9716/Path of Glory: Lead Us Not Into

Path of Glory: Lead Us Not Into
Date of Scene:	19 January 2022
Location:	Inwood, Manhattan
Synopsis:	A contingency of heroes intercept an angelic strike force before it manages to take out cache of refugees. The refugees escape and most of the angels are defeated. But Manhattan has a new crater in answer to the relative defeat.
Cast of Characters:	Michael Demiurgos, Sarah Rainmaker, Peter Parker, Rahne Sinclair, Johnny Storm, John Stewart
Tinyplot:	Path of Glory

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Michael Demiurgos has posed:
    Inwood, like most neighborhoods in Manhattan, is overrun with angels. All shapes and sizes are represented. The bulk of the patrolers are the melee armed infantry of lesser angels and the ranged infantry of cherubim. However, there are a number of Principalities, Powers, Virtues, and Dominions in attendance as well. There are also a large number of Thones hovering about with their multitudes of eyes watching and waiting to extract divine judgement on any who dare step out into the streets. The damages to roads and sidewalks note that such judgement has already been mete out accordingly and with terrifying results.

    There is a SHIELD checkpoint at the upper end of the neighborhood along Broadway, a last stop and brace point for any straglers hoping to flee the island to the north. Multiple skirmishes have already taken place there and the area between W 216th and W 220th has turned into a veritbale no man's land.

    So it should come as no surprise that the 4 block stretch is destroyed and littered with bodies and debris. The buildings along Broadway to either side are just as damaged as the road, pitted with holes and destruction from the angelic forces' assaults.

    As such,. it would be very concerning to see a line of refugees, mostly homeless children, being led by a a pair of SHIELD agents along the destroyed roadway toward the final checkpoint.

    Just as there is at this very moment.

    They are running but they look tired and clearly have a few injured with them as their pace is much slower than it should be. Already a team of angels, four lesser, four cherubs, two principalities, a power, a virtue, and a dominion already follow in their wake, bearing down on them in a terrible show of divine supremacy.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
She hadn't really been meaning to go through Manhattan. She had just been staring at her phone. Her phone that had Caitlin's number on it. Fingers hoving over the 'call' button. If Caitlin's phone hadn't been destroyed, if she hadn't changed her number, if she would even take the call..
    Of course she would, the engineer was as particular on details and of course she'd listen to Sarah calling her. But not knowing what to say..
    That was where doubt kept on hitting her as to what to do and to press that button. Call 'hey, are we still friends'? 'I miss you'? 'I'm worried about you?' All those things going through her head..
    Right then as in the distance she has a sensation of the winds shifting and changing right as there's the movement of angels.. Then she's going to fly that way at high speed towards the evacuation area! She's going at more than two hundred miles an hour, hopefully getting there within a few minutes thanks to her height and skipping along the skyscrapers!

Peter Parker has posed:
This is not right.
In spite of what he believes...no, BECAUSE of what he believes...he knows this isn't right.
Peter Parker, churchgoer, Presbyterian, and all-around Spider-Man, has come to Manhattan to get some answers.

The HUD picks up the collection of people...come ON, leave us not gild the lily, refugees...guided by SHIELD agents...and pursued by "angels." In quotation marks, because what emissary of God would do this?

Spider-Man zips over the heads of the refugees and lands in the street.
*Punching above your weight class again...* he told himself.

"All right...let's see who's got your BACKS..."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
One of the refugees might look familiar. Short red hair, tiny stature. Thin. A cross around her neck, worn with True Belief. You can't be in this kind of thing without it rocking you to the core, if you're one of the people who love God.

Rahne Sinclair has been hurt in the depths of her heart by all of this. She was here, trying to help. She's already seen some of the bad. Perhaps a bit too much.

The SHIELD agents aren't going to be able to stop the angels, to save the group of refugees. She can see that; a moron with an astigatism could see that now. So, she shuffles a bit slower. Then she stops, and she turns. That one small person at the end of the line, turning toward the Angels that follow.

"God loves us all," she says clearly. And she straightens up, holding a single hand to her cross. She still believes, and she always will. To the day she dies.

