4400/Death Looks Like A Lady

Death Looks Like A Lady
Date of Scene:	14 December 2020
Location:	Hell's Kitchen, NYC
Synopsis:	Silver Banshee helps foil a demon summoning ritual sacrifice and meets Lady Death.
Cast of Characters:	Hope Svelgate, Siobhan Smythe

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Hope Svelgate has posed:
It is a cool winter evening and as quiet as a night in Hell's Kitchen can be, which is to say not very. There is the whistling of the wind blow stray newspapers down the streets. Voices of vagrants asking for change carrying on the breeze. The blaring siren of an ambulance races down one road ferrying the city's latest victims to possible salvation, while police cars race up another. Just another night in this crime ridden part of the city.

And yet, among all of the other sounds a Banshee might hear, a scream echoes from somewhere, a forlorn scream of pure anguish from someone crying out in horror at a seemingly hopeless situation. 'I don't want to die!'

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
It isn't normal for Siobhan to be out and about searching the streets for crimes. She was actually out doing a gig. She had signed up for it and had really no choice. Sure, some might be able to call in sick or something but she can't. She has a reputation. She knows the crowd seemed to enjoy it but she didn't. Her heart wasn't in it. Not tonight. Maybe not again. She can't be sure. Then she hears a scream in the distance and blinks.

Almost immediately she wants to change, transform but she's worried about what might happen if she does. So, instead she simply slips along the alleys and ways of the city toward the words she heard, hoping that it is something that isn't her jurisdiction, so to speak.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
The screams, which for most normal people are simply lost amidst the rest of the noise of Hell's Kitchen, lead Siobhan on a short trek down a few streets and cutting across a couple dark alleys. Eventually they seem to be coming from the third floor of a small rundown apartment building.

The windows of that particular apartment are lit, but flickering as if by the light of many candles rather than anything electric. As the Banshee draws closer another sound becomes apparent to her, low rthymic chanting in what sounds like Latin, ...invoking the Lords of Hell.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A frown comes to Siobhan's lips as she looks up at the apartment building. She stares into the window from afar, debating if she should get involved. Sure, she's a heroine but this is weird stuff, even for her. Plus, she might come across as a success. All the same, she takes a deep breath and focuses on her inner demon. A moment later, she is transformed into the Silver Banshee, focusing hard on staying her chaotic side and floating up to look in the window, idly finding it much easier to fly than she had in the past.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Within the apartment there are candles everywhere, but within the center of the room they have been arranged into a very particular pattern, an inverted pentagram over the image of goat's head painted in blood upon the floor. In the center of all of this, tied down and screaming, is a young woman who doesn't look like she belongs in this part of town. She has been stripped naked and her body covered in arcane demonic looking sigils, also apparently scribed in blood.

Surrounding the woman, standing in a circle are eight figures in hooded black robes and an ominous air of mystic malice hangs in the air.

"Someone, anyone, please help me!" The woman screams again as one of the figures draws a wicked looking dagger from beneath their robes and begins to approach her with clearly sinister intent.

"Do not worry, it will all be over soon." The robed figure tells her, "Your blood shall bring about our future, shall feed our master!"

As he stands over her holding the blade posed to strike, a point of green light appears between what would be the goat horn points of pentagram and begins slowly expanding into what looks suspiciously like some sort of portal.

At the same time the door is kicked in with a splintering crash and there in the doorway is a tall blonde woman dressed in a black halter top and leather pants holding a large sword in one hand, "Release her, before I get angry." The sword-wielding woman says in a voice that sounds like she is already rather unhappy about all of this.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A frown comes to, well, the skull teeth of the Silver Banshee. She doesn't exactly have lips. She does hoever, have the ability to simply step into this apartment at her whim. She does so right as the door is kicked in and she blinks. She stares at the new arrival and then frowns before looking to the man with the knife.

"Ye are goin' to let that woman go. I wasn't going to involve myself in such a matter but do dis now." Her voice is whispy, otherworldly and containing an Irish brogue. Her hands curled into fists and burning blue eyes Locked in place.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
The four closest robed figures turn towards Siobhan, "You must not interfere! Our master comes!" They shout in English as they pull wicked looking blades of their own from beneath their robes and thrust them in Siobhan's direction. That is until they actually manage to get a good look at her. Two stop dead in their tracks out of fear, "Are you a servant of our master?" Asks a third without dropping his knife. The fourth however is made of either sterner or crazier stuff and seems unfazed about trying to stab the Banshee.

Meanwhile the two closest to the door to the apartment both lunge for Hope, while the last cultist straddling the poor sacrificial woman begins to drive his dagger downward.

