Title: [F]Depart From Me, I Never Knew You
Description: Story Thread; Open To Skyfire's Group
Oracle - January 14, 2011 11:56 AM (GMT)
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TIME WARP
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<div style="width:400px; font-size:11px; text-align:justify; line-height:100%;">Time. Space. They had all seen danger, they had all dealt with threats to their lives, to their friends, to the world, sometimes even to existence itself. But this was another step. Dimensions folding in on themselves, one giving way to another, something hurtling along the timeline with enough energy and enough 'speed' to be able to punch a whole through spacetime itself and leave the Earth to bleed – ironically enough – into The Bleed; the space between dimensions that held it all together. Fortunately, The Authority had a plan... at least, something that passed for a plan. As it was, they stood in the control room, waiting for everyone to be ready.</div><p>
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Ophelia Salazar - January 14, 2011 07:41 PM (GMT)
Ophelia stayed near Kelsey, entirely overwhelmed by her surroundings. A spaceship, time travel...god, was this really normal stuff for Ioan and Kelsey? She nervously petted one of her snakes, letting it coil around her arm.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 14, 2011 08:48 PM (GMT)
Skyfire looked over those gathered, nodding to herself as she saw the ones that had volunteered to join her group. She offered them a soft smile before checking the items in her messenger bag, waiting on River to tell her where she and her group were going.
Kelsey looked up at Ophelia and offered a reassuring smile before she looked out the window that gave the view of the Earth. Despite hating heights, she couldn't help but to look out the window each time she was up here. She rested her hand lightly on the window as she looked at Earth, frowning slightly at the thought that if they failed, it would all end. She looked around trying to see where Ioan was.
Sage rubbed the bridge of his nose as he stood beside Jayda, just ready to get started.
Jayda Anderson - January 15, 2011 09:34 AM (GMT)
Space. It was a big concept. Ya know, to be in space and have to save the world from itself. No biggie to her though, she was just ready to get going. Her adrenaline was pumping and she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet and she looked at Sage. He was just adorable to her and Jayda leaned over to kiss his cheek. The poor man didn't look as if he wanted to be here.
Sephula - January 15, 2011 11:22 AM (GMT)
Raziel folded his arms loosely across his chest and hovered on the spot, waiting for them to get along to... whatever it was they were going to do, wherever it was they were going to go. He didn't put much thought into what it was they were doing; people rarely thought much of returning to somewhere they had been before, so why should he think much of returning to somewhen he had been before? He had seen how it would come out and frankly, he was more concerned about that than what they had to deal with now.
Kaori rocked back on her heels, her hands tucked behind her back as she waited patiently. She felt considerably safer going with Skyfire than she did any of the other members of The Authority, mostly because she was fairly certain that she had managed to tick off most of them with the megaphone stunt back at the Promethean Manor. She had splashed paint on Skyfire's face often enough, however, to know that she had a sense of humour. She sat down on the floor, crossing her legs as she tilted her head up and glancing to Skyfire, waiting; impatiently. After all, they were going to travel back through time; how could she wait for that?
River walked into the room, handing Skyfire a communications unit. "It's gonna act as a beacon to the energy signature we're lookin' for. The Door's been reconfigured to take you to it, and you'll be able to bounce communications off of The Bleed, so you'll be able to stay in contact with us if you need to. We won't be able to figure where you'll end up until you end up there. Good luck."
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 15, 2011 08:38 PM (GMT)
Taking the communication unit, Skyfire bowed her head slightly. "Luck with you as well," she said before turning her attention back to the group that she would be in charge of. If she was honest with herself, she was certainly more nervous then she allowed to show. It wouldn't do to let them know that when they were going to be looking to her for guidance during this mission. She clipped the comm unit to her belt and offered Kaori a smile as she ruffled the girl's hair before looking back up at the others. "I'm not one for speeches, or talking that much at all, but I can promise that while you are under my protection during this mission I will do everything in my power to keep you safe if we run into anything dangerous," she said, offering them all a soft smile.
