Reality Crisis

Fred's wedding had passed quickly and while there had been worries about an incident, nobody had gotten hurt. As far as Dinah was considered, a wedding without bloodshed was a good thing. Fred and Sam were clearly in love with each other and she believed that this world could use a little (or a lot) more love.

Once they'd made it back to Sanctuary, Dinah set off in search of Enigma. She was worried about the vampire for more reasons than one. Aside from being worried about how Enigma had fared in the earthquakes, Dinah knew that there would be temptations in the aftermath. So many people who were wounded and lost, people who might seem like easy prey.

She stopped by the hut first, hoping she'd get lucky and find the redhead without too much hunting. She was tired and wouldn't be able to sleep until she knew that Enigma was safe and the people of Sanctuary were also safe.

( Must be something in the water )

Damon made his way back to the camp and into his tent which he now shared with Enigma. He was eager to see her and just hold her in his arms. It wasn't something that he normally wanted to do, but he really wanted to do it now. Damon had never experienced a lot of affection as a child. His mother had died when he was very young and his father had pretty much hated him. Katherine hadn't really been one to display her affection, perhaps because she had never truly cared about him. He stepped inside the tent and he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and snuggling against her. "Hey, snuggle bunny," he said.

Enigma had fun with Eric, but the sun was setting and Enigma was eager to see her lover, having missed him even while enjoying her time with her new friend. She hoped Damon was in the hut when she returned, smiling as she saw the flickering candles, humming in happiness and blurring her way to the hut, eager.

"Hey Sexy," Enigma said as she came back into the hut, straddling Damon's lap, smiling down at him. "Did ya see the steaks I brought us? Freshly killed and everything," she purred, nuzzling his neck, her fangs running lightly over the flesh. "Missed you when I went to the lake...we had so much fun last time," she purred, before sitting back, wiggling on his thighs, but keeping a space between their bodies.

"So what'cha doing?"

Rumors had come to Erik's attention about one of the young women in Sanctuary. They were saying she had fangs or could have fangs and Erik knew that she hadn't been that way in the beginning when she came here.

There were too many things that could go wrong with that if she was what it sounded like. Erik couldn't leave something like that without investigating it. He nodded to one of the men that had brought him the rumor. "Tell her to come to me."

Once the man left to go tell Enigma to come see the leader of the settlement Erik poured himself a drink and sat down to wait in a deceptively casual pose.

Eric wandered between places, through the trees and over rocks and limbs without a real direction or purpose. He moved like a shadow as he crossed from one place to the next, feeling as if his whole existence up to that point was utterly useless. He want fulfilling his purpose, the reason why he was allowed to move freely around on the Earth again. Death had brought no solace, no peace for his pain and neither did his resurrection. He had the Crow to keep him company, but a bird could only be so much of a companion.

He missed his fiancée. The air he needed, the light of his life and the reason he'd died. He had never blamed her, it wasn't her fault. It was their fault. And they'd almost all paid for it too. He had one name left on his list and until he could find a way back to his own world, his own time, and make the wrong into a right he would never be happy. He would never be at peace and he would never really or truly be set free. His existence here meant nothing in terms of the bigger picture, but he was valuable in this realm and he knew it. He was quite aware the power he'd been granted, slowly having figured out some of what he could do. The Crow offered some insight, but most of it was rationalizing and having the time to think things over.

Eric approached the Sanctuary, a place he had been to a few times and seen more than a hundred. The Crow perched from his shoulder as he walked, boots crunching over the foliage. The air was warm and the sun shone bright, but he couldn't feel it. He preferred the rain, honestly. But it couldn't rain all the time, could it? With the sun, Eric could feel Shelly's warmth trying to shine down upon him, but he just couldn't feel it, no matter how earnest it was.

The Crow cawed loudly, almost in a warning, black frame shifting to better adjust itself on Eric's shoulder. He looked at the ground as he walked, entering the Sanctuary after a moment, relying on the eyes of the bird to see. His guns fit snug against his hips, nestled in the holsters, and there was a short sword strapped to his back. These were mainly for Netvore's, which Eric had an entertaining time killing when it was necessary.
He tried not to harm anyone or anything without a just reason. He was a killer, and there was a lot of metaphorical blood on his hands, but he wouldn't hurt anyone innocent. Not like he had been harmed already.

Natasha had found out quite about New Troy from both the meeting with Eric and from Clark showing her around. She still hadn't decided how she felt about the information that had been revealed. Not that her personal feelings mattered in regards to this situation. Worse than that, she had yet to decide whether or not it required action. And if so, what that action might be.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn't have orders or directives. She didn't have superiors. It should have felt like freedom. Instead, she felt trapped and lost.

