F.U.B.A.R. Territory {Shadow Team plot}

[Lt. Commander Katarina Foster]

It seems you're having some trouble
In dealing with these changes
Living with these changes
Oh no, the world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the demon in me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up
Come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up
Come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me


Fair is foul and foul is fair.

Old Shakespeare had certainly gotten that one right. There was a foul feel to this fair night and Kat shifted uneasily from her position behind a huge elm. The hair on the back of her neck was prickling and she felt as if someone had walked over her grave... Twice.

Glancing over her shoulder at the others, the red head frowned and then turned her focus back on the small group amassing on the unsanctified section of the grave yard. There was no doubt in her mind that these were the evil creatures responsible for summoning up the wraith minions but they still hadn't figured out the WHY of the equation. What where these witchs and warlocks after that they would go to the trouble of summoning up spirits who's only purpose was to kill and reek revenge on the world?

In the end though, she guessed it really didn't matter what their motives where. Their job was to put a stop to it and make sure they were never able to cause the death of another innocent again.

That in mind, Kat raised a hand and summoned her first wave. Phoenix, Kalii, Derek and herself would hit the inner magical circle and try to block any magic spells that they spun. Meanwhile, Willow, John, Curse, Jasper and Zeke would take out the outer ring with brute force if possible and destroy the objects of power.

With any luck... Before the sons of bitchs could summon any of their little friends to help out. If any of those things made it to this plane of existence..Well, it was safe to say it wouldn't be a picnic in Graceland. Those things had the ability to rip through human flesh like a lawnmower and Kat was not going to lose any of her team to a whisp of air.

Tapping her ear piece, Kat couldn't help slanting one last look at Lt. Sheppard. His dark hair fell over his face and she wanted so badly to say something to ease the tension between them but had no idea what. Then, suddenly, a sense of unease shot through her stomach as she meet his gaze. Some inner alarm went off and she frowned again, trying to figure out what the hell it was that was triggering it.

Unfortunately, though, she didn't have time to dwell on it. Derek's shift at the corner of her vision told her it was time to move. Pushing aside her concerns for the moment, Kat nodded and then they all were on the move.

Slipping through the shadows, the four in the front managed to get around the guards and almost to the inner circle when holy hell broke out. Four of the witchs and wizards stayed focused while the others whirled around and searched out the threat. Derek hit one with an arcane binding ward that knocked him to the ground while Nix smiled evilly and tapped a line to channel pure ever after magic into a circle around another. Kat, on the other hand, used her supernatural speed and strength to smack another into oblivion.

That left the four witchs in the middle, 6 mundanes and the guards on the outside peremeter. Oh happy happy joy joy.

Not to mention the four witchs in the middle were still casting their summoning spell and things were starting to take shape.

"Welcome to the party, folks!" Kat thought to herself before rushing the two witchs trying to bind her.

[Lt. Kalii Duran]

Yeah, I get it, you're an outcast
Always under attack, always coming in last
Bringing up the past, no one owes you anything
I think you need a shotgun blast, a kick in the ass
So paranoid, watch your back

Oh my, here we go

Another lose cannon gone bi-polar
Slipped down, couldn't get much lower
Quicksand's got no sense of humor
I'm still laughing like hell

Kalii had her game face on, her adrenaline was pumping hard through her veins. Sitting on her haunches, her back against a tree as she waited for the order to move out. Closing her eyes for a moment she took a deep breath to calm herself, trying to keep herself grounded. She always got ramped up on a mission and her skin was prickling with the surge of excitement. If you could call it excitement, but that was a close enough description.

Opening her eyes again she focused on the Commander. Watching, waiting for the signal to move. This was Kalii's first op with the team and she was in the first group, along with Kat. The four of them in that fire team were all gifted in some way. Supernaturally speaking. Kat with her vampire half, Lt. DeVoux, the wolf shifter and the special consultant Phoenix, the Ley line witch they brought in to keep them on par with the witches they were about to come face to face with. Kalii settled herself, ready for whatever came her way.

Kat gave the signal and Kali started to move. Crouching low, her steps light, not making a sound as she moved swiftly with her Slayer stealth and quickness. The shifter changed forms and Kalii new that was a sign that they were close and shit was about to hit the fan.

Kalii could see the witches that were working their mojo with the ritual. There were four of them in the middle with several others surrounding them who broke off and came toward the advancing team. Suddenly the silence of their stealth was broken and the first team launched into action simultaneously. Derek and the witch both tapped into their magic and targeted two of the attackers. Kat moved off using her physical strength to take another one out.

Kalii grinned and focused on another one that was coming toward her fast. She waited until they were close enough to see her face, then she gave them a wink and sent a wave of telekinetic energy toward them and threw them backward. The satisfying crash of the body against a marble gravestone had Kalii smirking to herself. It was on now.

Using her speed, Kalii moved across the cemetery, following Commander Foster. Matching her movements as she weaved around the obstacles in the graveyard. Their opponents were throwing magic all around them. Kalii saw two of them focused on Kat and Kalii rushed forward, leaping through the air and with a flying kick she managed to knock one of them down. Landing deftly on her feet, she spun quickly as it seemed another one of the witches had been coming along behind her. Luckily her reflexes were beyond human and she dived quickly to the side, just avoiding a surge of energy that was thrown at her.

