Season 2 Intro: Better the Devil you Know
She's in a damp dark place, all tied up. Lilith comes out of the shadows for her
-You don't think I'll be stuck down here for ever!
Chloe the Vampire wakes up sweating. This is the first time the dreams have included Lilith actually speaking to her. It's time for school, and getting up in the morning is becoming more and more difficult. All those myths about the weaknesses of vampires are slowly but surely becoming true for her.
Chloe refuses a lift from her mom, she intends to get the subway to school. When her mom tells her it makes no sense for her to do that when she's giving Luke a lift as well, she shrugs; she shouldn't drive him to school so. It doesn't even make any sense in New York city! Luke's not very happy with her when she's told to bring him on the subway with her. Whatever.
To change the subject she asks him about Darcy, and he doesn't know what's going on with her. He likes her, and presumably she feels the same way; given what happened at the party. Chloe tells him he should be more assertive if he wants to win her affection. Hell, he should just be more assertive, period.
He wonders if maybe Darcy isn't into him, he could try it on with Maria? Chloe scoffs, telling him that she'll eat him up and spit him out; he grins, cause that doesn't sound too bad. As they near school he surges ahead (he doesn't want to be seen arriving on his sister's coat-tails. But as he walks up the steps, she waves at him and yells that she has his subway ticket to get home later!
In school, Darcy is following Aster around (casually, but not too casually).
Lucy is at her locker, doing her makeup.
Mia shows sudden fear as Chloe walks in and then restores her bitchy look.
Victor's talking to Omar as Luke bounds up the stairs. Chloe's brother tries to be cool with Omar, but Victor's not impressed and shoos Luke away.
Victor the Minotaur stalks into the hallway and is startled by the sight of his brother, Abel standing at a locker. They lock eyes and Victor walks up to him with a tight cold smile.
-What the hell are you doing here?
Abel is distracted, looking around as if he can't quite comprehend this world
-What luxuries and liberties they have!
Victor waves that off
-Are we even now?
-We'll never be even, ever
and Abel laughs like he's not all there.
-Let me put it plain and simple. Stabbing me in the back sneakily won't work next time. I'm inclined to violence; if you give me a reason,
-Oh, you can try brother...
Liz Macintosh, the school's counsellor swoops in
-Oh my goodness! Are you two brothers?
-No
-Yes
They respond simultaneously.
-Well, you should come to my office after school for some conflict resolution, looks like we need it
Victor grimaces
-I've got obligations later on
-Sorry, Victor. I hope you're not under the impression that this is a request.
and she bounces off.
Victor brushes past Abel
-Stop calling me 'brother'. It's 2017.
Wayne the Werewolf arrives just in time to be late for first class, and he grabs the last seat at the back of the room. As he settles down, he inches forward towards Sidney, who's sitting right in front of him. Maria notices, and rolls her eyes
-Geez! Obvious much!
He scowls back, and wrinkles his nose as he wrestles with this unfortunate graveyard-like smell he gets.
 |
| Lucy |
-You really should come along sometime!
Chloe's idea of clubbing is obviously different from Lucy's though, and she's telling about her weekend (Darcy's listening in from the chair on the other side of Lucy).
-I had this terrible argument with my mom, so I skipped curfew on Saturday night to out with Maria, so I'm still a bit wrecked from that
-I know, I haven't been sleeping. I had this terrible dream, I was stuck in this dark and hot place with screaming!
-Like hell?
-I...wouldn't know
Chloe reaches out towards the Abyss, something she hasn't done in a while and she grasps onto a vision of a hooded and cloaked figure escaping Hell mere moments before Aster shut the gate. When the person reaches the safety of the woods away from the chaos, the hood is lowered and Chloe recognises that it's Lucy.
Darcy chimes in excitedly, about her dream of having Wayne's cylon puppies!
Distracted by the Abyss, Chloe was zoned out and didn't notice herself doodling in her own notepad; she drew most of the sigil which was on the gate into Hell. Lucy smiles, tracing it with her finger
-Pretty
-Sorry, I'm so tired
-You should drink loads of coffee, that's my secret!
-Mom won't let me, I'm going to call child services on her
Lucy's peeling laughter sounds out, but Darcy's not impressed
-Chloe's not funny
Victor texts Aster
~Got something you might be interested in ~Call me 15mins after school ~Bring the team
~OK ~THUMBS UP
Aster the Chosen intercepts Luke on the way to next class.
-Hey, so you and Darcy. How's that going?
