A New Hope

Back from all the Bishop crap out-of-state, it was time to rest and get back in my real-life body. Don't get me wrong, the sheer power of my projected form is addictive, but it just isn't the same as touching, smelling and just generally sensing things. With all of the spectres around, I know this time will be short. I grab life by the balls and live it again. My parents treat me like I've been gone for months - even if it's only been a few weeks. Shiva is just Shiva. She doesn't seem to know how long I've been gone, but she was a bit suspicious of Henry. I could see her eyes sometimes flick over to him, but otherwise no reaction - not like the neighbourhood cats. As always, Henry is chill as fuck. I dunno where he gets all his lettuce and fruits, but it saves me trying to get ghostly veggies and he doesn't give a shit about anything real-life around him. The only time I've seen him react to stuff is when Billy is around. I can tell that Juggernaut is just under the surface - ready to come out and do a Koopa again and break his legs.
The Rocks are still going strong, but want me to turn up more. Cassius just isn't fit enough to give them the kind of training that I can. Missy is still a macho shit. He's almost as dumb as my younger brother and still hasn't figured out that I just have to get inside his reach and under his centre of balance to take him down. He still keeps trying to use his reach and weight to overpower me - well... it works most of the time against others, so maybe he just can't adjust his tactics. The truce with the gangs is holding, but Cassius isn't holding it as well as when I'm around. He's getting too old. Starting to forget stuff. The young ones just don't know his rep from before and don't give him the respect he deserves when their older brothers aren't around. Anyway, it's good to get back to the congregations. It's only thanks to Kate that I don't feel like a traitor while working for Lazarus Redux. Still, there's just something that doesn't work trying to run a capitalist company while pretty much beachheading a war and solving hauntings for those who can't pay much. Surely there must be a way that everyone can communally pay for this kind of fight and protection that everyone needs. [She hasn't drawn the logical link to government taxes and national defence/security that she's proposing]
Lastly, it feels good to touch skin again. My toy boy is making up for lost time like he is still a teenie. I like it. But seriously, with typical crucible timing, Elaine calls me while we're in the middle of his lunch break. Why can't the spectres just fuck off and go to sleep for an hour and let me have some fun?
I turn up late to the party and it's a bit weird. I just turn up to a stranger's place - they don't know me and just got dressed after showering. E*** is totally sus of me - of course. At least Cullen is a doctor and has a reason to be there. I just hang around and check things out from a Skinrider view. She's obviously fucked up, but not like she's been fights or anything like that. Still, there's that sus 16-inch knife in the kitchen. Cullen says she was possessed in the middle of meal prep, but I'm not convinced. Maybe she avoided fights with threats with the knife. Dunno how I'd figure that out though.
Oh yeah, Cullen did the Billy Forbode thing. That's how he could tell me that. We guess that whatever took E*** over didn't mean harm, but used her body for scouting and that this must be part of Jigsaw's plans. Since this time we know in advance that the shit is about to hit the fan, it not only makes sense, but we go and visit him/it to confirm and stop E*** from being used like this again. Jigsaw wants replacements and Cullen offers some from his list of dead-end homeless. I give him/it the asshole who tried to screw with Missy. I know what'll happen to him, but it's worth it. Nobody messes with my crew and gets away with it. Jigsaw also doesn't give a flying monkey's about the Hellboys and their saviour ways - shame because where we're going to bait an ambush is right there, where we got the last spectre in Cullen's coin and delivered it to Jigsaw. We've now literally made a deal with the devil. He/it's still as inhuman as any other reaper, but at least he/it's against Grandmother and we can talk to him/it, unlike Grandmother's reapers who just want to kill us.
Talking with Kate, we finally give her the info about Jigsaw and all the shit that is happening in the background since Alpha Team stopped being active in the field. It goes smoothly. She agrees and will talk with the rest of her crucible. I think Chet will be on board. We're going to elevate Keighleigh for the vitality burst, fire off as much hurt as we can and then Storm Wend out of there and let Jigsaw's nutters ambush and take care of whatever turns up.
Aside from that, I put out the word to Kate and Lazarus that I'm looking for an artifact bicycle (I keep thinking about the Lightcycle from Tron - but that's not going to happen). I need to be able to move faster while sleeping.
Training is also going well with knives. Cullen knows a lot about how to handle blades, but I'm developing my own style. Less flashy and fast, more straightforward and brutally in-your-guts. I definitely feel less vulnerable now with training and this Obsidian Blade than before, when I could do nothing in my body against the spectres swarming the city.