3/17 Instance: Slaughterhouse Five

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Ferguson
Dread Pirate
Dread Pirate
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Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:26 am
Title: Fergie the Unjust
Location: I'm in the hick-land playing the spoons

3/17 Instance: Slaughterhouse Five

Post by Ferguson »

Current Timeline


<@Jean-Paul> Jean-Paul walked beyond the shell of the recently exploded building. They knew well enough what was in there plus Eddie would be able to share anything of note that the police found and the police were definitely all over that building. "Looks different in the day, certainly."

<Cecilia> Cecilia picked up a piece of charred rubble and flung it as far as she could. "It does look less sinister," she remarked. She frowned at the devastated lot. "We should've set up a perimeter. He had to come out sometime, we could've tried to smoke him out...that is if he didn't have an escape plan that led underground."

<Cecilia> "We made a lot of mistakes," Cecilia said ominously. "I still think it was sheer luck we weren't kidnapped."

<Cassandra> "To think we've been in there last night," Cassandra remarked, balancing up on a charred metal strut that jutted out from the blackened debris. "An exciting idea, but I'm not yet sure if in a good or bad way."

<Jessica> Jess looked down at her hands, she'd managed to talk Professor O'Keeffe into healing the worst of the cuts but she'd refused to do more than that on the basis that germs were apparently good for you now. "It's definitely bad."

<@Jean-Paul> "More than likely he has an escape underground. They had to have had a way to load all of that stuff inside that building." Jean-Paul pointed out. "And I don't think we can call it luck. We got ourselves out of that."

<Cecilia> Cecilia shrugged. "Call it what you like. The results are the same. Kraven got away, we were led from one trap to another and we still have no idea who those Illuminati wannabes are."

<Cassandra> "Honestly, I didn't do a lot of planning ahead that night. It all happened so fast. As if watching a movie on fast forward while you try to keep up. With the exception that you're also stuck inside the movie." She looked at the others. "I'm afraid I was just acting on my toes, and only thought about what was going on after all was over already."

<@Jean-Paul> Jean-Paul was really beginning to get sick of working with people who couldn't see any progress being made. He managed not to roll his eyes though as he eyed the surrounding buildings. "Did anything come from the interviews with the owners?"

<Cecilia> "We all were," Cecilia admitted to Cassandra. "The fact that I walked into a booby trapped building with grenades and gasoline and giant guillotines without any shields? Not so bright. I'm just lucky Ed set off every trap in front of me or it might've been me with the detached arm."

<@Jean-Paul> "It helps if you stay in eyesight of people when you can't hear." Jean-Paul couldn't help that one, rubbing his temple a bit harder. "So, the interviews? Did any of the people who own the buildings around have anything to say?"

<Cecilia> Cecilia shrugged. "There is a sewer system below the building. Place was abandoned for ages, no word on what it was before that. So it was probably that way for a long time."

<Jessica> "Well after the first grenade I couldn't hear a damn thing so I kind of just had to follow and rely on you guys. Apparently I shouldn't do that in future and should just go the fuck home."

<Cassandra> "In hindsight, teleporting into that building without knowing what was even happening hadn't been one of my smartest moves either." Cassandra revealed a faint smile as she hopped down from the metal strut. "Five minutes into my first real mission as an X-Men and I nearly got blown to teeny tiny bits. So don't be too hard on yourselves, yes?"

<Jessica> "Well I tried that but everyone went running into the building where it was really dark and then there were more explosions and I fell of the ceiling."

<@Jean-Paul> "So they didn't see anyone going in and out? Nothing suspicous at all?" Jean-Paul asked, not bothering with the rest of the conversation.

<Cecilia> Cecilia eyed JP. She'd worked with him enough to tell when he was getting exasperated. "Are you alright?" She asked in a low voice. "You look...tense."

<@Jean-Paul> "I'll live." He gave her a smirk. "So, sounds like we need to start looking for the sewer and see where we can get about, huh?"

<Cecilia> Cecilia sighed. "This...isn't the kind of neighbourhood where people would question anything suspicious looking...it's a shit neighbourhood, there's always something shady going on...but yeah, sewers seem a good start."

<Cassandra> "Speaking of nasty traps and explosives, how sure can we be that the police found any hidden surprises that may have survived?" Cassandra cautiously peeked underneath a pile of rubble.

<Cassandra> "Sewers?" She perked up. "Are we dressed for that?"

<@Jean-Paul> "Well, we'll just leave the police to that. If we find we can get into the building we'll know for sure and leave it at that. We'll make it well enough."

<Cecilia> Cecilia created shield armour over herself. "I'm always ready for the disgusting parts of the mission."