-Not too great I guess. I don't really know.
-Well, what are you doing to win her affection? Or what have you already done to lose it?
-Nothing really
Luke's squirming at this, it's like a parental interrogation session
-Well, I know her and Lucy are close. Maybe I can help, ask me later and I'll get back to you
-Totally, dude!
****
At lunch, Lucy's handing out cupcakes to people, in between gobbling his down Aster asks her what she knows about Luke and Darcy. She's up to speed, she knows all about the party, but isn't sure if Darcy really does like him.
-I mean, Darcy's made out with me, and I don't think she really likes me like that
-Me and Charley have this thing later and I don't want Darcy to tag along. Maybe they could grab a milkshake
-Yeah, Darcy'd get eaten real fast
And then she meanders into what she heard of Sam and Darcy's game of 'never have I ever'...
Mia walks by, and refuses the cupcake (even though she really, really wants it).
Wayne's bullying random freshmen out of their lunch, and then picks on Luke. Luke refuses, telling him to piss off (remembering what his sister told him about standing up for himself earlier).
-What'd you say to me!
-Go screw yourself! Are you so poor you need to steal people's lunch money?
Wayne just throws him against the wall (for real) and his ferocity shakes up the younger boy (who pees a little, wetting his jeans). He takes out his wallet and hands it over, and Wayne takes out the $20 and throws the wallet back at Luke.
Chloe has been watching; she can't intervene (Luke's pride would never forgive her) so she steps in as Wayne walks to the counter and brushes past Luke, spilling her juice over him; no one else notices the pee stain and she gives out to him
-Sorry, doofus
and he runs to the bathroom quickly, giving her a grateful glance as he leaves.
Victor spends the whole day staring Abel down, but in the cafeteria, it's palpable, and bites into his own finger eating his sandwich (not really sure how much he ate after that). Victor's wondering why Abel isn't afraid of him, and considering it a bit more deeply reckons that Abel's seen worse in Hell and survived it. He'll see Victor coming this time.
Aster tells Abel he'll have to learn to blend in a little better. He's not integrating well; just looking at his jello and poking it with a finger.
-You'll have to tone down your attitude. Tension between you two isn't going down well
-I'm not going to start anything. He's the same, still just jealous of me, and my sacrifice.
-Well, if we can keep the chaos to a minimum, it'll be best for everyone
-He's the same selfish, vindictive...cowardly person. You should be wary of him, not me
Aster switches tack
-I can't disagree with much of that. But if that's what you expect, that's what you'll get
-You have a strange outlook on life
-Look, I've been trying to make things better, and Victor can help with that
Abel knows a little bit about the Fae, they were around when he was alive, but they were different, and secretive. Aster's much more audacious
-Just stay away from the jello if it comes in really small glasses, okay?
Chloe is eyeing Wayne, she's timing he walk to the exit to intercept him. Maria notices her interest but all she can think of is how much she wants to eat!
-Nope, not today
-Aw
-How are you always hungry?
-Maybe we can just grab a few juice-boxes after school?
Chloe wonders if she's referring to the freshmen, and is relieved when Maria talks about grabbing some blood bags from the hospital later.
 |
| Darcy |
-Hey, can I sit here?
-I suppose, there's a chair, right?
(Unimpressed obviously)
-You're kinda mysterious. Where are you from?
-I was upstate at my aunt's farm for the summer. Before that I was in the mid-west for a bit
20 questions is obviously Darcy's version of flirting; but finally she gets something she can hook onto
-I don't like the city, there's no space
-Well maybe you just haven't found the right places. I could show you around
-Sure
-This is going to be so much fun!
When Chloe stands up to meet Wayne at the door, Maria heads over to Mia's table to flirt with her and mess with her head. Wayne's just wandering and Chloe has to wave her hand in front of his face to get his attention.
-Hey. We don't really know each other, I'm Chloe. That kid you threw against the wall earlier was my brother. Don't pick on him again, you'd better go after other fish
Wayne looks at her, there's no aggression there, but there's a certain steel.
-We have things in common. If you consider him as your territory I can dig that. Just hope you don't take anyone else under your wing, just because.
-He's my brother, he's not going to stop being my brother.
Wayne takes out a $20 and hands it over.
***
As he turns away, Wayne stumbles into Sidney and he manages to grab her before she falls.
-You okay?
She's startled and closes her mouth. She gives him a thumbs up and steadies herself. But she stares at him for a while and then takes out her notepad to thank him. He smiles and rights his phone number on it
-You can text me, right?
