Sandra was just as speechless as her brother, they looked like fish out of water. It was another few minutes yet before they could format any words "But...but...how?" Lionel finally managed to say weakly in response to the awesome display of powerful he just witnessed. 

"How what?" I said trying to get a clearer idea of just what befuddled them so and left them so shocked.

"Everything! What you just did was in clear violation of the natural laws of the world!" Sandra answered in place of her brother as she finally parsed through the casual defiance of her worldview. "How in the world did you manage to do that!" She said in an accusing manner at me and Josephine as we looked at each other not in suspicion but in roguish camaraderie for once. 

"Well, what you're asking for is an answer that would require degrees in fields that no here had ever even heard of but if you want an answer that will inevitably be filled with errors somewhere, then buckle up!" 

After seeing that I had secured their attention with my theatrics, I paused for affect before continuing with "Allow me to start off with saying that we all know that while gods have enormous power, they can only utilize that power in specific circumstances in their respective field of governance. Like how while Zeus wields great power, you don't exactly see him killing off nonbelievers everyday since the more power a god has the more restricted he is. That's why even though Zeus is more than strong enough to win wars on his own, he still requires mortal champions since he can't really use his power on his own. In fact in the case of God, some theologians believe that he has grown so powerful that he can't even exist in our universe for fear of creating a giant black hole that'll engulf everything!" I said that last part with macabre cheer.

Ignoring their shock, I continued and said "So a common way for gods to utilize their powers is through mortal champions, Demigods, and by having zealots summon them through. The last part isn't really a good idea since the journey from the Divine Dimension to the Mundane wreaks havoc on their sanity and we usually end up with a very powerful, very insane entity running around," This is why we really don't have a problem with cults since the citizens usually kill them on sight before they could do anything.

I checked to see if they lost track yet but after seeing they could still follow what I said, I continue speaking "The Demigods are a lot stronger than mortal champions but the only reason they can even exist in our world is by running on a sliver of their god's strength and so they have a quick expiration date. This is why mortal champions are almost exclusively used by gods to influence the world; cheap, generally sane, and able to call upon their god's power every so often,"

"So what you two just did was channel your respective gods' power?" Lionel asked uncertainly.

"That's the gist of it," I said in agreement and I was pleased that Lionel managed to follow all of that metaphysical confusion.

"But you said every so often, does that mean that there's a cool down on how long you can use it?" Sandra asked in concern that I may have wasted the one thing that could have gotten us out of a tight situation.

"Yes to that as well but for most people it takes time to process and use the power, so me and Josephine hardly ever call upon our deities unless we're really screwed and that's the only thing left to try. In my opinion, if things ever got that bad then I'm pretty certain that I wouldn't have time to use it before whatever monstrosity kills me," Josephine explained with dark humor.

I added on with "The only people that could use their abilities on a moment's notice are innately talented people and they tend to get killed off by rival gods so centuries can go by before one managed to pick a god to side with. That's why some champions can't even use their god's power since the less talented you are, the longer you live,"

"So you two are pretty rare, huh," Sandra said in admiration. Whether for the fact that we managed to live or that we could summon down destruction of Biblical proportions, I didn't know.

"Like a two-headed snake," Josephine answered while absentmindedly playing with her razor by flipping the blade around.

After I explained all of this I gave them time to fully process all of this. After some time an awkward silence grew between us, so I filled in the gap with a cough and said "Well, now that I've brought you to your sister, I expect to be paid,"

"Of course!" Lionel said happily as I reminded him about why I agreed to rescue his sister in the first place.

"Just drop off the money at The Nosferatu Hospital and tell Jason to hold onto it until I can come back to get the money. And now if don't mind, I need to ask you for a favor."

With a wide, genuine smile Lionel said to me "I would be honored,"

Bluntly and cutting straight to it, I said "I need to get to Earth. Do you mind if I join you as you two return?"

Chuckling, Lionel said "I was about to ask you to escort us back home anyways. While I haven't been here for long, I know better than to assume that our return trip will be peaceful,"

"Good to see that Avalon at least taught you to have a respectful fear of things," I said as we smiled at each other as we remembered how we bonded over our mishaps.

"Indeed it has, indeed it has," Lionel said in happy agreement as he recalled all the things that had occurred in a few short hours.

"I don't mean to interrupt you two's bromance but I think if Avalon is as dangerous as you two say it is, then I think he should get going," Sandra interrupted us with an acidic voice as she grew tired of our conversation.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I was about to say something but I once was again interrupted by someone else, this time it was Josephine. "While I'm glad to see you are all getting along, I need to get back to the Church and report what has happened here today," She said that dryly and sauntered away. I knew that she was going to tell them about the void. I just hoped I wouldn't get too screwed.