<Jessica> "I don't want to go in the sewers... it'll smell awful and sound carries..."

<@Jean-Paul> "Well...too bad? You can just guard the entrance while we do it then if you like?"

<Jessica> "You'd be more sympathetic if you knew what it was like to have enhanced senses."

<@Jean-Paul> "No, probably not." Jean-Paul shrugged and went for the nearest man-hole. "You two game for it?" He looked to Cassandra and Cecilia.

<Cecilia> Cecilia nodded and took JP's good arm. "Why get dirty when you have me?" She grinned, creating armour over him and pointedly ignoring the other two girls.

<Cassandra> "Ah, come on, it'll be fun!" Cassandra cracked a wry grin in Jessica's direction. "It's dark and cramped, the wall are damp and covered in gunk of unspeakable origin, rodents and other critters of unusual size skittering about..."

<@Jean-Paul> "I do appreciate avoiding getting dirty." He paused as he looked at the bottom of the manhole cover though, seeing the all too familiar pattern of the carvings on the trees looking back at him. "Huh..."

<Jessica> "And I have healing wounds on my hands and down one side of my body. I really don't think that's the best place for me right now...." She wrinkled her nose.

<Cassandra> "How could I possibly miss this?" She chuckled and nodded at Jean-Paul. "Besides, any decent villain chase requires a trip to an abandoned warehouse and the sewers. It's some kind of tradition, isn't it?"

<Cecilia> Cecilia raised an eyebrow at the manhole cover. "Well..." she created a shield underneath the metal and began prying the cover off "...can't say I appreciate this kind of artistic expression."

<@Jean-Paul> And the rest of them were in perfect health? Jean-Paul eyed the gash down his arm and just shook his head. "Well, it's not the prettiest thing in the world but it's evidence. They marked it for themselves."

<Jessica> "Last time sewers were involved I was dowsed in sewer water. Not something I want to repeat."

<Cecilia> Cecilia stepped up to the open manhole. "Mind levitating us down?" She asked JP. "I can't shield you if I don't maintain contact."

<Cassandra> Pulling her coat tighter, Cassandra approached the edge of the manhole and leaned forward to peek inside. "Try to see if from the good side," she told the others, while pulling her hair back into a pony-tail. "It's dark down there, and you have me to keep you company. I should be able to keep most of the undesirable stuff away from us, if you care for it."

<Cecilia> "I always appreciate a lack of rats," Cecilia remarked, pulling a flashlight out of her pocket and putting it into her mouth.

<@Jean-Paul> "Just a minute." Jean-Paul said distractedly, leaving the lid where it was as he glanced around the alleyway for any sign of other carvings. "Well, I don't see any signs of it around here other than this...I guess we can see where we find the next one though, huh?" He grinned, gladly floating on in now.

<Jessica> Jess wrinkled her nose. She supposed if she was careful she wouldn't have to touch anything. She could just hover in the space between. She tied her hair back with some difficulty given the injuries to her hands and peered into the hole.

<Cecilia> Cecilia kept the flashlight moving. "Watch for tripwires," she said. "This guy is like fucking Rambo with those I swear to God..."

<Cassandra> "Then I'll make sure to give you the heads-up when we're about to be overwhelmed by waves of rodents," Cassandra replied, smirking after Cecilia, before wafts of darkness crept forth from underneath the girl's coat, congregating around her legs to carry her gently down into the sewers.

<Jessica> Grumbling more than a little for having to even contemplate doing this, Jess lowered herself in after Cassie, keeping her arms curled into her chest and being very careful where she hovered.

<Cecilia> Cecilia meanwhile just splashed along, not really minding where she stepped since none of the water could actually touch her in armoured form. "So...right or left?" She said, motioning with the flashlight.

<@Jean-Paul> "Anyone see any signs of carvings?" Jean-Paul asked hopefully, coming closer to the fork in their path.

<Cecilia> Cecilia shone the flashlight down the left hall. "...Guess who?" She said, keeping the light on the marking.

<Cassandra> The shine of the flashlight helped the others as much as it hindered Cassandra, the area illuminated by its bright cone of light actually appearing less clear to her senses than what lay in the dark. "There is another one over here," she remarked, gesturing into the pitch-black darkness. "There don't seem to be any traps nearby, though, at least from what I can tell..."

<@Jean-Paul> "I suppose it's a bit trying even for Kraven to haul explosvies through his own traps." Jean-Paul commented as he made his way forward, following along as more markings became clear to him.