Hitting the ground Kalii rolled and took cover behind a large grave marker. Getting to her feet she crouched and scanned the area for the next threat.

[zeke]

Loaded like a freight train
Flyin' like an aeroplane
Feelin' like a space brain
One more time tonight
Well I'm a west coast struttin'
One bad mother
Got a rattlesnake suitcase
Under my arm
Said I'm a mean machine
Been drinkin' gasoline
And honey you can make my motor hum



Magic.

Waving of the hand, some words in a dead language and then some David Copperfield shit was supposed to happen. Woo-freaking-hoo! He’d stick to swinging the baseball bat on his hands and crushing skulls the old fashioned way.

It was his first mission on this Shadow Team and he was itching for a decent fight. Sparing with that Jazz guy was alright, the guy had some decent moves and was more than he first had thought, but they were still on the same side. No, Zeke wanted someone on whom he could take all the tension off and not hold back anything.

When the commander gave them the signal to move, he knew what his group was supposed to do. Smash anything that moved and give coverage to the ones going against the chanting idiots, it fit him better anyways, going after the grunts like him. They usually made for a better fight and no special effects bullshit.

As soon as the order reached him he was on the move.

There were quite some guards for the robbed idiots, no doubt something big was on, but he would let the others concern themselves with the whys. It was none of his business or neither he cared about it, he was there because some stupid scientist put an explosive on his chest and if he didn’t do what he was told, he would be blown to kingdom come.

“I will handle the guards,” he told the others and moved towards the group of guards as he swung the bat in his hand. He would give the others some cover to do their thing while he called the grunts attention.

“Hey guys, anyone is up for a little game?”

The guards looked between themselves and then charged against him. A swift swipe of the bat and he had the first idiot that got close enough flying a few meters back.

Another swing and a couple more skulls cracked…and the spinning kick had the one running from his back falling to the ground.

But they were too many of them and soon enough they had him surrounded, jumping at his hulking form and pummeling him down in a team effort and turning him into a punching bag.

First strike.

Zeke felt his heart racing faster.

Second strike.

The punches had him slowing down and falling to his knees.

Third strike.

Some idiot kicked him in his face.
Now he was really mad.

With a roar and the sudden strength that filled his muscles, he pushed them all back with a single move. About seven guards fell to the dust.

Reaching forward, he grabbed the closest guard, forget about the freaking bat, that guy would do. And he was a very handy stick to swing around and smash the others in the head.

[John Sheppard]

Welcome to a trip
Into my hurt feelings
To the centre of my soul
You better bring a light
To find the house of meanings
In the labyrinth of yes or no
For you, life is just like chess
If you don't make a move
You'll lose the game like this
'Cause you, you're walking on the edge



He could still feel one sharp sting on his ribs. Well toughen up soldier because it was play time with the magical kids.

His eyes caught Kat looking in his direction and one could cut the tension between them with a knife. John hadn’t said a word since that day on the gym and it wasn’t just his ego that had taken a beat down that day. It wasn’t exactly about being taken down and getting his ass kicked by a girl – remember she had super strength and speed? – but it was about her stubbornness and love for the rules.

What the hell he was expecting her to do after he kissed her anyways? Kiss him back and some crazy monkey sex? Hell yeah, but apparently he was the only one of the pair who’s interest was bigger than any stupid rule and what if.

Get your head on the mission soldier.

He would look for a filled bottle and warm female body to distract his mind after this mission was over to drown his sorrow. And maybe in the morning tell Hawk to go find another explosions expert for the team because he was out of there.

Ok, it was go time and he was up.

Ezekiel was out playing Babe Ruth with style, damn he’d hate to get on the dude’s bad side.

Magic against bullets, he was going to see which one worked better.

Spinning the dual pistols in his hands he played the part of the gunslinger cowboy taking down the finger wavering nancies. He had seen firsthand what magic was capable off and he wasn’t going to give them a chance to turn him into a freaking frog.

Hell, if they did it he would have be down to the same level of sex appeal than Curse – that thought alone had him shivering.

Quick, blast the bastards!

[Raven 'Amunet' Neftari]

Well the bad times ain't so mean
When she's sippin gasoline
Raise 'em up, lets fire it up

Tonight is what we make it
You give it up I'll take it
Girl be my heroin
Now let the sin begin



Oh, this was the frikken LIFE, man. To lay in wait like some overgrown predator, watching as her prey flitted about, ignorant to the fangs, the claws, the huge ass Guns’N’Ammo rejects that were just about ready to blow their fool heads off. To hold their life in her hands, in her trigger finger and with one ready shot, end their lives.

It was pure ecstasy, having that much power. It was an addiction.

And, yeah, it was so much damn fun! Especially when she had to practically knock her head against the wall next to her to keep herself from charging forward before the Commander’s signal went through. Gah, why wasn’t the signal going through? What was there to fucking look for, already? Just one little wiggle of those fingers, Commander Kat, or a tilt of a head. She really needed to let off some steam, and she just couldn’t wait to take all her bad mojo out on the poor fools in the flappy sheets.

What would they taste like, she wondered with yet another toothy grin. Hopefully, they wouldn’t scream too loud as they died. Her precious ear drums were still getting used to being around Mr. Boom-Boom and his love of explosives.

