ic the Devil his Due

[Tiffany Korta]

The demon that had decided to keep it attention on Pyre had better luck, instead of taking back into air it make a series of strikes with its claws the final blow connecting with Pyre red skin. With its concentration on Pyre the illusion it had projected quickly faded allowing Whiplash to see the real pictures, she had her own problems to deal with however.

The whip strike had cracked along the Demons hide, but didn’t seem to do anything. Except maybe draw the creature’s attention. Following the path the whip formed in the smoke it took an experimental swig towards Whiplash, but the blow didn’t come anywhere near the hero.

[Derin]

Whiplash couldn't spare more than a glance for Pyre. At least he was still standing. She needed to take the demon before her out of the count, and her whip didn't seem to be helping. Fortunately it couldn't see her; if she could keep herself and Pyre concealed, they might stand a chance. Maybe. Although its wild flailing could still get lucky, and she couldn't afford to take a lucky strike.

Time to experiment. She darted forward and jammed her stungun into the demon. "This might come as a bit of a shock." I hope.

[Tiffany Korta]

The demon convulsed at the tough of Whiplash’s stun gun. And then just like that it was gone melting away in the cloud leaving behind the smell of Sulfur.

At the same time the second demon gave an almost comical look of shock before it to just disintegrated into thin air, leaving behind only a fine haze of ash and the overpowering smell of sulfur.

[Cube]

Pyre gasped for breath as the demons collapsed into ash.

"What the HELL just happened? I... That demon burned me!"

Alright, whoever was responsible for this could summon random demons from nowhere. Not good... Not good at all.

"Whiplash, are you alright? They didn't burn you, did they?"

This was definitely more serious than he anticipated... If these were just the mooks, then who knows what the big demons could do? Especially if they could attack from nowhere!

"...Whiplash. You don't happen to know anyone more magically inclined, do you? I think we might need some help..."

[Derin]

"I'm fine," Whiplash said, glancing around for any previously unnoticed enemies before walking out of the smoke and pulling up her goggles. "How badly are you hurt? Do you need to go to hospital?" She considered. Fleur? She had magic, but probably not useful magic. Whiplash wasn't sure how to contact her anyway. "I don't know many other heroes, I'm afraid. I have a history of working alone." A habit that she was beginning to realise may have to change if she wanted to make any headway in this town. She glanced back at the dark cloud blocking the street behind them. "Uhm... I'm sure that'll clear up soon. So. Hospital?"

[Cube]

"I'll be fine." said Pyre, as he gingerly poked his new burn mark. "It just feels like I spilled coffee on myself. But... How does this even...?"

Writing about magic was one thing, but seeing it in action?

"...How did those things even know where we were? Can they be summoned anywhere? We've got families Whiplash! I can take a few burns, even if they do hurt, but I don't want some demon popping up in my house! We need to find a way to hold these things off or to stop them at the source, and fast."

He shook his head. "But... I don't know any mages either. Unless Revenant knows someone, the only option we have is to interview that woman..."

[Derin]

At the use of the word "families", Pyre had Whiplash's undivided attention. She'd been prepared to protect her family from drug dealers and thugs if worst came to worst, but demons... that was a whole different game. She had a secret identity; would that protect them? Would they know anyway?

She couldn't go home. They might track her, if they hadn't already. She couldn't contact her friends. Too risky. She'd have to call her sister later or... or something. But she needed to stay away from them now. It was Pyre, without a secret identity, whose family needed their attention.

"You want to push ahead with this, then? Take these guys down as quickly as possible? If that's where you want to go then I'm with you. These demons have to be stopped." She glanced at his injury. "I'd assumed that you were immune to fire."

[Cube]

"I am immune to fire."

Pyre bit his lip. "I... I don't know what that was, but it wasn't fire. I couldn't touch it."

"What we need to do now is find who is responsible for this and stop them before something else happens, and the only lead we have is in Prison. Until we find out how those demons found us, and how to stop them from doing it again, then it's only a matter of time before this guy tries the lowest of low blows."

He offered a massive hand to Whiplash. "Climb on my back, and hang on. We've got to move fast. This can't wait another night..."

[Tiffany Korta]

“Is there room enough for two?†the voice came from Revenant who was nocturnally leaning against a wall “Sorry I took so long but someone covered the roof with smoke. Your work I assume?†she gave a friendly smile.

She wondered over and seem to notice Pyre's wound for the first time, her face became one of concern and she tentatively hovered a hand above his wound.

