2429/Citysoul: The Blight

Citysoul: The Blight
Date of Scene:	13 July 2020
Location:	Hudson, the River of Blight
Synopsis:	The Heroes of the City sail the putrid mire of Hudson, the River of Blight, to battle the Threefold God!
Cast of Characters:	Stephen Strange, Lara Croft, Alexander Aaron, Sera, Julie Yan, Michael Hannigan, Amanda Sefton, Takako Kyozan
Tinyplot:	Citysoul

---

Stephen Strange has posed:
The Sanctum Sanctorum is abuzz with activity. People rushing this way and that, scrambling to prepare for their own confrontation with the Threefold God. Strange moves like a general preparing for battle, indicating who will go where with a gesture of his hand and a quick word. Soon, he has gathered those who will face the Blight in one corner of the room. In his hands, he holds two items. One is a red bandana that was worn by the Spirit of Staten Island, and in the other he holds the handle of a baseball bat.

"Take them," he offers, holding them out before him, "They are the City's offerings. Empowered to protect you in the dark places you must go. I cannot tell you what they do because I don't know but understand the City will not betray you. It is in it's best interest to help you."

That said, the Doctor leads the way to a hallway towards the rear of the Sanctum's first floor. It is there that he pauses before a nondescript door, takes hold of the handle, and then pushes it open. The stench that pours forth in a haze of smog is almost overpowering, and through it can be seen the deck of a ramshackle raft floating on a mile-wide river of effluent and industrial waste. The air is a near-choking haze, and what little light there is makes it difficult to see more than ten feet in any direction.

"Good luck."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had gone out to her Jeep to get some of her things, but had only been out there a few minutes before returning. Setting her stuff down on a table she starts to unzip bags, swap out her clothing, and pull gear on over her shoulders, around her waist and cinched about her thighs. When all is said and done, the SHIELD Archaeologist is decked from neck to knees in weapons, equipment, and tools. A fully loaded quiver of arrows, along with a folded down mechanical compound bow, rope, two climbing axes, a handgun and more.

She approaches the Doctor and accepts the end of the baseball bat. "Lets hope this goes smoothly." She says as she slides the bat over her shoulder and down into her arrow quiver.

Her eyes then go to the others before she starts down the hallway to the ... raft.

"Lovely time for a float." The Briton softly quips as she moves to board the raft as carefully as possible, making room for the others.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "I have Grass Cutter, it might get jealous." Alexander nods to the others and holds up a hand as if to stay the offering of the artifacts. He gestures towards the others, "Perhaps Lara and Amanda might make use of them?" But then Lara avails herself of the bat and he shrugs slightly.
    The blond youth's manner has changed from the casual approach he had before. A measure of focus can be seen on his features even as he listens to the words of wisdom granted by the Sorcerer Supreme. Then as they're directed down the hallway he'll pause at the offering of good fortune, then he'll answer the magician in return by simply saying, "Sir."
    With that he'll start along the hall and toward whatever destiny might hold for them.

Sera has posed:
Sera has been doing her level best not to be too freaked out by the attacks on the Sanctum by the threefold god.. the new thing, birthed by the chaos of Brainiac disrupting the balance of the city and then their lack luster efforts to name it. Though, perhaps breaking it in three will make it easier to deal with, a third as powerful in each fight perhaps.

The stench beyond the door has her covering her mouth and nose, "By the Goddess that is vile." A cough and a gag, she turns away from it, the light in her eyes intensifying as she sings her song of armor summoning. Her jeans and t-shirt replaced with her Elysium armor in gold and silver. Ready for battle, the angel turns back to the door and looks out to the raft in the river. "I think," she gags again, "we're going to need that. I certainly don't want to end up in this muck." She steps on to the raft and resumes covering her mouth and nose. "Awful."

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Where the hell were you keeping that?" Julie asks in shock as Lara produces a small armory, and -then- takes the bat Strange offers. She meanwhile produces her scarf and removes her hoodie, leaving it on a door as she wraps the silky scarf around her neck. Seems she doesn't need a bandana at all.

    Popping her neck, she follows after Strange, and as the door opens she is overcome with the stench that greets the group. "Augh, fuck! Stinks out there..." She says, before dropping onto the raft, wrapping her scarf around her face like a mask to keep the stench out of her nose. "This is gonna suck."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Well, with him just wandering into the thing with the boombox, and conequently the meeting afterwards. Plus with the close call with the skeleton hands, Mike had a very important decision to make. Does he pay attention in the meeting, or does he find a seat in the far back of the room and just SORT OF pay attention to the meeting while he rests up?

With the sudden departure as soon as the meeting ended to end up here, Mike was glad he chose the second option. Seems he's going to need the extra energy. Besides, he got the basic gist. Pick a name, Yada yada, Debate over the meaning of the names, so slow, now we got three. Should have just gone with 'Bob' and be done with it.

And now here he is, having to go to Stinkyville with a bandana of unknown importance hitching a ride in his pants pocket. He'd probably have prefered the flask being there considering the mission but that's currently lying on his bed at home. Dammit.

He's still dressed in his usual attire. Jeans, solid color tee exposing the scar on his right forearm, and a ballcap with his hair tucked underneath.

One whiff of the smell and the bandana gets relocated. Tied around the face to basically cover his nose. Oh hey! Mystery solved!

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda steps out of a portal she conjured between the gathering and this embarkment. Across her chest, a strap to a satchel is now hung. The satchel sits against her left hip, and contains a few supplies she suspects will come in handy. She arches a brow faintly at the artifacts, but says nothing as they're distributed. Stepping into the foetid air, her nose wrinkles. She pulls the collar of her frockcoat closer, sealing it with a touch of magic to create a makeshift facemask.

"Well. This is going to be unpleasant."

