metropolis ♔ has it gone for good? or is it coming back around?

[wynn]

Fireside - Arctic Monkeys

WHO || Oliver, Felicity S., Emma F., Bo, Brantley, Lex Luthor
WHAT || The Knights investigate a connection between Luthorcorp and Sarandis' experiments on Andres
WHERE || Metropolis Kansas
WHEN || April 23rd, 2015
HOW || Actionspam

Metropolis is a bustling city even during these cold winter months, but they have no trouble finding the Luthorcorp building - because it literally towers over the skyline, dwarfing the Daily Planet nearby. It's still daytime when they arrive, working hours, and employees in well tailored suits hustle in and out towards elevator banks, past the front desk.

Comments

[telepathy]

[ Once they're both in, Dr. Janik closes the heavy metal doors, and waves for Brantley to join him in heading off back down the hallway into one of the previous rooms they passed.

Inside the secondary lab, around the corner, they'll notice that Dr. Abrams isn't there. The lab is open enough that she'd be easy to spot. However, that doesn't mean they're alone. Large metal tanks line the walls that aren't visible from the entryway, complex letter and numbering label systems on them on big placards. There are small, resilient glass windows at the top of the tanks, but they'll have to get closer to see what's inside.

Otherwise, there are a series of lab tables—four across the length of the room, which is maybe sixty feet deep. Standard genetics research equipment, Bo would know, is on each table, and a projector that displays the image from a research slide appears to be the only thing casting dim light over the lab.

Emma looks around, expression predictably sour, ] I feel as though we may not be meeting Dr. Abrams.

[succubestie]

Yeah, I'm getting that feeling too.

[She'll take a quick look around, checking for other ways out or anything useful laying around (spot 31 or search 20) before she checks the tanks.]

[telepathy]

[ Inside the tank, Bo sees this. It's dark inside, and the tank itself is closer to a fish tank than a grav couch, accommodating what appears to be mORE THAN ONE OF THEM. But she can't tell how many because they're just a mass of horrific faces and blackness.

Emma, meanwhile, tries to scan for conscious minds using read thoughts, suspicious that they might well be dealing with human experimentation, but as she lifts her hands to the side of her head, eyes misting over white, she flinches, and lets out a cry of pain (will 14). ] Oh my god! [ She doubles over, backing into one of the tables, visibly shaken by whatever she saw there. ]

[succubestie]

Oh, crap.

[Backing away. Yep.]

Fighting disease my ass. This is bad.

[And then Emma cries out, and Bo is running over to her, placing a hand on her back and another on her shoulder to steady her.]

Geez, are you alright?

[telepathy]

[ As Bo moves to Emma, the telepath explains in a pained voice, recovering through sheer fury and stubbornness to shove away from the table. ]

Their minds are lost, driven mad by captivity and experimentation. They're — They're rabid. What Luthor's done to them ... [ It's not something that should be done to any living creature, basically. That's what she's getting at here. Her eyes flash, lip curling. Precisely the kind of thing the Knights try to protect Shadowkind from.

And while Bo is turned away from them, four of the pods open ...

Across the floor, one of the black, spindly-armed creatures swats at Bo's back with a single, tentacle-like arm, but it flops out wide and misses (attack 15).

More horrifically, it appears to be joined by a large, catlike creature with great claws and a lion's mane that sports two powerful bird-like wings on its back. Its wings flap out, and it tries to lift itself into the air. The high ceilings of the lab give it little room, but it does manage to fly in closer to them.

Lastly, a small creature, barely 2 ft. in height, comes walking out of one of the tanks. It's unburdened by weapons, but it doesn't appear to need them. This creature looks horribly mutated, sporting scales, elongated features, reptilian eyes, and exaggerated teeth and claws. It runs for them, crazed, and leaps up onto the lab table behind Emma. ]

i think i'm first...?

[succubestie]

[Bo uses her move action to draw her blade as she ducks away from the first creature's attack before she lashes out at it with a side strike that likely misses horribly (atk 14, dmg 11 if it hits somehow).]

yeah it's just you and me unless brantley gets in here in init so i'm counting rounds

[telepathy]

[ The black creature avoids Bo's blade, and Emma steps around her, putting herself between Bo and the creatures to raise her hands to her temples. A billowing white force projects forward from her as she uses her psionic blast to try to stun the creatures.

