workshop' for the bright godling that's moved from full armor to midriff tops and linen harem pants, looking exhausted as she pulls the hood of her cutoff, sleeveless hoodie over her desperately-in-need-of-rebraiding hair, especially as her undercut's growing out. She comes in with two Trinta-sized cups of strong coffee, an additional one marked with pink glittery pink 'THE LORD OF DORKNESS' and the other marked with a skull and crossbones. She drinks from the skull and crossbones. She looks exhausted, though she flops into a chair near Jon, looking to Johnny with a grin, and then she leans back in her chair, closing her eyes for a moment before she brings out a thick pile of folded paper.
Lydia Dietrich There's a loud *thunk* and a hum that comes from the Shake Shack and a triumphant cry of, "AHA! MILKSHAKES... ARE... GO!" Lydia appears out from the back of the Shake Shack and gracefully vaults over the counter. "In fifteen minutes we'll have access to milkshakes," she says, making her way to the kiosk. "With everything we've all been through this past week, I think we're due for some. Mootant Milkshakes closed while the assault is on so we'll have to settle for some Shake Shack shakes." She looks over her shoulder to where the shake machine is, "I don't think anybody will mind if we help ourselves. Or notice, really, as long as we clean up afterwards."

When they all get settled in she tells Jon, "Once we've got everybody up to speed on the details, I have a few things I'd like to address about our upcoming plans."
Kaida Connolly It takes her a minute to get down here. Kaida isn't moving anywhere near as fast as she normally does. There's a good deal of healing that was done to the tiny girl but she's still feeling the results of being crushed like a soda can by an angel's CHEATING telekinesis in her fight. She hobbles in without the tiny stick she is supposed to be using and grumbles as she looks up at the table top she'd normally just leap up to but stops at a chair and leaps up to the side of it, wincing when she has to scramble into it and stands with her hand against the back for a moment, holding her side.

"Stupid cheating angel jerk..."
Jonathan Sims     "Lydia," Jon says lazily, peering at the vampire, "that's /stealing/, you know." He grins. "But I think I can forgive you, so long as they have cherry vanilla."

    He reaches out for the tea as Cael comes over, with an appreciative smile, and murmurs, "Whatever has the most meat...? I think I need some extra protein, or my ankle might be weak once it heals up. I think I liked it better when it took time to heal."

    He sighs, then, and looks around at everyone. "Thank you for coming," he says. "I know some people are hurting, in one way or another. I'm glad to see you're up and about, Kaida." He smiles, and glances to Sara. "And glad to see you, too. I hope things are okay."

    He shifts a little on the bench and says, "Alright, well, if everyone's up to speed on the overall shape of things... we're going to be ramping up this week. I'd like to hit the next two wellsprings fast, to keep the angels off-balance until Lydia's seal goes off--hitting the second while she's doing the spell, in order to draw their attention away. The sixth is going to be difficult to get to regardless, so I'm... not as worried about that." He sighs. "We need the angels to be out of Manhattan entirely by mid-February. I have it on good authority that Michael will likely be moving the battle to the Astral Plane if we can seal things off from the physical, so that'll be the next phase of the operation. And in between somewhere, there's some..." He glances at Cael, runs a hand through his hair. Sighs.

    "I have figured out how to fix the imbalance in the universe. The problem has to do with the flow of souls in the universe--namely, that the Old Ones are somehow diverting souls to them, instead of letting them go back into the cycle where they belong. Once the angels leave Manhattan, our next goal will be to fix that problem, which a team will be doing by joining me down in Duat, the Egyptian afterlife." He clears his throat. "I will evidently be going down... the normal way, but there are plans being worked on to help me come back to life and store the Archive while I'm dead. The rest of the team will be going down in some other manner, and I think Lydia and Phoebe are working on that."

    A pause, and then, "I also know what's wrong with Michael, and what we ultimately need to do, to stop him, but we can get to that shortly." He looks to Lydia. "What do you have?"
Sarah Rainmaker A low nod from Sarah Rainmaker is going to Johnny Blaze. Physically she'll be fine. Mentally.. Well, from her expression all that sort of thing can be dealt with when this is over. When their friends are rescued and the immediate imbalance and trauma is gone.. She would go to cross her arms over and then goes to raise her hand up and go to move forwards over and take a breath.
    "And for those whom have been.. Taken in by Michael?" Her finally settling on a more neutral tone given the circumstances. The talk of the astral plane, magic.. All was beyond her ken. Just one step at a time. Free her friend, do what she was told and how to help. "We have plans to help them? Or is that not something that is possible immediately?"
Cael Becker     "Meatlovers it is," Cael answers Jon with a brief smile, before moving away from him. She pauses briefly by Sara, putting her hand on her roommate's shoulder, and offering her a slightly strained smile before moving towards the pizza. She grabs four slices of the meatlovers - two for her, and two for Jon - along with some packets of crushed peppers and parmessan. She has her back turned to Jon as he starts talking about Duat, and the only sign that she's heard is a subtle stiffening of her spine, before she makes her way back towards him once more, with two plates in hand.
    "I'll be going with the team into Duat," she announces simply, as she retakes her seat, pushing one of the places towards Jon.
Johnny Blaze Johnny is nudged by Sara, but he shakes his head. Will that stop her nagging? Hell no. But maybe it'll be good enough. Though he tilts his head. "I might be able to help with the universal soul imbalance thing...and the judging of Michael. But, for the underworld field trip, consider me the first volunteer." Nog the first time he's been to the underworld. The Duat though? That's a first.

He might have to rely on some dimensional magic for that one.

His eyes then move to Lydia, awaiting her report. Though his eyes measure each person here. They've gotten far. Somehow, someway, they'll get through this part too.
Sara Pezzini The coffee gets sipped, the slice of pizza picked at, other wise Sara is just there to be caught up and learn the next stage of plans. Taking time to look around the room, study each person present that she can see, she finally settles her eyes on Jon and offers a nod.

"I'm alright," she offers with a hint of a smile. "Few things are more important, so taking a break from my own reality."

Lydia had plans, the Seals, and so her attention goes to the pale woman in preparation to listen. What part she might be able to play in all this now was unknown. She was looking to find it while she listened, hoping there was some way she could actually be helpful. Johnny gets nudged again however, and the pizza pointed to again. Silent nag number two.
Jonathan Sims     Jon looks to Sarah. "I'm hoping," he says quietly, "that Michael leaving Manhattan will leave the mortals behind, too. I'm going to... /try/ to negotiate that with him, when I turn myself over to him for his... retribution, but I honestly don't know how much leverage I'll have. Either way, stopping Michael gets them back to us."

    He gives Cael a sad smile as she comes back and reaches out to squeeze her hand before taking the pizza and looking to Lydia. Questions of who's going down to meet him are more her business than his, really.
Cael Becker     "I can grab you some pizza," comes a voice - abruptly at Sara and Johnny's side. "What kind do you like? We have cheese, veggie, meatlovers, and sausage," Amit offers helpfully. "I can grab you some coffee, too." The teen has been an ever-present helpful figure in Grand Central Station ever sense refugees started gathering there - helping wherever he could, but always denied the opportunity to actually go out into battle with the rest of the militia. Despite his efforts to join the fight.
Phoebe Beacon     "I can fix that *now* you know." Phoebe mutters from under her hoodie, wriggling her back a little against the chair as she pokes at Jon, with Sara poking at Johnny. She then takes out her phone, with its broken screen and its familiar candid picture from the Laughing Magician as its background, and she taps out a text to someone.

    "I'll take two slices of cheese, one slice of veggie, please. Amit -- and thank you!"
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would nod at Jonathan, "And we have.. Psychological help established for those that are as well? And if need be professional assistance with helping to decondition them?" Because that's going to be among the hard parts as well; easing them back into reality and treating the guilt. She would glance at the others going on while not moving towards the food.
Jonathan Sims     "That'll be taken care of," Jon says firmly to Sarah. "It was already on my mind. But we have to get through the next few weeks, first."

