Step up 2d8 in the Doom Pool for Daredevil's 2 opportunities in Msg #684.

Doom Pool: 2d10, 3d8

Reaction to Daredevil's attempt to create "Spare A Human Life" complication on Ghost Rider (Total: 15, Effect: d6).

Solo d10
Avenger of the Innocent d8
Menace Master 2d8
1d8 from the Doom Pool

11:43, Today: Ghost Rider rolled 3,1,4,5,6 using 1d10,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d8.  Ghost Rider's reaction to Daredevil's verbal challenge.

Total: 11
Effect: d10
Opportunities: 1 (Available first to Daredevil)

Daredevil wins. Higher defending effect die steps "Spare A Human Life" complication created on Ghost Rider down to d4. Spent 1d8 doom to add it to Ghost Rider's dice pool.

Doom Pool: 2d10, 2d8

"To place another human life, even a sinner's, above your own is... honorable," the Rider replies to Daredevil. "But she--" he casts a glance at Spider-Woman-- "-- is correct. I am not here to take Cletus Kasady to Hell. I am here to give him a taste of what awaits him there. My Penance Stare will visit upon him every last bit of the pain he has inflicted on so many innocents. As for killing him..."

Step up 1d8 in the Doom Pool for Spider-Woman's opportunity in Msg #687.

Doom Pool: 3d10, 1d8

Ghost Rider reacts to Spider-Woman's suggestion to kill Carnage (Total: 16, Effect: d10).

Solo d10
Avenger of the Innocent d4 (She's got a point)
Hellfire d8 (Pheromones meet burning skeleton)
Menace Master 2d8

12:30, Today: Ghost Rider rolled 10,4,7,6,3,4 using 1d10,1d4,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d8.  Ghost Rider responds to Jessica's suggestion he ought to kill Carnage.

Total: 17
Effect: d8
Opportunities: 0

Ghost Rider wins with no mental stress taken. Step up 1d8 doom for Ghost Rider's use of his "Avenger of the Innocent" distinction at d4.

Doom Pool: 4d10

"... I may consider that. After he pays penance, and only if there are none here with a greater claim to his life than I."

Actions Available: Mayhem, The Watcher

In reply to Mayhem (msg # 671):


"I..." the Dream starts, before hesitating. "My memories of what came before this are... blurry." She looks from Mayhem over to the captive Carnage. "I remember that monster, of course, but..." She narrows her eyes at Mayhem. "I also remember what you did to me."

A moment passes before she speaks again. It's not just anger in her voice, but sadness. "I know what it's like to die now. That's why I can never let you kill anyone else again, April. Not even him."

Emotional attack on Mayhem.

Team d10
Voice of Reason d8
Psych Expert d8
Mayhem's Emotional Stress d6
*1d8 from the Doom Pool

21:44, Today: American Dream rolled 4,7,5,2,3 using 1d10,1d8,1d8,1d6,1d8.  Emotional attack on Mayhem.

Total: 16
Effect: d8
Opportunities: 0

Spent 1d10 doom to add it to the pool, and another d10 doom to add a 3rd die to the total.

Doom Pool: 2d10

Actions Available: Mayhem, The Watcher

*Actually should have been d10 doom, but oh well.

15:16, Today: Mayhem rolled 9,1,1 using 1d10,1d4,1d8 with rolls of 9,1,1.  Solo d10, Auntie M d4, Menace d8. – 9,1,1

That's 9/d4. d8 stepped up once is d10. I am electing not to activate Psychotic at this time.



"Dammit, Shannon--" Mayhem deflates, leaving April looking small and old and brittle. "-- dammit. You were right, you know that? You and Mayday, you were right all along, and you believed in me and if I'd just listened to you we'd all still be alive and... and..." Tears trail down her cheeks; she's trembling. "You were right back then. But can't you see you're wrong this time?"

"I killed a couple dozen people before you. While May-- the real May-- was trying to save me. Before I killed you. Before I killed her. I lost track of how many... after that... trying to protect people from that thing. Lost track. But everyone it killed, everyone SHIELD killed, trying to bring me down? Eight and a half billion people, a planet, that's on me, too."

April walks up to the Ghost Rider and the helpless Cletus Kasady slowly, with her hands up. "Is it souls you want, Rider? You can take mine... wherever you want if you promise to take his somewhere it can never come back. If... you need someone to pay for the lives Carnage has taken... he's the red in my ledger, too. I'll pay for everything if you'll just close the goddamned account."

16:06, Today: Mayhem rolled 1,6,3,7 using 1d10,1d8,1d8,1d10 ((1,6,3,7)).

Spending a PP to use two Distinctions in the roll. That's 13/d8, my Emotional Stress steps up to d12. Someone better start throwing punches soon, or I'm going to miss all the fun.

NEXT: The Watcher (can I specify Ghost Rider?)
This message was last edited by the player at 23:13, Wed 08 Dec 2021.

Spider-Man looks crestfallen as Eddie gives his diagnosis of the situation. "Cletus and Carnage are inseparable now? If that's true..." He sighs. "Dammit! What will we do with him, then?"

Tugging on his own black symbiote where it covers his hand, he argues with the living costume. "Alright, Inky, time to go back to Uncle Eddie and be with your friends. C'mon, quit fighting me! And don't even think about latching onto one of those civilians out there!"

Spider-Man adds "Stretching" d8 to the Doom Pool. Mob of Rioters 5d6 adds "Swarm" d8 to the Doom Pool.

Doom Pool: 2d10, 2d8

As Parker struggles, Morbius glides over to where Venom stands.

