new orleans ♔ some people they call me monster | some people they call me saint

[romanticidal]

♬ Opera Singer - Cake

WHO || Rafael, Buffy, Spike, Des, Jack, Thomas, Myri, Finnick, Elena, Gar, Kat, Burt [closed]
WHAT || The Knights infiltrate NOVA to try to locate the experiments and relics mentioned by Chad & company. Shenanigans ensue.
WHERE || NOVA HQ, New Orleans
WHEN || Sunday, Nov 18th, 2012
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order! Keep it a rollin'.

Months ago, Finnick learned from Burt Becksworth about a number of construction projects Chad had contracted on the building. At the time of discovering the occult room, it was assumed the construction was to create the secret areas behind the auditorium, however, Kat's finally managed to hack into NOVA financial records and trace the contracts down.

It seems there was another, much more expensive, project, adding restructuring to the locked off basement level, to which there is no access through the public elevators. Schematics show that there is one accessible elevator shaft that goes to the lobby, which requires a key to activate the lower floor. Thomas considers it a better bet, however, to use the nearby quarry underground entrance through which construction trucks used to reach the site. Thomas will be leading a team through the underground tunnel in hopes of finding a space large enough to host the 'experiments' that Chad and company were afraid of the Knights discovering while nosing around the building.

Meanwhile, Jack wishes to discover if there are any remaining 'relics' in the building, and if so, to confiscate or document them. The heightened security within the building has made access much more problematic, and its taken awhile for him to acquire the security protocols necessary to be able to create a looped camera feed. Now that's everything's in place, he'll be infiltrating the building to override the cams, allowing Buffy, Elena, and Rafael to join him on the fourteenth floor for one last sweep of the occult room.

The situation has also grown more complicated in other ways since eavesdropping on Chad's cabal. In a gutsy move, Burt Becksworth has created an inescapable situation for Rafael and Finnick, forcing them to comply in preparing for an album and tour, lest they destroy their own reputations and become infamous in the business for backing out of their 'contracts' and letting down legion of NOVA fans. Finnick is an ideal situation to try and discover more about Burt's plans, however, and perhaps to find out incidental information concerning Chad's "Back the Fans" tour.

Comments

[bigbad]

I'm not alive. So no worries there.

[bancroft]

No use worrying at all, I always say. Nothing I haven't been able to handle yet, after all. I doubt a tunnel's going to be the end of me. [ he'll merrily lead the way inside. it's not excessively glamorous, but clearly a paved, travel entrance, large enough to allow trucks through. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des rolls his eyes and keeps on walking.] Yeah, well, speaking as the guy who has been buried alive, I'm gonna hold you all to your optimism.

[bigbad]

And look how well you turned out. [Spike also keeps walking, shooting Des a smirk.]

[shootfirst]

Are we gonna have to separate you two?

[rationalizes]

[ meanwhile gar flashes des a s-so concerned face ] Have you really been... [ gulp ] buried alive?

[nothingsodivine]

We'll keep it PG-rated, muffin. [To Gar, he just shrugs. At some point, his game became less "hide my immortality" and more "see how long it takes people to figure it out on their own."] Once. Worst weekend of my life.

[And then just like that, he presses onwards before anyone can get a word in about that.] So what should we be looking for? A sign that says "Frankenstein Place: 10 Miles?"

[bancroft]

It's this way. [ thomas looks srs now, as they continue down the tunnel WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS TELL ME THE LINK DIDNT WORK ] I can feel it.

[bigbad]

[IT WAS WORKING AT FIRST. I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT WENT. Spike looks dubious, but he follows.] You can feel it?

[bancroft]

[ oh ok more acceptable ] One of the benefits of becoming a Dragon's Claw is learning the secrets of an ability that lets us sense Shadow when we're near to it. Creatures, people, objects, anything from the other world, or linked inextricably to it. We can even feel when the Veil's about to open.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des snorts.] But I bet you still can't find a parking space in the mall at Christmas.

[Des: bursting your awesome bubble since... a long time ago.]

[bancroft]

[ he throws des a grin ] It does have its limits. [ HEY LOOK AT THAT, up ahead there's a wall of concrete... with a door in it. and a little keypad. and a big old service door for driving through beside it. thomas holds up a hand. ] Sir Samcelot, if you would. [ he gestures at the camera affixed above the door ]

[shootfirst]

[ she holds up a finger at the camera, squinting with one eye, and makes the motion of turning off a light switch ] Flick.

[ she glances back at them ] Three minutes to get in there, gentlemen. Starting now.

[bigbad]

Better work fast. [Spike tries the door.]

[shootfirst]

[ yeah that doesn't work, spike. kat gives a judgmental look that-a-way ] Somehow I doubt they'd leave it unlocked. [ she points to the keypad ] Needs a code.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des looks at Gar.] Sounds like you're up.

[Wow Des. Way to be racist, assuming all librarians are hackers.]

[rationalizes]

[ wow des, maybe she just likes books and only books and thinks e-readers are the devil and won't ever touch a compute-- nat 20 computer use check says your racism is well founded :(

she draws a device out of her coat and attaches it to the top of the keypad, flicks a couple buttons, and then draws it away, in the space of like 5 seconds. there's a clicking noise from the door, and she nods to spike. ] We're in.

[bigbad]

[Spike looks impressed as he pushes open the door.] Nice work, love.

[rationalizes]

Getting in is likely to be the easy part.

[ spike opens the door into a small white room that contains hazmart suits hanging on one wall. there's a heavy door leading onward with numerous warnings slapped on it, of potential dangerous chemicals, etc, beyond ]

[nothingsodivine]

Aww look. They left us gifts. [Des wanders over to the hazmat suits.] This oughta buy us some time before they realize they've got five extra employees on site.

[shootfirst]

Not exactly maneuverable. If we get in a shoot out, I'm totally taking my chances with radiation poisoning. [ still, she'll take one down and step on into it, as gar and thomas do the same ]

[bigbad]

I don't think vampires can get radiation poisoning. [But he can't deny the intelligence of the disguise, though he'll be with Kat in ditching the outfits if he has to. He pulls on his suit.]

[bancroft]

Somehow I don't think it will be that dangerous, if the scientists are actually working on anything down here. It's most likely a precautionary measure in case something goes terribly awry. [ still, he'll plonk the hood on, and then head to the door. ] Shall we? [ he pushes it open and they find themselves in a large laboratory, with only a few lights on here and there, illuminating cases that line the walls. tables are located up and down the center, full of equipment and computers. the cases are each filled with a strange blue cloudy liquid through which there are barely some figures visible, suspended ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des whistles the Twilight Zone theme under his breath once they're inside and he's walking through the room.] Anyone feeling the need to do the Monster Mash about now.

[shootfirst]

[ kat walks slowly forward, turning in a small circle ] Feeling the need to bust some heads, personally. [ she moves to a bank of computers, and her fingers start flying, keys clacking [nat 20 computer use = MAD HAXXOR skills ] Hold on, there's controls to clear the haze. [ bubbles appear in the cases as small fans whir on, and the mist starts to clear enough that the figures are entirely visible.

and horrific. it's clear that they were once human, but they all resemble corpses, whose features seem to have melted in on themselves. eyes run into noses and mouths, stretched and warped. their bodies are distended and bloated, with various strange bulges here and there from their naked forms. weird clumps of tissue are suspended floating around them, as if pieces of them were being sloughed off periodically.

kat's eyes are still glued to the monitor, however, and as she types, disgust grows in her eyes over what she's reading. ] Oh my fucking god.