4033/It's dark over there, over here... well all over.

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It's dark over there, over here... well all over.
Date of Scene: 05 November 2020
Location: Bronx
Synopsis: Deviant encounters Eternal energy for the first time in a long time. Finds he has a taste for it.
Cast of Characters: Ray Terrill, Hyperion, Sara Pezzini




Ray Terrill has posed:
        Even after being in New York for a few months, it's easy to get lost. It's even easier when your primary mode of transport (other than the subway and bus) is aerial, and ... man, all the streets look the same! That said, a city block going dark -- not a power out age, but just flat out -black- is definitely going to get attention. "City that never sleeps, yeah? It's pitch black over there ... and well, I can definitely do something about that, right?" Of course, he's saying this to himself as he hits the breaks a little bit late -- ending up almost out over the ocean before he loops back around. This bit is seen from below as a streak of light flashing over the area .... then continuing ... then coming back.

Finally, The Ray hovers a few hundred feet above the city block, simply looking, at the moment.

Hyperion has posed:
    Wednesdays have a nickname. Hump day, as if getting over the hump of the middle of the week, and implying the rest of the week is all downhill. However, this night.. the city that never sleeps seems to be... prematurely dark. Now, from a distance, some might think that this darkness is just a lack of street lights, a power outage or whatnot. But tonight, darkness is a more tangible thing.
    Sometimes there are times when humanity needs to be reminded of the origin of the term, "things that go bump in the night". And this is no exception. Not only can the lights not be seen from the distance, but light itself seems to be unable to penetrate the area. Even light starting in the area. Cell phone screens cannot be seen from an inch before the face. The whole block is on the verge of panic.
    Someone who has spent years being blind can compensate for the loss with other senses. But someone who has been blind for seventeen seconds is not going to have a layout of their house memorized by the feel of it. At least not most people. Conversely, someone has -caused- this, and for some reason that nobody currently is aware of. At least nobody outside of the cause itself....

Hyperion has posed:
    Up on high, The Ray can see that there is a flawless circle without any sort of light down below. Calls are coming in to 911 about this from both inside and outside of the zone of darkness. Others are investigating for whatever reason. Hyperion figures he might be able to use his own senses to ... if not penetrate the darkness, at least to somewhat mitigate it.
    He stands at the edge of what looks to be a dark dome, trying to pierce it with his hyper-senses... scowling as none of his visual based senses amount to anything. As far as he can see, there are -zero- EM energy readings coming out from the dome. That is damned weird.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
What is a Brooklyn girl doing in the Bronx? Sara wonders herself. Brooklyn has everything a girl needs but occasionally (this said with optimism) the Witchblade has its imperatives. It has taken months for the young detective to harmonize with the complex entity known by that name. It whispers to her in her sleep and at odd moments when she is focused on another task. The whisper came to her as she closed her eyes on the subway ride home.

Coming up out of the station, she can hear voices of people standing in the dark wondering aloud at the sudden blackout. The innocent bracelet of silver set with a red stone on her wrist pulses then lays quietly. With an adjustment to the gun holster under her black leather jacket, she takes a few steps further into the darkness, once catching a glimpse of silver streaking across the sky - an errant meteor over new York.

Ray Terrill has posed:
        "That's....really weird." The Ray flies down a bit towards the top of the dome and ... pauses. He's probably not near Hyperion -- it's a city block -- but likely visible as he's surrounded by a nimbus of light at the moment. He frowns and says, "Well, let me help light up the night, yeah?" He the suddenly begins to glow -- not as bright as the sun or anything, but definitely enough to be able to be seen from blocks away. This, though, causes him to blink when the light doesn't go past the dome. "Oookay?" He moves to place his hand past the barrier of the dome, still glowing brightly.

Hyperion has posed:
    Regardless of being near or not, different people approaching have different scents, different sounds. The dome seems to dampen some sounds as well as absorb all light. The Witchblade whispers to Sara about this. It seems... familiar, sorta. Maybe kinda. But the last time it encountered something like this was long ago. Like.. Ancient Egypt long ago. It involved the god of darkness, Seth. It wasn't JUST like this but... it is worrying for humans to be around it.
    Meanwhile, Hyperion stands like a statue, trying to make sense of this. And..now for the -really- weird part. It was growing, but just at tiny almost imperceptible speeds. Until the super bright light focused on it. It not only absorbed that light, but when it did, it expanded in all directions.
    Hyperion is swallowed up by it... for once caught off guard by the speed of the expansion.
    From within... a voice seems to emanate, from all of the darkness at once. "Oh. Such energy. You will make a good meal." it says, though who it is speaking to is difficult to discern.

