B-Team: Academonics

Metaphysical / Paranormal event

When asked by Allyson Green to investigate the PTA at the Mary Brennon School, Rue, Mercy and Pagan are not exactly surprised to find a demonic cult, but could there be more to this than meets the eye?

At eight in the morning, the Friday following the events of The B-Team: Day One  , the various members of the team are alerted to a new group chat on their phones. One of their own, Harmony, is stuck looking after her sick sister, and needs the team to look into the Mary Brennon School parent-teacher association that she believes has been acting strangely and exerting an undue amount of control over the school. Emma immediately assumes it's a cult and does some research, finding a seemingly-suppressed news article about a boy going missing. She gets in touch with Blue and he promises to get in touch with his contacts in the Investigations team and get back to her.   In the meantime, Rue is asked and agrees to take Jacob to school, noting that he's acting with abnormal calmness. No Chaos Lord outbursts or running away. Just a regular kid riding his bike to school. They assume that it's probably got something to do with his sister being ill and decides not to pursue the issue, simply asking him if he's noticed anything unusual at the school. He says he hasn't noticed anything, but helpfully points out the different buildings in the school and where the PTA meeting will be taking place.   Rue takes the opportunity to take a look, and a sniff, around the school, noting the forest round the back of the grounds and the odd smell of blood and bleach that emanates from the PTA hall. Imagining it means that anything untoward has been scrubbed clean, they make a point of meeting with one of the local security guards and asking about the missing kid. The guard is able to identify him as Kyle Marley, a fairly average boy who he'd once caught as part of a bully circle. He also mentions that there seems to have been a dramatic uptake in general misbehaviour around the school in the past few weeks. Lots of truancy, vandalism and fights that he and his fellow security guards have had their work cut out for them dealing with.   With few other avenues of investigation available to them without raising suspicion, Rue decides to convene with Pagan and Mercy to make a plan. Emma decides that it'd be best if she and Mercy stay nearby at a local chicken shop while Rue attends the meeting in their stead, keeping an open phone line so that they can listen in. Rue agrees and the three sit idly while experiencing two long hours of relentless school business, lead by Victoria Petrov, head of the PTA, the ending of which was accompanied by an audible 'thank god' by Rue.   As the various parents and teachers are lead out of the building, Rue notices that a small collective are making a point to stick around, and they overhear Victoria speaking with a parent they're able to identify as Mindy. It appears that she is being inducted into some sort of inner circle within the PTA and Rue is immediately interested to see what that entails. They follow along from the outside, and using their X-ray vision, are able to watch as events unfold, warning the other two that they may want to start heading over.   Victoria begins by explaining to Mindy how they're all linked by wanting what's best for their children, and that sometimes they all go about it in ways that may seem unusual. Rue rolls their eyes as they see the rug being pulled up from the back room to reveal some sort of ritual circle and a nearby armoire being unlocked to reveal robes, a large chalice and some sort of ceremonial dagger. They quickly let Emma know that she was right and they need to get over there before positioning themselves just in time to telekinetically stop Victoria from slicing open Mindy's throat as part of some sort of ritual sacrifice. Rue wrenches the blade out of her hand and through the window, giving them a point of egress as they prepare to take on the cult.   Mercy meanwhile, suddenly aware of the developing situation, decides it's no time for courtesy and grabs Emma by the coat, flying the two of them to the hall at great speed, much to her terror. Victoria quickly takes Mindy hostage and backs into a corner as the other cultists converge on Rue. Backup arrives quickly though and soon the cultists have each been knocked out by a flying chalice while Mercy advances on the hostage situation. The woman is frantic and calls out to her dark patron before biting into Mindy's throat, spraying Mercy in a shower of blood and dropping her to the ground.   Victoria is quickly ensnared and the group turn about, quickly realising that the windows they'd so easily entered before were now solid brick and the doors were sealed. Rue walks up to the wall and tries to look through it, being met with an unnerving face smiling back at them surrounded by a veritable army of demon children. They stumble backwards with a resounding 'what the fuck' as the wall begins to bleed and through it floats the red-eyed and grinning figure of Masie Petrov.   