    He eyes Phoebe for a moment, then sighs. "I was forcing myself to be aware of the problems of /flying toward Earth at terminal velocity/, but I wouldn't mind the healing, if you're willing. I still could use the extra protein." He rubs at the back of his neck. "Even with a boost, my healing is still limited by my insistent belief that injuries take time to heal. Seems like a waste of my student loans."
Lydia Dietrich Lydia gives Jon a mischievous grin. "I'll write them an IOU, and they're /Shake/ Shack. Of /course/ they have cherry vanilla." She nods when she's directly addressed and moves up to stand next to Jon.

"So, first of all, progress report on The Great Seal, as it's become known," she says folding her arms. "The design is finished and I've been sneaking out in the wee hours of the night to inscribe the eleven individual nodes in the right spots. It'll be good to go in a few days hence. Myself, Phoebe, and Meggan will be doing the casting and we won't exactly be able to defend ourselves very well when we're casting it."

"It's going to be a big spell, folks," she says, a warning in her voice. "And when it gets going it'll light up all of Manhattan. The distraction will be good to get us into place and started, but it's a /long/ spell to cast. I cut down the time as much as I could but I couldn't get it in in under thirty minutes." She looks around the room meeting each person's eyes with her own strange golden ones. "These will be the most important thirty minutes in all of existence. If the rite fails /we/ fail."

"... No pressure. Any questions?"
Cael Becker     "...I think we're a bit focused on saving reality from being destroyed completely," Cael says dryly, "and helping Jon //escape death.//" There's a flat tone in her voice - with an undercurrent of anger that those who know her would easily spot. "Maybe later we can worry about the mental health of the opposing forces."
    Jon is, of course, much gentler in his approach.
    Cael's attention turns to Lydia next, listening to her explination of coming events with a serious expression on her features. "I go wherever I'm most needed - and I smack angels around. I'm pretty sure that's all I need to know..."
    "Coming up, Miss!" Amit says immediately, moving to the table to fetch the food for Phoebe, getting the pizza onto the plate - and then casually shoving it across the table, to have it stop near enough for Phoebe to reach. It isn't a perfectly slide, but it's good enough.
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would go to nod to John and mouth a 'thank you' before turning to Phoebe, "And what are the tactical plans for defense?" That's probably more to Jonathan Sims. "Presuming that if Michael feels like this is a priority effort to stop there will be little reason for him to not send some of the endless legions he has into the breach to simply bury the group in numbers of attackers? To send his brethren to die merely to disrupt it?" The ARchangel's 'deaths' have been terrifying to the point that throwing them into lower orbit has still left damage from the explosions.
    "Or are there sorts of rules they must follow that prevent them from sending endless legions into the fray and attempting to merely level the area to disrupt it?" Her questions serious; she presumes that this sort of thing is logical and has contingencies in place to handle or there are other reasons that it's not an issue.
    Combat is the only real area she can offer things on; and even that is somewhat minimal. So her face is neutral as she asks what to her are important questions, but in the greater scheme of things may not be necessary ones.
Phoebe Beacon     "Yeah, flying lessons are apparently on my docket too." Phoebe gives a wry grin, and she reaches out, turning in her chair to touch Jon's shoulder and his side to form the circuit.

    "I'm going to note that even with the expansion afforded to me by harvesting the Will that made up the lesser angels, it's going to take a lot of focus and a lot of power. Pretty much all eyes are going to be on us, so if anything penetrates the outer layer of defenses and gets past our vangard, we're more than a little bit fucked. We don't have a Plan B."

    She frowns a moment, distractedly healing Jon makes it take longer.

    "I can try painting up some additional explosive circles and harvest runes to try and self-feed into the wards. I would need someone else to direct them, and the only one I know who's as good with Wards is still... off somewhere else."

    She breathes out "I could try to teach someone on the quick how to do just the directing, but that puts them at a risk for exposure to the Angels and paints a big target at their back. There will be simultanious actions -- but I know for a fact Michael can split himself."
Jonathan Sims     Jon chews on his lip, eyeing Lydia. "We'll need to coordinate, then. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel can co-locate, but none of the others can. To my knowledge, it's Gabriel and the Metatron we'll be dealing with up in Inwood, so hopefully we'll keep them busy, and Gabriel's on our side--he'll only do a token fight, what he must to follow the letter of Michael's orders. We'll provide you with enough of the Project Gozer boxes to cut down the majority of the angelic forces, and... hmm. A larger team will be noticed, but you'll need people to help defend you. Would you prefer a smaller group, and the Gozer boxes? Or a full team?"

    He glances to Sarah, reaching out to touch Cael on the arm gently as if to calm her, then says, "That's what we're working out just now, the defensive plans. It had been that Michael was retreating when I finished a seal, but now it's when he's destroyed--which I have a way to counter, actually. My barriers are strong enough, right now, to hold in the explosion of an archangel." And no, he's /not/ explaining how he knows /that/.

    He eyes Phoebe for a moment, considering. "Good idea, but yes, we'll need to find someone who can help you with that."
Tim Drake     And as soon as that greasy paper plate slides its way across the table towards Phoebe, a dark shadow begins to creep, casting itself slowly over the seated wielder of Light and partner to Lydia in the upcoming ritual casting necessary to seal Manhattan against the Heavenly Host's intentions.

    Then, Red Robin swipes that singular slice of veggie pizza and drops down into the chair next to Phoebe, pausing only in his rapid devouring of carby, cheesy goodness to drink at length from the coffee prepared for him.

    Even the angular edges of his bird-like domino mask can't quite hide the bruising under Red Robin's eyes any more. Like his mentor the Dark Knight of Gotham, Red Robin is hardly a person of note within Grand Central. It's not what they do, making themselves known and socializing like that. But their presence is felt in other ways, with the addition of supplies brought in by quick, low-flying drones and a fairly extensive network of monitoring equipment feeding information on angelic movement throughout the borough.
Johnny Blaze Second nudge. Second shake of the head, though Johnny's arms cross over his chest. "So we have to keep the host busy for thirty minutes?" Johnny hums. "No pressure. A team an provide the distraction, be a wall to stop interference in the ritual. Might be wise to get Strange involved."

"We got this." Probably. But Johnny felt the need to say that, a small smile given to Sarah at her nod. "I can try and stall them, worst case scenario." Which might lead to Johnny getting killed, depending on the enemy.
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would give a low nod over to Jonathan, "If there are other ways we can slow them down conventionally it would also be useful so those who are.. Casters can save their efforts." That has her looking over at Red Robin over as he does his almost sort of theatrical arrival. "I presume that such plans can be spread out somewhat so one single group isn't responsible for having to cover all circumstances?" Time crunch, too many cooks with the pot, etc.
Lydia Dietrich Lydia just shrugs helplessly at Jon. "I have no idea if a smaller team or a full team would be better. I'm not the tactician of the group. I would err on the side of caution and bring a full team," she says. "Because once we start, they'll know exactly what we're up to. The diversion will buy us time to get it started, but I doubt Michael won't do his best to get as many as his forces to Central Park as soon as he can."

