Ziggursky Maximum Security Penitentiary.

10:05 AM Friday, June 1st

“Do not make any sudden movements. Do not raise your voice. Do not antagonize the subject. Do not tell her jokes. Do not stare at her. Do not touch your face or hair in front of her. Do not stare directly into her eye… sockets.” The guard captain finished reading off the list of rules. “Above all, be neutral. Do not perpetuate a feeling of dislike, or show any signs of friendship or compassion. The only way this will work is if she stays calm. Do you understand, Miss Fass?”

Diana Fass, an Assistant District Attorney for the Paragon City criminal court system, nodded her head solemnly. She was a rather imposing woman, very tall with dark hair, broad shoulders and an athletic frame. She had proud elegant features; olive skin tone and rich black hair and thin square framed glasses over bright blue eyes, she clearly came from a long Greek line. She most certainly would make for an impressive sight during closing arguments. Today wasn’t about the court room though; today she was trying to get information. That was what brought her to the Zig.

She was here to speak with the woman she had replaced, Sarah Evans, a former ADA for Paragon, the one who Diana replaced in 2005, after Sarah was murdered. Ms. Evans was now known as the Grinning Banshee, a spectral spirit who retained control over the very substance that killed her, radiation. In addition to this talent she, like all banshees, possessed the ability to give hideous blood curdling screams. She was kept in an 8 x 8 cell, with lead lined walls and a magical containment spell cast around it to keep the banshee from going incorporeal and simply walking out of the prison.

With her confirmation given Diana was led to Sarah’s cell to speak with her. Sarah was bound in a straight jacket. Over her mouth was a special dampening device, resembling a breath mask, it allowing only the smallest of whispers to escape her mouth and effectively neutralized her sonic abilities. The door of her cell was opened slowly, a force field remaining active but allowing Sarah and Diana to see each other. It took her a moment to subdue the sudden urge to look away, she had seen many hideous things in Paragon but this was absolutely disgusting, instead she took the chair that had been placed in front of the cell and sat down in it.

The Banshee’s face was little more than a skull, the skin charred black and clutching to the bone like old leather. It was cracked in dry in places, and lines covered her face where her veins had once been, the lines glowing an eerie green as part of the radioactive fall out she had suffered. Her lips had been burnt away, leaving her teeth exposed in a gruesome permanent grin. Her eyes had been burnt away, leaving only the sockets dark hollow spaces with a faint green light glittering deep within them. “Miss Evans? I’m assistant district attorney Diana Fass. I’ve come offer you a deal in exchange for some information. I’ve been authorized to offer you a new residence in exchange for information. What I need, is information on one Thomas Seiss, known on the Rogue Isles as Slicin’ Seiss. If you can provide me what I want to know I can have you transferred to the Pandora Asylum for criminally insane mystical beings. You’ll get a new cell with a view of the grounds, twice as big as your current one, it will be complete with a radiation containment field and a sonic debuffer, allowing you to be able to move freely within your cell unrestrained. Do you understand this offer Sarah?” Ms. Fass made a concerted effort not to make direct eye contact with the villainess, remembering what the guard captain had warned her of.

The banshee looked down at the pieces of paper in Diana’s hands, the photos of her potential knew penitentiary. It did look nice, beautiful even, particularly when compared to the Zig that was Sarah’s home now, locked in the maximum security wing for criminally insane prisoners. She lifted her hellish face and stared at Diana. The ADA didn’t stare back; she looked briefly at her then turned her attention back to the files she held.

“Ms. Evans I need to know about the three months you spent working with Thomas Seiss. During this time we know he committed 4 murders, we recently have been given reason to believe he performed 8 others. There’s not enough evidence on the four we have, it’s mostly circumstantial. There’s no way to guarantee it’s the right people and we still haven’t found enough to prove it’s him. We need more Sarah; we need to know where the other bodies are at. If you can give the courts any information on that, anything that can help us find the bodies, or help pin down these other murders on Seiss we’ll have you moved to this new facility.” She looked briefly at the Grinning Banshee again. “What can you tell us, Sarah?”

