Demon Hunters

Episode 4: Shadow of Liberty

Chapter Rho 7 receives a request for back up; they are the only team in the area. The case involves stories of ghosts at the Statue of Liberty. WhileJack catches some serious R & R, Isaac appoints himself temp Chapter Leader and he and the rest of the team head out to meet their contact Jack Roberts, a NY fireman who has been responding to fire alarms that keep going off at the monument.

They meet Jack, well “the other Jack”, at the Sandy Spatula on the main pier. Upon entering, Ursula is asked to leave her hammer at the door. She places it firmly in the wall by the door. In exchange them buying him lunch, Jack relates a legend surrounding William the Kid: a famous pirate who is rumored to have buried his treasure on what is now Liberty Island. Every time he has responded to a fire alarm, the lights dim in the statue and people claim to see the dead pirate’s ghost at the top of Lady Liberty’s torch. The Cipher picks up a tranmission that the police are on their way. Apparently the restaurant owners called 911 about a violent patron who damaged their wall. The Chapter they manage to escape and get to their van. The blaring of policer sirens are closing fast. However, the team has an even bigger problem: no one can drive. (They feel through a dimensional plot hole to get there).

Isaac, “Don’t tell Jack”.

Luckily one of the big red buttons on the dashboard activates the auto pilot Cipher. Auto Cipher gets them away from the police and to the shore a few miles away. The van converts into a plot point fueled raft. They zip around the harbor till they reach Ellis Island. The team decides to ditch the van. Ursula tries to push it over the edge back into the water. She fails. However, the Brotherhood remotely blows up the vehicle. Problem solved.

“Don’t tell Jack.”

The team takes the ferry over to Liberty Island. Ursula jumps into the water and finds a sniper rifle. They meet their contact Murdock “the Rooster” Cockburn of Chapter Epsilon 1. (Remember: each member has only one eye.) Roos is not happy to see a bunch Rhos when all they requested was a backup Cipher. Theirs has been acting weird. The Epsilons are there investigating reports of “ghosties”, major poltergeist activity. They meet the rest of the members of the Chapter including old acquaintance Snape Lipskin. The Chapters spilt up to continue the investigation and will reconvene at the Flag Pole at 11:00pm.

Isaac uncovers a very elementary summoning circle around the flag pole. The circle was made before the Statue of Liberty was erected. The pirate was hung on that very spot. Isaac believes the treasure is hidden under the flag pole.

The Hunters run into Eplison’s Cipher “Morph”. He is cryptically philosophical and wants to share the “truth” with them. He holds out two pills, one red the other blue. Ursula immediately grabs the red pills jams it into a corndog and eats it. The rest of the team is flabbergasted. Urs gets a really bad stomach ache; she’s also really, really horny.

The team checks out the inside of the Statue. The electric panel indicates there have been 3 major power surges within the last 24 hrs. The surges occur every 8 ½ hrs and have been increasing in strength. The energy is drawn into the torch, then dispersed down through the statue and below it. They make their way up to the top. The door to the torch is firmly locked. There is a set of heavy duty electrical cables running along the wall converting the torch into one big lightning rod.

The two Chapters meet back up and discover a set of stairs under the flag pole. . A gigantic black shape rises up. Ursula whacks the thing; it tickles. He asks the Hunters why they are there. Ursula says “for the treasure”. Wrong answer. The demon picks her up and throws her in the water. She finds another sniper rifle. Vlad moves out of swatting range and fires a shot that rings off the beast’s horns. Arms grab him from the nearby shadows. Splash! He joins his teammate in the water.

The creature is annoyed at being called a demon. It is a Nightshade, an extremely rare being that even the Brotherhood knows little about. He is the guardian of William the Kid’s treasure. One of the Epsilons fires a rocket launcher at the Shade. Splash! Snape attacks. Sploosh! Another one in the drink.

Realizing that attacking the Nightshade is pointless, they question him about the paranormal activity on the island. Since water interferes with paranormal energy, someone is trying to power up a ghost. Suddenly a thunderstorm appears out of nowhere. There is another power surge and the eyes of Lady Liberty glow with an eerie light. Then entire Statue and pedestal rise up supported by spider like electrical cables. A figure can be seen in the torch screaming in agony.

The team runs up to the top and finds Jack Bishop strung up like a human spark plug. The Rooster throws a bolas of holy corndogs and sets Jack free. He was nabbed the day before. Unfortunately he sorted out some brain cells and can’t remember who took him. Just that they were planning on to move the statue into NYC to cause general destruction and chaos.

Ursula, “Jack, the New Jersey Devil ate your van.”

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