Children of The Divine (IC)

[Mytical]

Now that the fight is over Lupo stands. "He was a worthy foe. I will look forward to fighting him again at another time." He shrugs. "If I win the next time, however, it might be the last time."

[Scorpodael]

Jack gives a small grimace... "The Maya were worse about it. Imagine what I did with my hand, only with, ah... Mister Happy, so to speak. That was a thing. And it's not like I planned to stab myself today. ... Now there's a conversation I'd have liked to have been there for- when those priests decided that adding extra ventilation down there would please the gods." He mutters, getting slightly off topic. "... Sorry, what was I talking about again? 's a bit hard to focus and the brain damage isn't helping."

[Naamah]

(Thanks to Jay for telling me what he'd find so we can keep kicking.)

Location: Pyke Brands, Main Lobby

Aiden slams the door open. Luckily, it opens to the main lobby. Not quite as luckily, the police are already there - four of them, standing near the apparently empty reception desk. And all with their handguns out. They turn, and he puts his hands out and starts talking.

“Oh no, you are putting that down right now." The look in his eyes and the tone in his voice make it clear that this is what is Going To Happen, and in no way, shape or form a suggestion. He addresses the man leading the rest. "Sergeant, are you the officer in command here? If you aren’t, I want to talk to him, because I am not explaining this any more than i have to, I am not staying in this place a single second longer than I have to. And I need an ambulance!" He waves to Solomon. "He's been fucking stabbed! FiFi has a concussion, you are going to call EMT’s here immediately before my client suffers permanent damage. And then you can go upstairs and find the psychopathic woman with a fucking sword who attacked us! Short bint, black hair, Asian, crazy-fucking-eyes. For all I know she’s coming down here to try to finish us off!”

[Chanlin]

Pyke Brands, Bullcrapville

Fiona stumble out the door behind Aiden and does a convincing pratfall right onto her ass. She glares at the door slurring her speech a little, "I'm no' a... baby dammit!"

Emmett is shortly behind her and sighs bending down to 'help' her up. "You're wounded, you should shut up and let us help you." Both ignore the police presence as if they have nothing in the world to fear from them.

[Jay 2K Winger]

In Gunnar Forson's Estate: The Wolf is victorious, the Heart of Winter is reclaimed...

The jotun's thrall has left the room in the meantime, while the Latino scion briefly checks on MacBride. "He'll be all right," the man finally pronounces. "He'll be in a state when he wakes up, which will be soon."

Forson frowns. "Well. In that case, I suggest that you," and here he looks at the team, "should leave as soon as possible." Klaus returns holding a wooden display box, which he opens to reveal the Heart of Winter gem. Johnny steps over to inspect it, then nods to confirm its authenticity. He takes the box from the thrall and closes it. "Now that you have what you came for," Forson continues, "there is no more reason for you to be here." He does give a thin smile as he helps himself to a glass of mead. "This was a fun entertainment, and I look forward to seeing how you all handle your destinies."

"As do we all, I'm sure," the Latino says. "But Mr. Forson is right. You should leave. When he wakes up, MacBride will be furious, and he'll say 'damn hospitality' and attack. And when he does, I doubt you'll be able to take him down so easily a second time."

Johnny nods. "Thanks, slick," he says, and turns to Jack and Lupo. "Let's go. Let's get back to Denver and get that hand looked at, and then we can get back to Vegas to return the Heart to Sevilla."

At Pyke Brands HQ: Mr. Twisty weaves some epic bullshittery...

The police officers look at one another, and the one in front, who does have a sergeant's stripes, frowns. One of the other officers scowls. "Shut up!" he snaps at Aiden, and levels his sidearm at him. The Aesir-kin would recognize that this officer appears to have thrown off the Story that Aiden is weaving. But perhaps more worrying to him is the look in the man's eyes, someone who has heard plenty of bullshit stories before and is in no mood to hear some right now, that fuck peace, he wants to shoot something.