Monster 1 gets a nat 20 on its save. Sad day. SO DOES THE ENORMOUS CATLIKE MONSTER OH MY GOD. And the small, mutated fey creature gets a 23 so they ALL SUCCEED. This is the fucking worst.

The second shadowy spindly-armed creature crawling out of its tank gets stuck on its way out, losing a turn. Similarly, something bumps up against the door of another tank, struggling to get it all the way open. It affords a faint glimpse of a single hoof in the hinge of the tank's door to any character with a spot check higher than 25.

And then it's the other monsters' turn again!!! Yay!! Aren't you glad they weren't effectively stunned. The black thing crawling across the floor slaps its tentacles at Bo again—both miss (atk 11, atk 13).

The winged, catlike creature descends on Emma in a flurry of claws since she'd tried to stun it; it bites her, and slashes it with two claws for a total of 23 damage. THAT'S 2/3RDS OF HER HP. THIS IS GOING WELL. She looks pretty shredded already, and things are not going well for our heroes.

The small fey creature casts lesser confusion on Bo, which means she needs to make a DC 14 will save or do nothing but babble incoherently for one round. ]

[succubestie]

[Her 19 will save has her resisting the spell easily enough, and she's fucking pissed because don't fuck with the super attractive blonde you assholes.

She steps around Emma, because apparently swapping positions to try and shield the other is a thing they're gonna do, but the other girl looks messed up right now so gonna do it anyway, and she swipe her blade at the same creature as last turn (atk 19, dmg 10)]

[telepathy]

[ Bo's blade drives straight through the shadowy black creature's head, and it squeals a horrible death rattle as it melts into the floor, a puddle of ink and smoke and flopping tentacles, apparently unconscious.

Emma, meanwhile, pissed as fuck, turns into her diamond form and can no longer be harmed but by critical hits. The bad news is that a single critical hit would probably kill her, and this only lasts 8 rounds. Since this is an instantaneous action, she can at least grab a microscope off the lab table and hurl it at the catlike beast that attacked her (atk 16).

Although the microscope hits the beast in the chest, it doesn't seem to deter it from swooping forward to try and attack her again—and its bite and claws all find purchase, but her diamond body appears to take no damage. That shit was way too close to a crit for comfort though, and it definitely appears to be deliberately going for the flaw on the back of her neck.

Meanwhile, that tiny, mutated, reptilian fey creature? Turns invisible. A moment later, Bo might notice a whip of air past her face.

This all might seem like good news, but for the fact that the other two creatures have finally made it out of their cages. The first is another of the tentacled shadow creatures that Bo just dispatched. It flops over to them, slapping a tentacle at Bo that goes just barely wide (atk 18).

The other, more horrifically, is as big and heavy as a horse, but taller and much heavier. Near seven feet tall, this half-horse, half-man looks to be halfway made of bones, as if it were resurrected by some eldritch force. Only the horse end looks to undead, oddly enough, an experiment gone horribly awry, much like the fey creature's unpleasantly mutated visage. It gallops forward and rears up, kicking two hooves out at Bo. It first attack crit fails, tripping it up and knocking it prone. ]

[succubestie]

[This is literally the worst. At least she seems to be fast enough to keep up with them for now, but it's only a matter of time before she slips up.]

This is a million kinds of not good. What the hell is Brantley doing!?

[No really. A little help plz. She strikes out at the creature that looks like the only one she murdered, knowing that at least it can die (atk 20, dmg 8).]

[telepathy]

[ That one is still up. Which is bad news.

Emma moves around the lab table to grab another piece of equipment—a printer, this time—to hurl at the black, tentacled creature. Unfortunately her attack roll was 3.

The skeletal centaur gets to its feet, provoking an attack of opportunity from Bo.

