14169/Ring of Fire

Ring of Fire
Date of Scene:	06 March 2022
Location:	Little Jamaica's industrial district, Gotham
Synopsis:	Disaster at Little Jamaica's gas terminal in Gotham was averted. The giant fire snake was sent to the elemental plane of fire through the use of a cube of power. When Sinster and Constantine come to find Lucifer, it appears the archangel was transported along the fire spirit in another dimension.
Cast of Characters:	Constantine, Sinister, Lucifer

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Constantine has posed:
All the local news feeds are abuzz: one of Gotham's industrial districts is ablaze. What began in the night with a normal 3-alarms fire degenerated inexplicably. Firefighters couldn't slow down the fire's progress, which spread to other industrial plants in ways that defy logic. Pannel experts are baffled, politicians are calling for terrorism and there are rumors of the National Guard being rounded up for intervention.

One helicopter shot video goes instantly viral all over the networks: a two stories tall snake of fire emerges from the embers of the original fire, snaking away in the direction of the bay. On its way to the water: the natural gas terminal and processing center. The only thing standing between the largest explosion in Gotham and the snake is a blond man in a trenchoat shooting blue beams at it. The lone hero is holding his ground for now through some sort of force field but the snake seems to get more and more aggressive, shooting blasts of fire that melt the asphalt like ice cream.

Sinister has posed:
Someplace else:

"Honey, have you checked out the news? Good grief..." pics of the viral feed. "Does that look like John to you? I swear I'd recognize that trench coat anywhere. Oh, bloody hellfire, it's live..."

And explosions are not something one wants. Gotham isn't their city, but one has holdings all over the place, doesn't one? One does. Insurance claims are frustrating, even when it was by act of god. Or flaming serpent.

Lucifer has posed:
"What? I can't quite hear you over the..." And there's the sound of something going *hiss crackle pop!* as he walks in with tablet in hand. "Oh, you're watching the same thing I am. Yeah, that's John. I was just debating if we should go play with the fire snake, or let him handle it on his own.."

Asphalt melts like ice cream, and the snake is likely not going to go down without a fight. Lucifer recognizes it as Gotham, and while it's not his city, he's also not really sure he wants to see John end his glory days too soon. "What do you think? Should we go?"

Constantine has posed:
"This man on the ground is fighting what the internet named 'The Gotham Bay Dragon'. If that hero fails, a big chunk of Gotham could disappear in the biggest portuary explosion since Halifax. I can't quite see his face, so we're going to fly closer," says the reporter in the helicopter. The angle shifts and plunges for a drive-by shooting - the cinematic kind.

The fire serpent stopped spraying heat at what looks like John Constantine to melt the ground /under/ the magician, a move that surprises him and as the chunk under his feet tilts, John loses balance.

"The lone hero is in trouble!" says the reporter, followed by "Oh my God, we're in tro" as the giant fire snake notices the helicopter and lunges at it. The signal is lost.

Sinister has posed:
"Yes. Yes, I think we ought..." a mere thought has the full 'uniform' coming on for Nathaniel. Well, uniform isn't accurate. Costume with practical functionality is actually more the case. The body armour is definitely not just for show. Of course, Lucifer doesn't have a costume, unless he rents one or gets one from Amazon from the ... ahem. Right. "I think there's good enough visuals for a teleport..."

Hopefully that is all that will be needed, before the smells of the dockside, the heat of flame, the accrid aroma of burning tarmac and electrical cords, metal... all of that hits the nostrils.

Lucifer has posed:
Plenty of visuals for a teleport, and he'll get himself and Sinister to the docks just before immediately leaving Sinister's side. Wings out, he'll fly through the disaster to grab the tilting John and yank him from the crumbling asphalt beneath his feet. Flying them back around to the docks where he deposits John and then turns back towards the Fiery Serpent. "Fight fire with fire I suppose?"

Constantine has posed:
John's eyes are rolling in panic, trying to find sense in all this chaos. His mind goes to the obvious. "Lucifer!" The soles of his shoes are smoking and the sleeves of his pants are burning, the whoosing air of this chance flight killing the flames. John looks down to see the snake swallow the helicopter through a dislocated maw. Only the tail remains visible and WOOBOOM, the vehicule explodes inside the fire snake, making it bulge at the throat... and grow one story taller?

"Not sure we should feed it any more, mate." Even though he's flying through chemical fumes and plumes of smoke, John finds a way to light up a cigarette. "This looks like the snake spirit I sold to the Jamaican gang, remember? They grow up so fast... even water can't stop it, it's a spirit."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister flies free, opposite direction from Lucifer who's all about the snatch and grab rescue. He, on the other hand, flies around infront of the serpent as it lunges for the helicopter, the machine swallowed up and presumably the crew with it -- save that both hands are raised and the ruby in his forehead is glowing brilliantly. Free of the flames a bubble of reddish energy containing a pilot and a camera man tumbles end over end to land on the water of the docks and skitter sidelong until it hits a jetty and bursts, disgorging what would otherwise have been the victims of the jamaican folly.