Fortunately for our tricksy tale-spinner, the sergeant turns his head and snaps, "Stand down, Gavins." He jerks his head to him and another officer. "You and Renner, you check the stairwell." He puts his sidearm away, then grabs his radio. He issues some orders, asking for more men to come secure 'the suspects' (meaning the team) and get them some medical attention.

More police officers enter the lobby, but a lot of them look to be in a similar state as Gavins: someone having a bad day and eager to make sure someone else has one too. The Sergeant addresses Aiden. "You," he says, in the firm, flat tones of someone In Charge Of The Situation, "are going to come with us, and we're going to make sure you all aren't about to die on us, make sure you're fit to give statements. Then, we'll determine just what the hell is happening, and whether your story checks out."

One of the officers dispatched to help the team out to the ambulance that has pulled up goes to help Fiona, and tries to take the skateboard from her...

[Scorpodael]

Jack gives a bit of a grimace, and looks at the box. Then he looks at Johnny... "I think I'm going to need more help than just dealing with the hand..." He says, before halfway turning to the door, and pausing, glancing at Gunnar. "... Nah, I'll just mail it." He says after a moment's thought, and continues toward the door. Once outside, he looks up at the sky.

"Listen to me, and listen well, all ye hidden listeners and those who would throw humanity to the wayside in a fit of revenge... behold, for I will destroy you; All of the works of your hands, I will grind to dust. All of your proud deeds will lie forgotten to history. Your high and exalted places shall I cast down and defile- your families scattered to the winds, ever to wander. I will destroy you, and it shall be made complete with the ruin of all you hold dear." He says, to the empty sky, before continuing on his way- Not prophesying, just waxing poetic for a bit.

[Naamah]

Right, good points: we haven't been shot and we're not getting guns pointed on us at this moment. Bad news... what the fuck?

Aiden takes a ragged breath as he comes forward with his hands open and away from his body - his body still holding plenty of real 'fight or flight' adrenaline rushing right under the surface. "Of course, Sergeant - I'm sorry, please, I didn't catch your name. I'm Alex - oh god, it was insane, I had no idea what was going on. We came up to sign a contract with Donny Cross - all of a sudden, he runs for it, the woman attacks FiFi, I didn't see most of it but Mickey tried to protect her. I'm just - it's like ..."

He stares at the man who had aimed at him, then the rest of the men, feeling something entirely... off... about the whole situation.

"I can talk to you, of course Sir, but anything else and I'm going to need to speak with our lawyer - the not-corporate law specialist one."

[Chanlin]

Things being as tense as they are, and considering they are in 'enemy territory' Emmett takes a moment to gaze the lot of the police force. Especially the naysayer(s).

When they are led out he stays with Fiona. When they try to take her 'skateboard' away she pulls it close and slurs "Mine!" Emmett puts a hand on the shoulder of the worker, "Look, it helps her cope with bad situations from time to time. If it isn't terribly in the way is it alright if she holds onto it?" (assuming its a medical worker trying to take it, if its a cop, the hand on the shoulder part doesn't happen. Emmett knows better than to touch an already tense cop)

[Jay 2K Winger]

The Wolf, The Butcher, and The Messenger leave Colorado Springs...

For what it's worth, Jack would feel a slightly different scion-sensing twinge in his head from the Latino scion. If the Aztec-designed pendant/amulet he wore wasn't a clue enough, that would cement that the Latino is an Aztec Divinity scion. But there's nothing to indicate who his Divine parent is.

True to his word, Gunnar Forson allows the team to leave without issue with the Corazón del Invierno. MacBride is starting to come back around as they walk out the front door, and the bellow of his rage resounds through the entire Estate. But, the Irishman does not come after them for now. Johnny, hearing this, grimaces and looks to Lupo. "You know, I don't know a whole lot about the whole Tapestry of Fate thing-- only what the Moirai-kin tell me, which is blessedly little-- but from what I gather, you may have just found yourself a Fated Rival. I don't think this is the last we've seen of MacBride."

