dc_eldritch:

Slaughter Swamp has seen it's far share of dark deeds even before the place got it's name. A place of dark untapped power that has resulted in the creation of the being known as Solomon Grundy. Such power would would eventually attract someone who wished to use it. But such power does not always wish to be used and can and will try to defend itself.

In a pulse of dark power all of the dead in Slaughter Swamp arose as zombies to defend it. It also sent out a call to bring it's prodigal son home to help.

greatest_zatara:

It's late into the evening on the east coast when flashes of light appear to the members of Shadowpact. A distorted projection of Zachary Zatara's face appears, apparently in a state of mild panic.

"...i-- --ou ca-- ear me, I nee- -elp right away! --ake m-- -hand!" The vision shifts from his face to his left hand, outstretched. Even through the greenish glow of the projection's appearance, blotches of wet unnatural color can be seen marring his skin.

just_a_stranger:

Rutland, Vermont

Though Victoria was capable of long distance travel on her own, and of bringing other people with her when required, she had, instead, opted for Zachary's spells in taking them there.  A bit more obvious, perhaps, but also a good test of their enemy's reactions.

Frankly, Victoria was occasionally of the opinion that Rutland out to be razed to the ground and then mystically erased from memory.  Too many times over the years she'd been doing this, the trail had led back to this sleepy little town.  It had exactly two things going for it: a super-hero themed Halloween parade, and mystical phenomena.

"Be on your guard," she told the others.  "I am sensing... something."

just_a_stranger:

The Oblivion Bar was a place where mystical types from all corners of time and space could gather freely, without the need to antagonize each other and compete in their usual frays of Order vs. Chaos, or good vs. evil.

Even Victoria Craft herself was known to occasionally go there and enjoy a small, fruity drink with an umbrella in it.  Especially on the days immediately following the children's return from a vacation.

But angels rubbed shoulders with demons who rubbed shoulders with cowboy ghosts who rubbed shoulders with talking chimps who rubbed shoulders with Fifth Dimensional Imps.

But what Victoria Craft noticed tonight, as she led Salome and Mina to a back table, was the notable absence of anyone whose powers specifically derived from either Order or Chaos.

She sat herself down and spread a map of the United States on the table. 

"There has to be some root cause of all this..."

just_a_stranger:

Victoria Craft was annoyed.  And she was annoyed because she was perplexed.  Confusion was not, by her nature, something she experienced often.  Joy, frustration, annoyance and exasperation (usually when dealing with Zachary), serenity, happiness, pride, these things came easily enough and were part of her life.

But there was very little that outright confused Victoria Craft, and she found the current situation of the world rather annoying.  The forces of magic were... at large in the world in a way which seemed to make no sense.  In the past two weeks, she had made contact with more than a dozen magical users of her acquaintanceship, and of those, four of them had been... not in their right heads.  One a minor practitioner of Order magics who read palms in Greenwich Village, a chaos magic using brother and sister who'd found themselves at odds, and an Order user who kept a magical library whom she'd had to prevent from destroying his own books.  She'd been able to help them fight off the influence, briefly, but had been forced to subdue them for the time.

And even Terrance Thirteen had been calling, sayings that instances of psychotic breaks seemed to have been up, with people blaming rubbish magic.

Neither of her... charges, so to speak, were necessarily fitting of the pattern, but magic always seemed to attract magic wherever it was.  She would feel safer with Mina and Salome where she could keep an eye on them.

The first leg of her journey first brought her to Mina's doorstep, where she knocked.

greatest_zatara:

"So how have the practice tips I gave you been working out?" Zach asks his new assistant and pupil, scooping some toppings onto his cup of frozen yogurt. He'd decided to surprise her with treating her to Sixteen Handles.

sparkofmagic:

The show had gone down without a hitch and she had been left to her own devices. So she was taking in the sights and sounds of the city. The air was chilly due to it being December but not as cold as she was used to so she was happy with that.

She did though pick up on something that had her wandering down to an out of the way market district. She bought a coffee from a vender and took a seat. Then blinked as she noticed the same things playing out again and again. It was weird because some people were able to leave the area others though just couldn't. They would find themselves drawn back and repeat everything over and over again.

This is just weird she wonders what's causing it. Slowly she gets up and starts to navigate around looking for some kind of clue as to what is causing this weird loop.

dc_holiday:

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues." - Cicero

In America today is a day for being thankful for the things in people's lives. Today was a day to celebrate family, friends, prosperity and health with food, family and friends. It is a time to reflect on what is important us and to recognize the gratitude we hold for having those things in our lives.

sparkofmagic:

Here it is Mina's day off from classes. She's reading over her graded paper when she notices the pile of bills for this month. So opens them all up one by one then just winces. She lost her last job recently because of being held captive by that cult and how jumpy she had been for days following that.


"Oh my god this is insane," Mina groans when she starts trying to total what she has in her account with what she owes.

If she pays it all off she'll only have three buck and some change left to her name by the ed of the month. If she still had her old job she would be getting a paycheck next week. Mina just groans and buries her face in her arms.