It does leave him afterwards right there with the great flame python, looking as the fuel is used to grow immense. Another thrust of both hands creates a large dome of kinetic force which he attempts to squish the fire into. It holds for about five seconds, before it shatters and dissipates the energy. <<Bit too big, bit too big... evasive action.>> Zooming off toward the water and around, away from the fuel depository and the potential of diesel and other gas products in the shipping lanes, he seeks to draw it back toward the middle of the warehouses. <<Fighting fire with fire is probably worthwhile, as long as it can't overarc.>>

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer eyes John for a moment and then glances back to the serpent. "So what are we supposed to do with it then? I can open a gate and it can go swirl around in Hell for a little while until it calms down..." He says this before watching Sinister for a moment as the man tries to withold the serpent but that proves to be folly.

"Can you lead it out to the ocean, Nathaniel, without it running into anything that's going to go boom?" Water may not fight it, but getting it into more of an open area without explody bits will be beneficial."

Constantine has posed:
The inflamed spirit takes the bait and snaps toward Sinister, missing, and then starts chasing the flying blue madman. Nothing survives in the trail of the snake, all is flattened to a shallow trench of embers and volcanic glass bordered by caustic flames on each side. Beyond, the horizon that can be seen through the curtain of smog is one lit by a sea of flashing lights, more first responder vehicles and fire trucks joining their friends to tame this inferno.

"Not a bad idea. We could also send it to the fire plane, you know? Feeding it Hellfire... I did that already. It was large as a car before. I fucked up." John holds his cigarette at eye level and thinks very hard of Sinister, in case his thoughts reach him. "I can coral it toward the bay, I think... MUHAN YEONGI!"

With those magic words, John blows on his cigarette and a black cloud of smoke shoots from it and grows, moving to surround fire snake to block its sight on all quadrants but for a way toward the water. The giant fire snake stops, looks around, unable to decide which way to go. John tosses his cigarette butt.

Sinister has posed:
<<Ok, we do not fight fire with fire then, if it can devour hellfire. However, we do have a fireproof celestial in a pinch.>> The devastation being wrought by what is essentially a lava-hot entity, with far more mobility, Sinister flies higher, out of the creature's immediate strike range. But probably not spitting range, if it came to it. Ohh, but that's a horrifying thought. Containment is something to consider however and observations on the serpent's awareness of the smoke has him hovering in classic pose, gazing down <<Hell or another plane, but if it sticks around here for much longer, it is going to end up the size of a cargo train.>>

Reaching out with his mind, whispers of suggestion hint at the awareness of the spirit snake, likely felt by the other two, but he's not concentrating on -them- in this equasion. Go, that way, in a tunnel, that's the way out, more food, more food! Solid walls, solid smoke, smoke...

Lucifer has posed:
"Fire plane it is then. It can go live it's happiest life where it belongs. Since it's a spirit and all. John, can you get us a rift open?" Lucifer says this all while taking off again. In mid-flight, he sheds his mortal form, flesh sloughing off until he's the Devil true, with bat-like black wings and is heading straight for the fire snake spirit.

Fire resistent indeed, fire proof - absolutely. This allows him to rise up and land on the head of the fire serpent and grabs flames until he can use them as a sort of lasso around the snake itself. "Come on you troublesome spirit, lets go for a ride!"

Constantine has posed:
John is not so fire retardant in his natural form so he is happy to be left behind. "I'll do what I can, Lucifer!" he promises at the angel flying off. He clasps his hands together and speaks words of power, his hands starting to glow blue from the space within...

The giant snake shakes itself, trying to unhorse Lucifer. It screeches like a kettle's whistle as the fire lasso capture its neck. It redoubles efforts in thrashing and it even burns brighter, nothing Lucifer can't handle. The smoke wall John summoned is almost all gone and the first responders are swarming through, bringing their high pressure hoses to bear. The water spears hit the snake and turning to steam before it can do anything... except for getting the snake's attention. The fire monster turns to face the firemen and hisses again.

"I'm going to need more time!" John shouts to whomever. He parts his hands suddenly and something blue zooms upwards, growing to the size of an appartment building almost instantly. The air displacement chases off all the smoke on a radius of three city blocks. High above, a giant floating tesseract looms, glowing with interdimensional might. "It's always tease tease tease" the tesseract sings.

Sinister has posed:
Well, this one is going to go down in the Weird Files. It'll be reported more thoroughly in the Inquirer, maybe in the Daily Sun's weird or what? And it'll get put down to a massive firework snake that went wrong. And ... and... and... not the devil riding it like it's a rodeo. And that's not a singing cube being amplified by a mad englishman in a dirty trenchcoat.

