[15th June 2009]

[S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, underneath Custume Barracks, Athlone]

'What a difference a few months of cleaning and renovations make' I mused to myself as I descended the steps into the brightly illuminated bunker after saluting the two guards at the entrance. In my John Fortune persona as always even if without the armour for the moment; I really was looking forward to getting back home for a few days and being Sean for a while once again. Even just being in enchanted 'casual uniform' was an improvement of being in the combat gear so regularly till now. It almost made me want to sigh at myself at times; wearing face and body covering armour over a polymorph and then an illusion of over that. Still you never knew when danger could beset you on this crap-saccharine death world at any time now could you?

My eyes followed the silvery coloured warding runes etched into the now clean and repainted walls of the still old timey looking command bunker. There was a still lot to do, but we were slowly but surely getting there in defensive spells and wards; mostly focusing on preventing chaos, evil, demons and other such things alongside scry-wards. That last part being very important in my view as it was a handy-dandy way to scout a position magically, or track down a potential foe.

Something I'd expect magically inclined enemies like the Fey and the Demonic to try trot out in a clash even without the fact of John Constantine and Brendan Finn here possibly attracting attention. At least Brendan, soul selling idiot that he was, was useful for practicing placing scrying wards on directly; soul binding it according to John, and a useful skill I was eager to explore in full. Mr. Finn of course was happy due to the nature of his deal...it might just buy him a get-out-of-hell free card in preventing demonic location when he died till after midnight that day. Good for him I suppose, and I certainly was happy to learn so win-win I say!

'Of course it ain't all fixed up and shipshape now is it?' I thought as I passed a group of army engineers' still working on relaying cables and shoring up the walls down a corridor. Official the place was supposed to be able to keep safe, feed and operational about a hundred and fifty to two hundred (yeah right!) personnel down here for a few months in case the world went BOOM thanks to the USA and Soviets.

I'd reckon myself just over a hundred would suit right now, and we weren't anywhere near those numbers as yet anyway even with groups like the engineers unaware of the reason for the work. Most seemed to assume the Cabinet had gotten a scare since the Applexians and wanted a place to coordinate...hide...should they come again. Not bad reasoning as there was supposedly another bunker in Dublin under Merrion Square park; official abandoned but since last year the same as this place.

Though I doubt it had the same appearance that greeted me as I entered the 'Mission Control' room; it looked like some weird cross between the shitty Bureau: X-Com one mixed in with glowing runs and sigils not out of place in Faerun. Now I did sigh to myself sadly. This Earth didn't have X-Com. I blame superheroes as the closest equivalent game featured them in the role; espies of older heroes like the 40's Green Lantern or Doctor Fate. And I still hadn't managed my Holo-globe...

"Ah, Agent, you've arrived a little earlier than scheduled, good to see. Have a seat" the officer in charge of our operations centre greeted me as I entered and saluted to him. While he wasn't exactly the true Nick Fury I rather liked Commandant O'Reilly and his methods, even if at times I'd have preferred the scar faced black dude with the eye patch. Still he didn't treat me like a teenager who knows nothing like some did, but rather a skilled mage like the others around here. I was Agent Amergin here, with the equivalent rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the Army, or a Sergeant in the Gardai; all part of the muddled military/policing/investigative nature of the new organisation. I could even arrest people legally...and shoot them too if need be!

"Thank you Sir" I answered following his hand gesture and taking a seat at the conference table at the rear of the room. A big oval stainless steel and glass thing with the chairs at least being modern...sorta...in likely have been bought from some business inventory company. Still they were swivel chairs and comfortable so I wasn't going to complain about them as I sat and looked over the operations room. An actually functioning Mission Control, even if most of that was just getting the basics of things like Ley-lines up on the map alongside known magical hotspots like Fairy-forts or standing stones. That and the various communications lines being tested apparently judging from the chatter back and forth, alongside the ancient seeming equipment.

