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“Hello child of fate.”

“Don’t screw with me you little brat.” I snapped back. “I need to talk to Raven Wing, and no, it’s not about you this time.”

She giggled vapidly. “Of course it’s about me. It’s ALL been about me. The sooner you understand that, the closer you’ll be to winning, silly goose! But if you want me to wake her, you’ll have to answer my riddle.”

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Author's Note:
Due to language and violence against monstrosities that Once Were Human, I've rated this chapter PG-15. It's not ultra-graphic over-the-top stuff though. I just wanted to post a little heads-up that this chapter shows Hell hath no fury like an angry teen with superpowers ;-)

~Zoe

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“This better be important,” I groaned into the phone as I rolled over in bed. Shadows and darkness, thankfully of the natural twilight of the moonless mid-November night were my only companions, the bright green LED of my alarm clock proudly declaring it 2:04 AM.

“Rose here. Aria. You’d better get down here. I-it’s Banshee,” she stammered in a quivering, uneasy tone.

I sat bolt upright, heedless of my heavy covers as I dove from the bed. “I’ll be right there!”

I didn’t want or need to know anymore of the situation until I got there. My mother was as tough as they came. If something severe enough happened to her… If that Raven god had anything to do with this, I didn’t care if he WAS a creator, I’d wring him dry personally!

It only took me a few seconds to don my new armor. Aunt Sil had made some special modifications to the design to make it easier to put on and wear without extra assistance, as well as not rooting me to one place in battle. Within a few minutes of the call, I left my little house in the suburbs behind, flying as fast as I could manage.

I hadn’t done much flying lately, focusing all my attention on researching the Native American raven god that had apparently decided to possess my would-be ally. I couldn’t call Raven Wing more than that, not knowing where she stood. Was I fooling myself? Could she even be capable of ‘love’ for all she’d been through? My mind started to wander. I had to blink back the tears as I touched down and rushed inside, and not just from the immediate threat.

Maria met me at the door, wrapping me in a hug even as the two of us sprinted down the sterile hall together. It disturbed me deeply, in retrospect, how perfect, how pristine everything felt. My mind wandered further. This was why I didn’t ask for any details. I’d rather have let my thoughts travel to such silly things rather than focusing on whatever had happened.

“There you are,” our resident blonde-haired nurse stated seriously as we appeared in the doorway to the medical bay. She quickly ushered us inside.

“What happened?” I asked as I tried to catch my breath. She simply shook her head.

“Frankly, I’m not sure. This is … beyond my expertise. Silver Sentinel found her unconscious in her office. Someone, or something, overpowered her, but the security cameras show only static. The security guys are looking into what happened.”

Maria and I looked at each other, and I scowled. “Raven. I’ll kill him!” I shrieked.

“Wait, there’s more!” the nurse called, reaching out to catch my shoulder. I spun around, staring expectantly.

“I said this was beyond my expertise because, medically, there’s nothing I can see that would cause her to not have woken up yet. I’m running scans, but It’s like she just has no energy.”

The blood began to leave Maria’s face, her jaw slackening. “I can’t believe I didn’t sense it sooner. I… I should have realized it. Oh gods, Aria I’m so sorry.”

“What?”

She brought her fingers to her temples and slowly began to massage them. “There are certain individuals who have the power to … to siphon off the life energy of others.”

“You mean vampires?” the nurse asked. “You’ve fought those before haven’t you?”

I nodded, trying to calm myself down and focus on the situation at-hand. “Yes, there was a vampire hiding in the hospital morgue recently.”

Maria shook her head quickly. “No, not like vampires. These beings are psionic in nature, like me. They’re our dirty little secret. Psionic adepts don’t like to talk about, or admit, that these monsters, these soul-devourers exist.”

“WHAT?!” I shrieked. I couldn’t believe my ears. “You mean something… ATE her soul?!”

“Well, yes and no. Look, it’s a long story and we don’t have time for me to tell you the long version. Just get everyone together.” She hesitated before adding, “If you have a way to contact Raven Wing I’d do it because this probably concerns her too. You’ve been waiting for another puzzle piece to fall into place, and this could be it.”

