Magistracy: A School for Monsters

[csyphrett]

It's that time again, folks, as I once again turn to the next thing on my list.

CES

1

Laurence Elbe stood in a field outside of Clemson Falls, Iowa. He had his hands in his pockets as

he looked around. He frowned as he tried to sort out the impressions left in the air.

 

Laurence wore clothes that were a trifle big for him. He preferred them in shades of gray and dark

blue. He wore sunglasses most of the time to hide his eyes. They were a little offset, and different

colors. His thinning hair was kept short and pushed back from the lines of his forehead.

 

He didn’t like what he had found in the field. A group of heroes had broken Father’s anchor there.

That meant he might have to deal with them somehow.

 

He was talented but he couldn’t take on a group by himself.

 

He looked down at the spot the anchor had been planted. He found a fragment left from where it

had been smashed into pieces. He picked up the stone dot and placed it in his pants pocket. He

turned and headed back to his car. He had to get home and report to Father.

 

He decided to stop in town to fill up on gas and grab a bite to eat. It was a long drive back to New

York from Iowa. He planned to make two more stops before pushing into the last leg to get home.

 

He drove instead of flying for two reasons.

 

The first was he needed time to prepare for his talk with Father. He needed the time alone to

concentrate on how to keep the giant voice in his head from breaking him. He knew that some

of his brethren had been reduced to gibbering wrecks by too many discussions with their lord.

 

The second reason was his talent. Being on a plane meant being confined with numerous people

that he would be involuntarily reading the whole journey. That would weaken his discipline before

he made his report.

 

He reached Clemson Falls as he finished putting his report in order. He had a tentative idea of what

had happened and who had been present. It was up to Father what the next move would be.

 

His thoughts on it made him think he would have to track the group down and deal with them. He

didn’t look forward to that. His ability allowed him to read what had happened. It was practically

useless in a physical confrontation.

 

He would need to get some assistance to deal with these heroes if he was ordered.

 

He had a feeling he would be ordered to exact some revenge on his enemies.

 

He contemplated the future over some eggs and bacon. He washed it down with milk from a carton.

He used the bathroom before starting out.

 

He planned to be back in Manhattan in hours. He would make his report and blend back into the

mundane world he immersed himself in as a shield against Father’s enemies.

 

He drove through state after state in a sort of trance. He maintained the same ten miles over on the

highways as the plains rolled by on either side of the road. His mind was focused on his destination

so the landscape was nothing more than a blur that swept pass his windows like pictures in a

slideshow.

 

He pulled into the parking lot of a greasy spoon long after the sun went down. He parked at the

edge of the lot and looked around. He seemed to be the only customer willing to get something to

eat at the place.

 

He sat and willed things to become more material around him before he got out of the car. He

needed to find a gas station after he ate again. He got out and stretched. Things popped along his

spine as he reached for the sky. He shook his legs next. Then he headed for the door of the diner

to grab something to eat.

 

He found a table and sat next to the window. He wondered where he was. He seemed to have lost

track while he was in his fugue state. He checked his watch. Fifteen hours had passed. He was lucky

the diner was still open.

 

He could be the last customer of the night.

 

“What can I do for you, hon?” A waitress in a t-shirt, jeans, and apron came up. She pulled out a

pad to write down his order.

 

Laurence pulled a menu to him and opened it. He scanned the offerings and decided on a steak

platter. He picked potato salad and macaroni and cheese for his two sides. He decided on coffee to

drink with his meal.

 

He stared out the window as he waited for his food to arrive at his table. He decided to check at the

gas station he planned to visit for an exact point on the globe. It was too bad that his phone never

worked right. If it did, he could just ask Google Maps where he was.

 

He ate his food slowly, trying to enjoy it. He still had to make his report. Father would know if he

was shirking his duty.

 

He got his check, left a tip, and paid the bill before heading out to his car. He glanced at the sky.

The stars told him had to get back on the road.

 

He drove out on the road and drove down the street until he saw a gas station. He pulled up to the

closest pump and cut the engine. The place was closed from the looks of it. At least the pumps

seemed to be on so he could use his credit card.

 

He filled the tank as he watched the night. He still didn’t know where he was, but he did know he

could get on the highway and keep heading east. That was the best he could do until the sun came

up.

 

Maybe he would reach an area where his phone would give him directions.

 

He drove down the eastbound ramp, switched lanes, and drove until his mind had submerged again.

The night already gave an illusion of nothing being beyond his headlights. His trance intensified

that feeling until the sun coming up made him blink enough that he realized he needed to stop

again.

 

He found a McDonald’s and parked. He sat behind the wheel until he could pull himself out of the

car. He walked around until he felt almost normal. He headed for the counter. He needed food,

a bathroom, and then gas.

 

At least the trances substituted for sleep while he was under.

 

He ate breakfast in a corner away from all the other patrons. He kept getting twitches from them.

He should have gone through the drive-thru and got back on the road.

 

He finished his meal, used the bathroom, and drove in search of a gas station. He filled up with his

credit card. He glanced at the maps in the store and realized he was in Pennsylvania.

 

He should be home in a few more hours.

 

He could catch up on his work and then wait for Father to call him.

 

Laurence got back on the road and drove on. He fell in his trance and navigated by instinct toward

home. He cut through Manhattan until he reached Queens and then he woke up when he turned

on his own street. He pulled up into his driveway.

 

He got out and smiled as he surveyed his small lawn and house. Everything was the same as when

left. He let himself in and paused as he tried to decide what the priority task was.

 

He decided to shower and get some clean clothes. Then he needed to do some research. Then he

could get ready for the expected call from Father.

 

The very least he could do was try to identify the people he had observed at the anchor stone site.

 

After washing off the road grime, and changing, Laurence turned on his computer. He pressed

the button for his ISP and waited for it to boot. Google should be the biggest help with his search.

 

He called up the page and typed in light heroes under images. He scanned the pictures until he

found one that looked like one of the heroes he saw. He checked the page and frowned.

 

Holo was the name of the hero. He belonged to some agency known as the School. They didn’t have

anyone who could be mystics from what the pictures on the page showed him. How had they

destroyed the anchor stone?

 

He wrote down the names of the members he had glimpsed in combat. He put it aside and shut the

computer down.

 

The world trembled. He closed his eyes. He heard a cracking inside his head. He tried to ignore the

pain that went with it.

 

“What did you find, Laurence?” Father’s voice produced thunderous echoes in his mind.

 

“A group from a government agency destroyed the anchor stone.” Laurence visualized the scene

for his commander.

 

“This one.” Father highlighted one of the heroes. “He is an exorcist.”

 

“He has been designated Priest according to the press clippings I found.” Laurence visualized some

of the information he had gathered.

 

“He may be an agent of another power.” Father fell silent as he thought. “I need to test this agency

to see what they can do, Laurence. Some of the energy from the ghost tower can be diverted to a

secondary locus. I want you to build this locus and record what happens.”

 

He imprinted the blueprint for the locus on his servant’s mind.

 

“Will they be able to find the ghost tower from the line I will have to use to build the other locus?”

Laurence examined the drawing from all sides to make sure he knew what to do correctly.

 

“Once the second tower is charged, cut the line.” Father began to fade from Laurence’s mind.

“Don’t fail me in this.”

 

Laurence continued examining the drawing until he was sure he knew everything about it. He

turned his computer on. He put up a map centered around the ghost tower in Manhattan. He

expanded it until he found a spot that would help him with the locus.

 

He smiled. Once the secondary tower was charged, it could run by itself until someone came along

to take it apart.

 

He wrote down what he needed to get started on his new mission.

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

2

Aaron Stark walked into the Office, the home of the Presidential Task Force on Metahuman

Threats. He passed through the outer security counter with a wave of his identification badge. He

headed up to where the Bullpen waited for him to get started on the day’s work.

 

Everyone thought that being a superhero and saving the world ended when you had the bad

guy in irons and on his way to jail. No one realized the amount of paperwork that had to be

filled out and evidence checked while you were getting ready for court.

 

Stark didn’t mind all the reports. It helped him prepare for court and future encounters with similar

villains.

 

He took off his suit jacket and draped it over a coat rack he had placed in his space. He booted up

his computer while he sat down. He looked around and only saw Paul Priest, the Saint, in the wide

room.

 

Where was his own team? They all seemed to be late.

 

Priest was on the other field team the agency used to solve problems. Jeff Ashcroft was in charge

of that one. He was notably absent too.

 

Did they declare a holiday and not invite him again?

 

Aaron walked over and leaned over Paul’s desk. The former clergyman looked up with a smile. He

seemed older than the rest of the two field teams with a lined face and thin hair. His eyes were

still sharp brown.

 

“Can I help you, Aaron?” He folded his hands over his keyboard.

 

“I was wondering where everyone else is.” The team leader indicated the empty room with a look.

 

“Jeff had to go to court over the shooting he committed a few weeks ago. Hope went with him.

Currenta is visiting relatives in the Potomac. I think Holo is tinkering with some type of machinery

for his tank. I am not sure about Ross.” Paul shrugged. “I’m typing up a report about what we found

out about the site in Iowa.”

