Collaborative Fiction: Redd Capp's Revenge

    Gerri Star (The Sword of Gerraxia) sat in her quarters aboard the Draconis Rex.  She had finished her duties as Sargent at Arms and was looking to go Earth-side and maybe spar with Wild Card again.  He was getting tougher and she was enjoying their workouts.  An alert from Purgatory Penitentiary popped up on her Com.
    "Sword of Gerraxia, this is Urgent!  Redd Capp along with a number of other Supernatural villains have escaped.  The runic wards put up by your father have been taken down.  We fear Redd Capp is out for revenge."
    This was grave news to Gerri.  Redd Capp had injured her boyfriend James Keebler before and her father who now works with BADGE helped stop him.  She responded to the message, "Acknowledged, I will be down shortly to look at the crime scene.  I could use some help with this.  Anyone else available?"
    She sent a quick message to Wild Card explaining why she couldn't make their sparring match.  Then she went to talk to Captain Hylaurious.  "Captain, Redd Capp has escaped and I need to go to apprehend it again.  Perhaps Salvage can cover my duties while I'm away?"
(This is collaborative, anyone can add to the story and we'll see where it goes.)
***
    Captain Hylaurious listened to Gerri's request, "Sure, have fun.  Do you need any help and you'll have to ask Salvage if she wants to take your duties until you get back."  He then puzzled somethings in his mind.
    "I'll look into this Redd Capp guy, too," he stated.  "I'm not familiar with him."
    "It, sir.  I'm not sure it has a gender," Gerri corrected.  "It is dangerous, though."  She watched as he pulled up the file from the com.  She walked away while he did some research.  He was thankful she had updated the data on her history.  This creature was once a mythical Red Cap goblinoid from the fae-re.  Probably a scout.  It was infected by the Morphons and turn into an eight foot tall, red furred bear-like monster with glowing yellow eyes.  It seems to love chaos.  He laughed at that.
    "Don't we all like chaos?" he chuckled.

    Redd Capp stealthily walked through the night.  it was searching for another gate to send a message to Morgothan.  It knew it couldn't go back as it was.  There were many heroes now, it recognized a few.  
    It hated The Sword of Gerraxia, and it knew of Krystal Fae.  It had to keep both from seeing it until it's plan was done.  It wanted the elf blood.   It liked the elf blood.  
    It was invisible.  it didn't like being invisible, but it was needed to keep from getting caught.  It saw some heroes flying overhead.  It wanted to make chaos, but it would have to wait.  Redd Capp's revenge was in the works.  

    After talking to Salvage, who seemed awfully excited about getting the key cards, Gerri headed to the shuttle bay and took a shuttle to Earth.  She liked the peaceful shuttle.  It was better than flying to and from.  She wondered who would help her re-capture Redd Capp.

   Redd Capp found the hidden fairy ring.  It placed a note written in runes and coded for Morgothan in the center and activated the sending of the note to the Fae-re.  It left in a hurry.  If it had stayed it would have noticed it set off a runic alarm again.  Who did this one notify?  

Prysmatica enjoyed her night job at the Sentinel news office, but her last shift left her restless. "How many times a night do I have to tell people what the winning lottery numbers are?"

She needed to get some fresh air. As soon as she got into a secluded spot where nobody could see her, she shifted into her photonic-plasma form, becoming a being of pure light, and shot into the sky.

There had been talk about prisoners having escaped from Purgatory Prison, so she decided to head over and look for any she might be able to find. Being in her energy form, she moved rapidly toward the search zone, hoping to relieve some of her frustration on a deserving villain-type.

Within moments, she was there. In a small stand of forest below, she spotted an unusual bending of light-waves near a small circle of stones. She dropped down to investigate, resuming her natural human state. While transformed, she could not manipulate light energies, and she had the feeling she might need to use her more offensive skills soon.

    Redd Capp sensed something or someone watching it. It didn't think anything could see it since it was invisible.  It quickly looked for something it might throw in the direction it sensed it was being watched.  it saw nothing.
    It decided to breath fire in the direction.  If it didn't kill who or whatever was watching it would make them put out a fire.  
    Redd Capp released the breath of fire in the direction of Prysmatica (not directly at her.)  "I hope Morgothan gets the message.  You'll not stop me or our plan!"  Redd Capp ran, still invisible.   It had to return to it's hideout.
   "Hopefully who or what was watching will not be able to follow," Redd Capp stated as it ran away.

Out of a nearby shrubbery, flames spat out and threatened to ignite the forest surrounding Prysmatica. She dropped and rolled on the ground, avoiding the burst.

