Assignment Great Britian

[The Watcher]

It was a simple assignment. Go in, get the Scarecrow and turn him over to the Arkham Asylum crew that would be waiting.
So the morning after the night long celebration, the weird Bermuda Triangle incident, and Cameron's odd phone call dawned...and the group was off on the next assigment. Minus Cameron, who had felt compelled to go find out what Gus was up to.
The flight overseas was quick and for the most part uneventful. Landing at the coordinates Mulder had given them, they couldn't help but notice the huge castle that loomed over the next ridge.

[Enchantress]

Angelee had remained silent for most of the trip overseas. Last night was not what she had expected it to be.
The conversation she had been having with Cameron had been interrupted by a phone call from Gus. Who was in trouble...yet again. The two had very little time to talk before Cameron raced off to help his little cousin...again.

He was gone, once again, after a revelation on AJ's part. The first time had been in Avalon when she had opened up and admitted her feelings to him. And now this. It just seemed to her that this wasn't meant to be. That something was always going to come in between the two of them.

Her wings were healing, to the point where she could actually lift up off the ground just a bit without them trobbing.
She had sat in the co-pilot seat next to Chandi during the trip overseas. She hated Britian. She hated being this close to Avalon, and she loathed the fact that the entire isle seemed to pour magickal energies from it. She hated being this close to memories that were so painful.
But, she had a job to do. Although she had explained to Chandi what had happened the night before, and all the fallout from it, she kept the rest of it to herself. Not everyone needed to know that Cameron had run out on her again. She didn't want to seem weak or needy.

Firefly stepped out of the plane and let out a low whistle at the dark castle that sat just beyond the next ridge. Mulder's information about the place was nothing more than it's name.... Chillingham.
"Well, let's get this over with. I hate this Island more than I hate a cash bar."

[Solace]

“Jay, you know I hate this place just about as much as you do.” Chandi breathed, as she fought with memories that wanted to resurface now that she was back in the very country that had started her on this crazy journey. “Wonder why Britain can’t just get their own superhero team to handle this.” The tone in which she spoke with was bitter, and hidden behind her words was a lot of anger.

She didn’t like being back in this country, not one bit. Her irrational fear of being pulled back into working with Britain’s elitist superhero team and being reminded every day how she wasn’t normal…nor was she as powerful as the hick leaders of that team wasn’t something she fancied.

“So lets make sure this mission is quick and painless.” With her keen cat eyes Chandi scanned the perimeter of the area that she had landed in, trying to catch sight of anything that might look out of place. “Plus I’ve got myself a ‘private dancer’ and I’m just itching to see if all is boasting is just a cover or if he’s for real.” A little smirk graced her cat like features as she glanced over at De and gave him a wink. “Though I don’t know if the bloke is worth my time…” Chandi knew that if she didn’t get some kind of joking into this trip she’d truly go nuts dwelling in the past and the memories that she didn’t want to remember.

[The Truth]

"Somehow I doubt there's a bloke alive actually worthy of your time Pet. Well...save for this one Ozzie fellow I've 'erd of. Supposedly has a penchant for lingerie and liquor. Quite the catch from what they tell me."

De said with a grin as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. He hadn't gotten as much rest as he'd have liked the night before, his slumbering hours riddled with dreams of giant penguins and poultrygeists. Foul nightmares indeed. He bit back the urge to yawn as he look ahead at the castle in question. Chillingham. Why did the mad scientist types always have to take over a castle? Was there some sort of mad scienctis handbook they played out of that he didn't know about? God he hoped so, cuz if he could get his hands on a copy it was sure to make for a interesting read.

Of course, that was if he made it through the ordeal. Being in London was one thing, you had the stores and the people and the "locals", and everything seemed much like it was back home. Everything except the weather of course. But out here...... De was urban born, bred, and raised, and this definitely fell under the rural category. He didn't even like venturing into the Outback that much, and that was a place he was at least familiar with. Out here he just felt like another foreigner.

"But I'll tell you more about him later if you want. First things first, we should probably deal with this Scarecrow. See what he's on about and see if we can't convince him to come along peacefully."

