Doomhollow Hall December 13th 2010 1:00 AM EDT

The trip back to the teleporter after we rescued the Shadows was...quiet. Paula and Artemis didn't seem horrified judging by their auras, but they seemed a bit wary, and I didn't blame them. Reggie was quiet but he didn't seem upset, just sad. Zee...Zee was a lot of things at once and it made reading her aura much harder. We made decent time getting back after Paula said goodbye to Cheshire and the cat masked assassin thanked us for the help. She made sure to mention that she would tell Talia about our assistance so I guessed that was good.

When we got back to the island Zee left immediately and I broke away from the others to follow her, she made her way up to our room and when she went inside I followed, closing the door behind me quietly. By the time I got into the room Zee was standing at the window, her back to me, and not speaking. I winced. I'd been expecting this conversation, but I hadn't been looking forward to it. I just hoped this wasn't more than she could take from me. I swallowed and spoke up. "I'm guessing you're pretty disgusted right now.

She shook her head without turning around. "Not disgusted. Afraid." I flinched. That was worse. I'd gone over and over things in my head the month I'd been training and I couldn't think of a way around us. This pressure cooked we were in now was dangerous, even more so than Gotham normally was, and we needed a way to make people hesitate. I hadn't enjoyed the process, but I did believe it was necessary.

Still, knowing that she was afraid of me now...it hurt. "You...you, know I'd never hurt you right? I'm the same person I was before." At least I thought I was. Honestly with all the changes that had happened to me in the past few months who even knew. Could I really claim to be the same shut in I'd been at the start of all this. Hell, even just the devil transformation seemed to have altered me fundamentally, but at the very least I thought I'd stayed true to the core of who I was.

Zee just chuckled sadly, turning around so I could see the tears on her cheeks. "I'm not afraid OF you you idiot. I'm afraid FOR you. That was horrible. I admit, but I saw why you did it. I saw the shame and disgust on your face when you...finished her. You were disgusted with yourself, with having to kill her like you killed Annabel. You were gruesome at the end because you knew it would be faster, you were trying to be merciful. But I also saw the determination in your eyes. Even behind that mask I can see what you're feeling, feel you."

We'd been much more in tune since our first time. Zee had mentioned taking her virginity on Halloween would connect us even more deeply. It wasn't just a sex thing, we could feel each other. It was less obvious to me because my aura sense already let me see what she was feeling but I hadn't realized she was quite that aware of my emotions. I stopped, unsure of what to say to her, of where to go from here.

I swallowed again. "I know it's drastic. That it's awful. But I'm trying to keep us all safe. We aren't playing by the normal rules anymore, Gotham is a time bomb now, and any advantage might save our lives. If that little display makes them hesitate for even a second, if I managed to scare them even a bit-." I was cut off as she put a finger to my lips, pulling it back to kiss me before smiling up at me with that same sad smile.

She wasn't angry, just hurting, and that was worse. I wish she would have yelled at me. But she just said. "I know." She must have seen the fear in my eyes because she laid her head on my chest. "I'm not leaving. I'm not happy, but I understand your reasons. For now. But this has to have been a one time thing, or as close as you can get. I won't just stand here and watch you turn into a monster if you start trying to kill everyone who we go up against. If they really try to hurt or kill one of us and you have to end things I understand, but no unnecessary death."

I kissed the top of her head. "Of course not. The entire point of that performance was to make people too afraid to mess with us. That gray woman was dangerous, even Artemis was having trouble with her, there's no way she doesn't have a rep. Killing someone like her will give our name weight, but it also won't alienate everyone in the city. Given how hard she was coming for Artemis I doubt she had a habit of being gentle in fights, I doubt anyone is going to cry over her too hard." At least I hoped so.

Zee sighed. "Devastation. Her name was Devastation. She was a clone of Wonder Woman I think. And yes, she was known to be somewhat brutal. It's one of the reasons I'm not more worried. She was...a bad person. She enjoyed hurting people. Even I had heard about her and daddy did his best to keep news about to cape world out of my ears. If you had to pick someone to make an example of you could have done much worse on pretty much every front. She was universally disliked but also feared."

I was grateful she hadn't seen me almost disembowel monkey boy, or at least wasn't talking about it. Maybe she'd seen but thought I had no choice, either way I was glad to avoid the conversation. She pulled me closer. Her voice tight, even muffled as it was against my chess. "I don't want to lose you. Not to anything. Not to this city, or your power, or even to yourself. Just...be careful? For me? This could get out of hand so very quickly."

I nodded, but realized she couldn't see me. "I promise. But is this going to cause trouble with your dad? Hell even Kent probably won't be ok with this. Will Zatara try to break us up again?" I didn't want to have to fight the older magician. I was sure at this point I could kick his ass, but it would cost me something with Zee, and it wasn't worth it. She still loved her dad even if he was a controlling dick, and I would never hurt her by hurting him.

Judging by the way she bit her lip though she was as worried as I was. "Daddy...this will be a problem for him, but there's enough going on that I doubt he has the time to do anything about it now." Her voice was a bit better as she said that and I winced in sympathy. It was convenient but it did kind of illustrate her point about the neglect. She shrugged. "As for Uncle Kent I honestly don't know. He might absolutely despise you for it, it might not phase him at all."

That was surprising, and she must have noticed my shock because she tried to explain. "You have to understand Uncle Kent was Dr. Fate for a long time. Dr. Fate deals with threats to all of reality. There have been MANY times when he's had to work with terrible dark sorcerers and evil magic users. By his very nature he's less a hero and more a sorcerer and that gives him a degree of moral flexibility Daddy doesn't have. It's part of why he overlooks out time together so often."