Kelsey was surprised that Raziel was in the same group as hers, but she planned on staying out of his way as much as possible. He had said he'd give her a second chance, but she didn't want to push her luck too much. She glanced at Ioan over with Devin and couldn't help the faint pang of jealousy, but she pushed it away as she turned her attention back to Skyfire.
Sage chuckled and wrapped arm around Jayda's waist. He really wasn't that impressed with the space station and he just wanted to get started and get this over with.
Ophelia Salazar - January 15, 2011 09:56 PM (GMT)
Ophelia gave Kelsey a grateful smile, doing her best to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She glanced over at Jayda but didn't approach since she was with Sage, her eyes lingering on Raziel. She looked away quickly once she realized she was staring, but she hadn't seem him since they night they had met and, well, she had changed a bit since. She kept her eyes on Skyfire, giving her a small smile as the woman spoke, not sure how much she trusted her but it was at least nice to hear. She nodded, sliding the snake off her arm, letting it slither to the floor, ready to go.
Sephula - January 15, 2011 10:07 PM (GMT)
Raziel glanced to Skyfire and smiled faintly and briefly. It was yet another one of the times when he wished he didn't know the things he knew, because then he wouldn't know how all of this would come out. He tried to push it from his mind and allowed a faint hint of a smirk to touch his lips, trying to recapture the person he had crafted himself into before it had been wrenched violently from the mortal plane twice. "Don't make it sound so dire. It's only time and space, right?"
Kaori beamed to Skyfire and tucked her hands behind her back, waiting for them to go on. "'m ready," she grinned.
Jayda Anderson - January 16, 2011 12:44 AM (GMT)
Jayda smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder, looking at River and the others as they walked in. When Skyfire spoke to them, she nodded her head, understanding that the woman had a lot of people to look after, even if it was just a couple of them. Reaching into her pocket, she felt for the Zippo lighter that she knew would already be there and clutched it in her hand, waiting for the next set of directions.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 16, 2011 02:40 AM (GMT)
Skyfire glanced at Raziel and arched a brow slightly, smiling lightly as she shook her head. "Right," she said with a soft chuckle as she glanced toward the Door that was open. She waited for River to give her the signal to have her group go through.
Sephula - January 16, 2011 04:47 PM (GMT)
River gestured to the Door portal; the sentiment of 'go ahead' clear enough.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 16, 2011 08:14 PM (GMT)
Skyfire nodded to River and looked back to her group, smiling softly. "Alright, thats our cue," she said as she moved to go through the Door, trusting that those willing to follow her would and she wanted to be the first to go through to encounter whatever might be on the other side.
Kelsey took a deep breath and looked at Ophelia and grinned. "Lets go sugar," she said, taking a hold of Ophelia's arm gently to tug her toward and through the Door.
Sage gave Jayda's waist a light squeeze before moving his arm from around her to step through the Door.
Jayda Anderson - January 16, 2011 09:59 PM (GMT)
Jayda turned her head and smiled at Sage,watching as some of the others went ahead and stepped through the portal. She felt for her Zippo one last time before stepping through.
Oracle - January 16, 2011 10:13 PM (GMT)
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TIME WARP
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<div style="width:400px; font-size:11px; text-align:justify; line-height:100%;">"Leeeeeeeeeeeeet's dooooooooooooooooo the Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarp agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain!" Kaori sing-songed as she bounced forward after Skyfire through the Door portal and within the span of a heartbeat they all found themselves within dirty, grimy streets; the pollution practically peeling off of the walls of the alley they were in, thick enough that one could almost drown within it.</div><p>
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Ophelia Salazar - January 17, 2011 02:59 AM (GMT)
If Kelsey hadn't edged her through the door, Ophelia might have missed the entire moment of walking through. She wasn't sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn't the smell. She gagged, bringing a claw to her nose, coughing a couple times as she slowly adjusted.