[Enchantress]

AJ glanced at Chandi for a brief moment at her remark about letting Britain's team handle this. Reaching down in her boots for her daggers, she spun them around in her hand and then replaced them from whence they came.
"Probably beneath them. Ya know?" with not much more than a smirk on her face, she started down the path to the castle.
"Besides, it's not like they can handle everything. From what Ah seen of them, they couldn't handle anything at all. 'Specially a little girl on girl action." with a look over her shoulder, she winked and continued on, whistling to herself as she walked. Listening to De and Chandi's banter, she couldn't help but smile a little. Sure, her love life was in the crapper, but at least someone on this team was having a little fun.
"Ah think Ah'm gonna swear off men for a while. Stick to cats, aliens, and faeries..."

[The Mighty Thor]

Assuming she was busy with affairs of the heart, ‘Vok had left AJ alone the night before, hoping the little flirt would finally be able to resolve her issues with Cameron. So the shape shifting pirate had gone down to the flight strip to investigate the mysterious antique planes that had appeared out of nowhere. But as he suspected, no one seemed to want to give up any intel on the things, preferring to keep the now cliched air of secrecy clinging to the situation much like the fog that now clung to his ankles on the early morning British hillside. The WWII aircraft were quickly whisked away by Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. cronies, leaving ‘Vok to wonder if that little episode would ever pay off, or if it was destined to be just one more weird anomaly to visit their freaky island home. He didn’t care one way or the other really, considering he had a ton of other things on his mind.

First and foremost of which was the quiet, dejected demeanor that AJ had lingering around her, and the obvious absence of Cameron. After the planes had been spirited away, ‘Vok collapsed on the beach in a rum induced haze, so he didn’t know what the night had held for his teammates, but it was obvious that something was up, other than the mission and the Robert Wise style castle that loomed on the ridge ahead. They stood looking at the monstrosity that was their destination when ‘Vok leaned and whispered into AJ’s ear just before she began to walk away from the group, “He went and screwed up again, didn’t he love?” He didn’t even wait for a response, because he knew that she wouldn’t want to linger on whatever had happened, but he wanted his friend to know that he knew, and that he was there for her whenever she felt like, and had a chance to talk to him about the whole hinkey mess.

A few steps back and shifted into his John Starling guise, ‘Vok walked after AJ, ready to get the mission under way. It sounded to him that the girls were speaking of one British team in particular, but he didn’t know which. Adding to the conversation, he said, “Me don’t know about all that, but me do know there are a few British organizations that linger about the isle, but none of them ever last that long. Poor sales and bad writing usually gets them cancelled right out of existence. Me guesses that’s why we was called in. Ye just can’t go wrong with a group like us.”

[Tessa]

Kei had immediately wrapped her arms around herself when she stepped off the Jet, The UK seriously did not have the weather she preferred.
“How’s about I stay with the Jet, ya know, make sure it doesn’t…disappear.” Kei suggested to the group, “Sit and envision choice Hawaiian surf, while ya guys get this Scarecrow dude outta the castle.” She gave them all a hopeful expression, willing herself to ignore the cold, as she kept moving, “Do ya really want to see what a Kei Popsicle will look like? ‘Cause my body heat is droppin’ rapidly, I can feel the onset of hypothermia!”

She was over-exaggerating, but she didn’t know of any other way to get out of being stuck in a drafty (and creepy) English Castle with an equally creepy inhabitant.
“Unless one of ya’ll want to sacrifice some of your body heat for a good cause.” Kei let the sentence trail off, knowing somewhere in the back of her mind that she wasn’t going to be getting out of this little adventure easily.
“Ya know, lend a jacket if ya have one.”

[The Watcher]

As the group walked the road that lead to the castle, Mulder came across their comm links and began describing the behemoth before them.
"Chillingham Castle sets on the border of England and Scotland. It was built in the 12th century and has a ton of history behind it I could babble on about for ages. There are a series of dungeons and torture chambers located on the lower levels. Check there first for your mark." his voice faded off, but nothing without a bit of a menacing laugh.
"Oh, and did I mention the place is reported the most haunted place in the world?" With a snicker, the comm link went dead.

As they approached the castle, dusk was beginning to creep across the sky. Jet lag played with them a bit, as the sound of wizzing arrows flashed past their heads...or was it just a sound? No one was quite sure. Reaching the front door, they all stood and looked at each other, wondering how on earth they got stuck with an assignment like this.

