"Well I have no idea how to explain this and have you believe me, are you really willing to go for a stretch on this?" Law asked, sitting down cross-legged infront of the hacker. Law folded his arms,
"In truth I dont even know if I want to believe it either but there seems to be somehting about you, an aura or presence that does something to us." He looked at Melvin, wonder when he'd start frekaing out and denying,
"I've heard of magic being nullified before, but by the means of direct spells and incantations, etcetera," Law breathed and sighed, "Somehow we think you've been gifted with a null-space barrier of some sort that changes us back to 'normal'. Like the harpy lady, thanks to you her body went fully human, and in your presence I have sever head-aches, probably because of these things," He drew his trench-coat sleeve back to reveal the bracers clamped about his fore-arm,
"Its a long story but these things kinda maintain my life, but since you nullified their effect aswell as what could kill me im still alive, maybe thats why whenever you visit phenoma everything will always look like a hoax to you. But I'll leave you something tonight to investigate and it should hopefully prove theres more to it." Law stood up, "Oh and if you knew how to controly our ability, I could have proved it to your rght here and now, but like I said, while this weird aura of yours is in effect so close to me, I cant do jack to prove you wrong. Call me crazy if you like, but I speak the truth, there are things out there, unreal, dangerous things, dangerous people with abilities beyond normal human comprehension. Perhaps you came off lucky with that weird aura of yours..." Law looked down on the strange man,
"Now, im gonna grab a slice of pizza and go open up a can of whup-ass on what I believe may be a new place for some freak cultists... Hoo boy, Randy is gonna be pissed but thats the fun part of debriefing..." Law chuckled, striding past Melvin,
"Just think about it, guy, we aint gonna harm you, leave that to the things that go bump in the night... We just like to bump back in a major way..."

Skyler was used to being yelled at like she was a freak, because quite frankly she was. But this time was different, he had wanted to talk, and she had this whole plan cooked up, she felt a bit hurt. She sighed and stood up nodded to the guy whose 5 o’clock shadow was growing by the minute and knowingly winked at him, a void had left and it looked like fur was growing back.

Grabbed a slice of Melvin’s pizza and took a bite, she was starved and this pizza had no eggs or poultry involved. “mmm,” she smiled as cheese dripped from the slice, “Not bad. Carl give props to our friend for this jewel of a pizza.” She placed a few odd coins on the table, none of which were actual currency, and sat down to finish this culinary masterpiece.

Looking out the window she saw that poor Melvin had run right into Law and Rowen. She shook her head and loosened the laces to the shoes she had on, they were too tight again. She knew there was a reason she always made sure her pants and skirts were long enough. Law was actually not harming this guy and looked like he was helping the kook, Skyler made a mental note to kudos the guy later. She got up and left as soon as the pizza slice was knocked back, and made her way to the door. Melvin, Law and Rowen weren’t that far away.

She made it up to them and stood near enough, Melvin looked angry and confused at the same time. She nodded at Law she could tell he was getting fed up and wanted some food. “He’s got it right you know. And you’re right too. We’re not really a troupe of actors, and there is no play , just something I came up with on the spot. The whole sect thing, with us protecting the borders of the magical and non-magical realms is true though. And as earlier tonight you came to find a harpy. I may have played dumb and tried to pull the wool over on you, but I can see that won’t work. That picture you have on you laptop is me and the only way I can think of proving it to you is with another picture.”

She paused to let him catch up and so she could organize her thoughts. “That was an amazing pizza you had back in there, what was it made up of? I mean it was great, I usually don’t care too much for most human food but man that was good tasting. Anyways, where was I? Oh right. I got this Polaroid camera here and if I think I know what’s going on I’m sure I can convince you.”

She shook her head, he was going to yell at her again for being crazy he was going to want to know what was in it for him. And why they wanted him to know what they were telling him. Her back was hurting again and the shoes were all floppy again, so she took them both the shoes and her jacket off. She didn’t fear being seen because she was with Melvin the Null Wonder.

