Story I wrote, commissioned by  snowfyre of his character Erinessa's introduction into the Colmaton Universe, joining Chemigal and Inquisitor in the righteous adventures of fighting evil and shenanigans.

Story and Inquisitor is © to me
Chemigal and Erinessa are © to  snowfyre
Betsy Ross is © to  star_skybright


“Okay, Shortstack just hold the perimeter, and I’ll mop it all up.” Was the response on Chemigal’s radio. The fennec scowled as she held up her Bureau of Superheroes communicator, her long red hair flowing back from the heavy winds in the area. “There’s no need, I have a new friend that’s helping me sort this out, without potentially blowing everything up.”

“A new friend?” The voice on the end of her communicator’s voice shot up an octave in surprise.

“Yes… she’s doing a great job here, and if you start in with the blasty magic and grenade launcher, half of West Virginia will be an irradiated wasteland.” Chemigal tried to explain.

“Isn't it already?”

“Inquisitor, I said I got this!” Chemigal hung up and growled.

“Who’s that? He sounds interesting.” Came the voice of Chemigal’s new found partner and friend.

“He’s… complicated.” Chemigal fumed as she sprayed foam over a nearby factory wall, and checked her geiger counter, as soon as the foam hit it, the radiation levels dropped. But out from the corner of the building a glowing near skeletal vulture like creature shrieked and leapt at her, trying to swing a big boney fist at her with such speed, that even as Chemigal raised her pellet gun, she knew she’d be too slow to intercept it. She flinched, closing her eyes tightly and expected the blow to land. Instead… nothing happened. And the marble colored fennec fox smiled as a pink and tan shark/fox hybrid parried the devil’s blow with her staff and watched as the demon’s predatory look turned to one of shock, and fear as its body started to break apart… and fade away.

Erinessa brushed a long streak of blue hair out of her face, and adjusted her purple, pointed hat. “That solves that.” She remarked with satisfaction.

“And nothing has exploded.” Chemigal grinned.

“Does explosions happen this often with the other guy?” Erinessa asked, her long shark tail swept back and forth.

“Erinessa… you have no idea.” Chemigal sighed.

“So what’s next?” Erinessa asked with curiosity.

“Clear the rooftops, find the magical macguffin causing this, and stop the radiation leaks.” Chemigal counted off on her fingertips and then felt hands scoop under her arms.

“Rooftops it is!”

“Wait, we can just take the staaaaaaiiiirrsss!”

Chemigal cried out, while large wings unfolded behind Erinessa, beat the air once, twice and then she was airborne, carrying the wide eyed fennec fox up a nearby hole in the chemical factory’s floor.

‘The more things change.’ Chemigal thought as the cackling grew louder above her, and the geiger counter started to click faster.

---

“For one. She’s immune to radiation. Two. You’re not… as per Medic Mouse’s very oddly redacted report from a few months back.” The slender elk woman eyed the frustrated feline pacing in front of her desk, all while she counted on her fingers. Beverly Reynolds, aka, Betsy Ross. The director of the Philadelphia Bureau of Superheroes grumbled. Dressed in a blue and red outfit, with gold buttons, and white gloves, the patriotic super heroine was thinking about chewing Inquisitor out… again. But that tactic had proven fruitless.

“Come on Big Boss, demonic stuff is my speciality, and Chemigal… wait… she’s immune to radiation?” He asked and the elk sighed again.

“Immune to radioactive chemicals like the Radium 226 being produced there, hence, immune to the radiation of those chemicals.”

“Oh…huh…good to know… well still… the demonic stuff, she’s going to need help with that.” Inquisitor pointed towards the door with his thumb.

“She said she had help.”

“Yeah but, no one on this planet is better at stopping the things that crawl out of hell than me.”

Betsy Ross’s eyebrow rose and gave the mountain lion a muted but still incredulous look.

“Seriously, at least let me go as overwatch, just so no one sneaks past them.”

Betsy Ross sighed. “I’m going to regret this aren’t I?”

“You’ve never regretted having me on the team yet.” Inquisitor smirked.

“Just…go…before I change my mind.” Betsy groaned and reached in her desk for the forms about property destruction as Inquisitor pumped his fist and called out a quick ‘yes’ under his breath and turned to leave.

“Oh! Need to burrow one of the teleporting heroes if that’s okay?” Inquisitor asked as he leaned back into the doorway.