That was surprising but it maybe shouldn't have been. Kent Nelson was a scary old man, it made sense he knew what Zee and I got up to but chose not to mention it. I guessed I'd gotten so used to be uncatchable with my ninja skills I'd started taking my sneakiness for granted. I'd have to work on that. I sighed. "Ok, well fair enough then we only have to worry about your dad probably and only him when this is over, so we have time."

My face brightened as I remember my big news though. "Oh, by the way, I gained points in that fight!" Her head snapped up, her face as excited as mine. I knew my nerd of a girlfriend would be excited about a new aspect of my powers. She waited patiently for me to continue, staring up at me as I gathered my thought. Then that didn't work so she kicked me in the shin. I yelped and winced, glowering at her, but she just smiled sweetly.

I picked her up, ignoring her squeak as I carried her over to the bed, still talking. "As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted." I slapped a fishnet covered ass cheek as it hung next to my face getting another squeak, before I threw her on the bed, climbing up on top of her and pinning her down. It was nice to have her in a good mood again and I wante dto savor it. "When monkey kid blasted me with his stupid mouth laser I shifted to my shadow form." I leaned down, stealing a kiss and derailing my train of thought and hers.

She rolled her eyes but didn't pull away until I did, so I kept talking like nothing had happened after I stopped. "I was worried I might get hurt anyway so I activated my devil bloodline ability, Hole. But since I was essentially a living puddle of shadow and my shadows can be portals I thought hey, why don't I try to BE the Hole. So I did. Then when his stupid beam hit me the Hole absorbed it like it was supposed to. But since I was the Hole I absorbed it myself."

I grinned down at her, my excitement mirrored in her eyes. "Since all energy I get is converted to and from points the Hole ability lets me absorb anything and then converts it into my native power source. I got ten thousand points just from those two attacks. Which means we can afford to upgrade the base defenses again or get more workrooms." I stopped at that. "Oh shit we never checked out the ones I already bought. We have so much to do." I was excited to get started.

I almost went to get up and got look but Zee caught me by the armor and yanked me back down into another searing kiss. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh no you don't. Tonight was dramatic and exhausting, I want my man. We're staying in bed and you can play with your toys tomorrow." She grinned up at me wickedly. "For now though I was just in a big fight, and as a Heavenly Punishment Elf that really gets my motor revving. War and sex are two of our biggest thing's. So you better take responsibility."

I laughed at that, grinding my hips a bit so she could feel exactly how much I liked that idea. "Oh no, whatever shall I do. I have to take care of the needs of my nympho sex elf girlfriend. You know, if I'd known you would be this sex crazed I never would have let you take part in the ritual." She rolled her eyes and kissed, me roughly and I pulled back with a laugh. "Ok, you caught me, that was a lie."

Zee gave a frustrated groan. "Oh my god will you shut up and fuck me already. I'm not in the mood for witty banter. Just take your pants off." I burst out laughing, but I have to say. I absolutely did not argue with her. I shut my mouth and started fumbling with my pants, thinking back to my earlier questions about my identity. I decided I didn't much care if I'd changed, my life was pretty awesome the way it was. I could deal with the not so great parts if I got to make up for it with things like this. Then Zee got annoyed with the wait and used magic to vanish her clothes, and I stopped thinking at all.

Doomhollow Hall December 13th 1:30 AM EDT

No matter how many times I had sex with Zee it never got less exciting, but something about this time was different. There was a frantic air to it, a sort of tension. I suspected it was what I'd heard some blonde guy I'd eaten next to at a local bar call "thank god we're alive sex" or a variation on it at least. Still, it was shocking how eager she was as she fisted her hands in my hair, kissing me like she wanted to inhale me.

I let my hands roam over her body as I ground against her. I was still in my clothes but Zee had vanished hers and she was so wet I could feel her through the front of my pants. She moaned into my mouth as the rough fabric ground against that perfect cunt of hers and the groans only got louder as I traced my hands over her smooth skin and up to her perfect tits, groping both and using my thumbs to play with her nipples.

She had her hands down trying to fumble at the button of my pants bu I forced her back before letting her go, dancing back out of range as she whined in need. She lay there on the bed, naked and dripping for me, propped up with her elbows behind her so I could see the length of her body. She pouted cutely at me. "You're being a tease. No fair, I never tease you if I don't intend to follow through."

I grinned and got down on my knees at the edge of the bed and pulled her forward with a squeak. My hands snaked up, pushing her thighs apart and grabbing handfulls of her meaty ass to keep her in place. My grin turned a bit wicked. "Tell you what, how about you just let me know when you think I've followed through enough baby." With that I buried my face between her thighs and sealed my lips to her cunt.

She gasped, hips trying to come off the bed but my fingers were hooked into her ass cheeks and she couldn't get herself up towards my mouth. I stroked my tongue over her absolutely delicious pussy, enjoying that sex elf sweetness before I really got to work on her. I spent most of my time tracing the lips and just barely tracing my tongue along the inner edge of her pussy, with the occasional trip up to play on her clit.

The strategy of mainly avoiding anything too stimulating let me build her up slow, but I could tell by how soaked her cunt was that I was doing my job, and through our tantric bond I sensed her pleasure drifting in and out as I switch from sucking her clit to playing around a bit more generally. Then I switched it up, going from her slit up along the inner rim of the top of her pussy to stroke my tongue over her g-spot, and she got MUCH louder.