She steps onto the deck of the raft and holds up a hand, calling up a ball of light in an attempt to illuminate the hazy darkness. Not that she expects she'll get much more than a brighter haze at best...

Takako Kyozan has posed:
Takako is in full Jingi-In Agent mode. Her usual skirt suits have been replaced by the true form of her morphic cloth uniform, silver, red and black highly durable and relatively form fitting material so as not to get in the way during battle. Because battle is exactly what she has prepared herself for, an epic battle. She has fought all manner of Yokai and even some giant robot Sentinels in the past but this is the first time she has been sent to fight a 'god'.

Stepping through the Doctor's portal she makes a face, "This is going to be like the time they sent me to deal with that shit demon all over again." she does not seem terribly enthused about it but her face is set with determination all the same. The chronically late, sometimes clumsy, cheerful, overworked girl seems to have taken the day off leaving a fighter in her place.

Stephen Strange has posed:
As the Heroes pass through the door, they find themselves on a ramshackle raft. It's comprised of all manner of detritus from floating doors to signs advertising cocaine-enriched beverages from the turn of the last century. The sort of junk one may find floating down the river, except that it has all lumped together to form a moving island of sorts. The river itself stretches on into the distance on either side, and the shore isn't visible through the thick, foul smog that fills the air. The waters of the rivers appear foetid and toxic, but they churn as though something large moves beneath them.

The Sorcerer Supreme gives the group one last look before he closes the door behind them, and the rectangular portal they entered through disappears. There is now nothing but the river and the smog stretching in every direction, and the terrible stench that fills the air. As though all the waste and refuse and pollution of a civilization has coalesced here in the space between life and death.

"Row!" a voice shouts in the smoke-clogged darkness, and soon it becomes visible. A man dressed in heavy furs, his beard and clothing lined with frost. He and eight other men huddle in a lifeboat, rowing frantically upper river. The man in the furs stands at the bow, pointing into the smoggy night.

"There! Row harder! We shall catch it!"

Lara Croft has posed:
Once on the raft with the others, Lara reaches down to her hip to adjust the crystal skull, which is hanging on her hip clipped to her belt inside of a climbing helmet rig. She hears Julie's question while she's gets the skull situated on her side so that it's looking forward, just in case. "Since I've come to the United States earlier this year, I've nearly been stabbed. I've been shot at with fully automatic weapons. I've been attacked by vampires, common thugs, ghosts and ... things I couldn't properly identify--" Her eyes go up to Julie then, before showing a soft smile. "I've learned to keep my field gear close by now."

Stepping forward as she hears shouting, Lara walks past a few of the others on the raft to the front. The magical light provided by Amanda helps shine their way ahead. She looks back then as she exhales, trying to ignore the disgusting air quality. "Ghost pirates are up next, so it seems?" She grimly quips.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Taking a seat upon the hodge-podge raft, Alexander pulls the collar of his shirt up over his mouth and nose, perhaps trying to stifle the scent as best he can when breathing through his mouth doesn't help as much as he had hoped. Perhaps a small woeful glance is given in Mike's direction at the bandanna, his nose crinkling subtly... but then he looks back away.
    His sword settles over his lap as he brings it around, resting both hands upon it. And then the voice is heard. The man covered in rime instantly draws his attention as well as those huddling in that small boat.
    Glancing over towards Lara, his gaze sweeps up and down her form as if hoping she might have packed some paddles along with all the other gear. Then when she mentions pirates he murmurs, "Trappers maybe?"

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Fair enough." Julie responds.

    On the raft, all she can do is offer Takako a look of horror. She doesn't bother asking about the shit demon, she's already about to puke as it is with all the garbage they're swimming in right now. "Anybody got an oar we can use?" She says, before eyeing the baseball bat. "That'll do. Lara, start rowing!" She says, pointing toward the men on the boat up ahead. "Maybe we need to follow them, or something."

Sera has posed:
With a little wave back to Strange before he shuts his door way, she then turns to look out at the smog. "Well, this is horrible." A small chuckle as she looks at the detris forming their island. A little bouncy bouncy confirms that may be she shouldn't test it anymore with a little bouncy bouncy.

"Ghost pirates? Sure why not. Trappers? also plausible. They seem to have a destination in mind. May be they're hunting their great white whale. ...may be we should follow." This sparks a thought in her, perhaps the raft can be mobile. "May be not use the baseball bat for rowing - when magic is available to us."

Seating herself in the middle, she shuts her eyes for a moment and tries to remember a song for locomotion. The light from her closed eyes leaps out to her hands and surrounds her as she begins to sing out in to the smoggy wastes. Two waveforms shoot from her hands and hang in the air, jiggling as if they were signalling a song.

The waveforms intensify as if their frequency were increased and they solidify in to workable rowing oars. She motions to the second one as she takes the first and approaches the edge to start rowing. "Someone give me a hand with that second oar, I have a feeling this sludge will resist us. Whomever is strongest perhaps." Like Asgardians, the Angels are made of sturdier stuff than humans.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike blinks as he puts the bandana onto his face. The stench soon vanishes, giving him the smell of fresh, clean untouched air. For a city boy, it's a weird feeling but pretty envigorating. It almost feels like he could run three marathons and then go play baseball...Or something. That feeling of fatigue he had going into this was gone. "Well damn."

As foot steps to raft, Mike hopes over to the side, partly because of the boost to his energy levels, partly because his last time on a water vessel was not the greatest feeling.

He turns his head, looking towards the fur man. "This seems very dream like."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda sends her light bobbing ahead some, illuminating the pirate/viking/trappers a little more, while Sera provides their locomotion and the others range themselves about the deck. She follows the light with her eyes, straining to see ahead, to see what they're chasing. "I just hope they're not chasing a Kraken," she comments drily. "Or, you know, Sollasina or something."

