Aberrant: Dead Rising - 12i: Socialized Health Care [Complete]

[Dawn OOC]

July 17, 2007, one hour before 12h

Myfwanny had always hated moving – so much to pack, so many decisions. It would be worse dealing with scientific equipment that would have to be babied. At least she didn’t have to worry about that today. Today, all she had to do was go and deal with Dr. Jon Albright, convincing him to allow her use of his lab for her studies.

From what she remembered of the man, that could go many ways. He might be amenable to it, but only if she followed his scientific focus and theories. He might deny her outright, leaving her stuck in the unenviable position of trying to bargain with him. Sadly, she didn’t know him very well and wasn’t sure what she could offer him to get his cooperation. She wasn’t looking forward to that if he wasn’t willing to work with her.

Turning, she looked at her volunteers, along with Fox. He wasn’t coming with her, but he was giving her the ride down to Dallas and then coming to pick her up later, presumably after she’d convinced Albright to work with her. “You guys ready to go?” Fox asked, pushing off the wall he’d been leaning against. He made the movement look like something out of a movie – the leading man straightening to deal with an uncertain world.

[Karren Gaunt]

OOC: Let's get this show on the road, shall we?

IC: "Ready when you are, much as I'm not sure you can be ready for a metahuman like Dr. Albright was described to me, at least until you meet them," Sarah replied, straightening up to her full imposing height and stretching a little. She chuckled at her own joke, the blonde megamorph checking that her sword was still sheathed in easy reach on her back, that her reinforced clothing seemed up to the task of protecting her so that she could protect Myf in case of misunderstandings or Zeds.

A very tiny part of her selfishly hoped something would go wrong just so she could have the chance to push her powers a little.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

"He's a man like any other," Kristin countered irritably, reaching up to stroke the haft of her axe sheathed across her muscular back.

A couple of weeks into her second trimester, her breasts were swollen and tender, she suffered from itchiness and headaches by turns, and her insides couldn't decide if she was constipated or if she needed to go every five minutes. Her cute, heart-shaped face was just a bit rounder, her muscular definition slightly softened by slowly accumulating fat which muted the uncanniness of her appearance. That Dr. Shattuck assured her this was all normal for a pregnancy didn't make Kristin feel any better about it.

On the other hand, Dr. Shattuck had been kind and nothing but supportive, without being preachy or nagging. She was... comfortable and Kristin would make sure she was safe - even pregnant, she was still tougher than nearly anyone, and she was all to willing to demonstrate it, especially to a man. Dr. Albright was large from what she heard, and not particularly nice, but he better be nice to Dr. Shattuck, or else.

Plus, she wanted to see the place where Dr. Shattuck would be working, where she might end up having the baby.

"I'm ready to go to," Kristin affirmed, rolling her shoulders and hitching up her small pack, which held mostly food and water. She was thirsty all the time now, and ate even more than normal.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan understood. He knew why she was leaving, but in truth he'd come to depend on Myfwany, if nothing else than for her stability. She was someone he never felt he had to worry over.

Dan looked at Kristen, starting to show now, and Sarah. It said something that three combat-capable supers were serving as Myfwany's escort for this. Nobody'd heard from Jon in some time, and The consensus had been that he was dangerous before, and could be even moreso now. It was best to simply be safe.

He nodded. "All saddled up."

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany finally bustled in, holding several folders in her left hand and some loose sheets of paper in the other. She was quickly sorting the sheets into folders as she went.

"Ready, sorry," she said breathlessly. "Always a few last second things to take care of."

The doctor gave each of her escorts a sunny, tired smile. "Thanks for coming with me. I truly don't think Jon will be dangerous...but the fact is he has the potential to be. Give him the benefit of the doubt though is all I ask. Don't be too quick to assume he's attacking. He hasn't got good social skills, but he's not homicidal."

She hesitated then admitted, "Wasn't before at least."