Jayda Anderson - January 17, 2011 03:25 AM (GMT)
Oh yeah, the stench of pollution was brutal and burned Jayda's nose hairs. Probably actually burned them out. Her eyes seemed to burn a bit and she rubbed them, trying to get them to stop watering. "Tell you one thing, smells like shit." Jay said, bringing her shirt up over her nose and mouth.
Vandal Savage - January 17, 2011 03:36 AM (GMT)
Sin was no secret to the streets of White Chapel, in fact it was said that the Devil himself had a home there. Poverty, crime, drunkenness, disorderly conduct,prostitution, murder...all sorts of crimes had been committed within the neighborhood.
The smell of piss and pollution was thick in the air as he walked through the darkened alley. He smoked his cigarette, the black smoke pluming up from his fingers, walking along in the darkness.
Dark Annie they called her. She was drunk tonight, slow and slumping against a fence in the yard. He placed a gloved hand into his bag and pulled out a few shillings.
"how much love?" the man asked, giving her a charming smile. He tossed the coins on the ground in front of her. She didn't even had a chance to respond as she bent to pick them up, for the knife was slashed across her throat so quickly she couldn't even scream.
How Vandal longed to taste the sweet flesh of a woman's innards again. The night was right, the stars were aligned. The night was perfect, for there were no witnesses.
He packed up the organs in his bag and made his way down the alley, blinking in surprise at all the people there.
"Good evening ladies. Be careful, these streets aren't safe, let alone the alleys," he said to Ophelia and Jayda eying their blond hair. they would be so delicate, so delicious, but he could not afford to be greedy, not tonight. Vandal smiled as he stepped around the people, knowing soon they would stumble over the body of Annie Chapman.
His Victorian dress marked him as neither upper or middle class, being almost indistinct. It was how Vandal liked to operate, unnoticed and unseen.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 17, 2011 03:38 AM (GMT)
Skyfire gagged and moved to the side to be sick, the smell of the pollution harsher to her then perhaps the others because of where her original home was. She coughed and covered her mouth and nose as she looked back toward those with her, nodding in agreement with Jayda. "Certainly not what I expected," she said, her voice muffled behind her hand.
Kelsey wrinkled her nose as she covered her nose and mouth with her hand. "Gross..."
Sage pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and put it over his nose and mouth to try to filter out some of the stench.
Sephula - January 17, 2011 04:09 AM (GMT)
Raziel frowned faintly as he caught sight of Vandal but he remained silent, instead, simply buffering the pollution before it could reach him. Kaori, for her part, came through coughing and wheezing. She wrinkled her nose and screwed her eyes up as she tried to filter the pollution out of her system.
Raphael Varano - January 17, 2011 04:09 AM (GMT)
The nights carried a dull death, as slow and lingering as life in their times was. The slow death was life in these streets, but of late they had been peppered by deeper ones, atrocities that found their blame placed at the feet of the Jews; at least, that was what the short sighted commissioner had allowed to leak to the press. It had sparked a madness, which meant that the deaths had to be stopped sooner and the killer apprehended. If it didn't happen soon then London would be consumed by hate, irrationality and ignorance. Inspector Frederick Abberline had another vision while he had been confined to his pursuit of the dragon. It was to great regret, then, that he found he was too late to prevent it as he came across the fresh remains of one of the scarlet women the killer had taken to murdering and... well, further, unmentionable actions.
Fresh enough that the evidence was valuable; but fresher still, fresh enough that the killer would have been near. He could not afford to allow the evidence to cool, but at the same time he could not afford to lose the ripper if he had a chance at them. But Abberline was slow; his senses still clouded by the same pursuit that had coaxed his vision on, and by the time he happened upon the woman he had seen no sign of the killer. "Damn his eyes," he muttered to himself before glancing to them. "Good evening ladies," he said, glancing to them; removing his hat very briefly before setting it back in place. "Would any of you have seen anyone come by this way?"
