this_fire_burns:

Matt Walker's office is in the upstairs portion of a two-story building near Chicago's South Side, which isn't in the best repair. Still, he calls this place his home away from home and the place where the work he does to finance his /real/ job is done.

He gets inside and takes off his duster, draping it over the back of the chair before sitting down heavily. Still no word on Austin Caine, still no leads, and Matt was reasonably sure that whatever those cultist had summoned was going to make its move soon. He considered calling Ian for advice, or Doctor Strange, but decided he wouldn't. He had to help put this together and then stop it.

He picked up the phone and called the rest of the team, asking them to come to his office.
 

nextgen_misc:

 

( Read if you dare )

blackmagicwoman:

Shelly couldn't exactly tell Matt that she was still having some residual issues from being bitten by Dracula.  This was something that she knew with complete certainty because if Matt knew he was likely to try something incredibly stupid which would ultimately be worse than what she was dealing with.  She chatted minimally with a friend at the hospital about it and he suggested it was a mild case of PTSD, but Shelly rather knew better.  Dracula's bites were strange things and often had to have magic or occult intervention.  That is what lead Shelly to Wick and Wonder, a small occult-type shop a block or two from Matt's.  That and the pressing need for more candles to use in her healing rituals for private clients.

It may also have been an excuse to take Whisper a cheeseburger.

blackmagicwoman:

Shelly was reasonably certain Matt didn't do Valentine's Day.  He didn't seem the type and while that was a bit of a downer it didn't mean that she wasn't going to somehow get to spend the evening with him.  To that end she had casually invited him out for some food and then a movie, careful to make absolutely no mention of Valentine's Day in conjunction with things.  She'd already put her big foot in her mouth with talking about feelings and that sort of thing so screwing up and acting like Valentine's Day was important was something the good doctor was trying to avoid.

...she bought herself a box of chocolates and stashed it in her desk drawer in anticipation of the day being ignored anyway.  Nothing to see here, move along.

So instead of Valentine's Day, Shelly had made plans to meet up with Matt at Emperess, the Chinese place around the corner from his place.  She did, however, dress up a little for the occasion.  When else would she get a chance to wear her killer zebra heels?

ng_independent:

He walks into Chicago General Hospital in a sharp gray suit custom-tailored to his six-foot-four inch frame, looking as though he'd stepped straight off the pages of GQ Magazine and into real life. Both male and female heads turn as he walks in off the street, making his way straight to Nurses' Station. He flashes a pristine smile at the nurse on duty, who happens to be sipping a cup of coffee when he arrives.

Her coffee ends up all over her and her keyboard, and she leaps out of her chair, though she doesn't immediatley bother to clean herself, or her workstation, up.

"M-may I help you, sir?" the nurse asks haltingly.

"Yes, you can." he says, his voice a mixture of smoke, silk and honey. Again, he flashes that pristine smile. "I'm hoping to see Doctor Shelly Drumm. Is she in today?" 

"Um, I think she'll be back in her office shortly." the nurse says.

"I know where it is." he says. "I'll wait."

With that, he walks away from the Nurses' Station and heads toward the elevator, pretending not to notice when one of the candy-stripers runs her cart of meds headlong into a pillar because she's so distracted.

Soon enough, Anvarael waits inside Shelly's office, looking around at her various personal items. Plaques, pictures and certificates adorn the walls and he finds himself once again enthralled with humanity. They are such beautiful creatures, even if they /are/ trying their level best to kill themselves in this century.

It's always hardest to save those who will not save themselves.
 

nextgen_holiday:

Christmas. Yule. Saturnalia. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Many cultures have celebrated and still celebrate a winter festival. There have been many names for it over the millennia. No matter the name it is a time to come together and celebrate with feasts and gifts with friends and loved ones.

Each culture has a legendary figure who would deliver gifts to children during this time. In Russia and some Slavic cultures he is known as Ded Moroz, Grandfather Frost, and comes not on Christmas but on New Year’s along with his granddaughter Snegurochka, or ‘”Snow Maiden”. In the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe he is known as Father Christmas. In the Netherlands and Belgium he is known as Saint Nicholas or “Sinterklaas” and in France he is known as Père Noël. In the United States we know him as Santa Claus.