The walls around them begin to crumble away to dust as Masie speaks, she welcomes them to Hell and tells them that, while her mother was indeed a demon-worshipping cultist, it wasn't her that the demon was interested in, and now the two of them were one in the same. She goes on to explain that she lured them to the school because she's looking to gorge herself on the most powerful souls she can find. Nonetheless, she likes to play with her food and so she decides to give them a sporting chance. If they can survive a day in the school, at midnight she will release all the souls she's corrupted, but they'd better keep an eye out for her Enforcer, whose job it is to make sure that they obey the rules set forth for them.   Without any further ado, Masie tells them to run before sicking her demon army on them, chasing them into the only doorway to the school. The three heroes burst through the double doors and shut them behind them, finding themselves suddenly in the main foyer of the building. Bathed in the reddish light of the Hell sky, the foyer with its twin grand staircases takes on a sinister atmosphere, and the trio soon find the blackboard above the door to the principal's office, with a list of classes and a space beneath each of their names for grades. Below the table is a message, 'Get good grades for a meeting with the principle, but break the rules and the Enforcer will come for you.' As they read, they can hear the distant slam of heavy footprints that tells them they need to keep going.   There are eleven classes overall; P.E., Maths, English, Home economics, Chemistry, Music, Physics, Drama, Art, History and Ethics, which the team decide to take in order, with Emma remarking that she'd prefer not to take an ethics class in Hell. And so the trio begins to make their way over to the gymnasium for their P.E. class.   Within the gymnasium, the team are confronted by a lanky demon in shorts and a vest that read 'Coach', sporting a set of impressive horns and an even more impressive moustache. He informs the team that they're going to be playing dodgeball as three slimy demons descend from the ceiling and begin to reshape themselves into forms almost resembling people. He bemoans however that the heroes are short one player and asks them who they'd have. After some deliberation, the team chooses Transonic of the Vigil, and another slime drops from the ceiling, quickly taking on the shape of the hero and joining the team.   Suffice it to say that the team had little trouble in winning the dodgeball game. Between Transonic and Mercy's speed, the team had control over three out of four of the balls within a moment and, while Rue was knocked out by a decent throw by the coach, Mercy was able to catch another one, effectively winning the game and allowing them to move forward.   After P.E., Maths and English classes are very similar. In Maths, the team has to answer probability questions until they fail to answer correctly, at which point more slime demons descend, taking the shape of Pagan and proving to be very difficult to deal with. By contrast, the English class features a single imp asking riddles that the team are easily able to answer and, while he attempts to make a Faustian bargain with Rue, the team is able to get away with their souls unclaimed.   Next, the team make their way to the cafeteria for their Home Economics class, wherein they find several workstations prepped and a fully stocked pantry. Confused at first, they quickly understand what's going on when a fairly short demon with blonde hair and a chef's jacket calling himself 'The Ram' shows up to demand they each cook him a meal with an ingredient hidden beneath three identical cloches. Mercy is first to pick, and ends up with fresh Imp (so fresh that he had to be hog tied before going under the cloche). He takes the imp back to his workstation and begins the unenviable job of dismembering the demon while Pagan picks, winding up with some recognisable strips that the Ram refers to as Hellbeef. Finally, Rue steps up and the Ram bemoans their bad luck as beneath cloche number three is a pile of plain, white flour, an ingredient he speaks about with bitter vitriol due to its difficulty in combining with Hell's archetypal flavours.   When, after an indeterminate amount of time, the Ram returns to the kitchen, he makes a beeline for Mercy wherein he proceeds to unhinge his jaw and devour the entire plate upon which he'd prepared a delectable imp tartare. The Ram gives it decidedly middling marks before moving on to Pagan's sous vide Hellsteak, which he slams his face down upon before standing back up to reveal it had disappeared in its entirety. Unfortunately for her, the Ram seemed almost insulted by the steak, muttering something about two butters before moving on to the last dish. The Ram's demonic tongue snaked out of his mouth, down his leg and up the table before wrapping itself around Rue's plate of delicious pancakes (a Hellish variant of her old friend Rani'srecipe) and bringing it back to him. A moment later, Rue heard the demon mutter 'Finally, some good fucking food,' before handing her some sort of sports' day trophy and directing them to leave his kitchen.   