[Dawn OOC]

“Alright, then,” Fox said, looking at nothing. A second later, there was something there, as a point of light flared into one of his trademark warps. The scene beyond was Jon’s front door step, a concrete wall with a single steel door. Fox waved at them, smiling widely. “Your portal awaits. Just remember, I’ll open a portal in an hour to see if you’re ready to come home then.”

Dan nodded and took point as Sarah followed. There was nothing for the two to react to as they stepped through; the world was silent as the two supers walked across the ground, ready for anything. The area around them was open and wild; grass gone wild brushed past Dan’s knees. The nearest zombie was over a hundred yards away, beyond the fence that searched back and forth. The zombies had been standing there but were now looking toward Dan and Sarah, sensing food.

Dan waved them through, still glancing around at the area for danger.

Click to reveal.. (Max, read this)

Everyone, state your actions.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan watched the zombies, and their surroundings, his battle rifle unslung and in his hand. He didn't see an immediate threat, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. "Stay sharp, it's too quiet for my tastes."

Click to reveal..

Dan's scanning the area for anything beyond the ordinary, hidden traps and the like.

[Karren Gaunt]

Sarah's blade cleared it's sheath as soon as it's wielder cleared the rift, the tall blonde nodding agreement with Dan's caution. "Were any of you here before? What should we be expecting from this Enclave? If the fence is holding, then someone could still be maintaining it," she commented, ready move whatever way the group did.

Click to reveal..

Sarah draws her weapon, just in case of trouble but doesn't take up a combat stance or anything.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Kristin stuck to Myfwany's side, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to interpose herself between doctor and anything that posed a threat to the doctor. The adults might have flinched at the thought of the pregnant woman deliberately exposing herself to danger, but the fact was, she was probably, physically, the toughest one there. Admittedly, no one had gotten the urge to test that out.

Powerful muscles rippled beneath silky, bronzed skin, adrenaline surging, as Kristin unlimbered her wood axe and slung it over a broad shoulder, the axe-head facing down. She was planning on using the blunt side of the axe, all the better to knock Zombs clear of Dr. Shattuck - the blade might just chop them in half, leaving a torso still close enough to try for a mauling.

Click to reveal..

Kristin draws her axe, loosely balancing it on her shoulder, and takes a ready action to jump in front of Myfwany if anything comes to try to injure her.

Activating Irresistible Force

QP: -1 | WP: -0 | HL: -0

[SalmonMax]

"It's not really an enclave," Myfwany replied, glancing around at the distant zombie clusters without much worry. "It's just a super, and his assistant. The metro area has zombies of course, but as long as we keep our heads down and stay quiet, they should be manageable."

She took a moment to get combobulated, then went to the metal door and looked for a call button or something similar. Failing that, she just did the expedient and knocked...though not too loudly.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan nodded. "All the same, it's been awhile. It's best to be safe Myfwany."

[Dawn OOC]

At her first tap on the door, the heavy metal door creaked open. “That’s not creepy at all,” Sarah muttered as the yawning darkness beyond the door was revealed. Myfwanny frowned; the last time they’d been down here, these stairs had been lit. She peered up and could see that the bulbs were still in their sockets and the light switch was flipped to the ‘ON’ position.

There was utter and ominous silence from that darkness.

Click to reveal..

Everyone give me a Perc + Awareness; if you have a scent-based enhancement it applies.

If your get less than two or less successes, you smell something musty. If your PC has three or more successes, you catch the faint scent of something large rotting.

[Dan Hawkins]

"Damn." The foul odor of death and decay came wafting from the open door. Dan was already on alert, but with things opening so readily, and now the stench, things didn't look good.

He looked to Myfwany. "Stand back, Doctor. best to let one of us go in first.

Click to reveal..

Long6 *rolls* 9d10: 6+1+4+7+6+10+3+8+6 3 successes

activating forcefield

24/26 qp

Long6 *rolls* 6d10: 1+9+4+6+3+1 1 success = +5L/B soak

[Karren Gaunt]

"I don't suppose any of you brought a spare flashlight? I left mine back at the Refuge," confessed the blonde megamorph, gripping her blade a little tighter. She hated confined spaces *and* going underground. Not out of any irrational dread, but from the fact that her primary reflex when trouble showed up would be counter-productive at best, lethal to those around her at worst.

