Heroes: Endings and Beginnings

[B4UTRUST]

"Son," Wilks began. "Our helmets are off. We're not any more safe than the rest of you. But then again we all kind of got up there before we realized what was going on so guess it doesn't matter so much anymore."

[Agent Fisher]

Mike observed the scene in the lobby, the pale guards, the words of the scientist. He looked over to Inferno. "So, what's the Ultima playbook say about lab breaches, and zombie infestations?" He pulled on his gloves and checked his pistol, swapping the non-lethal magazine for one of the few magazines with normal rounds. "Cause this is how nearly all zombie movies start nowadays, some sort of lab breach."

[Charon]

"No idea. But this isn't gonna be a zombie infestation." Inferno looked to the scientists for assurance of that. "But we don't have the luxury of being in a movie. Prep to move upstairs."

[B4UTRUST]

"No, I don't think the zombie drugs are scheduled to arrive till tomorrow. Guess we're lucky there...," the man began, trying to sound as serious as he could.
"Really now, son, we're a pharmecutical company, not Herbert West, Inc. While it's true we do have small samples of things up there so we can process antibodies and immunizations, we're not the sort to start producing zombie-making chemicals. I think you watch too many movies."

[LadyTevar]

Gemini had been having her own conversation, in quiet whispers. At Inferno's request, she/they walked closer. "Dr. Wilks, do you have an idea where the containment breach started?" The large muscular woman looked to the security guards. "Was there one section or lab that started showing odd things on the security monitors?"

They had to have monitoring stations of some kind, it had to have started somewhere. That will give us some idea what might be out there.
Heidi didn't reply to Jerri, there was no need. She understood the idea completely. "Security had to be monitoring all sections, recording it. Those recordings would give us an idea where it started, which means we can get an idea what we're up against."
If we're lucky, we may even see what started it.

"So don't just stand there, let's find a security station and roll the playback, hmm?"

[SirNitram]

"A labratory breach requires immediate identification of the grade of threat, to produce suitable response for containment and elimination." NeXT noted.

[General Havoc]

"Unit XC-001 Alpha Online."

The enormous robot's lights flipped on first, nothing subtle about them, a battery of huge floodlights tinted in various police colors, mostly blue and red. It let the lights spin for a second or two before huge servos and motors began to churn, and the robot stepped out of the tractor trailer onto the pavement. Painted in Ultima colors, its Omnicorp logos removed and replaced, the massive mech turned its torso left and right and began to sweep the area with a battery of scanners and sensors, drawing all attention and all eyes towards itself.

"Understood," said Alpha into its radio. "Initiating Perimeter-Establishment Procedures. Be advised, this unit is rated as functionally impervious to 99.7% of of all organic and 94.1% of all in-organic chemical compounds on-file. Presuming architectural and structural integrity would not be compromised, this unit can investigate areas where saturation levels of organic-toxins have exceeded maximum tolerances for human or metahuman life."

[Charon]

Inferno looked to Gemini. "Go with security and check it out." He looked back at the men. "If you would please show Agent Gemini to the Security station?"

Inferno went back on the comm. "This was a pharmacutical factory, there's an infinitesimal chance that whatever got out is lethal, I'm pretty sure they'd know immediately if it was something that was. Which means whatever caused the mess was something else. Agent Alpha, I don't think this place can take your weight without extensive architectural damage, but if you can prove me wrong I'd love to have you in here."

[B4UTRUST]

Wilks shrugged and glanced in askance at the other three. One of them spoke up.
"Yeah, we got cameras mounted in the labs. Not sure how well they'll help. Just about all of them got blown out last night when whatever the hell it is happened, happened. Bout a dozen of them went offline all at once then after that they started goin' down one at a time till almost the whole place was shut off."

He stepped forward and began walking towards the side office, pulled out a keyring and unlocked the door. Inside was indeed a security office, a small office chair and a row of monitors and camera controls as well as a few computer systems to store playback and track entries and exits from the building.

He flopped down into the rolly chair and scooted over to one of the control boards and pressed a few buttons. The monitors began to rewind the stored video footage, showing nothing but black on most of them for whole hours up until they began to pop back into view one at a time.

The original assessment of a slaughter house was fairly apt from the camera views presented. Blood and other heavier fluids stained the walls and floors as far as could be seen, dripping from the ceiling in places and completely washed clean in others where sprinklers had sprayed water.