She stands between the angels, and those they would murder. And she sees others arriving. Armed with faith.

"Hey, Spider-Man." It's not much of a battle cry.

Johnny Storm has posed:
From above a column of fire descended toward the intermediate air space above the brewing conflict, three rings of flame emited in the upper atmosphere to waste off excess energy, slow his descent and distract the Righteous Chorus from their demonic task with three audible explosions. Any who looked up would see the form of a man, lit in the dark sky by bright conflagation.

John Stewart has posed:
Then, there are the people who have beem monitoring and helping with evacuation, without wanting to poke the bear too much. John Stewart, one of the Green Lanterns of the sector, has been seen out and about all over the city as he prioritizes the Angel invasion as a serious threat. SHIELD and other regulars would have had no problem seeing the green aura of the man as he zoomed around in the sky and city for days, helping out here and there.

Now? His Power Ring AI has just done another passive scan for him, and the mental voice of his Ring is heard in his mind <Warning, SHIELD convoy enroute. Enemy attempting interception.>

It takes a moment for the glowing green man in the sky to find the chase... and another moment for him to suddenly flare bright green as his Will suddenly reinforces his shield, and he dive bombs directly for the Dominion like a missile, arms out to ram right into it.

Michael Demiurgos has posed:
    The angelic forces stop mid-descent, sensing the impending defenders in their midsts. Still it's not enough to stop them from taking strikes. Spider-Man manages to kick into the back of one of the Principalities. The armored angel falls to the ground, a cry not unlike a dissoant bell coming from its form. It lands hard and gives way to the Webslinger being fired upon by a barrage of divine rifle fire. Blue pulses of energy fill the air as the cherubim stagger a volley at the crafty young man in red.

    The Lesser Angelic infantry move forward to intercept the children and their true target, the SHIELD agents. However, they stop and look upon Rahne. Their faces serene and calm, their eyes bound by strips of dark leather. And yet it is clear that they -see- the young woman before them. "You are of the faithful. Why do you bar our path?" they ask, their mouths not moving, the sound coming from all four and not one in particular. "You should be with the Champion of the Faithful. The one known as Caitlin. She will shelter you and preserve you. Yet here you stand, blocking us..."

    The Power raises its hands and the explosions from the Human Torch flash against a golden half dome before the greater forces. As the explosions dissipate, golden light that looks fluid in nature is directed at the youngest of the Fantastic Four.

    The Green Lantern's shield intercepts the Dominion and it -changes-. The armor and mace it carries washes away to present a figure of great height with white curling hair like a crown around its head. It's eyes and skin burn white with divinity. The power of the SHIELD is all but overcome by the presence of the being it seems to have truly intercepted. It's voice rings out like a clarion for miles around. "I AM THE METATRON. CEASE YOUR STRUGGLE AND FIND SOLACE IN THE HEART OF ONE WHO GOVERNS ALL." A sword of pure light appears in its hand and it swings it in a wide arc, sending a beam of equally divine judgement toward the Latern barring its path.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
And when those name comes out over any sort of planning that Sarah Rainmaker might have done, any sort of intent that she had made over with Donna, those plans.. All that's cast away for jus ta few moments. "You will tell me where she is.." Rainmaker is hightlighted, bolts of lightning going to flicker up around her. She doesn't have her gauntlets, still mangled from her last engagement, so she doesn't have the fine control needed..
    "You will tell me where she is, and you will let her go. You will -release- her from what abominations you've done to her. She's had enough MONSTERS in her life to fall for another one." Her hands would glow, even as the angelic infantry would go to stop. Then her lightning goes down to try and crash over along the infantry if at all possible, her trying to disrupt them and hopfully send them scattering away from the sudden heraldry of the damnation of the winds!

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey gives Rahne a quick wave, but then the shooting starts. Gunfire? Jeez, it's almost disappointing.

Spider-Man springs up over the gunfire as both web-shooters pin the armored Principality to the street. On the way up, Spidey dodges the gunfire to pounce on the cherubim, driving it to the ground with both feet. He webs the cherub to the street as well, yanking the celestial rifle from its grip. He webs it to a nearby wall for analysis later.