Ophelia Salazar - January 17, 2011 04:23 AM (GMT)
Ophelia immediately returned to her human form. She wasn't sure what she had expected coming through, but she had wanted to be prepared for anything--although for a city full of humans hadn't made her list. She nervously held the end of her hair, twirling it at her waist. The smells were less horrific in this form, but nonetheless there was a familiar smell that she would never miss, growing stronger as they walked on.
She blinked as the man address her, instinctively flashing him a smile. "Thank you, sir," she said, her smile quivering as she smelled fresh blood, among other things, coming from him. She looked in the direction of where he came and jogged ahead of the group, following her nose to find the body. Her stomach sank as the first thought that came to mind was nice workmanship and found herself unable to meet anyone's eye.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 17, 2011 04:32 AM (GMT)
Skyfire glanced at the first man that went by them, frowning slightly before shaking her head. But, when the second man spoke to them she gasped, which caused her to go into a coughing fit because of the air. She cleared her throat and looked a little more closely at the man. "Raphael?" she murmured softly, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Or was it that Raphael had been traveling time this whole time he had been missing?
Raphael Varano - January 17, 2011 04:44 AM (GMT)
The Inspector glanced to Skyfire and blinked for a moment, distracted very briefly by the deep hue of her hair; but just for a moment. He told himself at least that it was because a hint of the dragon still lingered with him, clouding his senses and his perception. He gave a faint shake in response to her question. "Inspector Abberline, ma'am, at your service," he responded, pausing for a moment. "Now as to my question...?"
Jayda Anderson - January 17, 2011 04:45 AM (GMT)
Jayda's eyes finally returned to normal, the burning sensation slowly leaving them as she blinked a couple of times to let her body's natural moisture to give them the water they needed. As soon she heard a voice behind her, Jay turned on her heels and saw none other then her boss, Raphael Varano standing in front of her. He looked...the same but different and at that moment she was thankful for the shirt that covered her face, fore behind it she was smirking and giggling quietly. He spoke his name and Jay lifted an eyebrow, lowering the shirt from her face and scratching at her nose ring, bring the hand to point the way she saw him go, "Uhh, down that way, I think..." Jay trailed off, biting back a loud laugh.
Ophelia Salazar - January 17, 2011 05:17 AM (GMT)
Ophelia forced herself to look away from the body to the man everyone was speaking to, finally connecting Skyfire's words of "Raphael" to him. She blinked, nodding at the name, half a second behind Jayda.
"Yeah, that way," she said quickly. "About yay high, brown hair..." She lifted her hand to the appropriate height, unable to recall anything else in particular. "And...he smelled." She looked over to Kelsey then Skyfire, trying to subtly nod towards the body.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 17, 2011 05:25 AM (GMT)
Skyfire bowed her head slightly and nodded in agreement with Jayda and Ophelia. "I apologize, but yes a man went that direction," she said as she gestured toward the way Vandal had gone. Sky looked at Ophelia and glanced at the body, nodding that she understood.
"Inspector Abberline...My God we're in the time of Jack the Ripper," Sage murmured to Jayda.
Kelsey was still getting over surprise of seeing Raphael that it took her a minute to get what Ophelia was getting at. "You think he's the one that did this?" she asked.
Raphael Varano - January 17, 2011 05:40 AM (GMT)
Abberline frowned faintly at Skyfire's response and he nodded in thanks, murmuring something about reckoning under his breath as he darted in the direction Vandal went, trying to find his way after the man in hopes of catching up with him.