“Just go!” Betsy Ross called out loud enough to make the larger mountain lion hero jump with a quick “Yes ma’am!”

“And you’re on OVERWATCH! DO NOT GET IN HER WAY!” Betsy called out after the mountain lion

---

“Hehehe hey that tickles!” The pink fennec shark laughed as Chemigal hosed her down in the foam that neutralized the radiation. She was standing on the pile of ash that had been a multi-limbed, rat/centipede demon. Tendrils of it’s rat tail shaped legs still wriggled and were dissolving as Chemigal worked to bring the radiation levels in the factory down to safe levels for normal fursons.

The marble fennec fought the urge to giggle as Erinessa shook out her long blue hair and smoothed down the now wet purple outfit she wore.

“That’s only the second time I’ve seen one of those things run away and vanish.” Chemigal remarked in surprise as Erinessa put her pointy hat back on her head and picked up her metal staff, with its green and ruby red tip. “Oh really?” Erinessa asked in interest. “When was the first?”

Chemigal groaned. “When I…” she broke off grumbling under her breath and Erinessa looked at her in confusion then got it. “Oh it was the guy you were fussing out earlier.”

“Yes.” Chemigal admitted and since the demons were gone and the radiation was being destroyed by her anti-radioactive foam, she finally let herself relax enough to converse openly.

“Let’s head to the parking lot, and I’ll tell you about him.” and began to tell Erinessa about the Inquisitor as they walked out of the room.

---

“Wait he set the fire himself!?” Erinessa gasped.

“Yes! He’s so shortsighted, egotistical, clumsy, impulsive…” Chemigal ranted and Erinessa’s gaze looked up and she cringed as Chemigal kept ranting, watching a blue portal start to shimmer into existence behind her.

“...lunatic, vain, sex potted, thrill seeking…” Chemigal continued as an armored feline stepped through the portal, holding up his BOS ID in case there were civilians in the area. He immediately smiled as he heard Chemigal’s rant.

“You forgot a good looking, loyal, tough as nails, basically just the best in the world, who would do anything to keep his tiny friend in one piece.” came the voice behind Chemigal as a large shadow went over her back, and she felt a heavy, powerful hand press on the top of her head and ruffle her bright red hair up.

“Damn it Inquisitor!” Chemigal blushed, and was briefly shocked before the angry indignation kicked in and knocked his hand off her head, and noticed Erinessa sizing up the ash grey and cream colored mountain lion. He wore bright blue armor, with dragon’s teeth spikes on his shoulder pauldrons, a large billowing cape hid the feline’s tail as he walked past Chemigal to size up the fennec shark hybrid as well. She smiled at him, though her hand tightened on her staff.

“So this is your friend huh? You actually must be pretty powerful since I don’t sense any…” He approached her and held out his hand. Erinessa smiled at the gesture and extended her hand to shake his.

“Inquisitor you might wann… nevermind.” Chemigal stopped herself as the Inquisitor froze.

He was just about to touch the tips of his fingers to hers, when the fur on his arms stood up in alarm, and the heroic necromancer shuddered. “What the…” And then his stomach started to churn and legs shook. “Are you okay?” Erinessa asked as Inquisitor stepped back and leaned against a parked car, went between it and a parked Jeep, and puked out loud.

Chemigal couldn’t help the slightest of giggles as she watched her impulsive friend get a bit of karma. "Oi Inquisitor, you ok? Ate something bad for breakfast?"

“Is he okay?” Erinessa pointed with concern as the armored feline hacked and gagged, trying to stay out of sight of the ladies while he emptied his stomach.

“He’s fine.”

“I’m fin….bla…argh…” Inquisitor vomited again.

After there was simply nothing left to hack up, Inquisitor stood up and accepted a bottle of water from the smirking Chemigal and took a few steps back from Erinessa until his fur… and stomach settled.

“Should have told me your new friend is a blank.” Inquisitor wheezed and blinked tears from his teal eyes as he tried to catch his breath and clear his mouth with the water.

“Blank?” Erinessa and Chemigal spoke at the same time.

“Her soul… if she has one is entirely undetectable… like a walking, talking anthesis of living fursons.” He wheezed.

“Calling her soulless?! That’s a fucked up thing to say.” Chemigal huffed.

