The creature put a pot of water on the stove to make some tea. After realizing what had happened it has become less threatening, almost docile. It hadn't made a single aggressive or threatening move against any of them.
No longer in combat the group got their first good look at the creature. Other than what they had all ready noticed, they now saw other physical characteristics about it. It has scars on its body, some which seemed more than reminiscent of surgical scars. On its wrists and forehead were the faded remnants of what appeared to be surgical scars. Despite its tremendous size and bulk it moved with the grace and fluidity of a much smaller creature.
"Okay," said Piper as they all gathered in the living room, "care to fill us in on just what is going on here. And what that warlock wants with you."
"My name is Victor Shelley," said the creature. He glanced over at Phoebe. "But then, you all ready know that, don't you? You have gone through my mailbox."
"Oh, yeah," said Phoebe uneasily. "Sorry about that."
"No harm done," said Victor, smiling slightly.
"Okay, Mr. Shelley," said Paige. "What does the warlock want with that little girl?"
"I told you," Victor said, "to get to me. He can't come after me directly. As you saw, magic has only a temporary affect on me at best. Not even all of his power can force me to do what he wants."
"Yeah, we noticed the affect magic has on you," Phoebe said. "Just how did you manage to reform like that?"
"It's part of my nature," said Victor. "No magic, no matter how powerful, can affect me permanently. That's why I reformed, as you put it."
"What about the girl?" Leo asked. "How does taking her get him to you?"
"Unless I trade myself for the girl," Victor said, "he'll kill her. And he knows that no matter what, I won't let that happen."
"That's what he meant," Chris said. "He said he'd trade the girl. We didn't know what he meant by that."
"He knows I won't let her die," Victor said. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she's safe, even if that means trading myself for her. Once he has me securely locked away he'll let her go. He knows it's the only leverage he has against me. I was protecting her trying to figure out what my next move was going to be when you interfered."
"He'll probably just kill her once he has you secured," Piper said. "Warlocks aren't known for keeping their word."
"He will," Victor said. "He knows if he harms her I'll never cooperate with him. Once I trade myself for her she'll be safe."
"We'll stop him," Phoebe said. "If he's just a warlock we can handle him. We've handled them before."
"You can't," Victor said. "Your magic will be as useless against him as it is against me. I've heard him called the Diablo Warlock. Many have gone up against him. They all failed."
"He hasn't gone against us before," Piper said.
"Victor may be right," Chris said.
"What do you mean?" Paige asked.
"I've heard of this Diablo Warlock," Chris said. "He's legendary. He's been vanquished half a dozen times but he always comes back. No one has found a way to stop him permanently."
"Chris is right," Leo said. "The Elders have known about him for decades. They're constantly looking for some way to stop him. He's got some secret that seems to protect him against any permanent harm."
"That secret is me," Victor said. "It's my resistance to magic that also protects him. He uses my blood to create a serum that temporarily transfers that resistance to him. With it no form of magic can hurt him. Not permanently, anyway."
"Well, at least we know something," Phoebe said. "Now, all you have to do is tell us why you're resistant to magic and we come up with a way around it."
"That won't happen," Victor said. "I'm resistant to magic because it is my nature. Magic operates on the natural laws of the universe. Action and reaction. Cause and affect. I'm resistant because I violate all of those laws."
"What do you mean?" Paige asked.
"I'm not natural," Victor said.
"What does that mean, you're not natural?" Piper asked.
"I was never given a name," Victor said. "After I was on my own, I chose the name I use now. It helps me feel at least a little human. I took my fathers' Christian name, Victor. It was the first name I ever heard. For my surname, I chose the surname of the woman who was a close to a mother as I will ever have. Her surname was Shelley."
"Oh my God," Paige said suddenly. "Mary Shelley?"
"Yes," Victor said. "Her father and my father were friends. It's where she got the idea that made her famous."
"Mary Shelley?" Phoebe questioned. "Where have I heard that name before?"
"You probably read it," Victor said. "My mother became famous as a writer in the late 1800s. But she became most famous for one single book. A book she wrote about the man I call my father. The man who created me. A man named Victor Frankenstein."