Ray Terrill has posed:
        "Crap!" Is all The Ray's able to get out before he (and Hyperion) are suddenly swallowed by the dome. He blinks, and looks around. It's dark. He begins to breathe a bit rapidly, "No light oh crap, this isn't good...." He then pauses, "Meal? Not -even-." .oO(Gotta get out gotta get out gonna run out, crap!). For his part, The Ray is thinking as quickly as he can and trying very hard not to panic. He can tell cause and effect, and knows that his blast of light is what caused the dome to expand. So....he shoots straight upward, trying to escape the dome to get to where there's at least -some- light, since he's only got a few minutes of power in darkness as complete as this. .oO(Who is creepy voice talking to? Me? Was there someone else? Crap! Gotta get another charge and think!)

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The bracelet's grasp on her arm stops Sara short. 'Listen!' The word reverberates inside her like a huge bell ringing in the dark. Above her a bright light blossoms and dissipates in an odd way obscured by some unknown barrier.

Another step and the voice comes again, more imperative, 'LISTEN!' Sara stands still, placing herself against a storefront to keep out of the way of other people blundering through the dark.

A memory assails her - first a scent, the heavy smell of ceremonial myrhh. It resolves into an altar and the tall form of a striding man, his head blurry to her, holding an ankh and a staff. The first whiff of incense sends a shiver up Sara's back. She wills herself to see the man's head. What she sees makes her take a step back, wanting to flee.

Hyperion has posed:
    In fact, that incense... that is not a memory. Its smell -is- present right now. Floating out of the dome of shadow like an invisible mile marker.From within, the amused chuckle is followed by an angry growl.
    "I WILL NOT BE USED AS A POWER SOURCE AGAIN!" comes a cry from Hyperion's voice.
    And as The Ray pushes himself to depart, he finds that it's not as easy as it sounds. The fact that the darkness does not let light penetrate it means that for a long moment, his ability to fly isn't so much blocked as... it's like trying to push out through the padded walls of an asylum. They -give- a bit, but don't break right away. However... after a few seconds, the Light based Hero streaks skyward, knowing that he has expended so much power that he has only seconds left aloft... unless he can get a recharge.
    Meanwhile, the me mory coalesces for the cop with the Witchblade. A priest communing with what he thought to be his god of darkness... but what was in reality a living being... maybe unliving. Made of darkness. A being that was deformed and looked hideous. A being that was discussing an alliance with the priest when the bearer of the blade charged in to put a stop to their evil plans.
    The priest was dispatched, and the being of darkness fled, speaking words about "Darkness is ever present. The Deviants will rule this world someday and I will teach humans to fear the darkness once more!"
    The memory fades away, leaving one thing for certain. Whatever the cause of this is... it lies at the dead (pun intended) center of the dome.

Ray Terrill has posed:
        Lucky for The Ray, once he's -out- of the dome, the city lights around him will....give him something, at a minimum. It's enough to stay aloft. Probably not enough to do much more than fire a few blasts, if needed, but... "Okay. Think. Light doesn't work. It's like it's eating it. Growing from it. Man, I'm completely useless, here!" He pauses, then flies beyond the edge of the dome, a good few hundred feet away, and hovers about 30 feet up. "Okay, okay. Um. Man, neon feels so junky. Maybe..." He thinks, and then shoots another beam -- this time skyward, and not towards the dome. He shoots it a few hundred feet up and then quickly creates a globe -- filling it with light. The effect is to give a few seconds of bright light in the air -- similar to a flare. Once he's done that though, he's dropping to the ground, mostly under his own power, his uniform barely staying in one intact piece. If anyone is close, he looks -wiped-.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The smell of blood is sharp in the air, mixing with the myrhh. Memory and reality merge until Sara shakes herself, willing herself to leave the world of memory, the now needs her attention.

Above her she senses more than sees an orb of darkness. It only becomes visible when some distance from it light appears - a silent bloom of light that radiates in a circle, bright and steady for a minute then fading. Sara blinks against its intensity before it fades. The Witchblade urges her forward from her safe place. Down the sidewalk she goes, one hand in front of her, looking for the unknown.

