The World of Darkness (IC)

[alderwitch]

"Hmm," Phantom took a step towards the mirror, better able to accept a doppelganger of herself than the ones of Jack and Moira. She knew there were other Taylors, just no other Phantom. "We're fortunate that my alternate self shares my gift for languages but not my metaphysical prowess. She needs to be stopped before she figures out a way around the barriers. I imagine that the other Moira is similarly powerless. I doubt any embrace of a goddess would be successful and should it be, she would have likely seized control of this little group and clawed her way higher up the social structure. Is there anything else we need to know?"

Phantom wrinkled her nose in distaste at her feral eyed counterpart as she nibbled on her hand. "I don't think I can pass as my alter ego. My heart still beats and from what Avenger's intimated, that's something that is noticable."

[Cyroa]

James didn't crack a smile or anything as the scene of the other Jack and Moira started. It didn't bother him any and he even knew a little of the history there. There was work to do though. James nodded as he watched, agreeing with Taylor's assessment. "Yeah, we're not fighting a goddess here. Just some, likely high end, tough vamps. As for hiding...we could try something like a magical disguise but given the Taylor there has some obvious skill, I'm not sure how long that would hold up. Sooner or later, someone with enough magical skill would sense the magic." He looked at the image of Taylor. "We need to take her out. She may not be our Taylor, but sooner or later she will find a way around the barriers." He looked around the room. "Do we think we can take out that Jack and Moira quietly? And then a quick hop over to take that Taylor out too? Key words being fast and quiet of course."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Let's start with me," Jack suggested. "Any version of Taylor is likely to be much smarter than me," he admitted, "and that makes her potentially more dangerous. And like you said, I'm distracted." When the view moved back to the other Jack and other Moira, they were evidently finished with their business. The other Moira was proudly studying a set of bite marks along her bare flank, while Jack was in the other room on the telephone: notably on the copper-wired landline. Somewhere, a woman screamed. Moira yelled "Keep it down!", half-interrupting Jack.

"Well they'd better keep them locked down if they don't want a frenzy outside their front door," he was saying firmly. "Send the witch to Taylor. Maybe she can figure out how they got the door open. If some of the stronger ones go to Melinda and the games, she won't think twice about where the weaker ones went. I'll be there soon as I can. I owe you one, Hunter."

[alderwitch]

"We're out of time," Phantom said and with a sharp gesture the surface of the mirror they'd been scrying through rippled like water. Before the other heroes could blink, Phantom picked up the mirror and flipped it over, giving it a little shake, and Jack's doppelganger was dumped out onto the carpet of the library. At the looks from her teammates, she shrugged under the cloak. She had a lot of tricks that she didn't break out for just any occasion.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Where..." The other Jack growled ferally, his eyes red and fangs extended, as he looked from face to face. At the sight of his own twisted reflection, though, he sprung into action. With blinding speed and an animalistic fury much more than any of them had seen from the real Jack Faretti, his doppleganger sprang up and grabbed a fireplace poker, ramming it into Avenger's eye! Jack jerked his head back, the wound deep on his face, and growled back, "You think you can get out of this room alive?" he hissed as his comrades went into action to seal off the room. "Try it!" He wasn't that badly hurt, but the flesh by his eye had been peeled away in an unpleasant-looking way.

"You think I haven't seen people try and make dimensional gateways before!? WHERE IS THIS?"

[Geez3r]

Taken a step back at the Alt!Jack's sudden appearance, Atlas was unable to react to the suddent attack. He was however willing to rememdy that with extreme prejudice. In just a moment, Atlas had bulked up and took a swat at the vampire. He proved too nimble however, but it did provide the opprotunity to get him with the other hand. He then began to even squeeze the ever loving crap out of the guy. "I can tell you where you're not. Safe."

[Avenger Assembled]

The other Jack's head jerked back at the blow, Atlas' punch connecting with dead skin and flesh solidly, leaving a solid crack as the bones in his neck broke. His head lolled, briefly, before he focused on Atlas and spat, "You think I haven't fought you before, Grue?" And with that, he vanished into a cloud of smoke...that promptly hit a wall at the door of Taylor's study. Pinned in the doorframe, with a face like a trapped animal, he growled, "Quite the little party, aren't you?" He looked from his own face, to Taylor's cowled countenance, to Hellion, to Atlas, to..."Oh, isn't this precious? So they let you walk around like their pet zombie, Bert?"