Yeah. Tentacle monsters coming out of this disgusting water is so *not* on her bucket list. She draws her hood up at the thought, in case it starts to acid rain or something.

"I've seen hellscapes prettier than this." Which is kinda frightning, really.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
Takako's outfit glows with white whispy divine energy for a moment. The outfit doesn't actually change from her battle uniform except to add a white wrap around the bottom of her face like a ninja might wear.

Making her way to the edge of the raft she peers out at the boat full of men and goes with the most obvious means to try and determine what they are up to, "Hey! Hello? What are you chasing?!" she calls out to the men in the boat while waving her arms to try and get their attention.

Stephen Strange has posed:
The river resists attempts to row through it, the water feeling more like slime or thin mud at some points even though it seems to flow past the raft with all the swiftness of a mountain stream. But despite the thickness, tenacity and strength propels the raft forward to keep pace with the rowboat. The men in their furs pay the raft no attention, instead paddling their rowboat forward with all their might. On closer inspection, the man at the prow's features are gaunt and emaciated and the eight other men in the boat seem to be little more than skeletons draped in rotting cloth. But still they row.

When Takako calls, the man in the furs turns empty eye-sockets to face her. He stares bewildered for a moment, cracked lips parting. His voice is hollow, like air rattling through an empty drum: " ... I know not, strange apparition. I know only that we must catch up to it or perish."

He turns his attention back to the fore, shouting for the men to row! Row!

Where the Heroes peer over the edge into the muck, they will see it ripple with the movement of something just below the surface. Mike will see it first when a face like that of a mountain lion or cougar surfaces in the muck, its eyes shining balefully, and its hideously long fangs bared. It sinks down again as quickly as it came, and the feel of something heavy bumping against the underside of the raft causes it to rock violently.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Slinging the sword over his shoulder, Alexander gives a nod to Sera as she motions to the second oar. He sidles over quickly to take up a proper position counterpoint to hers, near the edge with the oar dipping into the murky water, then glancing over to get a feel for what rhythm she might choose to set. But when the call goes up to perhaps try and pursue the trappers he'll look to her and offers a second nod, so that if Sera seems amenable he'll try to up the pace.
    As the manifestation of undeath turns to speak to Takako his eyes follow along with its words, then back to her for her reaction before he murmurs quietly. "At least they're friendly." Which is a positive for the moment at least.
    Yet with that said he stabs his oar back into the muck and starts to push harder, unmindful of the feline creature below until the thump rocks the raft. "But that probably isn't."

Sera has posed:
Sera nods back to Alexander. She's not sure she recognises him, but he looks like someone to be trusted. She grunts a bit pushing the magical oar through the sludge. "I don't think this river is ...real, and I'm starting to think those poor souls took a wrong turn at Albuquerque."

She holds up a hand to as the raft rocks from the bump. "I don't think they're friendly at all, friend," she replies to Alexander and says, "Hold the rowing. We might be attracting the wrong kind of attention. And in this place, travel is probably conceptual rather than physical. I am reminded, we are here to stop a new god from birthing in to the real world. This filth must be its essence. Fuelled by the waste and folly of human kind for centuries."

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie fights the urge to gasp as she realizes the trappers appear to be undead in nature. "Sera brings up a decent point." She says, before looking into the water itself. "I think we're supposed to go elsewhere." She says, trying to get a good look at what appears to be a big cat of some kind. Then the raft rocks. Julie grabs onto the side of the boat, trying to hold herself steady. "What was that...?"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike blinks at Takako's question. Well. That's one way of finding out what the other boat is up to. Although, if the man in the Fur turns out to be adversary, that could be a bad move.

The answered question indicates the man not to be the type. However the flash of movement draws Mike's attention to the creature and... that look is not too promising. Nor is the motion towards the raft before it vanishes. "MOUNTAIN LION IN THE WATER." Not a proper sentence perhaps. But in times like this, short and to the point is better. He feels the thump. His concern now shifts to what is underneath. His form shift, becoming a mix of gray, brown, and white fur as his vertical height shifts more horizontal, getting to about 6 feet long, and about 32 inches in height. "NOW UNDER THE RAFT." The grey wolf growls out, piercing blue eyes looking to the general direction the lion would be moving based on where it was and where it smacked the underside of the raft.

An intimidating sight indeed. If it wasn't for the bandana wrapped around his neck.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Aaaaaand *there's* the bump on the bottom of the boat. Brilliant. Someone really needs to learn to keep her fool mouth shut, or she may need to change her name from Amanda to Jinx. She pulls the light back towards her, letting it hang brightly over the raft itself once more as she stoops to take the bat from Lara. Testing its weight as if it were a sword -- a weapon she's familiar with -- she lets her wrist roll with the weight of it, just long enough to feel its heft. She'll not be on the front line of this fight, like as not, but she has no doubt they'll all be up to their necks in it soon enough.

Her eyes flit to Alexander and Sera as they stop rowing. She summons an eldritch wind (wishing she could spare the energy to make the air smell better in the process) and lifts herself up off the makeshift deck to hover a yard or two above the waterline, so she can get a better look at what's coming.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
"Strange apparition? No, he stayed back in the Sanctum, sorry! I'm Takako!" Takako calls out the raft again as the message of the man in furs seems to be lost in translation.

At the bump of the raft she nearly loses her footing and wobbles back and forth unsteadily but she manages to not fall in and rights herself again, "What was that?!" she asks apparently having missed the big river cat.

And then Mike promptly answers her question with otherwise nonsensical information, "Wait WHAT?" and then she is blinking at Mike's transformation, "Okay, that's new! A dog to chase a cat I guess?"