“Didn’t…say… um… it’s not meant as an insult so much.” Inquisitor nervously laughed and wiped his chin to get a few bits of ‘gunk’ off it. “It’s extremely rare…genetic disorder.”

“Wait I don’t have a soul?” Erinessa questioned.

“We don’t know… you don’t have a uh… hold on a second.” Inquisitor reached over and tapped Chemigal on the shoulder. As soon as he did, he passed a spell onto her that made her eyes light up in green. And she saw the factory and Erinessa in a whole new light… or better to say, a lack of one.

“Oh…damn.” Chemigal gasped as she saw the formerly brightly colored shark fennec as a black…void around contrasts of green that ranged from the palest of shades to the deepest, almost black emeralds. She saw shapes of the factory’s workers walking in the parking lot, and saw that whenever a figure neared Erinessa it just… poofed. She looked over to the factory and what had once looked like the nuclear chemical factory, now looked as if it had been painted in shades of green contrast paint, and then just… splattered in black like a mad man’s painting.

As the spell faded, Chemigal shook her head and relayed what she had seen. Erinessa and Inquisitor looked at one another and the mountain lion shrugged.

“Sorry you’re a walking anti-magical nuke ma’am.” Inquisitor apologized

“I’m just an exorcist, and trying out the superheroine life. Though this is my first time out this far from my home.” Erinessa smiled, but this time it had a concerned, nervous edge to it. This was the first time she ever knew her abilities damaged the spiritual world around her or that it was that expansive.

“Well… good thing this place should repair itself with newer memories, and psychic imprints, got to admit, you are powerful, you severed my connection with all the ghosts I keep inside my soul like it was nothing.”

“You keep ghosts…in…willingly?” Erinessa asked.

“Yeah… and they’re willing too… I’m a white necromancer and professional demon slayer of sorts.” He panted and managed to straighten back up.

“Really?! How many ghosts?” Erinessa asked and took a step towards him, prompting Inquisitor to take a step back on reflex.

“Oh just a few hundred at any time pass through, I have about ten or so I rely on for specific tasks.”

“So how do you keep your ecto-harmonics in balance? You must have a massive amount of necromantic energy, to not just turn into a raving possessed mad fur. I’ve seen that happen.”

“Oh that’s because I have a massive and relatively empty vessel they can flow into and shelter, works like any anchor like a grave or cherished memory they can latch onto.”

“Really!? Can I see it! I won’t come near it, honest.” Erinessa replied getting into professional jargon with Inquisitor…exorcist to necromancer in all things related to metaphysical.

“I really can’t, the vessel is kinda…well… my heart…. Though not really my…my… heart so to speak… It's a long story.” He blushed, and the two started to converse about the topics of possession, energy, the nature of ghosts, spectres, spirits, and a host of other things that made Chemigal’s head hurt just trying to keep up. As Erinessa relaxed and this time took a step back from Inquisitor. “Oh… that’s why you got so sick… your heart is mostly supernatural in nature… it… I’m sorry.” She apologized and looked away. It looked cute to the Inquisitor and this time he felt a little ‘fuzzy’ for another reason, which meant he really needed to change the subject.

“Which brings me back to… why didn’t you tell me you had met a blank?” Inquisitor asked as he turned to Chemigal, catching her slightly off guard as she had started to tune Erinessa and Inquisitor’s conversation out.

“Look, all I need to know is that she makes the magic and supernatural stuff disappear.” Chemigal huffed.

Inquisitor rubbed a hand through his hair. “You kind of overkilled this place though, letting her cut loose… no offense.” He turned and gave a slight bow to the shark fennec.

“None taken.” She smiled and gave him a bow in return, just getting a bit closer with the bows made Inquisitor’s skin crawl.

“I didn’t realize I made the place a warzone… death trap for all the…spooky stuff.” Chemigal replied and the Inquisitor sighed and turned back to Erinessa.

“So… trying out the superheroine life? What’s your handle?” Inquisitor remarked to the fennec shark. Her big tail thumped against a nearby car as she nodded.

“Handle?” Erinessa asked in confusion.

“Your…name?”

“Erinessa.”

“No your super heroine name.”

“Same thing.”

“Ohhhh kay… let’s skip that… you made that outfit yourself?” Inquisitor asked in genuine curiosity.

“Yup. I made it after I met Chemigal, she thinks I can be a big help.” Erinessa smiled as Chemigal nodded in agreement. “I think we work well together, cover each other’s weaknesses.” Chemigal added.

