Chapter Nine:
Bad Guy

Disclaimer:I do not own the cartoonStorm Hawks. It and all its respectable characters are © to Asaph "Ace" Fipke and Nerd Corps. Lupin and all plot contents within are © to me. All shows/ books/ video games/ songs that are mentioned in this chapter are all © to their respective owners, I don't own them.

Note: Ahahahah! Finally. The quote I WANT TO USE is in this chapter.

Dictionary: BAMCIS—a military acronym used by the Marine Corps for a Five-Paragraph Order. It stands for Begin the planning, Arrange reconnaissance, Make reconnaissance, Complete the planning, Issue the order, Supervise. There are some elements to that Lupin is using to draft a plan up to the Storm Hawks, if you take care to notice. It is used when creating plans that revolve around a mission, and there are several other acronyms that attach themselves to BAMCIS, although I won't get into that.

If you have more interest in it, I would highly recommend going over to Gunny Google. Google is your friend…even if Google can become that annoying friend you just want to stop jumping in with suggestions. Like looking up "Philadelkia" or making you an accidental ornithologist.

Props to anyone who gets those references. :P

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Gather up your loved ones, gather up your friends
'Cause this is when the bad guy, the bad guy wins
Pray to whichever god forgives your sins
'Cause this is when the bad guy, the bad guy wins
-"Bad Guy" by 3OH3!

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The warehouse was, from a glance, nondescript. It was abandoned, that much was apparent and had once been used to store textile goods at one point in its once-busy lifetime. But now it sat, aging and unused—until a few weeks ago. Dating back to several weeks ago, hacked aerial shots revealed it's had more usage than it had in the past twenty or so years. Lupin eyed its seemingly innocuous exterior, knowing that to the outside observer, it was still abandoned, but to her, no. No, she could hear activity going on inside, could smell the myriad of people that came and went inside it, usually through one of the three entrances. Two were preferred, as they were out of immediate public eye, while the third could be observed from street level, if someone were to pass at the right time.

There was a fourth entrance, rooftop access. It wasn't ideal, but it was an entry nobody would expect.

She peeled herself away from the window she'd been observing from, turning back to the gathered posse behind her. The building they had occupied was just as empty, aging, and decrepit; an old office building that had foreclosed years ago and failed to sell over to a new owner. There were plenty of places like that in Los Angeles, but the economy was picking up and who knows? Maybe someone would buy this junk heap of a building. But today was not that day.

Finn, who had been observing from another window at another angle, pulled away from his position, lowering the rifle he'd borrowed from Lupin. He patted the scope on top with a wide grin.

"I like this thing. Can I keep it?"

"No." Lupin stated simply, plucking it back from him. He made a loud, unhappy groan and skulked back to the others. Lupin stepped forward, her rifle at an alert position.

"I counted three entrances so far. Doesn't look like they're leaving much, though. I've seen about six people go in, none come back out." Finn reported.

"Four entrances. You missed the rooftop entryway. That's our safest bet, it's probably the one place that isn't guarded, at least on the other side," Lupin added, then motioned to the warehouse building plans she'd sketched out, sitting on an aging work desk that had been left behind in the building. "See, here it is. It's got blind spots to observers from the ground, but we'll have perfect bird's eye view of everything. These three entrances are choke points, they can be guarded well enough with just one person if they wanted."

She slid a finger down to an office complex on one side of the map. "Here. If I wanted to keep my operations secret, I'd set up my command center in here. One controlled entryway, you can block out prying eyes, even if there are open spaces or windows placed along the walls to view out toward the warehouse floor. The hallway's the problem, it's another chokepoint. You can get to it either from the rooftop access point—our access way—or from the staircase down on the warehouse floor. If we get caught, that's the one and only office that can save or kill us. If we don't get in there on time, we'll be gunned down. That's why we'll need to control the stairwell leading up from the warehouse floor."

Her eyes scanned over the rest, and she felt the others studying it as well, intently and with heavy consideration to her words.

"You're good at this," Aerrow commented.

Lupin shrugged. "I believe I made mention that I was in the military before, haven't I?"

"Yeah, I remember," he nodded, then hesitated. "But wouldn't it be best if we split up, take down other avenues of entrance, secure them all at once?"