To Jack, Johnny gives a sigh. "I'd point you to a Mnemosoi-kin, but there aren't any that are still alive. Most of them died out within the last century." In case this gets a blank look, he adds, "The children of Mnemosyne. They were all Titanspawn, but fairly benign ones. She had more than just the Muses as kids. Anyway, the Mnemosoi were pretty good when it came to memory and the psyche. There might be one or two scions out there with some expertise in psychology, maybe find a way to help... untangle things up there for you. I'll make some calls once we get back to Denver."

Jack's pronouncement toward the sky-- a boast to be proud of-- earns a rumble of thunder, out of a more-or-less cloudless sky. It may not have been meant as a prophecy, but someone up there likes the fire that Jack is giving. Johnny squints skyward, then grins. "You know, for all that your father's a god of the Underworld, he governs storms, too. I think that might have been his way of saying 'that's my boy.'" Johnny means well by this statement.

The trip back to their helicopter in town is uneventful, apart from some traffic snarls and rather more road rage than one might have thought you'd see on an otherwise gorgeous day. Something about this seems off, but there's nothing that can be pinned down as to why.

It's not until they're in the helicopter and on their way back to Denver that Johnny suddenly smacks himself in the forehead. "Ah, dammit. I forgot to find out the name of that Latin guy."

The Bullshitter, The Kung Fu Monkey Girl, and the Bullshit-Detector deal with some legal entanglements...

There's nothing to indicate that Officer Gavins or any of the naysayers are anything but mundies. No scion-sensing twinges or anything from them. It might just be that Gavins is strong-willed enough to shake off Aiden's bullshit. The others all check out to Emmett's truth-sight. But... there's just something ... off. Nothing that Emmett can really spot or pin down, but it's almost as though there's a subtle 'darkening' to things around them. The team seems not to be affected, nor does it even seem to concentrate around the mundies. It's just... there. And it wasn't there the other day. It's been building up so subtly that it went without notice until now.

But how would Emmett explain something like that? It doesn't seem to be affecting anything as near as his Sight can tell, but it's there nonetheless. Just... off.

Sgt. Barnes-- his name is clear from the nameplate on his uniform-- just nods to him as Aiden babbles away. "Let's just save all that until we get you all checked out, all right? The EMTs can get this all looked at and we can get you stitched up in the hospital. Once the doctors clear you, we'll worry about statements, all right?" He's straightforward and simple, but clearly not in the mood to hear things being stated now before it can be put down on paper or made official.

The EMTs subside as Emmett dissuades them from taking Fiona's "skateboard" from her, and work around it as they check her out. The wounds she suffered are relatively minor, it is eventually pronounced, and there's no indications of a concussion. Her concussed behavior is chalked up to shock, but they advise that she be monitored carefully regardless.

The others are all similarly cleared, apart from Solomon, the most obviously injured. His gash-- not a stab-- is more worrying to them. Solomon, with typical macho rhinohiding, refuses to be checked into the hospital. "Just clean it up and stick a bandage on it. I'll be fine." Of course he, like the rest of the team, has access to Divine healing methods via the connections that he, Selene, and Johnny have.

Once everyone is patched up and cleared, Sgt. Barnes turns to the other officers. "Wells," he speaks to one officer, "you get them to the station. Take them in separate cars and put them in separate interview rooms. I'm going to talk to people here, get their side of the story."

[Mytical]

Lupo shrugs "If he is my fated rival, I hope he shows more then this time. I learned nothing from the brutish tactics. My rival should confound me every time we fight, making me learn on a constant basis."

