Latet anguis in herba (IC)

[Supercape]

Quentin hardly new what was going on. But he did know that whatever faced them was something that should absolutely not get loose into Freedom City, or the world.

Without further ado, he reached out and enveloped the creature in bright light. Concentrated protons bounced around in an aura, surrounding him. The beast appeared to wince slightly but that was as far as it went. Still, glowing, he fixed his steely gaze on Quentin.

"" he whispered through gritted teeth.

[Aoiroo]

With his attention on Quentin, Etain focused on a spot and made another flashing explosion that she used to cover her retreat by Quentin's side. Hopefully it would be enough of a distraction as she whispered,

""

[Supercape]

GM

Snarling at the sight of his precious meal edging away, the Robed beast also crept forward. ""

With a wave of his hand and a complex arcane sign, he mumbled some half heard words, of horrible resonance and inflexion. A greasy, smoking, black chain appeared in his hand and the room filled with the smell of brimstone.

The chain was forged of no ordinary metal, but of energies arcane, and as he swung it towards Etain like a whip, it snaked and came alive, expanding, twisting and turning, to greet Etain in its embrace. But once again, the prey was to swift, and whilst the chain started to wrap itself around Etain, she was able to step out of its grasp before it constricted and evaporated in a puff of brimstone.

[Supercape]

This was a tricky opponent, conceded Quentin, as he reached out with his mind, examining the form of the beast. No doubt a mystic eye would have seen all sorts of peculiarities and forces, but to his scientific one, it was atoms and molecules like any other. He couldn't pause for a close analysis, of course, but he was reassured. He knew had to handle physics.

Reaching out, he nudged some subatomic particles this way and that, and tried to encourage the bonds that bound the molecules to loosen. Whilst he was not successful at tearing apart the atomic structure of the demon, a small crack appeared in his atomic state, and a blast of the residual proton glow forced its way into his shell.

"" screamed the demon, as he sank to one knee and growled in pain, every orifice glowing with white light.

[Aoiroo]

When the chains came out her she only barely managed to slip through the cracks and escape the bind but now the demon was down and he needed to stay down. She banished the polearm and let out a breath, concentrating on the space she focused her will because that thing had to be destroy. It was not like the others, it was not misguided or misinformed, it did not have a possibility for good or was a creature of circumstance. It was a killer, plain and simple, and it was going to kill them and several others if they didn't do otherwise. Forming the shining blade in her hand, she ran forward and struck true though it only left a bruise on the demon but it was something, as she backed away into a defensive position she would strike as many times as nessicary.

[Supercape]

Seeing the beast open up with the white afterglow of his previous assault, Quentin quickly pounced on the agitated photons and stirred them up until an agitated state again. He was still working largely in the dark, not understanding the demons physiology or even if it really existed - but he was going to give it his all.

Again a searing bright light bathed the demon, and this time a faint ozone smell could be detected. The robed man dropped to both knees, held his head back, and roared. His hands turned to claws and his head grew two blazing horns. The beast was being exposed.

[Aoiroo]

Etain stayed clear while Quentin treated the beast to another blast before rushing in for another attack as the beast wailed in pain. She faltered as she moved to back away, as distracted as it was it was still an incredibly dangerous foe and keeping some measurable amount of was probably a good thing to do,

""

[Supercape]

Quentin looked at the beast, and was still fearful. The white light of his previous burst still glowed, causing further pain and enragement.

Etain's blade had clearly managed to do more damage than he ever could - and it seemed fitting that she should finish this.

"Hold still!" he commanded the beast, and concentrated on the dusty atmosphere around his foe, encouraging the molecules to bind to each other, shifting them up and down various levels of excitation... until the very air around him had frozen solid, encasing the beast.

"" he said to Etain, in a low tone.

[Aoiroo]

She nodded to Quentin as she walked forward and raised her sword,

""

Holding it at neck level she swiped the sword downward in a heavy arc,

""

The sword cleared through the neck and there was a smell of heavy smoke as the creature turned to ash. Watching as the magic from the area began to fade, Etain let out a heavy sigh as the sword faded from her hands.

""

[Supercape]

Supercape exhaled, very slowly. He had seen incredible events, on subatomic and astronomical scales, throughout the universe, using senses that humans did not possess.

But that was something quite eerie. His whole body, and mind, were awash with relief as the ash blew away into the ether. He had touched something quite cold and horrible today. More cold and horrible than any alien planet.

As he relaxed, the frozen oxygen slid back into its normal gaseous form with a gentle whimper.

Somehow, it seemed appropriate at this juncture to slip back into English.

"I don't mind telling you, Etain. That was.... extraordinary. I feel relieved, but kind of... cold inside, too?"

[Aoiroo]

Moving back forward she responded in English on habit. Though her accent was much more obvious after spending a bit of time conversing in Latin.

"No surprise, demons never leave good feelings, but it is easy to fix."

Walking forward she got on her toes and before there was any objection kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you very much Quentin, it is hard to deal with demons but you made it easy. I am very glad."

Smiling, she started back up the steps to the small amount of people who still lingered after the lecture.

[Supercape]

Quentin smiled. Yes, I guess that did help. Humanity, that is.

And a kiss on the cheek he added, on reflection.

He followed Etain up to the remains of the lecture, and gazed around the church, the clergy, and the attendees. All blissfully unaware of the horrors of the evening. Of how things might have been.

He scratched the back of his neck. "I hope that's the last of that lot" he said "frightening stuff. Demons, pacts, curses, all that soft of stuff. Bit beyond me. From whence does it come"

He looked at Etain "And to where does it go?" he asked, meeting her eye to eye.

[Aoiroo]

"It is the last for today. These things happen, but lots of people are around to stop it. If we did not, some one would of surely, but we were here and we stopped it so no one here will have to worry. Anyway, I do not know where creatures like that go when they die, and I do not think I would like to find out."

Turning towards the door she gave it a shove to glance outside. She glanced down the row and found a dark colored Bently,

"My ride is here."

She held out her hand,

"It was nice meeting you Quentin, I hope we will see each other again."