Dr. Wallace Ornsworth was just about to go home when he received an emergency call from Agent Arthur Wallace of the DSA. The agent was practically hysterical as he rambled about werewolf, girl, and girl bitten by werewolf. Wallace has seen many cases of paranormal phenomena affecting people in one way or another. He’s seen people be infected and turned into weres. He’s seen boys change into girls, and girls change into boys. He’s once seen an Exemplar get a weird kind of magic disease that turned him into a tree person. Wallace has seen a lot. He understood a lot. There were laws and such that govern even the craziest of paranormal phenomena.
So when Dr. Ornsworth heard about a patient being bitten by a werewolf, he was expecting for Agent Wallace to be a corpse, or at least become a were himself. Instead when the good agent arrived, he held the body of a teenage girl who definitely didn’t look like she was going through transformation to become a were. Wallace touched the girl and she was scorching hot, “Holy shit, Agent, why didn’t you mention she’s going through burnout?” Agent Wallace softly inserted the girl onto the hospital bed Wallace’s nurses brought out, and the nurses rushed her inside as Ornsworth and Wallace followed, “Take her to cryo swiftly before she vaporizes!”
“She sounded fine on the phone. Told me she fought and won against a werewolf.” The agent’s voice was overwhelmed with emotion. Wallace has spent some time with the Agent here and there. At least when he was operating in Chicago. Agent Wallace has always been a very professional and even stoic individual. Wallace has never known Author to be so hysterical and out of his depth. Is this really the same agent who fought against mages, vampires, MSB, H1, and other powerful foes?
The nurses rolled into the chamber at a hasty yet stable pace. The nurses cut off her clothes, threw on a hospital gown, picked her up, and slowly plopped her into the chamber. Wallace poked a good sedative into her. The chamber filled itself with water and slowly cooled itself into a temperature that would give a baseline human hypothermia in seconds.
All while the Agent had a terrified look about him. Wallace sighed, and practically shoved him into a chair. “Compose yourself, agent. She’ll be fine now that she’s in a cryochamber.” Wallace offered something to calm down the agent. Of course, if the burnout gets any worse, cryo won’t do much for charred insides. Of course, Wallace would never say that, its terrible bedside manners, “Tell me everything you know, please.”
Agent Wallace took a deep breath and took a very worried glance at the cryochamber. “I don’t know what exactly happened. I only know that I received a call from Ophelia, and she told me that she beat up a werewolf who was apparently trying to kill her.” Wallace assumed Ophelia is the girl in the cryochamber, “When I got to her, she was looking worse for wear and had a slight fever but nothing like a burnout. I only really noticed how scorching hot she was when I placed her on the hospital bed.”
Wallace raised an eyebrow. Most burnouts happen when a meta over uses their powers. At least most, in some cases accidents happened as the case of Tisiphone. A girl who fought against an internal density warper named Phase, and got burnouted into a severe case of GSD from Phase’s powers. “Did Ophelia mention whether or not she was scratched or bitten?”
Arthur showed his burned hands.
The agent thought for a second, “Yes, she mentioned she got scratched but she’s okay.” Agent Wallace rubbed his eye, “Which is odd because last time I check getting scratched or bitten could cause a serious case of were virus.”
“Maybe this werewolf was holding back?”
Agent Lemins shook his head, “No, Ophelia specifically mentioned the werewolf was trying to kill her.”
“Why was a werewolf trying to kill her?’
“Who knows at this point. I’m just glad Ophelia is safe.”
Wallace had an idea what was going on but it broke every rule he’s ever known about the Lycanthropy. Lycanthropy can be transmitted through scratches and bites of other weres, but it seems like no matter where you’re a meta with a stupidly high regeneration factor or if you were just some baseline human, you can absolutely be infected by the were virus. However, looking at the girl in the cryochamber now, Wallace couldn’t help but think that the girl’s body is going through some kind of defense reaction to being infected by the were virus. As though the girl’s immune system (or something more paranormal) is fighting against such a uncurable virus like a common cold.