"You are certain about Kasady being incurable? I know a thing or two about blood mutations. Perhaps I could also be of assistance here."



Tigra's ears perk up at Spider-Woman's steely address of the Ghost Rider, and she lets out a low whistle.

"Damn, sister," she smiles. "No one tells it like you."

Then, more seriously, she adds: "And you're right. Carnage ran wild tonight, and even the Sorcerer Supreme couldn't stop him alone. If he and his little creepy-crawlies had escaped this stadium... gotten into the city... things could have gotten much worse."

Suddenly, her symbiote interjects: "We handled Kasady just fine ourselves, Greer. Now, time for a victory feast! Spider-Lady's costume looks like ketchup and mustard. Are we going to eat her?!"

"Dammit, Symba--!" Greer groans, as she struggles to restrain the wild symbiote. "Sorry, I think your pheromones are agitating him, Jess. Oh, and about the kid. Remind me to tell you something later. Mother to mother... and after we settle this Kasady situation."


In reply to Mayhem (msg # 671):

Mayhem takes d10 Emotional Stress. Step up 2d8 and 1d10 in the Doom Pool for Mayhem's 3 opportunities in Msg #693.

Doom Pool: 1d12, 3d10

Shannon-- the Dream-- hears April's pleas. Her expression remains tearful, yet resolute. "And this... killer... my friend has become. What will she do once Carnage is finally dead?" Her eyes, full of both suspicion and concern, never waver from Mayhem as she watches her friend confront the Ghost Rider.


Ghost Rider responds to Mayhem's plea for him to send Carnage away (Total: 13, Effect: d8).

Solo d10
Avenger of the Innocent d4 (Feeling her pain)
Menace Master 2d8

08:19, Today: Ghost Rider rolled 2,2,6,1 using 1d10,1d4,1d8,1d8.  Ghost Rider responds to Mayhem's plea to banish Carnage.

Total: 8
Effect: d10
Opportunities: 1 (Available first to Mayhem)

Mayhem's extraordinary success and the Rider's higher effect die cancel out, to leave the attacker's effect die at d8. Ghost Rider takes d8 of Mental Stress. Step up 1d10 in the Doom Pool for Ghost Rider's use of his "Avenger of the Innocent" distinction at d4.

Doom Pool: 2d12, 2d10

Ghost Rider says nothing as he steps off his bike and around to the back. With a gesture, the chains binding Carnage-- even covering the mouth of his exposed face-- fall away. The Rider grabs Cletus by the scruff of his neck and hauls him high into the air.

"Each one of you, in your own way, has suffered much at this one's hands. Yet you persevered, and stopped this shameless killer from hurting untold numbers of innocents. Calamity was averted this day, thanks to you. And now, this murderer's punishment shall be your reward."

Facing the murderer in his supernatural grip, the Rider meets Kasady's gaze. The villain-- barely conscious for his injuries, too weak to lift his borrowed shield-- doesn't even find the strength to struggle or taunt the Rider. He just stares back with defiant contempt until the hellfire beams issue forth from the skeleton's eye sockets and place him under their spell.

"Cletus Kasady," growls the Ghost Rider. "Look into my eyes!"

End of the round. First action in the new round is Ghost Rider.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:40, Sat 11 Dec 2021.

Blinding light bathes the heroes and vigilantes in its glow as the Ghost Rider's "Penance Stare" bores into Cletus Kasady. Even for those who spare no pity for a man so far gone, the image is like something from a nightmare. Hellfire erupts from the burning skull's eye sockets, billowing into Carnage's face as he squirms and kicks. Though it does not burn his flesh, the agony it causes can be seen in his clenched teeth and the way his bloodshot eyes pop and twitch. Though he does not scream, he does not respond with his trademark mockery, either.

"Grrgghh--!" he moans, mouth foaming. "Rrrrgghh!!"

For a time, the others watching can only guess at the images unfolding in his shattered mind. And then suddenly, the hellfire beams streak from Carnage to strike the heroes and vigilantes, too! Like fire burning at the edges of their own minds, terrible images and sensations begin to assail them. No sooner can the realization be made that something's very wrong before the trickle turns into a fiery flood, as memories of madness consume the heroes and vigilantes. If any have the mental fortitude to examine the Ghost Rider before they are pulled under, they would see that even that supernatural entity seems taken aback. For the Penance Stare's purpose is to punish the target of his wrath-- to "visit upon him all the pain he has caused the innocent"-- not upon all those in his vicinity. There is little time for argument or reason, however. As the sights and sounds the heroes and vigilantes are experiencing begin to burn with even greater intensity, their only hope might be to hang onto any sanity they have remaining!

Ghost Rider (unwillingly) creates "Cletus Kasady's Memories and Experiences" complication upon the heroes and vigilantes.

Solo d10
Pawn of Heaven and Hell d4 (What is going on?!)
Hellfire d8
Menace Master 2d8
Moon Knight's "Entangled" d10
Mayhem's Emotional Stress d12
1d10, 2d12 from the Doom Pool
6d6 from Area Attack SFX

11:11, Today: Ghost Rider rolled 7,1,1,6,8,3,9,8,11,8,4,6,1,2,3,1 using 1d10,1d4,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d10,1d12,1d10,d12,1d12,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6.  Ghost Rider's penance power spirals out of control!

Total: 28
Effect:

d6 to Black Cat
d6 to Domino
d6 to Mayhem
d8 to Moon Knight
d6 to Spider-Woman
d8 to Venom
(Daredevil is unaffected.)