The radioactive spirit lifted her head, it tilted to the right slowly, not at a natural angle, but all the way over a full 90 degrees until her ear was on her shoulder. The ADA swallowed a wave of nausea and revulsion as the banshee raised her head back up to its normal upright position and shook her head slightly.

“So sorry,” Her voice was a whisper, sounding dried and cracked, as if she’d not had anything to drink in years. There could be no doubt that the radiation burns had coursed all the way down her throat into her lungs to leave her voice like this. “Assistant District Attorney Evans is not available. Her schedule conflicts with the meeting, if you had called ahead she might have been able to make herself available, if you need legal counsel for a case you will have to make another appointment. If you would like to leave a message you may.”

Diana frowned faintly. “Banshee, I need to speak to Sarah, she’s the only one who I can make this arrangement with. Allow me to talk with her, please.”

The banshee gave a hissing cackle of amusement and tilted her head to that 90 degree angle once more, this time turning to the left instead of the right, and allowing her head to remain laying there on her shoulder this time. “I know… Who you aaaaaare.”

The reaction was imperceptible to all but the most trained individuals; none of the guards noticed the ADA’s body shift or the muscles within her legs tighten slightly as if ready to leap from her chair. “Sarah, will you please talk to me?” She persisted, trying to avoid engaging the Banshee in further conversation.

“Sarah is out to lunch… She’s not here anymore. You replaced her.” The banshee whispered, her tone turning dark and menacing.

“What? I didn’t replace-”

“Yes you did. Ooooh yes you did.” This was followed by another little giggling cackle. “Sarah was taken, and boiled, and burned, and left to die in the saaaaand.”

“Your death was a hardship for the entire legal department, Sarah. Please, help us, we need you now.” Diana pressed, hoping to get her way through the foggy veil of the banshee’s insanity to the woman that the psychologists were sure still existed somewhere beneath that heinous exterior.

“Objection! Leading the witness!” Grinning Banshee said, her voice kept to a whispering level by the sound filter covering her mouth.

“Sarah, please, I didn’t want to replace you. I looked up to you and the other attorneys in that office. I worked hard to manage to be where I am now. I never expected to be replacing another ADA who had been murdered…” Diana’s tone turned apologetic.

At that shift in voice Grinning Banshee froze. Her head straightened back to an upright position, she stared pointedly at Diana. “Murdered? MURDERED!?” She hissed angrily, still subdued by the mouthpiece. “I wasn’t murdered you stupid big breasted bimbo! I was BUTCHERED! I was slaughtered by those freakish excuses for living beings!” She dropped into a crouch so she was eye to eye with Diana with only a centimeter between her skeletal face and the crackling energy force-field that kept her safely within her cell.

Diana’s nostrils flared and her eyes grew livid at the insult to her physique and intelligence but she reigned herself in quickly, reminding herself of the guard captains warnings she looked away from the banshee.

Grinning Banshee began to snicker and giggle. “Oooh Diaaaanaaaaaaa.” She rocked her head back and forth, from left to right like a swaying pendulum. “I also know… What you are.”

Diana slowly turned to look at the banshee again, but she didn’t take the bait. “I’m sorry to have wasted both of our time here, Ms. Evans.” She gathered up the papers and closed the file over them again before slipping it back into her briefcase and standing up. “If you do remember anything, let me know.”

The banshee’s head continued rocking back and forth as she watched Diana moving back down the hall. She let Diana get a good two cells down before speaking again. “I know where the boooodies aaaaaaaaaare.” She whispered in a sing song tone.

Despite now being well over 20 feet away Diana seemed to hear Sarah. She turned around and walked back to the cell, looking down at the banshee who was still crouched down, looking up at her like a dog pleading for scraps. “Where are they, Sarah?”

