Fire & Faith
Brockton Bay News Network
Once again the television screen would show a news room, yet this time? The news real down below, as it cycled through was labeled 'Gang War', with red outlines. "Good evening once more good citizens of Brockton Bay. I am James Newman of Brockton Bay News Network and I am hoping my viewers and their families a safe evening at home. A hope that for all too many is in vain as the second day of the gang war between the Empire Eighty-Eight and Azian Bad Boys transitions into an evening of skirmishes and what promises to be knives and bullets in the dark."
His face is serious, as he continues to speak, the image of a map appearing on the screen, with labels and colors representing the major players in the fight. "As of yesterday, the day that many feared had come at last and with a fury that could only be surpassed if Lung himself was on the front lines. The igniting incident is hard to pin down. Could we blame the losses the E88 has taken in the last two weeks?" As he spoke, blooms appeared on the map, showing empire losses.
"The ABB having built up and marsheled its strength, as the bikes and weapons, captured examples of bike trailers, potato launchers, their propellant, grenade ammunition, flamethrowers and fuel being shown to primarily been produced here in the bay with easy to acquire materials?" With each item spoken, a picture appeared on the screen, all while he looked on, grim and resolute. "Given the coordination and fact that units of bikes and ABB foot soldiers could maneuver together speaks of planning and training, of preparations long in the works."
The footage shifts, showing a pair of carts with machine guns mounted on swivels laying down suppressing fire on empire positions, other three carts close by with long tubed launchers before muffled whumps sound and then explosions of shrapnel rain down on those same positions. All the while, ABB foot soldiers, armed mainly with machetes, knives and clubs are moving forward, a handful of pistols, shotguns and rifles among them.
The footage shifted again, as bikers rushed a police barricade, throwing what seemed to be glass jars, exploding into clouds of glass and nails as a cart moved, turning and strafing them as its flamethrower belched, spewing fires all over the barricades as more and more of those glad in red and green marched closer, tearing the barricade down as they moved on Empire territory. "However, things have not been going entirely in the ABB's favor, as both the empire and heroic forces have struck telling blows."
There is a brief moments pause, as he presses his hand to his left ear, clearly listening to something as his eyes go wide. "This just in, we are receiving live footage of what appears to be a group of priests acting against the empires new Red Hand capes!" And with that, there is a moment of darkness, before the grainy images fill the screen.
Alley Near 7th Street and Aleston Road
(Mood Music)
Walking down the street are what appear to be two men and a woman walking down the alley, where the three 'Red Hands' are busy cutting off bits of two ABB soldiers, laughing as they take off slices. Still, their eyes look on and one of them frowns, eyes hard as he sneers at the leading man, who was built as if he could crush the skulls of those before him with a single hand. "We have no quarrel with you priest. Unless of course, you are a foe of the empire?"
There is eagerness in their tone, as all three walks forward (but stay just beyond thirty feet from the three), face calm, as the irishman speaks. Some would recognize him as Father Shamus O'Malley, an old preacher and irishman whose youth was far behind him. "All who walk in goodness and truth oppose the dark and the horrors that prey on men." His tone, even quiet from the distance of the camera, was at least as hard as steel, even as he reached down, taking out what seemed to be a bottle, and throwing it at the three capes.
As one moved to block it, the glass broke and what was likely a powerful acid splashed on them, burning and marking them, even as Gregory Dane begins to speak, his voice firm, and something about it echoing, moving as he lifts a cross, presenting it firmly, as he starts to chant. "My Lord, you are all powerful, you are God, you are Father. We beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one. All saints of Heaven, come to our aid."
As he speaks, the three capes screech, faces contorted in rage and fear, as they hissed out words that seemed to suggest foulness and hate, leaping forward as knives were positioned to stab, even as Father O'Malley moved, hands gripping two of them, slamming them into the third as he grunted, bruises forming across his elderly face. All the while, Dane continued walking forward, presenting the cross and chanting, Verity Pougher, who some would recognize as one of the nuns teaching at Immaculata High School (and given how she used the rod to trip and pin the third many were rethinking giving her any problems in class... save for one to two particularly dirty minded students).