Opportunities: 4 (Available to all players)

Spent 1d10 and 2d12 doom to add it to the dice pool. Spent another d10 doom to add a 3rd die to the total. Add 1d6 to the Doom Pool for Ghost Rider's use of the "Pawn of Heaven and Hell" distinction at d4. All players (except DD), take +2 XP for the 2d12 doom added to the roll.

Doom Pool: 1d6

*Reactions Needed: Black Cat, Domino, Mayhem, Moon Knight, Spider-Woman, Venom

Actions Available: All players (Start of the penultimate round)

*Symbiote powers may be added to reaction rolls, as their alien physiology interacts with the Penance Stare in mysterious ways.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:06, Sun 12 Dec 2021.

12:57, Today: Mayhem rolled 8,8,2,8,6,9 using 1d8,1d8,1d10,1d8,1d8,1d10 with rolls of 8,8,2,8,6,9.  Sixteen Going on Seventy, Somwhere I Belong, Solo d10, Durability d8, Menace d8, Symbiote Stunt. – 8,8,2,8,6,9

That's 1 PP to use two Distinctions, 1 PP for the Stunt. Effort 17, Effect d10. d6 goes up two steps for 11 short, down one step for higher effect: Complication: d8

EDIT: Reorganizing per Watcher’s request.

April turns to American Dream. "Don’t you get it, Shannon? I was never your friend, as much as I wanted to be. My sister was your friend, until I killed her. Even after that, you still tried to be my friend… until I broke your neck and threw you in the Hudson. This is not the killer I’ve become, this is the killer I’ve always b--”

And then Cletus Kasady screams, and Mayhem screams with him, black and blue all over except for the murderous hate burning in her white eyes. Her fangs and talons lengthen, and festoon themselves wickedly with serrations and barbs.

---

Little April sat on the floor of her Nana's attic, ignoring the pain in her swollen eye and her swollen lip. Ignoring the tears in her eyes. She held Lord Phillip tight to her chest, letting him purr reassuringly. Nice kitty, she thinks as she runs her fingers through his fluffy white fur... "It's going to be okay," she lies as she lifts the cordless drill in her other hand.

This is not my memory, she reminded herself. It was Kasady's first kill, and Carnage's last words. Every time. So many times.

Mayhem's first kill had been named "Phillip", too. Stupid coincidence, she tells herself as she looks down on the winded purse snatcher, it doesn't mean anything. The scene looked a little different to Auntie M in hindsight. He didn't mean to hit the old lady that hard, she tells herself. He didn't mean for her to hit her head on the curb.

He hadn’t meant for anyone to get hurt. Until something had startled him. Auntie M screams at her younger self to stop… but the grin that spreads across her face is no longer her own.

I’m sorry, Phillip.

She ran her talons through his sweaty, greasy hair. "It's going to be okay," she purred at him, as she lifted the talons of her other hand.

It’s only a few years later, and a budding young Mayhem holds the wheelchair balanced at the very edge of the top step. Her grin spreads from ear to ear. Nasty old woman, she tells herself. She deserves this. She never loved me. Nana screams something, but Mayhem doesn’t hear her, not really. ”Whoopsie! Almost went over that time, Nana!”

”Go ahead, you sniveling little shit,” Nana dares her… in Peter Parker’s voice. ”It’s what you were made for, isn’t it? Take your shot, killer.”

April screams. And lets go of the wheelchair. It tumbles, end over end, down the stairs into Roscoe Kasady’s unfinished basement-- KRAK!! CLONK!! SPLORCH!!-- again and again and seemingly forever, until it comes to an uneasy halt, its occupant twitching violently in the fashion that Auntie M knows all too well. Too late. I did this. I am as much of a monster as Carnage ever was.

A welcome, red-and-blue glove grips Auntie M’s shoulder; she puts her own hand on top of it, but doesn’t dare look back. Tears trickle down her cheeks.

”Maybe I should have asked you to tell our family you loved them, idiot.”

”It’s going to be okay this time, sis.”

---

Mayhem starts cackling maniacally; though her symbiote form is once again swirled with white, whatever torment she’s endured at the hands of Carnage and the Ghost Rider has clearly left her… not okay.

”I’m not a monster like Kasady, Shannon… or Dad… Daredevil, whoever needs to hear that. I am going to scoop the brains out of his skull with my tongue and crack open all of his bones to suck out the marrow, and I am going to siphon every last drop of moisture out of his tissues and I’m going to roast Kasady’s flesh to charcoal over that demonic sack of fail’s useless skull and let him keep it as a participation trophy. Thanks for showing up, asshole, thank you for not intentionally making this worse for everyone.”

”And then, and then, I am going to do what I should have done in the first place… and stop trying to prove I can be a better hero than Mayday ever was, and start trying to prove I can be the hero she believed I could be! That only Mayday believed I could be, because I never did--” she points an accusing talon at Spider-Man-- ”and you never did, and the Avengers never did until I murdered half of them…”

She starts sobbing, and the color blanches out of her as she slumps to the grass.

”… and then I have to figure out how a be a person…”

EDIT: I am adding an action to this post while it will still be useful.

10:47, Today: Mayhem rolled 5,8,7,5,5 using 1d10,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d12 with rolls of 5,8,7,5,5.  Solo, Somewhere I Belong, Shapeshifting, Menace, Emotional Stress. – 5,8,7,5,5

Effort: 20 (8,7,5) Effect: d12 and d10. April is (unintentionally) creating one hell of a distraction for anyone who wants to attack Cletus Kasady without the named characters noticing and also, if possible, using the symbiotic/hellfire link to hinder Cletus Kasady's defense against those attacks.