Stephen Strange has posed:
As Amanda ascends from the raft, it becomes clear that the smog does not continue all the way up. The sorceress rises above it, and in the distance, there is the shadowy outline of a sailing ship. Beyond it, what looks like a pair of plague-ravaged lungs hang suspended in the void. Every time they deflate, a cloud of thick smog roils outwards across the river and the choking haze grows thicker still.

The dead man in his furs glances sidelong at Takako, brow furrowed. But he does not reply, instead pointing frantically with a skeletal finger into the haze. He almost leaps over the side in his excitement, grasping the prow tight and shrieking with a manic tone: "I see it! I see it! Go, lads! Row! Row harder!"

The raft tips again, the same mammoth thing bumping heavily against the underside. A moment later there is a gusher of refuse from the river and something hurls itself bodily onto the deck. A creature with the head of a mountain lion and a winged, reptilian body complete with a long, lizard-like tail and talons. It growls before diving straight at Julie. Four more leap up from the river soon after, lunging at Alexander, Mike, Sera, and Takako in turn.

"Maxa'xak!" the man in the rowboat screams, his voice high with terror, "Row! Row!"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Over his shoulder and to the side, Alexander murmurs, "My name is Alexander." Just for operational purposes of course, apparently no fear of secret identity spillage or the like. But he sets the oar at his side and leaves it there for now, allowing the river to draw them forward. Perhaps Sera is right, perhaps this is more something they must ride out. If the mountain lion creature will allow them.
    A glance to the side is given in Julie's direction and his brow furrows for a moment in consideration. But then he looks back across the water as the raft jostles and his pale hazel eyes flit from place to place looking upon the surface of the muckish river.
    Only to be rewarded with the staccato sound of those creatures bursting forth from the water and landing upon the raft causing the rough jostle and jolt of the ship beneath their feet. The discarded oar falls into the water with a splash even as Alexander spins to his feet while the raking claws of the felinoid gargoyle lash down and tear into the wood and grime and debris that is the raft's surface.
    Yet it's a smooth and clean turn, the kind that is accompanied with the practiced draw of a blade that's been ingrained into muscle memory a thousand times. The arm of the monstrosity pays the price for the leaping attack, it's limb sliced mostly free of its arm, slapping around to the side as it tries to draw back the limb now only attached by a single grime-ridden strip of flesh.
    Yet it seems not concerned with the injury as it rushes toward him for a more wild sweep of its good claw. There's a faint ring of metal at the impact upon the side of the blade, then another short /swish/ as the sword slices clean though its neck in the next motion as Alexander strides forth with one precise clean strike that has him stepping past the creature.
    And ends with it falling back into the grimy water from whence it came.

Sera has posed:
Sera smiles and gives a not to Alexander. "Sera," she replies and then blinks as the lion faced creature jumps on to their raft. "Of course. Lion bird lizard things.. yep." She laughs and drops the oar as she sings out in to the stinky air, coughing a moment which makes her start again.

Her unearthly singing, in the Enochian of Heven, bursts her magical energies from her body. Her wings erupt from her back, curling and steadying her as the raft rocks once more. A magical sword appears floating before her and she takes it in hand.

It was just as well as one of those creatures arrives to attack her. So much for aiding Julie, she holds out her hand and sings. The petrid air shimmers as the magic penetrates through it and captures the creature in her magical grasp, wrapped in her burning white magical energy.

She levitates it up off the ground and approaches, slicing her sword through it from neck to hip. With a motion of her hand as if releasing a grip, the the creature is dropped back on to the raft, but as it does.. one half of its body sliiiiides off, releasing its toxic putrid bodily fluids across the raft surface.

"Eerlk, disgusting!," Sera exclaims and shuffles away from the oozing bubbling viscera.

Julie Yan has posed:
    It's a tense standoff with the wate,r then suddenly chimera! Julie squares up as the chimera swarm the group, fists burning with holy flame. Hopefully the boat doesn't get set ablaze, because Julie's about to be throwing fire all over the place. She can handle herself, so Sera has nothing to worry about. One of the Chimera heads for her, and she meets it in hand to claw combat. Blows are traded, punches and kicks, as Julie and the chimera attempt to gain ground on one another. The martial artist grabs her opponent's arm in a jointlock, slamming him down against the raft before she begins to pound away with blows to the lizard-catman's head. Of course, he manages to break out of Julie's grasp, and slashes her midriff and back with his claws, tearing away black fabric and leaving behind bloody gashes. Julie clutches at her wounds, but they're fairly shallow cuts. She'll deal with those later, assuming she doesn't get some kind of horrific poison status debuff from whatever this guy's been swimming about in.

    "You owe me a new shirt you bastard!" Julie shouts, before landing a flurry of flaming punches, then embeds her fist in the chimera's chest. Then his insides catch fire, blasting out of his mouth and eyeballs for a brief spurt of flame before Julie picks up the chimera, and tosses his burning body into the ocean.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Now in form, the wolf does not sway with the raft as it gets bumped. Instead just letting a long, low growl, teeth bared as he stands ready. As the one starts to head towards Julie, he turns, ready to intercept before getting hit by another of its kin.

There's a bit of a startled YIPE as he ends up rolling, eventually righting himself up to see the creature heading towards him. Ok. so NOT a Mountain Lion. Well, damn. The Wolf's growl grows, as he charges towards the creature as the creature guts fall down, passing through his form leaving him unsoiled as he lunges towards the Lion-raptor barreling into the creature, biting down upon the softest percieved area of the body, the face while claws tear into the neck.

It's not graceful. In fact, it's downright messy as cuts and bites are inflicted to both sides. But while the Lion-Raptor's blood drips to the raft, the wolf's blood stays in its fur. No drips, just a visual of savagery. And those stuck on the raft that are not otherwise engaged get a front row seat.