"I've been ambushed before. I've had my trucks blown up and had to watch my friends get gunned down right in front of me. I had to watch one burn alive and another get blown to bits and I couldn't do a damned thing because I had been pinned down. By the time I could do something, they were dead. Pardon me if I'd rather take the highway option to take down enemies from above than to be taken myself. One mistake can fuck it up."

There was a very stilted, awkward silence that ensued. Lupin ignored it as best she could, but she felt the tension building up and chafing against her nerves. She felt eyes on her, and breathes were held. She silently cursed her temper for getting in the way and letting slip that piece of information. It wasn't relevant. It wasn't going to help them get inside that warehouse, other than learning from past mistakes. She waved over to the map.

"Focus. Look. Here, we'll go in at night, when visibility is dimmed."

"Uh, earth to Miss Military. We can't see in the dark."

"You'll be able to see much better if we adapt to it. And for your information, I can see in the dark."

"Oh, wow, one of the rest of us. That makes me feel better." Finn snorted.

"No, Finn, she's got a point. They're going to have lights up in the warehouse. If they have a ground patrol—and from this information, it seems like they do, then their eyesight will be used to light. It'll take them at least half an hour for their eyesight to adjust to darkness. We'll have an advantage, so long as we don't jeopardize ours. We can take them out."

"Especially since I got someone working to get in the city power grid for this quadrant. One word and this entire place blacks out. They'll be fumbling, we'll be already pushing through."

"Just how many people do you know?"

"I did a lot of bouncing around when I was a kid. Plenty of people to get to know, mingle with, integrate into things. Hackers are quite useful, for example. They can get into systems from remote locations and as long as they cover their tracks, they can't get caught." She smirked a bit, then motioned to the map. "At twenty-hundred hours, we strike."

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"You're being awfully lenient in letting her take the reins, Aerrow. Why?"

Piper watched the redhead from the corner of her eye for a moment before turning her gaze back to the warehouse rooftop. They were parked on the neighboring rooftop, and in a few minutes, they'd make a quick leap across to access the rooftop door. Aerrow shifted his position to a more comfortable one. His limbs brimmed with unbridled energy, just a hair's breadth away from being unleashed.

"She has insight. She did the majority of the research. She's helping us."

"She wants to kill them," Piper reminded. Aerrow allowed a beat to pass between them as he nodded.

"I know, Piper. I haven't forgotten. But Stork was right, when he said either our world has to suffer Master Cyclonis and the Dark Ace, or this world will have to. We spent over a year in Atmos trying to take her down, and seven more on the Far Side chasing after her. But we could never finish the job, Piper. She'd either slip away or…or we'd hesitate. As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think we can do it. Take Master Cyclonis out, I mean. And she got the Dark Ace back somehow, so that only adds to the pile."

"But you can take on the Dark Ace—you always have, Aerrow. I know you can."

"It's been a while," he admitted and smiled at her, but she could still see the worry in his eyes, his face. He kept balling his fists and running a hand over his knuckles, then switching it up. He was itching to go, but she knew by now he was also anticipating something to go askew—something always did. She reached over and placed her hand on top of his, and he quelled his movements. He lifted his gaze to meet hers again and she smiled at him.

"You can. I know you can. The others know you can. And we won't let her get away this time."

Aerrow snorted a little.

"Then what do you suggest we do about her?" He motioned to Lupin a little ways away from them. Her darkened silhouette was pacing along the lip of the rooftop, her attire dark and made for a nighttime assault. She was decked out in all her weapons and held herself with a rigid and alert posture. But, from the agitated wag of her tail, he could tell she was just as ready to go as he was.

He felt a kindred spirit in that much with the older woman.

"What would you do? Capture the Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis both, take them back to Atmos, have them stand trial? They'll be put to death."

"We don't know that, Piper."

"Aerrow…yes we do. You know as well as I do that they face crimes that no jury or judge would risk locking away. They're too powerful, for one, especially with the Binding."

Aerrow pressed his lips tightly together in a thin line. He sighed noisily through his nose, running a hand through his mop of wild hair.

"I hate it when you're right," he said, offering her a faint smile. "I'd hate to turn a blind eye to this. I became a Sky Knight for a reason."

"I know. And we followed you to hell and back again to be your squad. And we've seen some pretty nasty stuff. I hate saying this. I really do, but…what's one more thing we look away from?"

