17981/Red Reign: I, Vampire. You, Zombie.

Red Reign: I, Vampire. You, Zombie.
Date of Scene:	18 May 2024
Location:	Midtown - Gotham City
Synopsis:	A zombie, A Spirit of Vengeance, and a bunch of vampires meet up on the same street. Chaos ensues. Flesh is consumed.
Cast of Characters:	Pernila Moore, Johnny Blaze, Mary Seward
Tinyplot:	Red Reign

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Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila hugs a wall in a nearby alley. Her stiff, slow movements are quieter than one would expect of a zombie, but her smell is potent. Even a human nose will detect her approach from five or six feet away at least. She holds a cane, her hoodie's hood draped over her head. No sounds of breathe or physical effort are audible, however when she moves, there is sometimes the sound of something cracking, a bone moving, or some such. Luckily there's no one in the alley right now.

She doesn't actually need a cane, but it's convenient to pose as an old, homeless woman because of how slow she normally moves. Well fed for now, she doesn't look at anyone as prey, they are just people. Fortunately she's alone right now anyway, there's no one to turn their nose up at her.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny hadn't spent a lot of time in Gotham. It tended to be lousy with bad men and the people that dressed up to punch them. From the spiritual side of the street, Gotham reeked of desperation. Helplessness. Some hope, sure, but not a great deal. Zarathos had insisted he take this little field trip and if he was gonna go looking for bad things, he was going to at least have a little fun with it. So here he was, rolling down the business district on his bike, dressed in his riding leathers, his very illegal sawed-off shotgun hostered by his leg and his trusty .45 revolver on his other hip. The more disgusted looks he got, the more times he got casually flipped off, the bigger his grin was. Just for them, he goosed the throttle on the bike, making it roar. He was close now, according to the demon that he shared a soul with. Maybe that alley up ahead?

Mary Seward has posed:
As the Rider's attention turned to the alley, all he'd seem to see is just an ordinary homeless woman. Nothing else there. Maybe, there was something off with his senses for sin.

Or maybe, there was just something he didn't see.

Out from the shadows of the damp, dirty alleyway, a figure would approach from behind on the 'ordinary homeless woman'. Staggering like something out of a Romero movie. Before long, the figure would suddenly lunge out fully grabbing onto Pernila, going for her neck. Fangs would meet would flesh. Blood would meet with tongue.

Then, the vampire attacking what was supposed to be easy prey, would suddenly pull away, spewing and spitting out the fluids they had intended to suck dry. "What is WRONG with your BLOOD?!" The vampire, scandalized, screams at Pernila.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila feels nothing as the teeth sink into her, although she is taken off guard. Slow as she is, it takes a moment for her to turn around to face whoever bit her, yellow eyes bearing down upon the figure, "Not so tasty am I?" She's met vampires before, although only a couple. They aren't an every night occurance by any means.

She slowly takes a step back, stiff movements cracking as her tiny wound heals, "Vampire? If that's what you are.. we're both dead here. I don't really have blood anymore. I'm rotted.." She steps a bit closer, dropping her cane. Pernila's voice is raspy, much like an old woman, but the effort to speak is even more pronounced, "I'm sometimes hungry, just like you.." She steps a bit closer still, "And I know how you are feeling right.. now. So where do we go from here.. fellow dead?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
And just then the Rider nudged his bike into the alleyway. "Hey." he called casually to the vampire as he dismounted, drawing the shotgun from its holster but, so far, kept the Rider from manifesting fully. This looked bad but it might not be what he thought it was. Ask questions first, Hellfire later. There was always time for Hellfire. "Mind explaining what the fuck?" he asked conversationally.=, careful to keep the barrels of his shotgun only vaguely pointed at her feet.

Mary Seward has posed:
The bloodsucker seems to find their stomach settled as the woman reveals her true nature. It seems her intimidation tactic has effect, as they begin to back off from her. They weren't sure just what she was, but they knew they didn't want to fuck with her.

Luckily, Johnny came by to provide them out.