As the heroes then make their way to the chemistry classroom, they hear the sounds of three distinct voices bemoaning the fact that while other demons in the school get to do interesting things while they are stuck with the most boring duty. The heroes enter the room and can see the chemistry lab is full of vials and tubes of all descriptions, and in the centre are three beakers of differing sizes. The smallest tells the heroes to solve their riddle, and the middle explains that they need to make sure that two jugs have four litres each inside. There's a brief pause before the middle beaker turns to the larger one and asks why he isn't full. The larger beaker explains that he didn't realise he needed to be, with the other reprimanding him as that was the point of the puzzle. The three beakers descend into mindless squabbling until Mercy steps forward and asks them whether, in lieu of a working challenge, they'd be getting maximum marks. He asks them aggressively.   With their top marks secured, they make their way over to the music class wherein a languid demoness reclining on a large sofa instructs them to 'enchant' her. Despite no musical training between them, the trio do their best and, under Pagan's direction, wind up performing something akin to Blue Oyster Cult's 'Don't fear the reaper.' The lounging demoness says that the performance is acceptable, and shoos them out of the room.   It is at this point that the team notice the janitor's closet. The same janitor's closet that has been on the opposite wall facing them every time they finish any class. Rue is wary of the door that seems to be following them and tries to look through it, receiving a confusing overlapping image of the room beyond and some sort of vacant demiplane where a man in janitorial overalls looks over his shoulder and nods to them.   Having already been spotted, Rue elects to enter the room and is soon offered a can of warm beans and a bottle of water. The demiplane is almost completely featureless save for the logs and a tidy campfire in the centre. The janitor invites the other two to join them and makes them the same offer of food and water. He explains that neither Zaebos nor the Enforcer can find them there and says they're welcome to stay for as long as they like. He removes his gloves and Mercy makes a point to check his hands for any clue as to what manner of being he is, but sees nothing. As far as they can tell, the Janitor is just that.   Noticing Mercy's interest in his hands, the Janitor seems to believe it's got something to do with his gloves, and hands them over to him. He then follows this up by handing his mop over to Pagan and bucket to Rue, saying that they may just help them out in the school. He asks the latter to dump the water out on the campfire and, as they do and darkness falls, the group realise that the Janitor is gone, leaving them alone in the demiplane.   With their new objects in tow, the team make their way out of the janitorial closet and towards their next class. The Physics classroom features none of the usual challenges of the other rooms, just a ten-foot-tall insectoid demon wearing a lab coat. He mutters that he has absolutely no time for any students right now and waves a hand in their direction. The team is thrown against a nearby wall as gravity shifts direction. Not so easily dealt with, they quickly right themselves and use their new objects as weapons, proving exceptionally potent against demons and quickly dismantling the enemy.   Drama class is next, and the trio find themselves thrust onto a stage with a bag and a bright spotlight shining down on them. A voice from the invisible director in the audience calls Mercy to the front of the stage and instructs him to begin his audition. Mercy looks into the bag and finds an oversized hoodie, much like Rue's, and he puts it on, stepping forward and mumbling for a moment, "I'm a they/them person..." It doesn't go down well and the director demon decides he'll be well served by staying near the back. Next he calls up Rue, who finds a green dress not entirely dissimilar to Emma's choice of outfit. They slip it on and head to the front of the stage, peering over the edge and feigning a panic attack. Their impression of Pagan's famous fear of heights makes for an amused audience, and the director commends their performance before calling up the final audition. Finally Pagan makes her way up to the performance area, pulling the oversized red jacket of Mercy over her shoulders and summoning up every ounce of acting skill she has. She then breaks into a monologue from the perspective of the vampire, thanking Brainiac for giving him another chance at being a good person and saving his soul from damnation. The speech is something of a jab at her colleague, but it serves its purpose and she's selected to stand front-and-centre as two demonic actors portraying Masie and a corrupted Harmony step on stage, breaking into a poorly-written musical number about their rise and the B-team's defeat.   