“Well she is a little taller than you.” Inquisitor pointed out with a casual point towards the marble fennec.

“I meant the whole…” Chemigal started and Inquisitor cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“I get it, you’re immune to chemicals, she’s immune to just about everything from the metaphysical side of town.” He, and muttered under his breath. “Like using a daisy cutter bomb to club baby harp seals though.”

“Plus she likes the fact I don’t commit arson in chemical plants.” Erinessa added.

“Wait… when have I ever committed arson?” Inquisitor looked over in confusion as Chemigal’s eyebrows began to twitch.

“When do you NOT commit arson?” Chemigal fumed.

“Wait is this about the spiders still?” Inquisitor questioned her.

“Spiders, Skaven, Pink Lady Powder, crazy super villains everywhere you and I go, you blow something up.”

“That’s just the on the job perks.”

“It’s not…” Chemigal tried to argue.

“Sounds exciting.” Erinessa interrupted.

“Exactly! See!? She gets it!” Inquisitor pointed over at the exorcist.

“It’s not exciting, it's irresponsible.” Chemigal tried to respond.

“I told you the spiders thing was to contain them.”

“Contain them?” Erinessa questioned

“Yeah, they were giant spiders, the smallest was the size of a freaking kobold…er…skink… er whatever they called themselves.”

“And setting a plant full of volatile, toxic chemicals on fire, was better?”

“Yeah.”

“He has a point… since you are immune to those toxic chemicals, you can handle that better than giant spiders” Erinessa spoke up and Chemigal groaned.

“Oh no you’re taking his side!?” Chemigal groaned and buried her face into her hands while Inquisitor chuckled.

---

“So what are we looking for?” Chemigal asked as they looked around in the factory.

“The summoning circle.” Inquisitor and Erinessa replied at the same time. And Chemigal blushed as the two were standing on opposite sides of the basement room.

“So there was no… MacGuffin? Just a circle on the floor can bring up demons? That seems too easy.” Chemigal groaned as she looked around with her flashlight. Inquisitor would have tried his ghost sight, but with Erinessa around it wasn’t reliable, so he too was looking with just a pocket flashlight, in a damp, dark, basement full of shelves and cardboard boxes.

“Circle is the macguffin. Well, there’s usually contracts, or idols or…” Erinessa started to speak.

“..or furson sacrifices, ceremonial weapons, beds…” Inquisitor added.

“Beds!?” Chemigal looked at the two magical experts in the dim light.

“To fuck on of course.” Erinessa remarked.

“That helps summon demons!?”

“If you want to summon the fucking kind yeah.” Inquisitor chuckled softly as he saw Chemigal’s eyes twitch again and just knew she was getting a headache.

“Well you certainly don’t want the demon you just summoned to do…that… to be uncomfortable.” Erinessa added.

“Yeah, cause then the demon is just going to make you uncomfortable in return.”

“Exactly, so it’s a pretty common find.” Erinessa agreed with the mountain lion.

“Great…demons are perverts, my friends are perverts, just a great big circle jerk of per…OW!” Chemigal yelped as she smacked head first into a large idol hanging from chains, while she had the light on her friends.

The cry of pain caused Inquisitor and Erinessa to rush towards each other, and as Inquisitor got close to the shark fennec, he wheeled on his heels, and pitched in between to rows of shelves to hack and gag as nausea washed over him, realizing immediately that she could control the ‘range’ of her anti-magical aura. Erinessa got to Chemigal’s side and looked up. “Oh… yeah, that’d do it.” Erinessa looked up at the four by six foot idol, it had been made out of what looked to have been a dining table, and carved in the image of a horned rat. It was then wrapped in barbed wire, and suspended from the ceiling on something all three hoped was just red… not at all fleshy, rope. She started to reach up and touch the idol and the Inquisitor looked it over with his glowing eyes and called out.

“Don’t touch it.”

“Why? I can syphon off its power and make it useless.” Erinessa turned to the cat as he approached as close as he dared to her.

“It’s Zaptail’s signature on the nose of the idol, and she has it rigged to blow, the moment the power to it is cut.” Inquisitor looked the device over, examining with his supernatural sight, the magical connections going from the idol to several boxes along the back wall of the factory. As well as trying NOT to look at the really curvy black…spot in the room.