That's both my Plot Points, and I'm stressing myself out and inflicting-- 1d4 or 1d6 Emotional Trauma against myself-- to get that fat d12. I'm content with her simply being catatonic until after everything's over, and then fleeing afterwards or if she's confronted. She's got some shit to deal with, though... she will make good on her promise to wring Carnage's corpse out as thoroughly as possible.

NEXT: Any Vigilante
This message was last edited by the player at 19:19, Tue 14 Dec 2021.

Daredevil's trick with the cable was still a fresh wound to Moon Knight's ego when suddenly it became highly insignificant. Ghost Rider was... leaking. And everyone watching was suddenly gripped in the psychic throes of his Penance Stare.

Nice going, you skull-faced fuck-up," thought one of Moon Knight's inner voices. He couldn't even tell which amid the sudden onslaught. The images came at him hard and fast. Blood and bone, flesh and gore. Violence and death.

It served Carnage right that he'd be judged and punished for his crimes. Except...

Except...

Except the images were from Moon Knight's own mind. He wasn't seeing Carnage's handiwork. He was viewing his own.

Don't look, boss, said Lunacy the symbiote, from way back in Moon Knight's head. Seemingly of its own volition, Moon Knight's hood pulled itself down over his eyes.

Solo*: d10
Dangerous Past: d8
Shapeshifting: d10
Menace Expert: d8
Ghost Rider's Mental Stress: d8

Moon Knight rolled 10,5,3,8,6 using d10,d8,d10,d8,d8 ((10,5,3,8,6)).

Total: 24
Effect: d10
(Spending 1PP to keep 3rd die)

Moon Knight takes d8 Complication, stepped down to d6 for a higher Effect die.

---

* = Because I literally have no idea who, if anyone, is on my side.

Eddie sighs, "Venom shield the little ones. This will hurt us but deaden it for them." He doesn't look away otherwise he doesn't flinch, "We have done just as much wrong as our broken son, let magic sort us out."




OOC
Team d8
Forged by adversity d8
Symbiote Team 3d8
Menace Expert 1d8

Total: 17 (spent 2 PP to keep more dice in total)
Effect: D8
Oops: 1
PP: 0

18:08, Today: Venom rolled 4,2,4,6,3,1 using 1d6,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d8 ((4,2,4,6,3,1)).

Domino rolled her eyes at the amateur melodramatics washing over the area, as she stood there next to Deadpool ... her guns ready ... when the opportunity present itself ... to finish the job.

Then, suddenly, the gathered were again under attack; this time from the hell demon thing in their midst.
'Fuck this', Domino growled.
The demonic effect was, she could sense, powerful and insidious in its insistence ... but mild.
Reaction to Total28 Effect:
d10 Buddy ... because right now, she sees everyone by Deadpool as enemy, and working against her
d8   Femme Fatale
d6   Luck
d8   Psyche Expert ... conditioned to resist this sort of thing

- rolled 9,7,3,3 using d10,d8,d6,d8.
Total:  16
Effect: d8


But it pissed her off, and with Carnage held as he was by the demon, Domino had a clean shot.
She didn't hesitate to take it.
Action:   Shoot Carnage in the face.  Shoot him ded, Ded, DED!
d10 Buddy ... because right now, she sees everyone by Deadpool as enemy, and working against her
d8   Femme Fatale
d10   Guns
SFX: Full Auto. Against a single target, step up or double a Guns die. Remove the highest rolling die and use three dice for your total.
d10 Superhuman Reflexes
d10 Combat Master
d8  "Symbiote-Seeking Bullets" resource
d10 spend 1PP to trigger a Watcher Opportunity for a Combat Stunt for a 'Blow the creeps face off'

- rolled 9,6,2,6,10,3,7 using d10,d8,d10,d10,d10,d8,d10.
Spend 1PP to add an additional die to the total
Total: 28
Effect: d10
Opps: -

Current PP: 1
Next:  Whomever
This message was last edited by the player at 20:31, Wed 15 Dec 2021.

Spider-Woman cringed as she felt the Soulfire sear her with hellish intensity. At first, her skin burned with the fires of Perdition, but her skin remained uncharred. Jessica thought back to Tigra’s most harrowing story of her first run as an Avenger. The day the Ghost Rider blasted her with his hellfire. The day Greer found her resolve as an Avenger utterly shattered by that trauma.

Oh, it had sounded horrific at the time of the telling. Yet it also sounded like a superhero equivalent of a ghost story. Something scary, but still remote as a possibility of personal experience.

Until it happened to her.

Jessica screamed as a cacophony of images burned her mind. Once again, she was in the cockpit of Carnage’s helicopter, Shriek pouring her hate and rage into a scream that literally tore at Jessica. She felt the shame and anger at that comeuppance surge again within herself, accompanied by a vindictive desire to return that pain.

Then, the image burned away, replaced by another memory. Jessica holding Nick Fury, her face streaked with tears as her lover Jared lay dying. She’d intended to murder Nick Fury, goaded by the HYDRA brainwashing and Jared’s manipulation. Only Fury’s quick thinking saved them both by showing Jessica the truth. Jessica burned with the realization that only a quirk of Fate saved her from turning out like Shriek. Hunted and hounded. Hurt and hurting others in return. A plaything for a sociopath.

As the Hellfire ebbed, Jessica found her frantic breathing return to normal. She was whole and unhurt.

Mostly.

Now, she fully understood the horror that Tigra had survived.


OOC:

21:30, Today: Spider-Woman rolled 2,1,3,10,1 using 1d8,1d4,1d10,1d10,1d8.  Reaction + Gaining 1PP.

Oh. Hell no. I’m not even bothering with the math. I’ll just take the hit and give y’all some Marvel Melodrama.

