Enter Cloak And Dagger

October 10, 2018:

Cloak and Dagger return to New York City - only to find their home over run by Demons!

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

A dark and dangerous presence has settled over New York City, chaotic and evil. Portals to another dimension are allowing demons and horrors to walk the streets, while inanimate objects come to life as if possessed and even the seemingly pure of heart are corrupted and rendered as base and defile shadows of themselves. While many in the city have managed to leave until the situation has been dealt with, there are far more it seems who have been unable to depart - or simply don't want to.

While the sensible have fled, however, there are some who are either foolish enough or brave enough to travel in the opposite direction, returning to the city after having been away. Such is the case with the vigilante duo known as Cloak and Dagger. Having been visiting Tandy's family in Ohio, the two returned home as soon as the events in New York hit the national news, travelling in the most mundane of fashions - Greyhound bus - until reaching the cordons outside the city limits. There, within range of Tyrone's darkforce teleportation, they've been able to take a much quicker route across the rest of the distance.

So it is that a shadowy mass blossoms into existence within the confines of the Holy Ghost Church, within the shadows of the main hall. The inky blackness grows until it is outlined by dark stripes of midnight blue - the edges of which soon take the shape of a billowing, flowing cloak. At the apex of that garment, a hood - and the man's face within that hood, looking out over the run-down interior of the church, is Cloak himself. His dark brown eyes do not like what they see. A handful of transients and derelicts are huddled at the massive twin doors that lead outside, shoulders leaned into the old wood as they try to prevent something from getting in. The door frame rattles as the force on the other side bangs into it, while the frail and unkempt bums struggle to keep the doors from opening completely. One shouts to another for something to prop against the doors, while another yells that 'they' are about to get in. It doesn't take Cloak long to realize what's going on. "Dagger!" he intones, the black void inside him easily visible behind the flowing edges of his cloak. "The demons are already here, ready to invade the Church! We must do all that we can to help repel them!" And then… the half-dozen homeless are scattered aside as the doors burst open, a pair of giant, gargoyle-looking demons with slavering jaws and fiery red eyes lumbering inside with evil intent.


It is not often that one Tandy Bowen gains the opportunity to visit her step-father. While not close, he is the only family that Tandy cares to keep up with. Her mother has long since abandoned Tandy, in reality, this happened long before Tandy and Tyrone had ever met. Still, Ohio is a long way from New York City, and though Tandy and Tyrone had not planned on staying too long there, their small side-trip was cut very short when news of the goings-on in Manhattan came over the television.

A mundane bus ride was quite long, tedious and filled with fearful anticipation. What would meet their gaze when they finally returned home? What monsters now roamed through the streets? What horrors would they find in their sanctuary, and even more important than that, what of those they cared about -in- the Church? The parishioners, Father Delgado? What had become of them?

As the Port Authority guards kept people from entering the city for their own safety, a trip through the darkness of Cloak's dark dimension was necessary. Within the inky black domain, Dagger's ears pick up Cloak's words though her own does not escape out - - not yet anyway.

The instant the small crowd of people were tossed to one side and the great doors of the Holy Ghost Church burst open revealing twin gargoyle like demons from the darkness within Cloak a single, small stream of light appeared, growing in intensity until it lit up everything in the room. From that brilliant light a figure emerged, her voice echoing outwards in a strong, confident tone. "Fear not, for where there is darkness, there is also light."

Tandy's form is in fluid, graceful motion, as her hands extend outwards in an arc and twin daggers fly outwards from her fingertips towards the oncoming creatures.


With his blue-and-black namesake still billowing in an unseen breeze, Cloak presents a dynamic frame from which his partner is able to emerge. The light that she shines out from the abyss only truly seems to shine into the church itself, the deep black of the darkforce behind her swallowing up that illumination as quickly as she generates it. And once Dagger has fully departed that realm, Cloak sweeps his garment closed, seeming almost to float in place, before a hand can be seen at one edge the garment, reaching out to steady a nearby transient who had been bowled over by the intruding monsters. "Behind us," Cloak commands the bedraggled man as helps the poor soul to his feet. "Aid the others and listen to the words of my partner. For there are none who would do evil that may stand against the power of CLOAK and DAGGER!" The black man's voice is deep and powerful as he speaks, as if the darkness itself was able to form the words.

Nearby the door, the two invading gargoyle-monsters have paused just inside the entrance to the church - perhaps to survey the interior of the holy ground, perhaps to allow their fiery eyes to adjust to the different lighting inside. In either case, they are easily caught flat-footed by the sudden attack of Dagger's light daggers, the bright weapons lancing through the air to strike each one true directly in the midsection. The beasts are not felled by the attack, however - only rearing back in pain and affront, beak-like jaws cawing out in a shriek that to human ears may well sound like the screetching of an angry bird. «YEEEEEE!!!! IT BURNS!!!» The left-hand monster digs taloned claws into a nearby collection box, ripping it from the ground in a spray of splintered wood and loose change before hurling the object back towards the pair of vigilantes. At the same time, the right-hand monster uses it's large, leathery wings to take to the air, clumsily navigating the interior of the church to alit upon one of the wrought-iron chandeleirs hanging from the high, vaulted ceiling, starting to gnaw and gnash at the the heavy iron chains.