((oh man that was longer than I expected))

Melvin didnt know what to think and when Melvin doesnt know what to think Melvin indulges in the one thing that calms his nerves. He laid down on his back popped his earphones into his ears and played an episode of Buffy Season One on his laptop. Skylar looked like she was beginning to speak but he held up a hand to stop her.

He laid there for twenty minute (the length of an episode when it hasnt been pumped fat with commercicals). Then he got up closed his laptop and looked back at Skylar. "I call it the Meat n' greet." He said to her. When she looked puzzled he clarified. "The pizza. You said you liked it." He stared out into the park for a while lettinig everything sink in. "Ok you said you could prove it. How?" He said atlast.

Cheshire said calmly to Carl, annoyed at how that void kid ran away, but relieved that he could once again use his powers "well you don't need a grill for pizza as far as I know" but before old Carl here could respond, Cheshire let his hexes kick in, making it easy to get out of the sticky situation. "with that, i'll just pay and get out, here" Cheshire handed Carl the money and watched him as he grunted angrily and went back to the counter. whew, that's a relief, now to find that nerd. Cheshire barely had to step out, the guy was sitting on the ground surrounded with a lot of other people, as soon as they had come, Cheshire's powers had gone again. He managed to pick up part of the conversation, apparently this guy was a computer whiz or something. Cheshire decided to pipe in. "And as you may have guessed, I'm not human either, hence the headaches that you're giving me." Cheshire turned to the crowd. "I'm Cheshire, hello" He tried to put on a neutral manner.

Skyler was ready to continue when Melvin held up a hand. He sat back and began to watch a show on his computer. The furry guy had walked over and began talking. Skyler looked at him with mild distaste. All she wanted to do was get on with talking to Melvin, she had to convince him that there was a magical world and interest him in joining their group. Now with this Cheshire dude coming in she would have to address multiple parties while still maintaining a cohesive argument. It seemed that Melvin had unwittingly given her some time to deal with this new seemingly problematic person. She turned to address him, feathers slightly ruffled, or they would have had Melvin’s void not been around.

“I realized the abnormalities of you back at Carl’s, the sudden growth of hair or fur or whatever it was as soon as Wonder Boy here left the place.” She thumbed in the direction of Melvin. “If you’re looking for the local sect then look no further but look not here. I’m busy and I am not in charge and don’t have time to deal with a furbag. Introduce yourself to those two guys over there and check out trouble, or go further down to where there are four gals, and more trouble.” She was agitated, but it was merely the fact that she was trying to get something done and interruptions kept occurring. Murphy’s Law. “I’m sorry, if I had time I would take you there myself. And by the way, keep it down low, not every mumbling crackpot here is one of us, some are just mumbling crackpots, get it?”

Somehow that took twenty minutes and left Skyler slightly upset and embarrassed. Melvin sat up and took off his earphones to tell her what he called his magnificent pizza. A Meat and Greet, how apropos. Randy had told her to work with him as much as she could to convince him and even try to recruit him. She forced a smile despite still feeling upset at the setbacks. She didn’t know where to start either. It was up to him really.

“Should I tell you what I can or do you want proof of what I can tell? I’ll start with a simple re-introduction.” She sat down next to him, “Hello, My name’s Skyler Lorento. I haven’t seen you around before, you new here? I live over there, in that dilapidated apartment. Share it with several roommates, keeps the rent down.”

Bah, is everyone unfriendly tonight? "I wasn't looking to join your sect, I just was interested in, you called him Melvin right? It's not exactly everyday that you meet a void. However seeing that you already got to him, my business is done here." Cheshire walked towards the where the harpy pointed to. Maybe tonight won't be as boring as i thought. Cheshire was relieved as his fur returned and his powers came back. H eput his gloves back on and kicked some broken glass on the ground.

This day was just getting weirder and weirder. So, instead of fighting the inevitable, Melvin was willing to go along with the ride. "Melvin Fuddlebuddim." He said lightly shaking her hand. "Paranormal Reporter and Hacker-for-hire."