She looks between Sara and Johnny, "If you can find ways of slowing them down, that would be fantastic. We know where they're going to /be/ and where they're going /to/, and we've got a few days to plan... I don't know. Traps. Ambushes. Anything you can think of."
Cael Becker     Cael looks briefly towards Jon at the touch to her arm - giving him a nod that seems to be her attempt at reassuring him that she's fine.
    Of course, whether that's true or not depends on your definition of 'fine.' If 'coping' counts - then she is indeed fine.
    She picks up her pizza finally, taking a large bite and chewing - perhaps to keep herself from mouthing off again. It's always a risk with her, after all.
    Amit, meanwhile, has decided that Sara's nagging nudges and looks count as an order for pizza - and he heads back to the boxes - fetching a pair of cheese slices to drop in front of Johnny. Apparently he gets pizza whether he likes it or not. A cup of coffee is likewise set beside it - along with a few creamers and sugar packets.
Sara Pezzini Fine, Johnny can miss out on the pizza... not that Sara is actually eating the slice she took. Sipping the coffee her mind is in many places, listen to the plans and the concerns, the situation painting itself into one of more danger that human beings shouldn't have to deal with and yet they are. Even with the help of being like the Ghost Rider, Lady Death, and even Witchblade (until recently), humans were standing up to the host in their own ways.

Where her mind went was a dark place however, which meant she remained silent and stared into the cup of coffee in her hand. She wanted to help, and that would mean finding it in herself to look past what had happened, it would mean finding the answers faster than she had thus far been able to do.

Looking up to Lydia as she spoke again, something in Sara's head finally snapped into place. "If there's anything we can do," the we being her and Witchblade. "We will try to do it. I can't make any promises, but a distraction, that I can help with."
Jonathan Sims     Jon rubs at his temples and then holds up a hand. "Okay, hold up, please. To be clear: the Great Seal will be performed at the same time as I am sealing the wellspring at the ginko tree in Inwood. Anyone Lydia doesn't want with her, will be with me. What I'm doing is important, too, and must be stopped--so the angels /will/ come after that team. It's not merely a diversion--it's vitally important to the next phase of things. We're doing it at the same time to split their attention."

    He looks around. "I can keep Michael busy for thirty minutes," he says confidently, "and I'm all but certain Lady Death will be there too. But he'll split himself, as noted, so someone with Lydia will need to do the same. I'm going to suggest you take a SHIELD team and a few people to play direct defense, and otherwise focus on traps and ambushes."

    He looks to Tim. "You've been making Project Gozer boxes, and I know Batman has other tech around. Can you get in ahead of time and set up traps along with Phoebe, magical and physical both, to destroy as many of Michael's forces as possible?" There's little question in his mind that Tim would want to be with Phoebe anyway. "And can you gain access to whatever it was that let Batman lay Michael out?"
Johnny Blaze "I can call some friends."

Johnny tells Sims. "Last thing we need is you taking a trip to the Underworld before it's time." Johnny says in concern rather than to try and change his mind. He considers Sims a friend and someone needed. He's the commander, after all. Soldiers need commanders. "I might have to do some finding, but I can get out a call."

If he's lucky...the skies could be filled with Ghost Riders. Though Johnny would find it miraculous if he could get into contact with even one. But that's just to keep an angry Host busy, or try to. Angel weapons are a real bitch to Ghost Riders. "I can help you with the Michael problem, Sims. Decently held him off - or really, just distracted him. But If you have the bigger canons, use them." Johnny nods once, though his eyes turn to Lydia. "Alright, we're officially on guard duty. Won't let you down." He nods. Though Amit giving him pizza makes Johnny sigh.

"Fine." and he grabs a slice. "Thanks." He admits. The coffee is practically chugged on the spot.
Lydia Dietrich Lydia purses her lips and looks at Jon. "Do you think SHIELD would have a problem working with a team of Brotherhood operatives? Mystique will be there to help protect me, and she'll want to bring her own forces too." She scowls and adds somewhat bitterly, "Or are the optics on that too questionable to consider?"
Cael Becker     "So if three of our heaviest hitters are busy casting the great seal thing... Then we still need someone with the oomph to back them up and defend them from Michael //when// he splits himself. Unless you're competely counting on the 'Batman trick' to work again?" Cael remarks with a thoughtful frown. She doesn't like the idea of splitting herself off from Jon in the middle of one of the fights - but if that's what it takes to win this thing...
    "If we don't split our forces right..." The plan may be to distract and split the angelic forces - but thee's more of them. And they're splitting their //own// forces as well. She frown uncertainly, wishing she felt more confident in the plan. "Personally, I don't care who's fighting. This is for all of reality. We all need this to go right - whether we wear a white hat or not."
    While she's thinking, Amit tears off a bit of sausage pizza and he crouches under the table, murmuring, "Just a bite - okay Bear?" The massive dog who's been hiding under the table all this while happily gobbles up the offering - his tail thumping a few times audibly on the tiled floors.
Phoebe Beacon     It takes everything for Phoebe to conserve her energy and not pop her AOE healing effect. Mostly because she's not sure if it would end up popping something else out. That could be bad to send Jon into the Shake Shack and Red Robin to the other side of the room. She lifts her hands off Jon's shoulder, and there is a subtle nudge against Red Robin's side in greeting, a smile flashing from under Phoebe's hood as she looks to the third Boy Wonder, and then reaches down, and swipe her right thumb over her left wrist, unbinding her aura. There's a subtle glow around her as she leans back in her chair, still quiet and in thought, taking a look over to Red, and she lifts her phone and types something to a text.

    "I could try an amplification circle. I'm not sure how it would react with your power, but it could make a brainstorm into a tornado with the right circumstances." she states, and then she looks to Jon, and then looks to Lydia... and then she turns her hands over a moment as she looks down.

    "I think we're past optics at this point. How many SHIELD and volunteer militia have we already lost? A group of highly coordinated and perhaps powered individuals... I wouldn't turn down the help, optics be damned."
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would nod at Cael int hought, "They can send forces to flood the arae. Even without other Archangels around, they can send massive forces in and I don't see why they wouldn't. Which could be tens of thousans if not millions until Michael is dealt with." Still not great odds no matter the scenario. "And theres' not much ground that can be yielded to slow them down." She's thoughtful now and going quiet as Cael and PHoebe go on.
Jonathan Sims     "I will be fine," Jon says, firmly, to Johnny. "I took out Michael one-on-one on Sunday, and I know how to contain his explosions now. I would rather not call in forces we don't know and don't understand. I am neither fragile, nor in need of defending, just now. I survived an impact with the ground at terminal velocity--I am /not/ going to die until it's /time/ for me to die, and I highly doubt anyone will be able to stop whatever that is." He sighs.

    "I am /far/ more worried about Lydia and her team--the angels aren't even /approaching/ the ginko, which tells me that it's overflowing with Gaea's power. And besides, Becker has my back. What we're going to /need/ is someone to take on the Metatron, because it's siding with Michael, and it won't pull punches."

    He looks to Lydia. "If anyone in SHIELD has a problem working with a team of Brotherhood operatives to save the universe, they will get reassigned off this mission. I have to hear enough blithering about HYDRA from people to not give a single fuck about the 'optics' of this anymore. We're working with a literal Hell Lord, we can work with Mystique. That covers some degree of 'splitting our forces,' and if John doesn't show up to defend his bloody /wife/ I'll actually track him down and have words with him.""

    He sighs and closes his eyes as Phoebe's aura comes unbound. Not just the ankle, but aches and pains from weeks of sleeping on a cot and sitting on metal chairs and fighting all kind of melt away. Aside to Sarah, he says, "That's what Project Gozer is for. Takes the lower ranks right out from under them. Not sure he'll even bother."
Tim Drake     There's no direct answer from Red Robin as to what weaponry he intends to bring to bear in Phoebe's defense. And of course, no, there's no question about where he'll be that night. He lifts his chin towards Jon as he chews through a bite of purloined pizza to confirm his intentions.

    Traps? Oh yes, very likely.

    Whatever else, though, he keeps close to his chest. "Michael will be dealt with," is all Red Robin says, on the matter.