No matter the name or who is delivering gifts, it is the season of peace, joy and togetherness. It is the season for thinking about loved ones, friends and those less fortunate. It is a time to witness the goodness and generosity the human race is capable of. It is a time for peace on Earth and goodwill toward man.

blackmagicwoman:

*Takes place after the most current plot*

Matt had spent a lot of time at Shelly's place, but she'd never been to his.  She knew where it was but it always just seemed easier for Matt to pop by her place with their mutual weird hours.  Matt also had an uncanny ability to 'just be in the neighborhood' with cheeseburgers from Mac's.  It was nice and made her feel really comfortable.  There hadn't been too many solo nights, but Shelly'd gotten to where she felt good about being alone again.   Dracula's creepy card had set her off, but things had evened backout.

Until the shenanigans with Greg.  That had not only been infuriating because Greg was a friend, but it had also rattled Shelly.  Dracula was screwing with all her friends, it seemed and the more she thought about it, the more the fading scars on her throat seemed to hurt.  Shelly couldn't sleep for the ache, for thinking about it, for getting pissed off and also for being scared.  After restlessly trying to sleep for a few hours she finally gave up, got dressed, and headed down to Matt's.

The irony that she was going to Dracula's son at two in the morning for solace didn't escape her.

nextgen_baddie:

When you lived for centuries, patience and waiting came easy. He had waited and watched the Price boys for awhile before making his move. The Price boys were unique, even for werewolves, and the situation had to be handed delicately.

The Price boys were predictable and it made planning easier for Dracula.

The time to make the first move came when the boys had just returned to Gregory's apartment. Dracula let himself in and surprised the two. They shifted into werewolf form of course, but Dracula used his hypnotic powers on them. Within a few moments the Price boys were under Dracula's control.

Now it was time to use them against these foolish mortals who had dared to interrupt his plans.

"It is time to go," he told the two werewolves.

They both howled.

Dracula would lead them into the streets and to a popular night club. There he unleashed the two werewolves upon the club-goers.

Sirens blared in the night as police responded to the disturbance.

fullmoonfever:

Greg didn't know Shelly that well, so he opted with the tried and true gift. Chocolate and a gift card with three hundred dollars on it. He delivered them to her place and left them along with a card outside of her door when she didn't answer.

blackmagicwoman:

Shelly was curious by nature.  It had gotten her into a ton of trouble as a kid especially when she turned her curiosity on her little brother, Dante.  Jericho had sent them both to pocket dimensions for time out and that should have broken her of her curiousness, but it hadn't.  Instead it taught her to be more stealthy about it which was why when she unleashed the ritual to sniff out Matt's birthday she expected a nice quiet result that she could then take to do gleefully naughty things with.  What she got was far different.

"You have got to be kidding me."  The ritual results ended up telling her the birthdays of everyone she'd been in close proximity to (save for her patients, she had a ward for that.)  Greg, Michelle, and Matt were all Halloween babies.  She actually facepalmed.

"Okay.  Fine.  Three birthdays.  Three cakes.  Then we all go to Mac's."  She'd have to find a more appropriate costume for this since it was going to be more than just Matt, but she could do that.  She could pull it all off.

***

Three hours later, there were three cakes, an assortment of beers, and some light snacks (and some special things for Michelle if she needed them) spread out in the expansive dining area of Shelly's penthouse.  Simultaneously, magical invitations alerted the members of the team to a pre-party at Shelly's.  Now all she had to do was sit back and wait.

brit_sorcerer:

Quinn had been thinking about the leprechaun incident and had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time he saw the little annoy creatures. Quinn's magic hadn't been effective and he had to know what to do the next time they came around. Maybe there was a spell or something that would work against them and their magic.

Quinn had to go to the one person who would know about this kind of stuff.

He teleported to 177A Bleecker Street in New York only to find it empty. He wondered where Dr. Strange was.

