B-Team: Purgatentiary

Metaphysical / Paranormal event

With the blackout still ongoing, the members of the B-team have been summoned to the Century Holding Facility, where their old nemesis Masie Petrov AKA Zaebos, the Unerring Corruption has prepared a gauntlet of enemies both old and new for them to fight, and a hideous decision to make that will make sure they're never the same again.

Last time...    With Zaebos having issued a challenge to the various members of the B-team, they quickly make their way to the Century Holding Facility. with Mercy picking up Harmony on the way. They arrive to a veritable battlefield, with Century agents, lead by Max Paige and The Centurion herself, battling against Zaebos' corrupted forces pouring out of the prison, bolstered by the presence of a gargantuan insectoid abomination that the two heroes were struggling to face off against.   Still at the wheel of the Ghostmobile, Warp decides that the best opening attack would be to drive straight into the creature's legs before letting everyone out. He knocks a few of them down but the creature is far from perturbed and the battle continues. The three heroes inside the van exit and begin to attack the creature, with Harmony and Mercy flying in to help out after a moment. With attacks coming in from all directions, the creature begins trying to flatten the heroes with its gigantic body, with the heroes barely able to escape unscathed as Rue hears an unusual buzzing coming from within. Taking a look through the creature's hide, they notice that its internals are a massive swarm of insects.   On hearing this, Harmony decides to try and smoke out the bugs with noxious gass and drops a canister into the creature's enormous gullet. Combined with the assault being withstood from all sides, this causes the creature to collapse, crushing many of the remaining demonic forces while the others are mopped up by the remaining Century agents. There isn't time to celebrate however as the creature's carapace begins to split open and a wrathful, demonic voice can be heard coming from within. It calls out to Warp by name, calling for his murder and several other things involving insects devouring his insides as the corrupted Plague emerges from the monster.   The ex-Agent Arsenic quickly shows the extent of his demonic "upgrades", displaying an ability to spew hellfire from his mouth, dissipate into a cloud of insects and imbue his diseases with the power of Hell. The battle is short however as, even while demonically enhanced, Plague stands little chance against the combined might of seven superheroes. As the swarm that he's become starts to dissipate and Plague is rendered inert, the team finds the diseases they'd been infected with starting to fade and are quickly ordered to make their way into the facility, certain that this was just a taste of what's to come.   The team fight their way into the prison and through a number of the corrupted guards and prisoners, taking care not to do any irreparable damage as they worked their way through the facility. They're perturbed to come across a T-intersect in the corridoor where it would appear someone hat cut a bloody swathe through the corrupted people. They managed to follow the bloody trail to the prisoner processing area where they see Combat fighting with the corrupted abomination that was once Blaze. The two are engaged in a heated fight where their recurring nemesis seems to be on the back foot, wheeling back and teleporting around in an attempt to get the upper hand on the goliath. While the team tries to stay quiet in the hopes that one would wear themselves out fighting the other, eventually Combat notices them and implores them to help him take down the mighty creature.   With rolling eyes, the heroes decide to help the villain and the fight quickly turns in their favour. Blaze in this state hit very hard, but was relatively easy to blind with gas and flashbangs and lacked the presence of mind to get herself out of a magical snare. Eventually she falls, exhausted, and the heroes take a moment to contend with their guilt over the girl's state, not helped by the presence of Combat who seems to have bolstered his previous equipment with a number of magical accoutrements which Pagan has no doubt came came from the stashes that once belonged to Havock.   She questions the villain about the murder and he tells her that it hardly seems like an act of evil when the man spent the past few years of his life as little more than a raving lunatic. He explains that it is the strong's perogative to take from the weak, be that their items or their life, and it's the weak's responsibility to avoid as such so that they may one day become the strong. The rest of the team berate him for his remorseless butchering of the corrupted guards and prisoners when he knew full well that they might be cured. He claims it was simply self-defense and doesn't care to hear any of their arguments. He then, under duress, reveals that he's there to break into the supervillain armoury and retrieve a very special item, though he refuses to elaborate on what.   After a few minutes, Combat convinces the team that even without knowing his full intent, the armoury is far too dangerous to leave to potentially be raided by Zaebos' demonic forces and they reluctantly accept his help in securing it. With their uneasy truce settled, the team begin to make their way deeper into the facility, with Harmony attempting to figure out and disable the villain's teleporting gauntlet.   The team soon find themselves in the prison cafeteria which has been converted into some sort of arena, with corrupted prisoners and guards forming a circle around the would-be stage and a trio of superpowered prisoners taking place opposite them, seemingly ready for a fight. Harmony and Rue however, hear a voice up in the rafters. Quiet at first, drowned out by the din of the crowd, but it soon becomes louder until something above the group is screaming "HUNGRY!"   