Standing with the first team, practically vibrating with excitement, Rae watched the little robed mice scurry around their nest, a grin widening on her face. She’d never faced magical things and their wraith-pets before, so this was definitely going to be an interesting ride. Finally, FINALLY, the signal was given, and she flew out of her little hiding place with a happy scream. As unfamiliar heads snapped up and arms began flailing in arcane symbols, she let herself sink into that pure oblivion of training and utter psychosis, pulled her weapons and began to fire.

Now, it really wasn’t very nice when a person who was supposed to be gunned down like a good little evil guy, managed to throw up his arms and deflect all her well aimed bullets! Did he even KNOW how much it cost to get her babies engraved with ‘DIE BITCH DIE’ on the sides? Not to mention that she just wasn’t used to diving for cover from her own bullets!

With a yelp and a sideways tumble that would’ve done any circus freak proud, she found some cover and hid from the hungry little bullets zooming at her head, She hissed as a few found a few vulnerable spots not covered by the gas drum she was hiding behind, piercing through the leather.

Frick, she LIKED this cat suit! Now this was war!

As the bullets stopped flying, she abandoned her pistols, slipping on her favorite pair of knuckle blades. If guns weren’t doing the job, she’d just have to use the up close and personal touch. With another scream, she flung herself toward the defensive line that the mages had set up, ducking a few flying guards- holy shit storm, that Zeke guy sure knew how to play the Hulk- swinging her blades as she went.

“Aha, I love this job! COME ON, NANCY’S! COME TO MAMA!”

[Julian Jackman]

Sun bleached bones and withered trees
Slowly rotting just like me
Empty bottles broken glass
My resolve is fading fast

I swear sometimes I think this life is killing me


It was with a heavy heart and an even heavier gun that Julian watched the scene unfold. Oh, what he would have done to have sat this crazy mission out, especially after seeing those oh-so-lovely faces in the briefing docket.

…No, alright, just scratch all of that. He really, REALLY would have liked to sit out the mission because of one thing, and one thing only:
Junior.

Even now, his ‘other half’ was wiggling around in his brain like some kind of zombie-worm, screaming for release. Of course the entire operation had to happen at night, during their agreed switching time- he just knew that Hawk had these things planned, the shit- and there just had to be enough warm bodies to sate even his insatiable other’s need to tear things apart.

Oh yes, he did wish that he’d been able to stay in the little makeshift hospital on base, tending to the wounded. He’d have made sure that the general training boo-boo’s had been taken care of, drank half his body weight in Jack, considered the straight razor on his bathroom counter…then went down to the basement and locked himself in that special steel room to wait out the night. It would have been peaceful. Full of bloody knuckles, sure…but it definitely wouldn’t have had anything to do with killing people.

And he’d thought himself a soldier, once upon a time. Ah, how things change.

As usual, when he was chance called out onto the streets, Dr. Jackman watched the battle begin with a sad sigh, his fingers practically twitching for the medical bag back in the trunk. Instinct had him waiting for that inevitable call of ‘MEDIC’ and he tensed every time one of his team hit the floor. He was the last to fan out, the others moving as one, each in their pre-assigned units, perfect in harmony.

In a battle like this one, however, harmony was the last thing that he was going to attribute to. It was why he was there in the first place, after all, wasn’t it? Why the good General had soldiers placed at his door for a suicide watch every few hours, tapping those calloused knuckles against his door, authorized to bust in if he didn’t answer quickly enough. It wasn’t the good Doctor that was needed; it was the monster. So, like a good little soldier, he let Junior out of his cage…

And went down screaming.

It was always the same; the mind numbing pain that came with allowing Junior free reign. His eyes felt like led in his skull, and the crazy ghost’s previous wiggling turned into some full fledged surging. It was as if he were being pulled inside out, rearranged, then shoved through a needle-ridden meat grinder. God, it hurt!

And then there was silence. That, the sounds of battle…and the gleeful chanting that started somewhere low in his throat, until it practically rang through the room.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, LET THE BLOOD RUN!

With a wide smile on his now cigarette-ridden lips, Billy straightened with a flourish, taking in the sight of the fighting with a happy sigh.
“Oh, Daddy,” He cooed, cracking his knuckles as he took a quick drag of his cigarette. “You always take me to the best parties. Look at all these fun toys to play with! YAY!”

And look, there was his favorite lady in all the world, Commander Kitty! With a wave at the familiar woman, he skipped into the fray, happily knocking down whoever came too close. He could hear Daddy’s voice in his head, telling him to go stomp on those ‘objects of power’ that the other soldiers were heading toward before he went to sleep. Okay, Daddy! Beat up the people and smash the toys! He could DEFINITELY do that.

“In the jungle, the lion sleeps toniiiiiight. WHEEEE!”

[Lt. Jasper Owens]

I open up my head
Inside I find another person's mind
I'm gonna take this chance I've got
I'm underlying as we speak
Hiding my face among the weak
Some say the day is on the way
Into the wild
On with the mission
Over the hill
Come here with me

The air around the squad was practically tingling with anticipation, broken only by the deep exhaling of bating breath. Jasper could feel the tension, the excitement, the whole range of human emotions that seemed to cloud up the night. It was partially disconcerting, and frankly distracting. Normally on missions like this he was able to focus, namely because of how his comrades were focused as well. Their emotions helped drive him, and kept him at one with the squad. With this bunch however, it was different.