    Then he clucks his tongue. It's at Phoebe, but whatever the gentle reproach is for isn't explained.
Sarah Rainmaker As Jonathan would go to speak Sarah would note, "So Metatron wil lbe the biggest threat on the field?" She would consider "Or at least one of them. He's seen fit to at least the last time engage in a bit of buildup for a fight. Is that likely to remain so?" She would close her eyes. "And as of a day or two ago you threw him up seven or eight miles and we still felt the explosion. Are you sure you can ahndle it? Since you'll be having to hold off Michael at the same time?"
Lydia Dietrich Lydia nods in satisfaction. She was tired of people questioning her motives when the entire fate of the universe is at stake. "Okay. Good. We'll have a team of the Brotherhood's best there. I know more than a few members who have been chomping at the bit to get in on the action."

"Okay, so, we're all up to speed on The Great Seal. We just need to work out some of the details," she says, leaning against a table. "There's something else I need to address before this meeting is adjourned. Jon's death...."

Then her watch starts beeping on her and she looks at it and turns the alarm off. "Looks like the shake machine is ready. Who wants a milkshake?"
Jonathan Sims     Jon nods, once, to Tim. Good to know, and he trusts Tim to have this. Then he just kind of... beams at Sarah. "I am /certain/ I can stop Michael's explosion. Already tested the concept. My barriers can contain the explosion of an archangel--/any/ archangel. I doubt I could do two of them at once, but as long as I'm there in time I'll be able to contain the explosion to... well, nothing, really. Not even a shudder." He grins. "I cannot /wait/ to see the look on Michael's face when he realizes."

    He glances over at Lydia and rolls his eyes. "Did you do that on /purpose/? I would very much like a milkshake if we're going to be discussing my impending demise." A pause. "And like I said, there's something else to discuss, too. The next phase, after the angels leave Manhattan."
Cael Becker     Cael just //stares// at Lydia - a slice if pizza part way to her mouth. "...I don't fucking care about milk shakes right now, what do you have figured out about Jon's death?" She's practically shouting down Jon's own reply, her jaw setting tightly as she realizes that- ...may not have been the best response. But- for fuck's sake.
    She sets down her slice of pizza, and finds that there's abruptly a white, furry head in her lap, which she pets at with a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I know, Bear. I'm fine. I swear."
    ...she accidentally just got pizza grease on her dog. Damnit.
Phoebe Beacon     " -- his --" Phoebe pauses a moment, distracted as she holds her phone so hard that there is a new crack on it, but just as suddenly as it appears, it's gone.

    "... well if he doesn't show up, who needs him. We've gotten by without him so far." Phoebe states, with more-than-a-little-bitterness to her voice.

    She takes a breath, and lets it out just as quick. "I'll need access to the area around where we're setting up. I've got enough spraypaint to cover a couple streets and light 'em up with a magic word." she crosses her arms "Or with a strike-anywhere match and a cigarette. Who needs him."

    She huffs, and then she unfolds paper, making sure the table is clean, ready to talk about killing Jon.

    "I have to be there when Jon dies, or the Archive will pass to Agnes."
Sarah Rainmaker And Sarah.. Sarah Rainmaker is a part of these proceedings to first and foremost rescue her friend. Whom may or may not be freed from these events. And may or may not be whisked into whatever the next tumult would be. And for the 'next phase' of things? That is more than she can understand. But there's the greater picture here to look at. Which is well beyond..
    Sarah's face flashes along several different expressions before going neutral as things flare with the roughness that is going to come. Sarah would just go to sit back over on a box like it was a chair, having little productive to add to these proceedings beyond adopting a -vastly- horrible brooding posture that was more like a sulk. Robin should be ashamed of her.
Johnny Blaze Johnny simply falls into a draft silence. Is arms stay crossed over his chest and he's not eating or drinking. His eyes are somewhat narrowed, as if he's hearing things, but it's not the others in the room.

He doesn't want to get confident. overconfidence is death in a battle. Though Johnny tries and shakes off Zarathos's criticism and negativity going on in his mind right now. He seems to have little to add at the moment.
Sara Pezzini Now that Sara understood the full depth at which the rabbit hole went, the very thing Cael has specifically not told her, she sits up a great deal straighter and looks over at Jon. She understood Cael's anger, in fact she felt a little herself. Jon was going to die. That is what Cael had not said, and the mere thought of losing him made her angry. To learn it like this added more anger, but she locked it all down and took a bite of her pizza. There was nothing she could add, so she'd keep listening.
Lydia Dietrich Lydia's only answer to Jon is a knowing grin as she makes her way to the back of the Shake Shack stand. The hum of the shake machine in operation fills the room, and after a few minutes, Lydia appears with a tray of assorted flavors of milkshake.

"Here you go, Jon," she says, handing him a shake, and then setting the tray down within easy reach of everybody. "I've got a couple each of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and cherry vanilla."

Grabbing one of the latter ones she resumes her position next to Jon. "Okay. So," she says sipping on her shake. "The bad news is that Jon is going to die. The good news is that he won't be alone. Several of us have mentioned storming the gates of Duat to get Jon out and that is /exactly/ what we're going to do."

"Well," she concedes. "Not /just/ to help him get out. He's going to need help stopping the Great Old Ones from supping on the souls of the damned, so we need a crack team of elite mages to go in after him." She gives the group a wan grin, "That means us."

"I had a chat with Isis about this a few days ago, to see if she could teach me how to open a way to the Duat. This she did," she says. "It turns out to be surprisingly easy. The hard part, once in, is to not get eaten, lost, driven mad, or die for real. She told me who we needed to take in order to get in, take care of business, and then out again."

"In order to fix this we're going to need six people in total," she continues. "It's.... going to be a challenge trying to get us to all get along, I have to admit. We need the three Champions. Gaeas," she says, nodding to Jon, "who'll be getting there the regular way, Michael's, and whoever this Champion of Freedom turns out to be." She watches those assembled to take in what she's said. They're going to have to try to convince Caitlin Fairchild to work with them. No easy ask.

"As for who's accompanying them, we need three other people. We need a lightbearer to guide us through the darkness as we descend." She nods to Phoebe, "That'd be you. We need someone who's close to Jon's heart to remind him of who he is." She gestures to Cael, "That'd be you, since Martin can't go. And they need someone who's overcome death to lead them out. That would be me. Even though I don't remember it, apparently I've trod that path before, so theoretically, I can do it again. Questions?"
Jonathan Sims     Jon glances to both Cael and Phoebe as they speak. Wordlessly, he reaches out to take Cael's hand and squeeze it, hard. He leans over to whisper something to her, then says, "So you have to be in proximity to transfer the Archive?" A pause. "I presume that means Red Robin, too?" There's an obscure pain in his eyes. Of all the people he /doesn't/ want to have there, watching him die, the two Outsiders he knows best are top of the list. It's not fair, or right, to ask them to be there--but if they're willing, and it keeps his daughter from becoming Archivist...

    He sighs, takes his milkshake with a nod to Lydia, and frowns thoughtfully. "Alright, so... that's Caitlin Fairchild and Lady Death, then. She's the third Champion--I'm not certain who it is that disrupted the game yet, but I got confirmation that she's the other Champion yesterday. So we'll /have/ to get Caitlin on our side, and Lady Death... willing to help. Well, she might be, for Agnes. She already defended me so Agnes wouldn't have to take the Archive."

    He sips the milkshake. "Trying to ensure that I can get on Ra's barge is why I've been directly fighting Michael," he notes. "I need to be certain I have whatever qualifications are in place to go the Pharoah's route. Which is... gods, that's a weird thing to say, I'm a /scribe/." He shakes his head. "But it's the best way to be reborn that I can think of, going through Amduat instead of the Osiris route."
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would glance at Jonathan, "I will do whatever we -need- to to rescue Caitlina nd get her out of this." That's her priority personally. T mak whatever sacrifice that she must. "If I can do anything just.. Ask me of it." That's what Sarah considers worth far more than her own safety. Then she fels like she has to ask..
    "Who is Lady Death? And if you can rescue Caitlin then you.. Have to take her along with you to whatever this.." The concept of the mechanics of life after death and returning someone lost to it are well beyond her ken.
Tim Drake     There's no response from Red Robin about all this news, talk of Jon's death, and the Archive passing to him. It's very possible that Red Robin already knew about these things.

