A Demon's Honor

[IamLEAM1983]

"More for me, then!" cheerfully noted the kitaiteki, which made the human chuckle.

"Well," said Three, "this puny human can still feel his breakfast sloshing around, so I'll just sit out of this one, honestly."

The backyard's door then opened on a suitably changed Infernalist, with purple bermuda-style swim-shorts and a light and short-sleeved shirt in tones of blue, lilac and purple. He'd popped some sunglasses and some flip-flops on, along with a slightly bigger wristwatch of a more sports-worthy design. The reedy shape of his cigarette holder could be seen bulging inside his breast pocket, and it stood to reason he had his customary pack of Russians somewhere in his short pockets. He wasn't alone, however, and was dragging Archie back outside by the collar of his tank top.

"Hello again, dear friends - and look who I caught inside trying to get some work done... I wouldn't be a suitable dispenser of debauchery and perdition if I didn't at least try to get a repeat performance out of mister Pool Tub Lounger.
- But we're testifying in two days!" protested Archie. "I had to make sure-"

Tom pulled Archie in front of him. "What is Abigail Masters accused of?"

Archie seemed annoyed. "You know what she's accused of, you jaundiced dullard!
- Humor me," flippantly replied the warthog with a shrug.

Archie sighed. "Sixteen counts of Aggravated Conflict of Interest, five counts of Breach of Perjury, six counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault - she's consorted with criminal elements worse than even our Commission, facilitated the Advance Voter fraud that nearly put a demon in charge of the bloody city - pick something we can trace back to the Inspector, and you'll find her as the enabler. She has sharper teeth than a sodding financial committee from Wall Street!
- Do you know how you intend to testify?
- I've - what is this?!
- Humor me," reminded Tom. "How will you testify?"

Archie groaned. "Truthfully and honestly, for God's sake - this isn't my first rodeo!
- Did you study our notes?
- I did, and I was merely doing another once-over-"

Tom smirked. "Didn't you just provide me with a condensed summary?
- Yes, but-"

The warlock slipped an arm around Archie's shoulders. "Don't make me hex your anxiety out of you, Holden. Shut up, sit down, grab a juice or a soda, and make like a tacky lawn ornament, alright?"

[TennyoCeres84]

Aislinn snickered. "If you're taking a side job as a lawn gnome, you'll need one of those red conical hats, Archie," she prodded, then raising an eyebrow at the automaton. "If this isn't your first radio, why are you as nervous as a college student cramming the night before an exam?" she asked.

[IamLEAM1983]

"This is my first court case since you woke me up," explained Holden with a sigh. "I haven't assembled a testimony in generations and only familiarized myself with the current laws from the perspective of someone bound to uphold them. So much has changed, especially in the realms of corporate defense, that I can scarcely see how I maybe sure I - or anyone of us, really - will bring the proper examples to the table."

Magnus scoffed lightly. "Don't worry too much, my own memories of court aren't much more helpful, and I'm not too concerned as it is. I remember Quint being dragged in front of old Judge Bailey in 2019, where he spent the afternoon snarling at the jury... I wouldn't call that an experience conducive to learning anything...
- Oh, of course. You'll simply turn on the old incubus charm and convince everyone of Masters' horrible wrongdoings, how silly of me."

Tom gave Archie an earnest look. "No, actually, I won't. Doing so would defeat the purpose. What kind of respect have I got for mortal institutions if I keep circumventing them? I want to prove I'm better than Leonard and his ilk - that I'm not just another shade of villainy with oddly altrustic aspirations. Right now, I'm the unproven entity riding in the back of Thomas Quint's corpse, in the public's eyes. If we pull this off, I have something to gain from it. Basic respect from people outside of the Hall."

Archie sustained Tom's gaze for a moment, only to scoff. "How in blue blazes does an incubus end up being so reasonable?
- Practice," replied the Infernalist with a smirk. "Lots and lots and lots of practice."

[TennyoCeres84]

"Practice doesn't necessarily make perfect, but it certainly helps," Aislinn summed up. "Relax, Archie. We got this, and we'll do fine. We've already been through worse things before," she reassured him.

[Karl the Mad]

The previous day...

"It's good to be home," Katherine murmured as the shuttle came in for landing at Hope. She was coming in from Walpurgis, yet another jaunt for the ever-busy Starr; the latest in a long string of business trips that had kept her away from Hope and out of the danger zone. And while she appreciated safety, she had to admit that the excitement and adrenaline of being on the front lines was something she'd missed. Not that she was behind the times, since she was always in contact with Aldergard and kept up with Sophia and occasionally with someone or another in Shield.

She knew that Randolph Mantus was overseeing the Masters trial, and that he'd been palling around with Shield a little. She wondered if he could maintain his impartiality, knowing as she did where he came from.

But that was all for tomorrow; she wanted to get home and reconnect with Aldergard. And after landing at the shuttle port she got her car out of parking and did just that, heading home and hoping to catch Kuhn in a good mood. Which he was, and after a rough couple hours she fell fast asleep the rest of the night.

