[06th April 2011]

[Bay Central Hospital, Downtown, Brocktown Bay, United States of America, Earth Bet]

"You missed one" Cheshire mused loudly as she swept in after my flames, katana slashing through the neck of horribly burned yet struggling vampire, flashing it to dead and dust just I snapped my fingers, ending the inferno of fire. I shook my head at that noting no sign of more creatures coming up the hallway, now blackened and scorched by my attack; well, I did warn about property damage

"Everyone's a critic" I muttered back looking around for any sign of more undead and then, seeing none, turned around to muttering and staring band of 'heroes' and federal agent. There really wasn't time do more than get an ad-hoc system up and running, but lives were at stake. Lives that won't be helped by the next few words likely to be admitted by the white-clad blonde girl who I pointed as I felt her press, again, with that freaking charm/fear effect of hers "Silence please, we have a mission right now, and the longer I take, the more people end up dead"

"You just killed people...you can't just...he can't just..."

I thumped my staff off the ground, speaking calmly but a like louder to cut super-blondie off "Yes, I can, they are not alive, they are reanimated corpses hungry for our blood, currently trying to do something that, at best, kills everyone in this hospital very soon. So, here is our plan..."

"Weaver wasn't it?" I confirmed getting a nod as forced myself calm, controlled, drawing on the power of my patron to clear the mind "Good, your insects cover the whole hospital, yes? You can keep track of them and everything around them?"

Hesitant, or perhaps just concerned, nod in the affirmative "Excellent, you are now mission control with the amazing psychic Tattletale, and coordinating with outside. I'll give you all ad-hoc comms in a moment from my Magic Murder Bag, but I need some of you to start organising the civilians, staff and patients, and get them moving into more defensible locations. Upstairs preferably, and we need get them barricading themselves in...are there security guards about?"

Another quick nod, from bug-girl and 'Detective' West "Right, their guns will do sweet feck all versus anything but newly sired undead, but better than nothing. I also need someones to as mobile response, I'm nominating you Detective West for that, and you blondie..."

Half-snarled, glaring 'down' at me, but she merely hovered in place "It's Glory Girl!"

"...Glory Girl then, your job is to stop vamps breaking up the people that go around me and Cheshire..." I gestured at the nervous girl standing behind her "You, you're on crowd control, as are you..." I gestured at the young green clad girl who started to object "...as scared people are more likely to listen, and you are the last line of defence"

That left the armor-clad knight named Gallant as I opened up my dimensional container like a closet and pulled out a less than ideal, but better than nothing, field communications set that could be strapped to necks or arms easily...

"Your protecting Tattletale and Weaver here as they coordinate the rest of us. Me and Cheshire are going to attempt to locate the source of the enemy, or how the barrier can come down. Now, vampires, and do not go all horror movie on me here, will shrug off damage that will your average person, and they will regenerate it if they've...well, feed, enough. Heart stake and cutting off heads put them down permanently...do not look them in the eyes, as while the majority can do mind-control, older or more powerful ones. Same with transformation into man-wolf-things, half-bats, and that weird mist thing they do. Again, most can't, but be wary if one does...oh, if skeletons or shambling corpses come, blunt force usually works, target limbs and reduce mobility..."

Condensing a proper briefing into less than two minutes was a problem, and I found I had to keep talking over the communicator as I stomped off with Cheshire in tow. Unholy ground, with some sort of death fog, and as we stalked forward the voice of Tattletale came over the comms, guided by bug-girl and floor cameras, that score of undead were shambling forward up the stairway ahead. That was the advantage of command and control and scouting; one I happily exploited as I took a minute to prepare runic traps and a secondary position before falling back to it.

Then, very much happily for me, about a dozen undead, a mix of shambling zombies, freshly raised and thirsting vampires, and perhaps a ghoul, though it was hard to tell before the entire corridor and adjacent rooms were filled with holy light. Several of the weaker ones died instantly, or well, disintegrated, and those that didn't fell to easy head shoots as Cheshire used the pistol I'd given her to down them before reloading the magazine. Wary of stepping into the light it seemed, but I waved her forward with no ill effects moments later as the effect would persist for another while such we need to retreat.

It was a carnal chamber on the floor below, blood sprayed upon the walls, and signs of a fight from at least some of those now...well, destroyed by me most likely as we stalked forward through the mist-covered floors and knocked over furniture. Good news was there weren't any immediate undead, and an attempt for some to rise up another route had ended in a shotgun hellfire round to face apparently I was informed, staff moving over the floor as I fought the faint tiredness. A function of the spell I imagined I cast Dispel...which reduced the drain, but did not ended it unfortunately as we passed more blood splatters and warnings were given by our ad-hoc mission control of them converging on our position.

I nodded, chanting softly as the threat came closer up a long hallway as the girls on the other end used camera and insects to countdown for me. Power manifested in my hands and along my staff, a crackling blue-white energy as Cheshire waited beside me with katana at the ready as one of the creatures came out of a side room...to get its head cut off in a speed and strength enhanced move from my bodyguard. I ignored it as my focus was on the mini horde charging forward as the doors ahead were thrown down and the undead spilled through...

"[Maximised[Blessed] Chain Lightning!"

...and the lead runner, blood covering its face and torn clothes as those from below spilled upwards, jerked backwards as the bolt of blue-white electricity slammed into its body...