Sorry about the 2 Opportunities, y’all. The Dice Roller, she hates me.

Felicia is sitting in front of a safe.  She's wearing a girl scout uniform.  Haven't pulled this scam since what, eight? she thinks, before the dream-state takes back over.  She hears her father calling from the next room.  "Almost done in there, Fee-Fee?". No, was that his voice?  Something seems wrong.

She opens the door into the house, and her father is bleeding on the floor, and she's not holding a lockpick, she's holding a knife.

No, that's not what happened.  And then the blood moves on the floor, tendrils racing towards her, grasping for her.

"What's the matter, Fee Fee?  You can do it.  Finish the job". It's Kassady's voice.

17:45, Today: Black Cat rolled 6,4,2,6 using d8,d8,d10,d8.  buddy,world-class thief,bad luck,crime expert.
Total: 12
Effect: d10
Opps: 0
Current PP: 1

"Cletus Kasady's Memories and Experiences" complication effects are as follows:

Black Cat takes d10 complication.
Domino takes d8 complication.
Mayhem takes d8 complication.
Moon Knight takes d6 complication.
Spider-Woman takes d10 complication.
Venom takes d12 complication.
(Daredevil takes no complication.)

Next to the entangled Moon Knight-- immobilized, yet not defenseless, thanks to his symbiote-- Daredevil stands in the midst of a chaotic scene. All around him, memories of sin and suffering continue to burn in the minds of those under the Penance Stare. Whatever fires the Man Without Fear has already survived tonight-- literal and otherwise-- this could be the biggest one he's encountered yet.

"Uncle Ben!" cries out Spider-Man. "No, I didn't mean to-- oh, God! Somebody, help!"

"Demogoblin... Doppelganger... Turned to dust, by my own hand...!" Carrion mutters.

"A cannibal, Kasady is," gasps Morbius. "A monster out for blood, just like me..." .

How is it that the violent recollections of Cletus Kasady-- a villain and a killer-- are now being inflicted on the others present? Perhaps this strange mingling of minds is some error of the Ghost Rider's-- or some kind of cosmic joke on the part of the higher powers he serves. If her human soul weren't currently burning in the fires of penance, the Sorceress Supreme might have some idea of what has happened. But for the moment, she is only able to scream and fall to her knees as a stream of violent images rocks her to her core. Next to her, the resolute Spider-Woman fights to remain standing as she is afflicted by horrific visions all her own. Dragonfang remains forgotten nearby, having been embedded in the earth during the earlier conflict between heroes and vigilantes. Now, as both sides alike burn in the same fire, that brief battle already seems so long ago.

Not far away, Mayhem and the American Dream fare little better. Together, they share visions of a world ravaged by Kasady-- their world-- and fight desperately to break free. Elsewhere, Domino, to her credit, finds strength enough to draw and aim her weapon. Even as she is wracked by supernatural pain, sheer muscle memory allows her to level the weapon toward her primary target. The success of her next action might well be the true test of whose luck reigns supreme: her own, or the Black Cat's. For why else has Neena begun to sense a strange negative feedback upon her luck powers, ever since the cat burglar crossed her path? How else could this simple hit job with Deadpool have gone so colossally, catastrophically sideways? As for Felicia, any plans she had for a heist of the iconic star-emblazoned shield have come to a sudden and grinding halt, though she no doubt wishes she had its protection from the Rider's all-seeing gaze.

Meanwhile, through the anguish of his own Venom symbiote, the transformed Eddie Brock can observe that Kasady's Carnage symbiote has begun to panic. With its essence so diminished from all the night's battles, it has too little substance left to shield Cletus from his punishment. To draw its mass away from his severed legs, and toward his exposed face, would cause him to bleed out in mere seconds. As it stands, the symbiote can do nothing but observe helplessly as its host burns under the weight of his own sins. In that moment, Eddie senses, Cletus Kasady is truly and hopelessly alone.

Next: Reactions to Mayhem and Domino

Actions Available: Black Cat, Daredevil, Moon Knight, Spider-Woman, Venom

Daredevil stands amidst a scene of heroes writhing under the weight of horrific memories bubbling to a surface that not even their supernatural exteriors can withstand. Even the capabilities of his extraordinary senses cannot perceive the thoughts in his allies' heads, but their pulses are so fast, they might fall from cardiac arrest before horror. "Listen to my voice!" he shouts, getting out to anyone within earshot. "Whatever you think is happening -- it's not real! Focus on the sound of my voice! Come back! Fight it and come back!" And hopefully, he can hope, coming back to the light will shake whatever evil influence has motivated them to murder.

At the same time, DD perks his senses to dig into what is the source of this madness. If it's not Ghost Rider and this is beyond what Cletus could do, what horrible power could be behind it?

To create Resist Evil Asset:
Team    d6
Man Without Fear    d8
Hypersenses/Radar Sense/Superhuman Senses    d10
Psych Expert    d8

Daredevil rolls 2,8,4,3 using d6,d8,d10,d8 ((2,8,4,3)).

-1 PP to add third die to Total
Total: 14; Effect: d8

PPs: 5 (starting; from msg #684) -1 (to add die to Total)= 4

If successfully created, Asset is available to anyone fighting against the symbiote's mind tricks.

As she is stricken by the horrifying visions, Mayhem collapses and eventually sinks into a pool of her own... well, herself. Lying among the burnt puddles that were once Kasady's Bio-Preds, she fights to keep her grasp on the situation. No, she must do better than fight-- she must turn this setback into an opportunity. Whatever trauma molded April Parker into the fighter she is today, perhaps it is the memory of her own pain and desperation that gives her the strength to reach back across the mind-link and show Carnage a terrifying vision of her own making: that of his own impending and inescapable death.