Jayda Anderson - January 17, 2011 05:49 AM (GMT)
Jayda looked at Sage, her eyes wide with silent fear. "What...no. Oh my God." She decided it just may be best to attach herself to Sage for a bit. The way the man looked at her made her skin crawl and she paled a bit. As soon as he left, she turned to face everyone. "Okay, that was weird and fucked up at the same time. Jack The Ripper time? Really? That's what we get?" She sighed and slumped against the nearest wall. What could it hurt following the red head? Uh yeah, it could hurt a lot.
Ophelia Salazar - January 17, 2011 05:49 AM (GMT)
Ophelia picked up Sage's words, her reaction less than what it probably should've been--she didn't know much about Jack the Ripper, but by the way her parents spoke of him (never having met him themselves) was of respect for his work.
"He smelled of it," Ophelia whispered to Kelsey. "It's the kind of scent I'm...it's hard to miss, even with how it smells here."
"Should we follow...?" Ophelia asked, not sure what else they were here to do.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 17, 2011 06:56 AM (GMT)
Skyfire glanced at the body for a moment then looked at the group. "We should follow. Both of those men look familiar and either one of them could be the target we're after," she said . It wasn't her fault what time they'd been sent to, blame the comm unit. She turned and started off after the two men.
Kelsey blinked at Ophelia, looking confused, but not wanting to ask. She nodded slightly and moved to follow Sky.
Sage rubbed Jayda's arm gently. "Luck of the draw for us darlin'. Don't worry, I'll protect you," he said with a lopsided grin as he wrapped an arm around her waist as he walked with her.
Vandal Savage - January 17, 2011 07:32 AM (GMT)
Vandal sighed. Of all the damn things, why did those people have to be in the alley? It slowed him down just enough that the inspector might catch up with him.
The bag felt heavy in his hand and he debated dropping it, but what it contained made him keep a firm grip on it. Inside was a kidney, her uterus, and slices of the choices flesh from within her. Vandal had been hungry and tonight had been the night to take a kidney.
He looked up to see a butcher shop and smiled. He popped the lock on the door easily enough, before slipping inside. It was a meat processing shop, so he ducked among the carcasses of pigs and cows that were hung like skinned corpses. This place smelled divine, it was almost as good as the scent of a whore house with perfume and sex in the air. The smell of blood was intoxicating.
Ophelia Salazar - January 17, 2011 08:39 AM (GMT)
Ophelia was quick in her human form, but not nearly as fast as she’d like to be. She knew letting her snakes out wasn’t the sort of attention they needed right now, however, even if it would allow her to catch up with the strange man faster and track him down with more ease. Still, her senses were already strong enough to track down the man—she was no dog, but fresh blood and recently removed organs gave off an odor that made her stomach rumble.
She quickly caught up with the detective, barely paying him any attention. The scent was a line of perfume among the filth and stench, easily identifiable if she didn’t lose it. She turned sharply to the butcher shop and if her pupils could’ve widened with the hungry focus of a shark they would have long before now. She didn’t wait before entering, even as she was assaulted by the overwhelming scent of freshly killed animals and decaying flesh.
She had to stop, putting a hand over her nose and mouth to shield herself, unable to pick out the human remains among so much meat. She couldn’t separate the scents, not in this form—it would be even more overpowering as a gorgon, but she would be able to differentiate between them. She didn’t dare change, though, but looked back for the first time to see who had followed her.
Sephula - January 17, 2011 03:25 PM (GMT)
Abberline continued to barrel after and he came out into the next street, glancing around with a frown when he realised that he couldn't see his quarry at all. He noticed the forced door to the butcher's shop after a heartbeat and ducked into the store after him, coughing when the pungent odour hit his senses.
"That was Jack the Ripper we spoke to a moment ago," Raziel mused absently, his feet above the floor by such scant measure that it was almost impossible to discern the fact. "The other one is obvious enough in that he's one of Varano's former incarnations," he murmured plainly before starting after them, not bothering to wait long enough to reason the fact that – more likely than not – no-one present knew enough about Varano to understand that comment.