I said crisply "So where are we going, Lionel?" 

"Well, how I got here was that hired a wizard to gate me into Avalon and he told me that when I was ready to return, that I should just go back to the spot that I came through," 

I sighed and said "And where is that precisely?" 

"It's in Percival district. Next to The Obsidian Tower," He explained to me.

Fun fact about The Obsidian Tower, one day it just appeared out of nowhere and nobody could even figure out what the black material it was made of was. It could've been anything from intergalactic debris to an alien hive waiting to catch us off-guard and to turn us all to mindless drones. Well, if it was the latter then it'll be waiting for eons.

We walked quickly and with purpose to the gate that we entered through. We expected to be greeted by a battalion of angry mages but the only thing in the wrecked room was the bodies that were to starting to turn into unpleasant colors. I wonder how long it'll be before Club Rain will hunt me down and kill me. I shrugged my shoulders since if they did, it'll hardly make a difference since from day one I have always had people looking to make a dollar off of my name; it was becoming more of a nuisance, like a mosquito that kept buzzing around, then an actual threat.

Sandra almost vomited as she saw the bodies but managed to hold it in as we walked up the stairs. Me and Lionel shared a smile as we saw the very expensive golems that we reduced into so much rubble. We walked out of there with heads held high until we saw the mob of angry mages waiting for us outside. 

"Duck!" I shouted frantically as I pulled Lionel and Sandra down to the pavement. Bursts of arcane energy raced above us and reduced the concrete behind us into dust. I heard a loud groaning moan behind us and I quickly stood back up. I pulled Lionel and Sandra out of the way of the collapsing building behind us. And not a moment too soon as the rubble rushed forward as a wave and buried where we would've been with tons of steel and stone. 

But that wasn't the end, the enchantments woven into the building recognized the magical assault and let loose its own barrage; green arrows, blue flames, and yellow lightning bolts raced out everywhere like a bomb. One of the lighting bolts clipped my back as I ran and bloody ruin did it hurt. I cried out and fell to the floor as the tattoos on my back did their best to dissipate the energy. That probably was the only thing that managed to save my life.

At least I wasn't the only one that got hit by the defenses; the mages that shot at us got a face full of magic and carved a satisfying large swath of bodies. 

"Hah! Take that you jackasses!" I slurred out drunkly from the pain.

"We probably shouldn't be drawing undue attention from the group of very angry wizards, Jack," Lionel hissed at me as he pulled me back down to save me from the ice bolt that soared past just where my head was.

"Good point. Those guys are probably the foot troopers that The Don hired. Nothing but expendable bodies," I said as thoughts coalesced in my mind to form a rather devious plan. 

I stood up, grabbed Sandra and Lionel's hands, and ran like the Devil was on my heels. 

Now, you might be thinking "But that's not very heroic!" Well, I'm not a hero. I'm just a man trying to live another day and right now, running away sounded fantastic. We left a horde of wizards chasing us and occasionally letting loose a few fire bolts our way. 

I ran and ran and ran. I ran until I found a series of back alleys. I yanked them into it and tried to lose them until I could get back to my apartment. If I could just get some supplies from my apartment then I'll be more confident about facing off my pursuers. 

My heart felt like it was about to violently explode when I finally got to my apartment door. I dropped my keys five times before I finally got the door unlocked. 

"Bloody ruin! How the Hell did he manage to get that many men after us?!" I said with gasping breathes as I collapsed against a wall in my kitchen.

"I've got to say, Jack. You've sure got a knack for making people have very strong opinions about you," Lionel quipped at me opposite of me as he clutched at his chest and tried to not die.

Breathlessly, Sandra choked out at me "Now what are we going to do? I'm pretty certain that they'll find us eventually and then we'll be fucked harder than Kim Kardashian," 

I liked her way of thinking and wolfishly laughed in a way that was more like a howl. I tried to stand up but my feet refused to move.

"Here, let me help," Lionel said as he grabbed me and helped me up.

"Thanks," I mumbled in reply as I went into my bedroom. Sandra and Lionel followed me in to watch as I went into my closet and tried to find what I was looking for.

"Where is it? It was just here last week...I know I didn't lose it," I fumbled around in my closet before I finally found it.

"Ah! There it is!" I turned around and faced them with a loaded rocket launcher in my hands. I loved the look on their faces when they saw it. 

"Now! If they try to come here and kill us, they'll have a nasty surprise!" I beamed at them like a lunatic and walked to the window to wait for them to come here.