[Dr Archeville]

Dead Head's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the second Jack, but his jaw dropped (not literally, this time) when he addressed him by name. "H-How the devil d'ya know my name?"

I ain't even told any'a them that!

He quickly recomposed himself, "ya might as well jes' sit down an' get comfortable -- if'n ya know us so well, ya should know ya ain't gettin' outta here."

[Cyroa]

James was far from being the heavy hitter of the team. He had plenty of tricks though. And none of them were the most 'honorable' of combatants. They were the Midnighters after all. Whatever got the job done, right? Which is why when the others seemed more interested in talking, James just shrugged. He stepped up behind the 'other' Avenger while he was looking at 'Bert' (Really? Bert?). He summoned the Blade to his hand even as he stabbing the evil vampire in the back without any warning.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Where I'm from, it's not getting you to talk that's the problem, it's getting you to shut up that's the-ARGH!" The other Jack staggered as James' blade went through his chest, eyes rolling back in his head. Avenger cursed, unconsciously using the same word the other Taylor had, and called, "Phantom, pin him down with a spell! He'll fight to the death if we keep hitting him!"

[alderwitch]

"On it," Phantom replied shortly, her hands flinging out to part the cloak, already wreathed with magic. She was more taciturn than usual as although her voice echoed oddly, she didn't want to take the chance that this Jack would recognize her voice. She didn't know how close he actually was to the Taylor of his dimension but if there was any sort of parallel there, it wasn't something that Phantom wanted to risk. The eldritch power lashed out from her hands, forming glowing chain links that wrapped around the wrists and ankles and yanked the alternate Jack prone against the wall. "Got him. I can hold him even in mist form... if he has it."

[Avenger Assembled]

Pinned, the other Jack growled and hissed, a wounded, trapped animal. "SO? Kill me!" he spat, his eyes red and feral, teeth bulging from his mouth.

"We're not going to kill you," said Avenger, letting the wound on his face slowly knit up from the powerful stroke he'd taken from his counterpart. Why'd he put so many holy items in his own house, anyway. "We just want to talk."

The other Jack hesitated just a moment, then twisted his head back and forth, growling as his countenance returned to something close to normal. There was still something lean and hungry in his eye, not to mention his threadbare finery, but now he looked considerably more human. "Fine. You want to talk? Let's talk."

"We're looking for information. A half-dozen teenagers from our dimension went to yours, and-" Evidently Jack's usual ability to terrify his interrogation subjects into submission didn't work on himself, because that earned a painful laugh from the other Jack.

"I heard about that. Look, if you want help rescuing the survivors, that's great, but-"

"Survivors?"

"Hey, maybe none of them are dead yet." The other Jack hmmphed. "In my experience, those Claremont kids eat first and ask questions later. Savage little buggers."

[Cyroa]

James sighed as the Other Jack talked. Oh boy. This sounds like its going to be sooo much fun. "Which Claremont kids are we talking about exactly?" He wasn't sure how much it mattered knowing. Everything could be radically different. If they were all vampires or something, it was unlikely they had the same personalities. If nothing else, maybe the Midnighters would get a clue on the numbers they'd be facing.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Oh, Lord, you have no idea, do you?" said the other Jack, staring at James without recognition. "Just some Good Samaritans looking to save the day, huh?" He licked his lips. "Look, maybe we can help each other out. The way we're living, where I'm from, it's not working. We've been living off what our scientists grow in labs," he said, shooting a look at Atlas, "and that's going to fail as soon as the last nuclear piles in the city go out. After that, we turn on each other, and the people outside get their city back." He looked from one face to the other. "I'm part of a group that's trying to stage an evacuation. Save who we can, get out of our Freedom City, and let the revenants tear the place apart if they have to. You obviously have access to dimensional magic. If you can help us out, I can help you with your problem."

[Dr Archeville]

Dead Head noticed the look Other!Avenger shot at Atlas. Did they have a Grue Invasion, and stop it by feedin' on 'em?

"So it's Vamps vs. Zombies on yer world, with you in the city an' them outside? How'd that start?"