Sinister, hovering over all this, just stares a moment, looking down at the first responders attempting to stop the terrible situation from worsening, at what his eyes are actually seeing with it. "Well, this is going into my journals," he dives, silently landing behind all the firefighters and ambulance crews, the reporters et all and politely coughs. "Hello. Yes. Please all look at me." <<LOOK AT ME NOW>> "...we're going for a walk. This way please. Out of the range of the giant fire snake. Walk this way." And because he can't seem to help it, left ball change, right ball change, hop heel click, repeat. A conga line of confused humans following in step.

Lucifer has posed:
"I think I can buy you a little!" Lucifer offers as he begins to lead his serpent beast further away from the warehouses, guiding it out towards the ocean proper without it doing too much more destructive damage. "I'm letting you know right now, Serpent, that it is time for you to go!" He yells it out while the tesseract sings and Nathaniel continues to try and make sure to save all the actual mortal people down below.

"Bruce Wayne better send me a thank you gift after this!"

Constantine has posed:
The intervention crew finds itself mesmerized by the magnificent Sinister. Hoses, axes and gurneys are dropped and like in a dream, they follow the blue man away from danger, possibly for that press conference where they'll try to explain what in Hell happened here.

The snake thrashes again, reminded of Lucifer. It rolls on its back, which bangs the archangels a little against the ground.

Feeling the timing is right and the energy needed for his next feat ready to roll, Constantine raises his hands and snaps his fingers. "Show time." The tesseract in the sky hiccups and throws a beam of blue light around the snake and Lucifer, just like a UFO would. More for the urban legend. The song it was playing changes for a trashy version of Johny Cash's 'Ring of Fire' too.

At the base of the beam of light something happens, a distortion that warps light in a weird way and grows rapidly, with the brightest of radiances at its center. "Lucifer, don't walk into the light!" John warns him.

Air is being sucked in faster and faster, then fire is peeled off the snake in ribbons as the portal approches. In the sky above the tesseract is shrinking even faster, its energy being drained quickly. The snake shreeks one last time as it leviates off the ground and starts spinning slowly until it touches the heart of the distortion... SHLOOP! The fire serpent vanishes along the portal, hopefully without Lucifer. The tesseract is gone, too. John rushes in to make sure the archangel is fine.

Sinister has posed:
Away from the flames, congregating in the middle of this parking lot that's still intact, with the flashes of cameras and dazed film crews. "Please, line up. Or gather around. Do things... that you do. Just stay here and come up with a clue as to what you saw. You, with the microphone. Go! Interview people." Sinister instructs then floats up and away, backwards -- have to keep an eye on the milling masses until he's sure that the suggestion has stuck and only THEN back to where Johny Cash had been belting out his particular brand of sound.

The devastation of the tarmac and outlying structures makes him shake his head a little as he hovers close to ground zero, feeling all the heat from the molten surfaces. "Tell me that worked..."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer isn't going to do much walking either way, but he has to make sure that the serpent spirit goes where it's intended. As trashy Cash tributes play and the tesseract begins to swallow the spirit, Lucifer stands to try and time him getting away but also ensuring the spirit can't just turn around and come back to life or something.

The light grows bigger before it gets smaller, and soon there's likely not a lot that one can see. Perhaps the figure of Lucifer standing, thinking, and then jumping......
.....
....
...
..
.
And then there's nothing. The snake disappears in a flash of the tesseract closing the gate to the fire realm behind, and when it's closed and all are watching who care with baited breath. There is no Lucifer. The King of Hell.... is gone.

Constantine has posed:
"Lucifer!" John shouts as he paces around the last seen location of the fire snake. "Lucifer!" Even with a magic lens stretched between his hands, John can't seem to find his friend from Hell. With a shaking hand, he drains what middle shelf booze is left in his flask and he sits down on a chunk of rubble that is not searing hot. Slowly, he bends forward to put his head between his hands.

Sinister has posed:
Sinister hadn't been particularly worried that whatever was going on when he was corralling the press and the first responders, was going to be traumatic. It turns out to be sixty one percent out of a hundred... traumatic. Sinister stares at Constantine the longest moment, the reaction, sinking to alcohol drinking dispair and the head in the hands and he slowly, pointedly shakes his head. "Unacceptable. No." Are the rocks and loose bits of roofing and rubble vibrating? Yes, they are. Some are lifting up, dust lifting with it, agitated. He stares at thin air, where the tesseract cube had sung its last chords -- the cloak at his back twitches, the tapered cords of it lashing as he does so.

Two fingers to his temple, thumb pressed in against his cheek below the bone, he stares at the empty space.

Through the astral plane, through the mind zone, echoed and extremely loud...

            <<LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR!>>

Blood trickles out of his nose, leaks from the inner canthus of his eyes, the glowing reds going white hot.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer is gone. Like gone gone. None in the terra plain can see him, find him, or feel him. Sinister, can likely feel him. A faint blip among the reaches of his telepathy. But he's gone. More to come!