 

“And the members of my team seem to be late.” Aaron rubbed the back of his bald head. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem.” He went back to typing with his forefingers.

 

Aaron went back to his desk. He looked at his inbox. Where did he start?

 

His phone buzzed in the middle of his thoughts. He checked the screen and saw that he had text

from the Director’s secretary. He looked up at the landing above the Bullpen. He might have to

hurry his team to the Office instead of waiting to see when they arrived.

 

He took the stairs to the walkway and knocked on the outer door before he entered. He glanced at

the director’s aide. She silently waved him to go in the inner office.

 

Director Mo Morrow looked like a block wearing a suit with a white wig on his square head. He

gestured to a visitor’s chair while he read some papers.

 

Aaron sat down and waited for him to finish what he was doing. The director would let him know

what was going on soon enough.

 

Morrow put the papers aside and leaned back in his chair. Blunt fingers rubbed his block chin as

he thought.

 

“A friend of mine in New York has asked me for a favor.” He leaned forward. “There has been

some weird deaths there. He wants some help with the case and asked me for it. I want you to look

the scene over and see what you can do as preliminary for seizing jurisdiction.”

 

“Is there some superhuman threat involved?” Aaron rubbed the back of his head.

 

“He doesn’t know, so I can’t say.” Morrow handed over the notes he had copied down on a piece

of yellow pad paper. “Find out what’s going on. If it’s superhuman, I want you to deal with it.”

 

“I’ll get my team together and get on it.” He examined the notes. “Total loss of fluids?”

 

“That’s what he said.” Morrow nodded at his look. “Look into it. Make sure we don’t have a

monster roaming around out there.”

 

Aaron stood and left the office, reading the notes again. He would have thought that the NYPD had

seen it all by now. He needed to call and arrange to look at any reports by the detectives and

coroner’s office.

 

He noted Josh Cole floating into the work area. At first glance, Josh was a group of triplets which

is why he had been designated Triple. He was really one man who had been split into a triad that

couldn’t travel far from each other. One got coffee, one started reading the files in his inbox, one

turned the office computer on.

 

“We got a case.” Aaron went to his own desk. “Get the others and tell them to grab their bags. I’m

going to call for air transport to New York.”

 

Aaron called the contact number on the reports. He needed to let the detective know they were on

the way. They would need a room to work from while they were in town.

 

“New York Police Department, 27th Precinct.” The voice on the other end belonged to a woman

who had smoked too many cigarettes in her lifetime. “Detective Fazzia speaking.”

 

“This is Agent Aaron Stark, Metahuman Task Force.” He glanced over at Josh. The trio had

commandeered other phones to make their calls. “You sent a request for assistance to us. I wanted

to let you know we’re on the way.”

 

“When will you be here?” She sounded less bored now.

 

“I’m not sure yet.” Aaron hated to admit that. “I have to get my team together and arrange air

transport. I plan to call when we touchdown.”

 

“I’ll set a room aside for you here at the precinct.” Detective Fazzia said. “Thank Mo for me, will

you?”

 

She cut the call before he could ask questions. At least there would be a place they could use as a

home base while they were in town.

 

Aaron called their contact in the Army and asked for air transport for their mobile center. The

ground crew would be waiting for the team to arrive so they could fly into New York and drive to

the station house from there.

 

He had to get his own gear together and carry it to the plane.

 

“Everybody is on the way to the airport.” Josh drank his coffee, picked up his go bag, and shut

down his work station.

 

“Grab your gear, Paul.” Aaron nodded at the surprised look on the man’s face. “We’ll need you in

case of trouble.”

 

“No problem.” Priest began saving his report. “Do you want me to call the others?”

 

“I will if we need them.” Aaron pulled out his own phone and sent the other team leader a message

to let him know that The Saint was coming with his team. “Right now, we don’t know what we’re

dealing with and what we might have to do to find our unknown.”

 

Jeff would let him know what he thought about that when he got out of court.

 

Aaron slung his bag over his shoulder and walked over to the elevator. He descended to the locker

room where he kept his gear. He didn’t have any powers like his colleagues. He had to rely on his

RVA and lasers to take bad guys down.

 

He went to a locker and opened the lock with his thumbprint. He took out two cases. He could

change on the way to New York.

 

Aaron locked his locker and lugged his gear upstairs. He turned and walked through the halls to the

garage at the back of the building. Josh and Paul already had the mobile command center idling.

He boarded and took the shotgun seat.

 

“Everyone has checked in and will meet us at the plane.” Josh drove out of the garage and toward

the lot exit.

 

“Right now all we have are some strange deaths.” Aaron placed his cases at his feet as they rolled.

“It may not be anything. If it is something, we should be ready for it.”

 

Aaron’s team were hitters. He had a giantess, two hand to hand experts, a moving rock, and Josh.

They weren’t set to deal with monsters except by punching them. He didn’t think that was a good

idea until he found out what the monster was and how to kill it.

 

His own ability was in the spy network he had devised and the vision powers bestowed on him by

his equipment. As a frontline combatant, he was weaker than the other team members by far. He

made up for it with his long range viewing.

 

And he had asked Paul along for the specific reason that his ability to destroy monsters would be

needed if they actually cornered the thing.

 

Aaron wanted to look ahead and check the scene from orbit, but he decided to wait. He could do

a look around when he was on the scene. He gave it a second thought. He pulled out his phone and

set his agents looking over the area marked out by the notes.

 

Maybe they would catch something going on while the team was in the air.

 

That would be just the break they needed to close the case as soon as they got to the city.

 

Josh drove onto the Army base where their plane waited for them. He rolled the command center

to the hangar where their transport sat with the cargo ramp down. Julia Curry and the Beatnik stood

next to the plane. Julia waved at them when she saw them.

 

Triple rolled the converted bus into the plane to be locked down while they waited for the rest of

the team.

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

3

The cargo plane lifted off and headed north from home base. It overshot New York City by a wide

margin to land at Stewart International. They landed with a screech of tires on asphalt as the pilot

let the plane roll to a stop on a runway reserved for the 105th. He pulled off the runway and dropped

the ramp so Josh Cole could back the mobile center out.

 

Aaron had changed into his armor and RVA rig while in flight. He directed Josh south on roads that

weren’t tolled. They drove through the Bronx, and into Manhattan proper. The station house was

a glowing mark on his overhead with a line between him and it.

 

He had briefed his team on what little they knew. He planned to make assignments when he knew

enough to start.

 

Whatever else he did, Aaron had already decided that Paul Priest had to take a look at the bodies

and see if there was something there they could use. His ability might allow for that.

 

Aaron had agents in the sky. They were trawling the city in the hopes of seeing something he could

use to find the culprit they were being asked to locate. He directed police to several assaults while

on watch.

 

He might as well make himself useful while trying to get through traffic in the converted bus. He

was tempted to have Fortress carry them, but decided against it. A hundred foot tall Julia would be

hard to explain away to any reporter who knew they were in town.

 

The mobile base rolled to a stop in the street in front of a small four story building crammed

between two others. Police officers approached since the bus blocked cars in front of the building

from leaving.

 

“Circle around until you can find a place to park.” Aaron checked his map. “Try three blocks over

near that church. There’s a wide open square there.”

 

“Got it, boss.” Josh waited for the others to disembark before he drove off.

 

The officers gave the costumes raised eyebrows.

 

“How’s it going?” Aaron preferred the friendly fed approach. It garnered him support from the

locals which he sometimes needed. “We’re looking for Detective Fazzia.”

 

“Really?” One of the policeman gave him a look.

 

“Really.” Aaron pulled his own badge out from his belt. “Some directions, please?”

 

“The squadroom is up on the third floor.” The patrolman nodded at the building. “Her desk is

up there.”

 

“Thanks.” Aaron led the way into the building. He knew his group looked strange but he tried

to ignore it. Superhumans were rife in the world, but most people only heard about them when

something bad was going on.

 

That was one of the reasons the Task Force had been formed in the first place. Professional heroes

had been needed, and the president had put Keith Bendix in charge to get them. Several other

directors had come and gone, and now Mo Morrow sat at the top spot.

 

Aaron knew that Director Morrow had worked in New York at one point. Maybe that’s where

the connection had been made to Detective Fazzia.

 

The 27th didn’t have an elevator so the heroes climbed the stairs up to the third. A sign pointed

them to a room similar to their own bullpen, but much older and more used. How many cops had

served the interests of justice there?

 

How many had used their position for graft and corruption?

 

Aaron glanced around the room. His computer links gave him identities as he searched for the one

woman he wanted to talk to. He saw her pouring coffee across the room.

 

His team spread out as he led the way across the room. The detectives were watching them.

 

Aaron felt the Beatnik could take most of the men in the room without a sweat before they could

get clear of their desk to try to stop the squad.

 

“Detective Fazzia?” Aaron didn’t need to ask. He had her police identification floating in the upper

quarter of his readout.

 

“That’s me.” She smiled. “How’s Mo doing?”

 

“He’s okay.” He didn’t quite know how to answer the question. Morrow kept his people at arm’s

length. “You had some strange deaths?”