I sunk my hands into that fat ass and feasted on her sweet little cunt and she just laid there under me and screamed "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUUUUUUUUCKING EAT MY FUCKING PUSSY!" She was shuddering so hard she might as well be vibrating but I was using my knowledge of her body and the bond to avoid actually making her cum. "FOR FUCKS SAKE MAKE ME CUM SO YOU CAN GET IN MY FUCKING CUUUUNT!"

With a grin I bet she could feel against her I finally gave in, VERY lightly nipping her clit in a way I knew drove her wild, and her shrieks turned into a full blown window rattling scream as she exploded all over my face, soaking me in sweet pussy juice. I stood up, leaving her shuddering and whining in convulsions on the bed as I put my armor in my spatial ring and stripped off my probably ruined pants.

Once I was naked I climbed up on the bed, taking a position on the edge. I pulled her fat ass up against me, throwing her thighs over mine so I could feel her needy cunt against my balls, and I let my cock thwack down on her stomach with a wet smacking sound. Zee's blue eyes were rolled up in her head but I didn't care about aftershocks. I pinched her thigh. "Look at it." My tone left no room for argument.

Her eyelids fluttered a bit as she forced herself back up on her elbow, her hair a mess and looked down at my massive cock laid out on her stomach. My Zee was walking sex but she wasn't very tall. Lots of tits and ass but a little under five feet, and I knew her sex elf physiology played a part when we fucked because with cock laid out along her stomach like this I could see that the damn thing reached her solar plexus.

She shuddered at the sight and murmured something vague as she nuzzled the hand I was using to stroke her face, my thumb toying with those full lips I loved seeing wrapped around my cock so much. But I couldn't heat her answer so I brought my other one up and tweaked her nipple. Not too rough, but with a bit of sting I could feel through our bond she enjoyed. She gasped around my thumb. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. Were you asking for something."

Zee let her head fall back as she howled. "STUFF MY FUCKING PUSSY!" She screamed it like I'd dragged the sound from her through heavy questioning. I chuckled and slid back enough that I could put the head of my cock against her tight little pussy. She moaned happily and started grinding her hips. But when I didn't put it in she just whined and ground her hips trying to get me inside her. "Please baby, fuck me, fuck, fuck mEEEEEE-"

Her tone spiked at the end as I shoved my cock into her as deep as I could get it and transformed into a gleeful scream of

such primal delight that I was afraid I might have short circuited her brain for a second. Seeing her like that. Her tiny but curvy body spitted on my cock three quarters of the way down, twitching in pleasure with a big dopey smile on her face I swear I almost blew my load right there. But I didn't.

I grabbed her hand and put it on her stomach, rubbing the bulge with her sweet little fingers in a way I could feel even from inside her guts. "Feel that." I felt that molten heavenly pussy flutter around me as she nearly came on my dick just from feeling how deep in her I was. "Tell me what you want." It was REALLY hard not to just pull out and pound her into oblivion, but I managed.

She forced her flopped back head up, glaring at me almost angrily from under her messy sex mussed hair, and hissed. "Give it to me! I'll take it all!" I almost groaned at how fucking hot she looked, impaled on my cock and ordering me to give her more. I slid out of her slowly, feeling her pussy ignore what she wanted as it desperately tried to keep me inside her for even a second longer.

Then I drove my hips forward again tearing an exultant squeal from her lungs as I forced an extra inch into her. Honestly either her organs were specifically positioned for this or my girlfriend had a spatial pussy because no one that small should be able to take that much dick, but take it she did, and she vocally enjoyed every fucking inch of it. I shoved my cock into her over and over, trying to get that extra bit in every time.

She squealed at the end of each thrust, and it kind of felt like I was playing with the worlds hottest squeaky toy because every smash of my cock against the end of her cunt drew a ragged happy squeak from her swollen pillowy lips. SHe made me fucking earn it too. No matter how many times I fucked her I had to hammer my cock in an inch at a time she was always just as tight as the first time we had sex and always enjoyed the process just as much.

Honestly she enjoyed it more, because I definitely wasn't this rough with her when I took her virginity, but as we'd gotten used to each other's bodies I was able to see that she could take everything I could give her and more. Honestly she like the rough stuff even more than I did. I think the war and sex parts of her elven heritage mixed together a bit when we fucked and she enjoyed feeling me conquer her. I wasn't going to pretend I didn't love it.

Finally I got my cock inside her balls deep and she gave a ragged cry of triumph, grinding her hips and clenching her already insanely tight cunt as she crowed with joy. "FUCK YES! DO IT! FUCK IT! GET IT STUD RUIN ME!" Her eyes were almost glowing with fucking avarice and all I could do was obey as I dragged myself out of her twat, having to fight for every inch and then buried myself back in her guts. "GODS YES, WRECK THAT PUSSY BABY!"

So I did. I pounded my screaming, cursing, grinding girlfriend into the fucking mattress and she took it all, egging me on as I just about split her in half. She grabbed my face and pulled it down so she could stare manically into my eyes. "No one else can take this baby, it would break any other girl. This is MINE." She shuddered, eyes rolling up a bit before she forced them back to mine. "Say it. Say it's mine."

Honestly I would have told her the moon was made of green cheese if she'd asked me to right then, but I didn't have a reason to refuse anyway. "Fuck yes, every inch for you." I grunted as I shoved myself back into that magic pussy. God she was so fucking tight and hot and wet and good and every fucking muscle in her twat was gripping me like a slippery hot vice.