Reaction to see if Mayhem's attempt to create "Distraction" asset is successful.

Boiled Ooze d8
Mayhem's "Cletus Kasady's Memories and Experiences" d8 complication
Doom Pool d6

19:38, Today: The Watcher rolled 7,4,6 using 1d8,1d8,1d6 ((7,4,6)).  Watcher reaction to Mayhem's attempt to create "Distraction" asset for next acting hero.

Total: 13
Effect: d8
Opportunities: 0

Mayhem wins. Her higher total steps up the additional d10 effect die to d12. I am going to split the effect into a d12 complication on Carnage and a d12 asset for the next hero to claim.

Carnage takes d12 "Distracted" complication, and any acting hero can claim the "Mayhem's Distraction" d12 asset.

Perhaps it is Mayhem's mental shove that finally pushes Kasady past his breaking point. As he bows under the weight of the Penance Stare-- under the weight of all the pain he has ever inflicted on the innocent, rushing back at him all at once-- he is desperate for any hint of consolation. He is desperate to hear anyone-- anyone-- tell him that he is anything else but the monster he knows he is. But as Mayhem fights through her own agony, linking her mind to Kasady through their symbiotes, she is the one to ultimately tell him the horrible truth:

Yes, Cletus. This is what you are. This is all you will ever be.

And with that, Cletus Kasady's fractured mind finally breaks completely. Shaking violently, he turns his head toward someone-- anyone-- who might be able to stop the pain and put an end to his existence. Perhaps it is fitting that, of all the heroes and vigilantes in his midst, his gaze should fall upon Domino. Whatever he is trying to say, as his voice comes out in the most hoarse of whispers, is barely audible even to Daredevil. Still, anyone fighting off the effects of the Stare-- if they can bring themselves to watch-- might understand from his expression alone what he is asking of the mercenary. The look in his eyes is of a soul condemned, and the pained words he speaks are not those of a man who is bluffing:

"P-p-please," he chokes. "K-kill m-me--"

And then, in the heart of the chaos, a single gunshot rings out.

Next: Reactions to Domino and Daredevil.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:32, Thu 23 Dec 2021.

+2 XP to everyone who came up with a memory of Carnage's and linked it with their character. I had a blast reading all of those!

@Black Cat I wasn't sure how you were going to link a cat burglar with a serial killer, but sure enough, you made it seem natural. And I think that may have been the first use of the Crime specialty in this game. Well done, "Fee-Fee!"

@Mayhem The original post was fantastic too, but the added detail made it all the more visceral. Your excellent knowledge of Kasady's history in the comics only enriched the scene, too. Congrats on this heroically sacrificial moment.

@Moon Knight I enjoyed that small realization of Marc's. It's shocking to me that he and Carnage haven't done battle in the comics before, with all the parallels you could draw between them. And the symbiote sidekick coming to his aid was a nice touch.

@Spider-Woman Your past is full of intrigue, as ever. The callback to Tigra's first encounter with Ghost Rider is a terrific reference. And I like that you drew comparisons to Shriek rather than Carnage. Nice to know she's not forgotten.

@Venom The RNG has it out for you as always, with you taking the highest complication despite Venom's poker face. But you took it like a champ, and we've seen enough of Venom and Carnage's history in the comics so that not much was lost by your deflecting the complication onto your symbiote. I've greatly enjoyed Venom's character arc over the course of this game.

And now...

Even if a Watcher is observing the events in Yankee Stadium right now-- even if that cosmic being were somehow able to look into Kasady's mind as he receives the Penance Stare in full force-- his all-seeing eyes might marvel at the sheer number of sins in the villain's past. But any who pursued the murderer on his crime spree tonight, and witnessed his actions firsthand, might guess well enough at some of the memories Kasady has relived in the seconds before his death...


As a phlebotomist attempts to draw Kasady's blood in Ravencroft Asylum, the symbiote suddenly streams out from the point of injection, enveloping the killer from head to toe. As Carnage, he slaughters over a dozen innocent staff members before breaking loose from the facility. Innocent doctors, nurses, and psychiatrists bleed out on the floor, their last moments full of panic and desperation as they attempt to warn someone-- anyone-- that the killer is loose once more...


At Kasady's urging, his fellow escapee Shriek uses her hypersonic powers to trigger mindless rage in members of the public. All over New York City, ordinary citizens suddenly give into their most violent and animalistic impulses. Riots and chaos break out all over the city in a matter of minutes. The lucky ones are saved by superheroes like Daredevil before they can do anything they truly regret-- others are not so lucky.


*KRASHHH*

Several vats of symbiotes are stolen from the Life Foundation building. Whatever alien innocence they possess dies quickly as they are forced to bond with Kasady's fellow Ravencroft escapees-- the most violent and unstable of hosts imaginable-- and turned into mindless foot soldiers. All the frightened creatures can do is hope that a savior-- perhaps even Kasady's hated enemy, Venom-- will come along to liberate them.


In Hell's Kitchen, Moon Knight's confidante, Frenchie, is ambushed in Marc's own headquarters. His prosthetic legs are cruelly removed, as he is strung up with Kasady's own symbiote and forced to play the role of a puppet. Only Marc and Domino's intervention allows him to barely escape with his life. Stunned onlookers watch in shock as the entire building is destroyed by Kasady as he hijacks the Mooncopter to use in his rampage.