"You're hungry? A-Are you hungry now?" They point over at the approaching biker. "Look at him. We can share him instead! I get his blood, you get his meat or soul or..whatever you want." They bargain.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila turns to face the approaching figure, "Yeah.. there's someone else here but.. I'm not hungry." She glares at the vampire, "And I won't.. let you attack some random.. person. Stay.. back.. if you want to stay conscious. I.. have rules."

She pulls up her hood a bit more to reveal her lipless mouth, and more of her face, "Trust.. me.. you have no advantage here.." With a sudden twitch, she turns to face Johnny, "This is some.. strange fuckery.. for sure.. vampire thought I was a meal.. not so much."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny looked at the vampire and her supposed victim and just sighed. Then he let the Hellfire take his shotgun, causing the barrels to rim in Hellfire and the weapon to take on a much more sinister and evil appearance. "Ladies. Please." he said calmly. "You don't want any of this." he said, in the understatement of the century. "I'm not Blade but I'm not gonna let you two feed on random passer-by."

Mary Seward has posed:
"Jesus." If Pernila didn't creep out the vampire enough before, now she was definitely put off by her deformed face. "You look like you're falling apart piece by piece, you say I don't have an advantage?" She hisses.

Johnny of course can't be ignored either. Great. Two of them to worry about. One some kind of freak, the other having some strange gun that she might not want to get hit by. Suddenly, however, with a sudden glance up at the rooftops in front of her, her expression gets much more confident. "Both of you seem to talk tough. But all I see is a dead man....well, a dead girl." She chuckles, backing up with her eyes on Johnny. "If you're not gonna leave the two of us alone...then what about them?!"

She points above, revealing a host of vampires perched on roofs and nearby lamp posts. About seven in number.

"Look...An advantage." She taunts Pernila, feeling mighty less scared of her now that she had back up.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila cackles, it's a creepy, raspy sound, although it probably won't be unsettling to either of the other two present given their nature, "Do you think.. I.. am slow all the time..?" She appears wary of the fire however, and steps away from it, "But.. vampire.. I am not.. on your side. You.. are everything.. I resist. Undeath.. you are not the only.. one. I amd also.. dead. Make.. your choice.." A dark magic surges within her, perceptible if one has the senses..

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny glanced upwards at the flock of vampires getting ready to descend and, if they had their way, likely tear him apart with their bare hands. Time to even the odds. He smirked as the flesh on his body _caught fire_, the sulfurous stink of Hellfire filling the air. The flaming flesh seemed to melt and drip off of his face, revealing a grinning skull wreathed in Hellfire. Oddly, his leathers and his Guns and Roses T-shirt remained intact. One hand stayed on his shotgun but the other was suddenly gripping a length of burning chain, reeking of foul Hell-spawned magic. "I tried to warn you." he said, his voice echoing like it came from the bottom of a very deep well. "Murderes. Thieves of life. Know you will be judged and face vengeance for your transgressions." he intoned, then pointed the shotgun up towards the flock and pulled the trigger. Wide dispersion, burning flesh and soul alike.

Mary Seward has posed:
The vampire bared her fangs and claws in front of Pernila, not backing down even as she sensed the magic empowering the zombie's existence beginning to pulse with power. Even if Pernila's blood made her sick, she still had the primal vampiric urge to spill it.

Up until the Rider snaps her out of it.

The sense of HIS dark power becoming manifest was too much to ignore, the smell of fire and brimstone even less so. Before her eyes, the human man becomes something much less human. Something she's never seen before.

"What the FU-"

The shot goes off. Most of the vampires have the sense to shift into bat form and fly out of it's path. Two are unable to get away in time and are incinierated in the blast. The rest scatter about in the air.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila moves fast, arms out, attempting to grapple the vampire in front of her, and bite -into her head-, massive chunks, she wants to absolutely reach the brain, and end this creature forever. Her burst of speed is limited, but she's making use of it to the fullest..

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Well, Johnny wasn't expecting to get backup from a zombie but he'd take it. The chain in his off hand writhed with Hellfire and dark magic, lengthening impossibly long to swat at the bats shrieking over their heads. All the while he kept advancing slowly on the monster that tried to feed on a monster, even if Pernila was doing some little high-speed manual trepanation on his behalf. If it didn't die before it got there, the Penance Stare would certainly do the job. The shotgun roared out again, still aimed up at the bat-vampire swarm. Mostly to keep them busy and dispersed. If they got the chance, they might be able to do some damage. Best not to give them the chance.