Upon the creature slumping from the sudden lack of throat. The wolf spits out the part before using his body to shove the creature into the water. His tail wags.

Who's a cute bloodthirsty wolfy? Who? He is! Yes! Now where's the lady with the stick?

Amanda Sefton has posed:
As Amanda rises above the fog, likely disappearing through it, her magelight gleaming below her now, her eyes widen to see the full scope of this netherworld they currently inhabit. She rises higher to see that much farther, though not so high as to be so far away from the others as to be either be entirely isolated herself or that she can't help when required.

For a moment, she seriously considers grabbing them all and lifting them up to see what she sees -- but the sounds of battle below suggest that might not be her best recourse.

"You need to see this!" she calls down to the others, not that she's counting on them hearing her over the din. She can't clear the growing fog from everywhere. But a space below the size of half a tennis court? Yeah. That she can probably do.

Summmoning her eldritch wind once more, and using her shielding energies as a funnel and wall, she focusses on blowing the foetid smog away from her companions below, letting the clearer air (probably no less stinky) fill the void.

It's only when the air clears that she sees the carnage below. "Great gods of witchcraft," she swears. "Chimeras?" Not in the classical mythology sense, perhaps. More in the genetic sense.

Right. The others have them in hand. So, instead, she points up with the bat at the lungs, which may possibly be visible through the murk thanks to her spell. "Look! Its got lungs!" She's not sure if they can see the sailing ship from their vantage or not. "And there's a tallship some distance ahead."

A beat.

"We need to fly!"

At the very least, they'll see better if they do.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
When the raft shakes again Takako almost loses her balance a second time, "Woah woah woah," she exclaims once again teeters on the edge. She manages to regain her footing just in time for the creatures to burst from the surf, "Incoming!" she calls out as she jumps back narrowly avoiding the winged cat lizard creature intent on rending her in two.

Jumping back though is a problem when you are standing at the edge of the raft though, which Takako realizes a bit too late, "Oh no." she says before *SPLOOSH* she disappears into the water.

A moment passes, then another, as the creature stands at the edge of the raft growling in the direction of where it's prey disappeared before in a giant spray of water a giant arm glowing with that same wispy white mystical energy seen around Takako earlier breaks the surface and grabs the creature in a crushing death grip. It is follow by the rest of Takako, covered in muck as she breaks the surface of the water now gargantuan in size, easily two hundred and fifty feet tall with the river only coming up to her waist as she wades along next to the raft.

The creature in her hand is crushed within her crasp until the cracking of bones can be heard and its ichor oozes out between her fingers before she casts it aside dropping it into the water.

"Ugh this is disgusting!" comes her booming voice from above as she tries to wipe the sludge from the river off of herself accidently causing some of it to rain down on the raft. She then, focusing for a moment, changes her uniform again until it resembles a wet suit instead in the same color scheme.

Stephen Strange has posed:
The water panthers are swiftly dispatched, their remains either visibly rotting on the raft or sinking back into the churning muck of the river. Amanda's spell clears the smog around the raft for the moment, the winds rushing forth to part the smog. The tall sailing ship up ahead is visible for a moment, as well as the blighted lungs suspended beyond it before they wheeze forth another cloud of putrid air and the world around them vanishes once again.

"Maxa'xak!" the man in his furs shouts, still screaming in terror despite the water panther creatures being dead or dying. It becomes clear all too quickly that it is not the dragon-cats he is speaking of. The water itself begins to boil, shifting and churning as though something impossibly large stirs beneath. Takako will feel it first, the brush of something the width of a school bus running by her ankle. The bubbling of the foetid waters as they explode suddenly upwards in a torrent of filth!

It looks like a snake, though its head is crowned with a pair of jagged and bloodied horns. It thrusts itself upwards from the waters, overturning the rowboat and sending its undead crew toppling into the water with a plaintive shriek. A pair of baleful eyes size up Takako for a moment and then it lunges at her, twisting through the air to try and bind the giant woman. All the while it lashes out with fangs that drip a corrosive venom, droplets of the stuff falling towards the raft and biting into its surface. Where each drop lands, the surface begins to rust and wear away as though overcome with decades of exposure to the elements all in a matter of seconds.

The fight is titanic, the waters froth and sway, throwing the raft hither and yon.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Scabbard in one hand, Grass Cutter in the other, Alexander does a quick look from comrade to comrade, pale ethereal eyes flitting from point to point to point. Until he's satisfied they're secure, matters are in hand for the moment.
    Then it's Amanda's voice calling down and he looks up, shielding his vision with a forearm and blinking a few times. She tells them they need to fly and he tells her, "I can't!"
    He spreads his arms wide and shrugs as if to say that this raft-riding. This is it for him most likely. Unless some other circumstance emerges. Such as a giant Japanese woman.
    "Oh hey! Gimme a lift?" And down there on that boat she'll well see the young Olympian hopping up and down and waving with that ancient sword.
    Until the water surges, the nasty murky waves washing over the raft and causing he vessel to pitch and tilt and roil. For a time the youth has all he can handle in maintaining his balance, and even then dropping to one knee for an instant, the hand holding the scabbard dropping down to steady him.
    There's that rush of the serpent, the splatter of venom that falls upon the surface of the raft, washing over the Olympian's hand and causing him to wince abruptly and clasp that arm to his chest as he grimaces with furrowed brow.
    "Amanda!" He shouts, the sleeve of his overshirt withered away by entropy and the last two nails of his hand grown long from whatever temporal wasting away caused by that monstrosity's venom. "Get me at that thing!" He points with the sword. As if she might be able to help him.

Sera has posed:
Sera seems rather pleased with the death of the creature, despite how disgusting it is. But the sudden eruption of the giant snake creature has the raft churning and moving around, then corroding from drips of the venom, "By the goddess!." Her eyes look searching overly the group before them, some wounds already taken by the first wave.