“Rigged to blow?” Chemigal shuddered and Erinessa stepped back from the device, making Inquisitor step back as well to keep the ‘safe’ distance.

“Yeah… saw this sketch for an explosive counter to someone messing with her clan’s… idols, in her workshop…”

“You were in her workshop?” Erinessa asked in curiosity.

“Yeah when I was trying um… diplomacy with her.” Inquisitor blushed as Chemigal glared at her. Erinessa looked back and forth between the fennec and mountain lion.

“Oh you had sex with her.” She bluntly put it out there, making the two friends cough nervously.

“Um… let’s take care of this…” Inquisitor blushed as Erinessa stepped out of his way to let him approach the summoning idol.

“I didn’t know Zaptail could summon demons.” Chemigal spoke as the Inquisitor looked the idol over.

“She can’t… she’s signed her name to the idol, probably made the pact in furson, but this construction is handiwork of someone that can summon demons, and they got a lot of magical power.” Inquisitor remarked as he looked around it.

Chemigal cringed, had she and Erinessa found this earlier, and the Inquisitor was right… oh she was not telling him that she was grateful he turned up.

“Well how do we defuse it?” Erinessa asked.

“Well I was thinking about setting some remote explosives and just blow the whole place up.” Inquisitor smirked and then cringed as Chemigal screamed. “Oh hell no!”

“I was joking, I was joking… look for the warpstone battery… just need to take that out, and Erinessa can do her thing on the idol proper.” Inquisitor laughed, and Erinessa giggled. “I really like this one.”

“I really hate my lif…” Chemigal stepped on something… and it squeaked. And she screamed and leapt up onto the shelves as a rat strapped by wires going around and threw its skin to a shard of warpstone, trying to scurry away. It got to the near back wall, by the explosives, and cried out in pain as the spiked collar around its neck glowed… and dragged it back to the idol.

“What the hell is that!?” Chemigal pointed at the rat, and the trio looked it over. It was horribly mutated, with tumors and pustules pulsing in time with the creature’s rapid heartbeat.

“The battery.” Inquisitor sighed, watching energy flow from the rat to the idol and then to the explosives along the back wall, that if triggered would cause the first floor to collapse into the basement, and make a double fennec, and mountain lion jelly in under a second.

“Oh… fun…welp you know what they say, when in doubt, cut the red wire… or was it the blue?” Inquisitor smirked to Chemigal, who looked mortified.

“That’s what I’ve always heard.” Erinessa agreed.

---

One intense bomb defusing scene later, with the bomb being a biting, squeaking, heavily mutated living battery and detonator…

Chemigal was thankful to be outside as she carried the black box with the ‘rat battery’ inside. Inquisitor smirked as she was now the one that looked freaked out… but also very annoyed.

“It’s dead now, it can’t hurt you, and the warpstone is contained.” Inquisitor spoke in only a slightly teasing tone.

“Idol is busted now too, so everyone can return here safely.” Erinessa added.

Chemigal handed the box to one of her arriving crew members for her lab. She planned on examining the rat, for more clues into these ‘Skaven’ and turned to see Erinessa and Inquisitor conversing at a distance.

“So you think I can be a good bureau member?” Erinessa replied.

“Yeah, absolutely. And I can fill you in on the whole… being a blank thing, the Inquisition has some reading material I can loan you too.” Inquisitor added and the pink shark fennec smiled. “Okay, you have my number… call me sometime.” She winked and took to the sky, and waved to Chemigal. The marble fennec waved back as Inquisitor walked up to her and messed up her hair again.

“I’m going to need you to make me like an… anti-anti magic field… thing.” Inquisitor casually added.

“Oh hell no.” Chemigal huffed.

“But I can’t even get within a foot of her without losing my lunch… it’s embarrassing!” he whined.

“Good. Serves you right for trying to get naughty with her, the first day you met her!” the fennec fumed.

“Oh come on, I do that with everyone that’s single.”

“And that’s the point.” Chemigal started to fume and saw Inquisitor sticking his tongue out at her, making a face… they both started to laugh.

“I’m going to need your help when Zaptail shows up again.” Inquisitor added as he watched Erinessa fly into the distance.

“How so?”

“I’ve really got to stop boning supervillains… it’s causing me a lot of headaches back at HQ.”

“Could always amputate.”

“Not like that!” Inquisitor nearly squeaked and crossed his legs defensively, before the two started to laugh again.