Hyperion has posed:
    The flare gets some attention. The side of the dome closest to it churning and bubbling like it was boiling liquid. This has the unknown side effect of slowing down the draining of the cosmic energy from the Eternal contained within the shadows. What is darkness but the absence of light after all?
    Well, this is more than that. This is darkness that is palpable, that can -almost- be touched. That can be moved through of course as Detective Pezzini discovers. In fact, the moment she enters the field, that portion bubbling in the direction of the flare ceases all effects. It's almost as if the dark energy, the dome.. is quivering. The blade isn't the only thing that remembers. Sentient darkness remembers the blade.
    The voice comes again, and the sound of it is screeching. A good analogy for how it sounds would be those RAID insecticide commercials where the bugs screech, "RAID?!" in many voices at once.
    That is the tone that screeches the words, "THE BLADE!" And with that, the field quite literally winks out, leaving Hyperion on hands and knees, breathing heavily. Much of his power drained.... An Eternal with powers similar to any Kryptonian, and a living being that channels pure light. They didn't scare the thing. The -presence- of the police officer with the funky bracelet... that scared it.

Ray Terrill has posed:
        The Ray is half-bent over, in the middle of the street, panting faintly. Then the darkness vanishes and he looks up, "Wait...how?" The flare's gone, no one showed up....it just vanished? He looks around, and has enough power now that he can at least fly a little bit, and lifts up to see if anyone needs help. He sees Hyperion there, but it's obviously another superhero-type, so he's first looking to see if anyone else needs help. After all, the police scanner he bought was going off pretty hard.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The street returns to normal, the scent of mryhh vying for attention against frying oil from a local kabob shop and the ambient smell of car exhaust. A man floats in the air not far from Sara. Her eyes widen only slightly, she is becoming accustomed to the weirdness of life since the Witchblade came into it. Farther down the street, another form, caped, golden and black appears to be injured. Wary of the hovering man, Sara strides quickly to the kneeling man, "Are you hurt? Can I help you?"

Hyperion has posed:
    In fact, there are remarkably few civilians, bystanders. Most folks didn't try to go outside if they could not see. There is however, one young man standing out on the sidewalk.. at a bus stop no less. For a moment, it seems like a mystery how he got there. Then that cane in his hand that is resting against the curb as if to let him know where said curb is... registers. Of course, in the land without light, only a blind man can see.
    
    "Not hurt. Weak." remarks Hyperion as he takes another breath, pushing himself upwards so that instead of hands and knees, he is resting on his knees. "Felt... a psychic presence there at the end. Whatever was doing the darkness... was acting as a conduit for another. But.. what blade was it screaming about?" he asks.
    Meanwhile ambulances and police cars roll up behind The Ray, emergency personnel pouring out and pausing when they see that nothing really appears to need medical help, no looting, no damage. Just scared people. And one man waiting for a bus.

Ray Terrill has posed:
        Once he realizes there really isn't anyone needing help, he lands not far from the blind man and says, "I'm sorry, sir, I think the bus may be a bit late. There's some bad traffic out there, but I think it's clearing up soon." Not really a lie, strictly... He then half-jogs over towards where Hyperion and Sara are, repeating, "Hey, dude. You okay? That was ...." Terrifying. Exhausting. Something he couldn't handle. "That was pretty nuts. Did you get hurt?" He hears that and says, "Oh, not hurt. That's good." He still sounds tired, but recovering.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Smug. That is the feeling that Sara receives from the Blade. But with emergency vehicles arriving and police leaving their car doors open as they spill into the street, she has no time to explore the reason behind the smugness. Red and white lights paint the buildings as the police light bars flash their presence.

They are not exactly inconspicuous, the golden masked man in blinding white next to the caped man just rising from his knees. Sara holds out the badge that hangs from a lanyard around her neck, holding up her hand to the incoming police as if to say, 'I've got this!'

Approaching the two, she says, after a quick glance over her shoulder, "Unless you two want to get involved with the police, how about coming with me, unless you know what just happened?"

Hyperion has posed:
    The old blind man with the white hair turns towards The Ray and tilts his head, "This -is- the Excelsior line, isn't it?" he asks before being directed away to make sure he is okay.
    Meanwhile, Hyperion closes his eyes and stands up. "I feel... like I did before coming here. About that strong." he says with a shake of his head.
    He turns to regard the officers and shrugs, "I've no reason to fear dealing with the authorities. I am currently residing with the Avengers. I have nothing to hide. But..." He clenches his fists, "I do not like feeling my energy drained away. Do either of you know what -blade- the voice screamed about? I would love to know myself."