The video continued to rewind, unchanging for several hours of video time more. Then they all clicked back on, showing the final scenes in reverse until the security guard stopped the rewind and began the playback. Lab techs were passing out pills to what appeared to be bums. The bums took the pills and were examined and tested, the techs making notes on clip boards. It was difficult to figure out which bum started first but three of the bums dropped to their knees and grabbed their heads. Right up until they exploded. A minute later two more bums started grabbing their heads, though they didn't explode.

All around them like a shockwave the lab techs and other bums began to be pulled apart, body parts flung away, impacting walls hard enough to indent and crack them. The other test subjects soon joined in save for one. They ran, screaming, wailing and in every room they passed, bodies disappeared into sprays of blood and gore, walls cracked, windows shattered, doors were flung off hinges. And then blackness. Like a shockwave following them the cameras went offline starting from the lab center and working outwards throughout the facility.

The security guard could be heard audibly gulping, fighting to keep his breakfast as he watched.

[LadyTevar]

Heidi was a bit stronger willed, but inside her mind Jerri was shaking. oh... oh gods... oh gods... that's .... that's

"That's enough. Shut it off." Heidi's voice was controlled, in the way of someone trying to appear to be stronger than the need to break down and puke. It helped that Heidi liked splatter-movies, but only a little. "I think we have the answer we need. Get me the map, show me where that lab is from here, then go take five... I think you need the break after seeing that again," she added to the security man, giving him an understanding nod.

Turning away, she whispered to herself. "Pull it together, Jer. Think, gimme answers. Pills first, then things blow."

Yes. The pills. Passed out to test subjects. Jerri focused on the here/now, on the mental not the physical. There's money in being able to create meta via drugs. This could have been a drug test gone wrong. Telekinetics of some kind, perhaps. Uncontrolled psionics might cause the damage... like a localized storm or tornado.

"One test subject wasn't flung, wasn't running, wasn't dead."
But the rest, they ran. And the psionics hit everywhere they ran.
"And the one who didn't run?"
Can't say. But it seems the others were the loci of the psionics, not the other.
"Time to tell Inferno either way." Gemini walked out to join Inferno and Legion outside with Alpha and the rest of the team.

"We saw the tapes, and someone was playing labrat with a few of the local homeless." Her voice was grim as she related what was on the tapes. "They gave them pills of some kind, and then people started exploding. Those that didn't explode, ran.. and people and things around the runners started exploding. HazMat suits would be a good idea, just to avoid the blood." Tough girls don't puke on her shoes. Tough girls do get pale and look like they're trying not to puke on their shoes, but they don't actually puke on anyone's shoes. Because they're tough, and they watch splatter movies for fun. Think of it as a scene from a movie. That's all.

Aim for someone else's shoes if we have to go inside.
"shut up Jerri." Heidi took a deep breath. "From the tapes, it's a test gone wrong, and we're going to need mops and sponges to find our target. IDing anyone will be hard -- This is something out of a splatter-movie, Inferno. Resident Evil wishes it was this bad."
Sadly, if it was a movie, we'd make millions off the people coming into see it.

[Charon]

Inferno nodded only slightly. "Fuck... Alright." He opened his comm to Alpha again. "Agent Alpha, get in here. Structural damage just became a non-issue." He looked at the others of his squad that were inside. "Alright, myself and Agent Alpha will be heading up to check it out. Any of you that think you can handle it, we'll need every set of eyes we can get."

He looked to the good Doctor. "I'm gonna need a HazMat suit."

[LadyTevar]

We're going to need more than that. There's a good chance the ones who did this are still alive and in the throes of their psionic overload.

"Inferno, Jerri just pointed out the poor bums are probably still in there, blowing people up," Heidi announced. "From the vids, I think they're terrified out of their minds."
The drugs might also have caused ... side effects.
"And the drugs might have had other side effects," Heidi added with a grimace. "There was also one bum that didn't run, didn't panic. The ones that ran were blowing things up randomly, it seemed, but that one vanished when the first cameras blew. What'd the drug do to him?"
He -could- have followed the bums out and been the source ... but Jerri's voice was uncertain.

"Jerri's not sure, not enough facts."

[Agent Fisher]

Mike nodded to Inferno. "I'll go." He said, then listened to Heidi's warning. "So, what if we come across them. Do we try and help them or put them down?" He asked, trying not to think about the sight of blown up people bits all over the walls.

