2682/Joy Ride

Joy Ride
Date of Scene:	29 July 2020
Location:	Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Two spirits of vengeance and a clairvoyant soul converge to address murder most foul on the streets of Brooklyn.
Cast of Characters:	Johnny Blaze, Ruth Aldine, Robbie Reyes

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Johnny Blaze has posed:
The moon is half-obscured tonight behind clouds, casting only a dim, pale light over the streets of Brooklyn.

Running down one of those streets is a man whose eyes are wide and bloodshot, glancing constantly back over his shoulder as he dives down a side street to catch his breath, hiding behind a dumpster.

The low rumble of a muscle car grows louder, and a flashlight shines down the side street.

"There you are, you filthy mongrel," someone in the car says. Others laugh.

The man breathlessly begs for mercy. He tries to run, but the car squeals to life--even as it ends his beneath its wheels. The moonlight reveals a custom painted hood of a large silvery dagger.

That was ten minutes ago.

Not too far away, Johnny Blaze sits up from the cot he'd been sleeping in, tucked away in the back of a gas station. Just as he rubs his eyes, his head bursts into flames, the skin on his face flaking off to reveal the grinning skull beneath.

He walks toward his bike, its tires similarly catching aflame, and he rides, compelled, toward the site of the murder.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
She dreams of death.

No matter the time of day; morning, noon, evening, twilight hours of the night she dreams of it. If the situation was significant, it would come in waves and droves, and if it were the most significant, Ruth would be there in the vicinity. Not that it called her to try to stop it, but it called her to be there and bear witness. So it was no wonder that Ruth was out there in the middle of the night. Xavier's doesn't keep restrictions on their students who are of age and considered adult. As long as they weren't walking loose cannons and needed to be watched every waking second. Ruth was one of those types that kept to herself, and with that, it made her invisible. Sneaking out of the house was nothing.

Her outward visage was regular. Jeans and a T-shirt. Cane extended to pretend that she truly was blind and couldn't see a thing. Glasses tucked tight against her face, little pieces fitted to hide the fact that she had -no- eyes what-so-ever.

Upon the curb she sat, while it could be considered out in the open, it really was not. She had the perfect view, settled in between two cars, leaning upon her cane..allowing her clairvoyance to draw her into the throes of high emotions and threat. She can see everything.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
A hunt is often done alone....but the hunt in the moonlight is made far more enjoyable when other hunters enjoy the competition. Robbie Reyes had just dropped off his little brother back at home when his head slowly turned in the direction of the murder site.

<You thinkin' what I'm thinkin', kid?>

Robbie's eyes danced with hellfire and suffering, a grin touching his features as his hand on the steering wheel of the Hellcharger grew tighter, the sound of leather gloves stretching. "Lets go."

The engine roared to life as Robbie drove, his skull catching on fire until it was not but a mechanical, yet no less evil-looking, skull wreathed in the flames of the pit, the wheels igniting, the car changing until both are a monsterous shift of their former selves.

He noticed Ruth, but she would most likely notice him. And Blaze, as well.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
A muscle car cruises down the street where Ruth sits. It passes her, but then stops and reverses slowly, the four individuals inside all but hanging out of the windows to look in her direction.

"Say there," the young man in the front passenger seat says with a leer, "you may want to go on inside. There's bad people out tonight."

"Hell, Mack," the man behind him chimes in, "you know the /only/ people out tonight are bad people."

"And you know what we do to bad people," the driver cackles.

'Mack' reaches into his pocket for something, but then a fiery demonic car appears in the distance.

All four inhabitants of the car loudly spout some obscenity, and the driver hits the gas, shifting gears to try and roll out as quickly as possible. The smell of rubber lingers behind it.

Coming toward the scene from a cross-street is another flaming vehicle with a skull-headed rider at the helm. Looking at the fleeing car, and then toward Reyes, Blaze coasts to Ruth, the burning wheels popping and flickering about as he stops, one foot on the ground to prop up the chopper.

"You ... you know something," the biker says in a raspy voice. "I can smell death in the air--but you are not its cause. What do you know?"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Okay..

Her dreams didn't show her this. Perhaps that's the reason why she came. Once again, bearing witness to what the world has to offer. Interefering? Nope!

Robbie passes her in all his flaming glory, right when she was about to rise, he hit. The other car approaches, and as the men inside speaks to her, she remains silent. She wasn't about to be killed this day! But as they take off, another rider approaches. Now is when she rises, the cane soon sectioned off into parts and shoved into her back pocket.

"Sorry. I know a lot, yes." That was in general, her speaking to.. a flaming man of walking death when another just passed was.. absurd. And unique.

"Your brother just followed. Thank you." Without invitation, she tries her best to hop upon the bike, with no fanfaire or closeness which would include her putting her cheek to his back. No, if she were upon the back of the bike (hopefully avoiding the flames), she would hold on tight to that leather jacket so she doesn't fall.