[Scorpodael]

Jack is silent, for the most part, on the helicopter ride back, shaking his head a few times, seemingly at random. "This... isn't right. ... No. Dammit!" He snarls, shaking his head again. "The heart... What the hell is it? What powers does it possess? Where does it come from? How, exactly, is it supposed to bring about the Fimbulvetr? These are questions we should have asked! All we know about the damn thing is that those people wanted it... Now that we have it, it is time to figure out WHY we have it, and I don't trust it in the slightest..." He says with a slight snarl, before resting his head on the wall. "I'm not even sure that it isn't just a shiny rock." He says, wearily. "I need... I need to rest. And you better not fuck with my dreams again!" He snarls accusingly to the empty air, as far as Lupo and Johnny can tell. And then he closes his eyes, and tries to nap. The subtle sense of wrongness is grating at him and wearing away more of his control, such as it is... probably best to let him sleep for a bit, lest he try and murder something.

[Naamah]

Location: Denver, En Route to Denver Police Station

After Aiden gets into the car, he pulls his cell phone out, sighs, and dials the one number he knows by heart.

It takes a few rings, and the voice that comes on... warbles a bit. "Kerry here."

"Hello!" The sound of his personal... well, 'assistant' didn't quite describe the magnitude of importance she held to his life and sanity, but it'd have to do... He exhales in relief. "Good to hear your voice. Really. I need you to get in contact with Johnny, and Paul if you can't, I need a pack of my lawyers at the Denver PD or calling them as soon as possible. We were... well, ambushed."

"Of course." Her voice is breaking, and he picks up the shakiness in her breath. A pause.

"Kerry. Are.... are you okay?"

"Of course." She sniffles.

Aiden bites his lip, his stomach dropping. "Please tell me - are you in any danger? Did someone try to, is there--"

The floodwalls crack. "I'm so sorry, Aiden, I'm - I don't know. I was just on the phone with my mother - I don't know what the hell happened, she just started nagging me and poking me. Telling me the only man I should drop everything for is my husband, why wasn't I married, why couldn't I be like her. And I - god I don't know what I was saying, I shouldn't have talked back to her but I did. Oh god." She sniffles - there's a moment of movement, he can hear her blowing her nose, just like a goose honk. "I'll ring up those gentlemen - lawyers, Johnny, Paul. Anything else, sir?"

Aiden's heart sinks, but he covers it with a light-hearted tone, "Yeah. After you hear I'm safe and free, I want you to drop in at La Vitesse and spend the day there. The fancy package, the one that includes the trendy champagne lunch that's priced like it should be fed to you by unicorns."

"Really, sir, you're on call, I'm on call, I can't just--"

"Kerry. Baby. Just do it. I can stay out of trouble for a day."

She swallows. "Yes, sir."

"It's my dime. Say 'yes.'"

"Yes, sir."

"..." He sighs and nods to himself, says farewells, and hangs up.

Fuck. Fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck. The bonds. Of course. I don't know how, without - it must not follow, they must be separate events. Heart of Winter. Cold-hearted. Frozen.

He lets his head fall into his hands. Fluffy. I... I'm scared. I'm not ready. I haven't found Ambrosia, or an apple of Idunn, or anything else. All I can do is talk, and what can that help when men are deafened? How can I help my kin? How can I...

[Chanlin]

On the Way to the DPD

Emmett and Fiona both take being taken to the police station in stride, but both for very different reasons.

Fiona's is quite simple. She has been in scrapes with the law all her life. Another trip to another police holding cell is just yet another day in her screwed up life. Much to Emmett's surprise she naps the entire short ride their.

Emmett on the other hand is relaxed because he is used to dealing with the police. He knows right now that panic and dread is the worst thing since it won't help them get out of this situation. He imagines Kevin is their waiting for him, even though he's probably at home with his wife and kid right now.

The cold Chicago winter wind bites at his exposed hands and face as he pulls his duster around him in a vain attempt to banish the chill. A familiar voice calls out, "Hey... you're just gonna quit. Just like that, and not even say goodbye?"