Wallace shrugged, there was no way that’s happening, that breaks the rules on how Lycanthropy worked, and it’s unprofessional as a doctor to assume something that can’t happen is happening. “We’ll see soon.” Is what Wallace thought as he went to the cafeteria for coffee, lots of coffee. Tonight, is going to be a very long night for Dr. Wallace Ornsworth.
Bane Cook
Bane Cook watched the ending video again. The mutant and werewolf fought hard with the mutant utterly kicking its ass before she got too arrogant and the werewolf bit her hard on the ankle. She screams, falls down, then burns the poor werewolf alive. Bane has been watching this video all night! He couldn’t believe that werewolves actually existed and that this one tried to kill the mutant. What’s even more amazing is how this tiny little mutie bitch stood up to this gigantic beast like some kind of David and Goliath. Had it been him, he would be dog food for the beast.
Which brought him to an unsettling conclusion. What should he do with the video? He had made several copies, posting on the web, one on his computer, and the original being in the camera. He had been waiting for a chance to see the terrible mutant menace in action but all he got was some kind of weird Hollywood-like film. Following the attack of the mutant after she jumped out the window, running into a forest with the beast stalking her, and them fighting it out in a field of flowers. It’s like some kind of twilight-fic, not like Bane reads those are anything. Now he couldn’t tell if the MSB would take him seriously if we were present the video to them. They would think he’s some kind of filmmaker or something.
He has to try, even if it doesn’t work, he’ll just post it on YouTube and tell everyone the location of where the video was taken. Maybe that’ll stir things up if the MSB decides the video is fake. Bane thought back to the guy he found unconscious and naked in the forest right after filming the fight. He hopes the guy is doing well. He looked homeless and must’ve been freezing to death when Bane found him.
Bane shook his head, “I should go to sleep.” He told himself. He’s been up so late and he needed to be early at the local MSB office tomorrow. Bane thought for a moment, he didn’t actually know where the local MSB office was. He took a moment to google it, it’s in some place called Hookreach. Huh, an odd place to put an MSB office. Bane shrugged and flopped on his bed as the exhaustion of experiencing such an intense fight caught up with him.
The next day, Bane was wide awake, ready, and out the door by seven o’clock. He made a thirty-minute drive to Hookreach, which made easier when he jammed ‘Sparks Fly’ by Taylor Swift. Such a good song, even though it was a big girly for Bane’s taste.
When he came to the MSB office, Bane got a little anxious. The MSB are his heroes including the H1 of course too. Fighting the mutant menace, and protecting the people. He’s heard all kinds of nasty stuff about the MSB but he doesn’t believe it. The MSB would never ‘disappear’ a mutant even if said mutant deserved it. They’re professionals who are trained for protecting people. That’s what they do.
Bane went in and to the receptionist at the desk, “Uh hi.”
She was a very frumpy woman with her hair tied up a neat bun, “How may I help you?”
“I’d like to put in a report for a mutant and werewolf fight.”
The frumpy woman gave a very confused look, “A mutant and werewolf fight?”
“Ye-yeah, I uh videoed it if you want to see?”
She sighed, rubbed the sides of her head, and handed him a sheet of information, “Make your report, and I’ll get one the agents down here to take your testimony.”
Bane nodded, “Yes ma’am.” Before taking a seat and began filling out the report.
Bane got half way through his report before he saw a big, chubby man in a polo, black slacks, and a belt with a handgun in it, “Are you the kid who is reporting a mutant and werewolf fight?”
Bane sat stiff, “Yes sir, that’s me.”
“Do you have any evidence to make that claim?” Bane nodded before taking out his camera and showing the agent the video. The agent had many expressions on his face especially as the video ended, “Did you edit this, son?”
“No, sir.”
“Have you made any copies?”
“No, sir.” Bane lied but that didn’t matter much.
A smile came across the agent’s chubby face, “Good. Kid, what’s your name?” holding out his hand for a handshake.
“I’m Bane Cook, sir.” Bane shook the agent’s hand.
“Hello Bane Cook. I’m Agent Leeroy Jenkins. I know we’ll get along well. Now, come to the interview room and tell me EVERYTHING.”