 

“Yep.” Fazzia was an older woman, narrow and lean, with a mop of curly hair tied back from her

face. “Let’s use the interrogation room over there.”

 

They walked over to the small room. The two way glass was a staple for letting a witness identify

the suspect without being known. The paint was lime with a yellow stripe. Somebody wanted their

guests to have a pleasant stay.

 

Watcher sat at the table while Fazzia moved to a corner. The rest of the squad clogged the door.

 

“Director Morrow was a bit skimpy on exact details.” Aaron smiled under his visor. “What can you

tell us?”

 

“I have five deaths. The coroner’s office reports that each of the victims were missing all of their

water. They all happened on the edge of the precinct where we butt up against the 26th. The bodies

were found in the same five to ten block radius.” She sipped her coffee.

 

“Witnesses?” If someone had seen something, maybe they could use that to close the case fast.

 

“Nope.” Fazzia shook her head. “The victims were alone when they were drained as far as we

can tell.”

 

“Evidence?” Aaron hoped something had been dropped at the scene.

 

“Nothing we could find.” Fazzia gave him a quizzical eye. “Think you can catch this guy?”

 

“Not really.” Aaron looked at his group. They gave him displeasured looks and head shaking back.

“We’ll do our best. The first thing we’re going to need is the addresses of the drop sites. Then we’re

going to need the case file to go over. The Saint is going to need to check the bodies.”

 

“No problem.” Fazzia sipped more coffee. “I have all that at my desk. I’ll call over so your guy can

get in.”

 

“Fortress, go with him.” Aaron didn’t want any of his people alone until he had this thing figured.

 

“Puma Sai and Beatnik, I want you to look at these reports for anything that looks like an angle of

attack.” They were the best hand to hand fighters on his team and they had eyes for weak points.

 

“Granite and I are going to look over the crime scenes.” Granite should be immune to anything that

drained water since he was a walking rock. “Triple will drive us around.”

 

Detective Fazzia walked from the room and wrote down the addresses of the crime scenes for him.

She handed over the paper.

 

“They can use the interrogation room to read.” She sounded like she didn’t believe they could read.

 

“We’ll try to find something we can use.” Aaron programmed the addresses into his rig. “Would

you mind giving Fortress and Saint a ride to the medical examiner’s?”

 

“Sure.” She finished her coffee. “How are you going to get to the crime scenes?”

 

“We have a bus.” Aaron triggered his com unit. “One of our team is driving it.”

 

“On deck.” Triple spoke from his earpiece.

 

“We’ll need a pick up.” Aaron headed for the stairs. “We’re going to check the crime scenes.”

 

“I’ll be there in a few.” Triple cut the call from his end.

 

“What are we looking for at the morgue, Watcher?” Fortress ignored the looks her brown and tan

one piece bathing suit got her. It was designed to expand when she did. If it didn’t, she would go

through her wardrobe every time she had to use her power.

 

“Anything that looks out of place.” He glanced over his shoulder. “We need something to get

started.”

 

“We’ll do our best.” The Saint pulled his black coat around his body, the white collar gleaming

slightly. “Be careful. You’re going out where the monster is.”

 

“No worries.” Granite smiled across his round, noseless face. “I can handle any vampire. I’ve seen

all the movies.”

 

“We’ll try to narrow it down to something other than vampires.” Aaron smiled under his visor.

 

“I’ll take your guys over to the morgue.” Fazzia scratched her face. “Run into any vampires lately?”

 

“No.” Paul waited for her to lead the way to her car. “But we did stop a ghost, and before that there

was the zombies.”

 

“That was nasty.” Fortress shook her head. “They had to replant every one of them after the

emergency was over.”

 

The bus rolled to a stop in front of the station house. One of the Triples opened the door for them.

 

Aaron watched Paul and Julia get into an unmarked car with Fazzia. He tagged it so he could find

it later from the air if he had to bad enough.

 

“We’re going to visit the crime scenes, Josh.” He settled in a passenger chair. “I want to see the

ground for myself.”

 

“No problem.” Triple closed the doors and rolled away from the precinct.

 

“Do you think it’s vampires?” Granite had a special seat to hold his massive body.

 

“I doubt it.” Aaron turned his spies on the area they were rolling toward. He didn’t see anything

that stood out.

 

“It could be some kind of water controller.” Triple had reports of superhumans pulled up on the

center’s computer monitor. “They might be pulling the water out with that type of power.”

 

“A superhuman serial killer?” Aaron knew some superhumans started looking down on norms like

him. Regular humans were rats in a maze to them.

 

“It seems to fit.” Josh drove carefully, following a gps heading from Aaron’s rig.

 

“We’ll need evidence to sort out which one it could be, or if it’s someone new.” Aaron didn’t want

to round up the usual suspects before he was sure they were involved. Still he might need to rule

some of them out. “How many are in New York?”

 

“Most of the ones in the files are in jail.” Josh sounded disappointed. “One is in California

somewhere. The rest are MIA.”

 

“That’s a possibility, but it’s at the bottom right now until we get something solid.” It helped that

all of them in prison had air tight alibis which reduced the number of suspects he had to check.

 

Ten down, five million to go.

 

“There’s the first scene ahead.” Josh pointed from the shotgun seat. “Let me find some place to park

this thing.”

 

He eased the long vehicle into a nearby lot for a school. He cut the engine.

 

“Let’s see what we can see.” Aaron opened the side door and stepped out. “Maybe we’ll find

someone who’ll confess as soon as they see us.”

 

“That only happens on television.” Granite followed. He grimaced somehow. “No one wants to

admit they did it until you catch them, and even then they’ll only confess for glory.”

 

“Hopefully we’ll stop this with enough evidence we won’t need a confession.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

4

 

Detective Fazzia led her guests through the cool halls of the coroner’s office. She pulled out a

notepad to check the case number. So far she had been lucky enough that the deaths had looked like

animal attacks. It wasn’t a priority for the department, so she had been allowed to do what she

wanted within reason.

 

As soon as pressure was brought to bear, a task force would be formed and she would be shut out

of her own case. She didn’t want that at all.

 

She wanted to catch whatever was doing this and put it down without a lot of politics getting in her

way. She didn’t want to have a three ring circus thrown up to act like something was being done

when it wasn’t.

 

She had been surprised by Mo’s people. Despite the crazy costumes, they came across as

professionals rather than crazies.

 

“Don’t you get cold in that get-up?” Her gaze turned to Fortress as she led the way down to the

body lockers.

 

“I go through about four of these a month.” Fortress waved at her bathing suit and sandals. “They’re

supposed to expand and shrink when I do, but the material gives out after a certain amount of uses.

The geeks haven’t been able to make a stronger formula yet.”

 

“They also cost the Office a certain amount of money to replace.” The Saint held the door for them.

 

“Too expensive to get a whole suit?” The detective walked into the morgue, pausing at the shift in

temperature.

 

“That’s what they say.” Fortress frowned.

 

“How many bodies are involved in this case?” The Saint put his hands in his pockets. His eyes

shifted as if seeing things that weren’t there.

 

“Five so far.” Fazzia waved at the man in a labcoat signing off on test results he had just gotten

back from somewhere upstate.

 

“Fozzie.” The examiner placed the results in a file, and then the whole thing in a cabinet. “And

guests.”

 

“Doc Rivers, this is Fortress and the Saint from the School.” She made a gesture at the lab coat.

“This is Doc Rivers. He handles most of the unknown deaths in the 27th.”

 

“My pleasure.” Rivers was pale but average other than that. He had lost most of his hair along the

way, but his eyebrows tried to compensate. “This about the Dry Five?”

 

“Yep.” Fazzia nodded. “We would like to look them over.”

 

“Let me get the files.” Rivers went to the rack of cabinets running down the wall. He opened three

different ones to search through and pulled out the files he wanted. “The bodies are still being

stored until we release them to their families.”

 

“You’re still holding them?” The Saint scratched an eyebrow.

 

“I have tests for exotic chemicals that I am waiting on.” Rivers led the way to the examination

room. “We moved them from the locker to the morgue shelves for you to look at them better.”

 

He went to the lockers and opened them up and pulled out the shelves. The contents were in bags

to contain the dried shells. He placed the files on a table so he could pull on gloves. Fortress flipped

open the files, reading with a finger marking her place.

 

“Cause of death is extreme dehydration?” She studied the pictures quietly.

 

“The bodies were in advance stages of mummification.” Rivers opened the first bag. “That’s

unusual for New York.”

 

“Excuse me, Detective.” The Saint leaned in to examine the first body. “Can I touch it?”

 

“I guess.” Rivers frowned. “We didn’t find any DNA traces, or transfer, during the autopsy.”

 

The agent raised a hand and touched what was left of the forehead. A mist broke off the dead skin

before fading in the air. He took his hand away.

 

“What was that?” The doctor leaned forward to get a better look at the air.

 

“Transfer.” The Saint smiled at his expression. “Let’s check the rest and see if they have the same

thing.”

 

They methodically opened the other four bags. The agent touched each corpse briefly. Each time,

a small amount of substance leapt into the air and faded away. He went to the sink and washed his

hands.