The big surprise wasn't the fucking though, it was the runes that started to glow on her skin as I fucked her. She'd started muttering nonsense a bit ago and I just now noticed it was an incantation. I didn't stop or slow down at all, I trusted Zee, and I wanted to see what this new ritual would do so I sped up, fucking her into the groaning mattress as hard as I could and enjoying the sensation of freedom as I stopped trying to hold, I knew what she'd want for this next part.

Sure enough she gave me a manic grin. "Do it baby, finish, cum in my pussy." She was throwing her hips, fucking up into me with all the leverage she could get as I felt the tension build in both of us. My balls were tightening as I slammed into her, getting ready to give her what she asked for, but I felt in the bond it wasn't quite time. I just needed to hold on a little longer.

I felt her own orgasm start to hit and I let go, blowing my load as deep inside her as I could go as we both screamed our release. The magic she'd been building rose with us, and when we came it broke and spilled into me. I felt energy fill me, same as with my Hole transformation, but I didn't want to close my eyes and miss a second of this. I slumped down on the bed next to her and she gave me a cheeky grin. "So, did it work?" My only answer was a kiss.

Doomhollow Hall December 13th 2010 11:00 PM EDT

The next morning was...quiet. Artemis didn't seem to hold my decision against me, nor did Reggie, but from their auras I could tell they were giving me space after the ordeal. It would have been a much bigger deal without Zee there to keep me grounded and I was grateful for my girl. Sex was only part of it, the genuine connection and love she showed me made it clear that she was with me for the long haul, assuming I didn't turn into a serial killer.

On top of that she had officially discovered a new method to give me points. Another full ten thousand dropped into my lap, bringing me up to twenty thousand total. Hearing about how I'd been able to internalize the power from monkey boy's golden blast had clearly given her some ideas and my beloved girlfriend had taken them and run during our time together last night. It had obviously worked out since I had more points now than I could ever remember having at one time.

The knowledge of at least two methods to produce massive amounts of points, one of which was easily repeatable and definitely enjoyable, was a game changer for me. The method I'd figured out during the fight was a big deal, sure, but at the same time it was obviously dangerous and involved getting attacked by powerful energy blasts at the very least. Zee's on the fly tantric ritual was repeatable and very pleasant so it was definitely the better option.

The morning, however, wasn't an uneventful one. Jim had called us all together to talk to use about something important. It seemed like he'd been doing some snooping on his own when he'd been out and about, and he'd figured some things out. Madame Xanadu and Blood were there with him when we arrived and that definitely made me sit up and take notice. Madame X was one thing but Blood would never work with Jim unless it was important.

When we showed up in the map room Jim gestured for us to sit before starting to fill us in. "So. I've been looking around for a while, trying to figure out something that doesn't make sense." His voice was subdued and pensive. "What was the point of all this? Sure having an army of gods at her beck and call seems like a viable motive, and it might even be what she told the Amazons, but Circe isn't the type of person to do all this to enrich others."

He clicked his fingers on the table as he spoke, and his tone was wandering, as if he was trying to figure things out by talking. " This entire thing is...unlike her. So, operating under the assumption that we were missing something I've been mapping the edges of the barrier spell and studying it's layout. I suspected it might give me some kind of insight into what she plans to do with the city if I could determine the parameters of the containment."

Madame Xanadu spoke up. "We'd been doing our own investigation of that very thing, so we were able to compare notes." She nodded to me. "Thank you for access to the teleport network by the way, it's unspeakably convenient. In any case we all three had the same thought, and when we compared notes we realized some...unfortunate things. Specifically that the purpose of this bubble isn't what it seems to be."

Jim sighed. "We don't know all of it, but we've been able to figure out a few things. First off, Circe is in here with us. We don't know where, or even why, but the method used to raise the shield would require her presence inside it's radius. Secondly it isn't meant to keep things out, at least not entirely, it's meant to keep out attention. It's a giant anti scrying ward first and foremost, so whatever she's doing in here she doesn't want anyone to know about."

Jim's face, which was visible in his human guise, twisted with worry. "I can't begin to tell you how worrisome that is. Circe has been operating with impunity for literal millennia without worrying about being noticed. Whatever the purpose of this endeavor is it must be something she believes would alienate or enrage the entire Greek pantheon. The list of things that could do so is short, but extremely unpleasant."

I furrowed my brow. "That isn't ideal, no. But could you tell anything else? A ritual that big should do more than just act like a magic signal jammer right? Well, I guess it also keeps out unwanted pests but you made it sound like there was more than just a little information in the setup." The idea that the mad goddess with the evil magic book I'd retrieved was running around inside the invincible bubble with us was not comforting in the least.

Sadly the answer I was hoping for wasn't forthcoming. Jim just shook his head. "Nothing specific. It holds in power, which means theoretically the density of supernatural energy in the city should be growing exponentially by the day but isn't. That means she's using it for something, but we don't know what. The energy from the curse that plagues Gotham is exceptionally high quality, it has nearly endless uses."

I nodded absently. "Sure, that's the reason she arranged the Labyrinth to end up her to start with, but I'm curious how it does her any good. Circe is already a god, why would she care about ascension, it's not like she can ascend twice." The three older magic users all froze, then as one turned to stare at each other in horror. Jim bolted from his chair over to the map, poring over the images.

Madame Xanadu and Blood were right behind him, both looking terrified by something, and I absolutely did not love that. I cleared my throat. "Excuse me. We were talking? What's with the freak out? What did I say?" If Circe could actually become a double god I was seriously going to lose my shit. I'd had about enough of that ascension nonsense to last a lifetime.

Despite my prompting the three of them continued to pour over the map. The zoomed in and out, checking random angles and distances and muttering about arcane parameters in complex lines of questioning that might as well have been gibberish for how well I understood any of it. I looked to Zee quizzically but she just shrugged, clearly not following whatever their jargon was either...which was concerning in a whole other way.

