Cryptic Apocalyptic

"Fuck, I don't get how Jimmy does it," Brian whined over his steaming mug of coffee. Matt just laughed at his friend despite the fact that he was feeling equally as shitty after that bonfire.

"Dude, he's used to going out and getting off on PCP and LSD, and fuck only knows what else. You can't just jump into it and expect not to suffer." Brian downed the rest of his beverage and looked down at his attire: boxers. Matt was much the same. They had both decided they might as well drive back home instead of just using their powers- the first time had been for the experience, but this was just because teleporting tended to be pretty rough when you had a throbbing migraine. They both knew it would be time to leave soon if they wanted to get back before nightfall, but no one else was even up, never mind ready.

Zacky was sprawled on his back on the couch, his mouth open with a little drool coming out. Johnny was missing completely, while the humans were each more or less comatose. The boys set to work waking them all up and getting all their shit together.

Chuck was sent to check out while the others ordered bellhops to come take the luggage to the limo. They were only walking out to the car for show, as they were going to teleport home the minute the door closed. Matt smiled slyly as he considered a time in the near future when they would no longer have to do that. A time when they controlled everything and everyone sinned so much that no one could challenge them. Feared, respected, worshiped- what more could anyone ask for?

He grabbed a paper on the way out. Every page had reports of some heinous crime or another- even the sports section, obituaries, and classifieds. A huge grin broke across the Prince's face. Throwing the paper aside he took a look at the sun's position in the sky. It would be setting pretty soon and he wanted to be back at the house before then. They'd all talked about it last night at the bonfire and decided that they wanted to get back before Jimmy and his new Bride woke up to surprise them with breakfast. They really hadn't had much time to get to know their new sister, so it seemed like a good idea to get on her good-side early on. They would be spending the rest of eternity with her, after all.
Obviously Jimmy was the first of their inner circle to find his better half. No one was quite sure how things would be changing now. Better or worse there was no going back.

"Fucking shit, Jimmy! I swear to Lewis, I'd rather watch a thousand screaming toddlers for a century than watch you for ten seconds!"

"Calm down Papa G! It was just a painting!"

"Just a painting? It was a fucking Van Gough!"

"Why don't you just use magic to fix it?" Lila asked innocently, cuddling her new puppy into her chest.

"You can tell the difference when you're as old as I am. To the human eye it looks perfect, but we can tell there's something warped wrong with it. It's subtly tainted by the darkness in our powers," the man explained gently, but with frustration showing through his voice. Jimmy threw his arm around his love carelessly.

"It's not like you're an art collector or anything."

"It was Suzy’s, and she is an art collector."

"Oh, well..." he trailed off; looking desperately at his lover for assistance once he'd realized how badly he fucked up.

"Puppy!" She held up her and Jimmy's new hellhound.

"I don't have ADD like you crazy fucks," he answered dryly, still a little amused despite himself. "Neither does Suzy."

"Just buy her something really nice to make up for it," Jimmy suggested, scratching the puppy between his eyes lightly.

PG sighed. "I don't know. I really just miss her. I've been thinking about going back for a while. Besides babysitting you, the boys haven't really needed me much and now that you've got Lila, I think I've been replaced." The semi-not sane grin on the girl’s face made him rethink his last statement. "Either replaced or overridden. Either way, I miss her, and I'm sure Lewis could use some extra help."

"Dude, you know you're free to go whenever you want. We'd really miss you, but we'd understand man."

"I know, Jimmy, and now you can probably understand better than the rest. Just imagine how it would feel being away from Lila as long as I've been away from Suzy." Jimmy grimaced and tightened his hold on his girl involuntarily.

"Fuck that," he muttered. He kissed her cheek and gave their dog a pat. He loved his little family. He loved them more than he could reason, and he would do anything for them. He only wanted to protect them, and keep them safe and happy. He couldn't even imagine how PG must feel to tell the truth. He and Suzy had been together for almost as long as he had been alive and they had kids.

Despite the fact that he wasn't ready for that step right away, Jimmy still a warm tingle inside of himself when he considered a future where he and Lila were officially married by Lewis, with the rings and everything (it would purely be an excuse to get drunk as they were as banded together as two beings could become, but still). He could see a couple little shits of his own running around and playing in the fires of hell, taunting the condemned souls. He couldn't wait to teach them how to make hurricanes and tidal waves and use their powers. He twisted his body and pressed his lips to Lila's again, PG wandering away to give them some privacy.

"Honey, we're home!" Zacky called from the front door. Jimmy groaned.

"Do we really have to be here?" Jimmy complained, clutching Lila tighter to his body and smelling her fruity hair. She was always switching shampoos, but each one seemed to be more enjoyable than the last. While he was thus occupied a disjointed chorus of responses answered him indignantly.

"Of corse we have to be here! They're throwing this whole party just to celebrate us! We can fuck later!" There were a few laughs at the way Lila said that- so bright and cheery. While they squabbled about the exact time and place and other such details Matt and Brian were busy teasing Zacky.

"That hot little piece of bartender isn't going to just suddenly want to fuck you, no matter how long you stare at her." Matt elbowed his little brother.

"You wanna bet?" Zack challenged, as he contemplated using his powers to make her want him.

"We already did, dude." Brian was the one to reveal this. "We have a couple hundred resting on whether or not she'll bone you without a little persuasion."

"Besides, that's not right dude," Matt added.