 

“I have to agree with Doctor Rivers.” He put his hands back in his coat pockets. “The cause of death

was dehydration.”

 

“What was that stuff?” Fazzia didn’t look convinced by the natural explanation.

 

“The killer left behind a substance called ectoplasm.” The Saint smiled. “Phony mediums try to

claim that they can summon it at will. Best guess is either the killer used it himself, or he caused

the victims to project it and carried it away somehow. Ectoplasm is supposedly made by the

substances of the body.”

 

“So the killer killed them by draining this ectoplasm stuff out of their bodies.” The detective looked

at Doctor Rivers. He had the same dubious expression she did. “How do I prove this in court?”

 

“You can’t.” The Saint rubbed his face. “Ectoplasm has been at the center of a number of fraud

cases. Even if you caught the killer, there’s no way to prove he did it unless you caught him in the

act. And if he’s anything non-human, he might not even be able to be tried in court.”

 

“So you think some kind of monster did this?” Fazzia shook her head.

 

“It’s too soon to tell.” The agent smiled to be reassuring. “We have come across a number of

individuals who have been able to do things we thought was impossible. Let’s head back to the

station. Maybe the others have something more tangible we can use.”

 

“So you think you can stop this whatever it is?” The detective smiled.

 

“If we can’t, we might as well hand in our badges.” Fortress closed the files. She handed them

back to the doctor after he pulled his gloves off. “It’s what we signed on to do.”

 

“I expect the Watcher to have some scheme in mind when we meet him.” The Saint opened the door

for them. “He seems to have an eye for the big picture.”

 

“Have you worked with him long?” Fazzia trailed behind the two agents as they left the

examination room.

 

“Five years.” Fortress snorted. “He came over from the DEA.”

 

“I have worked with him off and on for two years.” The Saint led the way toward the exit. “I

usually work with the other field team.”

 

“Why are you here?” The cop paused.

 

“Watcher likes to be ready for anything that comes along.” The agent smiled. “I suppose I provide

a skill set that doesn’t involve punching an enemy in the face.”

 

“I do more than punch a guy in the face.” Fortress put on a false hurt face. “Sometimes I throw

them like a baseball.”

 

“And you do it very well.” The Saint paused to get his bearings. Which way was the exit?

 

“So you think he already knows where to find this thing?” Fazzia didn’t believe that.

 

“He’s smart, and analytical.” The Saint shrugged. “I don’t know how fast he could track something

like this down on what we know at the moment. Someone else might die while we’re looking for

it.”

 

Fazzia hoped not. Someone would make the connection other than the coroner’s office. That would

restrict her ability to act. She supposed she was lucky that she knew Mo and could get his help with

her case.

 

She planned to stop this one way, or the other.

 

They walked to the parked unmarked and got in. They would have to drive up to the 27th through

traffic on the verge of rush hour.

 

“You said this ectoplasm stuff has been the subject of frauds.” Fazzia navigated around two taxis

and a delivery truck.

 

“People claiming to be able to talk to dead people use fake ectoplasm to convince them they have

that power.” The Saint looked out the window. “Harry Houdini exposed some of them as frauds.”

 

“Could someone do that to cover up the real cause of death in this case?” She steered around a slow

moving car with a woman barely visible behind the wheel.

 

“It’s not likely.” The Saint smiled. “What we saw was what was left after the attack. Either the killer

left it, or he drew it from the victims. And since ectoplasm is partially made from bodily fluid,

I am willing to stipulate the killer turned what he could into plasm and took it with him. When

he did, the people died as their bodies became dried out husks.”

 

“How do we stop it?” The detective frowned as traffic flowed to a stop.

 

“We have to find it first.” He looked at the next car over. “We might not be able to stop it when

we do find it. Some of these things can only be moved away from their hunting ground.”

 

“Everything comes down to finding it and finding out what kind of thing it is.” Fortress piped in.

“We’ll get rid of it.”

 

“I hope so.” Fazzia pulled around another car and cut through a side street to get going toward

the station house again.

 

She parked in the reserved slot for her car. She looked up and down the street.

 

“I don’t see your bus.” Fazzia headed for the front door.

 

“It’s probably parked out of the way somewhere if the others are here.” Fortress followed. “At least

Puma and Beatnik will be upstairs going over the files we left them.”

 

The Saint walked last, watching the street. He felt like someone was watching them. He paused to

look around. He didn’t see anyone in particular looking at him.

 

He marked the feeling, but knew that was all that it was. Until he found out what was going on, he

didn’t know if it was nerves, or something more serious.

 

He caught up with Fazza and Fortress as they climbed up the stairs to the third floor. They found

Watcher, Granite, and Triple consulting with the Beatnik and Puma Sai in the interrogation room.

 

“What do you think, guys?” Fazzia joined the discussion after getting a cup of coffee.

 

“We think we have some things.” Watcher seemed to glance at the others but it was hard to be sure

because of the helmet. “How did the visit at the morgue go?”

 

“Tell him about the ectoplasm.” Fazzia sipped her coffee.

 

“The ectoplasm?” The faceless helmet swivelled to look at each of them. “What ectoplasm?”

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

5

The eight of them decided to move everything to the roll call room on the second floor. It gave them

room to move, room to go over things. A white board took up one wall so the watch officer could

write down things for the patrolmen before they hit the streets.

 

Watcher picked up a marker so he could write down what they knew as they talked.

 

“Let’s start with the bodies.” He uncapped the marker. “What did you find out at the medical

examiner’s?”

 

“The victims were in good health, fairly young, mummies.” Fortress crossed her arms. “The autopsy

didn’t find any wounds at all. Whatever happened to them, happened before they could even defend

themselves.”

 

“There were dry traces of ectoplasm on the bodies.” The Saint rubbed his chin. “It suggests that the

victims were killed by someone, or something, that could drain their bodies by pulling ectoplasm

from them.”

 

“It also suggests something mystical.” Watcher wrote in the facts first, then supposition in brackets

to the side.

 

“The victims were alone from what the police could learn from relatives and friends.” Puma Sai

spoke up from his swaddling of black cloth. Only his emerald green eyes were visible behind his

mask. “It suggests overwhelming force and surprise was used to kill them where they were found.”

 

“They were also killed at night while on foot.” The Beatnik crouched over a chair like a gorilla in

a tuxedo. His hands supported him on the back of the chair. “They were discovered in the daytime

after they had been long dead.”

 

“How do we know that?” The Watcher didn’t doubt his squad member, but he wanted to make sure

that false paths were weeded out.

 

“While rigor mortis and lividity were impossible to use for time of death due to the condition of the

bodies, the medical examiner did use a liver temperature to make a guess at time of death.” The

Beatnik shrugged his massive shoulders. “He guessed between midnight and three in the morning

according to the files.”

 

“That’s a small frame to find someone, kill them, and escape unseen.” The Watcher made a note

of the hours. “All of the victims were in this time period?”

 

“As far as the reports said.” He shrugged massive shoulders. “The coroner only estimated because

they couldn’t be sure what had happened because the bodies were desiccated.”

 

“What were they doing at that time of night in that neighborhood?” The Watcher tapped the white

board. “Did any of their friends have an explanation?”

 

“Jeb Roberts was walking home from work, Casey Kane had a study date with a group from her

school, Myra Kowalski was supposed to be on a date but got into a fight with her boyfriend, Tim

Mizerik was on a beer run, and Frank Kyle had just got kicked out of his apartment and had no

place to stay.” Fazzia didn’t have to check her notes. She had all of their histories memorized.

 

“Let’s see what happens when we put them on a map.” Watcher went to a map of the precinct and

marked each spot with a pin. “It looks like a crescent.”

 

“Maybe the thing lives inside where the bodies were found.” Fortress suggested this with a pointing

finger. “Predators like the same territory.”

 

Watcher took a pointer and drew lines in with a pencil. It looked like they met in a spot almost

equidistant from each dump site. He nodded.

 

He called up his agents in the sky. They gave him a picture of a building that looked deserted from

the air. Different filters said there was nothing there.

 

He asked for information on the address. His link reached across various agencies and gave him a

former school. They needed to rule it out as a base of operations.

 

“There’s a school at this intersection.” He asked for any information the system could give him. “If

it is the lair of the monsters, I can’t see anything there.”

 

“So we have to search the place for them.” Puma Sai looked at the station beyond the glass walls

of the roll call room.

 

“They might only be using it as a staging area.” The Beatnik slapped his hands together. “We don’t

know anything about the enemy except how they kill their targets.”

 

“We have a few hours before dark.” Watcher checked the time with his helmet. “Let’s check the

place out. Maybe we will find something we can use.”

 

“What if these things are invisible?” Fazzia stood.

 

“Then we’re going to have problems.” Watcher smiled under his visor. “We’re going to need you

to dig into this school and see if you can find anything we can use.”

 

“What am I looking for?” The detective frowned.

 

“Anything that seems extraordinary.” The team leader wrote down the address. “Maybe a history

of weird deaths. That would be a start.”