Those emotions, along with the memories of the absolutely addictive, mind-blowing sex that she'd had a glimpse of-were all conspiring to drive her to understand more. It was possible that she wouldn't stop until she'd uncovered every last bit of information that was required to truly understand this world and the people in it. Or until that search for knowledge killed her.

She wasn't avoiding her roommate, per se. But she did set out on her own this time. She'd heard rumors about Sanctuary and she thought it was worth looking into the colony. Maybe she thought that the journey out there would give her the chance to clear her mind or maybe she was just retreating into herself even more in light of recent events and the nature of this world.

Her reasons didn't matter in the end. What mattered was that she made her way in the direction of the small settlement on the edge of the forest that was said to be enchanted. She was seeking knowledge that could only be discovered inside the confines of the settlement that claimed to be a Sanctuary.

Adult Content: Sex

Enigma raised up onto one hand, her other reaching for her thigh, wiggling a small blood sucker from her pocket and slipping it into her mouth to calm the cravings as she closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing.

And suddenly she screamed, as something tore into her flesh.

She opened her eyes, flipping to her feet and landing in a crouch, looking up at the changed world around her. Blood filled the air, sweat and the sharp scent that came from someone's bowels ripped open.

She stood, her long red pigtails matted with blood and other fluids, her body already healing from whatever had attacked her, the smell of smoke and death making her gag.

She lashed out at one of the men going for her out of the gloom, easily sliding into his stomach with the sword he held, kicking his body back, fangs extending.

She turned, fleeing from the battle, appearing instinctively at her lover's side, drenched in blood, panting from rage and blood lust, her leather pants making a squelching sound as she moved, the leather corset she wore to protect her heart barely covering her breasts or stomach, a large black crow burnt into the hard leather.

Damon stepped out of his tent. He was wearing just a pair of jeans that were riding low on his hips, showing his hip bones, a belt and hos boxers. He didn't look this whole camp situation. He wasn't that big a fan of voluntarily camping. He liked his comforts and he missed his bed from the boarding house now. It was so big and comfortable and he frequently had someone else in it.

He stretched a little, his muscles flexing and bones moving under the skin of his back. He still hadn't been able to find a place with hot water to shower, and he missed his bathroom also, being able to take long, hot bubble baths, again usually with someone else in the bath with him. He started to walk down to the lake that he had found and when he reached it he started to unbuckle his belt, pulling it off. He tossed it on the ground and that to undo his jeans, sliding them down over his hips and tugging them off, along with his boxers. Now completely naked he stepped into the water and started to swim.

Sylar was still on the lookout for Peter. He'd taken to haunting the outside of Sanctuary trying to see if Peter was still there. And if he was, he wanted the chance to get the other man on his own. He had also started looking around the faerie forest in the hopes of finding any sort of hidey hole that Peter might carve out for himself.

Neither attempt worked thusfar. It was irritating and Sylar was half contemplating just attacking everyone that Peter might have worked with or had connection with. That would draw him out at least.

Any plans to do that, however, were waylaid at the moment. On a trip to check out the situation in Sanctuary yet again, Sylar ran into a mass of teeming bodies. All of them were in varying states of decay, all moaning and moving at a slow pace.

Zombies. Not just zombie-like beings like those Netvors, but actual zombies. It might even be entertaining if he didn't have better things to do.

He lobbed a few fireballs in the direction of the horde, aiming to slow them down while he used his telekinesis to slice away at them. It was all about destroying the brain in whatever manner he could manage.

(Warning: Adult Content - Sexual Situations)

Enigma stretched her arms over her head, working the kind out of her back from sleeping on the cot in Dinah’s hut, before checking the bandage on her sprained wrist, sighing as she walked through the small area that made up their new home.

She was regretting agreeing to Di’s plan, finding the lack of entertainment to bore her. On the other hand, she was in close contact with one Bruce Wayne...also known as Batman, so that kind of made up for it.

In a way that totally didn’t as she was having zero luck seducing the man.

Making a face at her own thoughts, she bent backwards, attempting for a back handspring...and promptly collapsing as her injured wrist gave way. One might think her a morn for continually attempting it with the same results, but as her wrist healed, she would get more height, and thus could keep a better track on the injured limb by trying.

Plus, she was just really freaking stubborn.

--

Damon had decided that he would explore this new place that he found himself in just a little. Maybe he’d just into more of those things that himself and Faith had ended up fighting and he would be able to kick some ass. Not that he really wanted them to show up, but it was a bit of a rush fighting them and he was a little bored. He was going exploring after all.