"That way. Thank you." She points towards the direction Robbie and the men went. Multitasking in the absurd way that she does. "They are scared, yes. But they are confident that they will get away. But you have a brother, yes."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie keeps charging forward....and likely gaining on the fleeing suspects. To such a point that Ghost Rider sticks his head out the window of his car with his Hellfire chain, thath appens to have very sharp knives on both ends, and it roars a demonic sound that would make the average person or weak-willed individual immediately piss themselves. Thankfully, nobody here is an average person.

He has no knowledge of any 'brother' he might have, which is why its probably good that Robbie isn't quite in earshot of Ruth when she talks to Johnny.

Ghost Rider continues to build up speed, let the fear build...because its time for them to pay for their sins ahead of time.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
At the mention of a brother, Blaze lets a humorless chuckle vocalize. "However you wanna call it, lady. But a lot of people happen to look alike." He makes no move to stop her sitting on the bike but glances over his shoulder. "Hold on for dear life," the raspy voice continues.

Then, the bike roars to life, popping a quick wheelie, and Blaze's chopper leaves a trail of flame behind them as they race off in the direction of Reyes and the fleeing murderers.

Three of those murderers are staring in horror at Robbie's quickly-gaining car. They continue to shout obscenities over one another. Only the driver seems to have any self-control, but even he's glancing back far too frequently in his side mirror. He wrenches the steering wheel hard to the right, trying to lose Reyes. The car screeches and almost lifts up on one side, but it holds strong.

As the car rights itself, an unfortunate homeless person careens over the hood and rolls over onto the asphalt behind it.

"...right on our asses, man!" one of the passengers shrieks.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth doesn't comment. She saw..sees what she sees. There was another flaming skulled man, but this one was in a car.

"They hate us, yes." She says quietly, still piggy-backing on minds, jumping from one person to the next, -carefully- avoiding that wayward travel that would touch Robbies. Avoiding it at all costs.

She does finally hold on for dear life, which is a clutch at the waist and a cheek against the back, there was no reason to close her eyes, but she does grit her teeth. The wheelie causes her cane to fall to the ground, but she doesn't moves to grab it. The chopper was already on a tear so it was considered a lost cause.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Telepathic assault on Robbie Reyes is a horrible idea, unless Ruth really wants to meet Eli Morrow.

Hint: Nobody does.

As Robbie notices the extremely sharp turn and someone getting hit by the car, Robbie drifts next to the homelessman and uses his chain to help pick him up off of the ground and carefully slide him over to the side, reducing his speed.

In response, and in rage, Ghost Rider puts petal to the metal and that engine roars to life once again...though speaking of engines, Robbie looks in his rear view and growls when he notices...another Ghost Rider?

That can't be right.

But, he's not the target. These punks in the car are. So...if Robbie can get close enough, he'll lob a ball of Hellfire at the punk's car wheels, perhaps forcing them to wreck if used properly?

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The front wheels explode from the hellfire's white-hot impact, and the car launches forward, trunk over engine, smashing the car's roof against the street. The vehicle skids along the asphalt for a quarter of a block, sparks flying from the metal grinding against the blacktop.

Groggily, three of the four in the car try to free themselves and crawl out, scrapes bloody and bruises already forming. One vomits, and another hugs a broken arm to his chest. The driver hangs motionless in his seat.

The underside of the car bursts into flames.

Blaze and Ruth begin to close the distance, now that the pursuit has ended. The motorcycle rider stops far enough away that, should the car explode, they wouldn't be affected. "You out for vengeance, too?" the skull-faced man asks his passenger. "If not, I wouldn't recommend getting any closer."

He flips the kickstand and swings his leg over to stand up. "Me ... I've got some penance to dish out."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
The way her clairvoyance works when it's directed to itself is that she's ahead by two seconds.

That time allows her to feel as if she were moving in real time to avoid anything that would trip her up, to stay ahead of the game to clear a path..

So when the car crashes and makes the racket of metal smacking concrete, it echoes to Ruth, who flinches just before the impact. There was even the rush of an echoed scream, which thankfully she pulled herself out of, from the mind of the man she was currently tracking.

"Uh oh.. sorry.." She mutters, and as soon as the chopper was at a standstill, she waits for the skeletal man to move so that she could swing one leg over and remain seated.

"I do not know how to get vengence. Thank you." Bland as ever, Ruth was going to do what she's told. Not to mention, she was going to sit back and watch the family reunion unfold.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie Reyes watches as the car completely wreckes itself from his well-timed shot. The skulls 'eyes' narrow as he drifts to a stop, the tire tracks even flame with the infernal. All the same, Ghost Rider exits the car and moves towards two of the ones who escaped, growling as the chain drags behind him. Without hesitation though, he reaches to literally tear the driver out of the car. In one piece is one story..in pieces, likely.