As soon as he asked that, one thought echoed in his skull. Please don't let it be me please don't let it be me please don't let it be me....

"An' why would we help vampires move t'another world?" He focused on Other!Avenger, trying very hard not to look at Our!Avenger.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Revenants are what vampires call the ones who don't eat often enough," replied Avenger, giving his counterpart a cold, level look. "Vampires wouldn't have anything to do with zombies. I'm surprised he knows your counterpart at all, assuming he suffers from the same condition there."

"He's hard to miss," replied Jack, that feral, hunted look still in his eyes. "I've got to say, your Burt is a lot more cheerful than ours. Do you see the ghosts too?" he asked the third undead man in the room. "I bet there are a lot less here, I...wait a minute." He blinked, looking around at everybody. "I don't know you," he said to Phantom, "but you're obviously some kind of superhero. And so are you," he said, indicating Dead Head and Atlas with frank disbelief. "Which means you must be as well, Jack. How in God's green earth did that happen?" He looked a little discomfitted.

"My friend asked you first," Avenger replied. "And the name is Avenger."

"Well that's rich. What, did you pick the most generic-sounding name you could think of?" Avenger blanched a little as his counterpart went on. "As for what happened where I'm from..." He looked away from the others. "There's not much to tell. You ever hear of something called the Mask of Lugat?"

"It's a powerful necromantic artifact," replied Avenger. "One of the most potent in existence. It's in...the Scarab's tomb, here. I've heard it said it can transform any mortal struck by its power into whatever kind of being is carrying it."

"And so it was in mine," said Jack, his face hard. "Until...oh, about a year and a half ago now. It started when a superhero called Foreshadow led an assault on one of our old clubs, the Equinox. After watching him murder a half-dozen of my best friends, I volunteered to help find an artifact Melinda was questing for. One so powerful that no vampire in Freedom City would ever have to fear death at the hands of a superhero again."

Avenger's eyes went flat. "Did you kill your Scarab?" he demanded, his voice cold and merciless as he studied the monster before him.

"What? No...no, I didn't. She was decoyed out, and I snuck in there and got it. It wasn't easy, but I've always been very good at hiding. I got my hands on the Mask and delivered it to Melinda." Despite himself, the vampire's face was beginning to change, something like dread creeping up at the edges of his voice. "I thought Melinda was just going to blackmail everyone, you know? Because I'd helped her get the mask, I had freedom enough to take New Year's off. I went to some really great parties, had a really nice time...and then, on the 2nd, she pulled me out, told me to guard the mansion while she went and did something important." His eyebrows furrowed. "She used the Mask on the Freedom League. That was back on January 2 of last year. She turned them all, using some to turn the others as she made them all her children in darkness. And then..." He closed his eyes, and the screams of thousands seemed to echo in the air. "And then blood ran in the streets. And after that, things were different."

[Dr Archeville]

Ah, good, it weren't me. Wait, that still ain't good!

Dead Head looked back and forth between the two Avengers, finally settling on Other!Avenger. "Yeah, I see ghosts. Yers probably sees a ton more'n I do, though. So, tha 'Revenants' poundin' on yer Freedom City is the vamps what ain't been fed enough? Yer runnin' out'a blood, so ya chuck out tha surplus population, put up barricades like yer in a Romero flick? Sooo... how d'we know that aint gonna start up again if y'all was moved t'another world? I'm guessin' yer Vampire League'd want out, an I'm guessin' the vamped Johnny Rocket goes through a lot'a folks..."

[alderwitch]

"No, he's deliberately misleading you," Phantom spoke up, her tone the same aggravated one she used when she did manage to catch Jack in one of his not-so-white-lies. Her body language shifted under the cloak, arms folded up under her breasts, "They did manage to trap the outbreak inside the city alone. There are humans, normal humans, outside the walls of the city. Know this, I am the guardian of the veils. I will not help you and your little group inflict your blight on an unsuspecting world. It goes against all that I am and all that I stand for."

[Cyroa]

James was all for helping out other realities and whatnot. He even was working on something like that. But transporting evil vampires to an unsuspecting world was just not going to happen. Well...maybe he'd consider transporting them to a empty world. With lots of sunlight. Nah, to risky no matter how tempting. He didn't bother voicing his thought, simply nodding in agreement with his partner. He would have preferred to lie to this other Jack and trick the info out of him but that wasn't an option anymore.