Near the source of the fiery eruption, a voice warned her over the crackling flames . "I hope Morgothan gets the message.  You'll not stop me or our plan!"

Something moved in the forest. Prysmatica looked and tried to identify the source, but only spotted the same distortion of light. Using her Morphon granted power to bend light, she tried to uncover the hidden figure. All she identified was a tall being with a bright red hat before it disappeared into the forest. She wanted to give chase, but the fires ignited on branches and patches of ground demanded her attention before they spread.

She pulled out her BADGE communicator. "9-1-1. There is a fire beginning to spread in Dryad's Glade. I could use some assistance please.

Prysmatica did her best to keep the flames contained by creating beams of amplified light and cutting branches off larger limbs. She then threw them into a central area. Increasing the power of her amplified light, she scorched her own trench around the burning section of the glade to isolate the blaze from other fuel.

Within minutes, a helicopter arrived to drench the section of forest in flame-suppressant foam. Prysmatica retreated from the area and let the professionals deal with the situation.

"I think that might have been The Redd Capp character who escaped," she said to a nearby maple.

Checking the data file on The Redd Capp, Prysmatica found that he had been captured and turned in by The Sword of Gerraxia.

"Maybe she knows more about this fiend?" Prysmatica used her BADGE communicator again, this time attempting to contact The Sword of Gerraxia.

    Gerri landed the shuttle nearby and saw Prysmatica.  "Hi, I'm the Sword of Gerraxia, you must be Prysmatica.   You're part of Star Force if I remember correctly."
    "That's right," Psymatica confirmed.  "You're in the 101st Spacerangers.  That shuttle has seen better days," Prysmatica noticed.  
    "It's from the Draconis Rex, not BADGE," Gerri noted.  "You thought it was Redd Capp that was here?  Where was it?"
    "'It?' Don't you mean 'he'?" Prysmatica asked.  She led Gerri over to a small stone ring.
    "No, Red Cap's reproduce asexually.  It's an it," Gerri clarified. "A stone ring?  Most fairy rings are made of mushrooms and flowers.  Why use a stone ring?"  She picked up the note.
    "What does it say?" Prysmatica questioned.
    "I don't know.  It's in Red Cap runes and probably coded," Gerri admitted.  "Though, that rune over there," she pointed at a tree, "is a fae rune.  It's notified someone to the use of this ring."
    "You can call me Gerri, by the way, it's easier than Sword of Gerraxia and sounds better than S.O.G," Gerri noted.

"No... it's not one of mine...", as she examined the rune, "...but I do know that there are other Fae and Fae-re-keen who have been assigned to this dimension.", Krystal answered.  "... I'm a bit of a special case, in that my mission allowed me to reveal my nature and work with BADGE... most of those assigned here are required by Oberon to maintain a more, shall we say discrete, presence."

"Now let's check the area you mentioned...", Krystal said.

"See... here... and again here... and leading off this direction...", Krystal observed, as she examined the tracks leading to, and then away from, the stone ring.

Krystal made a gesture, and an extremely fine, sparkling golden dust flew from her hand to drift thru the area.  A solid-looking form formed in the dust on the approaching tracks and moved to the ring, knelt, and then moved on the exiting tracks, stopping near a bush and turning to face something approaching the stone ring from another angle.

"It was hidden from sight... now let's have a look at that note... hmmm... yes it's definitely recognizable as redd capp runes, which I can read, but as you suspected, it is definitely encoded... I might be able to break the encryption, but not quickly...", Krystal said.

"Do what you can, please Krystal... that thing is dangerous on its own, and I fear it won't be on its own the next time we encounter it...", said Gerri.

    Redd Capp entered its hideout.  It dropped it's invisibility.  It looked at the body of a vagrant it killed.  It sniffed.  It tasted the blood and sneered.  "Blech, rotten.  Need fresh."  It then continued to the door.  It opened the door and a mysterious figure looked at it and motioned it forward.
    "Were you spotted, Redd Capp?" the figure asked.
    "Yes, but only after I dropped note to Morgothan," Redd Capp confirmed.  "I breathed fire to make escape.  I did good.  Whoever spotted me now had to put out fire."
    "Well, you were not followed here, so I guess you did do good," the figure agreed.  "Our plan is going well.  You'll get your revenge against The Sword of Gerraxia and I'll find the item I'm looking for."
    "Yay! I get to taste elf blood again," Redd Capp cheered.  "It's so sweet."
    "Yes," the figure smiled.  "You are so smart," the figure added.  Noting that it had a need to follow someone more intelligent.  The red cap's were followers except for their leader.  This one followed Morgothan before getting trapped here.  