[Enchantress]

Wordlessly, AJ took off the black leather jacket she was wearing and handed it to Kei. She knew what the weather was like in this country, having spent far too much time in it for her taste, and had dressed accordingly.
Still clad in a black turtleneck, a pair of jeans and the requiste boots that looked like they were made for mountain climbing, she pulled her hair out of the ponytail it had been in and shook it out. A fountian of pink spilled down her back and rested against her bottom. Her damaged wings folded against her back, their tips almost brushing the ground as she walked towards the castle.
"Yes, he screwed up again. Or maybe I did, I don't know." She replied to John's whispered inquiry. Only her reply was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I'm F*&$ing sick of this!" she growled. "I'm f*%!ing sick of living my life for the f&$@ing moment! I'm tired of being everyones f*&$ing doormat! I'm tired of feeling like I have no control over my own god d@mned life!" she practically screamed. Her southern accent melted away as she finished off her PMS tirade with more curses than anyone had ever heard escape her lips. Angelee was not a complainer. She was not a whiner. She had always been the life of the party, everyone could always count on her to lift their spirits and now, she wasn't in the spirit lifting mood.
Her eyes had begun to gently glow green the moment they landed the plane, the closer they got to the castle, the brighter the green got.
"I've had my F*%&ing share of f*$&ing men f&$^ing up my F*%&ing life!" she stomped her booted feet up the steps to the castle and pushed into the doorway that lead them into the great hall.
"OK, you messed up Scarecrow F*&$. I'm in no F&%ing mood to play any F!*&ing games with you! Come out nice and quiet or I swear to F&$^ing God I'm coming in with the biggest F*%&ing gun I can find and you'll think Batman was kiddy hour you sick F&%!"

Clearly, AJ was not in a good mood.

[The Truth]

De couldn't help but raise a brow at AJ's outburst, risking a glance at Chandi to see if she had any idea what was going on. Granted he barely knew the pink haired pixie, but from what he'd seen up to thise point that tirade was a bit....out of character. Maybe she was possessed. Place was supposed to be haunted after all. Course, he wouldn't say any of this aloud lest he spend the trip home a quarter of the man he used to be, but it still a bit unexpected.

"You know luv, threating the man with shooters and mindless violence may not be the best way to get him on the plane."

De commented as he stepped into the great hall behind her, tucking his hands in his pockets as he took a quick look around. He'd been in his fair share of mansions and large homes in his life, but this was a bona fide castle here. Very impressive. There was no telling how old the place was, or how haunted it was either, though he'd faced enough angry spirits in his day that he wasn't all that worried. After all....if worse came to worse he could probably hide behind John until it was over.

"So Fox thinks we should head on under this place and see if we can't locate the 'Crow. Though I'm thinkin' maybe in such a big place he may have found some other place to nest.... What do you think luvs?" He said loook over his shoulder at Kei and Chandi. "Should we all head on down to the depths? Take the stairs on up to the towers? Or split up and tackle both at once?"

[Solace]

Chandi’s eyes were as big as saucers as she listened to AJ go off on her tirade, though she knew she had good reason to be pissed off at the world it still didn’t keep the petite Aussie from being just a tinsy bit shocked at her friend’s outburst. “Angelee….” Chandi whispered coming up next to AJ she placed an arm around the fairy’s shoulders. “Don’t let Sparky get under your skin…if I know one thing it’s that guys never change…” She paused for a moment, reflecting on her past mistakes with guys. “No matter how much you want them too.” With a little smile gracing Chandi’s features she had to let out a little giggle. “Plus you know I’ll always be here.” With her arm still around AJ’s shoulders Chandi turned her attention towards De.

“Scarecrow’s a guy right? So he can’t be THAT smart so we may just be giving him more credit then he deserves.” Chandi couldn’t pass up a chance to make a sarcastic comment about the male population. “But checking both places wouldn’t probably be wise, though splitting up might not be.” She continued as she took a good long look around the place, a chill running down her spine at the vastness of the place.