The black creature she just attacked does a pretty stellar job of slapping Bo with tentacles, though. Two tentacles slap her across the face (atk 23, 22; dmg 11 total). Unfortunately, that informs her of the suction cups stuck to the flopping tentacles, which make an attempt to grapple her. This provokes no attack of opportunity, and Bo needs to beat a 19 opposed grapple to avoid being held by the tentacles. ]

I've no idea, but he'd better hurry. We can't keep this up. There are too many of them. [ The flying cat thing pursues Emma, continues to bite and claw at her in an attempt to find purchase that makes an actual dent in her hard diamond body to no avail.

Their invisible assailant comes from behind, remaining invisible even as it jabs a sharp medical implement at Bo, barely missing so probably cutting her shirt (atk 19). ]

[succubestie]

Shit.

[Tentacles sting like a bitch, and she liked this shirt. :| She slashes at the centaur creature, not wanting that thing on it's feet whatsoever (aoo atk 19, dmg 7), before she tries to finish off the one she damaged last round (atk 23, dmg 8).]

[telepathy]

[ She misses the skeletal centaur, which successfully stands, due to the choker's tentacles pulling at her arms and throwing her swing wide. However, that helps her to drive her sword right into it a moment later, and it deflates in the same manner the first had.

The centaur attacks Bo with its hooves (atk 18, crit fail), and actually whinnies right past her to take a chunk out of the lab table. It'll take a move action for it to remove that hoof next turn, and for the rest of this turn, it is considered grappled. ]

Where'd that tiny little beast go?! [ Emma seems to realize that the mutated fey creature has vanished and is remaining invisible even as it attempts to strike. She tries to throw something else at the flying catbeast but fails miserably. This is just getting embarrassing.

Again, the flying catbeast can't do any damage to Emma either, though, and it seems like they're in a stalemate. ] I can't maintain this form forever. [ It's growled out because while this is working defensively for now, it's not working at all in the long term. She has 5 rounds of it left.

As if summoned by Emma's attempt to take tally, the invisible creature snatches the sword right out of Bo's hand (i'm sorry i'm crying it was a nat 20 disarm and it doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity bc it's invisible), and the sword goes invisible too as the creature itself remains invisible despite attacking. This thing is horrible. ]

[fixyourproblem]

[Brantley follows Janik as he heads off to the previous room. He just hopes Emma and Bo will be alright inside the lab and if anything happens, he hopes that he can convince Janik to help them.

As they enter the room, Brantley opens up a small chat, trying to infiltrate the Doctor's mental defense.] The ladies weren't exactly pleasant, were they? If it were up to me, I'd have picked other people to work with.

[He smiles, loosening up. Though, he really doesn't like stiff woman like Emma, he doesn't dislike her enough to kick her away.(Bluff 25)]

So, what is in the agenda? A tour of more exciting part of the lab, or maybe you have other particular thing in mind?

[telepathy]

[ Fumbling with his key card in a way that indicates perhaps he isn't used to this kind of attention, Ashley swipes to open another door down the hall, reaching inside to flick on the lights. This lab is smaller—only two or three work-stations, and a plethora of complex computer systems to go with. The computer monitors flick to life, and a spot check of 25+ would notice that Bo and Emma are visible on one of the monitors, on a camera that's on the same wall with the tanks they're exploring, which keeps those tanks from being visible. ]

Perhaps you should consider taking a job here. It shouldn't be hard to break your ties with your employers at the Karthur Institute. [ Janik moves to a control panel below the monitor, turning to Brantley with an inscrutable expression—earnest, but there's something else there. ] Come in. I want to show you the research we're doing here. It's quite invigorating.

[fixyourproblem]

[Now this is nice! No fighting to death with a bunch of pirates and crabs, having a good company who doesn't snark at him, Oliver and Felicity are probably having a nice chat in other part of the facility and the ladies are probably enjoying a nice tour with Dr. Adams. What a great mission this turns out to be! (spot 11)]

Perhaps I should. The personnel here seems to be more interesting. At least, one of them is. [He smiles as he moves next to the console. Despite the fun time, he is having, Brantley still keeps his eyes open in case the good Doctor has ulterior motive. (sense motive 19)]

[telepathy]

[ Smiling, Ashley settles into a swivel chair in front of the control panel, pointing to a computer. He seems by all accounts to have only one motive: science. And he's highly dedicated to it, excitable even. ]

The files on the projects are there. [ He fusses with the control panel, busily flipping a series of switches and pulling one large lever. ] Infections were only the first step. The Shadow World has sent so much over; we've been trying to learn what we can about their genetics. Hybridization. Imagine the transhumanist medical applications: the resistances they've built up to everything the Eldritch Tide has introduced into our world, adapted to real humans.