Ray Terrill has posed:
        A shake of his head is given to both Sara and Hyperion, although his masked eyes widen a bit at the word 'Avengers'. He's not unfamiliar, it seems. "Good to hear, sir." Yes, Hyperion ranks a sir. "I..." He frowns and says, "I'm going to be tired but I'll probably be fine, tomorrow. Just need to recharge, y'know?" He blinks at Sara and says, "Um, sure? I don't know anything about this, just...heard there was darkness, and well..." A hand goes behind his head, almost like he was going to mess with his hair, but hey, helmet. He pauses, then flushes faintly, "Anyway, I couldn't really do anything."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
"Is that what I heard?" Sara drops her badge, two fingers pushing back the cuff of her jacket to caress the bracelet on her wrist.

"I might," she says, looking between the two. "I don't have wheels or I would offer a ride to you two. It's up to you whether you want to talk to the police. Personally," lips pursed skeptically, "I wouldn't. But up to you. You're with the Avengers?" The question directed to Hyperion. "Are you?" A quizzical glance given to the Ray.

Hyperion has posed:
    "I wouldn't say -with- them." begins Hyperion. He shakes his head, "They are currently allowing me to reside with them is all. I am working towards my own... independence in this world."
    And Hyperion turns his eyes towards The Ray before inclining his head, "Well, you have a unique EM signature for sure. I am called Hyperion. I can already feel my strength being restored. But.." He looks down to Sara, inclines his head, and then looks to the law enforcement types in the distance. "If you recommend against it, then I shall avoid them. At least tell me your names." he suggests with one corner of his mouth turning up in a small smirk of bemusement.

Ray Terrill has posed:
        The Ray shakes his head pretty quickly, "Um, no officer." He saw the badge, "I'm not one of them. I just came to try to help." And then he's being asked for his name, "Oh! I'm The Ray...but I mean, Ray works fine." He's still awkward, "I've only been here a few months." he asks Sara, "I'm not breaking any laws, am I officer?" It sounds like he honestly isn't sure.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
"Unless you're selling something illegal on the street or were the reason for that blackout. Creepy blackout," she adds, unconsciously rubbing the cuff hiding the bracelet, with a faint shake of her head to Ray, a smile lurking in her eyes, "then no worries."

Glancing behind her again, she suggests, "Want to go into the kabob place or someplace else to get off the street? Oh! My name is Detective Pezzini. Sara. You can call me Sara if we're not on official business. I'd like to talk to you about what you heard."

Hyperion has posed:
    "So, you are an officer of the law... and you would recommend I -not- speak to the rank and file officers. Is this a... territorial dispute?" asks Hyperion.
    But either way, he offers a hand towards Sara, and then Ray. "Either way, it is an honor to meet you both. I tell you what Detective, do you have a card?" he asks, holding a hand out, "I should depart..." he says, his hyper-aware-senses catching the movement of the Detective's hand to her wrist, but having nothing to associate it with, he just doesn't really think it's anything worth noting.
    "Also you Ray. I would love to be able to reach you in the future. Whatever you both did, it likely saved my life. So I feel endebted to you."

Ray Terrill has posed:
        "I guess? I mean...I didn't really see or hear much. Something about eating." A beat, "Not kebabs, I mean..." He then blinks at Hyperion and flushes faintly, 'I mean, I just tried to ... well, I was trying to shoot up a flare so that someone who could do something about this could see it. I ..." He shakes his head, "I couldn't do anything, really." Ray does shake the offered hand though.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
"No, it's not a dispute." Sara takes his hand in a firm, dry grip. "It's just...experience. I don't think they would do more than take up your time."

After she drops his hand, she pulls a card from a pocket inside her jacket to hand to him. She takes out another to hand to the masked man whose manner seems younger than his appearance.

"Call me if you want to talk. My number is on it," she says to them both.

Hyperion has posed:
    Taking the card, Hyperion inclines his head. He doesn't say it, but his expression implies a disbelief that anything that the officers could do would worry him. After a long moment, he just nods, "Well, thank you for the cautionary words, and for whatever part you played also." That said, his feet simply lift off the ground and he lifts a hand to his forehead, giving a two fingered salute, "I -will- be around." he offers before simply and silently lifting away as he accelerates uptown.

Ray Terrill has posed:
        Ray also takes the card and slips it into his jacket, "I will, but I really don't know anything." He nods towards Hyperion, and also lifts up into the air, corona of light around him again as he heads up before going one direction...then another. Maybe he got lost again?