CD Issue 13: Giving up the ghost

General Summary

A good nights sleep helps everything. After sending the traditional apology drone, Styx convinces Richie to meet up with the team. Using a gps with a big red button, Riche ends up misusing the techology and inviting them to Sud's'stuff, a laundromat downtown. Really he meant to go to the local Bitters, which was kitty corner to the laundry.   In order to decompress and debrief, the team is in their street cloths. Richie is decked out in a hoodie, with a gold chain and some fancy sneaks. Serena has a very punk rock studed leather jacked and ripped jeans. Maggie, not wanting to be seen after the messages from her cousin (CD#12), is wearing a very colorful hippie hoodie to conceal her hair. Malware went all out, with an alligator patterned jacked, piercings, obsideon cuffs, heeld boots, and Fred the hapless cybersnake forming a necklace.   There was a lot to talk about, but Richie decided to share his encounter with Knightfall (Also CD #12 first. Aliena was deeply concerned about the nature of the timeloop, as usual. There was much discussion, and little resolution, as they were dramatically interupted.   A hooded figure jumped onto the counter and screamed 'Richie Hernandez, I have come to bring judgement down upon you!'. He revealed himself as a pale and badly burned youth.   'I am here to take revenge on the murder of my mentor, Flim-Flam!'   Formely known as Charlateen, Helios had turned him into Revenant. The customers of bitters stood, faces and eyes white. Before Paladin could talk the villian down off the counter, one young mother left her baby to cry as she punched him through the front window and across the street. His armor caught him, and he skieed to a half unhurt.   The team decided to take the battle outside only to find the sidewalk had gone semi-solid and was consuming them, and a nearby businessman, like quicksand. As Siren gathered her mystical energy, the barista hopped out the window and a latched onto Siren, draining the life from her, stealing a portion of her charged dangerous magic. Thinking quick, Malware's swarm formed a bucket to free them from the trap before the pavement consumed them. Aliena took her dragon form, and launched a blast of her new negative energy at the barista, countering his draining ability with her own. It hit him especially hard, transferring Siren's magical charge into her.   Richie noticed that the woman who punched him had injured her arm severely. It became apparent like these people were not powered themselves, but rather possessed. Revenant verified this as he took the street.   "These are the ghosts of your victims, Knightfall! We've come that murderer from ever becoming him, murderer!"   Richie decided to take the battle elsewhere, trying to separate Revenant from his ghosts. He lifted the villian into the air and slammed him down onto a nearby rooftops. Revenant was bruised and battered, broken bones and lacerations, but no apparent blood. He interrogated his foe on how to stop the ghosts before they injured others, or thier innocent hosts.   "They cannot be forced out, Richie, they're here to stay until we've had our revenge!"   In anger and frustration, Richie grabbed the youth and slammed him down from the roof into the pavement below, landing atop him with all his force. He turned to face the army of ghosts that awaited him.   But the ghosts were done, and the boy beneath him was motionless. He was dead, neck snapped by the impact.   Richie collapsed in horror at what he had done. Serena rushed to help the injured housewife who had punched Richie through the wall, delivering her wailing child to her and using her stored power to heal the womans arm. Malware quickly scrubbed nearby camera footage only to discover it had been done preemtively without permission, their swarm acting autonomously. With sirens blaring in the distance, the team decided it was time for a swift exit and escaped through one of Aliena's shadowy portals back to the Spiderweb.   There the team tried to support Richie, who was horrified at what he had done. The team decided to call Shadowpack for support, but she was already there. She tenderly tried to comfort Richie, tenderly embracing him and assuring him it wasn't his fault. Richie, however was certain it was his fault, and was not having any talk otherwise. He had murdered someone and it was not ok in any way shape or form. He rejected Shadowpack, and had Malware eject her from their lair.   Having closed the door to help from Shadowpack with their multitude of problems, the team decided to seek help from Dorelan Mags, who had previously told Maggie to stay away. They teleported to the Embassy only to find the back door open, only accessible by Deyans with special access. With there signs of a struggle, the normally brightly lit structure gone completely dark. In Dorelan's office they found his dead body. As the cradled the dead body of her cousin, she became aware that the weapon used to murder him was in fact, somehow, her own light. The signature was unique and unmistakable.   Siren quickly scryed the space, peering into the past to see what had happened. It was obscured by darkness, but he saw a obsfucated figure enter the room and blast Dorelan without hesitation or warning. Malware quickly scrambed the fleet to clean the cameras. In a disturbing trend, they saw that it had already been done, again unbidden.   The scene was interupted by the sound of TCSF assault boxes hitting the ground, deployed by dirigible.   "This is the Terminal City Security Force, we have you surrounded, surrender yourself immediately."   It had been a very bad day.

Rewards Granted

Paladin unlocked his moment of Truth.