Spidey turns to look at the other cherubim, going after then at running speed.

Let's see who God favors in THIS match...

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
"I be nae important enou tae protect," Rahne says, looking up at the Angels. She looks. She kneels. She waits, for judgement. To her, this isn't a fight. It's a moment of sadness, when she is tested. And she is just a person.

"Ah will nae fight God's will. If thes be truly his, an....not your own." She waits. She has, in fact, stopped the Angels with nothing but faith. For a moment.

But...there is nothing for her to truly do. "Ah do nae ken. I don't understand." She admits all of this, then she raises her eyes, as Sarah's lighting strikes all about.

"Kill me first. Then ah will nae rise against ye. Then ye can murder th' innocents." And she lowers her eyes, once more.

Yep. Humans are awful. Horrible people, us.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm snuffed his own flame in response to the golden ray as it sliced through the night sky toward him, to a quick and harried glance it would appeared to have one-shot him; extinguished him. Dulling to a dark cool blue that rippled as he flew, the possum Storm moved to a new position. He could not help but flare up as he sent bolt of plasma and flame whistling across the shorter distance toward the blind side of the Power.

John Stewart has posed:
"No." John states simply as he construct a green tower shield to intercept the light sword, the impact ringing loudly as he growls, "I don't care who you think you are, you don't get to come here and dictate our lives, asshole."

Both his aura and the constructed shield flare as both he and the being that he's now dealing with square off. "I've dealt with arrogance all my life, you're just another bully." John snarls out as he flies counter to the sword...

Moments later, John is suddenly overpowered, and everyone on the field gets a front row seat to the Green Lantern screaming in pain as he's forcibly sent flying, crashing through building after building like a human bullet from the sheer force of the being he just tried to standoff with.

Michael Demiurgos has posed:
    It seems that the five heroes have given the SHIELD agents enough time to get further down the street. They are only a double handful of meters from the SHIELD checkpoint and safety. Success for the heroes is almost assred. If they can manage to survive this encounter.

    The lighting flashes among the infantry and one of the bolts looks like it's going to strike the kneeling form of the young Scottish girl. One of the Lesser Angels moves into place and is obliterated by the bolt turning into a shower of St. Elmos fire that fades from view moments later. The rest of the infantry move into a protective front around the girl. "The faithful will be sheltered" they say in their singular voice, shields moving to intercept and redirect the lightning storm. A number of the bolts are sent back as the angels can seemingly turn themselves into a conduit for the elemental fury: sheild absorbing the bolt and sword redirecting it back upon the Rainmaker.

    The Spider's webbing holds its target effectively, the strength of the being seeming only to match that of the webslinger for the first and to be quite less than that of him for the second. The gun however disappates moments after it is webbed to the building, small motes of faerie light dissolving to nothing in seconds. The other cherubim try to shoot at him but even angelic blue plasma has to obey the laws of physics on Earth and it's unlikely that they manage to strike him.

    Johnny Storm's blast catches the Power's blindside and the creature falls, another discordant chime coming from its form as the fire consumes its mystic body.

    The Metatron looks up at the Rainmaker, seeming to feel that the Green Latern is out of the fight (highly unlikely). "SHE IS NOT BOUND BY ANY WILL BUT HER OWN. WE CANNOT RELEASE WHAT WE DO NOT HOLD," it intones flatly. "WE WILL STAND AGAINST THOSE WHO OPPOSE OUR GENERAL IN HIS PURPOSE. HIS WILL IS OUR FATHER'S WILL."