Mary Seward has posed:
Pernila's increased speed and the vampire's distraction at the Rider's "'warning shot is just the combination she needs to get her arms on the bloodsucker. She can feel it as her teeth sink in to the flesh of the bloodsucker's head. A poetic reversal of how she initially introduced herself to the zombie.

The vampire shrieks in pain of course. "NO!" She struggles out, her hands then grabbing onto Pernilla's upper and lower jaw, wrenching both away from her now bleeding scalp. "You're not eating my brain, you ROTTING BITCH!"She shoves Pernila back, snarling and lunging for her, claws first.

Meanwhile, Johnny's hellfire shots keep the bats at bay, their speed giving them narrow evasion. Though, one decides to wisen up and descened onto the ground while not in Johnny's field of vision. As he does so, he shifts to a mostly human but still bat-winged state, zooming towards Johnny in a literal flying tackle.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila is indeed thrown back, shrieking now, the dark magic within not finished yet, she surges more, making her hungry.. this isn't good for the vampire, even if she can't actually eat her, "You.. did this.. you are responsible for what happens to you.. now.." Her speed once again surges as the vampire attacks her, and Pernila quickly brings her hands up to catch the vampire's wrists. If she succeeds, she will attempt to continue biting into the vampire's skull..

Johnny Blaze has posed:
This was, thankfully, not the Rider's first rodeo. The vampire trying to blindside got a face-full of Hellfire as the Rider pivoted smoothly and the chain whirled in a circular pattern, burning undead flesh and soul alike if it chances to make contact. The objective was to keep them distracted, too busy to bum-rush him. Looks like the vamp and the zombie were throwing down on each other pretty hard but Johnny was pretty sur ehe could sort that out in short order.

Mary Seward has posed:
Ghost Rider's fire burns his would-be tackler's face, getting him to back off. The spinning of the chain keeps the rest of his pack at bay. As for the vampire currently wrestling with Pernila...

Seeing the zombie open her maw for another bite, the attacking vampire was ready this time. She ducks down as Pernila goes for a bite, immediately headbutting the zombie in the stomach. She drags her feet into the ground behind herself and slams her body with full-force into Pernila's, using her vampire strength in an attempted means to send the zombie flying towards the Rider.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila is more skilled at grappling than anything else, but vampires are fast. She is sent flying towards Johnny, possibly colliding with him if he doesn't dodge. Pernila isn't used to this sort of fighting. She's used to fast fights that end in her favor. Vampires are just a different territory.

Pernila learns..

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny roughly shoved the zombie to one side, his flaming skeletal hand doing her absolutely no favors. Johnny still kept his inexorable march towards the vamp on the ground and if she was foolish enough to come into melee range with him, well, that'd suit him just fine. To the flying vamps there was shown no consideration, no pity, and no hesitation. When the chain whirled, it strove to kill. To burn, to entangle and slam into other vampire spawn. The shotgun was for point defense and if anyone made it to the ground and wanted to get frisky.

Mary Seward has posed:
Every vampire that tried to swoop down or sneak attack Johnny found themselves lashed to the side by his hellish chain. The vampire who tussled with Pernila meanwhile was left to stare as he headed her way. While confident enough to take on Pernila, she knew a fight she couldn't win. Rather than give the Rider what she wants, she leaps behind herself, into the alleyway, vanishing into the shadows.

Meanwhile, one vampire takes on a form less physical than that of a bat...Mist. Taking on this gaseous form as they see the chain head for them, their movement makes a stop in front of the Rider, evading both of his weapons as they manifest back into physical shape, moving to claw at his torso.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila Moore screams as fire envolops a part of her body, it's not the end, it was just a shove, a push. But Ghost Rider is all flames. Pernila falls to the ground writhing, the dark magic within quickly trying to heal her, but she's getting hungrier. The groans start now.