"You gonna stop me, Shads?"

"No, but I sure as hell wouldn't respect you for it. And I doubt she would either." Zack sighed in defeat, looking longingly back at the dark brown curly hair, which was all he could see of her. He polished off another three beers before he could work himself up to going up to her again.

He smoothed out his shirt and preened a few loose hairs with a bar mirror. They all gave him crap about it, of course, but he felt like he had to go anyway. There was just something captivating about her. She smiled, teeth glittering as light bounced off of glasses around the bar. Her face was bathed in dramatic shadows, but they only emphasized her hazel green eyes more. Her eyeliner and light green eye shadow was perfectly well done. She wore a bit of lipstick, but instead of making her look trashy she pulled it off with the same natural grace she had in all of her other aspects.

She wore a CBGB's shirt, which was purposely slit and tied in places. The view of her ample cleavage was so fine it was literally making him drool. He hadn't noticed that she was waiting rather patiently for his order.

"Hey, man, whenever you can get your eyes of my tits would be great." He snapped out of his stupor at the tone of her voice. He'd clearly come off as an annoying creep.

"Sorry, I just kind zoned out, you know?" His voice was smooth enough but he felt a confederate wave of red rising to his face.
"Right, well, what can I get you?"

"How about a date?" He surprised even himself with that one and wilted as she smiled politely and turned him down. She was the only person who had ever said no to him, and she'd just done it twice.

He mumbled an order for some Jack Daniel’s, and prepared to go skulking back off to his table. Brian suddenly appeared next to him, so that when the girl looked up she almost dropped the bottle she'd been pouring from.

"Hey," he gave her one of his more charming grins and she smiled uncertainly back. It was like she could sense something was off with him being there. "I'm Brian."

"Nice name. What can I get you, Brian?" She smiled with more confidence, quickly recovering from her initial reaction, though she still seemed suspicious.

"A Jack and Coke for starters."

"Coming right up." She walked to another section of the bar for a second to take care of people who had been waiting and throw Brian's drink together.

"What the hell was that?!" Zacky hissed.

"That was me saving your ass and my money! Just play along and I'll have her being putty in your hands by dawn." Zacky was too busy fuming to formulate a comeback before the bartender returned.

"Hey, you wanna ditch this and come chill with us for a while?" Brian made sure to throw in the smile that had women licking his feet without fail.

"Sorry, no. You two have fun though, you'd make a great couple." She winked with a laugh and turned to other customers. Brian was left stunned. He turned to his cousin sarcastically.

"You sure know how to pick 'em, Vengeance."

"Oh, 'I'll have her putty in your hands'," Zacky mocked. "Let's just get back to the guys- and not a word of this!" Brian held up his free hand defensively. If Zacky couldn't romance this chick no one could. From what Brian saw, she'd just thrown him off his game. If he wanted his money he'd have to make sure Zack used all of his talents in courtship to get this girl. Of course they were going to LA soon, but maybe when they got back something could be whipped up.

Two weeks later, Papa G stood amidst the brambles and litter around the old train tracks. Since the boys were off in LA, he could have just met the men he was waiting for at the Palace, but he figured that it would just be easier this way. If he looked in just the right direction he could see the church steeples rising between the packed buildings, and sparse trees that stood between them. It had taken Lewis a long time to find out where they were keeping the girl (mostly because she herself didn't know). It made them both anxious to have her in the hands of the enemy. She was more important than she could imagine, and had she turned in their favor, it could have meant the end of everything they had been working for all these years. It might have even been the end of them.

The air around him shifted as three figures appeared in front of the setting sun. Their black hair and black clothing made them little better than silhouettes. They looked around themselves with huge smiles, their eyes gleaming.

"Fuck you guys. It gets fucking freezing in the desert at night and you should have shown up an hour ago."

"Sorry PG, we just got up," The others laughed at the blue-eyed fellow's unintentional pun. "But we're here now, so let's just get this done with. Those fuckers have had their hands on Sophie for long enough." The older man nodded and they walked from the crossroads of the tracks to the crumbling cement building next to them. Inside, chatting quietly were three demons and a sinner. They silenced themselves as soon as they saw their idols.

"You all know your parts of the plan, so let's just stick to it and get this shit done. You've all been invited to stop by the Voodoo after to celebrate. Free drinks and good music."

"How much did he pay you for that little plug?" One of the demons asked. He was just as devastatingly attractive as the rest of his breed, with light blond hair, which was cut sleekly. His eyes were a fake tide-pool blue. He was muscular in build, average height and a bit pale. He wore black dress clothes with his buttoned down shit opened to reveal just enough of the chiseled tattooed chest beneath it. Overall he had a kind of a Billy Idol/Spike vibe going on and he worked it. He was one of those that worked the bar at the Voodoo.

The sinner was the only one of the group who seemed nervous. He kept itching his forearm, and shifting his weight and glancing around the room. He wore regular jeans and sneakers with a Led Zeppelin shirt.

"You're sure he won't get hurt?" he asked anxiously in a hoarse whisper.

"We made a deal, Joe. Your cooperation has its conditions; we understand that. Just do it like we talked about and everything will be alright." Joe nodded shakily, still tense but now more still.

"Let's go," They each nodded, several of them either pulling on jackets or pushing their hoods over their heads. They rolled out onto the silent streets, dispersing to take their relative positions. Though the sleepy citizens might never realize it the entire balance of power was about to shift.