 

“I’ll get on it.” She looked at the piece of paper. “Give me your phone number so I can call you.”

 

He gave her the number. He doubted she would be able to come up with anything concrete. He

wanted her to stay behind so he could keep an eye on his team without having to worry about her.

 

He didn’t want to admit that to her. It would come off that he didn’t trust her, which he didn’t, and

he was pulling rank on her case, which he was. And she was an unknown quantity that he didn’t

want to risk in an explosive situation.

 

And she might come up with the answer to the problem while kept from the danger.

 

“We might have to set up a decoy operation.” Watcher paused at the door to let his team precede

him so he could talk to Fazzia. “Do you think you can get some snipers if we need them?”

 

“I can make some calls to the ESU.” She made a note. “They’re supposed to be good shots.”

 

“We’ll look this place over.” Watcher headed after his team. “I’ll call if we find anything. If we

don’t, we might have to set someone up as bait.”

 

“Do you think you can stop this ectoplasm thing?” Fazzia watched as he walked away.

 

“If we can’t, I might have to turn in my badge.” He vanished down the stairs, heading for the lobby.

 

The squad walked to where the bus had been left. They boarded and drove back toward the killing

zone. Watcher gave Triple an address a few blocks away from the last dump site. He maneuvered

in the streets until he found the empty looking building behind a rusty fence.

 

“The Scorcesi School for Advanced Education.” Watcher opened the passenger door and stepped

out.

 

“There’s something here.” Saint stepped out the side door. “It seems familiar somehow.”

 

“Let’s look around inside.” Watcher went to the gate facing the street. “We’ll come back with a

warrant if we find something we can use.”

 

The gate was locked with a chain and padlock. He thought about shooting a laser into the lock. He

couldn’t justify that if he had to get a warrant. The place had to look like no one had searched it yet.

 

Beatnik and Puma jumped the fence and started across the lawn toward the front door. Puma had

his trademark weapons in hand as he stalked across the grass.

 

Fortress grew tall enough to step over the fence. She lifted the non-athletic members of the group

over in one large hand. She shrank down on the other side.

 

Triple lifted his three bodies over the fence with the power of his mind. He had changed into his

working clothes which was different colored overalls with the numbers one, two, and three on them.

The others wondered why he bothered since he was one man spread across three different bodies.

 

The Saint paused as he reached the front patio of the building. He held up his hands. Sparks danced

in the air. He pressed forward, sidling to the left. He paused when he saw something familiar

embedded in the wall.

 

He supposed he should have expected to find traces of an old enemy behind all the killing. At least

he knew a weak point in the monster’s defenses.

 

He stepped back to take a better look at the wall. He saw two more of the anchors sticking out

of the walls of the abandoned school. How many monsters were on guard?

 

He started down the front of the building. He knew what he was looking for now. How many more

anchors had been embedded on the grounds?

 

He made a complete circle of the building. He found ten of those stones in the outer wall. Knowing

they were an anchor to something else, he realized he would have to destroy them somehow.

 

They might have to raze the building to the ground to stop the killings.

 

“We might have a problem, Aaron.” He used his com built into the collar of his coat. “We have

some magical stones in the outer walls. They might be responsible for the deaths.”

 

“We’re about to go in and look around.” Watcher responded. “What do these stones look like?”

 

“Like the Pentagon.” The Saint doubled back to the front doors. “I count at least ten out here in the

walls.”

 

“We’ll keep on the lookout.” Watcher used some lockpicks to pick the padlock on the door. It was

easy when you could see through the metal. “Anything else we should know?”

 

“The guardian we ran into had a strong aversion to light.” He realized only the Watcher had some

kind of light source strong enough to deal with the same type of ghost bee man they had fought in

Iowa.

 

“We’ll make sure to be done before the sun goes down.” Watcher stepped inside.

 

The Saint joined the back of the group. They had spread out in the foyer of the school. Watcher

played a spotlight around as he turned his head.

 

“We’re looking for beige five sided stones.” The Saint brushed aside the feeling of being watched.

“They might be what’s behind the deaths.”

 

“How?” Fazzia frowned. She pulled a flashlight from her jacket pocket.

 

“Let’s look around first.” The Saint put his hands in his coat pockets. “I’ll explain everything when

we’re done.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

6

 

The group took refuge in the command center after their search. They found more of the stones

inside the building. Most were at the end of the halls and in front of the cafeteria.

 

Paul Priest stood at the back of the bus. His coat rested on a hook from the ceiling. He rolled up the

sleeves of his white shirt.

 

The others had taken seats so they could watch him talk about what they needed to know.

 

“About two months ago, Pointer was assigned a ghost hunt in Iowa.” He paused at the unasked

questions on Detective Fazzia’s face. “A ghost hunt is a strange siting with no explanation. It’s a

punishment detail.”

 

“Pointer called the rest of us in to figure out what he had stumbled on.” Priest put up a picture of

the stone in the field that he and the Replacement had destroyed. “This is what we found at the

scene. It had some kind of metaphysical line reaching out from it. I noticed two dozen of these

inside that building. Whatever they are tied to might have killed our victims by accident.”

 

“What do you mean by accident?” Fazzia frowned at him in deeper lines.

 

“The thing we dispersed was mindless and attacked like a swarm of hornets.” He put up a picture

of the blue dots. “It’s possible that we are dealing with the same kind of threat. It saw the victims

as too close to its hive and attacked.”

 

“How did you get rid of it?” The Beatnik didn’t want to chase little glowing bugs with a fly swatter.

 

“We used strong light from flashlights on the swarm itself. The beams seemed to extinguish them.

Then I exorcized the stone and the Replacement crushed it with his hands.” Priest shrugged. “We

don’t know if that will work here, or how many of those things will come out after midnight.”

 

“We don’t have the time to do that to all those stones in the building.” Watcher noted the time on

his visor. “And without daylight, we would be under attack as soon as we tried to take them out of

the walls and floor.”

 

“There is also the possibility that the presence of the stones has nothing to do with the deaths.” He

didn’t believe that at all. The anchor had been destroyed in Iowa, and here was a group of them

active and putting out a field of evil.

 

“That’s not likely, is it?” Fazzia said it for the group. One look around told her the agents didn’t

believe that possibility either.

 

“Right now, our options are limited.” Watcher stood at the front of the meeting. He looked each of

his team over. “We can’t demolish the building without a threat being visible. We can’t take it apart

at night where the guardians will be most active. The best thing we can do at the moment is patrol

a circle around the building and defend anyone who might be on the street to be a target tonight.

Tomorrow I will try to process a warrant so we can destroy the stones and hopefully make the area

safe.”

 

“The school has been closed down for two years.” Fazzia consulted her notes. “There was a big

scandal about most of the teachers taking advantage of their kids. Arrests were made, sentences

were handed down. The honest teachers moved on. The administration shut it down when the

parents of the uninvolved kids pulled them out to go somewhere else.”

 

“Who owns it now?” Watcher could have looked it up with his rig, but decided to let her have some

glory. The rest of the operation was going to be anything but glorious.

 

“It was bought by a developer known as Bastille Enterprises.” Fazzia scanned her notes. “I don’t

have a real name to go with the company yet.”

 

“We’ll have to notify them what we have done after we do it.” Watcher didn’t plan to have a pencil

pusher getting in his way while he was trying to deal with a monster. “We have a few hours. Get

some rest, be ready to move. I don’t plan to let anyone else get killed while we’re on deck.”

 

“Detective Fazzia.” Watcher motioned for her to follow him outside. “We’re going to need

spotlights if this thing is the same as what the other team faced. Can you get them from the

department?”

 

“I think so.” She put her notebook away. “What’s the plan?”

 

“If you can get them and set them up at the edge of the school, I want to be able to shine a light on

these things and get rid of them.” He didn’t want her thinking about what would happen if the light

didn’t work.

 

“What happens if the spotlights don’t work?” She gave him a skeptical smile.

 

“I’ll have to think of something else to close the case.” His smile didn’t extend pass the visor he

wore. “Hopefully, things will be smoother than what we hope.”

 

“I’ll call over and ask for emergency lighting to be set up at the fence.” Fazzia pulled out her phone.

“How long do you think we have?”

 

“At least until midnight.” Watcher wanted the lights set up before then. “It would be better if we

had it done before sunset. Having people in the area might make them show up sooner.”

 

He didn’t want a bunch of cops killed because they got in the way.

 

Watcher signed on the Internet. He asked for pictures of the Scorcesi School. How long had those

anchor stones been there?

 

He had a feeling that they were a recent addition to the school. He also had a feeling lights weren’t

going to stop whatever was out there.

 

The feeling that his team was walking into a trap gave his stomach the flip-flops. His image search

wasn’t conclusive one way, or the other, but he didn’t see any of the beige stones in the brickwork.

Maybe Bastille had added them when they took the school over.

 

It leant credence to the thought someone wanted his team to get close enough to be attacked by

whatever killed the civilians.

 

He sent out a request for everything Bastille had filed. He wanted the name of the CEO so he could

have a talk with him.