<Cassandra> "Here, let me clear things up for you." Cassandra smiled as she focused for another moment, drawing the ambient shadows away. As they flowed back into the crevices of the sewer walls, the narrow pathway appeared in an unnatural twilight, as opposed to the near perfect darkness before.

<Cecilia> Cecilia felt more and more tense as they came across more and more markings. "Does anyone else have a really bad feeling? Like we're getting close to something we shouldn't?"

<Jessica> "I've had that feeling since we found the body in the woods."

<@Jean-Paul> "Someone has to get close to things like this."

<Jessica> "Mmhmm... to serve as a warning to others..." Jess muttered to herself.

<Cecilia> Cecilia's gaze slid to Jess. "I didn't mean we should give up. We've come too far to let this go now. I'll solve this even if it kills me."

<Jessica> "Who said anything about giving up?"

<Cassandra> "In general? Yes, one could say the body in the woods, being stalked by obsessed strangers, and almost being fried alive still keeps me somewhat on edge." Cassandra looked around, scanning the corridors of an intersection. "Now in particular? No, not more than usual."

<Cecilia> Cecilia visibly gritted her teeth and began grinding them. Repeating to herself in her head over and over that holding someone's head underwater was not an appropriate response.

<Jessica> "Potential explosive firey death is not really my idea of a good time but... everyone's gotta go sometime, right?"

<@Jean-Paul> Jean-Paul just stuck with not engaging in this again as he made his way along the path, pointing up as one of the markings appeared overhead. "Looks like we have an exit, ladies."

<Cecilia> Cecilia raised her eyebrows. "...Through a subway?"

<Cassandra> "I love musing about death as much as anyone with an affection for black, but that doesn't mean I intend to flirt with it anytime soon," Cassandra remarked, looking back over her shoulder to show Jessica a small smile. "The greatest secret of death is that it teaches us the value of living, remember that, yes?"

<Cecilia> Indeed there was what appeared to be a very old, abandoned subway platform.

<@Jean-Paul> Jean-Paul flew out of the hole onto the platform. "If this wasn't on the funtimes creepy trail this would be really neat."

<Cassandra> "Ooh, now look at that." Cassandra pushed past the others to skip ahead into the more spacious cavern. "Who would have guessed that we're going on a dungeon delving adventure today? How exciting!"

<Cassandra> "And who could tell what we may find down here?" She stepped forth into the darkness and looked around.

<Cecilia> Cecilia eyed the mosaic on the wall. "Very nice work here," she said. "...Weren't there mutants living in the sewers here once?"

<Jessica> "I'll remember it when I find the value, Cass..." She floated out onto the platform to look around.

<Cassandra> "Or you stay with me and I'll show you," Cassandra replied, giving Jessica a quick wink, before scampering off into the dark again. "Mutants? Do you think there might still be some around?" She hopped up onto a fallen stone pillar. "This place doesn't look very lived in, however. Hey, is that an old train coach?"

<Cecilia> Cecilia started up the stairs towards the abandoned ticket booths. "I sorta wish Fabian was here to see this," she remarked. "He wouldn't like the sewer but he'd like this. He's always liked old abandoned places."

<@Jean-Paul> "I imagine any number of people could have been living down here." Jean-Paul walked farther into the subway. "But if they were mutants...well, I guess we know what may have happened."

<Cecilia> Hello! There were coins still in the till! "Jackpot," Cecilia said, slicing the top of the till off with a forcefield and gathering up the money.

<Cassandra> "I always loved exploring any old places I came across when traveling from town to town," Cassandra remarked as she wiped the thick layer of dust from the train coach's window. "Places with their own history and an unique soul, you know?" She leaned close to peek inside the old car. "If they were derelict or creepy, even better."

<Cecilia> Cecilia bent down, studying a marking. "Still finding those markings," she said to JP. "...This is actually starting to feel like following breadcrumbs."

<Jessica> "Very nice of them to leave a trail..." She landed to inspect one of them.

<Cassandra> "To where, though?" Cassandra turned around and look at where Cecilia was studying the floor. "Considering whose lead we're following, I'd be wary of what we may find at the end of this trail."

<Jessica> "Yeah... could be a false trail even..."

<Cecilia> "...I'm actually hoping their base," Cecilia said, standing up again. "But we won't know till we reach the end. Like most stories," she said wryly to Cass.

<@Jean-Paul> "I think they just like to leave their calling card. Who knows how many other places there is with this carved in all over town." Jean-Paul frowned as he looked at the marking. "Maybe it's time we start cataloguing where we find them."

<@Jean-Paul> "It may not be a path but surely the places with the most carvings will give us a higher chance of actually seeing the people involved."