"Do you think the three of us should try to track it?" Prysmatica asked, looking between her two companions. "If we catch this Redd Capp, then it could tell us what is written on it? Can your glitter follow the path it traveled in the forest, Miss Fae?"

"Krystal is fine... Prysmatica, is it?" Krystal gave a wry smile.

Nodding her head, Prysmatica smiled gratefully. Despite never formally speaking with Krystal Fae inside of the Sentinel office beyond a polite hello or goodbye, Prysmatica, or Romana Delvalutra while in her secret identity, believed her co-worker knew her true persona as the newspaper's evening receptionist.

"Pursuing it would be up to Gerri, I believe," Krystal continued. " I believe she is more familiar with the creature than I."

    "We should probably see if we can find it's hideout," Gerri confirmed.  "I doubt it would tell us what's in the note.  They are very loyal."  Gerri gave some thought for the moment.  
    "Krystal, if you can decode and translate the message then do so.  I know someone who works with BADGE that can help.  Prysmatica and I will track Redd Capp and see if we can find the hideout," Gerri stated.  She handed Krystal Fae her fathers card.
    "Maybe we'll catch it hunting," Gerri hoped.  "They like fresh blood.  Red caps that is."

A bit later...

"Nice to officially meet you, Mr. Starr.", said Krystal.

"Call me Cordell, or Cord... it's nice to finally meet you, as well, Agent Fae."

"Krystal, please... or Krys, or Kaye, or Fae... actually, call me anything you like, except for late for supper...", Krystal quipped, chuckling towards the end.

Cord grinned wryly, and said, "My workspace is this way... what can I do to help?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cord... would you hand me the 'Redd Capp Runes: Regional Variations'?"
"Here you are... what is this you're working on?"
"I had built this decryption device weeks ago, but with the League War,
I hadn't had time to test it... I'm programming the written Red Cap language into it now...", Krystal answered.

"You are a credit to Elfheim, Krystal."
"Sometimes, I don't feel so... but one does try...", Krystal replied, as she blushed.

Prysmatica and Gerri headed in the direction of the Redd Capp's escape. Gerri took the lead, scouting the ground for signs of movement. Even invisible, a creature with such monsterous size would disrupt the natural beauty of the wild. A broken branch here, a snapped twig there, or a sloppily placed footprint could be a useful guide to the Redd Capp's destination.

As they walked, Gerri also filled Prysmatica in on more details about their target. "They are very dangerous. The have a habit of soaking their hats in the blood of their victims."

"That's disgusting. Yech!" Prysmatica stuck her tongue out with disgust. "How did you get mixed up with this creature in the first place?"

Gerri found a scuff mark on the ground, where something had turned to head off in a different direction. Not sure if it would be wise to divulge much information to her new companion, she kept the most specific details to herself. "Lucky, I guess. I ran into him near the time I discovered my own abilities. Abilities that made me the Sword of Gerraxia."

"And you said that they are a type of goblin, right?" Prysmatica asked, pulling out her BADGE communicator.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Gerri had been following the new path she had discovered, leading them toward a nearby river.

"In my homeland of Greece, some call goblins 'Kallikantzaros'." Prysmatica pulled up a topographical map of the forested area around the property of the prison grounds on her devices screen. "These creatures prefer to dwell in underground tunnels, only coming out from below the ground during the twelve days before Christmas to cause havoc. The stories of my people are most likely fantasies created to scare children, but there are some underground caverns in the area here. Do you think your Redd Capp would have a similar drive to find shelter beneath the earth?"

Gerri considered the idea. "Yes. I think you might be on to something."

    Gerri and Prysmatica followed the trail to an out pour of the storm sewers.  The grate that blocked people from entering was open. the rusted lock that held it broken.  There was a stench of decay emitting from it.  It was the stench of decaying flesh.
    "Oh, my, that's awful," Gerri stated as she held her nose.  Prysmatica agreed.  They entered the storm sewer.  Gerri held up her ring and a light came forth from the emerald.  They spotted the cause of the stench.  A body of a homeless man.  His flesh had been ripped open across the stomach.  Redd Capp certainly enjoyed its new claws.  Most Red Caps just used their supernatural strength to kill.  This was new.  The Morphons altered this creature beyond what it normally did.
    "That's different," Gerri stated.  "I already new that the Morphons altered this Redd Capp.  What else can it do?"
    As they walked further into the sewer they spotted a door to the subway below it.  "You said the Red Caps reproduce asexually, exactly how?" Prysmatica asked.  
    Just then they heard something behind them...

Prysmatica didn't wait to see what might have been lurking in the darkness behind them. She spun around and lite up the area with the intensity of the sun at high noon, hoping to blind whatever might be hoping to get the drop on them.