Finally I got fed up waiting and clapped my hands sharply, loudly startling the trio out of their reverie. "As fun as it is to be set dressing while the three of you mumble unknowable arcane secrets, perhaps you'd like to share exactly what has you all so agitated instead of giving us all hear attacks from panic." I saw Reggie pretend to scratch his face to hide a smile as Artemis just openly snickered at my insouciance.

Jim took a deep breath. "Ah, yes. Apologies. Your comment earlier about a second ascension. It's both inaccurate and potentially very feasible. We were studying the distribution of ley lines in the area as they relate to certain key locations the Amazon's seem to have congregated near, and we came to some very troubling conclusions. We hadn't considered the possibility before so we weren't looking until you mentioned it."

I opened my mouth, but seeing my impatience my mentor held up his hands. "Peace, my boy. I'm getting to it. This one requires a bit of context. What do you know about the Sphere of the Gods?" I stared blankly at him and he rolled his eyes. "Right, I forget how young you all are on occasion. The Sphere of the Gods is...in some ways it's a place, and in some ways it's a force. Gods derive their power from it."

Madame Xanadu spoke up. "Not exactly, more that gods are a part of the sphere. It's one of the building blocks of our reality and the force from which all magic springs, technically speaking we're always within the Sphere, but though it is omnipresent in certain fashions it also exists in a physical sense in certain frequencies of reality. The beings that reside there are the New Gods."

Jim waved her off. "Explaining the metaphysics of the multiverse would take to long. Think of it as another reality that exists on top of all the known universes in the multiverse. Places like Olympus and Asgard are sort of...weak spots between the Sphere and this reality, but aren't truly IN it. The so called 'fourth world' is an incredibly mystical place where tombs of the old gods and some of the greatest power in the multiverse can be found."

He gestured to the map. "Which is what your comment reminded us of. We checked the placement of the Amazon forces and Circe may very well be attempting to use Gotham's abundance of high quality energy to ascend to the Sphere of the Gods with the Labyrinth as a focus. The Labyrinth was designed to allow ascension outside godly notice, and as such as a loophole in the normal system. Circe is a lesser deity, but if she ascends with the Labyrinth she may become an equal to the New Gods."

I grimaced at the idea of Circe with even more power than she already had. She hadn't been awful or anything but I had not gotten a stable vibe from the evil goddess, and finding out she had been secretly puppeteering the eventual fall of the city I lived in in a machiavellian plot to ascend to a higher plane and become all powerful definitely didn't help my impression of her.

Artemis broke the silence that followed that statement. "I mean, fuck that right?" We all looked at her. "What? I can't be the only person here who wants to make sure that bitch crashes and burns. I don't even care about her becoming powerful or whatever, she totally fucked us. I definitely not going to sit and watch while she accomplishes all her goals and becomes even harder to deal with."

Reggie snorted out a laugh. "Hate to say it but I agree with Arty. Fuck her. My family suffered because of her bullshit Labyrinth stunt." He turned to look at Jim. "Do we know where the hell this ascension will be taking place? I seriously hope it's not in the Labyrinth because honestly the idea of having to grind our way through that whole thing again is just the least fun thing I can possibly imagine doing."

Jim snorted. "No. I'm afraid not. In point of fact I wish it was. Part of our calculations were to find out exactly where it would be taking place, and we believe we've narrowed it down to here." He gestured a spot on the map, showing us with intersecting lines exactly which ley lines and magical forces intersected and along what paths based on where the Amazons were stationed.

I looked down at the map and back up at him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." I glared at the spot on the map. "We just sent the Leaguers to secure it, no way they missed her there." I couldn't help but shudder at the idea of going back to Arkham after my last visit. The place just straight up gave me the creeps, even if I hadn't had to deal with my psychopath uncle.

Jim sighed. "If only it were that simple. Circe is a master of disguise, her magic is excellent at helping her blend in. I doubt anyone save perhaps Wonder Woman would recognize her, and the Amazonian Princess is outside the city." He chuckled, smiling darkly as he gestured to the spot on the map where all the lines intersected. "I suspect we're looking at a relatively short timeline, so we should make our way there post haste." He stood. "So who's up for a field trip?"

Arkham Asylum December 13th 2010 2:00 PM EDT

Climbing out of the car I glanced up at Arkham. The Silver Ghost had been parked at the old penthouse and we'd driven over from there. I'd expected the roads to cause trouble but Jim appeared to have made some modifications to the thing because we drove right through most of the barricades when we got to them. Arkham itself looked...well, the same. Zee climbed out after me and stared up at the building. "Well, that place is super fucking creepy."

I snorted a laugh. "Yeah, I thought the same thing my first time here. It's like someone spilled a Tim Burton movie on the world's most authentic haunted house, then tried to clean up the mess with an episode of Scooby Doo." Everyone stared at me blankly. "What? I've had nightmares about this place since the first time I was here, so I've had a ton of time to think about why it's so creepy."

If it had just been the evil I would have been able to stomach it, it wouldn't have haunted me. But there was more there, a sort of unreality to the darkness that made it almost cartoonish. It was so evil it looked like someone had made it up for a story, and that made it somehow worse. This wasn't just a place you had nightmares about, it WAS a nightmare, and anything could happen to you in your nightmares.