The Sanctum Sanctorum, long thought to be the safest place in New York, is overrun by members of the brainwashed mob. As Wong and the Sorcerer Supreme are attacked, only the assistance of the heroic Spider-Woman allows them to fend off the threat and preserve human life. Jessica Drew's fears for her child's safety are matched only by her desire to take down the "Family" responsible for the chaos swallowing her city.

En route to Yankee Stadium, the Carnage-Copter sows death and destruction in its wake. Down below, hundreds of innocent lives hang in the balance as a deadly game unfolds. Seeking to aid the people of New York, the Black Cat is nearly killed by one of Carnage's twisted family members before help arrives. Hero or not, her selfless actions help save everyone in the stadium whom Kasady endangered.


As Kasady faces off with his pursuers, the innocent Dagger is murdered, vaporized by one of Shriek's super-charged sonic blasts. Those who knew her have scarce time to mourn her loss, as even the arrival of Mayhem cannot prevent Kasady's pact with a demon from plunging the night into greater chaos yet. The nightmare in front of April Parker is a familiar one, and she fights with everything she has to prevent it from playing out the way she knows.

Defeated and robbed of his legs during a colossal conflict, Kasady cannot bring himself to surrender quietly. Even at his lowest point, he manages to snuff out another innocent life-- that of the beast-like Doppelganger-- before he is stopped by his enemies. The silent Carrion mourns his fallen "brother" who only ever wanted to be accepted for his frightening appearance.


BANG!!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:18, Fri 24 Dec 2021.

For all his threats and bluster on this night, Carnage's final act is but a small, pathetic sob. Still wracked by the visions of his own horrific deeds-- of a life wasted inflicting pain and death on a world that would not accept him-- he surrenders at last to his fate. With the suicidal urges brought on him by the Penance Stare, Cletus Kasady may for all intents and purposes be dead already-- the bullet to the head that follows being just a formality.

Reaction to Domino's gunfire attack (Total: 26, Effect: d10)

Solo d10
Murderous d4

20:29, Yesterday: Carnage rolled 7,2 using 1d10,1d4.  Carnage surrenders to his fate.

Total: 9
Effect: d4
Opportunities: 0

Domino wins with 3 extraordinary successes. Carnage's d8 of Physical Trauma steps up to d12+, meaning he is "dead, DEAD, DEAD" at long last.

As the bullet hits its mark between Kasady's eyes, tracing its gruesome path out the back of his skull, the villain's head jolts and then lolls back lifelessly. For a still moment, pure silence hangs on Yankee Stadium, and then at last the Ghost Rider unceremoniously flings Kasady away from him to land in the dirt. The visions that so badly tortured the heroes and vigilantes abruptly cease. However Kasady's own sentence was being transferred onto them-- paralyzing the Rider in the process-- it can happen no longer now that the villain is finally and truly dead.

As her bullet finally achieved what all the other's hadn't, Domino just stood there, covered in blood and sweat, staring at the body that fell to the ground.
After everything that had happened tonight, she could forgive herself for expecting it to get up again ... or dissolve into nothing ... or be carried away by another villain (or hero even) to be reborn.

But ... but maybe this time, this time it would be different.  Maybe this time, it actually was over.
Yet, her guns stayed steady in her hands, still pointed at her Primary Target in all this.
The rest of her might be shivering ... cold and blood deprived and adrenaline filled ... in the cold morning air, but someone could balance a pin on those guns, her hands were so still.

She remember being back on that rooftop, where Carnage and Shriek first attacked.
She remembered the brainwashed civilians that had come spilling out of the fire escape and ran towards her -- victims of Shriek's psychosis.
Domino remembered how she'd gunned them down in cold blood. How many died? One? Two? More?

However hardened her heart was, the memory stings all the same.
Even if she may not lose much sleep over the loss of those violent rioters, the implication that follows is impossible to deny. By taking innocent life, she made yourself just a little bit more like Cletus Kasady. Like Carnage.
Whatever money the bounty brings, and whatever she choose to do after tonight, may not offer the comfort she thought it would, with the memory of that killer's laughter ringing in your head.

1d6 in the Doom Pool steps up from Venom's opportunity in Msg #698. 1d8 in the Doom Pool steps up twice from Spider-Woman's 2 opportunities in Msg #700.

Doom Pool: 1d12

As Domino's gunshot rings out, each of the vigilantes teeters over a mental abyss. Even as the fiery Penance Stare dies away, the horrible memories it brought on have not. At any second, those affected by it might take the final plunge into the darkest, most sickening parts of their own psyches. Though they do their best to fight it, Cletus Kasady's own memories-- of every last one of his evil deeds-- have rapidly and violently mixed with their own. Even the most resolute hero couldn't long withstand the effects of having their mind thrown into that blender.

And what even Daredevil doesn't realize is that, if his allies are to stay in this horrible state even a moment longer, they might well come out the other side permanently damaged: no longer able to tell what memories are theirs alone, or those of the killer. For all intents and purposes, they might start to believe themselves a brand new "Carnage." But their struggles and screams alone tell the horned hero the urgency of the situation, and so he cries out to them:

Doom Pool reaction to Daredevil's attempt to create "Resist Evil" asset for vigilante(s). (Total: 14, Effect: d8)

Doom Pool 1d12

08:51, Today: The Watcher rolled 3 using 1d12.  Doom Pool reaction to Daredevil's attempt to pull the vigilantes out of their funk.

Total: 3
Effect: d4
Opportunities: 0

Daredevil wins with 2 extraordinary successes. "Resist Evil" asset is created and steps up twice, to d12. Asset is available to any vigilante rolling to remove the "Cletus Kasady's Memories and Experiences" complication.