Reacting by instinct, Cloak throws himself in the path of the hurtling collection box, the wooden object noiselessly and harmlessly disappearing into the inky void within the folds of his costume. He's unable to do anything about the monster in flight, however, who is only a bite or two away from sending the heavy light fixture down to the ground and onto a pair of straggling homeless underneath it…


"Quickly, quickly!" Dagger's commanding - - yet soft spoken voice calls out to those who still stagger and stumble away from the doorway. Her nimble form is still in motion, leaping over a set of pews to gently help up an elderly woman who had fallen between two of the pews.

"Angel's of mercy save us." The woman can be heard saying, as Dagger gently helps the woman to her feet, a couple others move towards Dagger then, assisting the woman and moving towards the back as Cloak instructs.

"That way, quickly. No harm will befall you this night!" Dagger's words are still confident, even as she shines as brightly as a star.

Not needing to duck down when the collection box went flying, for Dagger instinctly knows that Cloak will be there, for he is -always- there when she needs him to be. They have worked together for so long, it's instinctive. Just as she knows he will not allow any harm to befall her, he knows Dagger will be the first to save those that need it the most.

"You will not harm these people today, monster!" As the homeless and the elderly woman move away from the chaos, Dagger's gaze settles onto the demonic form of the gargoyle aiming to send a light fixture crashing below. Another arc of her arms is given, this time several daggers are aimed towards the one on the fixture. From her fingertips once again intense beams of light shoot outwards, for she intends upon stopping the evil thing's actions. "BE GONE FROM THIS HOLY PLACE!"


Yes, Cloak, too moves with an instinct and reflex of his long-standing partnership with Dagger, knowing where she will be and the actions she is likely to take. The two truly do seem to move as one in many respects - just as the sunlight chases the shadow, so are Cloak and Dagger's movement flawlessly matched and mirrored. As such, he doesn't need to point out the monster that's gotten past him - he already knows that Dagger will engage it, and engage it she does. Her barrage of light daggers hammer into the foul creature, spearing it through and eliciting another shriek of pain and agony from the thing, this time even louder than before. And from the entry wound of each dagger, a single point of light erupts into a series of glowing fissures and cracks, growing across the creatures body until it shatters into a million fragments of dust and darkness. The shrieking is, of course, silenced, the wrought iron chandeleir swaying back and forth from the sudden departure of the monster that had been clinging to it.

Back on the ground, the homeless and haggard do their best to respond quickly to Dagger's instructions, shambling and stumbling to the back of the church as Cloak and Dagger save them. Most of them make it through the small doorway where without issue, not even pausing to look back, though one of the last turns around to warch the gargoyle at the ceiling meet his spectacular demise. That man, stooped and bearded, waits to help the final old woman - the frail lady uttering another quiet oath as she too bears witness and then forms the sign of the cross over her chest before disappearing to safety with the others.

At the front of the church, only one gargoyle monster still remains, rearing backwards again as he faces off against the imposing visage of Cloak and his dark, billowing namesake. "Your fellow monster is deafeated, foul creature," Cloak bellows. "Soon, you shall join him!" Both Cloak and the monster leap towards each other then - seeming as if they are going to crash together in mortal battle! But rather than locking together in combat, the collision is far more anticlimatic. Without a sound so much as a whisper, Cloak's billowing darkness opens up to swallow the monster whole. The creature simply disappears into the black abyss of the striped material, gone as if it never was. Cloak turns then, his brown eyes blazing almost white as he regards Dagger. "The beast is not of this world…" His voice is deep and dark, though much quieter than before. "But its darkness still serves to sate the hunger of my own. It will be of no further threat to those of this Church - or anyone else."


In truth, Dagger really wasn't sure what was going to happen when she sent her light daggers at the demonic creature. In humans - most are given a vision of what their life could be like, a paralizing glimpse of goodness, kindness, of hope and light. In a creature who is made up of darkness and death, it seems her daggers of light still create that hope and light - - it's just the creature is unable to process that beauty, and as a result, the light overpowers the shadow.

As Cloak and the final monster collide - or at least, Cloak devours the gargoyle, trapping it within his dark deminsion, Tandy's brows furrow just slightly. The hunger that constantly tears at Cloak, what would it do with something perhaps as vile as it?

Her mouth parts, though she is unable to get her concerns out, as Father Delgado moves swiftly through the broken doors. His gaze narrows momentarily upon Cloak, then turns with a more gentle gaze on Dagger. "I am glad you are here." He states then, anxiety and worry etched across his features. "There is much that we need to discuss, and this House of the Lord is not safe. There is santuary across the street within the basement of the old theater. I will lead those you saved there."

With that, Father Delgado swiftly rounds up those that had sought shelter in the church and leads them across the streat, leaving Dagger to turn her gaze once more upon Cloak, "We have been alone for so long, Cloak. We have avoided those that call themselves heroes for years now. Perhaps. Perhaps today is the day we seek out their assistance, see if we can lend a hand - together?"


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