“Alright, but what are you going to do?”

She turned to the nurse, responding to my question in a determined tone, “I’m going into Banshee’s mind, and I pray to Santa Maria she forgives me when she wakes up, but I’ve got no choice. I have to see what she saw. I have to know what we’re dealing with.”

I still didn’t understand exactly what she was going on about, but I decided not to argue. Leaving her to her work, I ran back out of the room, barreling past two surprised security personnel in the process (and causing one of them to spill her coffee) as I raced for the communications relay room. I found Rose standing numbly at the comm. control, her arms folded as she stared blankly at the security monitors. Static and snow still covered the glass screens.

“Rose?” I whispered as I placed my hand on her shoulder. She slowly glanced back at me, wrapping me in a hug.

“Aria, I’m sorry. The alarm never went off. None of us knew anything was wrong until it was too late.”

“It’s okay. We’re going to get her back, and we’re going to get whatever did this to her. Right now we need to get Volcaness here, and I need to call Raven Wing. Will you handle Volcaness for me?”

She managed a weak laugh. “Sure, give me the hard job. Yeah, no problem.”

I planted myself in one of the office chairs at the control panel, picking up the phone and dialing the number Raven Wing had given me to relay any information on her raven god situation. Rather than Raven Wing, though, the child answered.

“Hello child of fate.”

“Don’t screw with me you little brat.” I snapped back. “I need to talk to Raven Wing, and no, it’s not about you this time.”

She giggled vapidly. “Of course it’s about me. It’s ALL been about me. The sooner you understand that, the closer you’ll be to winning, silly goose! But if you want me to wake her, you’ll have to answer my riddle.”

I groaned, exhaling slowly. “Fine. What’s your damned riddle?”

“Ooh, goodie!” she squealed with joy. “Okay, here goes. Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

“What?”

“Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

“That’s not funny!”

“It is too! Just answer the question!” she insisted. I could almost picture her pouting on the other end.

I sighed, defeated. “Fine. I don’t know.”

“Exactly,” the voice responded in a profoundly sage tone. A moment later, Raven Wing yawned.

“Hello?”

“Raven Wing! Thank God. Listen, I need your help.”

“Errf, Aria? What time is it?” she mumbled.

“It’s half-past two I think. I don’t have time to explain right now, but Banshee’s in trouble. Maria thinks you might be connected — or more specifically, your little ‘friend’. She asked me to call you. We’re about to go vampire hunting.”

“… If ANYONE else had called me at this hour and told me that, I’d be staking them instead. I’ll be right there.”

I exhaled slowly as I hung up the phone, Rose glancing at me with a sympathetic smile. “This is so messed up. Just once, just ONCE I’d like things to be simple.”

She chuckled quietly. “Yeah no kidding. Capes ought to come with an instruction manual. But I’m kind of glad I’m here, too. I know this whole situation with Banshee is horrible, but it makes me feel better knowing I can help you. I promise I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Thanks Rose,” I offered almost timidly as I stood, and in a moment of weakness, found myself collapsing into her arms. I sobbed into her shoulder as she comforted me. “She’s all I have… She’s all I’ve ever had. The idea of losing her…” I bit my lip, but Rose smiled as she pushed a few tresses of fake blonde hair back behind my ear.

“Hey… We’re not going to lose her, alright? We’ll get whatever did this to her, and she’ll be as good as new. C’mon, let’s go meet Volcaness and Raven Wing.” She smiled, turning to lead me toward the door. I inhaled deeply, holding it in for a moment to try and get my emotions under control again, slowly exhaling as we stepped into the hall.

Volcaness arrived first, bursting through the doors with a small trail of flames in her wake. She rushed over to us, and I could swear I saw bright blazes leaping in her irises as she spoke. “Banshee’s been true to her word through everything that’s happened to me. She didn’t have to help me after what I did to her, but she did. I swear to you, Aria, I will make whoever did this BURN for it.”

