Shock plus Awe PT 2

Posted on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 @ 8:12pm by Jaclyn Morrison & Unawakened Kai Irving & Head Mistress Absynthe "Syn" Drake & Private Mattias Tonelly

Mission: Tales of the Unawakened
Location: 1-25, Wyoming

As the two mutants spoke, The Reverend continued to twist and contort in agony as the electricity coursed through him. It was then that he realised that there were no explosions. There should have been explosions by now! He tried to activate the deadman switch again, but he realised that he couldn't move his body.

Suddenly, his vision was filled with horror! Dozens of demons started to rise from cracks in the ground and he watched as his men were eaten and torn apart. Then, a larger demon, the largest one of the group, moved over to him, leaning down to smile an evil grin as he stared into the Reverend's eyes.

He started to pray as he started to feel fear. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. In your Holy name I pray, Amen!"

The demon’s head tilted to the side curiously as the reverend prayed, then a disturbing, deep chuckle escaped him. “It’s almost cute how you think that God is listening to the likes of you, you charlatan. Your soul is stained with the blood of the innocent. Blood that cries out to the heavens, that screams for justice for the horrors that you have inflicted upon them. There is nothing more despicable in God’s eyes than one that inflicts suffering on the innocent in His name. There is a special place in hell for those of your ilk.”

As the demon spoke, a large fissure opened up the earth, and a flood of people began to form a circle around him and the self-proclaimed reverend. Each one was pale, bearing the wounds of torture that he and his minions had inflicted on them. When motioned to by the demon, they stepped forward to bear witness against their murderer.

“And these are just the ones that you killed,” the demon said, almost displaying a sense of sadness as they testified to the horrors inflicted upon them. Then his burning red eyes returned to the reverend. “Or the ones that were killed because you decided to sell them off to those that would twist them into something horrible to do the bidding of evil men. So tell me, who do you think that you really serve?”

The Reverend spat back at the Demon. "You and your filthy progeny aren't fit to judge me! All mutations are Satan's work! Eden held only Adam and his subservient wife, Eve! There were no mutants there!" He then started to sing a short religious ditty. "God is in, His Holy Temple. Earthly thoughts, be quiet now…"

The ravings of the Reverend caught Jaclyn's ear drawing her attention from the predicament Kai and she were in. Her arms and hands burned and ached, her van was some sort of robot and Kai and Artemis were trapped within, and there was a lady dressed like a dragon standing on the road. No wonder the man was losing what little mind he had left. She didn't feel sane at that moment either. But she barely glanced at him, as she pushed herself to her feet. She had to get Kai and Artemis out.

Wyrmwood left Jaclyn to see her creation and her companions, then turned and glanced up, saying, “Landing zone secure. Inform Talon’s team that the raid is a go. We’ll need to tow this thing out of here. Prep two isolation cells and a kennel.”

The slender woman took a few steps towards the man that was babbling out the strange song. Not only was the Reverend dealing with his demons, all of the men that were with him were experiencing the same type of scenario. Some were screaming, begging for forgiveness, tears and snot running down their faces.

I guess I missed a memo. I hadn’t heard that the Big Man Upstairs had slipped a cog and named some random, pathetic, mewling primate as judge, jury, and executioner,” the large demon’s deep voice rumbled as he crept even closer to the Reverend, crouching down on one knee as his angry red-eyed gaze bore into the man. “I mean, He claimed vengeance long ago. Judge not, lest ye be judged! Are you really so primitive that you can’t grasp that concept?”

The Reverend looked up at the demon and spat in its face. "BEGONE, FOUL SPAWN OF SATAN!! YOU HAVE NO POWER OF MY SOUL!! GOD IS IN….HIS HOLY TEMPLE….EARTHLY THOUGHTS…BE SILENT NOW!!!"

Jaclyn slowly reached up towards the.. she guessed.. Cockpit. She searched and was able to pop the windshield to release the frightened pair.

Kai handed Artemis to Jaclyn who gave the puppy a hug and placed her on the road. Jaclyn turned back and held out a hand to Kai who slowly slid from the seat and down the .. transformed Van.

Kai landed on the ground lightly and looked towards the woman and then back at Jac.

“Jac... your hair...”

Jaclyn looked at her hair “Well thats new” she muttered, going even more pale. She sagged to the ground and sat slightly stunned.

Kai huddled against her and Artemis crawled in between them, they sat there in silence. Both girls looked shell shocked and scared and Kai’s eyes kept glancing at the preacher, while Jac stared off into the night.