Reggie squinted up at the building. "You know, I kind of see what you mean. There's a certain sense of wackiness smeared on top of a whole bunch of mind numbing terror with just a hint of ridiculous showing through. It's weird how that somehow makes it even scarier." He turned to Jim. "So what are the chances we're going to find your satanic side piece and get the hell out of here before the crazy has a chance to splash all over us?"

Jim's eyebrows, visible in his human guise with none of his usual affectations to be seen, furrowed in annoyance. His mustache twitched slightly as he glared at Reggie. "First of all, Circe is a Pagan goddess and has no relation to the judeochristian Devil, in fact I suspect YOU have a better claim to that particular role, given the company you keep." He flicked his eyes to me meaningfully.

Reggie looked appalled but Jim just continued speaking. "Secondly, I somehow doubt the resolution to this debacle will present itself in a clear and easily grasped manner, hence my current state of dress." He gestured down to his body to encompass his current outfit, an old style doctor's outfit similar to the ones I'd seen on doctors I'd passed when I'd last visited Arkham. His crisp button up and tie blended seamlessly with his while coat, presenting a respectable image.

We parked in the staff parking lot this time, and being with a "doctor" meant the Arkham gate guards didn't bother to question us. We just strolled right into the grounds as soon as they saw Jim's coat, and once we were out of earshot I couldn't resist whispering to Zee. "No wonder so many people break out of this place, their security is a joke." I hadn't realized the greeting at the gated and visitor protocols were the sum total of the security in place on my last visit.

Jim, hearing my comment, shook his head. "No. The security his is quite adequate for what it is supposed to do. It is simply designed on a faulty premise." He gestured up the the creepy building. "The creators of this security system believed that no one would ever want to enter a place as twisted and evil as this. All the security measures are designed to keep things IN not bar them from entering. Leaving will be a much more difficult task than gaining entry."

That wasn't exactly a comforting though, so I pushed it aside for the moment. "So, why are you the only one with a costume? I would have figured given your stealthy nature you would have preferred to remain out of sight and have the rest of us play dress up, or at least have these three do it while you and I snuck around." I gestured to Zee, Artemis, and Reggie, who all looked as confused by this turn of events as I was.

Jim shook his head. "Simple. The nursing staff should have clothes on the premises. The chances of finding an unattended lab coat are much lower, so I brought my own. As for your question yes, I would prefer to remain anonymous, but as I am the only one of us of an age to be believed to be a medical professional I find this task thrust upon me. You'll be doing the incognito snooping for the group, and Reginald and I will be infiltrating the staff."

My eyes narrowed. "See. You just listed three of the people in this group, but neglected to mention two of the others. What, pray tell, will Zee and Artemis be doing during our investigations?" Jim looked away purposefully, facing ahead so he didn't have to meet my gaze, and that was just about the least comforting action he could have taken. I stopped, clearing my throat. "Jim. I asked you what the girls will be doing?"

My mentor sighed. "Circe will most likely be hiding amongst Arkham's inmate population, she also prefers to remain female when disguised. While Reginald and I search for clues amongst the staff, and you lurk in the dark places of the Asylum, the ladies will be infiltrating the local environment as inmates. Madame Xanadu and I have created new glamour charms that should fool even Circe, and with their charisma charming the inmates should be a snap."

I glared at him. "You're telling me you want the two of them to go undercover among the population of one of the most feared mental institutions in the entire country, mix with villains the likes of which only appear in a healthy persons nightmares, and expose themselves to possible attack from an evil goddess? While we what? Look for paper trails and snoop around in dark closets? Are you fucking high?"

Jim held his hands up. "Peace, my boy. Your Pride is showing. There are only a few female inmates, and they're kept separate from the rest of the population. They'll be in there together and are more than capable of standing against a few lunatics. As for Circe, her ritual will require certain conditions to enact. This is a place of great evil and power but I suspect more will be required. A full moon would be her best hope, and the next isn't for eight days."

I pushed down my anger. He was right, I was overreacting because of my Pride. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply before turning to Zee. "This is your call. You'll be the one going in. If you aren't comfortable in any way we can figure this out some other way. He even said he's guessing, it's possible the full moon has no bearing on the ritual and you could be walking into some horrible sacrifice."

Jim looked offended but Zee just laughed, going up on her tip toes to kiss me lightly. "No. He's right. The theory is sound. Annabel used a full moon to call the labyrinth, so using another to access it's power would be the most suitable method. Even doing the ritual here isn't a coincidence. This is the worst place in Gotham. Maybe this was even why the Amazon's attacked here during the raid on Blackgate, to give Circe cover to get in."

I sighed. I recognized that gleam in her eye. Zee was the most curious person I knew. She wanted to learn more about this ritual, and to do that she'd definitely take this stupid mission. Artemis interjected, waving her hand in my face. "Yeah, hey, hi? I'm here too you absolute goon. Don't worry though, I'll be fine, and since I'm such a stand up gal I'll even look out for your honey bunny while we're in there." She rolled her eyes. "I swear you two make me sick."

I coughed, flushing slightly. "Please, only the good die young. Like an Asylum full of nutjobs could do anything to you. Hell ten minutes in your presence would probably drive them all sane." Her mouth fell open in offended shock as she stared at me and I smirked, looking away from my sputtering bestie to Jim. "Ok boss, so how do we get them in there anyway? I mean I doubt you can just walk them up to the front desk to register."

Jim just stared at me. "It's a mental institution, of course I can. Arkham may be a terrifying nightmare den but anyone check themselves into an Asylum at any time, if they feel the pose a danger to themselves or others. With a doctor to smooth things over we can have them inside within a few minutes, and Reginald can accompany me as my assistant, riding in with me to work." He reached into a coat pocket, holding out a hand to deposit rings in each of the girls' outstretched palms. "Your new disguises ladies."