“Assuming it can burn,” Raven Wing’s voice called from behind us, standing in her full battle armor. A pair of wispy black wings protruding from her back settled against her form for only a moment before dissipating completely. She stepped closer, but kept a foot or two of distance between herself and the others. I however immediately moved to embrace her, causing her to smile a little.

“What, no test to prove it’s me?”

I smiled, kissing her lightly. She blinked several times in surprise, but before she could respond, I turned back to the others, stepping back to stand by Raven Wing’s side. “We can’t discount that this is another part of the Trickster’s game. That’s why Raven Wing’s here; there might be another clue in all this. We’ll see.” I tried to sound authoritative. With Mother absent, Silver Sentinel would handle the running of our base, but I had to assume the role of leadership: a concept that made my stomach turn.

“Right. Where’s Maria? I want to get to some head-busting,” Volcaness responded impatiently. I rolled my shoulders slightly.

“She’s with Mom right now. She said something about getting an imprint, but I didn’t quite follow it all.”

A disembodied, girlish giggle echoed through the hall. Volcaness and Rose’s expressions suggested that it wasn’t just me that heard it, either. The voice of the child-form the raven god so enjoyed teasing us with followed. “Oh, my dear Child of Fate, you cannot see what is as plain as the nose on your lover’s face?”

Raven Wing’s cheeks began to burn profusely. Rose sloooowly looked between the two of us, blinking once. Volcaness leaned over and whispered something in her ear, but I was more occupied with our tormentor.

“What exactly are you getting at?”

“For what it’s worth, my fingerprints are all over this, but as well, I am innocent.”

“What? YOU did this?!” I rushed forward, but she vanished, reappearing behind me.

“Temper temper, Child of Fate.” She giggled innocently. “I told you, I am innocent.”

Raven Wing frowned. “You set something in motion that caused this, didn’t you?”

The child smiled a knowing smile, her eyes sparkling with wisdom far beyond her current form’s years. “I knew I chose well when I selected the two of you.” She vanished, leaving Raven Wing and me staring at each other in surprise.

Maria came running up a few brief seconds later, out of breath. “I have the information we need-” she paused, staring at us. “… What did I miss?”

Volcaness smirked. “Oh, nothing much. Just more insane riddles from an apparently insane raven god.”

“Ah, okay. You’ll have to fill me in later. Right now I think I know where our creature is hiding. In my vision I saw a sea of lifeless trees. The trees were covered in a thin blanket of white snow, and it was very cold. In other words, a cold place with a lot of dead people.”

“The city morgue,” I responded immediately. She nodded.

“Exactly. I tried to call, but there was no answer.”

“That’s not good. Alright, let’s move. Maria, Raven, you’re with me. Rose, Volcaness, we’ll meet you there. Do NOT engage until we’re all together.”

Volcaness gave me a surprised glance, but she smiled approvingly. “We’ll follow your lead.”

~oOo~

Things seemed quiet outside the morgue: far, far too quiet. I tried to open the front doors, but they were locked tight. Raven placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled, stepping forward. She knelt in front of the lock, hovering her armored palm over it. Tiny threadlike tendrils of shadow shot forward and into the keyhole. A few short clicks followed, and she stood, pushing it open.

“That’s amazing. How did you do that?” Rose gasped.

Raven Wing giggled a little. “Oh, I didn’t pick it; I broke it from the inside.” She smiled proudly. We rushed inside, confirming our fears. Slumped over the front desk was a man in a white uniform. The desk, in disarray, showed some limited signs of a struggle. We crept further inside, but the sound of the front door being ripped off its hinges caught us by surprise. Volcaness lit up like a bonfire, illuminating our would-be assailant. Tank grunted.

“Jeeze, Volc! Amp down the flames! What the hell’re you kids doin’ here anyway?!”

“Tank?!” Volcaness responded in surprise. “Jesus, I nearly roasted you. We’re here to kill the creature that attacked Banshee. What are YOU doing here?!”

“Attacked Banshee?! … Son of a- Look, I’m partly responsible for this, and I’m sorry, but I’m here to fix things. Just stay outta the way so you don’t get hurt awright?”