With that strangeness behind them, the team make their way to history class and are each met by three identical doors with each of their names on them. In turn, they make their way into each and are met with a distinctly uninteresting room, with a bare bulb hanging above two nondescript grey chairs and, upon sitting down, are each met by someone of importance to them.   First to sit down is Mercy, who finds himself opposite Vlad Dracul, the original Dracula. The hell-resident vampire tells him how disappointed he is in his sudden turn towards the side of good, telling him that he was due to inherit the title of Dracula, a name awarded to the greatest living vampire of each era. The two of them end up arguing over whether Cornelius is bound to wind up in Hell, with him remaining steadfast that he's changed. Though Vlad remains certain that his change of sides is by no means as meaningful as he believes, telling him that his last blood frenzy was only three months ago, rather than the years that Cornelius knows it is. He leaves the meeting unnerved and confused, but otherwise fine.   Second up is Emma, her resolve hardened by hearing about Mercy's experience. She takes her seat and is brought face-to-face with Francis Glick, the unstable wizard that she'd been able to put away some months prior. She was surprised to find him down there and he relayed the story of how his prison transport had been intercepted by a strange man in white body armour who murdered him in order to deactivate some of the blood seals on his most dangerous hidden artefacts. He reveals that demons don't care to torture lunatics and so his mind had been returned to him, and with it his sense of right and wrong. He says that while he's still angry about his death, he knows that Emma only did what she thought was right and he implores her to find the rest of his artefacts and make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands. Emma asks if he has any family he wants her to notify about his death, and he simply replies that his daughter already knows before disappearing.   Rue enters the final room with a pit in their stomach, not sure who they are going to see, but less-than-keen to find out. They sit down and, much to their combined relief and dismay, quickly smell the familiar scent of daisies and see the purple hair and red jacket of Jasmine Walker. She greets Rue warmly and tells them how proud she is of them. The two exchange some pleasantries and light banter, with Jasmine telling her to let Rachel know not to sleep in so much before Rue asks the all-important question; "Jasmine, what are you doing down here?" Jasmine cannot initially answer. She muses that perhaps she wasn't able to make up for all the misdeeds she committed in her youth, but Rue doesn't buy it. After a few minutes, the two prepare to part and Rue feels compelled to do something they don't remember ever doing before; they ask for a hug. The two embrace and Jasmine fades away once again, leaving Rue shaken and questioning as they return to the group.   Two classes left, and next is Art. The team finds themselves in some sort of horrendous gallery wherein a seemingly-invulnerable demon has been painting supervillains. As the trio make their way inside, the supervillains begin climbing out of the paintings and they are forced to fend off the likes of Plague, Golden Brown, Combat, The Sovereign and, much to Rue's horror, The Spider, while trying to destroy the canvases that bear their likeness. They slowly make their way through them and the painter seems to be weakening until he finally finishes his masterpiece. A skeletal hand emerges from the painting, snapping the painter's neck as The Half-Bone Lord tears himself out. Within a moment, he fires an almighty ball of black flames at the team, destroying much of the gallery and rending Mercy down to an ashen skeleton. The other two are barely able to escape the blast and Rue quickly destroys the last canvas, watching as the Half-Bone Lord tries to resist turning back into inert paint.   The final class is ethics, and it's one that Emma in particular has been dreading. Reluctantly, she and the other heroes trudge to their final challenge and immediately regret doing so. They're met with a lever between to windows and some sort of serpentine demon presenting them with a choice. He asks the most moral of their group to step forward and take hold of the lever. Emma does so and is presented with the first choice. One room containing five guilty souls, versus one soul who merely sold themselves and was almost ready to ascend. The demon explains that whichever choice she makes will consign the souls inside to being devoured by 'the beast' below.   