"They never learn." Hope mutters in the doorway sounding annoyed. A swift sword strike nearly bisects one of the cultists, taking him across the abdomen and spilling his guts upon the floor. Using the momentum of the swing she spins planting a leather booted foot square in the other cultist's stomach, dropping him to the floor clutching his midsection. It seems as if she might not reaching the plunging dagger in time though.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
Siobhan shakes her head as she watches these men, "Ye don't even know who I am." She states simply enough and starts toward the woman. The man who actually lunges for her has a hand come out and simply swat at him like he were a fly, "Stand aside." She then watches the blade start to plunge and leans forward before a focused scream cries out. It's like a sniper shot aimed right for that man's arms as she lets it out. Her eyes focusing on him as she lets loose the scream.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
The scream fires off like a bullet of sound colliding smack into the arm of the cultist straddling the woman in the ground, with a sickening crack as his arm breaks and he drops the knife.

This draws Hope's attention to Siobhan, "And what are you?" She asks more to herself like she is thinking out loud than really asking Siobhan the question.

That thought is interrupted though when a massive hand covered in red scales with fingers ending in long vicious claws begins to reach out of the portal, followed by an arm, as something begins crossing from whatever Hell dimension they managed to connect to.

"Fuck." Hope curses under her breath, like a bad day just got worse.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A frown as she notices she may have broken that man's arm but, then he was a jerk looking to stab some poor girl so he can eat it. She then turns her attention to Hope briefly before suddenly her attention is ripped away by an arm coming through the portal. She frowns and she suddenly vanishes before reappearing next to the girl on the floor. She reaches out to grab her and then she focuses on the street below and teleports the girl out, putting her on the ground and saying, "Get to da police or away from here, I care not which." And then she vanishes again, reappearing in the apartment and glaring at that arm, "What do ye know of dis?" She asks of Hope, glaring at her and then at the arm.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
In the time that Siobhan was gone the arm has grown a shoulder and now a head as the easily ten foot tall demon continues to emerge into the apartment, red skinned, horned head, and even a barbed tail. The whole creature ripples with muscle and radiates unholy menace.

The broken armed cultist is seized in the demon's clawed grip, "You were supposed to have a sacrifice ready for me." It growls in a gutteral tone that is somehow understandable regardless of language. In a swift motion, the failed cultist's head disappeared into the demon's mouth with a sickening crunch. "If I cannot dine upon innocence, then I will have to settle for all of you."

"It's a Demon, from Hell." Hope informs the Banshee, "It looks like they summoned it looking for a shortcut to wealth and power. So much for keeping things quiet." A cold wind blows through the room snuffing half of the candles as the illusion of Hope fades leaving Lady Death in its place. She white haired, white eyed, woman in a demonic dominatrix outfit turns towards the demon, "You're barely more than a thrall, get back through that portal now and I might not destroy you." She snarls at the demon.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
Staring with wide eyes at the demon, she was not really prepared for it to actually look like that. She glances then at Lady Death and tilts her head, "Well, I'd be surprised but dat is practically nice compared to what I am." She states and then turns her deathly gaze over to the demon.

"Alright, I don't know who ye are. T'rall or demon or whatever but I am the Silver Banshee, I fight basically gods and goddesses. I haven't got time for ya."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
"I am Falgrex, Elite Captain in the third Legion of the Fourth Layer!" The demon bellows once it has finished swallowing the remains of the cultist, it's horned head crunching into the ceiling as it steps fully from the portal. "Tremble before me mortals!" Hellfire begins to lick the floor and the walls, this can't be good for the building. The creature, currently facing Siobhan due to the direction of the portal opens its mouth wide and unleashes a gout of hellfire in her direction.

Lady Death doesn't seem terribly impressed either. Almost incredulous really that this demon isn't even high enough rank to recognize her. "I don't ask twice." She states as her sword flashes forward, first cleaving the glowing green portal in half, dispelling it, cutting off the demon's only route of escape and then lunging forward for a follow-through strike slashing the blade across its back.

An eyebrow quirks briefly at what Siobhan says, good, it is not just some worthless human that has stumbled into this, she thinks to herself.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
"I don't even know what any o' dat means." Siobhan responds to what he says and then she blinks, "At least one part of me is upset at being called a mortal." Then she sees the fire coming and responds with her own 'breath' weapon. Hers, however, is purely sonic and contains the force of kinetics and magic. As the fire comes, she responds with a scream that causes all the glass within one hundred feet to shatter and a wave of pure sound blasts into the hell fire, causing it to ripple and lose force as she unleashes the unholy sound.

The wave of sound stops after a few moments and then she blinks at the actions of Lady Death before she simply rushes forward with otherworldly speed. Her flight taking her up to eye level with the demon and she simply reaches out with a white hand and attempts to grab him by the chin, "Listen here, ya over titled, pompous twit. I am da Silver Banshee. I have no idea who or what she is but I'd wholly recommend pissin' yourself cause I literally eat t'ings like ya for breakfast." She grins darkly, "So, what will it be, her blade...or my belly."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
The demon Falgrex seems somewhat surprised that his hellfire was thwarted, that doesn't usually happen. As Lady Death's blade slices deeply into his back he is even more surprised, no mortal weapon should cut him, yet the searing pain tells him it is no mortal weapon.