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!” The Banshee’s voice rose to just slightly above whisper level and the sound dampener’s lights along the right side of the device lit up going from green to yellow and finally red, signifying a significant increase in power usage. If it weren’t for that device covering her mouth the villainess would be screaming so loud that everyone in the cell block would be doubled over clutching there ears.

Diana remained stoic, looking down at the insane villain with an almost contemptuous gaze, getting irritated with the theatrics and games. “Sarah, we both know you’re not a fool. You’re a sociopath, not a psychopath, so stop acting like a mad clown. Tell me what I need to know and the deal is yours. You can get out of here, no more Zig, no more dark cell, no more windowless walls. Just tell me where the rest of Seiss’ victims are at.”

The Banshee sighed and slowly stood back up. She turned her back and paced the small length of her cell. “You’re no fun, Diana.”

“Sarah, please, where are the bodies?”

The shift was incredible, she went from twitching and twittering with a dry raspy voice to smooth and calm, her wild hair actually began to lie flat and her voice was gentle and almost normal; if a little weak and soft, when she next spoke. “I can’t give you precise locations, but I know the sort of places he liked to hide them.” When the villain turned around her skull face was gone. She was Sarah Evan’s again, her skin was a sick green hue and she had terrible burn scars all over her once pretty face. She had eyes again, once they were a gentle blue, now they were a milky white from the searing flames that had scorched her eyes till they eventually melted. “It’s Seiss fault I was caught in the first place, so I suppose turn about is fair play, I don’t owe him anything. How many did you say you’ve found?”

“Four. We think there are eight more.” Diana replaced, looking at Sarah calmly now, trying to ensure she treat Sarah like another normal person and kept her there in the present rather than letting her revert back into the mad spirit personality.

“Twelve.” Sarah corrected.

“What?”

“Seiss killed 16 people. Most of them women. He wouldn’t even let me get rid of the bodies; I’d have made sure they didn’t go to waist. One of them had nice legs… Those would’ve cooked up real nice with some melted butter and a bit of garlic.”

Diana’s jaw tightened but she fought down another wave of disgust and horror. “Where can I find them?”

“Most were college students from the Salamanca branch of Paragon University. We were spending time in Croatoa celebrating Halloween, but he didn’t want to bury them there, didn’t want them to be used by any of the mystical groups or beings in that region so he carted them away in a big truck. He had a place he liked to keep things. It’s a cabin out in the woods, about 50 miles outside Paragon city down route 103. I’m sure he has the deed for it; it was a family cabin, his grand father's I believe. If you get a warrant to dig on the property I’m sure you’ll find the rest of the bodies soon or later.” Sarah answered, looking into Diana’s eyes. “Do I get my room with a view now?”

Diana nodded, giving Sarah a thankful smile. “Yes, Sarah. I’ll make sure the papers get processed right away, you’ll be out of here by the end of the week.”

“Thank you, Ms. Fass… I must say, I’m glad they found someone capable to take my place.” Sarah said nodding to Diana before walking over to her bed and sitting down upon it, her arms still bound tightly behind her back in her straight jacket. “I’m afraid I can’t give you anything else, Ms. Fass.”

Diana nodded at that and turned to leave once more.

“Oh! Wait, Ms. Fass!” Sarah called, giving Diana pause and making her turn around once more.

The ADA frowned as she found herself once more looking at the gruesome skeletal expression of the Grinning Banshee. The villainess was wiggling around in her straight jacket like a worm inside a cocoon, snickering softly. “Tell me something.” She said, her hollow, raspy voice having returned. “Do you believe in magic?”

Diana quirked a brow in confusion at that before her eyes widened. With a clank and a rustle of fabric Grinning Banshee slid her arms out of the sleeves of her straight jacket and tugged the cumbersome thing off her body, stretching and rolling her shoulders with a sigh.

“Hehehaa! I’m a regular Harriett Houdini!” she quipped, looking at Diana with that sick constant grin.