They were each so unique, so...mentally unstable for a lack of a better term, that there was almost so focus. In a sense, it was like being locked in a room with a bunch of crazy kids with ADHD! Add to that the hate he could sense from the witches, and Jasper was pretty sure he was going to walk away from this thing with one huge migraine. What a great first mission, right?

Gritting his teeth, he pushed the emotions from his mind, concentrating on keeping his mind to himself. It worked, if only barely. But barely would have to suffice, especially since Foster and the others were moving into position. What was important was the mission on hand, and he would have to focus on that.

Good thing he'd made his mind then and there. In less than an instant, it was like everything had exploded. Foster and her group had rushed the inner circle, leaving him and the rest to deal with the outer circle and the guards. Oh goody. At least there seemed to be plenty of the outer squad for them to deal with.

Stone rushed forward, and decided to be the macho hero and take on all the guards at once. Jasper knew, from experience, that this guy could handle a lot more than one would normally expect, but he wasn't exactly superman. Still, with the other witches quickly gathering themselves together and getting their magic up, Stone was on his own.

Quickly gathering from Neftari's lesson, Jasper abandoned his gun and dove forward, tackling one of the witches from behind. He quickly pulled out a nifty little, well maybe not so little, utility knife, and sunk the blade into the witches back, right under one of the ribs. It was a spot that, as Jasper learned, had the potential to both sever the spine and pierce the heart; essentially, it was one of the cleanest deaths one could give. "Die well," he whispered to the witch as he withdrew the balde.

Not even sparing another though for his first kill, Jasper pounced up and settled into a battle rush besides Neftari. That girl was batshit crazy, but something told him that she was a good partner to have at his side. Not to mention her bloodthirsty mood was quite catching to his mind.

Grinning, Jasper armed himself with another blade, and readied himself for the assault. "Save some for me!" he yelled, mirroring Neftari's attitude. Some how, the battle seemed more...fun now.

[Lt. Gabriel "Curse" Jordan]

Does it feel so bad when you're taking a drag and when
you're looking at the world with dying eyes?
When you stare at it dead and you're giving it head and all those
things you say you love never come alive.
If it feels so bad, Bad magick playing off of me.
feels so bad, oh no, I don't wanna be your friend.
feels so bed, bad magick laying into me.
feels so bad, oh no, I don't wanna hear it again.

Well, it was like he always said... If you felt froggy, you should go ahead and jump.

Evidently, the commander subscribed to the same theory because once everyone was in position, she signaled the first wave of attack and then they were all off to the dance. She, Lt. Duran, Derek, Rae and a few others went on sneak tactics while the the rest of them headed to take out the guards as quietly as possible.........

KIND OF......

Right up to about the time Zeke went striding forward with his baseball bat and all hell broke loose in the front lines. Damn, there were just some days it didn't pay to roll out of bed.

WELL FUCK A DUCK!

"TIME TO MAN UP BOYS and GIRLS!!" he yelled out as the sentries started to come to life all around them. "Anyone up for some duck hunting? Cause these dudes kind of remind me of sitting ones!"

Throwing himself into the fray, Curse ducked under one's guard and disarmed him before using the rifle to nail him into unconciousness. As the fellow dropped to the ground, he caught sight of Lt. Duran taking out a witch near the center circle.

"HOT DAMN!! NOW THAT IS SEXY!" he shouted, before being rushed from behind and having to flipp the enemy over his shoulder. When the man rolled to his feet and came at him again, the lt. gave him one look and shuttered. "Not you.. I wasn't talking to you...Your really not my type... No offense pal but you seriously should work on that acne problem you've got going there... You know, there are medicated scrubs for that sort of thing..."

From the corner of his eye, he saw John, Zeke, Jasper and the others moving forward. Deciding to end the dance, he nailed his opponent with a stiff upper cut that had him saying goodnight and then picked up the pace.

And wouldn't you know it.... Thats when everything started going south. From out of the darkness came a sound that was somewhere between a mad shriek and a soulful wail. The witchs had managed to get a wraith to their plane.

Swearing, Curse rushed forward just as the thing took form and went for its first victim.

Oh yeah.. This gave new meaning to F.U.B.A.R.ed.

[Lt. Commander Katarina Foster]

'Cause I've seen love die way too many times
When it deserved to be alive
I've seen you cry way too many times
When you deserve to be alive, alive
So you give up every chance you get
Just to feel new again
I think we have an emergency
I think we have an emergency




Surprise had been on their side. Momentarily, that was.

The first wave of the attack made it through to the middle circle but then the real fight began. The four witchs in the middle continued to chant their spell even as Kat's team battled their way towards them. Seeming to sense the members of the team that were the worst threats, the other witchs quickly began to combine their power and hit at Derek and Phoenix with all their might. Derek held his own with effort but it was obvious that the effort was costing him. The guards he and the FBI agent were holding were growing weaker and it was only a matter of time before they went down.

"God FREAKING damn it!" Kat swore as she slammed into another witch and managed to keep her from hitting Nix in the back with a binding spell. " You know.. You people are REALLY starting to pissi me off. You get knocked down.. you STAY the FUCK down!!!" she shouted at the fallen woman before kicking her hard in the jaw and seeing her lights go out. "THATS MORE LIKE IT!"

From the corner of her eye, Kat caught movement near her and turned in time to see "Billy" waving at her. Blinking at him, the red head rolled her eyes and made a mental not not to forget her little "pet" was playing house.