 

The man might be in this thing up to his eyeballs. That would make him, or her, responsible for

those deaths and any more that happened because of whatever was wrong with the school. Proving

it would be a different kettle of fish.

 

He admitted to himself he was more interested in making sure his team got back to Washington

alive and fairly whole.

 

He put a map of the area on his visor. He went over the battlefield from the image. He didn’t want

an ambush wiping all of his people out.

 

The number of anchors suggested the same number of combatants emerging to defend them at

night. If the lights worked, they might be able to wipe out the bees before they knew they were

under attack.

 

If the lights didn’t work, they might have a battle where they couldn’t really touch the enemy,

and it would fall on the Saint to apply his unique power to kill them.

 

“The department is sending over flood lights for us.” Fazzia broke into his train of thought with the

news. “They should be arriving soon.”

 

“We should set them up around the building on the outside of the fence.” Watcher stored his search.

“That way we can claim an emergency happened when we get the warrant and wreck the stones

tomorrow.”

 

The others had dispersed while he had been conducting his searches. He hoped they were getting

ready for the night. He needed them fully alert if the things showed at their usual attack times.

 

Maybe they would be lucky and only one guardian would appear. A beam of light and they would

be able to pull the stones out of the wall.

 

He planned to pull the whole place down if it was a threat to the city.

 

“Do you think anything like what the Saint had on the screen will show up?” The detective had

never dealt with anything out of the ordinary from the sound of it.

 

“I don’t know.” Watcher liked having all the answers. “I’m more worried that something else will

show up and we can’t touch them.”

 

Triple’s telekinetic power and his laser were the only distance weapons in the team’s arsenal. So

far they had made it work, but eventually there would come a time when he would need another

blaster on his team.

 

This might be that time.

 

Watcher called up the neighborhood on his map. He checked where he could put the lights for

maximum coverage. If they set them up just right, they could cover most of the ground floor thanks

to the classroom windows.

 

“Let’s take another look around and see if we missed anything.” Watcher walked the three blocks

from the command center to the academy. Fazzia walked with him, checking the street.

 

“How many monsters have you guys put down?” Fazzia frowned at the lonely looking building on

its small hill.

 

“Not many.” Watcher marked a place on the sidewalk with his laser. “We usually deal with human

criminals. It’s possible that whomever owns Bastille knows what’s going on.”

 

“Like he’s waiting for you guys to show up to try and stop him.” The detective followed as he

walked down the sidewalk. “Makes sense if he has dealt with you guys before.”

 

“It reads like a trap.” He marked another place on the sidewalk. “Too bad Pointer isn’t here. He

would make the perfect bait for them to go after.”

 

“Why’s that?” Fazzia wasn’t clear on what Mo’s people could do. Everyone had heard of the

School, but hardly anyone worked close with them.

 

“He’s the team gunslinger.” Watcher checked the angles with his helmet. He moved a little more

to the right and scored a place. “He’s our main source of firepower if we need it.”

 

“Didn’t the Saint say he was on the other team?” The detective stood next to the score. She could

see the main doors of the school through the bars of the fence.

 

“He leads the other team.” Watcher walked along until he had another spot that looked like he could

see most of the back of the school. He made a mark. “He tends to be a cowboy.”

 

“Do you really think this plan of yours will work?” She watched him as he picked another spot for

the lights to be set up.

 

“If it doesn’t, we might have a problem.” He gave her a glance. “We might make things worse if

this is a trap like we think.”

 

“Marvelous.”

[Doctor Agenda]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

I am not sure how to reply to this....

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

I am not sure how to reply to this....

 

Rep is good. Some faint praise is also great. I like that. I don't know anything else I could want.

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

7

 

Aaron Stark watched the night fall from the roof of the converted bus. His agents were watching

the neighborhood from on high. Nothing moved without him seeing it. His team had taken positions

on the perimeter around the school as they waited. Police had cordoned off the streets around the

area and asked the civilians to go somewhere else until this was over. The lights had arrived and

were set up to point at the school. He could turn them on with a remote he had rigged up for that

purpose.

 

All they had to do now was wait for the time to be right.

 

He pulled a laptop from a carrying case. He plugged it in to a receptacle on the bus’s roof. He

opened the file on the case and added everything they thought and what they were going to do to

disprove the theory. The information would be automatically loaded up and sent to the Office for

Director Morrow to look at when he arrived in the morning.

 

The more he thought about the way things had gone, the more certain he was that the school

was a trap for him, or Pointer’s team.

 

He decided that it was mainly for Pointer’s team. They had discovered the first rock. It made sense

that they would be enemy number one to whatever brain was behind this.

 

He doubted the lights would do anything except show them what their enemy looked like before

it came after them.

 

He checked on everybody with his spies as he put the laptop back in his case. It looked like

midnight would be here without action. He locked the case away in a locker underneath the

communications array.

 

How long would they have to wait before the thing showed itself.

 

Aaron crossed to the gate. He focused his amplified vision on the front of the school. He thought

he saw blue sparks dancing around in the dark. Should he enter?

 

“Did anybody else see blue dots?” He sent that out to everyone surrounding the battleground on

their radios.

 

“I saw something.” One of the police snipers responded. “West side of the building, third window

down.”

 

“I’m going to check it out.” Aaron went to the gate. “Keep an eye on my flanks.”

 

He didn’t want to be surrounded by the things while checking out a sighting.

 

He opened the lock on the gate with his picks and steeped on the grounds. His scanner told him the

air had dropped five degrees in two steps. Something was there.

 

“I’ve got movement.” The sniper broke into his thoughts. “West side of the building.”

 

“Three. Got it too.” Another sniper called in. “Looks like it’s headed toward the side door.”

 

“On the way.” Aaron started to his left. “Anything else moving around in the target zone.”

 

A chorus of negatives answered his query.

 

So they had one thing moving around.

 

Aaron checked his spies. They had nothing from the air. He expected that. It seemed whatever they

were dealing was invisible to technology for the most part. He wondered if it was invisible to a

laser as he charged up his main weapon.

 

The door to the west wing of the school opened slightly from the inside. That was all the chain on

it would allow. Something squeezed out through the gap. It paused as if sensing being watched.

 

Aaron took aim with the laser. Here’s the trap. How many more of the things were on the grounds?

 

“When I engage, shoot your targets.” Aaron flipped the switch for the lamps. Light bathed the

school from all directions. It did nothing to the thing bearing down on him.

 

He opened fire with his laser. The beam cut through the flesh with a sizzle. It didn’t dissuade the

creature’s plunging toward him.

 

He backed up, letting his laser fire short beams. He should have thought of that. Of course it’s body

would be mostly liquid. It had drained the victims of their’s after all.

 

The flat snap of weapons being fired broke through his concentration. The snipers were shooting

up the building on cue. It was the only way to justify destroying the stones on the outside of the

building without a warrant.

 

Several of the snipers put bullets through the monster. He saw the holes appearing and disappearing

as the kinetic force was applied. That slowed the thing down.

 

“Hold fire on the monster.” Aaron hated to order that, but he didn’t want them to shoot him by

accident. “It’s bulletproof.”

 

“But is it Triple proof?” Triple dropped down out of the night sky. A ball of energy floated between

his three bodies. He cut loose with it. The monster flattened like mud being stomped under the

impact. It’s shape adjusted to the violent attack. “I guess it is.”

 

“Can you keep it busy?” Watcher looked around. He didn’t see any other things on the grounds.

 

“I guess.” Triple unleashed another ball of force. The monster moved out of the way with a

stretching of its body.

 

Aaron moved down the front of the building. Each of the stones had been blacked out. He nodded

at the bullet holes in them as he reached the front door. Time to go in and see what kind of damage

he could do.

 

“Going in.” He used the laser on the door. “Is anything else moving around out there?”

 

“I got something in the east wing, Watcher.” The Beatnik cut through the negatives. “It looks like

your ugly friend has a brother.”

 

“Thanks.” Aaron looked to his right as he moved to get behind the first monster. He spotted

movement coming down the hall after him. He fired his laser to buy time.

 

He fired into the stone at the end of the hall before heading up the stairs. He could clear the west

wing of its stones before trying to get the ones in the east wing.

 

Hopefully the monster wouldn’t think to cut him off by going up the east wing stairs.

 

He blasted the stones on his way up to the third floor. No sign of pursuit. Where had the monster

gone? Was it still behind him?

 

“Have engaged the enemy on the first floor.” The Beatnik reported on the com.

 

Watcher didn’t bother ordering them out of the building. It would have been a waste of time. He

needed that time to run down the hall to the other end of the building without gasping from the

effort.

 

Bright light played in the stairwell. He paused to assess the threat. He only saw his teammates

downstairs.

 

“Exorcized.” The Saint reported over the com.

 

Aaron started down the stairs. The stones on the second floor had been cracked by whatever

the Saint had done to them. He fired some laser bolts in them to finish the job.

 

“We have some more of those stones, Watcher.” Paul raised his hand. Light glowed from it as

he tried to force his way forward.

 

“Triple?” Aaron had most of his group at one end of the building. Two monsters were at the center

and outside the other end. His only distance fighter was out there trying to keep the outside one

bottled up on the grounds.