She's in the fetal position, resisting the urge to hunt, keeping herself focuses on the morals that make her still somewhat human. She gasps instinctively, even though she doesn't breathe anymore, and looks back up at Ghost Rider, pleading, "If.. I don't eat.. I will become a corpse.. I don't know what.. you are.. but I am on your side.. I need.. human flesh.. life force.."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The Rider looked down at the fallen zombie, but then a vampire decided to try to cut his demon-enhanced skeletal body. Instead, the Rider just _looked_ at the vampire that clawed him, and raised a flaming skeletal hand to touch the vampire. When they locked pupils the Penance Stare roared from the Rider and into the vampire. Satisfied, the Rider turned away to look at Pernila. "Stay down." he said in that hollow voice, casually pointing the barrels of his shotgun in her direction. Then looked around with all his senses, trying to see if the vampire was hiding behind a veil or had truly departed.

Mary Seward has posed:
The stare of the Rider aims true, seeming to burn away in his entirety, fading to ash. The rest of his kind who survived the assault seem to get the same hint that the main vampiress did and take off into the skies.

Leaving the Rider and the zombie at his mercy...

Until...

A long red strip of cloth, definitely has to be a cloak of some kind whisked through the air and bounded itself around Johnny's shotgun, hoisting upwards with it as though some invisible force were carrying it.

"...Now, now. Hasn't anyone told you that bullying is wrong?" Floating above the alleyway the first vampire came out of and retreated into, a new woman made herself known. By how pale she was, and the magical powers she was displaying, she was definitely a vampire. Sensing her showed that the dark magic coursing through her was even more potent than theirs.

"I mean, first you pick on my progeny, now you're picking on that poor...thing over there. Is that a ghoul? A mummy? Whatever." She scoffs.

"If you don't cut it out, I'm going to be forced to tell your parents, young man."

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila Moore contines to lay there, having nodded at Ghost Rider's words. Her wounds heal, slowly, it was fire after all. It's not like she was slashed with a knife, or shot with a gun.

She doesn't have any fight in her now, and says nothing to the vampiress now making herself known.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The Rider looked upwards, as this new vampire that was trying to steal his shotgun. "Are you as stupid as you look?" he said, and then because the Shotgun was just an expression of his Hellfire and will given physical form, he twisted the gun so the barrels were pointed up, through the cloak and at the vampire herself, and then pulled the triggers. A roiling gout of Hellfire shot out of both barrels, hot enough to cause the scream of superheated air in the blast path. The chain in his other hand coiled, ready to lash out if needed. "You think yourself old? I danced in the fires of creation itself. Spat in God's face. Do not speak to me of age, worm."

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward laughs as the Spirit of Vengeance delivers words as hateful and firey as the shots he fires at her. Her magic cloak weaving it's way off of his magic shotgun and binding itself around her body. Much like the cape of a certain magical doctor that Johnny would be familiar with. Maybe, they shopped at the same clothing stores.

"Struck a nerve, did I? By the way, you should never ask a woman her age."

She weaves out of the path of his flames as mist, dancing around the air.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila just lays there, doesn't say a word, she just lets the dark magic heal her body as much as it can, given that she's feeling hungry..

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The Rider just stared at the vampire and then two different things happened simultaneously. One, the Shotgun jerked itself downwards, towards his free hand. The other is that the Hellfire chain stretched upwards, growing and expanding and glowing white-hot in its Hellfire. The chain was looking to wrap itself around a convenient extremity of the vampire floating in the air, burning it and then yanking it downwards towards where the Rider waited.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward 's laughter is cut short as the Rider's chain lashes itself around her leg. Burning it for good measure. "Oh, shit-" She gets yanked down below, her hands up in the air.

However, it seems the Ride wasn't the only one with strange weapons to wield. From a magical pulse of energy, a sword conjures itself into Mary's hand. Raising it high, she brings it down upon the chain to cleave through and cut herself free.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila can hear the sounds of struggle around her, but remains still. There's nothing she can do to help the Ghost Rider. Survival instinct has taken over. If anyone were to chance upon her right now? They'd only see a dead corpse..

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The Hellfire Chain was made of stern stuff. It did spark and hiss when Mary's sword struck it but the enchantment held. For now. Now was the time for speed as as Mary approached the ground, still trying to break the chain with her sword, he rushed forward, skeletal hand extended to get its burning digits wrapped around her throat. From there, it'd be a short trip to Penance-land for the undead monster.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward whacks rather thoughtlessly at the chain surrounding her leg. Looks almost as though she's paying no mind to the lunging Rider.