One of the guards nearby lifted a hand reassuringly as Diana turned to warn him. “Don’t worry.” He nodded toward the cell, its walls now beginning to glow. “We’ve got MAGI operatives monitoring her cell through the security cameras. They’ll bind her so we can get that jacket back on.”

Glancing back at the Banshee, Diana found her to be bouncing around her cell like a monkey, hitting the walls shoving away from them and then throwing herself at them again. She was beginning to think that the doctors who’d determined that the Grinning Banshee was a sociopath rather than a psychopath might’ve needed a refresher course in psychiatric medicine.

ADA Diana Fass’ Home

3:05 AM Friday, June 8th

Diana groaned, pulling her phone off the hook and lifting it to her ear. “Hello?” Her groggy voice said into the receiver. “What?!” She jerked up in bed, suddenly wide awake. “Seiss is dead? All right, do we know who- But she’s locked… Oh dammit, the prison transfer, they were moving her tonight weren’t they? How did she get out? Of course. Yes I saw her get out of her jacket while I was speaking with her at the Zig. They should’ve restrained her better. We’ll have to get a warrant to ― me? Why would she? No I don’t think that’s ne ― I’m going to need to call you back.” She hung up her phone abruptly as a glowing green light bathed her bedroom.

The Grinning Banshee smiled widely at Diana. It wasn’t a hallucination; it wasn’t a trick of the light. The glowing green spirit was in Diana’s house right outside the bedroom door in the hall way. Her prison garb abandoned in favor of black buckled leather and clanking chains. Her costume was tattered and torn in spots revealing the green radioactive skin beneath the leather, large spines ripped free of the outfit at her shoulders; growth from her bones after the radiation manipulated her biological structure, chains hung from her boots, gloves and chest, swaying slightly as she drifted lazily in the air hovering a few inches off the ground. She didn’t seem capable of going incorporeal yet, probably still to weak having so recently escaped the binding spells and technological restraints that had been containing her powers and abilities.

Diana slowly slid out of bed and stood up. She noticed, in the flaring green light that now filled the room, emitting from a fiery green aura around the spirit, that her gloves were stained with blood. “Sarah… What are you doing here? You should be on your way to the Pandora Asylum.”

“Ehehehe… I know… I know. But see… I was just out for a drive with friends, and I suddenly realized, GASP! It would be so very rude of me to leave Paragon without stopping by and saying good by to my old buddy Slicin’ Seiss!” The banshee giggled, then her burnt creased and cracked forehead furrowed into a scowl. “Imagine how hurt I was when he panicked at the sight of me… And then he SHOT at me! Of all the nerve, honestly!”

“Sarah… Did you kill Seiss? The DA just called and said that neighbors heard screaming from Seiss’ residence, the police found him dead Sarah… He looked like he’d been burned, and most of his hair had fallen out.”

“I didn’t kill him.” The banshee said, raising her hands self-defensively before giving a sharp cackling giggle. “I really didn’t!! Controlled radiation is a beautiful thing! I never laid a hand on him!”

“Sarah… What did you do?”

“Like I said… I didn’t do a thing, Ms. Fass. But it was the oddest thing, I mean, I’ve got perfect control of my radiation, I can emit it, or I can hold it in and keep it contained. I’m not a radioactive threat unless I choose to be. All I did was go in to say hi to him, and he shot at me… Then he started screaming… Then he started to flush red like it was to hot for him… and his hair started falling out, and his skin got sallow, and his eyes sunk back in his skull… It was the strangest thing! Funny though! Eh heh… Hehehe… !”

As the Banshee doubled over holding her sides Diana reached a hand down and tugged open the top drawer of her bedside cabinet. While her hand slid into the drawer and felt around for something Grinning Banshee recovered herself, wiping at her eye sockets as if to dab away mirthful tears.

