The Infernals (Saturn)

You might have thought after the pounding it had taken, that construction projects would be on the rise in Jump City. In fact the exact opposite was true. There were more demolition teams now than there was building going on. Siege warfare had a nasty habit of rendering once sound structures into a health and safety nightmare. The ones that toppled weren't the sum total of what was being written off. Anything that fell short of the Building Codes and couldn't be salvaged had to come down. It was only then the city could start anew.

The residential district, then, wasn't the quarter of vibrant life that it'd once been. Large sections facing the river, behind which the Russian emplacements had stood, were being levelled. Journals and newspapers had espoused attention on the refugee problem. The sheer number of newly homeless was staggering. Not that Kishi was looking to quote numbers. He was just gratified that a substantial number of houses were now abandoned. It made his trip worthwhile.

"If they left it behind. They disowned it. It's ours. Keep telling yourself that. And maybe the f'wording curse will let us take something good home for once."

The Kishi brothers had split up. They were scouring an area of condemned homesteads in hope of acquiring more property. Since they weren't allowed to steal things anymore, they could only get stuff when they begged the Titans for money. Superheroing didn't pay well. They were as bereft as monks when it came to possessions.

Unfortunately their suffering was viewed by many as 'rightful penance' or their 'just desserts'. The supposed good folk didn't see slavery, they saw justice, they saw retribution, they saw things as they should be. Well they could keep their high ideals. Kharma Kharmeleon was trying to make Onyekachi see the error of his ways. And all he had shown him was that good could only exist at the subjugation of others. The demons were just fine as they were. Evil and free.

Searching through the first house, Adriano was the first to find something of value. A couch that the owners had obviously thought too cumbersome to bring to their temporary lodgings. It would look nice in Onyekachi's bedroom. And even better wedged against Toji's door. Adriano lifted the sofa like it was a chair and carried it out of the property. It was then the headache struck.

"Flip! Poop! Darn it!" Dropping the weight, he held his head. They all did, feeling a simultaneous pain throbbing at the back of their skulls. Adriano glared at the sofa furiously and spoke to thin air, "They left it behind! It ain't their property anymore! How can this be stealing?! Answer me that ya freakish reptile! We don't understand your darn morals Kharma! We never will! So stop this sick charade and just kill the rest of us already!" His cries went unanswered. His brother put an arm on his shoulder.

"Quit yer bellyaching and go plant those acorns we took with. We'll just ask Kuro for another loan." They could only combat the headache by doing good deeds. Apparently planting trees counted. It wasn't strong karma but it was easily done.

Adriano grumbled and strode off to the back garden, acorns in hand. The remaining brothers watched him, except for Bernardo who was sat in the upstairs window, "Hey. I think the sky-rat followed us."

"What? She figure out what we're doin'?"

"Like heck. I thought bugging us was Toji's thing."

"Hey. Ask her if she can move a couch back to the Tower.

"It's not her." Bernardo cut through their chatter, sighting into the distance, "It's got her energy signature. But... it's male."

The trio fell silent, exchanging a wordless estimation of the signature's identity, "Go get Adriano."

Khariel landed on the rooftop, surveying the Penumbra Capsule he held in his hand, the essence of a newly vanquished shade demon contained within. To the untrained eye, it would simply look like a black pill about a half an inch in length. In reality it was a contingency plan developed to aid in the storage of shade essence upon their vanquishing. With the help of Pantheon's resources, Khariel was able to develop this invention for his own use and for general stockpiling of the essence.

After pocketing the pill, the Nephilim became aware of another demonic presence nearby... in fact, below him. It didn't seem to be that of a shade demon, but it was still worth investigating. Khariel walked over to the edge of the roof and stepped off, landing with a flourish of dark wings on the ground below. The armoured dark angel peered inside, crimson eyes locking gazes with one of the Kishi brothers.

"Greetings, demon." he spoke through the broken window, his tall form bringing him to gaze comfortably through the window. Aside from a particularly cold and malevolent presence that seemed to be passively emanating from the dark angel, Khariel did not seem to appear deliberately threatening.