And this situation screamed potential trouble to her.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Click to reveal..

Perception + Awareness: (4d10.hits(7)=1)

Kristin wrinkled her nose at the stale mustiness wafting from the door way. She supposed living underground really limited the amount of air and open windows you'd have access to, but still... It was eerily quiet for someplace that was supposed to still have power and someone living in it.

At Sarah's question, Kristin nodded emphatically, slipping her backpack from her shoulders. "I have one, just a sec."

Kristin unzipped one compartment, then closed it and opened the largest one, pulling out a heavy Maglite that she had stored down the side. The brawny, blond teen slung the pack back over her shoulders, then stood up and crept forward.

The hand holding her axe was held up and slightly back, ready to strike, her other hand forward, gripping the solid aluminum frame of the flashlight. She flicked on the Maglite, bright white, LED generated light scything through the darkness.

Kristin looked back at the others, then shrugged, shoving the door all the way open with the head of her axe and began to head down the stairs.

[Karren Gaunt]

Sarah followed three steps behind Kristin, sword in one hand, the other on the rail as her booted feet kept pace. Much as she was intelectually convinced the younger metahuman could handle herself, it still struck her wrong to let someone pregnant take point, let alone someone as emotionally violatle as Kristin.

A 'well, follow us' look at Dan and the doctor was the only comunication she gave before fully comitting to the darkness below, ducking a little to clear the support beams.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan sighed and looked to Mywfany. "After you then, I'll bring up the rear. He had not expected the need for light, but his battle harness did have at least one flashlight on it. He turned it on, and looked to Myfwany. "If you can you might want to see if you see any lifesigns while we're here. It's a fairly narrow beam, so there isn't going to be alot of ambient light."

[SalmonMax]

"Wait," Myfwany said. She put a hand on Kristin's shoulder, pulling her gently. "I'd feel safer if you were with me. I'm the most vulnerable of any of us after all."

"Dan, you've had experience with this kind of thing. You go first. Sarah, make sure nothing sneaks around behind us to surprise us from behind." She gives Kristin a smile. "And you can be my bodyguard."

"I'll watch for energy and see if I can lead us towards anything still living down here."

She held on to Kristin's arm for guidence, since she didn't see ordinary light when looking for life force.

(OOC - Using Life Sense)

[Dawn OOC]

Kristin scowled but didn’t really have a good argument against staying close to the doctor, since she was here to protect her. Arguing that she was tougher only reinforced the doctor’s logic. However, she suspected that Myf had only requested a body guard to keep Kristin back and that was stupid.

As they went down the stairs, Myf saw signs of life: tiny life, teeming insects and spiders, glowing around her like green stars. But nothing larger than that, making her feel uneasy. Where were things like birds and stray animals? If this place was abandoned, then they would be moving in.

“Oh, bad sign,” Sarah muttered from ahead, stopping. The tall woman eased out of the way to let them see the small bones at the base of the stairs.

Dan stepped over it and crouched to look closer. “Cat,” he grunted after a moment, pushing a tiny skull with the muzzle of his rifle. He took another look and growled, “Something’s ate on it. But not recently. It's covered in dust.”

“Another cat?” Kristin asked, a hint of eagerness and hope in her voice.

“Dunno,” Dan said, “don’t recognize the teeth marks.”

“Myf?” Sarah asked, turning to look up at her. “Think you co-”

There was little warning as several small somethings came snaking out of darkness at them.

(OOC: see the spoiler for combat instructions)

Click to reveal.. (combat)

We’re in combat rounds.

I need everyone to provide 2 Perc+Alertness (sight and sound) as well as Inits. If you get three or more successes to hear them or two or more to see them, you can take a move OR action this round. That includes dodging. If you fail to see them, you have a +1 difficulty to hit or dodge them if you choose to attack or dodge. This is only for this round.