Turning forward once more, she was about to continue forth when a blast of fire caught her right square in the chest and blew her back into a large tomb. Reeling from the impact, it took her a moment to realize that the sound of the wail wasn't coming from her head but from the center of the circle of witchs.

"OH SHIT!" she swore, pushing herself away from the cement and staggering forward. "WE GOTTA TAKE THOSE BITCHS OUT AND WE"VE GOTTA TAKE THEM OUT NOW!!!!!" She shouted out, ignoring the pain in her skull and charging forward.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the first wraith escaped the circle and flew right at her. Unable to avoid the damned thing, Kat felt herself picked up by talon like claws and flung with surprising strength into someone else. As she and her "safety net" hit the ground, she bit back a pained hiss.


"Well, Hell.... That didn't go as planned..."

[John Sheppard]

The lights are slowly fading down
There's no one else, just you and me
Nothing ever changed
I see your faces in the crowd
It seems I know each one of you
For all my life
I wish this night could last forever
But it's time to go
I saw you laugh, I saw you cry
All for one and one for all
Nothing ever changed
The way you sang just blew my mind
It gave me chills from head to toe
What a glorious night
To me it could have lasted forever
But it's time to go



Aim. Fire.
Another one bites the dust.

Simple enough, right? Yeah, until they starting deflecting the bullets with their magic. Ducking behind a mausoleum, he barely avoided the bullet that came flinging his way. Not freaking fair, he hated to miss, he never missed. His callsign was Bullseye after all and it was damn disappointing when the people he shot at didn’t fall dead.

But ok, time to improvise. Being on this team meant he would have to deal with the unexpected after all. A tombstone raising from the ground and coming flying his way surely felt into that category, didn’t it? Duck before it turns your head into a red stain – damn that was close.

The guns were worthless from this point on, so John holstered the dual pistols and sneaked around the mausoleum and took a peek over the edge. There they were, three guys singing some freaky sissy chant – yeah, magic didn’t made them look really manly, did it? – No, but it made them really deadly. Proof of it was the stone hurling at his peeking head, time to duck again and take cover, damn that was getting old!

With his back against the side of the mausoleum, go left and get his head smashed, go right and get his skull crushed…though call.

What was he to do? Appeal to his guardian angel.
Or at least the angel statue carved onto the mausoleum side and use it as leverage to leap into the crypt’s roof . And then it was the simple task of running like a madman, dodge a two or three flying marble pieces about twice his size and leap down while letting a couple of throwing knifes to rip through the air and connect with two of the air weaving finger sissy’s. Good, now throw the other knife over his shoulder to win some cool points as the last one in the group fall to the dust.

“Damn I’m good! What, no cheerleaders cheering my name? Man, that is just WRONG!”

Yeah, bigger than life ego, he knew it. But what the hell, he was still standing while the bad guys weren’t. So someone better start naming babies after him.

It was with a smug grin on his lips, his head turned to the side to see from where that annoying wailing sound was coming from. And it was just in time to see Kat get hit by the wraith talons and hit the ground.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Kat had said it wasn’t a good idea for them to get involved. That would mean risks for both of them and all that crap. They had to act smart at all…HA! When did she know John for taking the smart route? No, he wasn’t letting that flying bastard take her down as it turned around for another try.

Running like hell, he pushed her annoying little tush out of the way – she wouldn’t get mad at him for touching her like this if that saved her life, would she? The wraith slipped past him with an audible whooshing sound. A barely miss.

“Come get some”

As the wailing form – damn that was annoying – came at him again, a little disk left his right hand and at the press of a button of the detonator on his left hand, it burst into a small cloud of fire. Kat had said yes or no to incendiary bombs on the briefing? He couldn’t quite remember that. Like hell he would leave home this toy he had been working on, one crispy wraith no waiting. Off course he hadn’t tested it before to know if they wouldn’t get burned down in the process, but there you had, field test a success.

“Do I get a kiss for saving your ass, commander?”

There was that smug smirk on his lips again, but this time it did disappear as he looked down and saw that nasty gashing wound on his chest. So it hadn’t been a barely miss.

“Ah, so that is why I’m feeling so cold, huh?”

Giving the commander a smirk of acknowledgement for what he knew would be coming next, he gave her a wink. His number was up, but at least he was leaving a good looking corpse. And that was the part all color left his face and he fell to the floor unconscious.

So much for saving the day and looking cool while doing it, huh?

[Sgt.Willow Harding]

Willow cracked her knuckles before firmly holding onto her trusty M16. This baby had been with her overseas she was certainly not going to part with it. It never ever crapped out on her and she wanted to be loyal to an item that kept her alive through the deepest shit. Although Mouse was not overly religious... but it was her mission ritual to silently pray and kiss her dog tags for good luck. Her dog tags were battered from 2 tours of duty overseas but they were her lucky charm so to speak.

But here she was positioned behind an old tomb waiting for the signal from Kat to attack. The small soldier looked over at the Commander who was waiting for something.... Mouse got the orders to target the outer ring and if possible the objects of power. Would bullets really harm these beings? That's why at last minute she fastened on her bayonet. Willow would fight down and dirty on this mission.

At last the Commander gave the go ahead, but they stayed low and fast. Well until Stone decided to stride forward and challenge the guards....that chucked the plan out the window. So here she was charging forward keeping the same calm composure she always had on. Willow was the silent type not the guns out and blazing gal.