"From anxiety, sadness and obsessions, we beg You. Free us, O Lord. From hatred, fornication, envy, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every thought of suicide and abortion, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every form of sinful sexuality, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every division in our family, and every harmful friendship, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every sort of spell, malefic, witchcraft, and every form of the occult, we beg You, Free us, O Lord."
Each word seemed to make the capes thrash, as Father Dane stood over the one Sister Verity had pinned with her long rod, taking out a bottle and anointing his fingers before he knelt, traces of the liquid moving across the capes forehead, eyes and lips, before the cross was placed before him, as the final words came like silent thunder. "Lord, You Who said, "I leave you peace, My peace I give you," grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always. In the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen."
And with those final words, something appears, as smoke pours from the capes mouth, as it formed into the shadow of a creature. It was a bloated and ugly thing, a long dead corpse with bloody red hands and not a trace of hair on it. Claws of smoke and shadow reached out, even as Father Dane presented the cross. "Back to the pit with you in the name of Christ!" The creatures only reply, as the man pinned beneath the rod started to sob, was a baleful moan, breaking apart as it glared with hate towards the priest.
"Is, is it over?" The question came from the cape currently pinned, as the two held by the Irish Father are shrieking obscenities, laced with terror, as Dane approached them, and once more began to pray.
Still, the sister smiled and leaned down, patting him and whispering something, as the cape began to cry with relief, relaxing and becoming almost boneless. Twice more this would be repeated as the demons were driven out, all of the capes crying in relief and not resisting at all, somehow changed, gaunt and shrunken, as if something about them was missing, hollowed out and empty now.
Fox 25
"And there you have it Boston, what seems to be three genuine exorcisms performed in the middle of Brockton Bay in the midst of their recent gang war. This does beg an important question, of rumors coming out of the bay. Long regarded as one of the stranger cities in the state, and indeed in the entire New England area with a long reputation of odd events and strange occurances, to say nothing of the size of their cape population, one just ask this. How many of the other rumors written off as too crazy to have actually happened have some truth to them?
We will bring you more as the situation in the bay develops, as the Protectorate and PRT work alongside the police department to restore order to the streets, hopefully before the Dragon stirs from his lair."
Once again the television screen would show a news room, yet this time? The news real down below, as it cycled through was labeled 'Gang War', with red outlines. "Good evening once more good citizens of Brockton Bay. I am James Newman of Brockton Bay News Network and I am hoping my viewers and their families a safe evening at home. A hope that for all too many is in vain as the second day of the gang war between the Empire Eighty-Eight and Azian Bad Boys transitions into an evening of skirmishes and what promises to be knives and bullets in the dark."
His face is serious, as he continues to speak, the image of a map appearing on the screen, with labels and colors representing the major players in the fight. "As of yesterday, the day that many feared had come at last and with a fury that could only be surpassed if Lung himself was on the front lines. The igniting incident is hard to pin down. Could we blame the losses the E88 has taken in the last two weeks?" As he spoke, blooms appeared on the map, showing empire losses.
"The ABB having built up and marsheled its strength, as the bikes and weapons, captured examples of bike trailers, potato launchers, their propellant, grenade ammunition, flamethrowers and fuel being shown to primarily been produced here in the bay with easy to acquire materials?" With each item spoken, a picture appeared on the screen, all while he looked on, grim and resolute. "Given the coordination and fact that units of bikes and ABB foot soldiers could maneuver together speaks of planning and training, of preparations long in the works."
The footage shifts, showing a pair of carts with machine guns mounted on swivels laying down suppressing fire on empire positions, other three carts close by with long tubed launchers before muffled whumps sound and then explosions of shrapnel rain down on those same positions. All the while, ABB foot soldiers, armed mainly with machetes, knives and clubs are moving forward, a handful of pistols, shotguns and rifles among them.
The footage shifted again, as bikers rushed a police barricade, throwing what seemed to be glass jars, exploding into clouds of glass and nails as a cart moved, turning and strafing them as its flamethrower belched, spewing fires all over the barricades as more and more of those glad in red and green marched closer, tearing the barricade down as they moved on Empire territory. "However, things have not been going entirely in the ABB's favor, as both the empire and heroic forces have struck telling blows."
