#I can never tell if something I drew I gorey like nothing I draw really icks my brain at all

[pumpkinrootbeerart]

oil spill heart

[nothingnoteworthy]

Chapter 5: The Easy Way In

Working with heroes was less exhausting than Caroline thought it would be. She imagined that most of it would be posturing in front of crowds, taking photos with their adoring fans. Days spent lingering in law enforcement buildings having coffee with the police. Although she supposed she was basing most of her assumptions on the magical girls employed by the UN. The dangerous things were overhyped. Sure a group of them could overwhelm a lesser demon but they were all in all unimpressive. Anything with enough power could kill anything else. Whether with magic or an assault rifle didn't matter. Dead was dead. If you were the winner, then you were the winner. It was like being excessively proud of the local butcher for knowing how to case a hot dog. Sure, it was great that he did it, but it wasn't that unique a skill.

Most of what they did was actually quite bearable. There was a lot of sneaking around at night. Creeping on rooftops. Breaking into buildings they had no business being in. It was almost therapeutic, stalking the hallways, smashing cameras as she found them. She could hear them scurrying, feel their energy. Well. Feel Eliana's energy. It overwhelmed anything else. Which made sense. If anything was overwhelming it was that one. The only thing keeping Eliana from being a threat was her determination to follow as pacifist a path as her abilities allowed. Caroline knew it was ridiculous. There were always going to be kill-or-be-killed situations. You couldn't skate by them. And only the truly powerful could enforce them. Eliana was strong. The physical incarnation of a lightning storm in all of its natural glory. But she wasn't that strong. That sort of strength is what she should be after. If she got it then justice would follow. Whatever she wanted would follow. That's how the world works. Someday Caroline would teach Eliana all about it. Take the girl under her wing. It would be so much fun. They would do wonderful things together.

There would be blood if she was patient. And that was Caroline's only virtue. Well, a boundless never ending patience and a beautiful face. She was quite proud of it, it had taken a lot of work and a lot of energy. Not that she was unattractive before all of her kind were rather fetching. They were supposed to be. But she wanted more. People were kinder when they thought you were pretty. People were more agreeable when they thought you were pretty. People yielded more quickly when they thought you were pretty. Beauty was just another form of power to her. And she needed to collect it. That's what made the whole deal worth it. Not being killed by a mortal was the primary bonus but that wasn't really worth following them around. No the idea of the power she could gain by gaining them was what really made everything perfect. The power of storm, of sound, those powers could lead armies with the right instruction. Fire. Demons came easily to fire. It was everywhere. She would take it but. Caroline didn't need fire. The way the creature looked at her made it clear that the feeling was mutual. That was fine. There would be a use somewhere. If Caroline was clever.

Caroline huffed and dropped herself into someone’s office chair. It was one of those cold uncomfortable leather ones. Pretty yes, unreasonably cold also yes. Leather was only useful when everything else was hot. Or when it was for the intimidation factor. Judging from the dreary, sterile decor that covered most of this building there was no point in the latter. Oh, another greyscale object? Oh it’s also mildly shiny? Well. Yes it is. Wonderful. Maybe she should just trip an alarm and be over with it. The boredom would kill her just as soon as anything else would.

A small trace of power drew her attention. Like a flickering light. Nausea. She spun and searched the hallway. It appeared again, behind her, and she swore she heard the smallest echo of a laugh. And then it was gone. It was most likely the individual who was playing with the computers. She didn't think she'd sense someone taking control of a camera but it was possible. Caroline smashed the nearest one into pieces taking extra care to tear every wire apart. She didn't like being watched. Being seen was one thing. Being watched was another. It was almost unacceptable. She searched for the same trace, crawling through space up the building’s floors. Swimming through the shadows with her eyes peering just above the rough worn down carpets. The world became more vibrant as she pushed at the veil, drawing on its natural sensitivities, using it to pinpoint every source of life that was anywhere near her. Hunting.

It took her a moment to notice that her perception of Eliana's power faded. It gained distance. Significant distance. She was out of the building. Too far for her to have gotten there in Caroline’s swift search. Caroline dug her claws through the air, slipping behind her, associates, with a small smile. "Did we find something fun?"

Lyric folded into herself, arms twisting her torso closed. She straightened, narrow eyed and head tilted. Deciding exactly what to tell Caroline no doubt. An overanalyzed sentence and a small huff. Frustration over the lack of control and an unspoken threat of lashing out. A strong scent of I don’t trust you with a sweet, sweet undercurrent of teeth on flesh. Unhealthy certainly. Fun certainly. Caroline grinned and sauntered in a slow arc, curving behind her and lurking like a cloud. Wren hated people behind her. Never spoke about it but her shoulders pinched and her arms straightened to hang loose at her sides. It was a pity they never had the chance to come to blows. It would have been gorey.

“There was someone here. Dressed in red. Could’ve been wearing a dress or a skirt. We heard laughter and saw flashes of them running from us. This is the last place we saw them.” A good report. The laugh was interesting. They were a trickster of some kind then. Probably Astral, given the circumstances. There wouldn’t be much heroism into investigating the technology then. Tricksters utilized too many smoke and mirror tricks to get away and you couldn’t be sure who or what was interacting with you unless they felt like it. It was a waste of time. Caroline just smiled. It was perfect. She couldn’t have asked for a better ally if she tried and here one was, free and clear. Tricksters were impossible to work with and here one was doing everything of their own accord. This was great. She should celebrate. With ice cream. Or warm wax.

“How interesting. A shame there’s nothing behind to hunt them down with. At least, nothing concrete. We could always head to the next company on our list. See if they have anything?” She offered.

Overload opened her mouth to say something, then paused, and shrugged. “Yeah, we could. I didn’t see anything useful here to signal that it was something on site. Maybe we should just make a radius and search it out block by block. See if anything weird buzzes in the air again.”

“We should split up then to maximize space.” Lyric nodded, bringing out a map on her phone.

“No, that’s too risky.” Ash interrupted. “You and Overload will be too busy looking around for whatever’s causing trouble that you won’t notice actual trouble.”

“We can go in teams of two, that way everyone’s happy. Ash you can come with me and Caroline you go with Overload. If things get real bad Ash can fire a signal into the sky and Caroline can get Lyric out of whatever’s going on. Okay?”

Ash didn’t seem to bother hiding the glare she sent Caroline’s way. “Okay.”

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