    Of course that's not the reason why there's no response. The reason is because at some point, the chair that he had occupied for the length of time necessary to eat all three slices of Phoebe's pizza (sorry, Phoebe) is now vacated. Somehow he's managed to vanish without a trace, except for the surely-coincidental disappearance of the coffee prepared for him as well.
Cael Becker     Cael squeezes Jon's hand tightly - perhaps painfully so - as Lydia actually //walks away to make milkshakes.// She's almost shaking with anger, as the fingers of her free hand stroke over Bear's head, and her eyes fill with tears she refuses stubbornly to shed. "It's not fuckin' funny," she murmurs back quietly, as she waits tensely.
    She has nothing to add to Lydia's explination of the coming expedition into Duat, as she simply glares darkly at the milkshake that's been set in front of her. She's no longer hungry.
    Amit has gone quiet - but he does take some of the shakes off Lydia's hand, helping to hand them off. The only sound from him, the occasionally quiet murmur of, "Strawberry? Or chocolate? Or-"
Sara Pezzini Setting her coffee down, Sara picks herself up and walks around the table to stand by Cael. Leaning down she whispers something in her ear, before laying her hand on the woman's shoulder. She got it, and she'd be there for Cael no matter what.

"No, it's not funny, and we'll figure it out Cael," she offers quietly. "No one here wants to see Jon be dead for long. We got this, just one step at a time."

Even with her own personal hell, she could offer strength to her friend, she could be there for her in the darkness.
Lydia Dietrich Lydia just open mouth /boggles/ as Jon reveals who the Champion of Freedom is. "You have /got/ to be kidding me," she says. "No wonder she told me getting the three champions to work together would be no small feat." She rubs the bridge of her nose as if it's causing her physical pain. "I thought it was going to be tough to get Caitlin to work with /me/ a literal vampire, one of the monsters she talks about. But Lady Death?" she shakes her head. "I want to use the word, 'impossible,' but I know that we don't have that luxury."

"Do we have any way of breaking her out from under Michael's spell?" she asks, looking hopefully to Jon and Phoebe. "We'll need to do that if we have even a /hope/ of convincing her to come."
Phoebe Beacon     Phoebe knew Red Robin left. She could trail him if she wanted, messily stumbling after him, and she bows her head slightly.

    "YEah, this is... I have more faith in Bear's passing of gas knocking Michael out of existence than Caitlin working with Lady Death go to Duat, the land of my ancestors, and get Jon out." she admits, and she leans onto her hands, reaching over to where Red Robin had been sitting -- as if she hadn't noticed he was gone, and then she straightens up.

    "Provided we're nearby when Jon -temporarily- dies, we should be able to transfer--"

    she pauses. Her eyes open.

    "... she'd listen to Wonder Woman. If we can lasso someone and have them speak Truth, maybe that can convince her. If we go for it from the angle of 'this will stop the war'--"
Jonathan Sims     "Lady Death is already working with us, to some degree," Jon says softly, his shoulders slumping a bit at the waves of emotion from around him. He focuses on his milkshake, frowning. "She's a Hell Lord, but she used to be mortal. As for Caitlin, she is /not/ under a spell. She needs to see what Michael's doing. There are plans in place to find her parish priest, Father Pat. She'll listen to him well before Wonder Woman, at this point. Troia's been trying, Phoebe, without much luck."

    He looks around. "I believe that we can manage this," he says quietly. "This is the actual challenge. Unity. Harmony. Not all of us doing the same thing in the same way, but disparate people pulling in the same direction for a common cause. Gaea believes in us--in /all/ of us. That includes Caitlin, and Lady Death, and everyone in this room, vampires included. We are all Her children, and we are going to manage this, somehow. She would not have suggested we have a chance if we couldn't do this."
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would close her eyes and go quiet now. Now.. Now they're beyond her ability to discuss or to cope with. Sarah would go to slide off the box she had been sitting on to maneuver a distance away from the group, but near enough to pay attention. Then she would go, quietly..
    "If Michael is aware of the priest then he will have had.. Father Pat removed or neutralized. Make sure that you have a backup in place or proof that if Michael had done such a thing."
Cael Becker     With Sara at her back as well, whispering in her ear, some of the tears leak out of her eyes, only to get quickly dashed away with her back of her hand. "Thank you," is all she murmurs to her friend.
    She takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly before she adds, "I think Lady Death will work with us. She, uhh... She seemed to have a bit of an affinity for me? I might be able to help with things, there. But... Fairchild..." She frowns at that. She's going to have work with her? Fairchild had said that Cael deserved- Well. Best not to think about it. "I don't think the lasso would help. I told her the truth already - and she believed it. But it didn't sway her beliefs - it reinforced them. Her reality ain't our own."
    Her eyes flick towards Rainmaker for a moment before she adds, "I really don't think Michael thinks that way. I don't think he'd believe for a moment that Fairchild would ever turn from the 'path of righteousness' or whatever bullshit wording he'd use - once she'd found it. Michael understands fuck all about mortals. Fuck. And all."
Johnny Blaze "All it needs is the right kind of communication." Johnny comments on getting people to work together. "Some methods work better than others." He looks at Jon then, raising a brow. His way of waking up Caitlin was interrupted with good reason. Words probably will work better than punching someone in the face.

Then Robin is gone! "...huh, quiet one isn't he." Johnny frowns a moment as he ponders the alternatives. He has no knowledge of the Duat or the paths or what have you. But as plans are laid out, Johnny still remains silent. He looks on with a frown. "Gonna be difficult. plenty of different personalities in this room alone."
Sara Pezzini Sara's hand remains lightly on Cael's shoulder, just a small reminder that she was there as once again she looked around at those present.

"If Gaea believes we can do this, then there is no doubt in my mind that we can," she states with more conviction than she had been showing. "We may not /see/ the answers right now, and it's possible that's because the answers aren't there yet, but if She believes... then we should believe."

She gives Cael's shoulder a light squeeze then removes her hand. "We are meant to do this together, good and bad, humans, mutants, and aliens, the righteous and the non believers. We are the human race, and this is our time to shine. Have faith in yourselves and in each other, and we'll get through this."
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would shake her head at Cael, "Very well, if you have faith in this.. I believe you and will do what I can to support you." Her tone is quiet and somber. Giving a low nod over at other things being said and then a nod at Johnny as she would go to approach him to if allowed speak quietly to him whiel glancing over her shoulder at the rest then as she would go to speak quietly if allowed.

"They're relying too much on a single method and individual." Her tone is flat. "And preusming that he will be fully in support of them and that they can locate him in time. There needs to be some sort of backup."
Jonathan Sims     Jon nods in agreement with Cael. "Michael doesn't think like a mortal, at all. He telegraphs his moves, he values power over speed or stealth, he doesn't have any spy network that I'm aware of--likely because the only angel equipped to be a 'spy' isn't actually in agreement with him. I don't know that he presumes that Caitlin's faith is /that/ strong--he seems to think she might turn away from him. But I don't know that he'd hurt a priest. And while he may well have sent Father Pat away, or done something to him--as I said, we're already on that. It's the best hope we have, to actually get through to Caitlin."

    He looks around. "Are there any more questions that are about the practical side of this whole thing? We can pontificate for hours on how to get people to work with us, or we can go out and trying to befriend them--which I've been doing. That's part of my role, I think, as Champion. People, Rainmaker, are not a tactical problem to solve. They are /people/. I'm not trying to get Caitlin and Lady Death to work with us merely to save the universe--I genuinely like and want to befriend the both of them, as different as they are. I will do my best to speak to the both of them when I can, if I can. Anyone else that tries? I suggest you not go in with ulterior motives, particularly with Caitlin."