Then jumped to the one before that...then the ones before that, down the hallway that shrieked and crackled as the energy jumped from undead body to undead body in a conga line of death. Vampires and walking corpses screamed and trashed in place, many turning to dust or erupting into flames as daggers flew through the air to my side and claimed the hearts of one or two that dodged the worst of the effects. There weren't many I found; cutting the stream, reaching out and telekinetically grabbing a nearby heavy desk, shattering it, and slamming the shards into the first of the survivors to stagger through the blackened and scarred hallway doors.

"On it" was Cheshire's happy, but brief, response as she jumped forward over another patient trolley and kicked back a severely injured wolf-like vampire before slashing his neck, and then stabbing her blade into his chest, claiming his heart. The other stragglers died just as swiftly as she danced and jumped about in coordinated movements with me, the slaughter continuing like a carefully choreographed duet between us. We were drawing close I found as we strode forward again, down a floor, through the hospital from some horror movie as the undead with guns came out.

Conventional guns unfortunately for them as I used my Protection from Missiles and on Cheshire in conjunction to shield. Largely to simply keep marching forward hand held up in a 'stop' gesture as I wielded my staff as a flame thrower and Cheshire gunned down or threw a grenade at the impromptu barricade of tables they'd tried to erect. They were lesser undead at least, freshly turned guards and patients, even a child, but I had to be ruthless here, relentless and methodical, purging and clearing the way. Time was not on my, our side, as other undead continued to try move up other routes upstairs and were thrown back, and the mists grew ever thicker alongside the feel of blood magic.

"Found where they got the guns" Cheshire told me as entered the Security Room, covered in blood splatters, but empty of bodies as well as guns from the gun-racks in the currently opened metal cabinets. I nodded, allowing the girl Tattletale, and the woman Dragon through the phone, to jury-rig a way to access remaining feed through the magic phone...somehow. Tinker-tech or something I got as an answer, but I had no idea as my concern was more the images coming from the Endbringer Shelter as the cameras identified it. That was...worrisome I noted seeing ritual circles, what could only be blood, and very naked, very cut up and trashing kidnap victims; over a dozen, which was more than we'd realised.

"Okay. That's...bad, that's very bad..." were my Captain Obvious words as I watched a very Dark ritual take place, along with someone...something...marked as 'Do Not Approach At Any Cost' on my briefings for when I was heading to Gotham "...em, that's Cain, isn't it?"

There was a very odd distortion on the communicators line as it was apparently held to the phone so I could communicate with Jason Blood, whose voice was...unhappy "Yes, that would be the Sire of All Vampires, and that ritual...would be a major problem if completed. Enthrallment, homicidal rage in the area around the hospital at best in the weak-willed..."

"Yeah, I get it. Disrupt it of course...but, I got the briefing on him remember? You gave it after all..." I replied quietly then sighed "...well, I hope you all arrive very quickly Etrigan, because, otherwise, I'll make a very nice corpse. Right. On it, warn the others please...Cheshire fall-backs first..."

It wasn't much, but ten minutes laying explosives and setting up some basic wards was better than no time at all when going up against something that was a hard-counter to me as a wizard at least. Not an easy few minutes as even I could feel the chill here and now amidst the mists around the great secure doorway into this doomsday bunker of sorts. One useful thing of psychic girl, and the Dragon person, with camera view of the other side of the locked door was easy instructions on the best place to blast it from...

"Here goes nothing" I ground out drawing my freeze ray, courtesy of dead Doctor Freeze, and hit the hinges and edges of the great steel door before placing it back and placing the bottom of my staff against it. A small silver and crimson ritual circle formed there as I drew from inner reserves and...

Craaccccckkkkkkkkfummmmpppppppppppppp

...shoved. Power flowed and the great steel door was ripped from its hinges and flew backwards, into the shelter like it was thrown by the hand of an angry giant..

Only to shatter into a billion pieces like a mirror breaking in some really messed up movie as it slammed into the ritual circle distant where the Master Vampire stood. Good news I'd surprised him, and I reached out, lashing blasts of divine magic into the ritual circle, disrupting the patterns and bonds as I gesticulated wildly, white and gold lightning rippling out. This wasn't a ritual with dozens of casters, just one...albeit an extremely powerful one...and I could screw that up easily enough, first by distorting the circle, then by healing the victims with a mass heal.

Well, that was something bad for the caster of course as the spell went out of control thanks to that, the enraged vampire caught in a maelstrom of his own making as his spells collapsed. I ignored that in my brief window as I triggered an Unlock spell so the chains released, then Dominated the victims as they fell to the ground with a command to get upstairs to friendlier forces. Continuing the attack as they ran past me light and shadows warred inside the chambers as I desperately tried to keep the chaos going as...

'Shite' I thought cutting my spells immediately as I felt my arcane powered spellcraft being drained, siphoned, as the whirlwind of power vanished, the bare-chested...and very angry looking...vampire standing up and glaring at me. I did the logical thing at that stage...fired my freeze ray at his legs and turned around and ran, triggering the Stone Wall spell as I did. The death mists were gone, as was the Barrier hopefully, but that didn't matter now as I drew out a LAW from my Magic Murder Bag as I ran, hearing the sound of tearing stonework behind me...

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