The two of them slipped their rings on, immediately vanishing to be replaced by new women. Artemis became a freckled redhead with a swimmers build, and Zee shifted into a slightly thicker woman with an olive complexion. They both however look completely normal, and when I activated my aura vision even I couldn't see anything wrong. Damn, the adults in our crew did good work. I focused on my sending stone. "You two can at least still hear this right?"

I projected the message to the stones of the entire group and the girls both nodded. I exhaled in relief. "Alright, I'll slip into the place when you're distracting the guards. I can enter as a shadow." At twenty thousand two hundred plus points I was definitely equipped to make the trip easily. Once we had that settled Jim and Reggie escorted the girls into the Asylum and I shifted into a shadow, flowing along the ground after them.

I watched as my mentor escorted them up to the desk. "Ah good evening." He leaned in to look at the name tag of the girl at the desk. "Stacy, what a lovely name. These two troubled young ladies approached me outside in fear for the safety of those around them, could you perhaps aid me in getting them settled?" I slipped past my boss, ignoring his flirting with the busty twenty something redhead at the desk as I slid under the door down a side hallway.I had to smirk internally as I saw Reggie and Artemis's auras surge with annoyance.

Once I was inside I headed straight for...nowhere. I had literally no idea where anything was. This was a long terms operation so we had expected to case the place for a while, which was fine, but I'd expected to have someone with me. I silently snarled in frustration and began the process of searching the hallways. My first task was to memorize the hallway layout, and once I'd done that I could go back and check individual rooms. We would be here for some time so I had more than enough time to do this properly.

Jim had taught me how to case buildings almost first thing when he started training me, so I followed my training as I glided smoothly down the halls. It technically cost points but I wasn't in a hurry so it was a minimal deduction, with my absurd point total at the moment I was in no danger of stressing my reserves. I took my time, mapping out each corridor and floor to the best of my ability until everything inch of the place was committed to memory, and once that was done I began the next step. Time to break into some rubber rooms.

Arkham Asylum December 14th 2010 8:00 PM EDT

I had to admit. I was annoyed. I had expected searching Arkham slowly to be a bit of a grind sure, but I expected it to take a few hours even at my current speed. However, I had neglected an important fact. The person who designed Arkham BELONGED in Arkham. The entire place was a never ending loop of back tracking corridors, dead ends, and hallways that I was pretty sure actually extended past the edge of the building somehow.

In short, it was a literal madhouse, and trying to explore the whole thing in slow motion with my slow ass shadow form speed was driving me up the wall. I was halfway tempted to just say fuck it and try to infiltrate the patient population just so I wouldn't have to go through any more of this. The worst part was since everyone was in the middle of investigating I couldn't even chat with my friends via sending stone since I might distract them at a crucial moment.

However, finally, after literally more than a full day of exploration I had FINALLY finished exploring the various hallways in this place. Not on that I had even found about a half dozen secret passages (again, no wonder these idiots have so many break outs) and a few hiding spots where people had stashed drugs or pills. Unfortunately, this minor victory was only the prelude to even more pain for me. Now that the halls were done I was going to have to explore the rooms.

I heaved a long sigh, or at least the mental equivalent since I didn't have a body, and got back to work. Because of my incredibly slow pace, I'd only burned about a hundred points, bringing me down to twenty thousand five hundred from the twenty thousand six hundred I'd jumped to after today's points income. A hundred points for eight hours of constant movements as a shadow wasn't bad especially since I'd run into a few issues and had to splurge on speed a bit.

I started making my way into rooms next. One at a time, but as I was getting started going down the first hallway close to me I noticed something odd. A new hallway. With my perfect recall I was positive I had memorized the entire layout of this place, and I absolutely did not remember there being a hallway in the spot I was currently looking at one. I groaned internally, because the last thing I needed when casing a location was for it to spontaneously change shape or get bigger, but regardless I had to at least check it out.

Since I was in shadow form I should be safe enough, but I decided to go at the same slow pace as I had been, just to make sure I could keep an eye out. The appearance of a new hallway was setting off a ton of warning bells in my head, but I might just be being paranoid. Even if I wasn't though, I was a literal devil, I was the kind of thing they made horror movies about, and I absolutely was not going to creep around like a scared child up past his bedtime just because I was in a creepy nut house.

Without another thought about it I my way down the new corridor, keeping my senses peeled for exactly what was down there. After traveling a while however, I came to the end of the hall, and in the wall there I found an archway. The thing was weird looking, made of rough stone blocks that reminded me of the ones you would use in a castle. I stayed still for a minute or two, feeling out the environment to made sure the thing wasn't a trap before heading through.

On the other side of the archway was a small landing made of the same stone, and spiraling down from that was a series of steps that spiraled down into a dark abyss. Interspersed along the spiraling stair were pools of light cast by flickering torches, each one a tiny island of illumination in a sea of descending black. I stared down at the flickering lights as they danced in the far off dark like stars, and mentally debated what I should do.

Of course I kept going. We were looking for an evil ritual site and this had evil ritual written all over it. All we were missing was malevolent cackling and scantily clad sacrificial virgins strapped to tables. Despite that I did send out a mental message via sending stone to the others. "Found a creepy stone staircase lit by flickering torches, it's giving me serious creepy murder room vibes. I'm going to check it out to see what's down there, if you need to find it it's off the west wing third hallway down, doesn't seem like it's always there though."