Emma is shaken. Her worldview had never accounted for the presence of Hell, let alone the idea that souls could be so definitively destroyed. After a moment's deliberation, she pulls the lever and the single soul is fed to the beast. The demon remarks how interesting a choice that was and she explains that when it comes to a soul's destruction, no one soul is worth more than another. His interest further piqued, the demon presents the next choice, an privacy-invading hacker vs an unethical doctor. Emma elects to simply flick a coin. An act that infuriates the demon as he reminds her that ignoring the premise of the game is grounds for a meeting with the enforcer, whose footsteps seem all the closer now.   The demon asks if it's true to her that no soul is worth more than another, wondering if a guilty soul versus a Vigil member would still require a coin flip, to which she says it would. To test this, the demon cuts the lights, and suddenly Rue and Mercy find themselves in the rooms, with the demon grinning with sadistic glee and telling Emma to choose. Mercy immediately tells her to drop him in a flash of uncharacteristic heroism that almost impresses the demon, but Emma's made a dark realisation. She finally realises that the point of the game was never to actually say anything about morality. It was about making her choose. She realises that by participating, she'd already doomed herself to the worst outcome and tries to back out, refusing to pull the lever at all. Much to her dismay though, the game is already afoot and, in lieu of her making a decision, the demon snakes one shadowy arm forwards and pushes the lever towards her, dropping both heroes into the pit and leaving her alone.   The demon, incensed by this display of defiance, angrily berates Emma, explaining that there's no way to 'win Hell', and that she can only do whatever is required of her to survive or fall. He returns to his position on the wall and presents her with one final choice. One-hundred guilty souls. The worst of the worst, versus an open door. Would she be willing to place herself in the other room and prove once-and-for-all that who a soul belongs to doesn't matter. Emma, thoroughly traumatized by her experience and all alone, takes a few steps and is soon falling down into the pit.   The three heroes find themselves falling back into the school's foyer, their class card completed and the walls and ceilings around them burning. Thunderous footsteps echo through the halls and they are finally brought face-to-face with the enforcer. Standing far taller than she ever did before, her hammer transformed alongside the rest of her, with reddened skin, horns and a look of malice etched on her face was Blaze. She gave chase, her demon form making her a terrifying enemy to face, but the trio knew that they need only defeat Masie in order to free the souls of the possessed. They charge forward into the principal's office and see the demon child sat with her feet up on the table, congratulating them on passing all their classes, having taken on a far more corrupted form herself.   The three heroes prepare for combat and Masie floats above the arena, directing an as-yet unseen minion to lock the door behind them. The heroes turn around and their hearts sink as, behind them and suffering from various stages of demonic corruption, were Allyson, Jacob, Jocelyn and Millie Green, having apparently been under Zaebos' control this entire time. The heroes are filled with righteous fury and, using the items that the Janitor had given them, engage the demon and her spawn, with the non-powered Green's falling quickly by the wayside, leaving just Masie and the corrupted Harmony left.   Having approached to engage the demoness in close-combat, Mercy is suddenly struck by all of her corrupting influence at once, tainting his mind and turning him into one of Zaebos' hellish spawn. He attacks Rue briefly, but is able to regain his composure long enough to hold Masie still, resisting her attempts to tear his soul from his body while Rue applies the Janitor's anti-demon bucket directly to her face, knocking her and the demon inside unconscious.   The demonic Harmony drops to the ground and a deep rumble echoes throughout the school as it returns to the material plane, showing no sign of its previous state. In the aftermath of the battle, the Janitor's items vanish, but it appears that the various impacts of Zaebos' corruption begin to fade. The missing children are returned and the Century group is called in to take Masie into custody, fairly sure that they could find a magical practitioner strong enough to create a containment for her. Finally, the heroes of the day return to the material plane with very few people any the wiser about their ordeal and each of them changed from their experience. Mercy returns with questions about his place in the world and an undeniable demonic taint, Pagan has an even better reason to track down combat, but her worldview has been thoroughly shaken and she begins to question whether any of this is worth it, and Rue doesn't know what to make of their meeting with Jasmine, but knows they need to speak with Suplex.