Best I could understand at it was they stuff needed to be secure, functional and not easily picked up in the budget...so we'd ended up with a whole pile of retrofitted ancient stuff mixed in with the most modern stuff available that could be...lost...by the Army and the Gardai since Christmas. Ramshackling everything together, and then throwing magic in the mix, had been...interesting...to watch to say the least. And I'd only made...a few...computers explode in my attempts. Old ones at that! So I wasn't a problem or a failure at all in my book – Noooo...rather it was a learning experience I'd call it. John and Brendan agreed, as they too had accidently damaged stuff during their own...learning experiences...since starting here. Hopefully not recently as said John came trudging into Mission Control with a scowl on his face and coffee in hand. Heh...so they really had banned him from smoking in here...and managed to get him into a clean looking uniform like myself none the less!

Wisely I stayed quite as Mr. Happy-Face sat across from me and drank at his coffee as the others began to enter the room past the guards as watched the big map of Ireland the United Kingdom flicker up on the large view-screen at the heart of the room. Pretty cool that part actually. Father McMillian was the first in, polite and friendly but he didn't particularly like me and John...mostly John...for the standard reasons; magic, magic using, and general dark art vibes. Still he could work professionally with us and had been an exorcist, and probably still was, which brought useful skills in play. Really could have done with him for instance when up against Calibraxis of the Night-Club slaughter. It made up for the fact the Vatican, well the Pope, and one Cardinal, was made aware of our merry little group and the priest was excluded quietly from certain aspects of the job.

Soon there was all of the various clergy sitting around the table with me, alongside Inspector Donohue from the Gardai, Mrs. McDonald from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Fredericks from the Revenue Commissioners. Not something you'd be expecting to have, a diplomat and a tax collector, at such a thing as this but if you knew what to look for with magic then sudden windfalls made alot more sense and easier to find...and tax. We even had a form for it now...I resisted snorting in amusement at that; what an achievement there – making magical windfalls taxable. Still Mrs. McDonald's presence helped with planning for the potential impacts of things like what we'd pulled off in the UK. I sipped at a glass of water. The ructions from that seemed to continuing through a very chaotic political situation over there as a government formed back a month ago...only to collapse after the new PM's dominatrix act got leaked somehow...

...looked like Labour and the Liberal Democrats would win this second election from all the polling. Idly I wondered if it was our lot, or MI6 (or both) behind the sudden flurry of leaks when a surviving Satanist understudy managed to win the election...well temporarily anyway...against the polling. Said Diplomat was not talking about the matter at hand; the official visit of a Bialyan delegation to the county.

Maybe even Queen Bee herself...assuming we could stop her doing her usual mind-controlly whatever on the men around her. Or whatever other metahuman or mage she was using to effect the women on the last trade delegation; it had been lopsided but not enough to outright reject sadly, but it was now up for renegotiation. About the only positive was she was really far away and unlikely to be a threat to the country...because someone like the UK, France or Germany would stomp them flat first if they did.

I shrugged when the question turned to me "We've not idea how she does it, pheromones or psionics would be my guess...the first means just having a really well ventilated room and maybe...a neutralise poison charm. I could place some wards for the second alongside whatever else we try from the others suggestions. Monitor everything via camera and watch for any kinds of tampering like the last time she met the Brits...John, your opinion?"

Hated dealing with Psionists...and had developed one or two lovely spells to deal with such beyond my own permanent mind-blank and other defences. Too much in my head to risk after all; in the past life, as much as in this one, and it always made wary even with in-theory god-level proof defences in place. The Martian concerned me for instance, and the possibility of the likes of the Queen of Bialya wielding domination equivalent powers meant full gear if I was anywhere near her and her group. Gods above wasn't it great to see the government turn its top secret anti-demon/other horror organisation towards ensuring they could sign a better deal for selling cattle and pharmaceuticals to a Middle Eastern dictatorship. It was...an Irish solution to an Irish problem wasn't it?

John grumbled something a moment, likely about Kit Ryan, then sighing "There's a few things in that region that' could help her in doin' such, or grantin' such abilities. But there'd be signs we can look for when she arrivin' and watch for others while we put a few defences in place..."

--