So she swaps numbers with him. He shakes hands with her (what is this, 1994?) and as he watches her leave, he gets a message from her
~dork
~LOL
Later he notices that his favourite pen is missing
Victor waits beside Abel in Liz Macintosh's office. He's blank-faced (Daria-esque) and Abel is sullen. There's a basket of various apples on her desk and a couple of apple-themed posters on the wall. It's a warm and inviting room.
 |
| Liz Macintosh, school counsellor |
-I had no idea you were related. When did you get separated?
Abel answers
-A long time ago
-Tell me how that happened. I heard a lot of harsh words out in the hallway earlier
-I'm still angry at him for what happened. He hurt me and I was the one who was punished!
Victor is smiling inside
-How does that work? That doesn't make any sense
-Well, when you were punished for what you did, I was as well
Victor just shrugs, as if can't understand what Abel means. Liz asks Victor
-Do you have any sympathy for your brother? Are you sorry?
Abel stands up, glowering and towering over Victor and says that they're done and walks out, furious at the whole thing
Victor smiles at Liz
-You know, you remind me of someone from my last school. Someone who always saw the best in people...
and (finally!) Aster rings him.
There's a fake one-sided conversation. Victor has to leave immediately, He tells Liz that there's been an accident and he leaves without waiting for a response.
As he's leaving to head home, Chloe grabs Luke and tells him that Wayne won't be bothering him again. He's a bit miffed
-You shouldn't have done that. I can't have my sister protecting me
-Don't worry, no one saw me intervene. I waited until afterwards to tell him. If I was really concerned I would've stepped in, plus I wouldn't be keeping the $20 I forced him to give back
Luke's genuinely surprised at that, impressed really. But his jealous anger kicks in
-Hey, give that back!
and he grabs at her bag
-Touch that zip, and I will break you!
He backs off and grumbles about how he'll be able to buy Overwatch now.
Nearby, Amanda is talking to Lucy, who still looks plagued by what Amanda must have told her earlier at lunchtime. She hands over an old book with some reticence and Amanda goes to her locker. Chloe is standing behind the locker door when Amanda closes it
-I'm curious about that girl
-Lucy's great. She always so happy to help people
-She's helping you with your dark witchcraft project now?
Amanda shakes her head
-Try not to get in too deep with Lucy. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you
-Is that a threat?
-No. Really, I just don't want you to get caught up
Amanda is a bit confused, but seems to take Chloe's words at their face value.
-I wouldn't worry about her. You've got bigger problems.
Behind her, Chloe can see Maria smelling luxuriantly at Mia.
-God, you're such a weirdo!
And Maria grins, showing one fang.
Chloe muses to Amanda
-Who should I protect? Mia can out-bitch Maria any day of the week!
But Chloe calls over to intervene
-Let's not eat our classmates, huh?
Mia slides over to where Chloe and Amanda are (calling Amanda 'Amy')
-Tell your lesbo freakazoid friend to back off!
Chloe looks at Maria
-Well Mia; if you apologise for calling us lesbo freakazoids I'll see if we can put you on a safe list
Mia drops a shoulder in a huff, but turns to look at Maria
-I don't do this ever. But I guess I'll have to do it just this once. I appreciate you, and your weird differences
and she manages what sounds like a real apology, but it's definitely a new experience for her.
Chloe smiles and puts her hand into the crook Mia's elbow, drawing close. She whispers
-I think you liked it, that time you let me feed on you
Mia's heart is pounding and her blood is calling out. She gulps and stares into Chloe's eyes; simultaneously frightened and turned on. Conflicted, she strolls away hurriedly
-Just, next time. No next time!
**
Darcy gives Wayne the tour, pointing out which place has the best tacos, and where the yummiest veggie pizza can be found
-Who'd eat vegetarian pizza?
-I do
Obviously they can't be compatible in every single way.
Wayne's texting Sidney,
~Found a great place for tacos is you want to grab dinner
~Date?
~If you want it to be
~Sorry. I don't date indecisive guys
~Yes. It's a date
The texting is really obvious to Darcy, who powers through the awkwardness.
-Course, Central Park is just awesome
-Wow! It smells so much better than the city
-I love it!
She's showing off all the amenities
Sidney sends him a photo of her outfit, and Darcy sighs
-You're really into Sidney, huh. Well, that's the tour
-Sorry, not really looking for someone to have my puppies
-OMG! How did you hear that!
And poor Darcy rushes off, terribly embarrassed.