There is a brief moments pause, as he presses his hand to his left ear, clearly listening to something as his eyes go wide. "This just in, we are receiving live footage of what appears to be a group of priests acting against the empires new Red Hand capes!" And with that, there is a moment of darkness, before the grainy images fill the screen.
Alley Near 7th Street and Aleston Road
(Mood Music)
Walking down the street are what appear to be two men and a woman walking down the alley, where the three 'Red Hands' are busy cutting off bits of two ABB soldiers, laughing as they take off slices. Still, their eyes look on and one of them frowns, eyes hard as he sneers at the leading man, who was built as if he could crush the skulls of those before him with a single hand. "We have no quarrel with you priest. Unless of course, you are a foe of the empire?"
There is eagerness in their tone, as all three walks forward (but stay just beyond thirty feet from the three), face calm, as the irishman speaks. Some would recognize him as Father Shamus O'Malley, an old preacher and irishman whose youth was far behind him. "All who walk in goodness and truth oppose the dark and the horrors that prey on men." His tone, even quiet from the distance of the camera, was at least as hard as steel, even as he reached down, taking out what seemed to be a bottle, and throwing it at the three capes.
As one moved to block it, the glass broke and what was likely a powerful acid splashed on them, burning and marking them, even as Gregory Dane begins to speak, his voice firm, and something about it echoing, moving as he lifts a cross, presenting it firmly, as he starts to chant. "My Lord, you are all powerful, you are God, you are Father. We beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one. All saints of Heaven, come to our aid."
As he speaks, the three capes screech, faces contorted in rage and fear, as they hissed out words that seemed to suggest foulness and hate, leaping forward as knives were positioned to stab, even as Father O'Malley moved, hands gripping two of them, slamming them into the third as he grunted, bruises forming across his elderly face. All the while, Dane continued walking forward, presenting the cross and chanting, Verity Pougher, who some would recognize as one of the nuns teaching at Immaculata High School (and given how she used the rod to trip and pin the third many were rethinking giving her any problems in class... save for one to two particularly dirty minded students).
"From anxiety, sadness and obsessions, we beg You. Free us, O Lord. From hatred, fornication, envy, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every thought of suicide and abortion, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every form of sinful sexuality, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every division in our family, and every harmful friendship, we beg You, Free us, O Lord. From every sort of spell, malefic, witchcraft, and every form of the occult, we beg You, Free us, O Lord."
Each word seemed to make the capes thrash, as Father Dane stood over the one Sister Verity had pinned with her long rod, taking out a bottle and anointing his fingers before he knelt, traces of the liquid moving across the capes forehead, eyes and lips, before the cross was placed before him, as the final words came like silent thunder. "Lord, You Who said, "I leave you peace, My peace I give you," grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always. In the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen."
And with those final words, something appears, as smoke pours from the capes mouth, as it formed into the shadow of a creature. It was a bloated and ugly thing, a long dead corpse with bloody red hands and not a trace of hair on it. Claws of smoke and shadow reached out, even as Father Dane presented the cross. "Back to the pit with you in the name of Christ!" The creatures only reply, as the man pinned beneath the rod started to sob, was a baleful moan, breaking apart as it glared with hate towards the priest.
"Is, is it over?" The question came from the cape currently pinned, as the two held by the Irish Father are shrieking obscenities, laced with terror, as Dane approached them, and once more began to pray.
Still, the sister smiled and leaned down, patting him and whispering something, as the cape began to cry with relief, relaxing and becoming almost boneless. Twice more this would be repeated as the demons were driven out, all of the capes crying in relief and not resisting at all, somehow changed, gaunt and shrunken, as if something about them was missing, hollowed out and empty now.
Fox 25
"And there you have it Boston, what seems to be three genuine exorcisms performed in the middle of Brockton Bay in the midst of their recent gang war. This does beg an important question, of rumors coming out of the bay. Long regarded as one of the stranger cities in the state, and indeed in the entire New England area with a long reputation of odd events and strange occurances, to say nothing of the size of their cape population, one just ask this. How many of the other rumors written off as too crazy to have actually happened have some truth to them?
We will bring you more as the situation in the bay develops, as the Protectorate and PRT work alongside the police department to restore order to the streets, hopefully before the Dragon stirs from his lair."