Julia Walnut
Julia Walnut was in quite a bit of a pickle. She had just come back from a night of partying and fell asleep on the couch with a cute girl in her arms. When she woke up, she noticed that something was wrong, very wrong. For one, she remembered she didn’t see Ophelia, who is a known night owl, last night. Ophelia seemed exhausted from the past few days, and Julia thought she’d see her when she got home. She didn’t think about it hard then, but when she went into Ophy’s room there was something terribly wrong. Her window was broken, her sheets were chewed up, there was blood on the ground, and a clear break in the door along with it being off it’s hinges.
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Julia looked around the house to notice that her bedroom window was broken. She noticed that there were fur here and there. It was clearly fur too due to the clumps of it. Whatever attacked her was big, furry, and had fangs. She knew it was big because the damn thing climbed up the two-story house just to break open Ophy’s window and jump right in. She knew it was furry because the sharp pieces were had cut patches of hair that did not look human. She knew the thing had fangs and probably claws due to the very chewed up blankets and bedsheets, and the claw scratches here and there. Julia couldn’t imagine that some wild bear attacked Ophelia. No, that’s too silly.
Julia sighed, she hated the tension and worry it gave her that Ophelia wasn’t there, and there was blood and broken bits everywhere. Julia went downstairs to wake up the girl she invited over last night, and found a note on the kitchen table. It read:
Dear Julia, if you find this, I am okay. Got into a scuffle with a werewolf, kicked his ass, and now with Agent Wallace. Sorry if I worried you, but I’m really okay, I think. –Love, Ophelia.
P.S. I’m starting to feel not okay, but I think it’s just the exhaustion of being in a fight.
P.S.S I just puked, so maybe sick from the exhaustion and the fight.
For some reason, Julia was way way more worried about the tiny waif-looking girl than before reading the note. Julia was dialing her phone and many times it went to voice message before a very exhausted sounding man as he yawned, “Agent Arthur-”
Julia’s heart was racing with her adrenaline running high, “WHERE IS OPHELIA?!” Is what she cried.
The man on the other side was shook out of his exhaustion for the moment with the ear-piercing half-screech half-cry, “Bloody hell, keep the volume low. I just woke up.” He rasped with a morning growl.
A pang of guilt bounced around Julia’s body as she gave a sheepish, “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m Agent Arthur Wallace of the DSA. Who is this?” His morning gravel commanded.
Julia recognized the name, it was Agent Handsome McSexy, “Julia Walnut, Ophelia’s friend and current housemate.”
“Ah, you’re her flatmate?”
“Yeah, for the moment. What happened to Ophelia?”
The agent took a while to come up with an answer that made sense and seemed reasonable, but he just couldn’t. How do you explain to someone that their friend is going through an odd form of burnout, and has yet to turn into a blood raging were yet? Instead, the poor agent asked, “If I tell you, do you think you could believe me?”
“Agent, I went to Chalice Academy for four years of my life. I think I can take whatever you dish at me.”
“Ah yes, you Chalice Academy Alumni are quite open minded even when things don’t make any fookin’ sense.” The agent cleared his throat, “Ophelia went through some weird form of burnout.”
Julia’s gasp was audible, “I don’t know enough about burnouts. I do know they only happen when powers are overused.”
“Yes, well, we’re not all that sure. Even the specialists aren’t all that sure, but it seems that Ophelia’s body is fighting off Lycanthropy with some kind of super fever.” There was a staticky sigh through Julia’s end, “At least that’s the current theory with what’s going on, and why she isn’t a raging were, tearing people’s throats out.”
The emerald eyed young woman couldn’t exactly comprehend what she heard and decided it’s better to file it away for future processing, “Where is Ophelia now?”
“In a cryochamber and sedated. The doctors don’t exactly know when she’ll wake up only that it’ll be soon.”
Julia nodded at the answer and tugged at her blondish hair, “I’ll be there very soon.” She stated.
“No need, Ophelia’s mother is already here. Just stay and try to relax the best you can. I’ll contact you when Ophelia wakes up.”
Julia tried to suppressed her anger and decided that maybe not screaming in the exhausted agent’s ears were a good thing. After all, this is the same agent who Ophelia is smitten with and it seemed like he is competent enough. At least comparatively. Julia sighed before saying, “Can you at least tell me the name of the hospital and your phone number?”