The Silver Banshee flying up into his face combined with the searing pain in his back causes the demon to take a step back from the assault so that he can see both assailants for the first time. At the sight of Lady Death his eyes go wide, "This can't be! You're.."

Falgrex's statement is cut short by a mystic blade wreathed in blue arcane energy being shoved through his throat leaving him capable of only choking gurgles as blood floods his larynx. "Eat him? Sure go right ahead." Lady Death doesn't seem to particularly care about his fate so long as it is oblivion.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
"Frankly, I'm not sure I can and...not sure I'd want ta." She states simply enough as she watches what Lady Death has done to the demon. She instead walks around him before she listens and hmms softly as she hears it. She grins a bit darkly and looks to Lady Death before finally settling in front of the brute, "Let's let ya be your own end..." And she reaches out a hand toward him, focusing. As she does, he can hear his own beating heart. As a matter of fact, Lady Death can even hear it. Progressively it gets louder, beating harder against his body, vibrating within him as she increases the intensity of the sound.

"Let your own dark heart finish ye off..." And then her eyes go up to his and he can feel it in his skull, his own heart beat, getting louder, more intense, vibrating his very skull as she increases its intensity more and more and more until...well, until something gives.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Lady Death watches appreciatively, it is a nice flourish to destroy his heart with its own beat. With a flick of her wrist she finishes taking the demon's head clean off. No sooner has it hit the ground with a dull wet thud, then her other hand unleashes a raw blast of that blue arcane energy that was surrounding her blade before, though this time it is shot through with white sparkles. There is a hellish scream from ...somewhere... as the entire body is consumed by bluish white flames and burned to ash before disintegrating into the ether.

The cultists who had been accosting Siobhan have long since fled after one of their number was straight up eaten, though the one Lady Death disemboweled remains bleeding out on the floor. The other who was dropped groaning in pain has managed to crawl about halfway to the door, meanwhile Hellfire continues to lick the walls. "What a damned mess." The pale death goddess comments surveying the scene.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A long blink of those burning blue eyes and Siobhan shakes her head, "Well, dat seemed excessive." She states simply enough before lookin' over at Lady Death and tilting her head, "So, I know what I am but what da heck are you?" She asks and puts her hands on her hips. Her eyes going over the woman, "I mean, certainly not bad to look at but frankly not sure I'd run about in what appears to be just a bra and panty combo in order to strike fear. Ye're definitely goin' to be settin' off ot'er emotions." She chuckles and shrugs.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Lady Death turns to regard Siobhan, her gaze seeming to almost pierce into her, "I am Death, Lady Death. I have been called She Who Reaps and Queen of all that is dead and dying. You are a strange one though, you do not seem completely living or dead." She seems to ignore the comments about her demonic raiment for the time being. "A Banshee you said, and yet I still sense a living soul in you."

She looks around at the spreading hellfire, "I would rather not have the attention this entire building being consumed will bring." And holding out a hand she seems to draw in the hellfire, pulling it from where it burns around the room, shaping it into a sphere above her hand and then snuffing it. "These humans are an annoying bunch, it seems lately someone has been passing out demon summoning instructions to easily corrupted idiots." She glares down at the one bleeding out on the floor.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A blink as she tilts her head at the woman, "I am neither living nor am I dead in dis form. I am simply da Silver Banshee." She then watches as the woman draws up hell fire and she huhs, "Neat trick, was about to try to snuff dat in a different way." She then considers the woman's words and then looks to the one on the floor as well before turning toward the one who is getting away.

"I imagine none of dese fools have any clue as to who really gave dem dat info." She nods and looks to Lady Death, "I am not usually directly involved in dis sort of ting but I can't have people summonin' demons all over da place."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
"Well, we can always ask them." Lady Death kneels down over the expiring disembowled cultist as he breaths his last. Her hand glows with blue energy that soon spreads to surround the corpse and raises it upright. "Speak." She commands the corpse. "Who told you how to summon that demon?"

The newly dead corpse gurgles and rasps "Magnus...eaten...by...Falgrex..."

"Useless." Lady Death pronounces of the corpse. "Figures the one who knew anything was stupid enough to get eaten." Her gaze turns towards the one who has nearly crawled to the door with his ribs broken, "I don't suppose you know any more than your friend?" She asks tilting her head to one side.

Unfortunately all the man can manage is wheezing and rasping, likely indicating more serious internal injuries than is readily visible.

"As I thought. Useless." Death pronounces of him and in a flash is standing by the man reaching down a blue glowing hand, "Don't worry, you'll have eternity to think about what you've done." She informs him as his soul is pulled from his body and sent off to the Endless Graveyard.

"You should look after that young woman." She suggests to Siobhan, and then suddenly Lady Death is simply gone leaving Siobhan alone in the burnt apartment with a pair of corpses.