[Tessa]

“So long as ya’ll don’t send this little surfer girl off on her own, I’m up for whatever plan gets put together.” Kei announced, creeping closer to De subconsciously, apparently her subconscious figured that being close to the biggest guy on the team would somehow help in her safety.
“The Chillingham people probably would not appreciate me blowing holes in these ancient walls anyways, so somebody’s gotta keep an eye on me.” Kei didn’t like the idea of going to the Dungeon or the Tower, but she knew that team would have to go to both eventually.

“Also, I think AJ probably freaked the guy out…”

[The Truth]

"Any bird threating a man's life with the biggest gun she can find is enough to freak any bloke out luv, any bloke. Trust me......"

De said, trailing off at the end as various memories of various gun toting females threating various parts of his anatamy at various stages in his life filled his head. It was amazing how many of them involved his mum and sis, pair of whackos they were. But fortunately he wasn't to far gone in his own head to miss Kei closing the distance between her and himself.

"But no worries luv,..." he said with a quick back sidestep, slipping one arm around Kei's waist and the other around Chandi's, giving them both a slightly less than gentle tug towards him. "...I wouldn't want to split us up anyways. Scarecrow fella might get the wrong idea just seein' me and John creepin around his dungeon."

[Tessa]

“Well, I don’t hafta threaten with guns, I can just makes bits explode.” Kei informed them with a smirk, “Maybe I should yell that for this Scarecrow dude to hear.” The dark-haired surfer made to make a protest when De grabbed her and pulled her closer, but decided to she liked the proximity…Since it practically made her the smaller target, besides Chandi. Nobody was smaller than Chandi.

Kei made to stifle a laugh at the thought of Scarecrow thinking John and De were involved, “Ya’ll would make a cute couple.” She teased, giving De and then John a big, toothy smile, “D@mn near cuter than Pinky and Chandi. Plus, this villain might be afraid of gay men…Batman’s kinda questionable anyways, is he afraid of Batman?” Kei quirked an eyebrow, pondering that thought for a couple minutes.

[The Mighty Thor]

As a self-styled space pirate, ‘Vok had heard some rather salty language in his days, but the plethora of profanity that had just escaped AJ’s lips left him speechless. The rest of the group seemed equally surprised, but they all took it in stride. It wasn’t as if the pixie didn’t have a good excuse for being pissed. ‘Vok and AJ had become fast friends since the team had been formed, with her quickly becoming his closest confidant amongst the rag tag team. So it would come as no surprise that her current mental state didn’t sit well with him. In fact, he would have to have a word with Cam if he ever came back to Twilight Cove. Unless of coarse AJ got to him first. And if that was the case, he would have nothing to do but sweep up the pieces of the man after the furious faery was done with him.

But in the here and now, ‘Vok found himself standing beside his team in the dilapidated great hall of Chillingham Castle. He had to laugh as De pulled Chandi and Kei to himself, imitating the move he himself was just thinking of laying on the girls. Of coarse that left him nothing to do but swat AJ on the rear as he walked well into the room and remark, “Cheer up, me love. I’ve got yer back.” He turned to look at his cohorts and felt glad that he had them at his side, and that they seemed as willing to laugh in the face of danger as he was. Flashing a wink in Kei’s direction, he remarked, “Of coarse, ye know what that means. If Chandi and AJ are feeling all chummy, and De and meself are to be experimenting in alternative lifestyles, that leaves ye without a date me love. Unless of coarse the Scarecrow is lookin’ for a sexy little Hawaiian lass to be takin’ to prom?” The Skrull did his best to joke along with his friends, but he was having an increasingly difficult time ignoring the hairs standing on end at the back of his neck, and the creeping fear that was beginning to chill him to the bone.

[Enchantress]

She wasn't really sure why she had let her emotions boil over just at that particular moment. But, what's done is done and now she'd have to just move on.
It was a huge sigh of relief as she smiled at Chandi.
"Yeah, Ah know. Ah'm a tool. Just ovah look me right now. Faery PMS." she rolled her eyes and jumped just a bit as 'Vok swatted her bottom, her eyes narrowing a bit as he walked by.

"You know, Ah've broken men's hands for smaller infractions...you're just lucky Ah happen to really like green...a lot." she smirked and didn't jump as the door slammed shut behind them.