The agent gave both. Apparently the waify vampire-looking version of Buffy was in some hospital in Illinois called St. Cross Hospital. Which is if the story is true, then how in the hell did Ophelia survive a burnout-like event all the way to the hospital? Let’s not even begin on the fact she’s not currently ripping and tearing through the hospital right now like some furry version of Doom Slayer. Not even mentioning the fact that the tiny waif girl with skinny ass everything (who if you didn’t know any better, you’d think she’d have anorexia or some kind of eating disorder) winning against a werewolf who probably was not just taller but bigger and faster than her too. Why was the werewolf even attacking her in the first place? What in the world did Ophelia do in the past few days that pissed off the were? Hasn’t Ophy only gotten her weird ass powers a few days ago from her supposed ancestor?
Julia’s head was softly banging against a wall trying to process and comprehend everything she just heard when the doorbell rang. Julia made a growl of a sigh as she shuffled herself to the door. When she opened it, she was greeting by a very round man who looked like he ate his own weight in food every day.
He practically shoved his ID in Julia’s face as he arrogantly claimed, “Agent Leeroy Jenkins of the MSB.”
Julia could feel a migraine coming in just from the sight of this stupid little round man pretending to be all important.
Julia plastered a grin on her fast as she burst into a southern belle accent, “Thank goodness that you’re here, dear agent. I was just about to call you!” She somehow produced tears in her eyes as she ushered the agent in, “Oh dear agent, there has been a break in and now my roommate is missing!”
The agent gave her a brow, “Why didn’t you call us sooner?”
“Well, I only just found it. You see, dear agent, I was comin’ back from a party and fell asleep on the couch.” Julia gestured to the couch who still had Stella half naked on it, sleeping, “Don’t wake her up please.”
The agent nodded and leered at the half naked girl peacefully sleeping like an innocent angel. Julia quickly tucked her last night lover in, and glared at the now embarrassed agent. Jenkins cleared his throat, “So uh, where’s the damage?” The agent already knew from watching the video but it seemed that the mutant’s housemate didn’t know about her being a mutant. Unless she’s lying. Agent Jenkins felt a twinge of gut feeling that this is all an act, but decided to keep that to himself.
“I am so sorry, dear agent, I have yet to introduce myself. I am Julia Walnut. Pleasure to meet you.” Julia curtsied as she didn’t make exact eye contact with the agent. Last thing the emerald eyed girl who eyes could literally glow sometimes was for an MSB agent to take notice. Julia gestured, “Come, the damage is upstairs, dear agent.”
The agent inspected the damage. Whatever made the werewolf attack the mutie, surely wanted to assassinate her quickly (good riddance). Only it seemed like the mutant was a whole lot quicker than the werewolf anticipated, but not quick enough as the there was blood on the floor. He couldn’t tell exactly whether or not it was the mutant’s blood, but it does seem like she was getting out of dodge. Especially since she jumped out of the window which should’ve hurt her severely. Actually, there was enough blood that the werewolf claw should’ve killed the mutie. That told the agent the mutie had a regeneration factor of some kind.
Leeroy rubbed his beard as he spoke to Julia, “Did you know that your housemate is a mutant?”
Julia felt the ties of nervousness wrap around her as she spoke, “Heavens no, dear agent, she seemed like a normal girl with odd features but everyone is a little odd.”
Leeroy knew that was a lie, “Did you know that your housemate attacked a baseline and sucked his blood?”
A flashback of a crude man unzipping his pants appeared in her mind. Julia shuttered slightly, “No, sir, sweet Ophy is a quiet one. She needed a place to stay and she saved me a while ago so I obliged.” A much warmer memory of the waif-like girl punching a man in the face filled her heart with relief. Ophelia was a knight in shining armor who saved her from the terrible man. Now if only Ophy wasn’t such straighty.
“Saved you from what?”
A bright, genuine smile curved Julia’s mouth, “A terrible fate of losing one’s… dignity.” Looking away trying to keep the complicated feelings at bay. Julia’s heart will always be for Ophelia whether she’s straight or not.