"Julie," she calls out. The first time she met her she was impressed with her fighting abilities and also .. gave her wings. Amanda is already flying. She can fly. Perhaps some water walking for others.. so much work to be done and Takako is already getting the squeeze on.

"Right!," she says to herself, surfing on the raft as it is rapidly disintegrating. Her hands shoot out toward Julie as she begins to sing a similar song that she uses on herself, the same one she used on Julie last time. Glowing white magical wings erupt from her back like once before. "Take flight." Her eyes glance around to the others, "Uh.. may be.. water walking?" Her wings begin to beat, to keep her above the churn and sloshing of the gross water.

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie is annoyed, as her tattered tank top grows even more ruined at the splashing water, not to mention the rest of her clothes. She pulls out some bandages from her pocket and tries taping herself up, "If I get sick from this, I'm gonna haunt the _shit_ out of somebody." She mutters. Then a giant-ass snake shows up and Amanda suggests everyone fly. "Oh, honey, I WISH I could!" She calls out, irritably just as Sera's voice suddenly reminds her.

    Then wings sprout out of her back, conveniently between the shoulder gaps of her sports bra. Tearing off the remains of her shirt, Julie tosses it aside before she does exactly as Sera says, taking flight.

    "HELL YEAH! WOO! THank you Sera! I owe you after this!" She calls out with a grin, as the raft disintegrates bellow. One of these days, she's gonna need to figure out how to fly on her own.

    The Martial artist zips and zags around the snake, slamming into its side with a bone-crushing kick. Then again, snake skeletons are a bit more complex, aren't they?

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Opponent properly dispatched, the wolf proceeds to shake himself dry. The visual of blood vanishing as he does so but in an odd turn about, no droplets actually fly off of him.

Hearing Amanda's plea for them to take flight, the wolf takes a running start, leaping up high into the air and just lingering in the air as his form shifts, gray, brown, and white fur turning into purplish black feathers while the form becoming smaller as he becomes more raven like, the bandana seemingly shrinking down in size as well.

All bad timing as the snake presents itself. The bird looks down to the snake and then over to the lungs. Which don't look healthy at all. "I think we're supposed to do something about that..." He pauses, frowning, "I could try Raphael's Flask on those," He states to Amanda, "But I would have to change back to the non-bird me."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
The magelight disappears as Amanda dodges flying acid and debris -- not to mention a surging serpent and the Asian warrior it's trying to eat. Swooping away from the snake's coils, she heeds Alexander's call, enchanting one of the street signs that form the raft's decking to bear him aloft and heed his desire to fly. She trusts Julie to Sera's powers, seeing that Sera can use her own wings. As Mike appears at her side, she looks at him, nodding in response to his words. "I can fix that," she tells him, raising her hands to levitate large orange construction sign and transform it into a second hoverboard.

Once conjured, the boards are linked to the men they serve, drawing energy from the mystical realm that surrounds them to sustain its spell, rather than being something she must sustain indefinitely. They won't survive a transition to the real world (sorry, boys), but they will get them airborne in this place.

Once assured they're aloft and in the fight, she rises higher, firing a series of magic blasts along the serpent's long flank... until she realizes she's holding a mystical artifact meant to *hit* things.

She looks at the bat for a moment... and then at the monster. The innate caution that is usually her hallmark takes a step back and, channelling her inner Kurt, she gives an almost cheerful shrug. In the next heartbeat, she's bulleting straight for the snake, pulling the bat back to smash against its skull. As she swings, a virtually identical doppleganger appears on the opposite side of the snakes head. Together, they slam their bats into the monster, a loud *CRACK* resounding as wood makes contact with scales.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
Takako's drawn by the surge of water and she turns back from looking at the lungs and ship just in time to see the the massive horned serpent lunging for her. At her size it is like being attacked by a Burmese python, if a Burmese python had sharp horns to slash with and corrosive venom!

The reactions of a trained fighter are swift as one hand darts out to seize the creature just below its head and try to keep those horrible dripping jaws at bay even as some of the venom falls on to her arm and begins eating holes through the protection of her suit.

She is not quite fast enough to stop the extremely agile creatures body from wrapping around her though, pinning her other arm to her side as she struggles against the beast's coils. This situation is not looking especially good for her.

Until that is the serpent's head gets double clobbered by two opposing batters allowing just enough give for her to get her other arm free.

Stephen Strange has posed:
The thrashing waters and the venom dripping from Maxa'xak's maw practically tear the raft apart, the disparate chunks of it sinking beneath the frothing waves. The serpent hisses, recoiling in pain as the two Amandas strike it about the head with the baseball clubs. Its mouth opens wide, flailing angrily as it does. The baleful eyes roll, opalescent eyelids rolling upwards to cover and protect them from harm. Amazingly, the serpent appears to still be partly concealed beneath the waters. The tip of its tail emerges from the other side of where the raft used to be, slicing through the air towards Julie and Alexander.

Up ahead, the hovering lungs have become more visible through the smog. They grow and contract more quickly now, as though whatever giant creature they belong to is breathing harder. The air grows thicker and fouler, the clouds of smoke rolling across the water and rising up in grasping, grey-green tendrils towards the now-airborne heroes!

Through the clouds, the shriek of hideous birds can be heard. They dart through, scabrous and rotting - their wings choked with the toxic sludge of the river. But still they fly, lashing out with iron-hard beaks and claws at the group. A pulsing, living horde of rapacious, predatory death!