[fixyourproblem]

[Brantley almost glares when the doctor says 'genetic hybridization' and 'adapted to real human'. But he doesn't want to blow his cover yet, so he holds his emotion and maintain his friendly face.(will 17)] So you can make drugs that can cure every diseases and at the same time, give human immunities to them? That's amazing. But, isn't it dangerous? Won't be there side effect?

[telepathy]

Certainly. No science is perfect on the first run-through. We're dealing with some nasty side-effects on our current batch of subjects. There are kinks to be worked out, but that's part of progress.

[ He explains it in a hurried, excitable way. ]

[fixyourproblem]

These side-effects, I am assuming they are not as nasty as I think, since clearly a good man like you wouldn't hurt the test volunteers, right? [Hearing the doctor talking about it so easily without any sign of guilt, Brantley starts having a hard time holding his feeling. His smile has gone, but he is still trying to be on the doctor's side. (will 12)]

[telepathy]

Good god, we're not monsters. [ The doctor scoffs. ] We're not using people. Not humans, anyway. The first step is animal trials. Writing Shadowkind traits onto other Shadowkind, onto native animals, that sort of thing. [ Yes, he did just say he doesn't consider Shadowkind people. :) Also, make a spot check. ]

[fixyourproblem]

By not people, I am assuming you were referring to non-sentient Shadowkind, right? Because as far as I know, orcs and elves are still considered people, especially nowadays. [By this time, the smile on his face has completely faded. He doesn't support animal testing either, but that's still bearable than dissecting living human. He looks at the doctor with a sharp judging glare. (spot total 20)]

[telepathy]

[ Glancing back, Dr. Janik spots the shift in Brantley. He sighs deeply. ] Oh, I was so hoping you weren't one of those. [ He says one of those with the same venom that some people refer to ~political correctness.~ ] What we're doing needs to be done, to insure the human race's survival. These Shadowkind were the ones to jeopardize it by bringing all these new threats over into our world; they should be the ones to carry the responsibility for helping us cure it.

[ Over Ashley's head, Brantley sees

Emma screaming, and these creatures coming out into the view of the camera.

Weird. ]

[fixyourproblem]

I know that we need to something, but there are other methods of scientific research that can be done. Sure, it'd be easier to test using real life condition, but you know, great doctors like Curie and Fleming became famous not because they saved the world, they are famous because they are dedicated to saving people, no matter if those people had pointed ears or fangs. [Actually, Brantley doesn't really know this kind of stuff but he has just enough basic and a little bit of confidence can fill in the blanks. (know 11, bluff 18)]

Besides, when you finally finish your research, will you be able to stand up and tell the world you that you did it by doing gruesome work? It is not to late to change your methods, there are lots of place that have better equipment without the need of doing this. My place, for example, I can refer you there. [Yes, he is still trying to do this diplomatically (diplomacy 40),until....]

Wait...[He turns his attention to the screens.] Is that... Did you send my work-mates into a room full of man-eating Shadowkinds? [He hasn't gone berserk yet but hearing his shaky tone, he is definitely isn't happy.]

[telepathy]

[ Ashley outright laughs at Brantley's bluffed attempt at science. Luckily, due to Brantley's earlier charm, he mostly thinks it's endearingly off-base. He casts an uncaring glance over his shoulder at the monitors, as if he hadn't really given them much thought. ]

Oh, yes. You did say you were in the market for new colleagues. I thought this might only help to speed our research along by collecting candidates for the trials, and help relieve you of some dead weight.

[ With a wisdom check 14+, Brantley might recall that the doctor used the circuitboard in front of him to open those tanks, and the controls might be usable for something else, if he could get to them ... ]

I wouldn't worry: our specimens should keep them intact enough for the purposes of our research. After all, we only need parts.