"You really are obsessed with him, aren't you?" Jane growled into the silence that followed Eve's explanation. "He's a mundane, for fuck's sake! And even if you could have a relationship with him- which is doubtful, seeing as he's engaged- a psycho like you would probably ruin him! Odds are, the numerous enemies you've made would just take their anger out on him!"

Oliver mentally sighed, as some how the conversation was going in the exact direction he didn't want. Wanting to cut it off before things could derail further, he pointedly stepped between the two before Eve could respond.

"Ladies, I think that is quite enough." He said sternly, glancing between them. Locking eyes with Jane, he nodded slightly in understanding. "Agent, your people already made a deal with her. What she does after tonight is her business... Unless she breaks the agreement, or the law- in which case it I imagine you will take action once more."

Turning to glare at the petite vampire, he sighed softly before shaking his head. "And you... Keep in mind, if you don't live up to your end of the deal, there will be consequences- and the chances of them offering you another deal later is slim, to put it mildly. If you really plan to walk a different path, you'll have to prove that you can do it before they trust you..."

"And a good start to that would be not antagonizing Agent Doe any further during this job."

Eve huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking petulant. "I didn't even say anything! She's the one that exploded when I explained what deal I made- which she wouldn't have done if you hadn't stuck your damn nose in my business!"

"I am... loathe... to intrude upon this disagreement," Oakheart said, sounding reluctant. "but I do feel it best if we at least put these issues to rest before we risk our lives side by side..." Sighing softly, he gestured to each of them in turn as he spoke. "There are many valid points, and just as many mistakes from each of you: Agent Doe is correct to be cautious of someone with such a... problematic... past, but, as has already been stated, her superiors have already made a decision and it is her duty to follow through- regardless of her feelings on the matter, even if they are valid feelings..."

"Ms. Hart has, from what I've gathered, committed numerous wrongs... But, to be fair, each of us bear the Sins of our misdeeds- I know that I do." The simple shrug of his shoulders seemed heavy, as though physically bore the weight of his mistakes, and, for a moment, the Elf looked for older. "But it appears she also seeks a way forward beyond the mistakes of her past, which I applaud..."

Turning to face the 'Devil' standing before him, Oakheart's eyes narrowed slightly- it was clear that this 'Devil' did not trust the vampire, yet something about the interaction made him think... that maybe there was more to it than he could see. "She is also correct that it was not your place to question the deal she made... And I feel I must express concern over your ability to simultaneously create discord within this group through a simple question while also moving to play peace maker."

"It feels... manipulative."

"Well said, and a valid point- one that I do apologize for." Oliver said, bowing his head slightly to the Elf. "And I apologize to you as well, Ms. Hart. My intention was not to drag your personal life out and make it a spectacle- though, considering your reputation, I do feel my concern over your 'deal' is understandable..."

"Whatever." Eve pouted, clearly still upset over it. "Can we just get this shit over with?"

"Actually, I have one more question." Oliver spoke before anyone else could. As all eyes turned warily to him- which wasn't a surprise, considering his last question- he chuckled softly and waved his hand as if brushing off their concern. "Not a personal question, I promise. I'm just curious why Agents of the Paranormal Investigations Division are handling this dimensional pocket when I would expect the government to have specialized teams for things like this. I mean, the word 'Investigations' is in your title, so I would expect your primary responsibility to be hunting for supernatural criminals and not..." He waved vaguely towards the nearby church. "...this."

Seeing his partner still working to reign in her surging emotions, Agent John Smith decided to step in and explain. "We actually do have specialized teams for things like this. Unfortunately, all of said teams are currently engaged, so it was handed off to us."

"That makes sense, I guess." Oliver nodded, smiling under his mask. "Well, thank you for clarifying that."

Clapping his hands together in excitement, his gaze shifted to the worn down building. "So, shall we move on to the fun stuff? What are we walking in to? And how are we doing this?"

"You're up, Janie!" John said in a chipper tone as he patted his partner on the back- and wisely backed away quickly under her glare- a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice. "I mean, you're the one that has gone through the incursion training class, after all. I have no clue about this kind of thing."

Snorting in amusement- though slightly annoyed that the nickname her partner gave her is becoming almost familiar- Jane turned her attention back to the group. A moment passed as she studied each of them in turn, and she couldn't help but wonder... Why the hell had their Seer decided that she was the best choice to handle this?

"Ok, this is likely to be tougher than any of you expect." Seeing Eve about to protest, Jane held up a hand to stop her- and barely restrained the growl that wanted to escape. "That's not me looking down on any of you. Even if I don't really know what everyone is capable of, I doubt you would take a job like this if you weren't confident in you abilities..."

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"And, despite the issues I have with you, Ms. Hart..." She continued, struggling to maintain an even tone when talking to the vampire. "I am less concerned about your ability to fight and protect yourself than I am your ability to work with a team."

"That's... fair, I guess." Evelyn smiled impishly. "I do have a reputation as a lone wolf."