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Leaping upon the now floating stop sign hoverboard, Alexander takes a moment to acclimate, to swirl back and forth, swooshing one way, then the other. For an instant his smile returns, just a twitch alongside the corner of his mouth as he shakes his head and then murmurs quietly, "Cool."
    Just in time for him to lift his eyes and see the battle getting well and truly underway with the great monstrosity. Crouching low upon that board it'll whoosh upwards, flying across the distance, the scabbard of the weapon tossed aside as he shifts his grip to both hands upon Grass Cutter's haft. While the Maxa'xak rears and battles and fights, the son of Ares peers at it, then looks across the way toward the others.
    "I'm gonna try something!"
    And with that he flies toward the lungs!

Sera has posed:
Sera's eyes widen at the onslaught of enemies. The giant snake.. well, if Takako doesn't pass out from the squeeze they might have a chance of dealing with that soon. But these flying creatures. Nope! Time to cover a line. Flying up she sees the giant lungs and the ship, her thoughts puzzled by what she witnesses. Is their mission to destroy the lungs, or cleanse them perhaps.. they are the lungs of the city? that's how these metaphors work right? they need help perhaps. Decaying birds first!

Sera lifts her hands up and then claps them together. The vibration from the clap shimmering in the air from her magical power as she humms to it and starts to sing to the pulsing beat she just made. The light around her dims as the line of light in front of her brightens immensely. It starts to take on a jagged appearance, writhing and twisting like lightning trapped in place.. which is what it is. She lets it go and it hovers in the air. The thrummm of electricity from it becoming audible before it suddenly lashes out like a tesla coil, striking at any bird stupid enough to come near.

Kzzzt KZzzt like a bug zapper, the birds unaware of the danger they face are left a sizzling mess that falls to the waters below.

Calling out to Alexander, Sera says, "And by try do you mean clean or kill those lungs? because.. I'm leaning towards clean! ..also what's with that ship?!"

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie is hit hard by the tail of the snake, sending her spiraling toward the waters. She tries to reorient herself, and propels herself towards Alexander. "waitwaitwait!" She calls out, smacking a bird that tries clawing at her leg out of the air. "I don't think you know what you're doing here!"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
It's an odd sight. God of Fear and a raven using hoverboards. But with the flight factor taken care of and trusting his teammate's work in flight, the raven grows taller, turning back to his old form. Scar on right forearm, ballcap on head, bandana around nose, and all. All in time to realize what Alexander meant about trying something.

"HEY WAIT!" He snaps, The leans forward towards Alexander, board taking the cue to move into that direction rapidly. "I got an idea what that something is and before you try that something let me try my something because it'll be easier for you to correct for mine than me to correct for yours!"

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda glances up at the cawing of the incoming birds. Her doppleganger does the same exact movement at the same exact time.

Creepy.

But she/they decide/s the birds are best dealt with by others. Her/their attention returns to the snake.

Coming around for another up at bat, trying to stay out of Takako's way as she frees herself from the coils, the Daytripper Twins pull back their bats once more and start whaling down on the snake's skull again... and again... and again. It may be protecting its eyes with those opalescent lids, but maybe she/they can give it a concussion.

Better yet, maybe Takako can give it a concussion! Or even split its skull. Two giant Asian warriors have *got* to be better than one, right?

"Hey!" Amanda shouts to the giantess, "Try this!" Her words are echoed by her doppleganger. Except, of course, that the doppleganger doesn't speak English. The words are in Samoan, instead: "Ei! Taumafai lenei!"

Amanda bullets on an eldritch wind towards Takako's nearest hand, dropping the bat into it as she goes. Her doppleganger flies with her... disappearing the instant the bat leaves her hand.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
"Urgghrr." an unintelligable grunt escapes Takako as she continues to struggle with Maxa'xak's coils. With her second arm unpinned though the situation has improved dramatically as she begins laying a series of vicious elbows into the creature with the arm that isn't holding the venom dripping maw at bay.

She winces as the venom begins to eat through her protective suit of her other arm and into her flesh, "Ow ow ow," clearly a new plan is in order if she values the continued function of that arm.

And then there is Amanda, dropping a tiny bat into her hand, barely a splinter at Takako's current size. Until that is it touches her palm and becomes a full sized bat for a two hundred fifty foot tall young woman!

As she goes to swing the at the head of Maxa'xak sure enough a /second/ two hundred fifty foot bat wielding Takako appears! "Chew on this!" she informs the great horned serpent, as she swings the bat for its head. "Mastica esto!" shouts her apparently Spanish speaking doppleganger as it does the same.

The two bats come together with a sickening crunch, but the creature still stands. The Takako Twins are far from finished though as using the momentum and follow through they come around again and AGAIN for a second and third strike!

The third time's the charm apparently as Maxa'xak's skull finally gives beneath the onslaught, crushed like an overripe melon between the massive bats. Its serpentine body going slack like cut rope as the life leaves it and it begins to sink beneath the surface.

Stephen Strange has posed:
As Alexander flies towards the lungs, the fell birds swarm about him. They peck and scratch, trying their hardest to bleed him. But though they are possessed of a hideous, otherworldly determination they are still little more than birds. As the Olympian passes over the sailing ship in the waters below, a cry of alarm goes up from the deck. The barking of muskets is heard, and lead shot hisses through the air. Some of the birds are struck, shrieking as they topple down into the muck below. But other shots are aimed at the young man, and they burn with the baleful energies of the world between worlds.

Maxa'xak, dead or badly wounded (it is difficult to tell), sinks back down beneath the sludge. It's coils slowly unfurl, undoing the hideous knot of its existence as the foetid waters consume it. The birds seem and the gunmen on the sailing ship's deck seem fixated on Alex, and already the smog from the lungs is growing thicker and thicker to the point that the very air seems unbreathable to all but Mike in his protective red bandana.