“What do you mean ‘partly responsible’?” I asked, utterly confused. He sighed as he stepped closer, placing his massive hands gently on my shoulders.

“Aria, the freak that’s holed up in here was a legacy of the people that experimented on me. I went to bust up the lab, but one of ‘em escaped with a dose of the revised serum, shot his self up real good, and took the train right to crazytown, screamin’ about takin’ revenge for somethin’ that happened twenty years ago. Hell’f I know what he meant, but this’ my mess, and I gotta clean it up.”

“Tank, let us help you. This is my Mom we’re talking about.”

“No. He’s hurt too many people already. Ain’t puttin’ you at risk too. You know what he did to Banshee, and you know what a tough old battleaxe she is. Think what he’d do to you?”

Volcaness growled. “Oh for God’s sakes, Tank, quit with macho bull already! We’re going and that’s final.”

He sighed reluctantly, staring at her. “God damit, Volc. You may have the body of a kid now, but you’re as stubborn as ever. FINE, come along, but if he lunges at you, for God’s sakes, turn into a fireball or somethin’.” He grumbled, stomping past us. We stayed close behind.

The first examination room looked like something out of a horror film with dismembered body parts strewn about, though thankfully it looked like they all belonged to the morgue’s resident population. At least, none of them seemed to have any clothing or other personal effects attached, not that it gave my stomach any comfort. Tank sneered.

“This ain’t right.”

As if on cue, a maniacal, male giggle — or perhaps more like a cackle, echoed throughout the room. Volcaness brightened her aura of flame to illuminate the room, and in the far corner, a twisted, rail-thin figure in the tattered remains of a lab coat knelt, its back to us as though examining something. It stood and turned, opening its mouth to reveal razor-like teeth. Its twisted claw-like hands stretched, and in an instant it lunged for Tank.

He yelled out in surprise, spinning to the side and connecting with its jaw. I shrieked, literally and power-wise as Rose and Maria leapt back. Volcaness though, strode right up to the creature. “You… I’ll kill you!” she bellowed, igniting the creature. It screamed in tortured agony, rolling around on the floor, but the harder it tried to put out the flames, the more intense they became.

Tank grabbed Volcaness by the shoulder, forcing her around to face him even despite the fact that he had essentially just shoved his hand into a furnace. “Volc, this ain’t him! Calm it down a notch before ya roast us!”

She blinked, letting both the flames surrounding her and the flames now flat-out blackening the corpse dissipate. She frowned, poking at the crispy critter with her boot. “… Sorry Tank. It’s just… Banshee’s been like the Mom I never had ever since the change, y’know? Anyway, what WAS that thing?”

“Damn if I know,” he responded, turning to continue.

I suddenly realized one member was conspicuously missing, and started looking around. In all the chaos, I’d lost sight of Raven Wing.

“Guys? Where’s Raven?”

Tank grunted, Volcaness shaking her head. Rose hesitantly spoke up. “I… I thought I saw someone heading further in.”

“Damit!” I shouted, rushing past Tank to try and find Raven Wing. I burst through a pair of wooden, swinging doors, not unlike a hospital ward door, entering into a long hallway. Further in, I caught a glimpse of Raven Wing just as she rounded a corner into a room. I raced after her, but the door wouldn’t open.

“She doesn’t want you to see,” the little girl whispered in my ear as I pounded on the door.

“See what?” I practically demanded. She giggled.

“See what she’s going to do to this poor creature.”

“… What do you mean?” I stopped trying to get the door open, knowing Tank could rip it open once he caught up.

“You haven’t figured it out yet? Come now, Child of Fate… She envies you for having a mother like Banshee. This creature hurt Banshee. She doesn’t want you to see the monster she’s about to become in order to even the score.”

“… What?! RAVEN! Damit!” I cried out as I slammed my fists against the hardwood as, in my rage, I couldn’t focus and direct my powers. Raven Wing told me once before that I saved her from herself. I almost lost her once. I would not lose her again, but the door refused to budge.