Please roll Init even if you can’t act this round.

I think that’s all.

[Karren Gaunt]

Sarah cursed under her breath as her eyes and ears picked up six very-large somethings rushing at the group. She waited until one of them drew close enough to attack before swinging her blade around at the creature, blue eyes focussed on the task at hand and protecting Myf from whatever inherited this bunker from it's original owner.

Click to reveal..

Okay, Perception test for sound...

7d10.hits(7)=3

Perception test for sight

7d10.hits(7)=4

Iniative Test

1d10+9=14

Attack roll on the first thing to come within blade range of Sarah...

10d10.hits(7)=3

Dammage presoak if it hits...

10d10.hits(7)=3 So, plus 5 auto successes means 8 Lethal dammage on a hit.

[Dan Hawkins]

Click to reveal..

5 success 3 success perception checks, init 24 spending 3 for multitasking for the scene, 1 for claws.

"Dammit all. Watch out they have teeth."

He moved back, waiting for an opening, his hands wreathed in electricity.

When the tentacle came near, he lashed out, and went on the defensive.

Click to reveal..

attack -1
3 successes
defense -2
6 success
defense-2
1 success
damage 12 damage lethal

rolls
[Long6] 1:20 pm: attack first 3 mega
Long6 *rolls* 12d10: 2+1+2+5+4+6+6+5+2+5+10+10: 58
[jameson] 1:20 pm: lol
Long6 *rolls* 2d10: 2+8: 10
[Long6] 1:20 pm: 3
[Long6] 1:21 pm: 11d10
[envoy] 1:21 pm: and posted...
Long6 *rolls* 11d10: 7+4+2+3+7+3+1+5+9+8+7: 56
Long6 *rolls* 11d10: 1+2+6+6+8+5+6+1+1+6+5: 47
[Long6] 1:22 pm: holy hell
Long6 *rolls* 6d10: 10+10+6+3+4+1: 34
[envoy] 1:24 pm: heh heh.
Long6 *rolls* 2d10: 4+3: 7

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Click to reveal.. (I ain't afraid 'o no ghost!)

Perception (Sight): 4d10.hits(7) = 2 Successes She can see them, sort of
Perception (Sound): 4d10.hits(7) = 2 Successes
Initiative: 1d10+8 = 13

"Those aren't cats!" Kristin yelped needlessly. Her flashlight jittered back and forth across the dark stairway, as she tried to make them. There weren't cats, but she wasn't sure what they were.

She interposed herself between Dr. Shattuck and the whatever-the-hell-they-were, thick muscles taut as she raised her axe higher, poised to knock away any of them that tried to go for the doctor. Okay... maybe Dr. Shattuck had a better reason to keep me close than just 'cuz I'm pregnant and they're worried about me getting hurt.

Click to reveal.. (Ready! Steady! Smash!)

Attack Roll, if needed (1st Die Mega): 11d10.hits(7) = 4 Successes
Damage Roll (+3 Dice from extra successes): 12d10.hits(7) = 4 Successes +[10] = 14 Bashing, plus Knockback with Irresistible Force

[SalmonMax]

"Not alive," Myfwany blurts as she ducks down to present less of a target. "It may be another 'super-zombie,' or it may be...it may be Jon." She nearly whispered the last word, abruptly horrified to even consider the possibility that, somewhere deep in the complex, was Jon's human body suspended by his own wildly out-of-control power as it conjured up more and worse things to sprout from his belly.

And yet, as ghastly as that was, if it was true...she might be able to help.

She blinked over to view the coruscating yellow auras and waves of the powers, and as one of the tentacles lashed out, she met it with a complicated net of her own power knit into something like scalpels or scissors. Invisible to the eye, they all dipped into the tentacle and cut...trying to sever the 'arteries' that piped energy into the things.

(Init 14!)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2989034/

(Perception: Vision, 4 successes)

(Perception: Hearing, 4 successes)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2989036/

Activating QA vision.

