Sweet humiliation

I've reluctantly contacted Mason and Trauma to enlist their help in solving this string of murders the LAPD dumped in my lap. I'm not sure either is willing to ... oh, how to put this ... "bend" the law in the ways that the LAPD wants it bent in order to solve these cases.

We'll see. The litmus test will be breaking into the morgue and getting a better look at the victims.

Thus far theories and ideas are few and far between. They all seem to have been young women, decent jobs, upwardly mobile, and with no discernible relationship between them. All seemed to have been killed in the same manner, and that manner suggests the possibility of cult involvement - as does the fact that they all seemed to have rather drastically changed in appearance before (after?) their untimely demise.

Oh! Farmer Jack's is running a special on imports. Must stock up.

We had an official Yellow Alert meeting to bring everyone up to speed and decide who would work on what. We still have unfinished business with Endicott and his bunch (business I look forward to finishing, if you catch my drift). We're still looking into this whole vampire/mob/our secret IDs business (which I suppose is a high priority, but somehow I'm just not terribly worried about it. I should be. Why am I not?). We've also got these poor dead girls, which is going to be my priority.

During the meeting, we got a visitor - a new applicant to the team. Someone named Superbatfoxmanguy. I was asked to put him through the paces in the training room. I did. He then pulled a gun on me. Perhaps I should have made the parameters more clear? Hand to hand? I hate Foxbat. I hate him so much. This is what I get when I try to not harm someone. Next time I won't play nice. I'll use him as a damned caber.

As it turns out, most of the team expected me to break him into a million pieces. Sometimes I find my 'friends' are less predictable than Foxbat...err, Superbatfoxmanguy.

Also, Legion showed up. Did I mention Legion showed up? Legion showed up. I'm sure a long story is forthcoming. I'll need more Belhaven. Ahh yes! Farmer Jack's! Have to finish this up. Getting thirsty.

Yet another intrusion occurred during our meeting - Jeremiah Gabriel and some monk lookin' bloke showed up and started spewing a bunch of gibberish that I'm fairly certain didn't apply to me. That is, didn't apply to me before the zombies showed up through a portal looking for whatever it was that they were protecting for the Pope.

Here again I must question the tactics of the team. They get so wrapped up in taking down the big bad guys in the room they forget about the little guys - the little guys that end up nickel and dime-ing them right into unconsciousness.

Not me. I had me a go at some zombies, and I took out more than my share. After clearing my side of the room, I started in on some of the bigger looking guys in the corner, but Vanguard suggested I would be of more use out in the base aiding Gabriel and Mason. (And Legion, I guess. He was as sleepy as Mason when I arrived.)

I quickly dispatched some goons and a scary looking voodoo priestess. Gabriel took the chance to shoot her dead, but I was forced to intervene when she said, "If I die, your friend dies."

I don't know if she was referring to Mason or Legion, but since Mason is immediately important to me for my LAPD gig, I was forced to talk him out of killing the villain. I've gone soft. Too soft. It doesn't seem like so long ago that I would have been yanking the gun out of his hand to do it myself.

He insisted there were witches to kill, and that I needed to not get in his way. Maybe even back him up. I agreed. I felt a little better about it.

Of course, the rest of the team objected to his witch killing (predictability returns!). There was some moralizing about right and wrong and good and bad and blah blah blah. I just kept my mouth shut. The fight was won. As far as I know, we still have... well, whatever it is we still have. Thanks to Gabriel for putting us all is such danger without so much as a warning.

I'm thirsty. I'm off to the store. I'll write more when I get a chance.