Kaori blinked a couple of times. "Jack the Ripper?" she asked quietly, wrinkling her nose faintly. "Can we pound five shades of stuffin' outta him?" she asked no-one in particular before running after them.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 17, 2011 07:50 PM (GMT)
Skyfire glanced at Raziel when the young man spoke, but didn't pause to ask him to elaborate since she wasn't sure how much time they had to do whatever it took to slow down what would happen in this time. She paused outside of the shop as soon as the smell from inside hit her and she had to clench her teeth from getting sick again. She took a careful breath before ducking into the shop after the Ripper and the inspector.
Kelsey wasn't quite sure what to think about what Ophelia was doing and she wondered why she'd never thought about it before. She bit her lip as she followed quietly, no bounce in her step at all.
Vandal Savage - January 17, 2011 08:15 PM (GMT)
Among the meat and in the dark, his opponent would be at the disadvantage. Abberline was persistent, Vandal had to give him credit for that. He waited among the carcasses, determined to take down Abberline if he got too close.
The blond following him, that was an unexpected twist. As the inspector was searching deeper in the warehouse, Vandal crept closer to Ophelia, hiding behind the carcus of a pig.
He had the knife in his left hand and he brushed it against Ophelia's hair, before he slashed quickly at her neck.
"Should have run along home little girl...gorgon?" he said as he tasted the drops of blood on his lips.
Oh now he was in real trouble.
Ophelia Salazar - January 17, 2011 09:38 PM (GMT)
Ophelia had to stop and regain herself. She rested against the body of a cow, attempting to hide herself behind it just enough for her to think. Jack the Ripper was here, in this room. She would have to be careful, he was notorious--but clearly she still underestimated him, letting out a violent hiss as the blade connected with her neck, barely able to lunge forward and around to make the wound large but nonfatal. She bared her fangs and turned gorgon, something she would've done hadn't he known what he was, screw subtly. One of her snakes attempted to bite at the man's knife hand as she reached forward to grab as his neck with her claws.
Vandal Savage - January 18, 2011 02:41 AM (GMT)
Ophelia's claws struck true and hit the man square in the chest. He blinked and looked to the formerly blond girl.
"You make me miss Medousa," he said softly and then extracted himself from her claws, training blood with his as he moved through the meat carcasses.
Left behind was his knife, the long thing knife a butcher uses to slice meat from bone.
Raphael Varano - January 18, 2011 03:42 AM (GMT)
Abberline perhaps would have been entirely lost if it wasn't for the commotion that struck up; it helped him find his way to his quarry easily enough. He blinked when his gaze eased past Vandal to the gorgon. "God in heaven!" he exclaimed, entirely at a loss as to what to make of the... thing before him.
Skyfire Caoilfhionn - January 18, 2011 04:00 AM (GMT)
Skyfire hurried further into the room as she heard the commotion, frowning at the fact the one of her group was in danger. Her eyes flickered red as she came closer to Ophelia, cursing silently that Abberline got there first.
Kelsey managed not to use her sparkles as she ran to where Ophelia was, really not wanting a lecture from River for using a power in this time. But it looked like Ophelia had revealed herself, not good. She moved closer to her to see if she was alright.
Ophelia Salazar - January 18, 2011 04:11 AM (GMT)
Ophelia felt her claws rip through flesh and hit bone, her only reaction to squeeze tighter. Even as he still spoke her grip did not loosen, but as he pried at her claws her joints loosened like well-oiled hinges. He was harmed, true, but it didn't mean anything aside from the fact she could smell him on her.
She whirled around to see Abberline, looking over his shoulder to Skyfire and the rest. She had just compromised everything, hadn't she? Clearly the man had never seen a gorgon and never should've seen her. Even as Kelsey approached, Ophelia did the natural thing--she ran. She would join the group later, after she had returned to human outside of Abberline's sight. She didn't chase after Vandal, not so much because of how little she really could do but just because it hadn't crossed her mind.