Welcome to Gaia! ::

The day was quiet and grey, the sort that always threatened to rain, but never seemed to get around to it. Hawk was flying in the air, just leaving a small stand-off robbery, glad for once that the crime was stopped without bloodshed. It was rare that she could feel good about her job, without the fear of slaughter.

That uplifted feeling vanished when she rocked in the air, curling into a ball a moment, coldness filling her body and it felt as if a piece of her soul was wrenched from her being, making her cry out, voice full of heartbreak and the shock of such a parting.

Blinded she flew to where the feeling had come from, landing into the ground in a tucked roll, right in front of the officials. The head officer nodded at her, seeing the pallor of her face behind her shadow veil and swallowed "I'm sorry Hawk." he stated simply, voice kind, low. She didn't even acknowledge him and walked to Phantom's body, crouching nearby.

Carefully she checked over his vitals, the pulse of blood, of life cold and faded. She placed a hand over the soggy patch of a wound, large thick sparks of lightning roaring around her body. The woman bent her head, kissing Phantom's cheek, then stood, picking him up, fists clenched. "I want a full grid search of the building and surrounding area. Any one that ye find that looks odd, hold them for me." she stated, voice soft, distant. Part of her shrieked in the distance like a lost child, the rest of her, which was in control was cold, waiting for the right moment with pure calculation and calm.

Holding Phantom's body she made a stop at Renail's, telling him what happened in quick clipped words. The man knew better to say more and watched her leave, noting with a chill that her eyes were a soulless black, no lightning or shadow around her but her thin veil. The woman walked on, waiting for the moment when the killer would show his face.

Hawk tapped her ear, standing still "Hullo, and who do I have the grand pleasure of speaking too?" she asked, voice soft, even.

The woman chuckled, chest tight "Just Hawk. Ye stabbed him in the chest, not gutted, that implys ye disembowled him. And he was my husband." she commented, voice still soft. It felt like ice formed on her heart and she nodded at the scream "So ye have men? I'm so glad, they'll be fodder. Have ye're fun for now, love, ye'll see me soon enough." she commented, clicking off the phone. She moved on, trying to keep her mind clear, biding her time.

Hawk was pacing uneasily in her apartment, hundreds of thoughts swirling in her mind as she walked. Then she looked to the television, watching it blank-faced, jaw tight. Right after it went out, her phone rang. A message played over, Renail's worried voice trying to convince her to not do what he asked, while the woman left to the city.

A news feed a half hour later came across Gaia. Hawk was standing in a neutral coloured room, wings folded behind her, holding a wicked knife made from lightning in one hand.

"Ye've all seen the news feed, I'm sure. Phantom's killer feels the need to show his..conviction. That's fine, here's mine." she stated, the knife hovering behind her, crackling. It swung down once, severing her right wing with a spray of blood and feather, the woman letting out a scream and going to her hands and knees. Sweating, she swallowed, tense as the wound cauterized instantly. Jaw tight, the knife came down again and she went white, sweat soaked hair falling over her face, another howl tearing from her throat.

Coughing, the woman blinked, staring into the camera, smiling. Her wings lay on either side of her, severed completely, blood-soaked.

"There. Ye should burn that book, toys like that can have the nasty habit of turning on ye. I'll be waiting for the next move." she commented, breathing quickly as the footage shorted out.

Hawk watched the news, shaking as if she was in the grips of a deep fever. Swallowing, she moved out at a run, getting a distress signal over her ear-com, heading to the Market Place. In a few moments she stood in the middle of the road, lightning roaring down the street in a huge wave right at the car as she stood, spinning a shadow knife in hand.

Hawk stomped, lightning and shadow roaring above her, some of the bullets turning into darkness themselves, others deflecting as she began to walk forwards, slowly. Lines of shadow whipped out and she threw herself out of the trajectory of the rest of the bullets, some grazing her, one impacting into her shoulder. The woman didn't slow down, a web of shadow and lightning surging around the pregnant woman, pulsing out to a shockwave at the killer.

Still moving, Hawk sent out several webs, these ones ripping at the minions, flaying one alive, the others simply being ripped apart until the men were scattered in bloody pieces. Still walking Hawk nodded at the killer "Well, ye're to be congratulated. If ye were looking into following in Phantom's footsteps ye've made a pathetically obvious start." she commented, arms folded as she watched him, the shield over the pregnant woman threaded with lines of shadow and lightning.

For a while, Soultorn had been doing nothing but meditating on an island, and some vigilante work at night. But this was different. Something felt wrong, and then he received a telepathic message from General.

'Phantom is dead, Soul. That's all I know. Someone managed to kill Phantom.'

This was quite stirring news. He didn't know Phantom all that well, but how would someone have been able to kill Phantom?

Soultorn returned to the main land of Gaia. Finally, when he stopped to think in Barton Town, he heard chatter of some commotion at the MarketPlace. Soultorn began to fly over there, and when he got there, he viewed the scene from the air.