She collided with one of the guards knocking both him and her to the ground. A struggle insued but Willow manged to get him underneath her before nailing him in his pretty face with the her M16. The enemy soldier was instantly knocked out cold....

Mouse eyed on of the lesser being witches...that was her next target. Quickly standing and in a swift motion stabbed a guard that was going to kick her while she was down. Next Please! The little woman moved forward, killing a guard here and there. Her eyes darted to the others who were still fighting the guards.

In an instant all hell broke loose, a wraith demon was summoned and heading towards Kat. It had knocked her onto the ground but thankfully Sheppard saved her but with a cost. He fell to the ground obviously wounded. Shit. Come on Willow snap out of it and move forward that is all she could do at the moment. Killing a guard or two after she eyed Sheppard from a distance...

[Lt. Kalii Duran]

You think that by crying to me
Looking so sorry that I'm gonna believe
You've been infected by a social disease
Well, then take your medicine

I created the sound of madness, wrote the book on pain
Somehow I'm still here to explain
That the darkest hour never comes in the night
You can sleep with a gun
When you gonna wake up and fight for yourself?

As usually was the case on a mission like this, things went to hell in a hand-basket. People say that things seem to move in slow motion when you are put into a life threatening situation, but for Kalii, things always started happening at warp speed and her automatic pilot just kicked in.

Springing up from her covered position she moved lightly on her feet. Her supernatural abilities working on all cylinders as she moved at lightning speed across what was now a raging battlefield. They found out quickly that their bullets could be blocked by shields, but not before one of the ricochets grazed Kalii's shoulder. She ignored the wound and the pain and kept moving.

Kalii tugged the knife out of the sheath strapped to her lower leg just in time to thrust the blade up and into the gut of one of the witches that was literally about to land on top of her. They had come flying out of nowhere and it was an instinctual act. Kalii shoved the knife in hard, pushing it all the way to the hilt and then with a low growl she twisted it before she yanked it upward to. The move splayed the midsection of her attacker open, practically gutting them like a fish. That one wouldn't be getting back up, she thought to herself as she watched the body thud to the ground.

Whirling around quickly, she tuned back into the fight. Everyone was engaged in their own battles. Blood was flowing dark red all over the ground. Bodies starting to litter the surrounding area. So far it appeared they were all enemy casualties. Vaguely she heard Billy's voice, he was actually singing. Then suddenly, cutting across all the other commotion and noise, she heard the wailing. Then she saw the shadow cross to her left and then moved behind her. She whipped around to see where it was heading.

Before she had a chance to take off after it, Kalii saw the Commander go flying through the air as the wraith tossed her away like she was some kind of rag doll. She made to run toward Kat but was cut off by another robe wearing witch. Her knife was still in her hand and she raised it above her head, grasping it in both hands as she brought it down hard, just as the approaching warlock started chanting some kind of incantation. The blade hit it's mark and in one powerful stroke she practically decapitated the son of a bitch. Blood from the carotid artery started spurting everywhere, splattering all over the Slayer.

Kalii didn't have time to dwell on any of that now. Her attention turned back to Commander Foster. As Kalii moved in that direction she saw Lt. Sheppard get there first. She could see John throwing something at the wraith and then saw the button he still held in his left hand.

"OH SHIT!"

Kalii yelled out as she was almost on top of the wraith herself as Sheppard's finger pushed the detonator. Leaping off to the side quickly, her own momentum had her flying through the air and she landed hard, face down on the ground as she heard the explosion go off. She covered her head with her hands and waited a few minutes to make sure any debris had settled down.

Then just as suddenly as the chaos had started, it seemed eerily quiet. She rolled over onto her back and looked up to see the wraith was gone. John was standing in front of Kat. Kalii let out a soft sigh of relief, thinking it was over. They had won. That was before she saw the lieutenant crumple to the ground.

In a rush, Kalii was on her feet again striding to where her wounded teammates were. A quick glance at the Commander told her that she was in better shape than Sheppard. From where Kalii was standing she could see the torn flesh of John's chest and she shouted out.

"Jesus fucking Christ. MEDIC!! God damn it, where the hell is the fucking doc!"

Kalii, covered in blood, dirt and sporting her own wounds knelt down beside Lt. Sheppard and looked at Commander Foster. The wound was vicious and John didn't look good. He was bleeding out in front of them. They could do what they could to try and stem the bleeding somewhat, but he needed real medical attention fast.

[Raven 'Amunet' Neftari]

((Joint posties for Rae, Lucien and Julian!))


“Go get your own fucking pansies to—FUCK!” Pausing in mid-laugh in Jasper’s direction, Rae found herself practically sailing in the air, as she strove to miss getting hit by a…holy hell, was that a lightning bolt? What the HELL had the CO gotten them into?!

Hitting the ground with a grunt, she managed to swivel aside, chucking one of her favorite little daggers from its holster at her hips. She really did like the little knife, but sacrifices had to be made, when one wanted to stay alive. And, given how the battle was quickly turning, she’d put dollars to doughnuts that staying alive was her main priority.

…Oh yeah, and making sure that her teammates didn’t die. She SO remembered that part.