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
The lightning spat back over at Sarah Rainmaker does little; she can absorb and redirect it the same way they can. She can only yell down over at Rahne "RUN!" Then she would hold her hnds up and over as they would glow, "My friend is one of the kindest, sweetest, and most protective people to ever grace this Earth. She would never take an action to willingly harm someone else. Nor ally herself with those who would destroy everything. YOu have taken one of the purest souls on this planet and WARPED her. You're a monster, an abomination. A wretchedt hing now. You seek purity? You seek to absolve yourselves? You're damned things that take those who are kind, who are gentle, who are /good/ and make them monsters just like you. My friend is a good person. You've made her into something that she's not. -When- we free her she'll struggle against you and stop you more than anyone else will. Caitlin is my -family-. I failed her before. I'm here now. And I won't let you make her into a monster." She's biting off more before she goes into too much. Some things are..
    Not her's to say.
    "You're wretched, damned things. Devils don't bother to deny it. Here you string things up purely to destroy everything for your own egos and failures. I see nothing more than an assembly of incompetence and idiocy, of futile failures made manifest. You're so desperate and you must destroy -everything- to cover your own damned patheticness."
    Let. My. Friend. Go."
    She doesn't have the raw lightning power to do anything to him. Not when a Green Lantern is failing. Not when she sees children about to die for it.
    "Your kind are abominations. And if Caitlin were in her right mind.. She would feel sorry for you. Try to do anything to help you she could. Because that's what my friend is like. And you've taken that away from her."
    Then those lightning bolts would be let free. Aimed at a series of light poles around the area. Then the lightning would hit them, be absorbed by them for a moment like Tesla coils.. Then blast out over at the Archangel to hopefully take him from behind and strike at his wings, Sarah pouring over th eenergy to try and make a power circuit!

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man moves with everything working like it's supposed to. Feint to the side, move under the fire instead of over, fast uppercut, right cross. He doesn't even wait for the cherub to hit the ground before webbing him quickly.

"I can do..."
Jump up to land behind Cherub #3, sucker punch to knock out the light and push him down to the ground, for the webbing to keep him there.

"...all things..."

The last cherub gets the closest, three bullets whizzing past Spidey's left ear. Spider-Man turns to face the cherub, hands balled into fists.

"...through Him..."

Spidey launches himself at the last cherub for a truly epic knockout punch.

"...who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13. Took him only a few minutes to memorize when he was 12.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne cries out when an Angel dies. For her. She didn't want that. She could never want that. She looks up to Sarah, to Peter. To the falling of the Lantern. It's all wrong. Nothing will ever be right again.

"No!" No. They can't die. This is broken, nothing is what it should be.

What can you do, when your very presence has caused the death of an Angel? She leaps up, grabbing at their hands, and tries to pull the Angels...to safety.

"No. Not like this, nonono no no...You can't DIE, you can't!" Considering the amount of damage being done, this has got to be the weirdest thing she could have chosen to do. "Please? Don't do ...this." She indicates all of this, ALL OF THIS. "Nobody here is evil. Except me, I'm evil. Take me, I'm a horrible person! STOP ALL THIS, YOU'RE ACTING LIKE DEMONS!"

And at that instant, she doubts. She. Isn't. Perfect.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm blew in close now to support Spidey, pot shotting anything that might slow down his dance or take him by surprise. He was doing the work, and Johnny had him covered. Rahne was right, everything about this was backwards. He was a demon wreathed in flame, burning angels in the night with the help of the other heroes. There was no way to understand how they'd gotten here, all that was left was to do the needful. "Thats the thing about the faithful..." he said in self apology, unconcerned if anyone was listening "...they are rarely swayed by reason alone."

John Stewart has posed:
There's a reason the Green Lanterns are famous peacekeepers throughout the galaxy: One of their basic requirements to be recruited is extraordinary Willpower. It's the fuel that powers the Power Rings. The rest is backed up by the right mindset, a sense of order.

When you put that into a human... stubborn doesn't even begin to cover it.

It takes a moment, but a flare of Green energy suddenly comes back through the building he came from as John is right back for more, despite the obvious bruising.

He can't go toe to toe with the big guy as a distraction (that seems taken care of by a Faithful person no less), but he /can/ shield the innocents. So instead of beating his head against what might as well be a literal wall of light (which he was perfectly willing to do) he instead goes down on the list to the obvious artillery and constructs a sniper rifle, starting to fly about in midair and firing Green energy at the Virtue, trying to get it to fire at /him/ instead of at the civilians... or the others who can't take that kind of punishment. "Over here, big guy!" John declares.

Michael Demiurgos has posed:
    The SHIELD agents manage to get their cargo (minus one Rahne) to safety behind the barricades at the traffic center of Broadway Bridge. Now all that's left is survival.