... and Domino did fight those memories.
She was, she reminded herself, a Hardened Mercenary, and sometimes things happened in war that ... well, one wasn't proud of.   Mistakes that sat as regret in ones soul.
And when too many of those heavy memories piled up down there in the dark pit ... thats when even a Hardened Merc turned into something nobody wanted to become.

Domino heard the words of Daredevil, and blinked as she remembered the Team of Heroes around her.   They mostly annoyed her ... and she knew, even just for appearances sake, that she had to hold it together.

Luckily, Domino had always been strong within herself, and her Pysch handled these adversities of the soul well.
And right now, with Daredevil's little speech to focus her, Domino attempted to Resist the Evil within her.


Action:  Resist the Evil within
d6   Team
d8   Hardened Mercenary
d6   Luck
d8   Psych Master
d12 asset 'Resist Evil'

- rolled 4,5,2,6,6 using d6,d8,d6,d8,d12.  Resist the Evil within.
Spend 1PP to keep an additional Die in the Total

Spend 1PP for second effect:  'Remember who you are'  asset, for others to use
"Yeah, Bitches",  Domino said loudly out into the night air, "Like the horny demon says, Remember who you are", in support of the affirmations that Daredevil spoke.
'Fuck', Domino thought to herself, "Annoying they may be, all goodie two-shoes and shit.   Its better than their turning to their dark sides ... although, that might be good for my bank account in the long run'.

Total: 15
Effect: d6
Opps: -

Current PP: 1

Next:  any hero/Vigilante

This message was deleted by the player at 20:06, Sat 25 Dec 2021.

In reply to Domino (msg # 709):

Doom Pool reaction to Domino's attempt to eliminate complication and create asset (Total: 15, Effect: d12).

Doom Pool 1d12

13:17, Today: The Watcher rolled 11 using 1d12.  Doom Pool reaction to Domino trying to resist the evil of Kasady's memories.

Total: 11
Effect: d4
Opportunities: 0

Domino wins. Her d12 effect die successfully eliminates the complication, and her additional d6 effect die is available to the next acting player as "Remember Who You Are" d6 asset.

Actions Available: Black Cat, Moon Knight, Spider-Woman, Venom

Jessica attempted to steel her mind against the onslaught of foulness from Carnage’s soul. She clenched her fists, taking deep breaths and repeating a sort of mantra. “I am not him.”


OOC:

16:44, Today: Spider-Woman rolled 6,1,2,3,8,1,1 using 1d8,1d4,1d10,1d10,1d8,1d12,1d6.  Overcome Penance Stare.
Buddy 1d8
SHIELD Super-Agent 1d4 + 1PP
Superhuman Stamina 1d10
Superhuman Strength 1d10
Psych Expert 1d8
Resist Evil 1d12
Remember Who You Are 1d6



Using 1PP for extra die in Total.

Total: 17
Effect: 1d10
Opportunities: 3 (Merry Christmas!, guys!)

Where did Carnage's memories end and Moon Knight's begin? It was hard to tell. But it was hardly a new situation; he was forever asking himself Who is Marc Spector? Asking it with one or two more alternate answers in a growing pool of possibilities was hardly a big deal. He was vast, he contained multitudes. There was a team of heroes around him, but he was a team all his own as well.

He could Resist the Evil of Cletus Kasady.

Remember Who You Are, said one of the many voices inside him. He didn't even know which. It hardly mattered. He knew which one it wasn't: The one that had to go.

Team: d6
Who is Marc Spector?: d8
Resist the Evil (asset): d12
Remember Who You are (asset): d6 (right? d6?)

Moon Knight rolled 5,1,6,2 using d6,d8,d12,d6 ((5,1,6,2)).

Total: 11
Effect (default): d4
1 Opp

In reply to Spider-Woman (msg # 712)

Doom Pool reaction to Spider-Woman's attempt to remove her "Cletus Kasady's Memories and Experiences" complication.

Doom Pool 1d12

12:37, Today: The Watcher rolled 9 using 1d12.  Doom Pool reaction to see how Spider-Woman fares against CKM&E complication.

Total: 9
Effect: d4
Opportunities: 0

Spider-Woman wins with an extraordinary success, stepping up her effect die to d12. Her "Cletus Kasady's Memories & Experiences" complication is eliminated.

Add 1d8 and 1d6 to the Doom Pool for Spider-Woman's 3 opportunities in Msg #712. Step up 1d6 in the Doom Pool for Moon Knight's opportunity in Msg #713.

Doom Pool: 1d12, 2d8

Reaction to Moon Knight's attempt to remove "Cletus Kasady's Memories and Experiences" complication.

12:51, Today: The Watcher rolled 5,8,7 using 1d12,1d8,1d8.  Doom Pool reaction to MK's attempt to eliminate "CKM&E" complication.

Total: 15
Effect: d12
Opportunities: 0

Attempt fails.

Actions Available: Black Cat, Venom (and then we'll wrap this adventure.)

Eddie closes his eyes, "Venom and I have been the victim and the monster. But we have a choice, even when we can't see it. Hold tight little ones it is almost time to rest." He tries to ignore what he is seeing/feeling and be the calm the little ones need, he is trying to project calm. "IF I fall Venom get them somewhere safe....we owe them that much."

He slides down to his knees and chuckles, "I wonder if Disneyland charges extra for multiple symbiotes...."


OOC:
Team d6
Forged By Adversity d8
Symbiote Spherard Mob 3d8
Menace Expert D8

Total: 13
ED: D8
Oops: 0
PP: 0




21:00, Today: Venom rolled 2,7,3,6,5,3 using 1d6,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d8,1d8 ((2,7,3,6,5,3)).