Jim responded mentally almost immediately. "Spatial fluctuations are an excellent sign of high power density. That could very well be the place. Excellent work my boy, stay on your guard as you explore however, your stealth skills are great, but Circe is canny." I sent back a wordless message of agreement and began my descent, slowly creeping down into what was probably yet ANOTHER dungeon.

As I descended I started to hear sounds. Specifically I started to hear chanting. I didn't recognize the language so I memorized a few lines and sent them to Jim as an inquiry. His response was grim. "It's a hybrid of ancient Greek and Egyptian. I can only think of a single people who would speak both and be in Gotham. The Bana Mighdall are here. It seems we were correct in our assumptions. Do not engage them however. Attempt to surveil the ceremony. It's too early for them to be performing the true ritual."

I replied with a confirmation again and made my way down at an even slower pace. My stealth skills were second to none, not least when I was in my shadow form, and when I made an active effort to suppress my presence I truly believed I was almost undetectable. Even Circe might have a tough time finding me. I crept down the steps, silent as a wraith. Round and round I went, slowly creeping ever forward as I delved into the depths of the earth.

Finally after what felt like an hour I emerged from the base of the spiral staircase into a massive stone chamber. Despite being about the size of a football field the short, flickering pools of illumination created an impenetrable darkness about ten feet off the ground. Only the columns disappearing up into the blackness gave lie to the oppressive cramped atmosphere of the place, showing that the suffocating dark wasn't the almost physical barrier it appeared to be.

Along the length of the chamber were lines of warrior women, some in togas, some in cloaks, some in armor and even street clothes. Regardless of their style of dress however they all stood rigidly in lines between the columns, all murmuring the same words as if following an invisible teleprompter. At the other end of the room stood a figure in a midnight blue robe, arms flung wide, head tilted back as she called out the words the others murmured in time with her sisters, her voice lifted with fervor.

I blinked. She wasn't Circe, I didn't actually even recognize her at all, but this was definitely the ritual. But it was so early, what was going on? As I thought that, one of the Bana Mighdall Amazon's in the front stepper forward. With her change in direction she drew my attention to the floor at the priestesses feet, where a series of deep grooves flickered wetly in the torch light, leading to a deep hole I couldn't really see into.

The priestess lowered her head to smile at the other Amazon through lips still forming the incantation, then, with zero hesitation, her hand snaked out from her robe in a flash. If my reflexes weren't so good and my senses weren't so honed I might have missed the short, razor sharp dagger in her hand. I would not, however, have missed the spurt of arterial blood as she opened the other Amazon's throat.

The murdered Amazon didn't even fight, her blood spilling out into the pool as her body fell limply to the stone of the chamber floor. As her head fell towards me though I finally noticed something I hadn't seen because all the Amazon's had their backs to where I was hidden. A glowing red rune blazing on her forehead, the light slowly dying in time to the last pulses of her heart. The blood flowing from her throat was glowing dimly in the torchlight as it drained away.

My blood froze. I recognized that rune. The Mark of Kermtiss. It was a sacrificial brand that could be given to powerful warriors. It raised their strength temporarily but fused with their essence so the sacrificial victim would perfectly donate the maximum amount of power upon their death. It even let them slowly gather energy as long as it was applied, creating higher yield for the caster.

The Mark was in Circe's grimoire, and was specifically noted to be excellent for mass sacrifices. A note I was terrifyingly certain she had followed in this case as the next Amazon stepped up after about ten minutes, two helpers carrying away the now drained body as the priestess killed the next victim. I understood exactly why they had started this so early now. There were hundreds of Amazon's down here, and sacrificing them one at a time was going to take days.

I slipped out of the room, back up the stairs and to the landing, then out into the hallway. I didn't leave the hall, in case I couldn't find the place again, but I definitely got as far from the archway as possible before looking around and resuming my normal human shape. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I had developed excellent instincts in my time as a thief, and I knew when shit was going to get real. I needed more power than what I had, and I knew exactly how to get it.

Myrina had been able to match me in combat, and while I'd taken her style and made it my own, stopping all those Amazon's would be far too tall an order for me in my current state. Luckily I'd long since solidified my gains and integrated my many powers, and had been searching for a new addition to my skillset all this time. I had been content o pour points into base for a while longer, but it seemed like it was time for an upgrade.I'd narrowed it down a while ago, but I'd been limited by points, but this particular power was within my price range now at twenty thousand.

I'd normally be hesitant to spend that much at once, but with the extra five hundred to use in combat I was willing to invest. I scrolled down to the appropriate email and slipped into a nearby closet in the hallway, just to use as cover, then I hit the order now only a minute or two there was a gentle knock, as always, and I opened the door to pick up the box box was...weird. It was made of an opaque green stone with a skull on the lid. The stone wasn't exactly a gem, but not really a mineral, it was hard to explain.

It gave off a cold green fog and felt weird as hell to touch, but I opened it up and took out the glass vial with the skull stopper inside. I thought back over the email, making sure I hadn't missed some horrible catch, then read the short instructional card in the box, shrugging before following the instructions to the letter. As I swallowed the freezing concoction I gasped for enough air to follow the instructions on the card, which were apparently to utter a nonsense phrase. Still, I'd done weirder. With the last gasps of my choking breath I croaked out "I'm going ghost!"

See? I told you he was getting new powers. I wracked my brain for ages on this one and I'm incredibly psyched. Hope you guys are ready for some hype, because this transformation is leading into the next arc where everything is going to be bigger and badder than you can imagine. Only five more chapters until the arc finale and I'm pretty sure it isn't one any of you will expect. Any guesses in spoiler tags as usual please. pat-reon has the advance chapters at that site /malcolmttent.