It made him sick to hear those words and he knew that it did the same to her. Yes, an optimistic part of him—a childish piece from the good ole days—hoped that he could drag the bad guys in and have them face justice. But that justice was going to end up with blood spilt and lives snuffed out. Piper was right: the Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis were simply too powerful, too dangerous, to keep under lock and key for the rest of their natural lives. No, they'd die, whether it was here or in Atmos.

That was the real life version of this story.

He hated reality sometimes.

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The hour they had been waiting for came with the ceremony of a snail's pace. At the sixty second mark, Lupin motioned for them to gather around, to shut up, get ready. At the thirty second mark, she kicked off the converse shoes she'd worn. The fifteen second mark, she put a foot on the lip of the building, only there wasn't a foot there, but a giant paw. Both her feet were paws and she was taller. The remaining ten seconds went by in what seemed to last an eternity.

Then everything went dark.

The plan to adjust their night vision worked like a charm. From within the warehouse, they could hear cries of confusion, tinny and faraway. The groundside patrol emitted the same, voicing concern from below, some asking their adjacent patrols if it was a blackout everywhere. The Storm Hawks and werewolf loped over the gap between buildings, rushing forward on quiet, practiced feet. Lupin had her bow out instead of the rifle, choosing slow and silent over quick and easy.

Aerrow opened the door and she passed through into the dark void of the warehouse like a wraith, an arrow nocked and ready to fire. The others followed her lead, and he brought up the rear, covering their tail end. Inside the warehouse, it was just barely above pitch black and it reminded him of the Black Gorge. The hairs at the back of his neck stood on end as he followed closely on Finn's heels. Down the stairwell they went, slowly and carefully. The panic continued in the warehouse as they reached the bottom of the stairs and started down a hallway on the second deck.

The others started filing through to their positions. They had gone over the plan for over an hour before coming out here. Repetition was key, the werewolf had stressed to them, and Piper had to quietly admire her skills in that hour. She could barely get the others to follow her own plans, even now, but Lupin stolidly refused to allow them to deviate or make outrageous improvisations to the plan, to their positions, to their roles. She took the bare bones of their skills and was helping apply them where they'd need to be applied. Suggestions were taken into consideration and Piper even managed to tweak areas that Lupin had ultimately overlooked.

Now it was all coming together, and Piper loved it when a plan came together.

And Aerrow as loving it as well. So far, so good, and he was seeing that as a good thing.

Junko and Finn moved into their positions down the hallway ahead of them toward the stairwell that led to the main warehouse floor. Aerrow positioned himself on one side of the main office doorway, Piper on the other. Lupin pressed her head to the door, listening intently. Her ears twitched then she moved away, lowering her bow. "Clear."

Aerrow eased the door open and they stepped inside, although as soon as they were all in, they were taken aback. Piper gasped.

"No way…how did she get all this here?"

Piper gaped at it all. It was a crystal nursery, each being nurtured accordingly to their nature and how they formed naturally. Equipment was set up just as much to further perpetuate successful crystal growth to coax out their full potential.

"There's…no way. She couldn't have gotten all this. Where would she have kept it?"

Aerrow glanced at Piper, her face aglow from the soft light given off by all the crystals in the room. The windows were covered in cloth curtains. Lupin stepped over and carefully pulled a corner back to peer out. She could see the amount of bodies that were thrumming about below. She counted at least two dozen bodies. Then there was the woman in the cloak and the man that stood by her side, decked out in slim leather riding gear. She recognized them on a dime, both from the Storm Hawks' description of them, as well as from her own sketches. She peeled her lips back in a quiet snarl. If the glass weren't in the way, and if she could break it without making a sound, she'd take the shot right then and there.

She tore her gaze from them, noticing there were people climbing stairwells all around the warehouse to patrol the second deck catwalks, and some were headed this way.

"Shit. The damned fuse box must be up here somewhere. I'm gonna go help Junko and Finn get ready. We're about to have company. We still have the advantage."

"Got it. Piper, you stock up. I'll be on point in case they make it past you three," Aerrow said, pulling his two blades out. The moment they left their sheaths, the blades were shining in a soft blue light, adding to the quiet hues of the room. Lupin eyed it, momentarily surprised, but then she was out, the last glimpse of her being her tail. He spun to watch Piper begin scurrying about the room, muttering to herself and plucking up crystals to store in a bag she'd brought with her.

"I still don't understand how she got all these out with her when she crossed over. How?"

"There are a lot of strange artifacts on the Far Side. We don't have any knowledge of them, except for what we've come across."