    He looks around. "But... we know what we need to do, on that front. Are people interested in finding out what we actually need to do, to save the universe?" There's a wry tone, underlaced with something oddly bitter, there.
Lydia Dietrich Lydia heaves a sigh at Phoebe. "Mystique tried that. She got Wonder Woman to lasso her and she confessed, to the world, that she was trying to turn over a new leaf, be a better woman." She shakes her head, "All it did was lead to speculation on how she was able to cheat the Lasso of Truth."

She sighs at Jon, "I didn't mean 'spell' that way, Jon and you know it." She shakes her head, "I admit, I've wanted to talk to her since this began. Still do. I've been..." she hesitates, looking around the room. "I've been writing this all down. Everything that's happening. There needs to be a record of it, and I'm trying to keep it as unbiased as possible. That means getting Caitlin to tell me her side of things. I want to talk to Michael, too, in much the same vein."

"I was told the key to this was compassion and balance," she says. "How can I make an accurate record if I don't have the same compassion for them as I do for us?" She shakes her head, and goes to sit down. "I'm rambling. Don't mind me."
Sarah Rainmaker And then there's a glance from Sarah Rainmaker to Jonathan Sims, and a sad nod given, "Then I respect your ability to have fiath and things of a higher purpose, and that the situation will work out in appeals to people and sincerity." She would go to move away and take another seat over on a box and pull her legs up. "But all I can offer is these pragmatics which are far from useful for the perspective at hand."
Phoebe Beacon     "I'm talking about The World. I'm talking about... I don't know. She and I used to be amenable. I trained with the Amazons for a time, but if you say that Troia failed and the Lasso's no good, hey, what do I know? I"m just the girl who brought Wonder Woman back from black magic braindeath entirely untrained." Phoebe states, and she folds up her paperwork.

    "Of course I'll go with you to Duat. I just hope we don't have to cut out anyone's heart this time. That sucked."

    And then the teenager, with her coffee and spellwork, goes to return to the Workshop.
Cael Becker     Little by little, the grip Cael still held on Jon's hand had been loosening - but at that wry, bitter note to his voice, she tightens it for a moment, to give him a squeeze, her gaze turning towards him. "I'm all ears," she offers quietly.
    "I wish I had more more notion of how all of this works." She feels a bit useless when it comes to planning these things without it. "But I'll do whatever needs to be done." Once someone points her in the right direction.
Jonathan Sims     Jon regards Lydia quietly for a moment. "Actually, no," he says. "Almost everyone I talk to is convinced Caitlin is literally under some kind of magical compulsion. As if people don't disagree on these matters, all the time. I've quite literally been where Caitlin is, and it doesn't take magical mind control, though that helps."

    He sighs at Phoebe's statement, and says softly, "My heart's the one that's getting weighed. I just hope--" He shakes his head, and presses on his chest for a moment. He hopes it's not too heavy, this time.

    Deep breath. He looks around. "Alright, so, I know what's... wrong with Michael, that he's doing all that he's doing. He has too much power. When he and Lucifer were tasked with creating a universe, they were granted something called the Demiurgic Force. When Lucifer Fell, Michael stripped him of his part of it, and he's not supposed to have /that/ much power. So he's neglecting some of his duties, to maintain the universe. That's how the Old Ones started diverting the flow of souls. He's actually done this before at least once--reset the universe, although presumably it was easier for him to get at the wellsprings without proper resistance. Nobody but the archangels--not including Lucifer--and Gaea and the Old Ones remember. But resetting the universe didn't fix the problem, because the Old Gods are still siphoning off souls. That's why Gaea asked for mortals to be able to help fix the problem--because Michael doesn't understand death, at /all/. He can't, with all that power. Only mortals can actually fix the problem, which we're going to do."

    He takes a long drink of his milkshake, then goes on, "What needs to be done, is to convince Michael to give up the Demiurgic Force. And we cannot do that by force--we're going to have to talk him into it, because it has to be done of his own volition." He glances to Johnny. "Perhaps you can judge him once that's done, I don't know; that's not really my role anymore. My role is to fix the imbalance, and that means getting the Old Gods out of the flow of souls, and helping Michael see that he needs to give up his power."
Lydia Dietrich Lydia nods along as Jon speaks. "That makes sense, though I /am/ kind of jealous that you'll get to speak to him and I won't, I must admit." She gives her friend a lopsided grin, "Put in a good word for me, will you? Maybe he'll talk to me after this is over."

"Thooooough," she says, drawing out the word. "This does raise the question, 'If Michael gives up the Demiurgic Force, where does it go?'"
Cael Becker     "But Michael //can// compell people. He did it to me - how can you be sure he isn't doing it again? He's so convinced of- of his righteousness. Why //wouldn't// he simply compell her?" Cael asks in a quiet voice.
    Her expression changes to one of concerned sympathy, however, as Jon's hand goes to his heard - and she places her own own free hand over his wordlessly, leaving it thee for several long moments before it drops down onto Bear's head once more.
    "How are you doing to convince that asshole of anything?" she asks bluntly. "I've tried - I've gotten nowhere, and it's not like I was-" She takes a deep breath in, and lets it out slowly befoe she adds, "I did better than I thought I would." But not good enough. Not good enough to-
    Her eyes lock back on to Lydia, anger flaring in her gaze again as she asks, "Jealous that he- //gets// to speak to Michael?" she asks, her hand sweeping out to knock aside the shake that was set in front of her - spilling some of it one the table, before it skids of the edge of it, and splatters across the floor. "He's going to //torture// Jon. Care to take his place?"
    Not that Lydia could. Cael'd already offered - and been refused.
Sarah Rainmaker Sarah Rainmaker would just go to close her eyes over and move to look over at Cael, "If there is suffering to be don take me. I'm an uninvolved party, I'm not going to disrupt events or plans. I won't disrupt the rest of your operations if I'm going to vanish. You don't have to worry how it wil leffect me or what will be done. I can survive it." SHe says this like it is a fait accompli that no matter what it is she believes she will go through sanity intact.
Sara Pezzini Sara grabs some napkins to start cleaning up the spilled milkshake on the table. Cael being Cael, only seeing one side of it, the side where Jon dies and beyond that didn't matter. She honestly could understand it, but there was more to it all, more to the whole situation. Anyone here would takes Jon's place, including herself, but this is the role Jon has been cast in. No one has to like it, in fact no one should like it, least of all Jon, but when humans become the play things of gods, this is what happened.

"Cael," she says softly. "We're all well aware what is going to happen, No amount of screaming, ranting, raving and hatred will change it. Living in the fear and anger of the moment helps nothing and no one, including Jon."
Jonathan Sims     Jon doesn't really answer any of the rest of Cael's questions, because he's staring at the table. "This isn't a lark," he says, tone bitter and cold. "This isn't a game. And this isn't a place where we're /looking/ for people to suffer. This is deadly serioues, and people are /dying/."

    He looks up and around, glaring at the room in general. "I am going to be tortured, on behalf of my friends--a couple of whom have hardly bothered to see how I'm doing. I am going to die, because evidently that's the only bloody way to fix the problem that the Presence caused when They didn't bother to tell Michael to give up his power. But nobody else, /nobody/ else, is going to be tortured, or die, if I can help it. Nobody. So I don't want to hear any more bloody volunteers, because Michael won't take them. It's a waste of breath, and it's self-serving, and I'm /sick/ of it."

    He looks to Sarah. "What good would that do? Really? What /bloody/ good does that do? Michael isn't looking for some random person to hurt--he's getting /retribution/ for something that I did. Nobody else can take my place. Nobody. And whatever death wish you have, you can take it to a damn therapist, because that kind of attitude just gets /other people/ killed out in the field."