He got up and brushed the loose dirt off his pants. "If I'm a void as you say, then I doubt there is any sound way to really prove anything to me. So, just tell me what you want and what it will take to get you people to stop stalking me." He didnt mind talking to this woman, she seemed the most rational of the group. Although it seemed Melvin was agreeing a little too readily he didnt really believe in magic or magical creatures. He did come to the conclusion that if he stayed around these folks maybe he would actually get the proof he needed. If they turned dangerous, well, Melvin could zip out of a situation faster than a hot lizard.

Skyler smiled as he introduced himself. For all the trouble that she got into she had learned that being able to deal with people was the best way to get out. She learned this early on, people want respect and don’t like to feel intimidated, but she still needed to project some authority or she would get walked over and never taken seriously. Melvin was just like the rest, just more paranoid and less trusting.

“Nice to meet you Melvin. Under any other circumstances it would have been quite easy to prove to you our existence, actually we would have to prove to you other wise. But not to worry, it’s not entirely your fault, and to be truthful I enjoy the freedom of being able to take my jacket off around you. Do you mind if I stay seated?” She stretched out using her coat as a ground covering and as a light cushion. She leaned back and took in a deep breath of the night air, it was fresh and cool, slightly stale but that’s what you get living in a city. Collecting her thoughts she began with her simple idea.


“Melvin, I am not a magician as you would think, I can’t really cast magic at all. I am simply a creature born of magic. Something like how some human children are born from two exceedingly bright individuals yet the child itself it dumb… no, that’s not quite right. Let me try to put it this way. There are magic users, and then there are magic creatures, I am one of the latter. This should be simple enough to prove true.” She stopped and lifted the Polaroid off from around her neck and placed it on the ground next to her, “You already have one picture of me, although I am not quite sure how it managed to be taken. Simply put we can try to take another. Nothing fancy just a Polaroid shot. And hopefully since your “void” ,as we seem to be calling it, just nullifies my appearance a camera will pick up on my, how should I put this, differences.”

She hoped this worked, if not she could always try to take the picture with out him near, but that would still have questionable credibility. A catch 22 if it didn’t work. She sent a quick and silent word to her gods.

((*hides in a corner* Worst part is, after a few days, I haven't a clue what to post. Sorry I’m kicking less ass then usual))

Had Randy been hearing the bit about the files herself, phone calls would be made, and potentially blood shed. If her gang, which was much less documented then the others, had files on the web, then what the hell else was out there, and how did she kill it? But, luckily for some poor tek guy who was bound to already be afraid of girls, she was still dealing with the black widow, and not the void. She really did trust Sky to handle anything that may come up. "Uh huh, sure you didn't," she was willing to deal with the girl, for two reasons. One, it was her job, and two, a succubus could prove to be very useful. She'd have to keep a close eye on this one, though, she was... Sketchy, to put it best. She wasn't willing to give her back to her yet.

She glanced over when she felt something new on the edge of her area. She couldn't pick things up like the magical critters could, or Rainbow, but, she could usually tell what a person felt like. Sometimes she could pick up on power, depending on how obvious it was, but she glanced at where she was picking up this new sort of vibe and frowned. Something must have been wrong with the guys working the phones, the damned things hadn't been ringing, but, a lot of people who shouldn't be wandering around were. Well, so long as they weren't hurting anything, what's the danger? Other then being caught. There seemed to be a lot of critters lately. There didn't used to be this many, did there? She couldn't even tell anymore.

Melvin picked up the camera and snapped a quick pic of all three of the weird people. He pulled out the polaroid, watching it intently as it developed. When the picture was clear he gasped and looked at them aghast. "This... this... looks just like you." He teased and tossed the picture in Skylar's lap. It was the three of them all human. The rainbow girl had one eye half closed and looked like she was about to say something or sneeze, skylar was a little blurry like she was turning her head, and the succu-harlot-fairy-bus had her eyes closed completly but otherwise looked normal.