And now...

Eager as ever to get back into the thick of things, Starr rushed through what little paperwork had accumulated and sped off for Holden Hall, where she was told some interesting things were happening. She pulled up and parked, then got out and strode for the door, as casual as she could ever be on a weekday in slacks and a short-sleeved shirt. And since she wasn't in court, of course she had walking shoes on in place of heels. She reached the front door and rang the bell, eager to see everyone again.

[IamLEAM1983]

Maurice Bagley didn't quite have the new-thermoplastic smell clinging to him anymore, but his maintenance regimen was far simpler than Archie's or Bucky's. With the expected pie-tailed outfit and gloves of his station, he'd still taken to adding the occasional token of friendship the others gave him. Archie's cufflinks from last year, Neasa's paisley cravat from 2025, Katherine's waistcoat from '26... The end result was one stolidly-dressed android, very butler-like in his mien, but something about this particular Clank spoke of more life and sensitivity being coiled underneath the proverbial hood. Bagley handled the mansion's paychecks and generally served as the Human Resources director, when he wasn't relapsing into old duties out of sheer fondness and gave a dust-up to the old girl. It wouldn't have been hard for anyone to see that he had once been Archie's most steadfast ally, his sometimes-literal weapons-carrier and occasional dummy - someone who took punches when Lord Holden was unavailable while not exactly fitting the stereotype of the socially-repressed batman.

His eyebrow blades clicked out of their smooth housings above his optics and smoothly came down, along with the top of his eyelid slits. Along with his smoothly shifting facial plates, he affected a look of light concern.

"Hello, miss Starr, how very good of you to stop by - the Lord and the remainder of the team are all in the back yard, I'm afraid. Enjoyment of the weather seems to be the order of the day, with one day of recess for the jury and one for the remainder of the weekend... You'll find yourself to be relatively overdressed. Shall I ask of someone that they deliver one of your swimsuits over?"

* * *

"You heard the lady," added Tom. "Take it easy. Now find yourself a lawn chair and wait for one of Shamus' burgers, hm?"

The warthog gave Aislinn a wink. "I, however, will take a quick dip..."

Humming as he ever did, he walked a tad too slowly towards the pool to not be giving the roane unsubtle suggestions. He tossed his shirt on the nearby patio table and made sure to leave his cigarettes behind, shook his flip-flips off and slowly, perhaps slightly daintily, immersed himself in the water. No bombs for this incubus - but rather the sense that the water's contact against his skin felt like Heaven in liquid form. He sighed once, lowered himself completely in and made bubbles for a few moments, only to come out with another one. That done, he slipped a pool noodle behind his arms and wrangled another one behind his knees and just sat there, letting himself drift, eyes closed and nose raised to the now freshened summer air.

[Karl the Mad]

Swimsuits? Katherine thought. "Oh, well, alright," she replied out loud, trying not to sound too eager. "I guess I can show off my backstroke, hm?" Was everyone in their pool attire? "Thank you, sir, and if we've the day off I may as well enjoy it. Perhaps a small brandy?"

She made her way through to the back, smiling when she saw the others. "Hey guys," she called out as she walked over. "Any new faces today?"

[TennyoCeres84]

"Hi, Katherine!" the female selkie said. AIslinn entered the pool as well. However, she didn't stick to resting against a pool noodle. Instead, she submerged herself and began swimming. Keeping her legs together, she used her arms to push herself through the water and used her joined feet to gain speed, a bit like a dolphin.

[IamLEAM1983]

Three busied himself with setting paper plates down for those who'd consider stealing from Bucky's early burger haul. "Hey Kat - it's just us old fogeys, unless you're counting Archie's horrible swimsuit game and Tom's first pool-induced O-face."

Archie frowned. "This outfit was once fashionable, Aidan!"

The soldier scoffed. "Yeah, the operant word being once. You look like one of Disneyland's Dapper Dans decided to check out Orlando's beaches."

As for Tom, he settled with a two-finger salute. "Ignore the barbs, Katherine dear - the water's fine. Delicious, if I may say so."

Bucky came back out a few moments after Staff, briefly shimmying his way over to the patio behind her. "Word is our friend the judge might slither in a little later, but I wouldn't expect him to be all Beach Volleyball. 'Part from that, Ghost Leonard might pop in once he exhausts his grace period with his wife, courtesy of Melmoth. Him being a ghost, though, I dunno how he'll feel about this whole heat wave thing. He might not even notice."

[Karl the Mad]

"I know how he feels," Katherine replied, waving at Tom and Aislinn. "A nice swim is just... hm, I suppose divine is incorrect in present company. Delicious works too, though." She thought about that while Bucky came out and Archie protested who he was. "Mantus is coming?" She sounded surprised. "Hm. I've not yet met with him under casual circumstances. But he doesn't seem the relaxing sort, does he?"