“You know what else is strange though, Diana?” Banshee tilted her head to a right angle in curiosity. “I’ve been spreading radiation into this whole room. You should be feeling hot; you should be coughing, nausea, probably light headed… But I bet you’re not feeling any of those are you? No. You’re special aren’t you? Ah… There it is.” The Banshee smiled as Diana pulled a long piece of red cloth from the drawer. “Go ahead, put it on… I won’t stop you.”

Diana held the red cloth in her hands but did nothing with it, studying the Banshee intently. “Why did you come here, Sarah?”

“Well see, you got to see both halves of me… I thought it only fair that you show me both your halves too.” The banshee replied. “Come on Di-Di… It’s not like I can’t tell already. You think I can’t SMELL that loathsome eternal scent? You’re not even mortal are you? Can you even die? I bet not. I bet I could pump this room full of radiation till the bed sheets withered into charred ash and the wall paper began to peel and you’d be standing there unphased.”

Diana feigned ignorance, looking at Sarah like she was ― Well, just as she should, like Sarah was completely crazy.

“Oh don’t look at me like that. You’re at least 6 foot 3 and you’re built more like an Olympic athlete than a lawyer.” Grinning Banshee shook her head. “I must admit you’re a good actress though! Couldn’t do it better myself, and I’m real good and luring victims into allies thinking I’m some injured woman needing help… That short quick stride, the clothes are… What, maybe one size too big? Just to make you look a bit smaller than you actually are, right? Those glasses are a nice touch too, made you a look more like a librarian than warrior, but I notice you didn’t put them on when you woke up, you don’t even need them do you? Come on Diana, show me the real you, I’ve shown you the real me.”

It was true, she had done this. It was the Grinning Banshee’s appearance but Sarah was the one talking, the display of two totally different personalities most certainly was an act, one so good that she’d managed to make trained doctors believe she had some form of schizophrenic multi-personality disorder.

“So it’s all been an act. You really are a sick woman, Banshee…” Diana growled in a contemptuous tone, drawing a giggle and a thank you from the amused villainess as the ADA lifted the red cloth up and began to cover her eyes with it.

As Diana tied the blindfold over her eyes there was a flash of light that completely overpowered the green glow from the radioactive spirit. Standing where Diana had been was a different woman. She wore Greek armor: A white leather-armor top and gladiator kilt with a golden chest plate over her torso grafted smoothly onto the leather. Layered armor plates were attached to her belt, lying smooth against her thighs over top of the gladiator kilt; this armor was made of a strange blue metal, decorated with silver lining and engravings. She wore golden bracers on her fore-arms and Spartan war boots on her feet; red cloth covering the feet and rising up to the knee, with golden lace up sandals and shin guards over top of them. Hanging from her right shoulder was a shoulder cape with golden embroidery upon it and in her right hand was a magnificent broad sword, its blade shown brightly and sparkled with a divine aura.

“Oooh I knew it.” Grinning Banshee gave another wicked cackle and clapped her hands gleefully. “Very impressive! Wow, have you ever made closing arguments dressed like that?! Course if you did all the male jurors would probably be busy staring at your legs under that skirt.”

“You murdered a man in cold blood.” The voice was very different from Diana’s. Diana was a firm informative tone, just what you would expect from a confident attorney, this voice brimmed with controlled righteous anger, it seemed to resonate with a power and order that rose well beyond what she could accomplish in her alter-ego.

“Hey. It wasn’t me, it was the radiation I just happened to lose control of when he shot me! I was shocked, it caught me by surprise and I lost my concentration, it’s not my fault.”

“Justice is blind, Grinning Banshee, not foolish.” The blind-folded woman raised her sword so the tip was level with the ghostly spirit’s chest. “You can’t lie to me, I know when people are lying, you focused your powers on him, and you watched him die. You were laughing while he fell to his knees pleading for you to stop with his last gasping breath.”

“Oh you’re good, what are you psychic as well?” Grinning Banshee queried, now bobbing up and down in excitement, enjoying her banter.

