The Specter Fights For Justice!


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Entry for the 2019 JamCon theme "Pulp Fiction".
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SCP-4494

THE FOLLOWING FILE IS AFFECTED BY A CLASS I INFOHAZARD
The normal presentation of this document has been altered through anomalous means; this is considered normal and is not cause for alarm.

4494

SCP-4494 immediately prior to demanifestation.

Item #: SCP-4494
Anomaly Class: Archon1
Special Containment Procedures: Direct witnesses to SCP-4494 related activity are to be amnesticised as necessary.
No actions are to be taken against SCP-4494 by Foundation personnel at this time.
Description: SCP-4494 is the physical embodiment of the concept of fighting crime. SCP-4494 typically manifests at night during law enforcement actions in which the relevant criminal element has an advantage, in order to render aid. It appears as a humanoid male of indeterminate age, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and long coat, and calls itself The Specter. Once it has successfully aided the relevant party, it will demanifest, though it has been known to hold brief conversations with people present beforehand.2
SCP-4494 also possesses a number of minor physical anomalies. It absorbs a significant portion of light across the visible spectrum, causing it to appear almost entirely black, and is able to alter the length of its cloak at will, an ability it seemingly only uses for dramatic flourish. Additionally, it possesses minor infohazardous properties: when referred to in text, the reference will always appear in a stylistic and dramatic font, and speakers invariably use a dramatic whisper when referring to SCP-4494 verbally.
Should SCP-4494 be prevented from successfully aiding the group that triggered its manifestation, the entire concept of attempting to prevent illegal activity begins to break down. This occurs in an ever expanding area around SCP-4494, the size of which increases at a rate of approximately 100km per hour. People within this area no longer conceptualise the belief that crime is something which should be stopped, leading to the immediate cessation of all civilian, local and governmental law enforcement activity by affected people.
To date, the only method of reversing this effect is to allow SCP-4494 to successfully aid law enforcement in preventing a crime in progress. Thus, it is believed that should the effect of impeding SCP-4494 become global, it would become irreversible. It should be noted that, while SCP-4494 appears to consider the Foundation a law enforcement organisation, law enforcement is not the mandate of the Foundation and as such Foundation personnel in the field are rarely significantly impacted by this effect.
SCP-4494 Failure Timeline
The following table contains observed results of SCP-4494 failure within a single city.

Time Since Failure (HH:MM)
Result

00:02
Law enforcement activities cease.

00:05
Local police forces all functionally disband, unable to comprehend the nature of their job.

00:10
Violent incidents and traffic accidents sky-rocket as the local populace no longer possess any conception of consequence for illegal activity.

00:30
Criminal elements become exceedingly active; no one in the city can conceive of the idea that they should be stopped.

01:20
Full-scale looting begins.

02:00
Local media begins musing on the events, unable to conceptualise what has changed that has led to the current situation.

SCP-4494 failure has not been allowed to continue beyond this point to date.
Addendum: The following is a transcript of a typical SCP-4494 encounter by Foundation personnel. To date, seven such encounters have occurred outside of the initial attempts at containment.

Event Transcript
Notes: MTF Sigma-12 ("Mary's Little Lambs") was engaged in a raid on a facility believed to be manufacturing and distributing an anomalous narcotic known as "Warp". They were pinned down when the occupants of the facility unexpectedly began using anomalous weaponry. Team consists of five members.
[TRANSCRIPT BEGINS]
Holtz: Shit! Varez is down! Take cover!
A beam of white energy silently dematerialises a section of the crate Holtz is hiding behind.
Samper: Where the fuck did they get those things? We're meant to be dealing with low-level drug runners here!
Allard: Who cares, just take them out!
Allard peeks around the vehicle being used for cover and fires a number of shots. Audio recorders pick up a cry of pain, suggesting a hit. Two white beams of energy strike the area, dematerialising Allard and the vehicle.
Cranston: Allard is down, we need to fa-
A white beam of energy hits Cranston, dematerialising her. A thick fog begins to coalesce on the ground, and begins quickly filling the facility.
Holtz: Fuck, fuck! Samper, we need to retreat, we're three down and they've deployed some kind of gas weap-Samper's helmet camera catches a flash of movement as something appears to drop from the ceiling rafters to the ground with a thud.The sound of impacts followed by muffled cries of pain can be heard in the distance.Unknown voice: What the fuck is that! Take it out! Take it-
A gurgled cry is heard.
Holtz: What the hell is this now? Who's this Specter guy- wait what the fuck. Shit, we've got a secondary anomaly on the scene!
Samper: Wait, I think I've been briefed on this thing, it's-The fog rapidly dissipates; a black figure can be seen in the distance engaging three hostiles in hand-to-hand combat.
Holtz: Whatever, seems like it's on our side, let's get the job done!
A brief firefight ensues, the surviving members of MTF Sigma-12 able to successfully use the distraction caused by SCP-4494 to re-engage the hostiles. Repeated sounds of impacts followed by cries of pain, along with a number of gunshots from mundane firearms are detected from the direction of SCP-4494. After approximately 40 seconds, all hostiles are neutralised.Holtz: Hey, we're going to need you to com-
Samper grabs Holtz by the arm and curtly shakes his head.
Samper: Thank you. We er, we couldn't have done this without you…Holtz: Er, yeah.
A brief silence.
Samper: So when you aren't here, you know, doing your thing… what do you do?Samper: Video games? Aren't you like, the embodiment of justice or something?Samper: No, we don't really have much time for video games.Samper: I see. Well, thanks for your help, I guess.
SCP-4494 coughs.SCP-4494 spins, its coat billowing dramatically and obscuring the cameras of both Holtz and Samper. When the visual returns, SCP-4494 is gone.
[TRANSCRIPT ENDS]

Footnotes
1. Archon-class anomalies are anomalies that should not be contained due to the damage that would be caused by doing so.
2. The content of these conversations has typically been noted as "jarring" or "surprising."

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