Victor and Aster meet up in the car park. Victor's talking to Emma on the phone; she's been really busy positioning herself to be principal when it reopens.
-I'm just crazy with paperwork. Detective Mills has been up my ass with her investigation into all the deaths and missing persons.
-Well, I've been misbehaving. Our very nice guidance counsellor has taken me under her wing. Given your prior experience, can I put her in touch with you. You could put her mind at ease?
-Don't think that's a great idea. I'm a terrible liar.
-Maybe my subtext is a bit too subtle. I want you to meet up and eat her!
-I thought you were capable of cleaning up your own messes
-Well, it's been a while since I gave you a present
-I've just been snacking in nightclubs and not leaving bodies behind. I could try, but I'll need something in return sometime. Give me her number.
Aster's still confused at why Victor had him call earlier, and feels better once he gets the explanation.
They need to talk about Abel before the rest of the team arrives. Victor lays it out for Aster
-He wasn't the best guy to start out with, and now he's been stuck in Hell for ages and he thinks he can just pick up where he left off
-I'd prefer not to have to deal with an ancient vengeance-driven guy
-Well, you might just want to keep an eye on him
 |
| Charley |
Aster brings them in
-Victor is part of this crazy-ass world you know about. His brother has come back from Hell
-Abel!
-He's not really my brother
Aster steers back on topic
-He might have a grudge, and he might have assets we don't know about
Victor offers information suddenly
-He's got something, like a ring
Lucy's eyes widen and Aster's attention snaps to her
-You know something!
-No! I don't
She comes over all serious
-I don't know anything. This is stupid and you're worrying about things that haven't happened
and she walks away.
Aster catches up with her before she gets far, and she's still defiant
-I'm going to talk to Amanda
-Listen. Sorry about that, but things are bad and I didn't mean to hurt your feeling. I'm afraid that I don't know enough to stop the things from hurting us and the people we love.
-Okay. There may have been a ring that belonged to Lucifer. It might make whoever wears it invincible.
-I'm just trying to keep people without powers safe
-I should probably tell you: Amanda wants to join up, coz she's into you. She asked me for something to teach here. So I gave her a book. But it'll take her forever to get through; it's in Sanskrit. If she does get powerful from it, she'll be able to help you and you'll be so happy! You'll make the cutest babies!
Charley and Victor stand together, left behind by Aster and Lucy. Victor caves first and breaks the awkward silence.
-Are your bite marks healing?
She wince as she rolls her shoulder
-OK. Still a little bit sore
-I feel bad. Like you deserve some payback
-I'd rather pretend it never happened
-I'm good at that
-Can we talk about anything else, or nothing?
Victor starts eating his cupcake and then about halfway through, offers her the rest. She only thinks for a second before taking it and when it's all gone
-So fucking good! I swear she's putting crack in them
-Any time you want to work out your frustrations...
Charley is turned on, despite herself and is trying to ignore how his trim figure looks as Victor walks away
Chloe and Maria are talking about alternate sources of feeding. They come back to getting blood bags from a hospital. Maria distracts an orderly, while Chloe grabs a few (two each) as tasters. She comes back out to find Maria feeding on him
-Come on!
Chloe prises Maria off the orderly and sits him down, and they head back to Maria's place to check out the samples. They're kind of disappointing. They're spam to fresh blood's honey roast ham. But Maria is inventive and mixes it with vodka and some extras to make a Bloody Mary; which is quite palatable.
Chloe sighs
-Heading to a nightclub every time we're hungry will get expensive
-We'll just hang around outside
-Well, we better stay off the police radar, after the carnage at the school
-You worry too much!
Chloe hears a voice echo in her head, as if from underwater
-Or maybe you don't worry enough
Chloe grabs her coat, she's going home and Maria is getting ready to go out
-Be careful. You know Aster is going to wade in if he thinks you're overstepping the line. I really don't want you to eat any of our classmates. Cameron had it coming, obviously. I said I have your back and I meant it. I still mean it...
There's a gasp (or squeak) from the doorway: Darcy is standing there. As their gaze turns to her, she starts yammering
-I broke in, cause I know Maria lives alone...
Maria gets to her feet and Darcy runs. But Maria catches her easily and brings her back inside. Her fangs are gleaming and Darcy pleads
-I don't know anything!