The waters of the river rage below, a veritable horde of the cougar-dragons that beset the raft breaking the surface and lashing out with claws at the air. The waters go from slow moving sludge to foaming torrent, though still sickly and clogged with garbage.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Flipping the sword around in a reverse grip, Alexander responds over his shoulder with a casual aplomb that might be terrifying in entirely its own right, let alone something murmured by the god of fear. For he says, "I actually know entirely what I'm doing."
    Birds slash at his face, across his arms, tearing parts of his clothes to ribbons and spattering them with blood until the stop sign whirls around and abruptly /up/ into the mass of bird-like muck-driven creatures that slash towards him. Alexander grabs the side of the sign and /holds/ it to his feet in some skate-move straight out of the 80s. There's the rapid /wham-ba-bam-bam-thump-thump-thump-thud!/ of repeated bird corpses crashing right into it. Then just as he's about to lose momentum the sign arcs back down to catch him as he slashes across the distance toward the lungs, several birds still slashing towards his face, a flash of blood slicing across his cheek, the side of his neck as he winces.
    There is that rapid-fire crackle of muskets igniting, rounds sizzling across the distance toward him, a ballshot slices over the cord of muscle half between shoulder and neck as he grimaces and favors that side now.
    "It just isn't a nice thing. But whatever you're gonna do, do it fast, or else I'll do my thing."

Sera has posed:
Sera flies up a little higher away from the thrashing and danger of the waters below. The giant serpent crashing back down in to the water.. but too many birds still. They are focused on protecting the lungs it seems and if not Alexander, than Mike. They have ideas, they intend to try them. She watches Alexander braving the pain as the birds are ripping at him.

She circles around slowly trying to understand what is happening .. trying to remember a particular song. "The pied piper. It bled through to this reality too," she murmurs to herself and glides near her lightning rod and begins to sing. Her light fading further as she sings a song to the birds.

One by one the birds begin to hear her song and turn away from Alexander, turn away from their defence and fly o the shiny angel. The bolt of lightning lashes out wildly.. crack CRACK.. b-BOOM crack as it lights up the sky blasting bolts of lightning at the dozens of birds flocking toward her. Slowly the power of the lightning bolt begins to fade though, even the angels magic is not unlimited.

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie tries to fend off the birds, grabbing one by the neck and twisting to snap its neck before hurling the body at its friends. She's -covered- in scratches and bruises. Unfortunately, blood loss and the smog in the air are choking the life out of her moment by moment. She starts to go fuzzy. "If anybody has some ideas, right now would be a great time to do it!" She suggests 'helpfully', reminding the stakes. "'cause right now, I can barely see five feet-" A coughing fit interrupts Julie before she can finish, but she wheezes out something sounding like "in front of me."

    At least the birds stopped harassing the group.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Got it." Mike returns, zipping past Alexander as the bandana has apparently given him a pass from what protects the lungs. As they reach the lungs, Mike's pacing slows as he takes a deep breath. "One thing to ask, a tone demure." He starts, voice calmly continuing, a hand held away from the rest of his body as if holding something unseen, "Raphael's flask, give me a cure."

He tilts forward, gliding towards the lungs, repeating the phrase once more calmly. "One thing to ask, a tone demure. Raphael's flask, give me a cure." A moment of quiet comes from him before he brings the hand forward, extending a finger towards the lungs all for a bzap of something akin to built up static electricity hitting the giant organ. He looks to the lungs hopefully.

Mike considers something. "Fuck it." He takes a deep breath, reaching up to untie the bandana and flies forward to press it against the lungs.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Sputtering on increasingly sour air, Amanda grimaces and grits her teeth. She blinks her eyes rapidly, tears stinging them, trying to clear the rising chemical haze that burns them. She can see the writhing forms of the chimeras below. Maintaining altitude is a priority. Finding breathable air is a priority.

She soars toward Sera as the lighting fades out and the birds fall away. Maybe together, they can come up with enough magic between them to setup a small oasis of breathable atmosphere. Maybe together... if she can get air enough to ask the question.

She really hopes Mike's tactic works... because she's pretty sure they're out of options.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
The massive forms of the bat wielding Takako Twins slog through the river displacing a fair amount of water and sending waves in their wake as they stride towards the ship. What would otherwise be a longer journey is accomplished in only a few strides by their massive gaits. They each hold up a hand attempting to protect their faces from the birds in that weird sort of twin mirror action that's a little eerie.

"Stop shooting my friends!" She bellows at the sailors, in sync with "Deja de disparar a mis amigas!" from her doppleganger.

Once they are in range looming over the boat on either side though, the bats come up again and then both swing down down with vicious overhead swings. The bats slam into the deck of the ship with brutal force splintering wood and scattering sailors in their wake.

Stephen Strange has posed:
The ship falls beneath the wrath of the Takako Twins! The bats split the great sailing barque down the middle, both sides lurching and sinking into the mire. The crewmen, skeletal and hideous, throw themselves from the side and disappearing with a corrosive sizzle. The lungs breathe heavily, the smog so thick now that no oxygen remains.

As the magic of the flask coupled with the bandana itself contacts the lungs, the entirety of reality as it pertains to this dark, putrid dimension shudders. The lungs themselves are tumorous and draped with rotted flesh, but soon a wash of white light begins to spread over the rancid surface. Grey-green flesh becomes a ruddy pink run through with blue, spreading outwards across until the entire set of colossal, disembodied lungs seem rid of their illness. At once they seize, shrinking and tightening as though whatever great beast they belong to is holding its breath.

Then, a scream.

The white light that once bathed the lungs now washes outwards. As it passes over the smog, the thick smoke dissipates. The waters below become clear and crystalline blue. The air fresh and crisp. The creatures churning in the water hiss and growl, sinking down into the depths and dissipating like a handful of sand. The white light spreads outwards, washing over everything and everyone. A blinding flash.

And then they are falling through nothingness ...