Mostly ignoring the subtle dig- though her nostrils flared with anger- Jane pushed on with her explanation. "The teams we normally send for things like this- which we simply call Incursion Teams- are well equipped to handle these pocket dimensions... And I'm not just talking about guns and such."

"You see, not all Pocket Dimensions function the same. I'm not going to get in to all the technical details- mostly because a lot of that is beyond me- but guns don't always work there."

"Variable realities and altered physics, that sort of thing, right?" Oliver supplied, only to receive three simultaneous confused looks. "I guess I'm the only one that has spent any time on Multiverse theory... Short version is that different realities behave differently; Some may have magic, some advance technology... Some can even have both, or some may not support either. There are a number of theories as to why that is the case..."

Seeing their faces gradually going blank with disinterest, he sighed softly- was he really the only one that was absolutely fascinated by all of this? "Anyway, my point was meant to support Agent Doe's explanation that things will likely be different in there." Turning his gaze to Jane, he was glad the mask he wore hid his grin. "I'm guessing your teams, aside from all being trained with firearms, also cross-train in other aspects... Probably one or two specialized in some form of melee weapon, one with a low tech projectile weapon- likely a bow or crossbow- and possibly one with some form of magic..."

Staring off into the distance, his finger tapped the chin of his mask as he thought. "I would guess that they mostly possess offensive magic; healing magic being too valuable to be risked going into something like that..."

"How do you know that?" Jane asked, surprise clear in her tone.

Oliver shrugged, though he couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped him. "Video games, of course. Melee protects the ranged damage dealers while they burn down the enemies..."

"You know, I heard that they just recently started using video games as a training aid for the teams..." Agent Smith added with a small laugh of his own- partially at the conversation, and partially at the fact that 'The Devil' was a fellow gamer.

Trying not to groan at his answer, Jane chose to push forward rather than address it. "Yes, well, that is pretty much correct. It's also why I said this will be tougher than you expect. Oakheart is clearly a swordsman, Hart has a reputation of ripping her enemies apart with her bare hands,the role I trained in is front line as well, and you are obviously an archer. While we at least have one person that is effective at range, the lack of magical support is a massive hindrance..."

"In the interest of cooperation- and the desire for us to succeed..." Oliver said slowly, having decided to share at least a little of what he could do- part of that decision was in the interest of them succeeding, but part was in the hope that sharing would help build some trust in the group... After all, without trust they would likely all be wary of each other, which would make any sort of cooperation even more difficult. "We do have magic."

"Hart's vampire abilities, and mine as a werewolf, don't really count." Jane quickly clarified. "And Oakheart has already informed me that he does not practice magic. So, unless you're saying that you-"

"I am." Oliver cut in, having quickly decided exactly which spells he was willing to show- it was a bit calculating, and manipulative, but he knew it would help solidify things a bit more. "I have access to a Web spell, which is excellent for limiting the mobility of a group of enemies... And I have a healing spell, though I should clarify that my healing spell is actually harmful to undead- of which vampires count, I do believe."

"Eh, so it won't work on me." Eve shrugged indifferently. "Not that it matters, really, since vampires recover quickly..."

"I mean, not as quickly as werewolves." She added, nodding almost respectfully to Agent Doe. "But I should be fine. I made sure to stock up on blood before coming." Seeing the agent's fury mounting once more, she sighed before pulling a blood transfer bag from her pocket and sipping from it like a juice box. "I didn't kill anyone; I've got a connection at a blood bank that will sell these to me."

Surprise flashed across Jane's face for a second before she schooled her features- maybe Hart really was trying to change? Shaking her head, she refocused on the mission. "She's right that the healing magic will be less impactful for the two of us, but it is still useful- and inhibiting enemies is always a good thing, so your other spell is very welcome..."

"While I'm sure you've all picked up on it already from the conversation, and the fact that I'm not carrying any guns, this pocket is one where firearms do not function." She said after a second to gather her thoughts. "I stepped inside briefly to investigate the pocket, which is how I know this... But it also gave me a few other shocks..."

"Namely the time dilation..."

Oliver whistled softly at that surprising twist. "How much of a time flow difference are we talking about? We're not going to spend a day in there while a year passes out here, are we?"

Jane quickly shook her head. "Nothing that severe, thankfully- and flipped the other way to boot. From the tests we ran, it seems to be about a ten to one: Ten seconds in there is one second out here."

"What will we be dealing with over there? What sort of terrain and enemies?" Oakheart asked, unconcerned by the issue of time- he was an Elf, after all, and a young one at that. He still had centuries left to live. "And are there any hazards we should be concerned about."

"That's where things get even more complicated." Jane sighed. "I didn't stay long, or venture far from the portal thing that you pass through going in, so I wasn't able to determine what sort of enemies we'll be facing. As for terrain and hazards... The terrain appears to be a large city, but one that has gone through some sort of apocalypse..."

"The buildings and cars appeared to be long abandoned, though I can't say how long exactly, and there was a great deal of damage to everything- burnt out remains, bullet holes, shattered glass... Even a few buildings that had fully collapsed... And that's just what I could see from the entrance."

"An apocalypse city? Sounds fun." Oliver grinned behind his mask.

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