Lost & Found, [CD, Nice Demon, invite]

[Iris Lagos]

It was 1:35 am, and Iris awoke from a dead sleep with a start. She’d heard something - which was not unusual for a house with three infants. But it hadn’t been crying, or fussing, or any sort of baby related noise. It has been an unfamiliar noise, and Iris was instantly suspicious.

She sat up in bed, listening intently for the source of her wakefulness. Nothing at first, and then - she heard it again. a strange clattering from the kitchen. Iris was home alone, which left her to be the one to handle this. Iris picked up her cell phone from the nightstand, slipping it into the pocket on her pajama pants before grabbing the baseball bat she’d hidden under the bed in an earlier fit of paranoia. Slipping out of bed, she glanced at the children asleep peacefully at her bedside, and crept to the kitchen as quietly as possible.

Her heart pounding, Iris stood in the doorway of the kitchen, her eyes scanning from one side to the other and back again, finding nothing. She reached a shaking hand up and slide it to the light switch, hesitating before flipping the light on and finding nothing.

“Thank God,” Iris breathed, relieved that she had just imagined the noise. She lowered her baseball bat and padded across the kitchen for a glass of water.

Unknown to her, Iris was being watched. He’d followed her most of the day: from her house, to the doctor’s office, then to Winn-Dixie and back home again. He’d waited outside all night, finally making his move late into the night. It had been easier than he’d expected to break into her home, the house still fitted with aged, outdated locks.

But Iris was oblivious. She became aware of a noise behind her just as she was placing her cup into the sink. Before she could figure out who or what was rustling behind her, Iris collapse on the floor.

When she awoke later, Iris found herself tucked back in bed, which was weird. She could have sworn that she’d gotten up and gone to the kitchen. Was she really that exhausted? So exhausted that she was now dreaming about intruders and drinking water? She ran a hand through her hair and yawned as she turned to check on the children.

They were gone. Panic quickly washed over her, and Iris tried to calm herself as her chest tightened uncomfortably. How could they be gone? She woke up at the slightest sound and she somehow had been unaware of her children disappearing? It didn’t make any sense.

Iris knew she had to remain calm despite the strangling feeling of fear. She had to call someone - that was what people did in these situations. She felt in her pocket, and was immediately grateful to find her cell phone was exactly where it should have been. The relief, brief as it was, faded as she unlocked the screen to find 2 missed calls, 1 of which were from Jackson and one from a blocked number. There was one voicemail.

Dismissing the notifications, Iris started to dial 911 and, upon reconsideration, called Jackson instead. He was out on patrol. Maybe he would know someone who knew something.

[Crimson Defender]

It was a quiet night.

Jackson Myers, the Crimson Defender, had only had to take out a mugger or two that night so far, and he didn't see much more happening. The streets were quiet, the darkness was receding, and all was well.

Of course it made him uneasy.

He was trying to enjoy the quiet time at the office, he was. But nights like this always came with a punchline, and the joke was always on him. A supervillain, a gang war, a disaster... it was always something. So when the phone rang, he knew something was happening.

... but it was Iris. What's the worst it could be?

"Iris?" he asked. "What's up? You're calling a bit late... is everything okay?"

[Iris Lagos]

"They're gone!" Iris practically shouted into the phone. "I woke up and i went to the kitchen and now I'm in my bed and my children are GONE." Without pausing, she continued. " I heard a noise so I got the baseball bat and then there was no noise and I was in the kitchen and I heard something else and then - then - " Iris wasn't sure what happened next, but she had a theory. "They came back for my children. They took my babies from me!"

By this time Iris was close to hyperventilation, and had climbed out of the bed. She moved through the house, searching for anything that would get her closer to knowing what had happened. The house looked undisturbed, which added to her confusion over the period of time missing from her memory.

[Crimson Defender]

Iris may not have noticed the slight increase in static on the line and the sound of wind rushing past the microphone, but it was there. "Iris, Iris," he said, trying to keep himself calm. "I'm flying there now, alright? I will literally be there in a minute. I will be right there, and I will find them, okay? I am going to find them all, I promise. Just hang on, I'm almost there."

I'm going to kill them. I'm going to break their fucking necks and let them choke on their own blood. They're dead men. They're fucking DEAD MEN.

[Iris Lagos]

Iris was standing in the kitchen at this point, only partially aware of the conversation Jackson was attempting to have with her. She was staring at the cup she'd placed in the sink earlier - a glance at the stove revealed the time to be over an hour and a half since she had been awakened by the noises in the kitchen.