The pair of heroes barely have enough time to give each other a worried look before a shadowy form bursts from a vent and divebombs the three superhuman prisoners, biting and tearing into them like a hideous beast. Harmony and Rue quickly try to explain all that they could about the villain that only the two of them had fought before, as the corrupted Null stands and turns her attention towards the group, screaming about how she is still hungry.   It quickly becomes apparent that Null has retained the powers she stole from Harmony and Rue, taking great pride in telekinetically throwing the cafeteria tables around as well as pulling out powers from the verious superhumans she's feasted on over the past few weeks. The team is instructed not to touch her, but the battle starts to get long due to her near-invulnerability and Mercy decides to try grabbing her, losing a large chunk of his strength to her in the process and making her a much more terrifying threat before Pagan manages to put her down with a well-placed magical blast to the face.   With fatigue starting to set in, many of them not having rested since the blackout began, and the whole group suffering from various injuries, they start to wonder how much more they can handle. Combat tells them that the armoury is nearby however, and the team marches on, hearing the unmistakable sound of an argument taking place down the hall. They turn a corner and watch as The Chronaturge, back in his cloak and seemingly dragging himself along the walls, makes his way into the locked armoury door, disappearing into the darkness.   Mercy follows quickly behind the supervillain, trying to stop him from opening one of the lockers to retrieve his staff, but is quickly shaken off and knocked back, being stopped in midair by the villain's power. The rest of the team quickly makes their way into the room and see, as his hood falls, that he too has started to undergo a transformation due to the presence of the archdemon. The argument they'd been hearing outside was between the Chronaturge and his own corruption, the latter telling him to give in, and the former refusing to become the lacky of "some second-rate archdemon." With a wave of his staff however, the time wizard undoes the corruption and returns to normal, just in time for the team to block off his escape, leading to him electing to engage them.   Suddenly the team finds that the walls and doorway of the armoury have vanished, leaving only an inky black demiplane beyond. They have no problems seeing, but quickly realise that a presence has appeared behind them. Turning, they see the horrifying visage of Rex, the Chronaturge's pet vampire  T-rex, having become corrupted by Zaebos' aura as well, making it a truly terrifying monstrocity.   While the wizard initially tries to hide from the heroes, he quickly realises that it's a losing game with the super-senses at play and decides to get involved. Meanwhile, the team begin to look over the various contents of the room, finding it packed with all sorts of weapons and amrour and, with a hastily thrown EMP grenade shorting out all the magnetic locks, they begin making liberal use of them. Soon enough the room errupts into chaos, with drones flying through the air, fireballs exploding, Blastcap's daggers being used in ways they were never intended, Rue taking a blow meant for Warp and being kicked across the room, and that's before the Chronaturge starts hitting people with his rejeuvenation spell.   By the time the T-rex is dealt with, Rue is rendered back to her teenage years, Emma is a child, and Harmony is back to her early twenties, completely depowered as a result, with the whole ordea being a torturous glimpse of what it'd be like to see once again. She takes up the Dark Cloak of the Eidolon and the fight continues, with the Chronaturge quickly being overwhelmed and eventually knocked out when a sonic disruptor cannon fired by Warp tears through his chronal shielding and knocks him back against a wall. With the Chronaturge taken out, the room returns to normal and the team takes the opportunity to rummage through the various pieces of confiscated equipment, taking note as Combat manages to pocket several items for himself including the Gorgon's eyes, but what they really are or what he wishes to do with them remains a mystery. Brushing aside the team's questions regarding his motives or plans, Combat quickly points out that it would be best if they just let him go at this point because, as he demonstrates by removing one of his gloves and showing off a reddened claw, he is starting to succumb to Zaebos' corruption as well. Reluctantly, the team aquiesce to his ultimatum, thinking that with how armed he is, they didn't want to risk a fight against his demonic form, plus they could be fairly certain at this point they'd get another chance to bring him in. Emma tells him that they'll be seeing him again very soon and he tells her that he's looking forward to it before disappearing once more, leaving her wondering if the villain was actually flirting with her.   The team raids the armoury, believing that extreme need justifies them commandeering any equipment that'll make their remaining fights easier. While searching, Rue stumbles upon a box containing the charred remains of Evelyn, and has a moment of dark reflection as they remember the first being they murdered, thinking she was just a robot at the time. Mercy takes up the Chronaturge's staff, gaining an almost instinctual knowledge of some of its basic functions just by holding it. Meanwhile Warp puts on the Sovereign's power armour and equips the disruptor cannon, ending up looking like some sort of sci-fi hero, and Harmony takes an assortment of gadgets while keeping on the cloak that allows her to remain in a gasseous state. Rue eventually snaps out of her funk and takes up the staff of Rumour, having heard about it in her conversations with Rachel and being keen to give it a try. They also pocket the Spectral Spectacles secretly, at this point still keeping her link with the other side a closely-guarded secret. The only hero who refuses to take up any of the armoury's contents is Pagan, arguing that none of them appeal to her while also feeling a profound sense of distaste with the whole situation.   