    Then he gets up, pushing himself up on his crutch. "Cael's allowed to scream and rant and rave all she fucking likes. Michael /hurt/ her, and she's going to have to deal with him hurting me. Michael's going to /kill/ me, and she's going to have to watch. So are those kids that left. You think I'm not living in fear and anger? I'm terrified. I'm angry. You know who's been helping me through that? Cael. So she's allowed."
Lydia Dietrich Cael's anger strikes within the heart of Lydia's Beast. Her eyes flash red and her fangs are visible as she snarls, "Of /course/ I would take his place! Gladly! In a heartbeat! I would die /again/ for any one of my friends! You think I don't /care/ but I love him like a brother!"

"You love him. I get that, I do!" She stalks forward and pokes a finger in Cael's chest. "But /you/ need to grow the fuck up. Jon isn't some innocent fool who the world suddenly turned on! It was /his choice/ to use bale water to fucking /torture/ an archangel! It was /his choice/ to sacrifice himself for our sake. /Nothing/ that is befalling Jon is chance or fate!"

"Jon is grown up enough to accept the consequences of his actions," she growls. "What's going to happen to him fucking /sucks/ and there's /nothing/ we can do about it! So instead of constantly wringing your hands about how it sucks to be him, /focus/ on fucking helping him!"

"/YOU/ are going to the Duat with me because /you/ are his heart! /You/ are his anchor! If you can't be strong about the things you cannot change, how the fuck are you going to be able to hack it when the time comes when you see him in the underworld he won't see you back? Things are going to get fucking /worse/ down there, and if that's going to make you lose your shit then we're all fucking doomed!"

"We all have roles in this shitshow of a mummers play," she yells, turning her attention away from Cael and now just venting openly. "/His/ role is to die because for some goddamned reason he has to do something that only somebody who is /actually dead/ can do. I'd volunteer for that, too, but apparently I'm not fucking dead enough! /My/ role is to open the way in and go in and... I don't know... pick my nose while important things happen. I'm only there to get you all /out/! /Your/ role is to /remind him/ of who he is and what he's there for because when the time comes he'll have /no clue/ about /any/ of this."

She stands there simmering for a few moments before violently kicking a trash can sending it flying into a wall. "FUCK!"
Johnny Blaze Ah, it appears things are starting to boil down.

"Too late. Half of us are tortured in some way on a daily basis. But one more torturer off the board is good numbers in my book." Johnny replies. "Death is easy, but the road to it can be hard as nails." He says briefly, perhaps a bit too bluntly. As for the convincing of Michael... "Sims has a point. Michael is too powerful to overpower him. We can destroy however much of his physical bodies we like, he's still -present- and can just truly annihilate us if he was really trying. Though there are many beings in creation that classify as 'too powerful'. Frighteningly few of them would ever give it up. There are ways to show Michael the narrow road, so to speak, but none of them are going to be pleasant."

Johnny frowns as he scratches his head. "Shut up." He says to nobody in the room, yet that doesn't mean people can't take it as such, as he tilts his head as if he was grappling something. Though he hums a moment, a shaking hand reaching for a coffee. "If it helps Sims, I'm not looking to die for you. Mainly because you've made it very clear that you're going to and follow it with faith, so it'd be pointless to stop you." Johnny looks at Sarah. "Trust me, you don't want any of the suffering that's on the table right now. It's the kind that shatters a person."

Then Lydia -explodes- and Johnny simply frowns a little bit. He doesn't dare interrupt. He tends to unintentionally make things worse.

He takes a deep breath then, looking to each and every person in the room. "Everything that begins has an end. But whatever we have going on here? Shut it down, now." Johnny states then. "Because these arguments are -not- going to happen when everything hits the fan." He looks around then. "So get all of the yellin' and scoldin' outta the way." Johnny then falls back into silence, moving away from the grenades in the room and picking a wall to lean against.
Cael Becker     Cael grits her teeth, looking first to Sara, and then to Jon - but before she can muster any sort of coherent reply to either of them - Lydia is at her, and Cael is on her feet to meet her, glaring the woman down - every inch of her vibrating with the desire to make a fight out of this.
    "You think I don't know all that? You think I've been focused on anything else?" she spits back angrily. "Everything I've been doing - everything - is to save the fucking world... or to help Jon. And I don't- I can't..." Tears start to slip down her cheeks. "I still don't know what we're fucking doing! If this was a SHIELD op, or the FBI, we'd have... we'd have a plan. There'd be surveilance, blue prints - you get on the quinjet at 08:00, we drop from the rappel lines, Smith'll make the breath, there's surveillance here, and here - Jones'll disable it- I'd know how we're getting there. I'd know- I'd know something! This isn't a fucking plan! How the hell do I get to Duat? How do I get Jon back? Why can no one //really// answer that?" Cael thunders, both of her hands balled into fists.
    "I fucking know what's going to happen. I know there's nothing any of us can do to stop any of it. I HAVE TRIED! I tried everything I could think of! But Michael's a fucking petty little child who can't handle his first booboo, who thinks- who thinks what he did to me was-" She shakes her head in helpless frustration.
    "So how do I do it? How do I get to Duat? How do I get him back?"
    Bear stands at Cael's side, momentarily unheeded as he leans his weight against her leg, trying to push her away from the others - trying to get her to sit back down - whining quietly in his concern for his person.
Sara Pezzini Continuing to clean up the milkshake, Sara says nothing else. Lydia said most of what she would have liked to say, and what didn't get said she'll just keep to herself. She just learned Jon was destined to die, tonight, in this moment. She doesn't get a chance to process that, or anything else for that matter. She has to lock it up for later, or never and then to be yelled at, for trying to help? Too much, just too much.

All she wanted was to try and keep things focused on the task at hand, because sliding backwards into emotion at a meeting wasn't going to achieve anything, but there's nothing she can do. She can't help Jon. She can't help get Jon back. She can't help them get to him in du'at or get back. She can't offer comfort... she literally cannot do one gods damned thing. She has no purpose for her friends in any of this other than be there, and even that isn't enough... and if she stopped thinking about it, stopped processing, she would be back in the hell that was her own pain that had been ignored by most save Johnny and Wade.

"Fuck sums it up," she mutters, moving to toss the napkins in the garbage and from there, just go lean on the wall beside Johnny. There's nothing to add, it's all out there and none of it is anything she can help with.
Jonathan Sims     Jon winces as Lydia starts to yell, but he listens. To her, and to Johnny, and to Cael, and to four words from Sara. Standing there leaning on his crutch, he forces himself to listen. He can /see/ the flows of emotion--the pain, the rage, the helplessness, and he can see where it all stems from. Love. The kind of love that shakes your core and makes you risk everything. Love that hurts, because nothing worth having comes without struggle.

    "This is why we're going to win," he says, suddenly. "Michael's siblings... they disagree with him but they can't /say/ so. They can't resolve their disagreements. They can't yell and scream and... and argue, and be dissonant, and come into harmony. But... we can. We will. We are."

    He sets the crutch aside, realizing he doesn't need it--Phoebe healed his ankle. He walks over to Lydia, slowly, so he doesn't startle her, and then wraps her up in a hug. "Thank you," he murmurs. "I know you're trying to help. And you /are/ helping. And none of this is fair, to anyone." He laughs. "Not even the archangels. It's hurting so many of them, actively, to do this."

    He closes his eyes, and lets tears fall. "It's... it's okay that we're angry, and hurting. It's good. It means we're... mortal."
Lydia Dietrich Lydia whirls around on Cael and looks like she's about to go at it again when Jon approaches her. She stands there, deathly, unnaturally still as she wars with herself, trying to keep the Beast from taking control. When hugged, she's stiff, like a corpse, but eventually the red fades from her eyes and she wraps her hands around Jon.