There was one person who may know. Quinn teleported out to the West Coast and arrived at the front gate of the Defenders.

fullmoonfever:

Greg had thought about going back to LA for the holiday weekend to see his family, but a gig came up at the last moment and decided that playing music was much better than dealing with family. The gig was Sunday night and on Monday Greg found himself in his favorite club, putting back beers and listening to jazz music. It was his idea of a perfect holiday.

this_fire_burns:

Matt had recovered quickly from the battle at Vitae, though he hadn't spoken to the others since then. He'd been meaning to check on Greg and Michelle, and call Lynch to see how they were all doing, but he'd been sidetracked by his own ailing, meeting a new ally,  Dracula's revelation, and Shelly's injury.

Matt Walker entered Chicago Memorial and, as he'd done for the past four days, gone directly to Shelly Drumm's room to check on her.  The first day, he'd been greeted by a man that looked to be Shelly's father. Jericho Drumm was known in every mystic circle in one fashion or another, as easily as Matt's own mentor, Ian McNee, was. Matt had also been hesitant to call Ian, because he was certain he might blow up at his mentor for not telling him about...

No, there was no time to think about that.

He walks into Shelly's room, expecting to see her still unconscious from the damage done to her by Dracula. How they were going to explain the marks her neck was anyone's guess.

How Matt planned to make Dracula pay for what he'd done wasn't.

blackmagicwoman:

Portals, teleportation spells and ways are useful but when it comes to getting down to a suspicious club in the darker neighborhoods of Chicago, SUV was more efficient.  It would also trigger fewer magical sensors so if Vitae was tuned to such things, arriving by car would give them a few moments advantage over the shadowy figures suspected to be murderers for Dracula.

Shelly couldn't help but think of Charlie Manson as she turned the last corner and parked her SUV in the darkness down the street from the club.  A maniacal leader, brainwashed followers carrying out horrific deeds for master. 

"Okay.  Yeah.  This place gives me the creeps.  Let's go see if we can get in.  The website said it was a private club, right?  Most of those are pretty strict.  There's this place, The Mercury in Seattle...definitely not stranger friendly.  Grab your equipment folks."

Shelly herself took a deep breath and said a few quick prayers to the loa before getting out of the car and heading up to the door.  There was a guard there, pale and creepy looking as all of the rest of the cultists they'd encountered had been but instead of stopping them, the man smiled darkly and opened the door without a word.  In fact no words were exchanged at all, just that creepy smile.

Shelly's blood ran cold.  This...wasn't good.

living_mummy:

Egypt is not all uninhabited desert. Along the Nile, the land is lush. There are large cities, such as Cairo and Alexandria. There is much more to the land than simply yellow sand and pyramids.

This is not one of those places.

The sun is blisteringly hot, pounding down on the sandy earth. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, this pyramid is easy to overlook. It is not especially pursued by archeologists. It is not easily accessible to tourists. It is, in short, an excellent place for someone to hide out. One would practically need the coordinates of the site just to locate it.

Coordinates which are now in the hands of a small group of people investigating an evil cult...

notquiteright:

In a darker area of Chicago, there's an apartment building that has seen better days. It's still livable but doesn't look nice at all. And it has one resident, the man that owns it. Gene Kalso, aka The Breaker. To the untrained eye the building is normal. But to those with the right abilities, the building has some pretty good mystic defenses. There are some security cameras cleverly hidden outside too.

He's in the lobby tonight, watching a TV and eating some pizza. The lobby is pretty nice and fixed up and the casually dressed Gene's got his feet propped up on the desk. A security camera overhead watches the door but Gene knows some of his contacts are coming and bringing him something interesting. Something about a body and a laptop. Gene wasn't paying attention to the phone call. But he's still waiting.

"Man, these Mythbusters losers are just jokes," Gene laughs as he takes a swig of the beer he's got with him.

small_but_tough:

Lynch was celebrating her birthday the same way she usually did, she was going out to a bar to do some drinking. She was going to a local bar within walking distance of where she was living that she had been to a couple times before. It was nice and could get a little bit busy which she liked.

When she got to the bar she order herself a beer and sat down at the bar.

nextgen_misc:

( Cut for occult violence )