"He's afraid of Batman...who in their right mind isn't. Ah mean, Ah walked around for years after Dickie got drunk and showed me the Batcave waiting to wake up one night with Tall Dark and Marsupial standing over me."
She paused at the thought, shuddered and gave her head a shake, then continued on down the hall.
"No splitting up, I don't like this at all...somethings...freaky besides the idea of De and 'Vok gettin' it on."

[The Watcher]

From the gallery above the great hall, The Scarecrow watched the group that had just entered the stately old castle with a mild look of annoyance. That was, until the pink haired one with the wings went on her tirade. This caused Dr. Jonathan Crane to arch an eyebrow and smile behind the cowl of the 'Crow. She had some spunk to her. Reminded him a bit of a certain Harleen Quinzelle back in Arkham. But at her mention of his arch nemesis, The Batman, his smile faded. She knew the location of the Batcave...she could be of value later.
Letting out a demonically loud laugh that echoed off the walls of the great hall, he retreated deeper into the shadows and watched. His main device of mayhem was his fear toxin. But he had noted that staying holed up in this castle as long as he had...the toxin wasn't the only thing for intruders to fear. He would watch them in their hunt for him, gather all the information on their fears, and use them to his advantage.

They all heard the laugh. It was enough to make any of their hair stand on end.
The sun had already set outside and the candles in the castle burned bright. The caretakers had left with the setting sun, not daring to stay in the drafty old castle any longer than humanly necessary.
Within a matter of hours, the Guardians had searched the upper floors, the main floor...all that was left was the dungeons and the grounds...

[The Truth]

"...but you gotta admit luvs, for this place to be haunted, that was one 'ell of a master bedroom."

De commented as they stood once more on the main floor of Castle Chillingham. If he hadn't been there on assignment he would have taken a bit more time on the upper floors looking around and picking out a room for himself. Granted he could never afford a place like this on his own, but between his mum and pop he was sure he could have the money within a week or two. Of course that meant having to deal with mum and trying to track down dad.....but for his own personal castle? He'd be willing to bite the bullet, so to speak.

"So...." he started again, rubbing his hands together as he looked towards his left and thus, towards the main doors before looking to his right and the stairwell that lead to the dungeons below. "....we know ol' 'Crow isn't hiding up above, and I'm sure none of us want to Scully down below....so what say we try an' lure this guy on out, eh? Pyscho types like him seem to fall into a certain pattern, so as long as we have the proper bait we should be able to coax him on out of where ever he's tucked away."

He said with a self confident nod and a slight gleam in his eyes. True, he'd dealt with more zombies and werewolves than he had psychotic humans, but the others didn't need to know that. Besides, when else would he have the chance to put a plan like this into action?

"Right then luvs..." he said turning to the trio of tantalizing tempresses. "...first thing we need to do is get the three of you in the buff...."

[Tessa]

Kei raised an eyebrow at De, then outwardly objected to his idea, “There is no way in a frozen hell that ya’ll will get me outta my clothes! First, because I don’t wanna have some whacko with the name Scarecrow eyein’ me, and Second, It’s cold in here!” Her phobias had reared their ugly heads…thank god that the Castle didn’t have a nice doll display or she would have been toast.
“Who says he’s even into wahines? He could totally be gay.” She could the rest of the team a serious look, all the while trying to remain calm and keep the screaming child in her head at bay; because that’s what she felt like doing.

Kei felt like having a massive, phobic breakdown, complete with ranting, raving, twitching and whimpering. The whole works, but because she didn’t want to be labeled as any more neurotic than she was, she mentally went through every mantra her psychiatrist had ever tried to instill in her.
“He’s probably not my type anyways, I mean come on doesn’t he like invoke fear or somethin’? Not good for a surfer with a freakin’ laundry list of neurosis guys…I mean, I’m basically the weakest link ya’ll, one false step and I’m rag dolled so to speak. Completely useless and beaten, which brings me back to my previous point.” The Hawaiian surfer paused in her tirade long enough to take a couple deep breaths.
“I’m all for callin’ him outta his hidin’ spot, but I’m not getting’ naked to do it.”