“The blind-fold doesn’t leave me in the dark, it allows me to see in a new way, specifically it allows me to see through lies, and to see the guilt of others. You… You radiate not just with that toxic green flame, but with the sin and guilt of dozens of slain innocents… You’ve killed far more than just other villains, men, women, children, kind innocent people who never harmed anyone.” The heroine replied, lowering her sword down to an angle, the strong muscles in her arms bulging slightly in hint that she was still quite ready to raise the blade back up at a moments notice.

“Ooh, fun. I bet you get to see all sorts of dirty little things when you take trips to New Orleans! So what’s your name then: The All Seeing Judge? The Blade of Justice! No wait… Blind Justice!” Banshee said with another giggle.

“I would not be so arrogant as to imply that I –am- justice. My name is Votum Justicia, I am a herald.”

“Votum Justicia… Latin… Promised Justice… Justicia also was the name of the Greek and roman goddess of Justice and judgment.” Grinning Banshee nodded slowly, displaying her intelligence once more as she spouted off the knowledge. “Hrm… so that’s it eh? You’re the herald of a pagan goddess, no wonder you’ve got that immortal stench on you. Urgh… Sickening, in fact, I’ve had enough for now! I think I’ll leave.”

“You’re not going anywhere Banshee, you have to answer for what you did tonight, a deal is a deal so you’ll still go to Pandora, but you’re going there now. Not later.”

“Oh! Oh ho! I just noticed! Greek Goddesses herald, taking me to PANDORA Asylum! Ahahaha! Oh that’s a good one!” She snorted and snickered then stopped abruptly, a scowl creasing her forehead, though her grin remained. “But no. No, tonight… I’m going to the isles, and then I’ll come back to visit Paragon after I’ve had a little time to regain my strength!”

“Not this time!” Justicia lunged, far faster than a human would, moving at a speed that caught even the Banshee off guard. Grinning Banshee ducked to the side, avoiding a full swipe of the blade but screeching in pain as the edge cut into her side as it swept past. “YEOW! Hey that smarts!” She ducked under Justicia’s sword arm and dove into the bedroom.

Justicia swept back around, raising the sword up and bringing it down towards the spirit villainess again, the blade cut through the Banshee’s tattered cape as she dove out of the way again, this time she kept moving, rushing towards the balcony. Justicia crossed the room in two leaping strides, reaching the doors to the balcony just as Grinning Banshee did, grabbing her arm as the banshee broke through the glass and stumbled forward onto the balcony.

“I told you that you wouldn’t escape, I don’t make promises idly.” Justicia cautioned, holding onto the Banshee’s arm with a grip like an iron vice.

“Unfortunately sweetie, this is one promise I can’t let you keep.” Grinning Banshee said in a tone of mocking regret. She turned to look at Justicia and her skeletal jaw fell open.

Justicia staggered backwards, releasing Grinning Banshee’s arm and falling to her knees, using her broadsword for support as the banshee’s unearthly ear splitting wail cut through the night air. It continued for what seemed to Justicia like hours, it would likely have shattered the ear drums of a normal human, instead it only left her ears throbbing and ringing as the wail finally faded and Justicia lifted her head to find herself alone in the bedroom, the balcony covered in shattered glass and the Grinning Banshee vanished from sight. In the distance over the ringing in her ears she could hear police sirens. The district attorney must have called the Paragon PD when Diana hung up so abruptly. It would be awkward to have to explain how Votum Justicia just happened to know where to find Grinning Banshee, and why Diana Fass was no where to be found, so she quickly removed her blindfold once more. Her sword and armor vanished, leaving Diana standing shakily, holding the wall for support with her left hand as she stuffed her blindfold into the pocket of her satin pajama bottoms. She’d underestimated toe Banshee’s abilities even after the villainess had only just escaped prison once more and was still recovering. Just as she’d vowed centuries ago to always bring the guilty to justice she vowed that she would catch the Grinning Banshee, and the wicked spirit would not catch her by surprise a second time.

FIN.