"That doesn't mean we can help you if you help us. There's still the Mask, this Melinda and whoever else is in charge. A lot of those problems might go away if you help us out," he said, lying smoothly. "Where are the kids and who's got them again?" He didn't necessarily mean any of what he just said. It might happen of course, but that wasn't why they were here. It also went without saying, at least to him, that they still needed to take out the Taylor of this reality. She was too close to figuring out the dimensional magics. That was a risk/possibility James was just not willing to let leave for a later problem. The rest? Well, he wouldn't object to incinerating a bunch of evil vamps and removing a power magic from their hands if it could be done without jeopardizing the rest of them.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Most of the interlopers are probably at what used to be Freedom Hall, guarded by the Next-Gen. Well, what used to be the Next-Gen." Jack grinned, and it wasn't a pleasant look. "Like I said, the kids...the kids didn't take it at all well." Despite his attempt at bravado, he shifted uncomfortably, not quite able to meet everyone's eyes as he finished that sentence. "Look, I wasn't there for that, I told you. I didn't do anything with any of the kids. I'm not like that." When Phantom spoke, he shot her a hard look and said suddenly, his eyes wide, "Taylor?"

[alderwitch]

Phantom muttered something under her hood, her curse words however was in Cantonese and she took a step closer to her Jack's side. Still her hands didn't waver as she held his bonds tight. "We're running out of time."

"Damn," Phantom said finally, turning to look at Avenger and away from the dark reflection of her husband. It was growing ever more uncomfortable and Lord knew Taylor always had a soft spot for Jack's BS. "Let's pop him in the Void until we manage to get done what we've got to get done? We'll put Taylor in there with him once we've got her and then go from there."

[Dr Archeville]

"An' then what?," Dead Head asked. "I mean... is there an actual pan here? Gettin' that Mask from Melinda'd be good, sure, but if she's got Vamped-Up Freedom Leaguer an' Vamped-Up Next Gen, well..." The zombie shrugged, "cain't ya just, like, put a barrier on tha dimension'r somethin', make it so nothin' can get in'r out?"

"Yeah," he said halfd a moment later, "I guess that would make it too easy."

He shot an uneasy look at Other!Avenger, I really, really don't like this.

[Cyroa]

James shrugged, letting Phantom take care of stowing her not-husband in the Void. "There is a barrier between. But sooner or later, she might figure a way to bypass it. We can't let that happen." He nodded at her and the others. As soon as Not Jack was stowed, they needed to jump the Other Taylor fast. "So, the former heroes' still have any powers or do they only have the vamp repertoire to work with?"

[Dr Archeville]

"Oh, I'm sure they's all vamped-up versions of theyselves," the zombie deadpanned. "Vampire strength an' toughness an' speed an' senses on top'a what they already got. Well, Metahumans at least, an' aliens; dunno 'bout magical types an' how their mojo'd interact with vampire mojo."

"I really don't wanna see what Wander's like," he muttered.

"Seriously, though," he looked back up to the others, "d'we have a plan? Aside from 'pop in, make everyone think we're the us-es from over there, an' hope we can get th' Mask from Melinda an ' pop back here before they figure out what's what?' An if the only vamps on that world are the ones in th' city... well..." The zombie shifted uneasily, "d'we do anythin' about it? Try an' reverse what happened? If most'a the vamps are contained t'that one city, an' the world knows it, how long 'fore someone gets th'idea t'nuke it an' be done with it? An' then what happens when a few vamps manage t'survive that, an' now they's undead an' radioactive super-vampires prowlin' about?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"We can't," said Avenger, shooting a look at Phantom. "We have to go in, rescue those poor stupid kids, and then lock the door behind us. Dead Head, you haven't seen the places where things have gone really, really wrong. If we get involved, we risk spreading their contamination elsewhere. And if we run around killing vampires ourselves...well, how are we any better?" he asked honestly. "I...I could have been that guy. And Taylor could have been that woman," he said, nodding at the door. "I've...worked with metahuman vampires," he added laconically. "If their powers were biological, they generally survived the change. It's the reanimation of a corpse as a mockery of a man, with all that implies. Sorry, honey," he added to Phantom, "just falling back on what I was taught."