A voice echoes through their minds, malicious and joyful, it congratulates them on getting this far and tells them that their final test is just down the hall. The voice is, of course, Zaebos, speaking to them from her cell in the maximum security wing of the building. She tells them that the reason she brought them here is because her current host, Masie Petrov, has had her skin permanently marked with blood runes that keep her contained within her cell and, while her corruptive influence can spread out thanks to the murder of her magical guards, she is still trapped, and the magical barrier won't allow her minions through. What she requires then is a new body; one that is bereft of her corruption so that it may step through the barrier and then be possessed. She says that while she doesn't know how the heroes are resisting her corruption, she can see that they do which makes them the perfect candidates for the role.   At this point, she speaks secretly into the ears of the heroes. She offers each of them a deal. Offer themselves willingly or, better yet, betray one of their friends and throw them through the barrier, and she'll release her grip on the facility, completely purging the corruption from everyone inside. For several of the heroes, she also sweetens the deal a little, telling Rue she'd forsake her claim on Jasmine's soul, Warp would have his cat resurrected, Mercy would be cured of his vampirism, and Harmony's family would have the residual taint of corruption purged from them as well. Much to the delight of the archdemon, as the group arrived at the large atrium where she'd orchestrated their final challenge, all of them seemed to be willing to take the deal in some form or another.   As they arrive, Rue hears the voice of her ghostly companion Kate telling her that she and the other spirits tied to her don't feel so good. Unfortunately there isn't any time to investigate the problem as they're brought face-to-face with the corrupted Agent Abel, having been sent to test Zaebos' new potential vessels.   Another fight breaks out and Amelia proves to be a formiddable opponent, able to match blow-for-blow against Mercy and even out-grapple him before he manages to tap into the Chronaturge's staff's power and summon a futuristic attack drone which blasts the two apart. Meanwhile, Warp decides to make a beeline for the second floor where Zaebos' cell is located, claiming to be getting a better vantage point from which to shoot at Agent Abel. Rue quickly sees through his deciet and follows him up the stairs, imploring him not to go through with the deal as the two are confronted by Sliver, Warp's murdered pet cat, or what appears to be her at least. She quickly plays on Frank's guilt, asking why he didn't protect her before quickly mutating into some sort of twisted abomination.   Meanwhile, Rue feels a cold hand grip their shoulder and turn them, being brought face-to-face once again with the slightly corrupted form of Kate, as well as the rest of her ghostly retinue, who tells her that she warned them they weren't feeling well, before using their shared telekinesis to hurl one of the cell doors at them. Rue is able to stop the attack and talks to them, reminding the ghosts of who they are and why they're together, giving them enough of a push to stop attacking while Jasmine, immune to the corruption due to her already hellbound nature, offers to keep them busy for the time being.   Warp is knocked back as he continues fighting with the cat monstrocity, while Pagan and Mercy take on Amelia. She pulls out a number of demonic tricks to try and take down the vampire, including her arms splitting into six and even jamming her hand into his chest to try and yank out his heart. Harmony meanwhile feels the corruption already within her be pulled out, forming into a dark reflection of herself that begins to attack with hellfire and her own powers, but once blinded by a flashbang, becomes effectively pointless to the fight, allowing Harmony to move forward, using the Dark Cloak to fly towards Zaebos' cell.   Noticing as Harmony approaches the cell, Rue quickly dispatches 'Dark Harmony' by flying Rumour's staff into the back of her head and rocket-blasts their way up to the second floor. They implore for Harmony to reconsider what she's about to do, but her mind is made up. Rue even tries blasting her friend with fire in order to knock her away from the barrier, but it isn't enough as Allyson is fighting for something far greater than herself. She's doing this for her family.   Harmony drops her labcoat and steps through the barrier, much to Zaebos' delight. The rest of the team watch in horror as the lights around the atrium begin to flicker and die and a black, shadowy ichor wretches its way out of Masie's gullet, leaving the child an empty husk as it jumps to the hero. A horrid gurgling sound can be heard in the darkness as two beings become one and, when the lights come back on a few moments later, it isn't Harmony that's stood behind the barrier, the corpse of Masie Petrov at her feet.   The newly formed hybrid steps gingerly through the barrier, grinning wickedly at the heroes as she gloats over her victory. She ascends to the centre of the atrium and surveys her surroundings, disregarding Mercy's protests that it should've been him. She soaks up all of the team's ire and vitriol with a sadistic pleasure before announcing that the terms of the deal will be met. With a flick of her wrist, she purges the facility of her corruptive influence, before promising the remaining members of the B-team that she'd be seeing them very soon and, with a flicker of the lights, vanishing.   With the immediate threat over, the team feel like they've been dealt a major wound. They begin to help with the cleanup, but something has clearly changed between them. Rue takes a moment to scold Warp for his willingness to take the deal as well and Mercy storms off, disappearing before anyone can ask him any questions. The team eventually are able to reconvene with the Centurion and her forces, and the situation is finally brought under control. The blackout may not be over, but the B-team's part in it sure is.