He set the camera down and started to walk away when a polyphonic version of the X-Files theme rang into the night. Melvin plucked his cell phone from the pocket of his trench coat and popped it open. "Talk to me." He greeted the person on the line. "Oh hi boss, did you get my e-mail about the theatre troupe? Yea they're trying to convince me they're a sect I think they're jerkin' my chain though." He glanced back at Skylar and Rainbow-girl. "Wait a nano-second what did you say?" Melvin was pacing unconciously now obviously agitated. "No bossman, I dont think- ... Yes, I do like my job very much but-" There was a slight pause and Melvin paled. "Yes sir... Okay... May the force be with you too sir." With a click he snapped the phone closed and sat next to Skylar like the whipped dog he was. "I was just informed that my next assignment is to join you guys for the week to so I can write an article about a day in the life of a sect member. So take me to your leader or whatever." Melvin did not like this one bit.

Skyler cried out in panic at the thought of someone knowing about their sect, it came out as mostly a squawk. Panic quickly set in and her mind began to race, first off the Polaroid didn’t work and she was sure that a second snap done by someone else not near Melvin wouldn’t work, not with his level of paranoia. She didn’t know how to handle this, but she would have to say something before the others blurted it out first. But the picture was all wrong, blurry and distorted, where were her lovely wings?
She slowly turned to face Melvin. “Uhm… I don’t know about shadowing us. I mean we’re a pretty boring group of people, really. But if you want, I’m sure I can work something out…” she was panicked but couldn’t let that show, not now not to Melvin. What she really wanted to know is how their information ended up on the internet and why someone wanted to know more about them. It was unsettling. But she didn’t have much choice, this was a top priority problem now, and she needed to bring it to the attention of Randy or higher.
“Melvin can I see that picture again? So that’s how I look in a void, where are my beautiful feathers, I spent hours preening.” She wanted to change topics and being vain about her feathers she was upset that they didn’t show up in the picture.

"Eesh, cant leave you alone for one moment!" Law grabbed Rowen and attempted to drag him away, they had better htings to do, "Dont worry man, I have a feeling that, hanging with us, buddy boy there is gonna see the light." He continued to drag the angered demon away, ctinuing toward their original destination while holding a slice of pizza in his mouth and the box in hand,
"Now's not the time to be ripping a guy apart, save it for when he causes trouble." Law chuckled, letting go and scarfing down the slice before attending to another one,
"Now lets move it, the actions probabyl getting ready for us to heat it up!" Law ignored the furred one as he placed a spring in his step to go faster, "I wont wait forever you know, I've done enough waiting, ten-thousand odd freakin years of it."

Skyler was on edge already when Rowen appeared over her shoulder yanking the phone away; she nearly flipped out and fainted. She knew he had good intentions but frightening Melvin, and herself, wasn’t the best way to quiet him down. Law had the right idea and took Rowen away from Melvin and the pain and directed his thoughts to the action.
Skyler looked up pleadingly at them. “Row-en, please, not now. I’ve got this one covered you go have fun at the docks. And thanks for looking out for us, but I promise I won’t be taken away so easily.” She could feel her heart racing because of the fright, she needed it to calm down and slow to it’s normal pace so she could think clearly again. Tonight she wanted adventure and she had got more than she bargained for.

Melvin calmly snatched the broken cell from Rowen's hand. He opened the case up, wiggled out the SIM card and tossed the remains of the phone at Rowen. He opened up his jacket revealing rows and rows of pockets filled with odds and ends. There was a couple viles of holy water, a few stakes, a small dagger, 4 bottles of mace, a tazer, laptop power cord, silver cross, a bundle of fresh roses, and other such oddities. All in all the coat weighed about 75 pounds and carrying around all these years had made Melvin fit and strong. Close to his back were three cellphones all in a row. Melvin snagged on and inserted his Sim card in the appropriate slot.

The Cell clicked on and he pocketed it in his bag with his lappy. "Break anything of mine again," He said to Rowen, glaring as best he could beneath his shades. "And I'll mace you in the face heathen." He plucked a voice recorder from another pocket and walked away from the group. Speaking into he said. "Sect Article Day one. I need a new job." He clicked off the device and kept walking.