    The Cherubim struggle against their bonds but eventually stop struggling. One bursts into phantom fire at a blast from the Human Torch.

    It might be her doubt that does it, but the moment Rahne struggles the Lesser Angels turn on her. Blades and Shields begin to treat her as anything but Faithful. Belief, it would seem, has a great effect on them and her sudden lack of belief in herself infected them to treat her as she sees herself.

    Just as Spiderman finishes his knockout of the final Cherub something heavy and powerful crashes into his back. It's the other Principality. He stands, armor plated from head to toe, carrying a massive mace and a shield. "God loves all, even spiders who spin webs where they should not. Your soul will find peace with Him as your body finds its final rest here."

    The sniper fire from the conjured Latern rifle does indeed grab the Virtue's attention. A shot splashes against a wall of force raised from one hand as the other directs black flame at one of the defenders of the galaxy. The black flame is dark energy, that force that fills the cosmos and is barely understood in its abilities by normal scientific minds. What it might do as a weapon is unknown.

    The Metaron watches the lightning display with interest before spreading its hands and allowing the bolts to enter it. It disappears under a light display of blue-white plasma lightning and divinity blending into a single glowing mote of energy like a neutron star being born in Manhattan. There is a thrumming pulse of energy that comes from everywhere and nowhere. Then another. And another, a cascading warning bell for all forces in the area. Something very bad might be about to happen.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
Sarah Rainmaker would very, very calmly react to what seemed to be the end. Failure. SHe had failed to find her friend. Failed to save her. Failed her promise. "She has others who care for her. They will come for her and they will save her. YOu won't win." SEeing as the others are going to charge at the girl, her attention only over on Metatron. She can only deal with so much for now. She's torn between charging and..
    Then what Donna said. It hits her. Out of nothingness..
    Faith. Hope.
    Seh's charging over towards the angels attacking Rahne, trying to blast them up and away from the young girl offering herself up. A hopeful wave of wind blasting them up and away to give the girl room. "Run!" Her moving to try and throw up a wall of wind if she could to cover the girl's retreat. She's given her a moment over. Wht was that Donna had said?
    Have faith. And then Rainmaker is putting herself over as a shield even as nothingness comes.
    Hands glowing with electrictiy. One final moment and thing done if only out of spite in the end. They're all going to die anyways.. But doing one last thing, for the pointless of it all.. Just to spite that thing.
    Hands glowing, putting herself if at all possible in the way of anything that might chase after Rahne, windcurrents supporting her.
    Accepting failure.
    "Others will come. She'll be freed."
    Because they all must die sometime.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man is going to feel THIS in the morning. He turns on the Principality, facing him unflinchingly.
"My soul is ALREADY at peace with Him, Mister...whatever your name is. I fear HIM. I do not fear YOU. I fight to defend the lives of those you choose to destroy. 'To him who much is given, much will be required.' That is MY calling. And if it means going toe-to-toe with an angel to defend the lives of people unable to defend themselves..."

He beckons with one upturned hand. "If ya GOT it...BRING IT."

John Stewart has posed:
He has no idea of the radius of that thing whatever... but his priority just went from distraction and combat to evacuation when the Power Ring mentally states <Warning, extreme forces detected. Supernova level explosion anticipated>.

That dark energy hits his shield, and the shield shimmers as John is knocked off course just slightly... but he doesn't bother to keep up with his opponent.

Instead, the sniper rifle disappears and in it's place a large green slide suddenly constructs along the battle as the Green Lantern suddenly starts flying at high speed, offering a scoop for those still in range, "THAT'S GONNA BE EXTREMELY POWERFUL, GET ON IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE THIS!" John's voice booms across the field. "I HAVE NO IDEA HOW FAR THAT IS GOING TO GO, AND YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT!"

Michael Demiurgos has posed:
    Sarah splashes down amongst the few lesser angels who look to be attacking Rahne and finds... nothing. Nothing stands in their midsts. Even as her strikes destroy two more leaving one remaing. "She is not here!" the last of the lesser angels says to Sarah with a serene smile on its blinded face.