Someone, or something, screamed in pain and melded into the earth below its feet.

"What was that?" Prysmatica searched around the room.

"What was what?" Gerri asked as she tried to refocus her eyes. "Warn a girl next time before you flash the headlights!"

"I'm sorry, but after seeing that disemboweled guy, I'm full on 'shoot first, ask questions later' mode." Prysmatica dimmed the light from her hands.

Gerri knelt next to where the shape descended and placed her hand on the ground. It didn't feel right. It reminded her of touching the top of a spongy cake, firm on top but with enough pressure you could easily push through it.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, a hand reached up through the ground and grabbed Gerri by the wrist.

    Cordell Star looked over the papers Krystal Fae had with her.  He had placed runic glasses on.  Looking over the message to Morgothan.  He saw something and quickly called over Krystal Fae.
    "Krystal, look at this," he said pointing to an unusual rune.  "What does this say, my glasses are having a hard time translating it."
    "That's because part of it is hidden," Krystal stated looking at it.  She began to restructure it "T-E-C-H..."
***
    Gerri did a sweeping kick to free her hand.  "Oh, It's an Earth Elemental," Gerri realized.  "How did Redd Capp summon that?"
    The Earth Elemental swung at Gerri, who dodged.  Gerri blasted it with fire in hopes to immobilize it.  A second one started to rise be hind Prysmatica.  Seemingly made of water.

Prysmatica held her hand out and it began to glow and generate a sphere of light, sparkling with every color of the spectrum. She tossed it at Gerri and a soft light encompassed her. As Gerru battled the earth elemental she suddenly realized there were three identical versions of her attacking the creature, matching her every move.

Gerri tried to warn Prysmatica about the new threat, but the earth elemental swung with one of its fists at an image to her left, the attack passing through the insubstantial imitation. The elemental's momentum behind the blow carried it forward, creating an opening for Gerri to take advantage of. She kicked it in the side, adding her strength to to its already off-balanced gait and causing it to tumble to the ground. "Prys, there's one behind you."

As Prysmatica continued to control the holographic images, making them shift into Gerri's body and then away from it, the water elemental acted. From behind Prysmatica, a powerful wave-like attack struck her and knocked her toward the ground. She tumbled forward and rolled with the blow. Water dripped off of her clothing as she acrobatically flipped back to her feet. "Thanks. It introduced itself."

The earth elemental put its fists to the floor of the tunnel and worked to push itself up to stand. Gerri took advantage of its unguarded back. She focused a chop to the center of its back, thinking of martial arts competitions she had seen on television. "Hey-ya!"

Four fists slammed into its back, one hers and three from the images. The monster spun its head about, confused by the multiple attacking Gerraxias. The earth elemental crumbled into chunks of debris as soon as she connected with it. "Cool. It worked."

Prysmatica let the images dissolve and clapped her hands together. Light emitted from between her palms and a bright red stream of light sliced through the watery elemental body. It exploded and splashed into to separate puddles, one on each side of where it stood. "Are you alright?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Gerri said. "I'm fine."

"Me too." Prismatica nodded. "Those weren't what I saw behind us, though. What's going on down here?"

 
 

    "I don't know, Prysmatica," Gerri replied.  She was still catching her breath.  She wondered what was behind the door now.  "They don't want us to open the door.  I wonder why?"
    "Aren't you curious as to what I saw?" Prysmatica questioned.
    "Oh, of course," Gerri just now realized what Prysmatica had mentioned earlier.  "My minds just a little rattled.  What did you see?  Can you describe it?"
***
    Cordell was impressed by the ingenuity of Krystal Fae.  he placed his own runic devices on the table for their use.  She had already found hidden text within the letter.  Not to mention had translated and was decoding the text.
    The hidden text talked about Legion tech and how it may help their cause in the Fae-re and Alfheim.  This was disturbing to Cordell whose family guarded the gates.  Rune tech and spells had been the norm for centuries this was different.  This was new and dangerous...  

"Ok... these 6 Runes have no direct correlation to any of our references... I'm thinking that they must be descriptive of new concepts to the language base... see how the preceding rune here is VERY reminiscent of legion... perhaps it IS Legion as a proper name?", Krystal queried.

"Now this one, I recognize... it is the rune for "Morganna", which was added only recently, relatively speaking..., and from the context, I'd say this is probably 'ally' or 'allies'... that leaves only those 3...", she continued.

"Krystal, I think that's about the best we can do on short notice.", Cord said.

"You're probably right.", Krystal agreed, raising her communicator into position.

~~switching to silent/vibratory alert~~ "Gerri--Prismatica-- here is best translation we could manage, so far-- will keep working on it.~~