“STAR has her custody so it's unlikely we're see her until the morning. Plus your wounded, and I know the perfect place who will help with no question.†she beamed at a private joke “Your not bothered by holy places are you?â€

[Tiffany Korta]

Tucked among the glitter and lights of Boardwalk was the unassuming building that housed the mission of Our Lady of Mercy. The nun didn't seem at all surprised or concerned at the arrival of several heroes in fact they acted as if nothing was amiss a rather rotund nun hustling Pyre off to get his wound treated.

Left to there own devices Revenant drifted to assist the other volunteers leaving Whiplash to her own devices. She was after only a short while joint by a rather dapper, if not a little disheveled, gentleman. His clothing would have been expensive in it's day, he even carried a cane, and he looked for all the world like a well dressed Gandalf.

He gave a majestic bow “A pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Whiplash.†his looked concerned “Oh dear that doesn't sound quite right...†with a theatrical gesture he stuck out his hand a whispered to her “...would you prefer Ms. Crey?â€

“I think I know something that may assist you in your hunt form this Man in Yellow.â€

[Derin]

Whiplash's eyes widened involuntarily at the mention of her name, and she said stiffly, "I prefer not to spread my identity around when fighting people who could very well target my family, thank you." Was that rude? She couldn't afford to offend these people. Images of demons appearing at her house and her sister's house while she wasn't there filled her head. Her little Anna had been taking self defense at her request for some time, but didn't stand a chance against those things. Jenny would grab her son and run, but there was nowhere to run from teleporting demons... She took his hand and forced a smile. "Thank you for your help. We appreciate any help we can get."

[Cube]

Fortunately, Lou was not bothered by Holy Places in the slightest. Though... magic did make his teeth itch a bit.

"So... you know about this man in yellow?" asked Pyre. "The only reference to spellcasters in yellow that would even remotely consider interacting with demons I could think of are... well..

Using a spare arm, he pulled out his phone, and pulled up the drawing of the cloaked figure. "Something about a King In Yellow. Some sort of evil elder god that mostly shows up in board games and webcomics now."

[Tiffany Korta]

“I’m sorry madam but I had to somehow convince you that I could assist you in some way. I shall of cause respect you wishes.†He looked toward Pyre and his image “If you were dealing with such a creature as the King in Yellow then all hope would be lost. Luckily you are dealing with a lesser creature.â€

His face darkened suggesting how serious he was about this face.

“As you are aware any power requires some kind of sacrifice. Some are more obvious.†He waved his cane as Revenat and Pyre “Whilst some are less obvious.†He caught Whiplashes eye but said nothing further “This creature however will take his sacrifice directly. I believe he will do so tomorrow. For you see his master has a first born for him to claim…â€

[Derin]

"A first born? Is he going to kill a child?" Whiplash didn't know why that seemed so much worse than the killing and endangerment children were put through every day by violent crime, but it did. "Who? Where do they live? Perhaps we can hide them, protect them until we've taken these creeps down."

These jerks might be experienced violent criminals and tangle with demons on a regular basis, but they had no idea what they were getting into. She had a whip, she had electricity, she had a giant demon-man and some kind of immortal vampire-or-zombie lawyer (she hadn't figured that one out yet) as allies, and she had a sister with some good locks on her doors to look after her daughter, and nobody, nobody was going to be hurting any kids while she was alive to stop it.

[Tiffany Korta]

The man face feel and he looked for the first time uncomfortable. “I’m afraid the Augurs aren’t precise, all I can tell you for sure is that he has a young teenage daughter who is a suitable candidate for a sacrifice. All I know is when, which is tomorrow and where which it is going to take place at a school called Saint Catherine’s.â€

The man bowed his head “The girl in questions isn’t quite an innocent, but she has not earned the fate the creature has planned for her. I cannot travel any further on this journey the rest is up to you all…â€

[Cube]

"A sacrifice?!" Pyre's eyes lit up with angry flame. "Not if I can help it! They can summon demons to burn my face off, but they are NOT HURTING A CHILD!"

...Realizing he was likely terrifying a nun, Pyre promptly turned down his righteous fury a tad.

"Where is this school? And do we know the girl's name? We can try and warn her. And... what happens if we stop the sacrifice? Will this guy lose his powers too? Maybe we could stop him?"

It was a bit far fetched, but... magic didn't make much sense half the time anyway.

[Derin]

"His own daughter?" That sent a chill down Whiplash's spine. Who would... who could... "Alright. We need to find this school, and this girl. I don't suppose you could be a bit more precise on what you mean by 'not quite an innocent', could you?" Please let her have a criminal record. People are so much easier to find with a criminal record. What they needed was names. Revenant could figure it out, couldn't she? She'd been fighting these people a long time. But if they couldn't...

"Unless we can figure out how to find this girl and protect her, we may have to interrupt or prevent the ritual itself. Where is Saint Catherine's?"