Then Disrupt for a mere 2 successes!

(Last dice is mega...does a normal mega success count as 2? If so, then it's 3 successes)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2989040/

[Dawn OOC]

OOC: Combat is over... thankfully none of you got bit

Dan's cool shooting cut down several of the beasts before they got close, leaving three for Kristin and Sarah. Each of the girls turned the one that got close to them into goo, leaving one. Myf herself had already struck it down with her power, so it lay immobile without even a twitch.

Kristin and Sarah stared in morbid fascination. They had never seen Jon's 'stomach tentacles', the strange beasts that had lived in his belly and eaten for him. Dan and Myf had, though, and this was the same thing - an oversized leech, aobut six feet long and as thick as a man's thigh.

Myf couldn't answer for a moment, she was watching the black energy disapate. If this was Jon's creature, she couldn't see any of the golden light which she saw in the supers. This was black, pure black, as it oozed away.

[Karren Gaunt]

Sarah swallowed a mouthful of bile as she considered the destroyed thing at her feet. She had spotted those things coming by the merest of luck and if it had gotten ahold of her... God knows what it could have done. "These things came from a Metahuman or Super Zed, didn't they? Someone, or something, not-quite human anymore that took over this Enclave and killed everything inside they could reach," she commented, looking out around her, "Which way next?"

[SalmonMax]

"It came from Jon," Myfwany said thickly. "Who now appears to be a super-zombie."

Her theory, it seemed, had passed a crucial test. A known super-human was now a super-zombie. Never had she been so devastated to be correct.

"The...the creatures are constructs of his power," she said after a moment. Her voice was quiet, but under control. To her, it felt like someone else was talking through her as she quaked with reaction inside. "But they're still dangerous. Before he...turned, they would latch on and drain blood and fluids from their victims. If one of us is bitten, say something immediately. They work...very quickly."

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

"Gross!" Kristin gasped, shuddering as she wiped the leechy gunk off the back of her axe. She felt nauseous and she wasn't sure she could blame it on the pregnancy. Leeches had never bothered her, and had swam in the pond and had three older brothers to boot, but these... things were longer than she was tall. She shuddered again. They came from a super-zombie who used to be a super?

Kristin shook the rest of the goo off her axe, then stepped resolutely in front of Dr. Shattuck, lips twisted in a beautiful grimace. She wasn't tall, but she was muscular and solid, and seemed more disturbed by their appearance than what they may actually be able to do to her. "Then let's go find this... guy and finish him before he can make any more of these things."

Just like a man to come up with something this disgusting. Bet he rapes women with them too. Caleb told me about the stuff they show in anime, tentacles and things...

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan looked around, glad no one had hit. He nodded to Myf, "Roger that."

"Stay sharp, he's still here it would seem, and that probably wasn't the only one."

"You want to study that one, or keep looking? I'd prefer not to have something like that behind us, should we need to get out fast."

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany shook her head. "It's not real. It's just...energy dressed up to look like matter. I don't think I can learn anything from it. Maybe from Jon...but something tells me he's..." she grimaced.

"Nevermind. Destroy these things wherever we find them. And...be ready for the worst when we get to Jon. I have a very bad feeling about what we'll find."

[Karren Gaunt]

Anyone with a hint of empathy could see by the tightness of Sarah's expression that she had a *lot* of questions about Myf's announcement that supers could turn into super zombies, but she nodded agreement that here and now was not the time to discuss it. Latter though...

"I'll take point this time," she volunteered softly, rising again with her sword ready and senses alert for more of those *things* and their maker.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan nodded, dropping back to cover their rear, hoping they'd remain as lucky as they had.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Taking the doctor's suggestion, the buff, beautiful teen splattered the mutant leech against the wall with a swing of her axe. The fierce, nonchalance in the powerful motion was more than a little eerie coming from a girl not yet sixteen, regarless of how maturely developed she was.