 

“This thing keeps coming, Boss.” Triple didn’t sound worried, or strained. “If it gets smart, it’ll be

able to jump the fence easily.”

 

“Blow it back into the building if you can, Triple.” He hoped that wasn’t a mistake. “We need to

find that last stone.”

 

The Saint pushed against the force trying to keep him away. Lines appeared as he tried to break

down the energy already pooled in the air.

 

Puma Sai leaped over his struggling companion. He flung metal stars down the hall at the second

monster. They sliced through the flesh without stopping.

 

“Fortress. Get ready to provide a distraction.” Aaron hoped Triple could knock the first monster

back into the building.

 

“On it.” She ran out of the east wing.

 

The first monster crashed through the door. Dirt and grass followed. It hit the second monster and

they paused as they wrapped around each other.

 

“That is too many eyes for my comfort.” The Beatnik picked up an empty trophy case and flung it

down the hall.

 

“Drop the west wing, Fortress.” Aaron fired a couple of lasers into the pudding as a distraction.

 

The roof came down on top of the mixed monsters. A giant double fist appeared for a second before

retreating from view.

 

“I don’t think that will hold them for long.” Aaron looked around, glad they had shot out the stones

in the opening moments of the battle.

 

“It doesn’t have to.” The Saint pushed and the barrier against him came down. “It’s in there.”

 

He headed into a restroom. He looked around the room until he settled on the mirror above the sink.

 

“That was clever.” He grabbed the edges of the frame and tried to pull the thing off the wall. Sparks

from his hands into the metal square.

 

“Allow me.” Beatnik grabbed the mirror in his huge hands. He wrenched at it. It barely moved.

 

“Let me show you amateurs how to wreck something.” Granite pushed the taller heroes out of his

way. He slammed through glass and the wall behind it with his block hand. A hole appeared when

he pulled his hand back.

 

“Might have overdone it.” He stood back to look at his handiwork.

 

“Doesn’t matter.” The exorcist raised a hand. Light danced around him. Then the atmosphere

lightened around them.

 

Aaron and Puma Sai walked down the hall toward the pile of debris. He couldn’t see anything

moving in the rubble caused by Fortress. He didn’t want to get too close in case their enemy was

playing possum.

 

He hated not being able to see it. He relied on his special vision from his rig. He hated dealing with

anything that could beat it.

 

“What do you think?” His voice sounded strained in the dark hall.

 

The rubble blew out as the combined monster shrugged it off with a whipping of tentacles. It surged

toward the agents. Aaron fired his laser repeatedly as he backed up. Puma Sai flung his collection

of metal stars and spikes into the thing as he jumped over a tentacle reaching for his leg.

 

“I think that’s enough.” The Saint appeared in the corridor. He raised his hands. White light lit

up the hall for a moment.

 

The monster began to dry up. Balls of light ripped from it as its skin flaked away. The fragments

of it boiled away in the air as they watched.

 

“I think that I need a drink.” The Saint pulled his black coat around him.

 

“Let’s make sure the area is clear of these things before we leave the scene.” Aaron saw the

temperature had risen slightly. “Hopefully this is the end of it.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

8

 

Aaron Stark walked the grounds of Scorcesi’s School as dawn broke. The lamps had kept

everything lit up as he inspected the damage his field team had done. Experts from the NYPD were

arriving. Weapons had been fired and reports had to be filled out.

 

His team were still working on their own reports for the Office. They were using terms like

squamous, irregular, and metaphysical to explain what had happened.

 

Aaron regretted not having photographic evidence. None of his orbiting agents, or his armor’s

recording system, had been able to take a picture of what they had dealt with during the night.

 

All he had were things moving on their own before the police opened fire.

 

At least that would clear the ESU snipers that had been called in to assist them.

 

“How’s it going?” Detective Fazzia approached, NYPD jacket over her jeans and shirt.

 

“It looks like we’re done.” Aaron didn’t bother to shrug inside the rig. “Did you find out who was

behind Bastille?”

 

“A bunch of shell corporations.” She pulled a list from her pants’ pocket and handed it over.

“We’ve haven’t been able to trace them all down.”

 

“Maybe the SEC will be able to help out.” He photographed the list for later loading into the

system. “They love stuff like this.”

 

“Want to tell me what happened?” She stuck a cigarette in her mouth but didn’t light it.

 

“We set up on the school. A monster came out the west wing. We engaged according to plan. A

second monster arrived. We dropped the roof of the building on them to pin them down. The Saint

exorcized the area. He’s giving it an all clear.” Aaron looked at where photographs were being

taken of the building. “The lights only helped us to see. Thanks for the assist.”

 

“The guys are saying it was a big loogie come to life.” She followed him as he walked toward the

front doors.

 

“It points out that I need another shooter on my team for things we can’t touch.” Aaron entered. He

scanned the bottom floor. “It looked like a trap to me. But unless we find out who is behind Bastille

we won’t be able to question anyone.”

 

“Do you think any of those things will be back?” She whistled slightly at the crushed three floors

of rubble at one end of the building.

 

“We’re going to stick around to be sure.” He went down to the bathroom. He held open the door

and photographed the busted wall where Granite had punched out the mirror.

 

“It’ll take that long for witness statements to be processed.” Fazzia pointed out.

 

“I know.” Watcher let the door close. “Keep an eye out in case something strange starts happening.

The brain might start going after the police department.”

 

“I’ll keep an eye out.” Fazzia frowned. “Internal Affairs is going to want a statement.”

 

“I have everything on tape for them.” Aaron nodded. “I just have to make them a copy.”

 

“Really?” The detective gestured with her unlit cigarette.

 

“It’s standard procedure.” Watcher headed for the front door. “I don’t have any images of what we

saw. They didn’t record.”

 

“Glitch in the system?” She followed.

 

“No.” He opened the door for her. “I ran into this on another case. Someone present at the scene

of an attack like this didn’t photograph at all. We all remembered him and his advisor but we had

no evidence they were there. I can’t explain it.”

 

“Magic?” Fazzia suggested. She smiled at his pause in step.

 

“Maybe, but I personally don’t believe that.” Aaron headed down the steps. “I would rather think

that someone had devised a way to harness energy as a cloaking device.”

 

“If that’s what it takes for you to sleep at night.” Fazzia followed. “I think it’s a viable option.”

 

“I’m leaving that up to magicians.” He headed for the knot of investigators and technicians. “I like

science. It doesn’t produce horrendous piles of snot.”

 

“Not yet anyway.” Fazzia smiled.

 

“Watcher?” One of the men broke off. “I’m Detective Oscar Klugman. We need a statement from

you.”

 

“I have to go over to the command center. I have photographic evidence to hand over for you.”

Aaron pointed to the bus.

 

“That’s fine.” Klugman nodded. “What you doing here, Fazzia?”

 

“I called the Feds in to help clear a case.” Fazzia put the cigarette back in her mouth. “I’m still

trying to find the owners of this school.”

 

“Why?” He frowned.

 

“Why what?” She frowned back with a touch of glare mixed in.

 

“Why are you trying to find the owners of the school?” Klugman waved at the battlefield. “That’s

our job now.”

 

“We think they’re involved in what went on.” Aaron waved for him to follow. “We just don’t know

how yet.”

 

“And we can’t find out who they are yet.” Fazzia waved a hand. “So far I have a list of names that

connect to other names that connect to other names. Most of which have no offices, or mailboxes,

to look into.”

 

“Excuse us for a moment, Fazzia.” Klugman held up a hand to have her wait outside. “I have to get

a statement, then this video to look at before I can talk to you.”

 

“It’ll give me a chance to smoke.” She waved him off.

 

Aaron opened the command base and stepped inside. He plugged into the monitor set up. He put

an empty disc into the drive. He downloaded the firefight from the night before in a couple of

seconds.

 

“Hold on.” He popped the disc out and handed it over. He reached over to the small printer next to

the monitor. He pulled some of the paper in the out slot and looked them over. He split them into

two piles and handed one over. “This is my case reports and notes, plus my statement of what I saw

last night.”

 

“Thanks.” Klugman put everything in an envelope.

 

“What we saw isn’t on the tape.” Aaron put the firefight on the monitor. “They didn’t record.”

 

The door opened by itself. Watcher and Triple swung into action. It looked like they were fighting

the air. Then the Watcher moved away according to his perspective.

 

“Why didn’t they record?” Klugman watched the video. He leaned closer.

 

“I don’t know.” Aaron refused to say magic. “The only thing recorded was our actions and things

moving around on their own.”

 

“What can you tell me about those stones you had the snipers shoot?” The detective watched the

screen as it showed Aaron using his laser on some of the mentioned items in the school.

 

“We think they are the source of whatever the enemy was.” He unplugged the recording. “The

problem is we don’t know how they work, if there are more in the city, and if we actually stopped

whatever it was we were fighting.”

 

“What’s the good side?” Klugman scratched the side of his nose.

 

“If we are right, we stopped whatever was draining people dry.” Aaron stood. “That means we have

a little time before the handler thinks of some other way to get what he wants.”