Lights began making their way up the road, the sounds of the engines drowned out by a helicopter overhead, dropping a team of heavily armed and armoured government agents down on the already strangely chaotic scene. Once the agents were on the ground and rounding up the religious madmen, Wyrmwood turned towards Jac and her intrepid little crew, only to pause as she left the leader’s mind.

As soon as his mind was clear of the demonic sorcery, The Reverend swelled in anger and full of adrenaline. With a strength that belied his old body, he wrenched free from the young agent who had started to cuff him.

Spinning the agent around, The Reverend reached for and pulled the agent's service weapon from its holster. In one fluid motion, The Reverend turned and aimed at the mutants as he screamed and opened fire. "BEGONE YOU FOUL DEMONSPAWN!!! YOU DO NOT HAVE A PLACE IN HIS GARDEN!!! THOU SHALT BURN FOREVER IN THE FLAMES OF HELL FROM WHICH YOU WERE BORN!!!"


“Jesus wept,” Wyrmwood muttered, then shouted, “Duck and cover!” Just as the gunfire started.

A blur of movement on the darkened landscape almost gave the impression of giant wings closing around her slender form. Standing her ground between the ranting reverend and the winded, exhausted kids, that he was so intent on ending, and another blur of movement revealed that the wings were really black, bladed warfans. Wyrmwood’s movements were graceful, predatory, as the fans spun expertly, blocking the wave of bullets

Suddenly, a jolt of energy shot from the skies, hitting Jaclyn and dragging her up into a standing position, her body locked in a pained rictus. The fresh burns that had tattooed her body lit up, an eerie, pulsing blue, her hair standing on end. She let out an agonised scream to the heavens, that seemed intent on causing her injury that night. As she writhed in pain, the blue energy surrounding her arced from her body to the inert mech that she had spontaneously created.

The mech surged with energy. Cracking bands of blue-white electricity flowed through its metallic form, breathing “Life” into the newly created machine.

Apparently perceiving that the actions of the Reverend were intent on hurting its creator it sprang into action. Moving forward smoothly on its articulated legs, it raised its heavily armed arms and opened fire. Bolts of blue-white energy shot from the strange, gun-shaped hands. Each shot made a strange thumping noise as they left the barrels.

It only took a few shots to permanently silence his ranting, replacing it with gurgling, gagging sounds, the gun dropping from his hands as his body twisted in pain, burning scorch marks left with each consecutive strike until he could no longer keep his feet. The burning, smoking man was slammed to the ground with the force of the impacts and laid as still as the now silent night.

Jaclyn hovered in the air as the smoke rose, and the reverend’s smouldering corpse burned in a hell of his own choosing. Then as suddenly as she had been drawn upwards, she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. When she fell the energy that passed between her and the mechanical creation ceased. And as quickly as it had come to life the mech fell silent and powered down, its cannons still emitting trails of smoke as the heat from its deadly barrage dissipated.

As the smoke settled, and the government agents carefully went back to their jobs, a few gave furtive glances towards Wyrmwood as her blades snapped shut, followed by the sound of the rounds that she had caught dropping to the ground almost musically. She quickly stowed the bladed fans on her back, where they almost seemed to meld into her inky black armour, and turned quickly to the fallen Jaclyn, checking her over as their team’s jet arrived, and made a perfect vertical landing on the road.

“Time to go, little one,” Wyrmwood said softly, her odd, reptilian gaze turning gently to the younger girl and the dog, allowing the animal to catch a soothing scent of her design, easing its anxiety. As her team approached, others dressed similarly to her, each with their own stylized X on the shoulder, she stopped them by simply lifting her hand. “We will cause you no intentional harm. It may be a little overwhelming at first, but we will do everything we can to help you and your friends. I know it’s not easy to trust, but I need your trust for now.”

Kai, clutching at the dog, nodded, staring at the fallen Jaclyn. “Ok.. for now” she said cautiously. She avoided looking at the fallen Reverend. She pushed herself to her bare feet and held the puppy. “Is... is Jac alive?”

“Jac’s body has been through a lot tonight, but she is alive and we will keep her that way,” Wyrmwood said, standing and offering her hand to the girl, standing between her and the smoking remains of the Reverend. She nodded to her team and they moved to help the fallen, newly awakened mutant. “I will explain everything as we go, but time is of the essence, so come with me and we’ll get you tucked in for the flight home.”

Kai nodded and took Wyrmwood’s hand with her free hand. “How... far?” she cleared her throat. “Sorry, how long will it take?”