"Wait…wait, no, you're wrong, Aerrow. There were plenty of things we heard about, just…" Piper paused mid-swipe. "That cloak of hers…I think there's a legend about it. It's called the Crystal Cloak."

Aerrow stared blankly at her and she ground her teeth in frustration. "It's a cloak that can store crystals, but not like lining the hem with it and sewing them in. I mean, she can put it in a-a-a kind of storage."

"Like…magic?" Aerrow frowned, his brow creasing with perplexity at the concept.

"Something like that. More like a dimensional rift. It's bigger on the inside. You'd never know what she'd have up her sleeve until she pulled it out—oh, I feel so stupid! She's had it for years since the Far Side and we always wondered how she got this crystal and that crystal seemingly out of nowhere! It was before our last encounter that we'd actually heard it, but I dismissed it as some folklore hoo-ha and didn't take it into consideration—but that's got to be how she smuggled all these crystals here with her. I just can't believe I didn't see it before."

Piper was now in a whirlwind of action and mutterings, so withdrawn into her tizzy of theories and reworking how she thought one thing versus another. She nearly ran into Junko when he came ambling into the room, carrying a pair of goons on each shoulder.

"Whoops! Sorry, Piper," the Wallop rumbled with a sheepish grin. She patted his arm, quickly assuring him it was alright, before diving into another section of crystals she had yet to plunder. Aerrow approached Junko, just as Finn came huffing into the room, half-dragging and half-carrying a third body.

"What happened here?"

"We took care of them—quietly, like we were told to. Lupin's guarding the stairwell right now. Looks good for now, but they might send more people up here when they notice that the lights just aren't coming back on." Finn paused, watching Piper as she scurried to another pile, adding two crystals to her bag.

"She must be in crystal heaven right about now, huh?"

"A lot of these crystals are dangerous in the wrong hands," Piper remarked, stuffing a third into the bulging bag.

"Any crystal can be dangerous in the wrong hands," Finn said, to which the young woman paused, surprised. Then she offered him a quick smile and nodded.

"Right. Which is why they shouldn't be here."

"Need any help?"

"No, no, Aerrow and I can handle this room. Just—go help Lupin."

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Finn and Junko found her with her bow drawn and arrow nocked. Her jaw was set in concentration, her entire body rigid and still. She almost looked like a statue.

"What's going on?"

Lupin jerked her head toward them to stay back behind the corner. She had yet to aim the arrow at an enemy, but the fact that she wasn't relenting the tension in the weapon was worrisome enough.

"They're catching on that something's wrong. Might have to actually improvise."

"Oh, really? After all the hype about not doing that?"

"I was hoping you lot would be faster than this, but apparently, you took after army discipline and not Marine discipline. We didn't do enough hurrying up and now we don't have enough time to wait."

She ground her teeth in aggravation. She was hoping for more time, but they honestly didn't have enough.

"I'm going out there. I'll make a distraction. You try and take down the bitch and her guard dog. Or maybe I'll do it myself, I don't know yet. Just don't waste this chance I'm giving y'all. Tell those two back there to get ready to move."

"Wait, wait, I'm all for crazy stunts, but you're going up against weapons you said would kill most people in one shot! You said so yourself," Finn hissed back. Lupin glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He couldn't see her eyeing him the way she was: intensively and with much surprise colouring her gaze. For once he wasn't sniping at her or goading her. She really was shocked, but she shook it clean off her, somewhat regrettably. She was rather enjoying soaking in this new side of concern. It suited him more. Junko was reflecting it well enough with that big, doe-eyed expression of apprehension on his face as well. She was suddenly and painfully reminded of the troops she had had with her on her deployments.

Then she hardened her resolve and glanced back around the corner she was peeking over.

"No time. Get ready. Stay out of sight. I'm about to draw their attention on me, every single eye. Take them out where you can, if you can. Don't fuck this up."

"But we can't see like you—Lupin!"

Before either of them could react—perhaps pull her back or convince her of another route—she was stepping out. She loosed an arrow and nocking another from her quiver at with frightening speed, felling the three men who were aiming to trot up catwalk toward them. They went down without a sound, crumpling where they hit. She moved forward, a low growl building in her throat, disappearing into the murkiness of the warehouse proper.