With Sarah in front and Dan behind - she would rather have had him in front where she could see him, instead of having him at her back - Kristin kept her place just in front of Dr. Shattuck, shifted slightly to the side, so she could see beyond Sarah's bulk.

[Dawn OOC]

The room they were in was a security room of some sort. It had been painted off-white at some point and the light color was helping reflect what little light they had. A desk stood before a heavy metal door, which was locked and closed. The lock was a swipe-card, but the panel was dark. A door stood to their left, the barely seen sign telling them it was a unisex bathroom. Plastic 'waiting room' chairs were setting around the room, their seats facing inward as if an invisible therapy group were in session. On the back of each chair, someone had drawn a symbol:

Myf bent and examined the material, rubbing at the textured plastic near the marking. "Blood," she announced with a sigh as she straightened, looking distraught. "Though it might not be human. I'll have to test it to learn where it came from."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan looked to the others. "I could restore power to some of this if you want me to Myfwany." His own morbid curosity was piqued now, as well as his hard-earned awareness that they weren't safe, and the longer they were here, the worse it would get.

[Karren Gaunt]

"Some more lighting would be nice to see and work by," confessed Sarah a touch aprehensively. Blood-painted symbols in a circle of chairs in a facility under the control of a Metahuman going Super Zed. Lottery system to determine who appeased Jon's hunger based on duck-duck-goose? Morbid cult ritual? She didn't want to find out what happened here, at least not where she couldn't fight back full power against the thing that spawned those constructs that rushed them near the base of the stairs.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Having no experience with Lovecraftian literature, all the symbols scrawled in blood on the back of the chairs meant to Kristin was another man was being a murdering, torturing, sick fuck. And this one was a sicker fuck than most, with those giant, raping leech things. Kristin scowled, dense muscle rippling as she hefted her axe and flicked her flashlight into the corners of the room, looking for more of the things... or Jon. Cautiously, she poked open the door to the bathroom with her axe, shining the light in, down low, looking for anything hiding.

She wanted a 'word' with this Jon-guy. Whether 'sharp' or 'blunt' she didn't care, as long as it was final and that it hurt.

"Turn on the power or not, were going through that damned door," Kristin promised, nodding over a broad shoulder at the steel door, looking fully willing - and fully capable - of tearing through it with her bare hands.

[SalmonMax]

"Yes...but maybe we don't have to do it blind," Myfwany said. "Dan, can you get the cameras and monitors working? Doesn't have to be for long...just to get a look at what's ahead."

She looked back at the symbol, which both fascinated her and made her uneasy. Evidence of Jon's madness as he descended into zombiery? Or had it been done after he'd turned? And worst...who's blood was that?

As for what it meant, it was anyone's guess. But it LOOKED like an eye. Maybe a reference to this being the room one 'watched' in?

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan nodded and sent power flowing through the circuits controlling the lighting. Not a large amount, but just enough to turn them on.

Click to reveal..

activating quantum conversion: electricity to turn on the power.

[Dawn OOC]

The big man was able to power up the lights, illuminating the room. The security cameras remained frustratingly unhelpful; either they were only showing static or they were only black. The room, when illuminated, showed more dots and dribbles of blood on the floor. They moved to and from the interior door behind the desk.

The room was otherwise unmarked. The bathroom was similarly pristine - no blood only a thick layer of dust.

[Karren Gaunt]

"No mystery where the creature that ruled this Enclave..," answered Sarah with a deep frown at the thought the Super Zed had once been a Metahuman and one of good intentions at that, "kept itself or was kept. Eiether it can't move anymore or it's too large and weak to move through that door. And these people... They... Came here and waited for it's creations to..."

She couldn't quite vocalize that thought fully, features coloring slightly as she imagined how things must have gone in the final days of the Enclave, having seen Enclaves going bad on her journy west from Morgan's. Her knuckles whitened on her blade hilt, straightening to her full height in anger.

"Kristen, you're stronger than me at this size. Get that door open please, and I'll kill anything coming at you first."