The armour-clad woman motioned towards the plane that had opened up from behind, lowering a ramp for the medical pods to be rolled down towards them. “Not too far. And a lot faster than you might think,” Wyrmwood said with a soft laugh as she moved Kai and the dog quickly towards the jet. “Even I can’t outfly it, and I’m pretty quick.”

As they approached the ramp, two people moved one of the medical pods past them, and the other approached them, alongside a younger member of the crew that had a large metal kennel.

“This is a medical pod. This is where you’ll spend the trip, so that we can monitor your health,” Wyrmwood explained. “Your friend here has to go into the kennel for the safety of everyone. Animals can react weirdly on flights. She will be right there beside you, though. As will Jac.”

Kai nodded. “Ok.” She figured it was best not to argue as she was basically alone here with Artemis and Jaclyn. And with Jaclyn unconscious and such, she had no one to back her anyway. She took a breath and helped them settle Artemis into the kennel.

Wyrmwood always hated when she had to drag someone out of a situation, knowing that they had already been through some amount of hell, and knowing that everything tended to move by in a blur. Within what seemed like moments Kai had been loaded up into the glass enclosed capsule, a soft white glow activating as soon as the door was sealed. Monitors blinked to life and began a running reading of vitals, as well as running what appeared to be medical scans.

Another minute or so ran by at the speed of light and Jac was settled in beside her, the same soft glow coming from her pod as she slept, the same scans and data being collected. Once everyone was in place, Wyrmwood sounded the all clear and the jet rose off of the ground smoothly. There was only one moment with a slight bump as they picked up the van-turned-mech, then they were off, leaving the scene of carnage and chaos to disappear into the darkness behind them.

After the team of mutant heroes left, the humans still on the ground started to wrap up the scene. As each of The Reverend's followers were cuffed and Mirandized, a couple of employees from the county coroner's office showed up to collect the remains of the cult leader.

"Man, those mutants really did a number on this guy!" The younger tech observed, his tone a mixture of awe and disquiet. It wasn't that he didn't like mutants…he knew that they were a new branch of the species afterall. It's just that…most of them seemed way too powerful and he worried that they might try to take over the world, like the Nazis had tried to do to his grandparents, when they had lived in Poland.

"Meh," his supervisor, a man who had been doing this job for nearly twelve years now, grunted. "Looks like the schmuck had it comin'." He stopped the van near the body, so they wouldn't have to carry it far…his back was already sore from when they had had to transport that heavily overweight gentleman earlier that day.

As soon as the van stopped, both men got out and moved to the rear. The junior tech opened the double doors and grabbed a body bag from its cubby on the driver's side of the cargo area.

Turning back to look at the carnage, he shrugged. "What's left of him looks to be about, what … a buck sixty? I could take care of it, if you want to rest your back?"

The older tech nodded and smiled. "Thanks! I guess that means drinks are on me tonight." They both then got to work doing the various duties that they needed to complete. While the younger man moved the corpse into the body bag, the older took several photos of the scene and body. While there wouldn't be a case of any kind, records still needed to be kept.

A short while later, the body was in the back of the Van and both men had informed the agents that they were heading back to the coroner's office with the corpse. They then got on the road and started to drive, glad they had only one body to collect, and not hundreds, which was what was feared.

While they drove, the younger tech put on some music. As it was his turn, he flipped the station over to a metal station and turned the volume up as he sang along to the thrasher band.

Suddenly, from the rear compartment, the dead man shot forward and bit the right side of the driver's neck, ripping a huge chunk of flesh away and causing his severed arteries and veins to pump out his blood quickly as he started to drown on his own fluids.

The younger man screamed, his mind not fully comprehending what he was seeing. Then the driver slumped over and the van careened off the road into a deep wadi that ran along the roadway. As the van began to flip over and over, all three occupants were tossed about, until finally, the van came to a standstill.

For several moments, nothing happened. Then, the rear doors were kicked open and the young tech strode out confidently. Reaching into his pocket, he found a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. After he lit a cigarette, he took in a huge drag and slowly let it back out. "To be young again!" He then took another drag then looked down and tossed the lit cigarette onto the ground in the path of the growing puddle of gasoline.

As he moved away, into the darkness, he started to softly sing.

"God is in,
His Holy Temple.

Earthly thoughts,
Be silent now…"

A few moments later the night sky was lit up briefly by the van exploding.


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FIN
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Absynthe "Syn" Drake
Wyrmwood
Drake Academy

The Reverend
NPC
(Mattias Tonelly)

Kai Irving
Civilian

Jaclyn Morrison
Awakened