[Solace]

“The master bedroom could have been bigger.” Chandi commented as if she were inspecting possible living quarters for herself and not a creepy old castle. A little bit of the snobbish airs she put on creeping into her personality as she tried to mask her fear of Chillingham Castle with her all to familiar false ‘rich’ girl personality, the one she only used when in the company of her parents or the Shaw’s. Making a sweeping motion with her left hand Chandi began pointing out flaws in the castle, little things such as narrow doorways and steep stairways that would knock down the price of a place like this quiet a bit. She was extremely paranoid and freaked out by the creepy laugh and all around horror movie feel of the place, and throwing up false persona’s and hiding her insecurities behind a mask of sarcastic bravery kept Chandi from turning on her heels and making a very nice beeline for the door.

Her parents had after all raised her well in the art of aristocratic seniority and Chandi knew how to pull up a façade better then anyone else she knew. “Now that I’ve firmly placed my ‘no fear’ attitude in place I can down protest about getting naked just to lure this Scarecrow guy out of his hiding place.” Chandi had both hands firmly placed on her slender hips as she spoke, pausing only for a moment before adding. “Like Kei said, he could be more into seeing you and Johnny Boy naked anyway….” Shifting her weight from foot to foot nervously, Chandi began to take quick looks around the room in a very paranoid fashion.

“Plus you won’t get me out of my clothes THAT easily De.” With a short little giggle Chandi stuck her tongue out at De playfully before quickly pulling up her cold and sarcastic façade again. Finding it much easier to hide behind her old angst filled teenage persona then face this creepy Scarecrow man like and adult. After all at least with this persona she had witty and sarcastic remarks to throw his way and she could regress into more juvenile ways of acting as if she was not afraid.

[The Truth]

"C'mon luvs....you're being unreasonable. It's a well known fact that psychopaths can't resist sexy shelias in showers. I'd gladly do it myself but I'm only medium sexy....and not at all a shelia." He said in a somewhat pleading manner. "Besides, it's either that or we all head on down to the deep darks of this place. And which would you really prefer?"

Truth be told, it was De himself that didn't want to venture below. It's wasn't a fear of the castle itself mind you, or even a fear of dungeons. De simply didn't like being underground. Above ground, at any height, he could always come up with an exit. Run through a wall, fall through a floor...something. But beneath the earth, under the dirt.....it was like drowing. Only one way to go. One option. One hope. He didn't like the restraint.

"And I'd promise not to watch, of course....but how else would I be able to help?"

[The Mighty Thor]

A skeptical look found its way to ‘Vok’s face as Kei suggested that the Scarecrow might be living an alternative lifestyle. The comment had a menacing air to it, as if the next thing she would suggest was going to be ‘Vok and De be the ones to strip down to their all naturals and parade about for the straw stuffed villain, and quite frankly, ‘Vok wanted no part of that. But it wasn’t Kei that made the jump to an all nude male extravaganza, it was Chandi. The shape shifting pirate spoke up in his own defense, “If the bloke is gay or something or other, I ain’t stripping down to me bare essentials either, at least not for him. Now if ye all wants to get a little bit naked later on, away from the prying eyes of the rogues gallery, that’s fine by me. But lets try to keep that sort of thing a private affair.”

‘Vok had his own defense mechanisms in place just as Chandi did. But where the feminine feline was hiding behind the rich girl bit, ‘Vok was trying to lay on the charm, wit and humor extra thick. Although he had his doubts wether or not it was working. The palpable fear that he felt hung in the air all around him, threatening to quite literally choke the life from his lungs. He wasn’t sure if the others were feeling the same effect, but he knew that he certainly was. And the worst part of it was that he had no rational explanation for being as afraid as he was. The Skrull had certainly been in tighter spots than this, and had to deal with men far worse than some Wizard of Oz reject with a nasty bag of tricks. But for some reason, he trembled uncontrollably as the fear only proceeded to get worse.

De’ continued to pry at the girls, hoping to get them naked enough to lure the villain from his shadow. Trying to keep his humor about him, ‘Vok added, “Come now ladies, its not as if De’ and meself wouldn’t be here to protect your persons from harm.” But they didn’t seem any more receptive to the idea with further prodding and his good nature was fading quickly and he could feel it. He didn’t mean to snap or be short with his teammates, but the place was getting to him. “But if you all are too scared to play your part then I suggest we come up with some other plan and do it quick, because I don’t think I can stand this place much longer.”

