Gerry stepped back and considered his stock from the customer side of the bar. The Merchant was a small bar by Hudson City standards; old school décor, lots of dark wood and brass, scents of mahogany and pipe smoke. It was nothing at all like J/T, where Gerry last worked. No, the Merchant wasn’t trendy in any sense of the word and that went doubly for its stock of liquor.

The night above was eerily quiet, and the sidewalks were mostly vacant due to the bristling storm that crackled in the ink black sky.  The sound of thunder boomed, causing a homeless wino to quicken his pace as he hurried towards a gas station on the corner. The earth beneath the man quivered and shook, as the storm above seemed to summon something from the depths of hell below.

It is approaching the third year anniversary of the disappearance of Ophilia DiSantiago's absent fiance, Dean Masterson. She finally uses her ties with the Conquistadors to look into the mystery, with high hopes of solving it. Stone, in exchange for the date that Phi had won during the bachelor auction, agrees to look into it, promising to keep it as quiet as he can. When he runs into a roadblock, he recruits Edison Palmer and they both dive head first into a most startling discovery. So startling, that it's almost impossible to believe.

Staring: Ophilia DiSantiago, Stone, Edison Palmer, Sebastian DiSantiago and Mason Willoughby

“I am truly sorry, Mr. And Mrs. Willoughby, but there is nothing more that we can do,” said Dr. Fred Patterson, Chief of Medicine at Hudson City Memorial Hospital. He frowned deeply, as he stared down at the patient lying comatose among a nest of wires and tubes. “Mason's injuries are too severe. We repaired what we could, but his lungs, heart and liver are failing. With total life support he'll probably last another two weeks, maybe three. Right now it's a question of when, not if.”

Evelyn Willoughby choked back a sob as she turned her face into her husband Thomas' broad chest. Her hands clenched tightly in his jacket.

Having a new power was exciting but tricky.  With each new power, comes a suite of issues that have to be ironed out and planned for.  In this case, Sebastian was figuring out how to time port to Rotterdam St and Salem Ave, without being seen.  He was still ironing out the rough edges, and was fairly certain that he could work it out.  ...but it was unnerving.

After calling up a map of the scene, and determining the most likely alley in which to make his appearance, Sebastián checked his gear one last time.  Digital Camcorder, both cell phones, his ever present iPod and a pocket full of cash for 'emergencies'.  Satisfied he had what he needed, he began his journey to the accident.

"Remarkable."  Doctor Hyperion commented as he circled the room where one of his experiments had escaped.  Jorge sat in the middle of the floor, his massive head hanging low in shame.  It was his job to feed the beast and protect the doctor, and he had almost failed.  Almost.

See below for a list of solo pieces involving Mason Willoughby's history.

For a complete listing of contributions, check out Mason's Tag Page.

(Note: this story takes place between the events of New Kid in Town, part 2 and part 3, and before the Bachelor Auction in TCQ)

Le Mastre's Park, Hudson City's answer to New York's Central Park lay under a thick blanket of snow. The trees were bare, limbs heavy with layers of ice and snow. The air was crisp and still. Lights dotted the darkness, newly installed lamp posts along the Park's walk ways and bike paths, each a small oasis amongst the palpable darkness of a starless, moonless night. The park was hushed, the silence lay as heavy as the snow. There was a sense of menace to the air, danger in the darkness.

What did I do? Phi couldn’t move, she wasn’t fast enough. Time seemed to stop as he dove at her, she saw it coming a second before it did and that was the only way she was able to step just far enough to the right, to dodge his outstretched hand. His evil intent washed over her and she knew that it was only a matter of time before she would be his, and she knew with startling clarity what he was going to do to her.

Phi’s heart raced and her stomach plummeted with the kind of sheer fear that she had never experienced before. She tried to battle the flash from him, tried not to know what his plans were, they were so vivid and lustful. Hunger. Need.

After a bit of searching Sebastián found an appropriate spot, and gave a slight nod to his cousin “I got this, thanks.” As he maneuvered his way through the frozen mayhem he thought about what he was doing, using his gifts in front of people, something he had avoided his entire life. If there was another way, some other option to save his sister he would have taken it.

Coming to a stop, he drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. In his mind he pictured when he wanted to go, and he started to gather his power. Slowly, almost unnoticeable at first, the air began to thicken in the room centered on him, but slowly expanding. The perfect, climate controlled air started to feel heavy, almost humid, but without the heat that always accompanied humidity.