“What is your housemate’s name?”
Julia remembered Carmilla, Ophelia’s ancestor, she had read the book when she was at Chalice, “Ophelia Karnstein.” The emerald eyed girl didn’t lie as she couldn’t remember what Ophelia’s last name was, so it’s better to give another last name to smooth things over with the MSB.
Agent Jenkins had just remembered that Julia Walnut is the Dean’s daughter. He remembered meeting the man when they were investigating the unsolved massacre. Quite a… difficult man. Leeroy found the mutie-lover absolutely fucking irritating to deal with. It was clear that the dean didn’t want MSB on his premises. Leeroy had a gut feeling that Julia and maybe that friend sleeping on the couch were mutants. But there was no proof of that unless they had MIDs. He could demand for them but it wouldn’t do a good idea since they were still investigating the massacre. The dean would be more irritating than before. Even if they were mutants, he knew they weren’t even there at the time of the attack. He got the sick feeling that Bane kid lied to him about having only one copy.
Leeroy wouldn’t blame him, but he didn’t want to take the chance. “Please, grab your stuff and vacate the premises. This place is under MSB and Sheriff’s department jurisdiction.”
The girl nodded and went downstairs as did Leeroy. Julia gave the sleeping beauty a push before her eyes blinked open, “Julia, who’s that man?”
Leeroy pulled out his credentials, “Agent Lee-” He didn’t even get to the ‘roy’ in his name before all hell broke loose. Stella shrieked as she flew up and blew through a wall at a speed too fast to grab her. Agent Jenkins had been in the army briefly before he joined the MSB, so his first response was to pull out his handgun and start loading the fucking mutie with lead. Which failed because she was bullet proof.
“Shit!” Leeroy cursed and pressed his emergency back-up button that’ll alert a dropship. It’ll be here soon but not soon enough. Leeroy tried to reload but the room was too bright of a green that burned his eyes and there was a major pain that knocked him against the wall then bounced to the floor and to the dark green he went unconscious.
Julia was breathing heavy after flashbanging the MSB agent with her powers and kicking him right in the jaw. She wasn’t expecting this. Every mutant and powered individual had plenty of trouble with the MSB but Julia has never seen this level of terrified before. Poor Stella had some kind of bad reaction to meeting the MSB agent and the agent didn’t have enough fire discipline to fucking keep from unloading all his rounds into the now crying and screaming beautiful brick girl. Julia knew she had PTSD but fuck is Stella not okay. Not okay in the least bit.
Julia went to work throwing everything useful she could in a duffle bag. She tied and gagged the MSB agent with zip ties, ductape, and a tennis ball. She then went to work on Stella who’s in midair fetal position giving a constant, quiet scream. Julia somehow calmed her down enough to get her moving again. Stella is a sweet soul but poor girl needs a really good therapist.
After explaining to Stella the situation. Stella freaked out a lot more and kept begging to not be put back in the room, and that it wasn’t her fault that she accidently broke the vase. Whatever that meant. Julia had to do more comforting or at least tell her that they’re flying to the Indigo Lives Matter hang out. Stella comprehended that as Julia piggy backed the tired girl for a ride as Julia made a phone call. The phone picked up, “This is Agent-”
“Yes yes, I know, Agent Arthur Wallace. It’s me, Julia Walnut. I really need your help right now.”
There was a very concerned tone as he asked, “What happened?”
“Well a MSB agent came by and when my friend, Stella, saw him and freaked out. The oh-so-professional agent decided to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Arthur’s muscles became tense from stress as an eye twitched which he can only be sure that the twitching eye was also from stress. Why doesn’t anything ever work in his favor? “Is this Stella okay?”
“She’s mostly okay, quiet, but moving. We’re currently flying to a safehouse.”
“Tell me more when you get there, okay? And don’t move. I’ll call in for more agents to retrieve you and your friend.”
“I’ll try not to make a mess of things.”
“Please do. I’ll let you know the names of the agents along with their faces soon. Until then, don’t get caught.”
Julia grinned, “Don’t worry, I never get caught.”