Bouncing to her feet with a howl, she launched herself at one of the witches, hoping to get in a good snap’n’strike before the bitch could send off another magic-laden greeting card. Instead, she found herself smacking face first into some kind of weird barrier that managed to knock her ten feet back into a pile of crates.

Okay. Now she was REALLY getting pissed off.

“Is it just me, or is this so not going as planned?” She snarled in Owens’ direction, before shoving herself out of the pile of wood. With a very unhappy noise, she tore out a piece of crate embedded in her shoulder and stormed toward a now smirking witch.

And in t minus ten, she realized what was with the smirking. Shit, man; they’d let out the uglies. With her free hand, she pulled a Glock and started firing, doing her best not to hit one of those stupid ricocheting shields shimmering around the warlocks. Snarling and cursing, she backed up as the wraiths flew like warped angels around the room, until she was nearing the little group behind her. She caught her first sight of Lucien and let loose an angry squawk as she saw him duck and roll from an angry wraith, only to be kicked in the kidney by a surviving guard.

Aw hell, somebody was wounded. And good question, man; where was the goddamn doc?

---



Medic?

The voice floated on the wind- or was that just in his head?- and Billy frowned.

“No, Daddy, nobody’s calling that. Go back to sleep,” He informed the sleepy, slurred voice. He was holding up a warlock, practically purring in joy as the little man screamed in pain. He really liked those noises…and look! The bad guy gave him a present!

Holding up the man’s now severed arm for him to see, he waved it around for a bit. See, even he could have a magic wand! Like Tinkerbell’s! Yaaay, this was so much fun!

Medic…what?

With a groan as Daddy started speaking again, the big man let his toy fall to a crying heap. There were things flying around the room, baring their teeth at him, but he ignored them with a little dismissive sniff.

Really now, why did they have to go and ruin his fun? Whoever was screaming for a doctor should be beaten with their own legs, he thought with a mental whine. He didn’t want to go to sleep yet, dammit! He wanted to play with the flying things with black teeth! They looked like so much fun…

With a squeal as one zipped by him, he reached out and grabbed tried to grab hold of a piece of frayed cloth still attached to the hissing thing's neck. It snarled as his hand dragged through its body, rearing back to claw at his eyes and he laughed at the pain that seared his face. Aw, what a nice little kitty; showing his kitty claws to him. He wanted to hug the kitty and take it back home with him. Would Commander Kitty let him?

Go to sleep for a little while, Junior

Oh great, there was Daddy again; spoiling his fun, as usual. “But I don’t wanna go to sleep yet! Lookit; I have a pet! Now go back to sleep! It tickles too much when you’re awake.”

The Commander would be very unhappy with you if you let one of her friends die, Junior. Just go to sleep for a little while. Then you can come back out again, and play with your toys.

Daddy did have a point, there. With a sad sigh, he dropped to his knees, ducking under the cute floating thing and grabbed his friend the crying warlock. Screams rented the air as he chucked the bleeding man at the wraith, and grinned as the angry ghost proceeded to tear him apart.

Ha, try biting at his fingers NOW, he thought smugly. With that done, he brushed his hands on his jeans, ignoring the little sting of magic thrown his way. He staggered under a particularly nasty bolt, threw a crate in the warlocks’ direction, then skipped on over to his friends. He really didn’t want to go to sleep yet, but Commander Kitty’s friend was hurt, and she didn’t want her to be sad. He liked the Kitty lady really happy, because she let him beat up people on the base. That was fun.

But what wasn’t fun? Letting Daddy wake up. With a roar, Billy fell to his knees, holding his head like he was holding it together. Instinctively, he fought the darkness and the silence that sucked him down, but it was, as always, too strong. He went down screaming, clawing at the mental walls holding him…

And then there was Julian. Shaking, weak as a baby and half blind, he stayed where he was, forgetting for a few minutes that there was magic and dead things flying around like crazy around him. He was numb, his head hurt like a bitch and his throat was raw from the howls his other half had been letting loose moments before.

Not that any of that hampered his hearing. That God for instinct, he absently thought, pushing himself to his feet. And thank God for experience.

Robotically, he half staggered, half threw himself at the little group at the back of the room, following the cries of ‘MEDIC’ and ‘DOC.’ Falling to his knees with a grunt, he shook his head to clear his eyes and reached forward with a quickly steadying hand.

Stripping off his jacket, he pressed down on the wound, doing his best to staunch the flow of blood. With a practiced ease, he ignored the sounds of fighting behind him, concentrating on the dying man in front of him. “We have to get him outside. I can stabilize him in the truck,” He said, looking up at the Commander, face grim. “But if we don’t get him back to base, or hell, to a frikken hospital stat, he’s going to bleed out in less than an hour.”

[Lt. Jasper Owens]

I open up my head
Inside I find another person's mind
I'm gonna take this chance I've got
I'm underlying as we speak
Hiding my face among the weak
Some say the day is on the way
Into the wild
On with the mission
Over the hill
Come here with me

Well hell. This was all turning to shit, now wasn't it?

With Neftari beside him, Jasper went forward to charge through a couple of the remaining witches, his mind spurred on by excitement and some innate craving for violence. He knew at that moment his feelings weren't his own; to keep his mind focused, he'd latched onto Neftari's emotions, leting them become his own. Through her outlook, he saw the action, the bloodshed, and could only respond with an almost giddy sense of excitement. For a moment, he felt like an adrenaline junky of some sort, swept away in the whirlwind of action.