Chloe grabs Maria
-What did we just talk about. Darcy, come in and let's sit on the couch and talk about this like mature teenagers [giggle]
*
Wayne stalks the Park in wolf form, figuring out who already hunts there. He hears a woman scream and he carefully scouts out the scene instead of rushing in. A hulking man has grabbed her and has silences her cries with hand. Out of nowhere, Lucy pulls him off her, lifting him way too easily in the air. The slight girl slams him into a tree in disgust and the woman runs off. Lucy walks over to him and just crushes him windpipe with a single powerful punch. She turns, noticing Wayne
-Oh, it's you. You were mean to that boy earlier at lunchtime. What're you doing here?
He growls at her, and she raises an eyebrow, not remotely threatened.
-I've got no time to waste on you, unless you're in big trouble!
And she skips off, to return the woman's bag.
Wayne lopes off in the other direction
Aster heads home, he's been living with his mom, Miranda: so with Chloe and Luke. That has its own issues. Aster heads to his bedroom and gazes into the wash-hand basin to divine something about the big bad who's involved:
Abel, with a notable ring, reading an old book...Wayne prowling around a wood...Another portal, a different gateway to Hell...Maria hanging around outside a nightclub...Amanda researching...Lilith in Hell, with a crown and in charge she's doubly scary...Darcy getting into trouble...Lucy skipping away with a handbag
Victor gives Charley a call. Omar and he are heading down to the East Village later. The place is a bit of a dive and don't card really. It's frequently by special people and it might be handy if they want to keep an eye out for cases to pursue...
Wayne is on the other side of the park when he spots Maria and a redhead making out. He rushes them both, taking this as an opportunity to establish dominance over a weaker predator. The other girls, bleeding from her neck, screams and runs and Maria turns to fight; black eyes and fangs bared. She bites deeply into his foreleg and he tears into her, and in a moment the fight is over as they both cut their losses and back off, Maria leaving him claim the battlefield.
Padding back to his place, with his bag of clothes held gently in his teeth, Wayne spots Sidney hanging around. He transforms back into his human form and wiped away the blood with a neckerchief. He takes the cigarette from her and takes a long drag. But his nonchalance doesn't do anything to calm her; she's scared and is backing away now. He gets dressed and says
-Don't worry. I know this is weird, but I'm not going to hurt you.
She looks at him for a minute in complete silence, and then decides that she'll trust him. She steps back in and helps wipe away the rest of the blood, then she leans in and kisses him, taking his hand and leading him back to her place.
Chloe gets home to find her mom cooking dinner. Some crazy Italian pork dish with loads of mushrooms, or something. She goes upstairs to call Aster, and he's so zonked-out when he comes to, she tries to get him to believe it's the morning and he has 10 minutes to get ready before they have to leave for school. The confusion only lasts for 2 seconds, so she abandoned the ruse.
He sits up and goes all serious on her
-You've got to control Maria
-Holy shit!
Chloe knows. She's talked to her friend about this, and thinks she's made progress on that front, but that girl is so hungry all the time. Aster tells her that Maria's kinda low on his priority right now.
Chloe sighs
-You can't trust Lucy. Ask me when you're ready to hear it, and I'll tell you what I know
-What? She's been so helpful to us
So her warning goes unheeded, as she suspected it would.
 |
| Luke |
Despite the bonding between Aster and Chloe, she's still cold towards her mother.
Victor goes out on the town with Charley. The Ard Rí is a dingy bar and its clientele about the same. Charley orders a Manhattan, and after a while, a older gentleman stops at their table to suggest they would be better off leaving. Charley's amused (into her second drink, she's a little drunk) and Victor says
-We decide where we belong.
-It's not safe, I was just trying to do you a favour
And he leaves with the purple lady he was sitting with earlier
Victor wonders
-Maybe he's right, say someone starts some shit
and Charley lurches to her feet
-I'm fine
and she heads over to a argument that's heating up over by the back door between a few motor bikers.
They're more than a little confused that this girl is trying to break them up and wonder what the hell she's doing in this bar anyway.
Victor steps in to back Charley up; these guys look like just the kind of guys he hates anyway. Their jackets are emblazoned with the name of the gang 'The Monsters'.
-Butt out, we're talking to the pretty human
Charley is lapping this up and turns on the nearest guy...
-I really hate assholes like you
...and knees him in the groin
They're doing well, but outnumbered and two of them drag Charley outside. Victor's biting deep into one guy's throat and when he looks up, he sees a car door close with Charley inside. He rushes out to jump onto the roof, and after a few minutes of hanging on for dear life, they stop and he's knocked out.
Next Session: The Devil may Care
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