    The Principality sets its feet eying both Spider-Man and The Human Torch equally. "You stay to fight against a foe who fears not the destruction ready for this place. Flee children. Or face annihilation from he chosen as second among God's creatures." He gestures to the pulsing amorphous light that was The Metatron. "Or are you both so ready to join His light in death."

    The Virtue fires more energy at the retreating Latern, also seeming not to care about the resonant tolling coming from The Metatron's form.

    The pulsing thrum of power from everywhere in the area increases in pace as the glowing neutron star-like being descends to the ground. Looking upon it is blinding and small corscations of energy begin to peel off from the light being as the thrum intensifies, warping the air in the immediate area.

    Time is running out.

Sarah Rainmaker has posed:
Here comes gravity. Sarah Rainmaker doesn't know exactly what's going on. She has nowhere to go beyond the bubble that is withdrawing with the group. She has nowhere to leave but it. So she's going to catch herself up and over in it to let herself be flung away. Staring over in trembling awe and terror as she's just trying to hold on and go along with the others and with her hands up and ready. The star being charged, ready to collapse in and on itself..
    There's a horrific sort of terrified fascination in her eyesa s if she's remembering astronomy textbooks from so long ago.
    Then she would snap and yell, "OH SHUT UP ALREADY!" Hands up and in front of her. Fists balled as existence is warping and she would close her eyes. Going to try and offer up a blast of wind to the others to try and give them another bit of a shield and if they needed it a reel in.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looked at him, and then he realized the Spider-Sense going off wasn't focused on him.

It was coming from EVERYWHERE.

He turns and fires two weblines towards buildings in the opposite direction, and uses them to slingshot himself away from the apparent summoning of a celestial object. The move is quick, and yanking on the weblines hard helps him accelerate up to 80 MPH in less than a second.

He doesn't know EXACTLY what's coming, but he's read enough of the Bible to get a pretty good idea of what was possible.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm flattened his palms against the bubble as he was sped off, he gazed down at the doomed city below. "Heaven help them, if you're listening, they need you now." he murmored in last effort to save someone, anyone, from the end. There was a moment where he believed it could be that simple, in his mind's eye he saw the sky tear open, the prevading energy ripped out by some unseen hand. He begged for it, he fantasized their salvation. "Please. Please. Please, don't let them die." as he himself teetered on the brink of his own sanity, he wasn't sure he could watch an entire city die.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
No Rahne.
Look, there is no wolf. There is no girl, burdened with sorrow. Scotland was proud of her, even if those who walked the land were not. Her friends cared. The ones who knew her, who had taken the time. Look, there is no Rahne. She is gone.

A few words linger, as if lost from her lips. They seem to come from nowhere, but can be heard. If you listen.

I love you.

I can feel his light.

...tell Clarice that I'm sorry.

Then, nothing.

John Stewart has posed:
Those who want out with the Green Lantern are suddenly enveloped in a shield of green... and John changes direction, going directly up, towards the sky.

His plan? Get out of atmosphere so he can get to hyperspace as quickly as possible. He has no data on what that thing is capable of, except his Power Ring AI estimated a supernova level event.

That's more than enough for him to escalate this to the Corps itself, once the blast is done. Even if he drained his entire Power Ring, he couldn't contain that sort of explosion.

And he's going /fast/. High end military jets fast.

Michael Demiurgos has posed:
    The thrumming continues to accelerate until it becomes a constant roar. The other angels in the area vanish (meaning the Principality and the Virtue in this case) and then the explosion occurs. A low hum accompaning the blast along with a wave of force and light.

    When its over, the area around the supposed no man's land is gone. Just obliterated. Cleared of everything besides rubble and earth in every direction for... two blocks. Just to edge of Isham Park to the south; Park Terrace way to the west; the banks of the Harlem River to the east, and inches from the barricade set up by SHIELD to the north.

    In the middle of the crater is the glowing form of the Metatron looking unharmed and unscathed by the entire ordeal. "PEACE BE TO ALL PEOPLE. JUDGEMENT WILL PREVAIL." Then without a word it too flies off to the south, the form of the Dominion taking shape around it as it transmutes itself back to whereever it was housing itself before the battle occured.