[Tessa]

Kei gave ‘Vok an annoyed look, “I can protect myself, thanks.” The surfer was halfway between annoyance and all out fear; she hated the feeling in the air because it was making her jumpy. She half-expected to see an army of porcelain dolls come marching down the staircase straight for her, or worse, a waterfall of blood. Not for the first time in her life was she wishing that she could be a normal person without neurosis.

“Brah, you’re treadin’ on thin ice. Accusin’ us of not wantin’ to be team players.” Kei snapped at her teammate, “If it’ll make ya happy I’ll strip down. I’m scared outta my mind already, might as well add insult to injury.” Kei reached for the hem of her tank top and pulled that off over her head, trying her hardest to keep all her neurotic tendencies at bay.
“I’m definitely not the cutest of the bunch though, so I doubt I’ll be good bait.” She undid the zipper and button on her jeans and shimmied out of those, leaving her standing there in bra, panties, and flip-flop sandals.
"Guess hell must be frozen over." She muttered as she reached for the clasp on her bra.

[The Truth]

"Ok ok ok luv!" De said as he darted up to Kei, wraping his arms around her and catching her hands in his own. "Just....put your clothes back on and we'll shimy our ways on down below and see what's to be seen. No use in getting naked if you're going to be to be to upset to enjoy it....right?"

He asked he used his size and strength advantage to turn her persons a bit so that he was between she and John. He looked at her with a apologetic hue in his eyes, having had no intention of actually getting any of them to strip down in this place, let alone to cause any of them such discomfort. Moving his head side to side a bit to keep his mug between her line of sight and John's face, he let her hands slip free of his own as they slid down to rest upon her hips. A place that he hoped would allow him to keep her body pointed in the direction of his choosing.

"Besides...you have to forgive John." he said with a slight nod over his shoulder. "He's from outta town an surely didn't mean those nasty little things he just said. So we'll all just keep out pants on..." he added as he took a slow, calm look over the group before coming back to focus on Kei. "....and go get our guy the ol' fashioned way. Ok luv?"

He asked, hoping the little Hawaiian would forgive him and John for the situation they had helped perpetrate.

[The Watcher]

He watched them from the shadows. Watching them search Chillingham for him. Problem was, it was already dark outside. The things that happened within that castle after dark even scared Dr. Crane. He had taken refuge here because of it's reputation of being the most haunted place on earth. Problem was, it was starting to drive him deeper into madness the longer he was here.
He watched the little Asian girl as her watch rang and she started talking to it.
"Must be Oracle...With the mention of the Batman, They must work for him. Although, I think my nemesis is slacking if this is the best he can come up with to find me and drag me back. I'm almost insulted! No Robin, no Batgirl, no Nightwing?!?!" Crane's ego would have to wait however. As the Asian girl relayed information from her watch, using the words "He said" and "he thinks" it only made Scarecrow even more convinced that this group came with orders from the winged freak to drag him back to Arkham. But he wasn't going back. Not after what happened last time.

Mulder's orders were simple, smoke him out. But don't split up. The castle had ways of playing tricks on people. When he learned they had yet to venture to the torture chamber, he snickered a little and only asked.
"Are you scared?"

"Scared?" Crane had heard it from his hiding place. They should be scared, but if they were, he'd help things along a bit. Releasing a cloud of his invisible fear toxin into the room, he watched as it started to take effect. But a confused look crossed his face as the only one who seemed not to be affected by it, was the small Asian girl. Why? He was so intrigued he let out a gasp and they all heard it.
Whirling around to find the Scarecrow looming larger than life behind them, the Guardians were all too locked into their own fears to even know what to do.
He seemed huge, larger than life even. The scariest thing any of them had even seen, except for perhaps trasvestite rock stars in platform heels...but De could explain that one later.

"Well...well...well... I'm insulted. This is the best he could do?" Crane's voice had a raspy cracked tone to it as he spoke to the team. "Sad really." He turned his gaze to Kei, and smiled behind the cowl. "You however..." he started walking towards her, his curiousity piqued beyond his own reason.
So caught up in the moment, it almost slipped past all of them that the room had suddenly gotten very cold...very very cold cold...