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The warehouse was dark. That much was an obvious fact that didn't need repeating or pointing out. And yet, these childish fools insisted on referencing it every few seconds as they called helplessly out to their fellows among the aisles and lanes of the old warehouse. What an embarrassment. These men were not Cyclonian Talon material, far from it. But they were the best they could scrounge from at the bottom of the proverbial barrel in this forsaken city to suit their needs.

The flicker of crystal-glow caught the Dark Ace's eye and he pivoted on his heel to turn toward Master Cyclonis. She was so different now, and yet, wholly the same. She claimed seven years had passed since his demise, and yet, here he stood. He was whole again, done by her will, and by the will of crystal manipulation and their strange powers casted from the Far Side.

She was older now, seven years he had to remind himself. No longer was she the tiny little girl he once remembered pledging himself to. No longer was she the young woman who was on the cusp of domination of Atmos. She was a woman now, and looked every bit more the true ruler of Cyclonia, and extendedly, Atmos.

The crystal that had blown them to the four winds and back again, to this place of strange and odd ends, of technological wonder and destruction, it hovered inches above her curled palms. Her dark hair framed her pale face, as lovely as a white lily framed in the darkness. The crystal continued to glow, its ambience setting a rather fitting mood. It also served as the only light in the warehouse, and even its reach was limited.

His hand brushed against the holster at his side, unfamiliar in its design, as well as the weapon it held. It was a gun, small and fitted for the hand, instead of those monstrous cannons that stuck on the sides of ships or the blasters that mounted skimmers and the like. The metal was cold and heavy. He brought his gaze back to bear upon the young woman.

"Master Cyclonis," he called softly. She peeped her amethyst eyes to glance at him, partly annoyed at having her concentration broken. "I regret having to disturb you, but I'm fairly certain that this is not a normal occurrence."

A ghost of a smile began to peek at the corner of her lips.

"Are you suggesting we're having some…feathered problems?"

"I would safely assume," he agreed, a sneer pulling at his own lips.

Master Cyclonis closed her eyes again, her focus withdrawing back into coaxing out the crystal's powers back to the surface.

"Then might I suggest you take care of it instead of bothering me? Unless, of course, you'd rather I handle it instead because you're too incompetent…"

"No. No, Master, I can handle it. I merely wished to warn you."

"Then you've done your job. Go now."

"I'll keep some of these men on hand to guard you in the time being."

He turned and barked at the nearest bodies he could make out in this blasted darkness. They drew closer, and he could just barely see their eyes widen at the sight of Master Cyclonis at work with her crystal. He motioned to the three he wrangled up and he saw one of them flinch. Good. At least one of them knew had the good sense to show fear when it was called for. He'd have to remember to instill it in the others if and when he had the time.

But not at this moment.

He instructed them, short and terse, then strode off down a lane, keeping his ears pricked for any unusual sounds and his eyes peeled for unusual sights. He kept checking above his head, almost sure he'd find that meddlesome Aerrow dropping in on him from above.

Instead, he heard something unusual long before he saw something out of place.

A deep, menacing voice booming across the empty space of the warehouse, bouncing off the walls and back again.

"MY TEETH ARE SWORDS! MY CLAWS ARE SPEARS! MY WINGS ARE A HURRICANE!"

Light suddenly filled the warehouse, bright and piercing, before realization quickly dawned on him that it wasn't from the bulbs above, but from a fire. It grew quickly, consolidating into a coherent shape. A long neck, an angled head, an enormous body…

Shots were fired, but the beast did not go down. Instead, it merely hissed, as though annoyed and darted its long neck out at those who dared shoot at it.

"MY ARMOUR IS IRON!"

He immediately identified the sight of the dragon and his mind went reeling. It burned brightly, the flames licking at the creature's body, while intelligence seared across its eyes. Teeth flashed, bright yellow and flame shot out of its scaly lips, lighting up the empty air. It induced panic almost on sight. He saw bodies fleeing between the aisles.

"FLEE, FLEE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THERE IS NOWHERE TO HIDE!"

Fire blossomed and showered the crates, showering the floors with ashes and embers.

The Dark Ace felt fear grip at his heart—but then he squashed it down and strode forward. He was not adept at the weapon at his side, not like his favoured sword. But all good things, over time, were lost. And this object, this weapon, he now un-holstered with practiced ease, was rather convenient for long distance attacks.

He fired two shots and with as large a target as the beast was, he didn't see it so much as wince.

"YOU."