"Speak for yourself, Jon," she says. She can't help it.
Johnny Blaze Sara comes over to join him and Johnny gives her a soft nod. Blue eyes return to where the emotions were on full display. The tears that rolled down cheeks, the teeth that gnashes in restraint, the sudden realization of hope. "I've never had a doubt in my mind that we can win this. Even if some of us have to lose first." Johnny says with a frown touching his face. "It's a shitty situation on both sides. But we take these steps one thing at a time, and we take these chances to unite and work as one voice." Johnny suggests then.

Does he possess a secret charisma, or will his words fall flat? Dunno. But it looks like Jon prevented the crisis of round 2 of the argument. "Fuck does sum of up." Johnny takes a deep breath.

"Better than being immortal in my opinion. Life is a gift because it ends." Though, he looks at Cael, uncrossing his arms to approach her. "You and I have -plenty- of reasons to hate each other, but I've got your back." he tells her, then he chuckles. "What a team we're all turning out to be." he means that good-naturedly.
Cael Becker     Cael grits her teeth for a moment, watching Jon and Lydia, then turns away, walking over to a wall - and simply sliding down it to sit on the floor. This makes Bear happy, who promptly climbs into her lap - all 100 pounds of him pressing down on her legs, and into her chest, as she wraps her arms around him and cries silently. She looks at Johnny over Bear's head - her expression uncertain, before she buries her face in the dog's fur.
Sarah Rainmaker The back and forth is at a point where Sarah Rainmaker can make little of it. She can only look at the two women in sympathy, and over at Jonathan for the sacrifice.. But her own expressoin is quiet and contemplative. She would go to just cross her arms togehter and then glance over at him sadly. Then finally go..

"You have full faith that this is the only way that things can go, the only way that they can end? And this is the path that it will go with no other outcomes that are beneficial?" She would go to lean back. "You say the only way things end is by this sacrifice and game. You are not limited to a single fate, a single story. Spin your own schemes within it. You are not condemned to a single course. There are an infinite many pathways along it. There is no such thing as fate. Merely opportunities taken and ones not. Do not be so fast as to accept that your agony is inevitable, deserved or not." She would cross her arms. "There are always other options. Do not exhaust them and feel that you have already lost but for a single way."

Then her ees would glance over at Johnny for a moment with the expression of someone that had undergone that same, same thing. She seems more reflective now and over her issues. The Apache woman having foun dsome level of peace in the immediate turmoil.

Then speak, musingly to hereslf too quiet as if to be unheard, even in her own mind. "There is no fate but what we make." She's going to give each of them a quick inclination of her head, and then going to head out wiht her eyes closed.
Sara Pezzini Sara remains leaning against the wall at a distance, just watching. It was too much, all of it, so she just stayed quiet and away from the others, idly turning the double silver bracelet around her wrist a few times. The gods loved to play their games with mortals, they believed it made them stronger, more deserving, but when you are one who stands outside of the control, who only gets to watch the shit happen to others, the pain that rips through you over watching those you love in pain and suffering is just as horrible as the pain those you love are experiencing.
Jonathan Sims     Jon laughs, even though it's slightly ruined by a sob. "Gods, Lydia, you know what I mean." He pulls back, smiling, and wipes at his eyes.

    "Not one voice," he says aside to Johnny. "Many voices, in harmony. Or counterpoint, perhaps. One voice is Michael's deal. We are diverse, and that is our strength." He sighs. "But you're right, Johnny. There are things mortals can do that the gods cannot begin to understand, /because/ we're mortal."

    He steps back all the way, takes a deep breath. "Lydia," he says, "can you give us the /concrete/ plan for getting down into Duat? Is there one?" He glances over toward Cael, and then back. "It would help, I think, if there was."

    He looks to Cael. "But... this isn't a SHIELD op, or an FBI raid. And even with SHIELD ops... Cael, you don't have a tick-tock plan that goes perfectly. You have a briefing, and an outline, and then sometimes you have to improvise in the middle. I know you know that. I know what you need is the concrete briefing, because what's going on is stuff you don't know, and I can't tell you because /I/ don't know for sure. But no plan survives contact with the enemy, right?" He tilts his head. "That's not the actual quote, you know, it's--"

    He /visibly/ cuts himself off, and instead walks over to sit down next to Cael, and wrap an arm around her shoulder.
Lydia Dietrich Lydia watches Sarah go and lets out a sigh. "If only that was the case," she says softly. "Then I'd probably still be human." She looks over to see John and Sara together and Jon and Cael. "I'm sorry," she says simply. "I've been under a lot of pressure. I'm not always this much of an asshole."

She walks over to where Jon and Cael are sitting and she peers down at them. "However, it /did/ give me insight as to what frustrates you so," she says to Cael, her voice turning gentle. "We can only plan for so much when we're talking about the land of the dead. Those who go there aren't /supposed/ to come back, which is why we know so little." Her gaze shifts off into the distance as she thinks. "Come to the workshop upstairs tomorrow night an hour after sundown. I'll explain how the door works and what to expect after it. Keep in mind that I only know what to expect up until we meet Jon, after that..." she looks over at his friend, "only he knows."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and inscribe some circles and plant some stakes." With that she turns and makes her way back to the workshop.
Johnny Blaze Yeah, Cael's uncertainty over Johnny was pretty expected. Though it's progress! Johnny watches Sarah go, his eyes watching her for a moment as she exits properly. Johnny takes a deep breath, before he looks at Lydia. "No harm done. It's been a stressful few weeks." Johnny tells her with a friendly smile. Though Sim's words are met with a smirk. "Damn straight." Then the counterpoint. "I mean that as in we're all pointed in the same direction by our own hands." Johnny clarifies with a chuckle.

"But, I'm going to try and get some shut eye. We can revise the plan as we see fit. Workshop if to outwit the winged bastard." Johnny tells the group as he starts to take off, giving Sara a kind smile. "See you."

He gets moving. "Justice League Dark." He lifts up a single fist. as he leaves. Victory. Rebellion. Determination. All proper adjectives for the symbolic gesture. Then his hands are in his pockets.
Cael Becker     Cael stiffens - her gaze flicking to Sarah with fury flitting across her features, and it's only Jon joining her that forstalls another backlash from the blonde-haired woman, as she buries her face in Bear's fur once more.
    "I know. I know that, I just- I know more going in. I feel like I don't know anything right now," Cael replies quietly, as she leans into Jon's presence. "I feel blind." And she's clearly not coping with it well - when added to the rest of the stress in the situation.
    She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before lifting her gaze to look towards Jon. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" lose her shit completely? Embarass herself? She shakes her head then adds, "You're so full of shit, Jon. I'm the one losing my shit here - how come you can't see how strong you are?"
    ...and then Lydia is there. Cael's form stiffens as she looks up at the woman, though most of that leaks away as she speaks. She offers a nod in response - and then a quiet, "I'll come," she promises, before leaning her head against Jon's shoulder. Her eyes follow Johnny out as she adds in a soft voice, "I really didn't mean to explode like that. I thought I was- that I'd come to accept all this a little better than that."
Sara Pezzini Pushing off from the wall, Sara offers Cael and Jon a nod before she collects the paper cup of coffee from the table where she had been sitting. Finishing off the coffee, she grabs the plate with the pizza on it, then it and the cup go in the garbage. Johnny is offered a nod as he departs, and she even waves a little to Lydia, before she turns to head out herself.
Jonathan Sims     Jon watches people file out, from his spot on the floor next to Cael. "Thank you," he says fervently to Lydia, and then, "Gods go with you, and grant you luck in your spellwork."

    Johnny gets a vague smile, and he murmurs to Cael, "I know you don't like him, but he /does/ have a point sometime."

    He sighs, and calls out, "Sara--I really am glad to see you out and about! Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

    Then he leans his head against Cael's, and sighs. "If I'm strong, it's a brittle kind of strength," he murmurs. "I'm terrified I'm going to break into pieces when things really get going."