 

“And since we don’t know what he wants, we have no way to track him down.” Klugman saw the

flaw immediately.

 

“That’s right.” Aaron nodded. “That’s why we’re going to hang around for a few days to make sure

we killed this thing for good.”

 

“I was going to ask you to hang around anyway until we process this scene, and figure out what

happened.” The detective nodded. He went to the door. “I’ll give you a call when we need you to

come down and elaborate on this.”

 

“I’ll be waiting for it.” Aaron doubted he would be in town long enough to see any follow up to

this. The squad was sent to where the action happened, and Morrow wouldn’t trust Pointer to deal

with every menace he came across.

 

Jeff liked to shoot his problems way too much.

 

Fazzia was waiting for him when he stepped out of the bus. Her cigarette was a stub.

 

“Did we stop this?” She finished her cigarette and pulled it apart.

 

“I don’t know.” He looked over the evidence gathering going on. “I assured Detective Klugman we

would be here for a few more days to see if there is a stray operating. If nothing happens, Director

Morrow will reassign us to another problem.”

 

“I’ll see how much I can dig up on this list.” Fazzia pulled out another cigarette. “I don’t like the

fact I can’t find a name on any of this paperwork.”

 

“It’s almost like no one really owns the place.” Aaron thought that went well with a planned trap.

Only the trap hadn’t worked out.

 

He looked around the area. He didn’t see anyone too interested in what was going on. He would

have thought someone laying a trap would have been there to watch the action.

 

Maybe he had been there last night, and cleared out when he saw the operation going bad.

 

Aaron made a note to check his cameras and see if there was someone on the footage that wasn’t

part of the police response.

 

“Makes it look more and more like someone wanted you guys here so they could go after you.”

Fazzia lit the cigarette with a lighter.

 

“I was thinking the same thing.” Aaron checked on his people. They were all accounted for. “I’ll

get someone to look at that list from the federal end. There has to be someone we can track down

and talk to about this.”

 

“I’ll have to answer some question about why I called for help.” The detective puffed on her

cigarette. “It looks like it was the right thing to do. Tell Mo thanks for me.”

[csyphrett]

Re: Magistracy: A School for Monsters

 

Epilogue

Laurence Elbe frowned at the loss of power from his secondary tower. He did a momentary

evaluation and felt it had served its purpose. It had distracted the government from his primary

focus.

 

The main tower had residents moving in now even though it wasn’t complete. They would add to

the general ambience that he was using to help Father return to Earth.

 

As soon as the top floors were completed, he would be able to follow the progress of the gate with

his eyes any time he visited the roof of the skyscraper.

 

He had hoped to kill the exorcist at least. He would have to report failure on that front. He hoped

Father would be merciful.

 

“Hello, Laurence.” The voice pounded on what was left of his sanity. “What happened?”

 

“I failed to kill any of the superhumans with my trap.” Elbe tried to compose his thoughts into

something that didn’t resemble a mouse running through a maze. “The secondary location was

destroyed in the attempt.”

 

“Are you still undiscovered?” The voice seemed distracted.

 

“As far as I know.” His abilities were slight but enough to point out anyone taking an interest in

him. “They are still trying to trace the bank records from the trap property but so far have not

penetrated the assumed identity I used to build everything.”

 

“I will be returning to Earth soon, Laurence.” Father gave the impression he was smiling across the

void. “Do not let anything get in the way of that. These superhumans, especially that exorcist, have

to be dealt with before they can stop my return.”

 

“I don’t think I can do it on my own.” Laurence waited for his brain to melt.

 

“I understand.” The voice rumbled slightly as the force beyond the veil thought. “I will grant aid

from your brothers. Use it well.”

 

“Thank you, sir.” Elbe knew he had dodged a bullet. He held his relief in. He didn’t want to be too

happy with the master of all still on the line with him. That might cause a reversal.

 

“You have proven yourself very valuable. I will be watching your efforts with interest.” The

presence disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived.

 

Laurence sat down in the middle of the empty floor. He closed his eyes and willed his hands to quit

shaking. He had been that close to becoming a vegetable.

 

He breathed a sigh of relief and tried to think what he was going to do with this new help being

offered.

 

He needed to target these heroes when they were alone and most vulnerable. If he could take them

out one at a time, that might make Father happy.

 

He had to get rid of that exorcist one and for all. He was the only one with the power to prevent

Father’s return to Earth.

 

The rest of the superhumans involved didn’t have the ability to stop the lines feeding Father.

 

Laurence climbed to his feet. He looked around the skeletal floor. Soon people would be working

here, not knowing they would be the first sacrifices when Father arrived.

 

He went to his telescope and packed it in a carrying case. It had been useful for him to see what was

happening at the school. The government agents would be parking somewhere else after the police

was done.

 

He picked up the case and headed for the elevator. He needed to do more research. He needed to

find some way to delve into his enemies’ lives.

 

Father’s tower would soon be finished. He would lease out the offices cheaply to gather his

sacrificial lambs. Once the overlord arrived from his exile, they would feed him enough to deal with

any enemies that arrived to stop him.

 

The exorcist was a real threat to that design. He had to be killed before he realized what was going

on.

 

His ability to destroy the anchors and clear the area of influence had already hurt the operation more

than Laurence wanted to think about.

 

He decided that the heroes worked for the government. He should go to Washington and start his

search there. Once he had located their base, he could follow them and learn their secrets.

 

Access to others in Father’s organization meant he had fanatical warriors at his beck and call. The

trust he was in charge gave him resources to hire mercenaries if he had to do that to get the job

done.

 

Father had waited a long time to walk the Earth again. He had patience like the ocean. Still it wasn’t

infinite. Laurence needed to be able to say he had something in the works to forestall angry words

ripping through his skull.

 

The tower would be built now whether he was alive to see, or not. He preferred to be alive. It would

give him a chance to gloat about the work he had done to reshape the Earth into a new paradise.

 

Laurence rode the elevator down, feeling the vibration against his skin. His mind swam with

options. He had problems concentrating on what should be his priority.

 

The elevator shook to a stop on the ground floor. He waited for the door to slide out of way. He

was glad to be standing on solid earth again. It seemed to ground him somehow.

 

He crossed the nearly empty lobby to get to the exit facing the street. He should get home as quick

as he could to check for a flight south. He would have to make some calls to the other faithful he

could use to carry out his assignment.

 

He closed his eyes on the street. Too many traces reached for him. He worked on his shield to dull

out the afterimages as much as possible.

 

He decided to drive south instead of flying.

 

That would help him plan.

 

Laurence turned and headed down the street toward the nearest subway. He would catch a train

as close as he could to his home before he called a cab to take him the rest of the way. He felt

too sick to grab anything to eat.

 

Father’s voice did that to him whenever he had to deal with his master.

 

He supposed he should be happy that he wasn’t locked away in a home from cracking under the

demands of that otherworldly presence.

 

He knew some of his brothers had cracked. The state had found a place for them away from any

innocent they might carve up in their fervor.

 

He walked down the stairs to the station’s platform as he considered his task. He conceded he had

been wrong to think a mindless monster would be able to solve the problem. Once they had

demonstrated they knew about the anchors, he should have known stopping any summoning would

have be child’s play.

 

He waited for the train away from the platform. He didn’t want one of the people around him to

push him on the tracks. It seemed to be a problem.

 

The metal chain rolled to stop after he had waited for a few minutes. He had watched traces of the

people moving back and forth in the station as they thought about their futures.

 

He was glad that they wouldn’t have anything like that worry about when Father took up his throne

again.

 

Their futures would be devoted to serving him in any capacity that was needed.

 

Laurence looked forward to shucking his physical body for something more etheric.

 

He boarded and took a seat near the front. He preferred that to watching things from the back of the

train. He held the telescope case on his lap to prevent people from sitting near him.

 

He wanted that isolation after his talk. Otherwise he might do something to derail his plans because

he couldn’t deal with a neighbor.

 

He had once pushed a man off a bridge for chewing his gum too loud.

 

Laurence endured the trip as silently as possible. When the train pulled into his stop, he got off with

a smile on his lips.

 

He climbed out of the station and looked around for a public phone. He frowned when he didn’t see

one. He pulled out his own phone and called a cab service he used when he had to. He hung up after

giving the address. He had hoped to avoid using his phone until he was safely away from his

actions.

 

He knew that cell phones could be traced as easily as their land based alternatives.

 

The taxi arrived a few minutes later. He got in the back and gave the driver an address within

walking distance of the cul-de-sac.

 

He kept his talk to a minimum to help with his show of bad temper. He didn’t want the police to

get where they found someone who remembered him and reported his demeanor.

 

When the ride was over, he paid the driver and headed for his house. He would have to grab his

bag and head south out of state.

 

He paused when he saw a man in a suit, leaning on a cane. He knew most of his neighbors by sight.

He wondered what the cripple was doing.

 

He went to his house and unlocked the door. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the man with

the cane was gone. He felt relief about that.

 

He paused to wonder why he had such a reaction. He put it aside as being happy to being behind

his castle walls where he could plan his offense without interruptions.