<Cecilia> "That's a good plan," Cecilia said. "We can start patrolling areas with more markings...it might even give us a location."

<Cassandra> "Then let's hope it's one with a happy end," Cassandra replied, revealing a small smirk for Cecilia. "For me, anyway." She chuckled, before turning to look at Jean-Paul. "So, this would make these markings something like territory markers?"

<Cassandra> Pausing in her step, she placed a finger against her lips, pondering the carving by her feet. "There might be something to this idea."

<Cecilia> Cecilia looked up as she climbed another staircase. The enterance was boarded up but she could hear sounds of the street outside. "Guys...I can hear the city."

<Cecilia> She created armour around herself again and began to push at the boards, tearing the nails away easily.

<@Jean-Paul> "Makes sense to see where we are, I'm afraid I've lost track...that seems like awfully new boards for this place, too."

<Jessica> "You know I can do that if you'd prefer not to tire yourself out..." Jess offered to Cecilia. "I am the one here who can lift a car..."

<Cassandra> "This must be the old entrance to this subway station." Cassandra stepped up behind Cecilia. "Let me give you a hand." She summoned several shadowy arms, easily done in this near total absence of light, and helped tearing off some of the old boards.

<Cecilia> Cecilia slammed a shield upwards, splintering the boards away and climbing out. "My powers are connected to my energy levels but I don't run out of steam that fast."

<Jessica> "Well whatever... I was just trying to be useful..." she winced at the noise of the breaking wood.

<@Jean-Paul> Jean-Paul peeled out the moment the boards were back far enough. "I...don't think I've ever been here."

<@Jean-Paul> He looked along the street. Most of the building was older construction but there were a few buildings here and there that were still in use. "Anyone know where we are?"

<Cassandra> "You know what they say about actions speaking louder than words," Cassandra remarked, dropping the boards she had torn off. She looked up and after Cecilia. "Anything interesting up there, or did we just unearth an ancient restroom?"

<Cecilia> "Don't I know it..." Cecilia muttered to Cassandra's comment. "...Actually I do," she said. "We're not far from the Bronx..."

<Cassandra> She poked out her head, before hovering the rest of her up to street level. "There's a distinct lack of talking lions for this to be Narnia, so I'll go ahead and say we're still somewhere in New York." She shot the others an impish smirk.

<@Jean-Paul> "We're just in the street, older neighbourhood, some of the buildings are pretty fancy but it looks like a lot of them have been empty for a while, too." Jean-Paul answered, leaning against an old stone and wrought iron fence as he waited for the ladies to join him.

<Jessica> "Guess they cost too much to run...." Jess ventured out onto the street.

<Cecilia> "Actually...this looks close to Kingsbridge Heights," Cecilia said to JP. "I'm from South Central..."

<Cassandra> "At least we now have a fairly good idea how these people stalk their prey and move about unseen," Cassandra remarked, turning fully around to take in all of their surrounding.

<Jessica> "Hiding out in abandoned buildings. Shocker." Jess didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

<@Jean-Paul> Serenity now, serenity now, Jean-Paul coached himself as he walked along the street, glancing up towards an old asylum and then an old factory along the way. "Plenty of places to store who knows what to set up traps."

<@Jean-Paul> "So, sounds like we're going to have to start finding other hot spots for the carvings, huh? See if we can't find where they're keeping their supplies?"

<Cecilia> Cecilia followed JP closely. "Some old slaughterhouses here too...good place to find meathooks....and sharp untensils," she cringed.

<@Jean-Paul> Ugh, meathooks. "Yeah, I'd say that's a damned good place to start. Are we up for that or shall we save that for when we can set up a proper patrol of this area?"

<Cecilia> Cecilia thought a moment. "I have shields and you have sub-sonic speed and flight. If Jess backs us up with the superstrength and Cass with the shadows there's little reason why we need to wait and give them a chance to clear out."

<Cassandra> "One could say this whole area looks like the promised land of cannibals." Cassandra let her gaze pass over the array of old and defunct buildings. "Under other circumstances, I couldn't wait to explore it all."

<Jessica> "I'm always up for punching people."

<Cecilia> Cecilia trotted along, following the markings. "You know what the funny part is?" She asked JP. "The Bronx's motto is Ne cede malis - 'Yield Not To Evil'" She snorted. "Can't believe it."

<Jessica> "You can't fight against something if you don't know it's happening."

<Cassandra> "I don't know about you, but I already feel inspired by that motto. Maybe we should take it to heart." Cassandra smirked, falling into step by the other girl's side. Her gaze fell upon the old slaughterhouse ahead of them. "And we'll have to start someplace, so we might just as well go for the most fun one."
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