Its head swung in his direction and those horrible yellow eyes narrowed, its lips peeled back and those teeth nearly as long as his arm presented themselves. Even from across the warehouse, he could feel the heat on his exposed skin. It blistered away underneath the riding leather, and he felt sweat begin to trickle down his brow, between his shoulder blades, along his arms, but he kept his chin high and proudly so. He had faced phoenixes ablaze before. This beast, although it too was aflame, would not intimidate him.

…or at least, he wouldn't show it.

It stalked closer, traversing over the crates. Flame melted over the materials, catching on and eating away at the precious food it was so charitably given.

"I LAID LOW YOUR WARRIORS OF OLD. I INSTILLED TERROR IN THE HEARTS OF MEN. I AM KING UNDER THE MOUNTAIN."

The closer it got, the more the Dark Ace began to realize this was no corporeal being. It had no flesh. It had no bones. It was an entity made purely of flame, yet not like the phoenix had form, no. It was pure fire, the destructive force of nature taking shape and speaking as though it were a sentient being. It moved realistically, almost as though it really were a dragon of old; the muscles shifted where they must, the limbs bent correctly as they should, and the body almost seemed to quiver under its girth and mass accordingly. The scales were just, and the spikes looked sharp—except for that flicker at the tips that signified it was not solid, not at all. His eyes roved over the entire monstrosity, noticing the flickers and breaks in its shape here and there—minute and almost unnoticeable to the untrained eye.

It was an illusion. A trick.

And yet I feel heat. Is this some kind of trick? Is that little Storm Hawks witch conjuring this with crystals from the Far Side?

He narrowed his eyes as he felt the heat continue to blaze across his flesh, the sweat beginning to run down his body in more than just rivulets.

The Dark Ace fired off more rounds until the trigger clicked, signifying he had no more rounds. The fire-beast hovered over him, as though debating whether or not to devour him in its scorching maw. He nearly didn't notice how all the lanes had burnt away, all the aged and moldering material that had once filled this place was nearly gone, and the smoke that should have choked the very air was almost nonexistent. Heat waves shimmered across the entire floor and he dared not move, lest he catch aflame himself. He glanced over his shoulder, to see Master Cyclonis alone. The fools he had instructed to stay put were gone, weapons and all.

He brought his gaze back to bear upon the great, slithering fire-beast towering above him. It cocooned him in its sweltering heat, a bubble that he was finding intolerable. Now he was only wishing to escape, to breathe fresh air, to feel the wild wind against it.

But he glimpsed something moving forward through the fire, through the iridescent heat wave. It moved with purpose, with intent, and it was vaguely humanoid in shape. His attention was torn back to the fire-dragon shifting above him. Its eyes narrowed to menacing slits and those terrible fangs flashed in his direction again.

"I AM FIRE," it announced, hissing deeply. "I AM…DEATH."

The beast's guttural hiss tapered out to the fire's own crackling hiss. The shape was lost and the fire began crumpling inwards on itself. The light collapsed into an orb, changing from red-hot to a ghostly white-blue.

In place of the dragon was a slim, lean young woman with twitching dog ears and a swishing tail behind her. Her feet were paws, her outfit dark—almost blending into the warehouse, if one wasn't looking carefully enough and the fire wasn't there. She had a bow in her hands, an arrow nocked back with the fletching kissing her cheek, and its arrow aimed at him.

He stared, momentarily taken aback at the entire scene. The fire orb split off into two, one on either side of her, illuminating the strange woman. She wasn't of any species of nonhuman beings he was familiar with, either from Atmos or the Far Side. He had not noticed any abnormalities in his previous times tailing her, either. This was new. And perplexing.

He hated perplexing.

She drew the bow back just the slightest and he could hear the twinge in the string even from the distance he was at. He tensed. The cold metal of the gun in his hand reminded him he too had a weapon, but when he lifted it and gave the trigger a pull…

…all that was heard was a tinny, hollow click.

The woman smirked.

"Hello. My name is Lupin Ferus. You burned down my home. Prepare to die."

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Note: No, Lupin's fire doesn't talk. Yes, she was having soundbytes of Smaug blasting across the warehouse. No, I will not reveal behind-the-scenes—aka spoiling individual reviewers via the note system—on how she did it. You'll have to wait for answers in the next installment. Any other references you see that Lupin is shamelessly yoinking out of movies, feel free to point them out. :P