He was making his way through the camp when he heard what sounded like someone falling over in one of the huts. He decided he would go check if the person was alright. ‘What has Elena done to me?’ he thought to himself as he made his way to the hut. There was a time he would have just laughed and walked by, but now things were different. Now he he was different.

He reached the hut. “Hey, you okay in there?” he asked, deciding against just walking in.

( Vampiric Desires )

Dinah hadn't had the chance to hear the results of Bruce's talk with Enigma. Since she hadn't seen any sign of bloodshed or injury, she'd assumed that it had gone as well as could be expected. All the same, she thought it was best to talk to the young woman and to make the offer of shelter and assistance.

She would need to talk to Bruce too at some point, but she wanted to make sure that the redhead didn't wander off or find someone willing to pay a price. She was at a crucial period where she could possibly turn things around. This was a new place and the chance for a new start, albeit in a rough and unfriendly world. Dinah would do what she could to help her, but she also planned to do what she could to protect the people of this world from Enigma's ways if she had to. She much preferred the first option though. She was always more inclined to hope for redemption than for a chance to stop and punish people for their wicked deeds.

Dinah looked around the village for Enigma, preparing herself for the talk that might have to follow her offer and the information that Bruce had given.

He didn't know Effie in his world but apparently she knew him in hers. Only she knew he and Batman as two separate people. She was also someone who used to be considered a hero and now wasn't. Dinah had known her in her world and wanted to try to help her back onto a different path.

Bruce was of two minds over that. Sometimes you couldn't change people. Sometimes you just had to accept what was part of them and deal with it as best you could. But sometimes people didn't want to be who they had become and with a little help they could change.

His own discovery of how selfish he was through Rachel was a good example.

Apparently in her world she'd tried to kill him at least once. Bruce wouldn't let his guard down around her but as a gesture he was coming to her first to tell her who he was before she found out through someone else. It was a chance at trust hopefully. As much as he could offer anyway.

The city wasn't that big and Bruce didn't think she would hide from him so he went out to look for her.

Effie sat on a patch of ground, constantly taking apart and reassembling her small handgun. She had left the bullets in the hut, but the action calmed her, a familiar task. She had memories pounding at her head like a badly out of focus movie and it was driving her slowly insane. She wasn't...that wasn't her. Those weren't her memories.

She was Effie Nigma, daughter of Samantha and Marcelus Giovanni, grand-daughter of Sofia Giovanni, the adopted redheaded brat to a large Italian family, raised with love and care in Boston Mass, she was in her seventh year at Our Lady of Serenity and a cheerleader. She was best friends with Duela Dent and Tim Drake, ran around in the night under a mask with the name Enigma, The Riddler's Daughter in honor of her father...and she was a good person.

She was not eighteen, she was not a thief, she did not run a criminal gang and she was not building an empire. She had never fought Batman (though it would be cool to spar with him, he had sweet moves), she had never been in Blackgate or Arkham Asylum...hell she hadn't even been to Gotham, despite begging Robin.

...she was not a murderer.

Right?

Enigma flipped backwards gracefully, the knife that had been thrown at her sailing cleanly over her body and she grinned, moving one f her hands to her boot, grabbing her own knife, releasing it as she landed on her feet and rose up, watching as one of her men had to dive out of the way, before she lashed out with a kick to the side, catching the other man who had surrounded her off guard, licking her lips at the grunt of pain he gave.

As her foot came back down and she stood again, she found herself pressed against a hard body, an arm the size of a tree trunk around her throat, gun pressed to her temple. She swallowed, before trying to wing her legs up and back to catch the man int he groin. There was a noise and she yelped in pain, holding the side of her head, glaring at the man who had shot a paint pellet at her. “Oy!”

“Sorry, boss, but I got ya fair and square,” Thomas pointed out with a shrug.

“Yeah yeah, I’m going to go hit the showers, go check the equipment.” Enigma said as she grabbed her towel and duffle bag, heading for the locker room.

“Ya sure ya don't want me to stand watch at the door?” Brandon said with a smirk, his eyes roaming over the redheaded women's’ scantily clad body.

Enigma paused, making a face at him. “Brandon, I wouldn’t trust you to guard my ass in an empty room. And I need something that isn’t small enough to fit through a pasta strainer.” She turned after that, returning to her path of getting a shower, but nodding to Daniel who moved behind her, standing guard at the door of the locker room...just in case.

( Meanwhile, back at the ranch... )