He drove the car after all.

The others are guilty by association until he can get a read on their souls.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Blaze nods to Ruth. "That's alright. I do. If you see anything else that matters, holler."

He walks toward the car as well, the knuckles in his hand cracking audibly as he squeezes it into a fist. As the seemingly healthiest of the passengers pulls himself to his feet and tries to lumber away, Blaze grabs a chain belted around his waist. It comes loose and, with a swing of his arm, lashes out to wrap about the fleeing passenger's ankle.

The man slams face-first on the ground with a rush of breath and a choked sob. He groans something incomprehensible, rolling over onto his back.

The driver, meanwhile, is ripped handily from his seat by Reyes, his seatbelt offering only momentary resistance before there's a snapping sound near the base of the man's spine, his legs going limp. The sharp pain causes the man to regain consciousness just in time to look at Robbie's flaming skull--at which point he begins sobbing uncontrollably. "Please ... please ...!"

The other two passengers crawl, slowly, away from the burning car. The one who'd vomited lolls his head about, eyes unfocused. The other wheezes loudly, like his ribs have cracked. He glances toward Ruth and the demon-bike. He begins to say something, reaching out in her direction, but then he passes out cold.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"It all matters. Yes." Ruth says, but she was sure that the man-demon-skeleton person wouldn't understand.

But still, she watches in that odd way, her chin tilting left and right, hearing echoes of sounds and visions of things that happen right before they happen.

"LOOK!" She says to the both of them. Her hands stretching out to point toward either one of them or in the general direction. If they looked.. well..

As the man reaches out towards Ruth, she stiffens, carefully leaning forward to slide off of the bike, her body crouching ever so slightly as she nearly crab walks to where the man passes out. It was a sad state of things really.. she -almost- wanted to help. But it looks like the men-demon-skeleton monsters weren't killing them.. but.. terrifying them? She couldn't tell, and practically didn't wantto.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie holds the driver in his hands, gripping him by the collar.

Instead of listening to his pleas, Ghost Rider just keeps his attention firmly on him. "Look into my EYES!" Robbie says in a demonic voice.

The Penance Stare.

He's going to make this man relieve everything he's ever done...while also looking into his soul to see if he's worthy of the punishment. If he is...he will suffer like all others have suffered. Sooner or later, God's gonna cut you down.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
A flood of memories burst forth for Reyes and the driver alike to experience (again).

A gang that found its niche looking to religious zealots like the Silver Dagger. Who modeled themselves after him--targeting monsters that threatened civilization.

A gang that found its identification of said monsters broadening beyond 'monsters' to 'marginalized'. With the driver, Shane, buying in hard to the ideology, seeing himself as protecting and improving his neighborhood.

Hurting. Terrorizing. Killing ... all in the name of 'goodness'.

Shane's a blubbering mess, snot and tears streaming down his face and chin.

"...sorry, I'm so, so, so, sorry..."

A similar tableau unfolds nearby, as Blaze stares into the eyes of Shane's pal Mack.

Leaving Mack on the ground, Blaze frees his chain-whip and turns toward Ruth and her call for him to look. He strides quickly to reach the one who's conscious, even if barely so. The Ghost Rider grabs his hair and holds his head up so that he might meet the man's eyes. The man slips into unconsciousness.

Blaze lets go and stands. He calls out to Reyes. "I didn't expect ... /this/. Whatever it is. But I figure you're on the same mission I am."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
She reaches out to touch the unconscious man; and while she had no penance stare, she saw her own version of events from the 'criminal'. How his life started, where he mixed in with the wrong crowd, the Silver Daggers.. the incidents of this night. If she could fast forward, she would have.. but just the thought of.. those types nearby her actually hurt her soul. She moves away from the fallen man to fall upon her own bottom, scooting herself back and away from him, her knees curling up to wrap her arms around them to hug tight. She was a little bit angry.

She keeps her clairvoyant gaze away from the two, keeping her head turned in the opposite direction as she begins to rock back and forth. Finally, family sees each other and she's a touch happy about that. But.. still.. what a lesson learned. Not everyone is .. well.. nice.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Ghost Rider sees the memories of this man and it sickens him to his core. This man should go forth and rot in the deepest corner Hell has to offer. If he kept with the monsters....well, even monsters are people. He drops the man straight to the ground, anger in his eyes, before he leaves him there to his suffering.

Suddenly though, the other Ghost Rider is approaching him and Robbie steps forth. "Something like that. Punishing those who would feast on the innocent. A Spirit of Vengeance. Sound familiar?"

If Robbie is intimidated by Johnny's presence, he doesn't show an inch of it. "But I wasn't expecting this either. I thught I was the only one."