The memory comes unbidden. His expression goes from relaxed to stony as he recalls the one decision in his life he is least sure of. What if I had stayed on the force...

[Jay 2K Winger]

The Colorado Springs team arrives back in Denver...

Johnny shrugs to Lupo. "Not gonna argue, but something tells me MacBride is going to learn from this fight more than you. Next time you two butt heads, he's probably gonna be a loooot tougher."

To Jack, the son of Hermes shrugs. "I dunno about what the Heart of Winter is capable of. Selene said she ran a search, and turned up nothing on it. If it is a mystical artifact, there weren't any legends associated with it." Then he frowns, looking troubled. "Or at least not any that were propagated among the Divinity and their children. You know, it suddenly occurs to me that the Titanspawn probably have their own legends, which they don't exactly tell us about..."

He looks out of the helicopter as they start to touch down on the roof of their hotel. "And there's something... wrong in the air. I'll need to make some calls. Jack, you go ahead and rest up here at the hotel. Lupo? ...you do whatever it is you do while I deal with stuff--"

That's when his phone rings. Johnny answers it and speaks into it as they head inside. Just as they arrive back at the room where they'd all gotten together this morning, Johnny finishes up and turns to them. "That was Aiden's personal assistant. Well, it looks like the other team got caught and are being taken to the police station to give statements." He sighs. "Well, Paul Hays' lawyer should be able to tangle any charges up in red tape for a while."

He looks to Jack. "Let's get that hand taken care of. A half-shot of the One True Whiskey should close the wound and stop it bleeding."

The Pyke Brands team arrives at the police station...

The gang is walked through the station to the interview rooms, where they are pointedly separated individually. The walk through the police station only increases that sensation of something being off. There are a few tough-guys getting into a shouting match with the desk sergeant, some drunk or high lunatic handcuffed to a bench ranting about how he's "gonna kill that bitch for snitchin' on me," and any number of arguments going on. Ill-tempers are abound.

Solomon and Selene go off without issue. Even so, the officer escorting Solomon is not as "gentle" as he could have been, tugging roughly on Solomon's injured arm, drawing an angry snarl. Everyone is eyed with suspicion. The only two who remain together are Emmett and Fiona, and even that comes across as grudging. Cops stand outside each door, with the exception of Emmett and Fiona again, with one cop standing inside, keeping an eye on them, as if to be sure they don't rehearse their stories.

Which does happen soon enough, as Sgt. Barnes returns from Pyke Brands and starts to interview everyone. He asks what they were doing at Pyke Brands, and then asks why Pyke has no record of a meeting with them in their system. Likewise, no record of anyone named "Donny Cross" working for the company. These and similar tough questions are asked, but Barnes doesn't seem to have the same obstinate belligerence that seems to be going around, but a stubborn, flat no-bullshit attitude does appear to be in his nature as he patiently asks the questions.

It takes a few hours-- coffee, water, and donuts are provided if requested, and trips to the bathroom are provided with an escort-- before a call comes through, from a lawyer named Atherton Fullbright, and Barnes reluctantly releases them from custody. "All right," the sergeant says, "you're free to go for now. There are too many... unanswered questions on the part of Pyke Brands in all of this for us to press charges." He doesn't sound happy about this. "We may need to ask you more questions in the future, so don't leave town."

Ha. As if they could really stop the team doing so.

A couple of taxis are waiting outside the police station to take the team back to the hotel, where Johnny, Jack, and Lupo have been.

// GM Notes -- Advancing things forward for the sake of expediency. Feel free to summarize the statements your characters give to the cops. We'll get to the next "big event" soon, I promise!

[Mytical]

Lupo shrugs. "He really didn't even push me, let alone to my limits. I only used boxing, none of my mixed martial arts. If he gives me a better fight next time, great. If not, there is always more worthy enemies. I do want to find somebody to do some .. modifications on my suits though. I need to be able to attend fancy parties, while still having the ability to move around in a fight...and to stow a few things."