Both he and Neftari managed to dodge a couple of magical strikes, lightening bolts or something by the look of it, although just barely by the looks of it. Jasper could feel as if one of the bolts had managed to nick his shoulder, leaving a small stinging burn. He responded to that by charge forward, only to see Neftari crash into some kind force-field one of the witches with sporting. Well, that wasn't going to work.

As she got up, Jasper couldn't help but chuckle. "All the more room the improvise some destruction!" he shouted back at her, turning to dash forward. But then of course irony decided to strike back.

Next thing Jasper knew, he was lying on the ground, with what he assumed was a body lying on top of him. It had happened in a split second, but he vaguely remembered swiveling himself forward, just in time to see something hurtling at him faster that he could move out of the way. Good thing for body armor, or Jasper might actually be worried about something being broken!

Well, the body on top of him was talking, and lo-and-behold, it was Foster. "Well shit, you think?!" he snapped back at her, his mind momentarily latching onto her own emotions.

Just then, as if a light had gone off in his head, Jasper shoved the Lt. Commander off him and looked up. A cold, sinking feeling had shot through him, the kind he'd always felt when something horrible was about to happen. And then it it did.

Sheppard, being the stupidly courageous idiot that he was, has set off an incendiary grenade to try and destroy a wraith that had apparently been summoned. And in doing so, it seemed as if he'd gotten himself killed. As he wheeled around, Jasper saw the deep gaping hole in his chest from where the wraith had managed to strike him; from his own combat experience Jasper knew those kind of words were nearly almost always fatal.

Everyone else rushed up beside Sheppard, sensing the urgency of the situation. And they should, as the Doc clearly informed them. If they didn't move quickly, Sheppard would die.

[Lt. Commander Katarina Foster]

You left me at the start
The silence is deafening my heart
I examine my scars
Losing my mind wondering just what we are...
Questions, problems, answers, I've got none
What is this love you stole from me?

F.U.B.A.R. Territory.

Yup. The phrased took on new meaning with tonight's events.

They were so fucking screwed.

Kat felt the moment it all went south but events happened to quickly for her to call a retreat. The escaped wraith hit her like a hurricane and tossed her ass over kettle into Lt. Owens and they both went sprawling. The other man shoved her off him and she vaguely heard the others calling out as the witchs went down.

"HOLY FREAKING HELL!" she cursed before lurching upwards in order to regain her feet. "I'm so voting to nuke them next time!"

Turning back towards where the main battle was going down, the redheaded commander barely had time to square herself before she was tossed to the ground again. With a shout in warning, John knocked her out of the way the wraith came back for another go and then a loud explosion rocked the night.

"WHAT THE......" she barely got out before seeing the wraith evaporate and the dark haired soldier turn to smirk at her.

It wasn't the smirk that held her attention this time though... it was the bloody, mangled mess his chest had become that had her full attention.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT" she snarled, catching him even before he hit the ground and laying him out as comfortably as possible. "DON"T YOU FREAKING DIE ON ME, SOLDIER!! NO ONE DIES ON MY WATCH!!! YOU DIE AND I"M GOING TO BRING YOU BACK TO LIFE JUST SO I CAN KILL YOU AGAIN MYSELF!!"

From nearby , she heard the approach of others and a medic being called for. Lt. Duran dropped down to her side but Kat barely even noticed. Her attention was focused on undoing her suit and pulling off the tank top she wore underneath. Using it as a makeshift bandage, she pressed it to the worst gash that nicked the artery in his neck. It was quickly soaked through and useless but it was all she had at the moment.

"DAMN IT, JOHN!!! YOU AND YOUR CRAZY ASS STUNTS!!!"

Thankfully, she knew that the team doctor was here somewhere and would be arriving at any moment... Providing Billy was a good little pet.

"HOLD THIS SOMEONE!" she shouted as she heard Julians voice and someone took over the compression. Julian's arrival came with a new bandage in the form of his own coat and then his words confirmed the conclusions she'd already come too.

Zipping her cat suit back up, the young hybrid started shouting orders and ordering the evac.

"ALL RIGHT!! FALL OUT!! GET BACK TO THE CHOPPER! WE HAVE TO GET SHEPPARD TO A MEDICAL FACILITY ASAP!" she yelled, trying to suppress her inner panic. "LETS GO! LETS GO!!"




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damn it. When things went south.. They REALLY went fucking south.

From his position taking out one of the last guards, Curse caught a glimpse of what went down towards the center but it wasnt' until Duran started yelling for a medic that he started to get concerned. After all, it was their job to take on the impossible and come out swinging so the idea that one of them might NOT be going home wasn't something he'd thought long and hard about. Not to mention it was really bad for ones moral when you knew damned good and well it could be YOU the next time around.

With the enemies down and Kat screaming orders for an evac, the sandy haired soldier finally caught sight of his buddy on the ground. Although the doctor now blocked the way, Curse could see enough red to know it wasn't good and it shook him to his core.

However, a professional soldier to marrow of his soul, he began to work to secure the enemies left alive. Hauling their asses out of the graveyard, he tossed two of them into the back of the truck that would take them to the chopper and then silenced on with the butt of his gun when he got mouthy.

"You heard the Commander.. Lets Roll!" he shouted ot the others even as Derek limbed in and tossed another body into the vehicle.