Tank easily pushed me aside, slamming his shoulder hard into the door. Not only did it splinter and shatter, he also took a sizable portion of the wall with him. Raven Wing, surrounded by shifting clouds of shadow, abruptly spun around. The shadows faded, and Tank sprinted right past her, planting his fist firmly in the slightly more human-looking figure further in.

“I’ll rip out your throat!” he bellowed as he punched the figure in the stomach. It somehow managed to worm its way loose from Tank’s grasp, sprinting at an ungodly speed right for Raven Wing as it cackled.

“I’ll take her with me!” it shrieked. It stopped dead in its tracks when the inconspicuous potted plant in the corner of the room abruptly grew to twenty times’ its length to lash out. Its thickening stem grew hard and thorny, encasing his legs and rooting him firmly.

Tank stepped up behind him, knocking him off his feet with the help of the plant’s sudden growth, and Volcaness, Raven Wing, Psychic Strike and I made short work of his now prone form, in a brilliant flurry of fire and shadows.

Volcaness breathed heavily as the carnage came to an end. “Was THAT him?” she asked as she leaned against a filing cabinet to catch her breath.

“Yeah, that was him. Cremate his ass, and I mean as hot as you can get it without roastin’ the room. I don’t wanna take no chances.”

Volcaness nodded, outstretching her hand, even as Tank stepped over the burning body, walking right past us. I moved to follow him.

“Hey, wait, where are you going?”

He paused, turning to stare down at me. “Told ya, kid, this was my fault. I’m gonna take responsibility for it. Turnin’ myself in for lettin’ this freak loose.”

“Tank… This isn’t your fault. You’re…” I paused, blinking. “… Innocent.” I could hear that faint, disembodied giggle in my ear as those words sank in. “Look, this guy got what he deserved for what he did to you and the others. I mean sure, he attacked Mot- I mean Banshee, but you couldn’t have known or helped that. And YOU!” I continued, turning to Raven Wing and throwing my arms around her.

“Don’t you dare ever do that again. I don’t care what kind of power you’re capable of summoning up, if it’s at the cost of losing you, I don’t want you to do it, even for Mom, alright?”

She blinked in surprise, and started to say something, but paused, a quiet smile crossing her lips. I had to wonder if perhaps the Trickster might be whispering something to her, now, too? She exhaled slowly. “Let’s… get you out of here.”

Maria nodded. “Good idea. Tank, come back to headquarters with us.”

“S’where I was headin’ anyway. I’ll meet y’all back there.”

As the five of us followed Tank back out, I found myself reflecting on everything the raven god had said to me. What was he leading to? There had to be something I was missing. I bit my lip, glancing at Raven Wing. “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

“I don’t know,” she responded immediately.

“Exactly,” I replied.

“… Wait, what?”

“That’s one of the clues to ‘the game’.”

Maria chuckled to herself. “Admitting you know nothing is the first step on the path to enlightenment in many philosophical traditions, most notably Buddhism.”

“So… Enlightenment, cause and effect, secrets… I still don’t get it.”

“I think we’re getting closer. What I want to know is what he gets out of this,” Raven Wing replied dryly. “Even if we do win, he has to be setting us up for something.”

“Indeed I am,” came the whispered response. Raven Wing growled and seemed to focus for a moment.

“There. I was saving my shut-it-up time for you and me to have some alone time after the dust settled, but if it means not having his-her voice in my head until we get you safely home, it’s almost worth the sacrifice.”

“Well, at least we have the morgue,” I teased. She rolled her eyes, giving me a light squeeze as we slowly stepped out into the crisp night air. One thing bothered me though. Exactly how was the raven god involved in all this? Did he set something in motion to cause that horrible monster to do those things to Tank, or did he simply tip the big guy off as to the whereabouts of the new lab?

I resolved to ask him later, once we were back at Headquarters, but for now, I had another phone call to make to the local authorities. With Banshee out, responsibilities now fell to me, at least in the field. That, perhaps more than this madman, more than the thought of losing to the Trickster Raven, terrified me greatly.