Then, there was that cloak of hers again, shifting out towards Johnny and wrapping itself around that arm, the rest going to cover up his entire body, as though it were a snake consuming a mouse whole.

"Now, now. You can look all you want, but you can't touch." Mary laughs, shifting herself into mist once more and appearing next to Pernila

"...Hello there...You look like you need a hand." She extends hers to the zombie.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila registers the offer for help.. then she snarls, feral rage taking over.. the dark magic inside of her surges as much as it can, the absolute limit of her capable power, at present, consuming her. She leaps up, her jaws clamping down on the hand, if possible, and she attempts to -cling- onto the vampire's body. The zombie is feral, but her morals are still mostly intact. She hasn't gotten to the point yet where just anyone is prey.

Pernila sees the vampiress as both prey and evil right now. It's doubtful that her flesh can do anything to quell the zombie's hunger. But this is an appendage of someone Pernila sees as evil.. it's just a given that she attacks.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny just stepped backwards, spiritually speaking, and let Zarathos manifest more fully in this world. The Rider seemed to swell, the flames wreathing his body growing hotter and more intense. "Little worm." he growled, then proceeds to ignore the cloak in favor of trying to get a hand on Mary, bony fingers slashing like claws. After all, he didn't need to breathe. If he could do that, the Penance Stare was on the menu. He doubted very much she'd be able to survive having her mind and soul flooded with Hellfire.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward 's eyes widen as Pernila chomps into her hand. She seems...more annoyed than anything else when the zombie latches onto her. "That's not what I meant..." She huffs.

Split between that and her attention on the Rider, she ducks out of the way of his wild grabs and swings at her. She even jabs at him with that sword for good measure. "Ah, ah. That's enough out of you. I'm putting you on time out."

She lifts a hand up and the cloak moves along with her. She swings her hand off to the distance, attempting to have the cloak fly off and carry around the Ghost Rider with it. Out of sight, out of mind.

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila Moore falls to the ground after her brief attack succeeds, then also fails. Mary moves well out of her range, and Pernila collapses, completely out of it. Until she is fed human meat, she will remain there, lifeless, in a sort of torpor. A corpse..

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The Rider had more tricks up his metaphorical sleeve. The newest of which was spellbreaking. The chain whirled around the Rider's form, smoking and spitting Hellfire, He didn't bother to try to unravel the spells imbued in the cloak - all he wanted to do was to break the flight spell. Once that was gone, he could rid himself of the irritating scrap of spellcloth and concentrate on the _real_ problem. Or ... he could get crafty.

He used the chain to break the flight spell, but then grabbed a hold of the cloth and - more importantly - it's connection to its owner. Then he tried to force Hellfire down that connection. If it worked - and he had no idea offhand if it would - she'd be in for a very rude surprise.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward picks up the zombie's body, shrugging to herself as she lifted it her shoulders. She looks off into the distance, seeming to not see the Rider up ahead. Thus, she was satisfied. Flying off with Pernila, she takes her leave of the place.

Johnny's quick thinking on the cloak was impressive. But, not particularly effective in this case. Though it seemed to cease it's flight, it possessed no special connection to Mary. At least none potent enough to allow him to hellfire her from a distance. Unfortunate as she was long gone by now.

By the time, we're back with Mary she has just gotten done feeding from another victim. Dropping their blood-spent body right ontop of Pernila. "I know you tried to eat me and my progeny and all...But, I've got principles." She leans down and whispers into Pernila's ear...if she could even hear her. "Undead should stick with undead. There's plenty of humans for us all to snack on, yeah?"

Pernila Moore has posed:
Pernila just lays there, sensing flesh above her now.. it's not hard to imagine what she does next. There is. No. Other. Solution.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward smirks "You're welcome, by the way." She turns around and walks off. "If you're still in the city later and well...come to your senses about who's side you should really be on...Come and feed with the rest of us. It'll be fun." She takes off into the sky, leaving the zombie to her feast.