She put down her phone, not bothering to end the conversation in a proper way. Someone had been in her house and then had taken her babies - why hadn't they taken her? After everything Darwin had done to her, why would he not take her back? He was supposed to be dead and this was all supposed to be over. How wrong could she be?

She remained in the kitchen, staring into the sink until Jackson arrived.

[Crimson Defender]

It was literal seconds before Iris heard a thump outside the front door. Jackson came straight inside, stripped off his mask, and made a beeline for Iris, embracing her straight away. His arms were bands of steel around her, unyielding as he held her tight to himself. But this he did as much as he did for himself as he did for her. He needed her to focus himself for the task ahead.

It would be a dark one.

"I'll find them, Iris," he vowed. "I'll find them."

[Iris Lagos]

Iris remained motionless in his arms.

"How?" She asked quietly. "How will you find them? It took Stefan over a year to find me - and we're family. He knows where I am all the time. It's his power. He can find and he had no idea where I was!"

She relaxed her head into his chest, feeling defeated. "I don't know what we're going to do. These people are monsters. I don't think I'm ever going to really escape. I'm in my own house and I'm a prisoner, and my babies are gone. And I don't know how to get them back."

[Crimson Defender]

"I know how," Jackson said through gritted teeth. "I tear apart this city until I find them. I beat every thug in this city to a pulp until someone spills their guts about this. And then I find who did this and I make them pay, okay? I make them ALL pay, I swear."

There was no thought here. There was no logic. There was just grief and rage and sorrow, and the only way back to peace were children in his arms and blood on his knuckles. It was the only way he'd LET himself have peace.

It's the only way ANYONE would have peace.

"I swear..."

[Iris Lagos]

"You think Stefan didn't try that? It's not going to get us anywhere!" Iris closed her eyes tightly and tried to focus on her breathing and not hyperventilating. "We have to smart about this. We have to be smarter than they are."

Smarter than they were. Use her resources. Stay focused. Iris' brain was racing as she commanded herself to do all sorts of things.

CAPE.

Her mother had always told her to go to CAPE if there was trouble. She'd had trouble as soon as she'd been rescued and had no money and needed everything. She'd gone to CAPE and they're helped her. In particular, the demon at the front desk seemed to know what to do. That was his day job and what had his business card said?

"Jackson. Do you know that Demon that works at the CAPE reception? Do you know anything about him?"

[Crimson Defender]

Jackson's eyes lit up. "Uh, right, right, right..." he said, trying to recall. "Christian or something, right? I can't remember the name, exactly... but he does side stuff to find things, right?... holy shit, that's a good idea..."

The Defender pulled out his phone. He went through enough phones to get the indestructible "tuff" model they had available; this phone had now weathered a fall from 10 stories up, being landed on with the weight of twenty thugs, and now, its owners' rage-filled grip. (There was one new minor dent, but nothing that couldn't be weathered.) "One of us should call the cops, just to be safe," Jackson suggested. "The other calls this guy and figures out how to get them back... sound good?"

[Iris Lagos]

Iris shrugged. What would the cops do that heroes couldn't? She doubted these people were afraid of being arrested.

"I'll call Kristján," she decided. If Jackson wanted to call the cops that was his own business. She gave his arms a push, untangling herself from his embrace. "I have his card in my purse, I think. I'll go look."

Iris retrieved her purse from the living room, thankful that she didn't have to go to her bedroom and look at the empty cribs. Still, Iris was unsure if it was possible for the pain in her chest to be any greater.

Rather unceremoniously, she spilled the contents of her purse on the kitchen table, sorting through the pile unsuccessfully. She eventually found his business card stuck in her wallet behind a photo of her parents.

Phone in one hand, and business card in the other, Iris took a seat at the table. As she dialed Iris wondered if contracting with a demon was some version of a sin or just frowned upon by the majority of the Christian community. When the phone started to ring, she decided she didn't care.

[Crimson Defender]

By the time Iris returned to the room, Jackson was already pacing the room, phone pressed to his ear as if it was the reset button on the whole day. "I said, my passcode is CD455-Vega," he repeated on the phone. Thank you... Yes, I'd like to put in a request for an APB... Three children have been kidnapped."

He gave the address.

"... YES, I'm sure. The mother of these kids is not only a close personal friend, but these children were ALSO held hostage previously, so don't..."

He gave a pause.

"... Sorry. Kidnapped kids isn't something I deal with easily. Are you submitting the request? ... Thank you. Try to get this to Captain Arias. He knows me. ...

"...yes, I'll hold."