"For the love of hell! Rowen stop acting like a goddamn bonehead!" Law chucked the empty pizza box aside, his grip on Rowen firming after he swallowed the last slice of Pizza and he got in close,
"Listen, knucklehead, I know how you feel aboutt his, your mind is screaming that there'll be hell to pay but my natural sense is that that moron over there hasnt got everything straight, and we can use that to our advantage, alright, simmer down or do I have to repeat my earlier task of pinning you down??"

With that Law looked over to Melvin,
"As for you 'mace' boy, if you threaten anyone in the sect again with your bullcrap and I'll fill you full of holes no matter how slippery you think you are, got it? I've been maced before and frankly its like a dull seasoning to my tastebuds and barely effective to my eyes, same goes for Rowen here." Law let go of Rowen,
"As much as I hate having a spineless worm who thinks he has his facts right nearby, I can live with it a while." Law grabbed Rowen again by the scruff, "Now settle down and behave, we've got a job to do." He turned off toward the direciton they were headed yet again, he'd make cgood on his promise, powers or not, if Melvin ever did anything stupid.

Cheshire walked up to the leader of the sect who was down the street at the end of the city park. A bum was laying in a slump asleep. Cheshire patted off some dust on his vest and looked at the odd group of people in front of him. "With my utmost sincerity for my ignorance, which is the leader? Oh, pardon me, where are my manners? I'm Cheshire, you can call me Cheshire. Your bird girl sent me over."

He was definitely something she couldn't place just by looking at him. But, it happened. Randy spent a lot of time studying different critters and magic, but, there were a lot out there. It's hard to learn them all. "Her name is Skyler, and I'm the poor soul running this operation. My name is Randy. You can call me Randy," was she being a little sarcastic? Yeah, a little. But, just a little. "I'm not entirely sure what her name is," she said motioning to the succubus beside her, "but I'm sure she has one. What can I do you for?"

While the others got to chase down big bad gangs or nerds that needed to drink less coffee, Randy got to play administration. Oh, the excitement! I bet all little kids grow up wanting her job. Well, at least she got to deal with things more interesting then humans.

"I'm not sure, despite the void nerd back there and the pissed off demons, tonight seems pretty mellow. Sometimes I just wish something bad would happen, you know? Something to spice things up." Cheshire looked around casually. "So, what are you all doing out here? There doesn't seem like anything going on that would need a sect." Maybe I should play around with them a bit. Make 'em guess, although I should probably keep them on my side if I want to get inside their silly little sect. thought Cheshire.

How to put Randy on her guard: Say something like that. She had been wary of this guy before, now he'd have a hard time getting her to turn her back to him for more then two seconds at a time. "Easy for you to want to spice things up. You don't have to run around with a mop and bucket afterwards," she said with a cheerful smile. Okay, so she was never in charge of the physical clean up, they had a special task force for that level of disgusting, but, she still had her share of clean up to do. It usually involved taking care of the people involved... One way or another. Which with two demons, a harpy, and psychic empathy on your side is a lot easier then just setting fire to them, which had been one of her old tactics. Not long enough to do any real damage. Just scare the crap outta them.

"We're sort of like the fire department," she lied, "Ninty percent boredom, ten percent panic. When you're needed, you're really needed." Okay, the part about being needed was true. There never seemed to be a situation that could be left to slide a little. A lot of what Randy herself got to deal with was intimidation. You know, a critter or magic user who was a little too public. Do this again, and I'll kick your ass. That or she got to play detective. A who dun it sort of thing. Having Rainbow around really helped then. She had never been good at dealing with the massive things, like rampaging were-critters in a pack. She tended to hurt by standards in the process. Her magic had always been a little wild in that way.

That was one perk about getting the odds and ends, she had better fighters then most of the other sects. Along with a TV. Can't forget the TV. No healer, potion maker, or light mage, but, damn, they could beat the crap out of things. "Are you in this area a lot, or just guessing from tonight?"