[B4UTRUST]

The guard nodded gratefully and with a shakey hand stopped the playback and killed the monitors. He motioned to the wall where a display of sorts was visible, giving a layout of each floor, which, save for the first, looked mostly the same. It was a fire and security monitor, showing a red LED across most of the rooms on the second, third and fourth floors. According to the legend at the bottom right the red LED indicated a tripped fire suppression system, which meant that the upper floors would probably be flooded with water, or in the rooms with expensive lab equipment, halomethane. He pointed to a room on the 4th floor, the testing lab.

Wilks nodded and motioned towards the security office.
"Yeah, sure, son. Think there might be some extras in the equipment locker in the security office."

[Charon]

Inferno nodded to Wilks and then looked to everyone else. ""Everyone who's going suit up." He then headed into the security office, donning most of a HazMat suit as quickly as he could. He didn't worry about the helmet, mostly because he didn't want his senses restricted up there, and if he threw up he didn't want it in the suit.

Coming back out he looked over at Wilks and the security guards. "You four stay here. I'm going to have questions once we're done up there."

[LadyTevar]

Heidi suited up, although she had to grin at how the suit she picked was somewhat ... strained ... over parts of her anatomy.

show-off
"I've got them, I flaunt them," Heidi answered with a wicked grin. Like Inferno, she kept the hood and facemask down for now, although she had them at the ready for when they might be needed.
Jerri, with a mental sigh, changed the subject I've been reviewing the tape mentally. Here's the best info I can get for you.
"We've got roughly five bums running the halls, unless the pills did them in as well, Inferno," Heidi relayed. "Then there's the one that didn't start freaking out, the one we don't see again after the cameras start blowing. The ones that ran were panicked and as scared by what was going on as everyone else, and might have ran themselves into exhaustion by now."

or died from the drugs and the stress.
Heidi grimaced. "Or are dead from stress or the drug's effects. Either way, if they are still alive, Jerri thinks more stress might trigger another bloodbath."

[Agent Fisher]

Mike pulled off his vest and duty belt, slipping into the hazmat suit. Over the suit went his vest and belt, buckling the holster around his thigh. He pulled on the hood then the mask, making sure it fit right before pulling it off.

"So, six possibles. Any advice on how to stop them from blowing us up?" Mike asked, looking at Heidi, but focusing on the job at hand, not how the suit hugged her curves.

[Charon]

"Easy, the two they can't blow up so easy will be taking point, meaning Agent Alpha and me. What worries me though, is the one that didn't freak out. My guess is that the drug worked on him like it was supposed to, what that means for us at this point is anyone's guess." Inferno had one of his guns in hand, it was awkward with the gloves, but for now it had more punch than his own blasts did. "As for what we do up there, I want survivors if possible. If they aren't gonna go down easy or there isn't anything left of their minds take them down, but I want to bring someone out of this hellhole alive if we can."

[Dark Silver]

Legion was out by the trailer with Alpha, monitoring the comms, when he heard Legion's call for Alpha.

"Inferno, if your wanting someone with durability in front...then your not the one for this. Neither is Agent Gemini. Your both, sorry to say, squishy, despite your powers."

Legion started walking towards the building, motioning orders to a few of the other lower ranked Ultima suits to mark a perimeter around the building.

"Idealy, Alpha and I would be the point men, his armor and my Forcefields will protect us from any incoming short of a full psychic assault."

He felt the ground shake as Alpha walked off the flatbed, and moved towards the building, almost overtaking him, "Besides," he said entering the room the rest of the team was in finally, "your wearing a hazmat suit which makes you clumsy. My encounter suit is equal to those Hazmat suits, and better in some ways, and it doesn't hamper my functionality."

Legion stopped when he got to Gemini, Inferno and Mike, "Looking good Agent," he said, having looked over Heidi in the streched hazmat suit - He wasn't much for the Jessica Beil look-alike look..he was more of a Jennifer Love Hewitt fan in the body-type department, but she made it work very well - "So anyway...yes, Alpha and I should have point, with the rest of you coming in on a all clear signal."

[General Havoc]

Alpha entered the room last, for it took him a bit more work to do so. The main doors to the facility were sized for humans, and normally, Alpha would never have considered entering via these means, but structural damage had been declared a non-priority by the officer in charge, and so all Alpha had to worry about was making sure the damage was only to the building.

Accordingly, when he approached the glass doors that fronted the facility, Alpha performed a quick scan to ensure that nobody was standing near the doors, and then carefully stepped right through both doors, shattering them into a million pieces, a second before his entire body pushed straight through the front wall of the lab complex, moving slowly so as to ensure that debris would not go flying at high speeds into the lobby of the building. The walls were made of drywall and wood laminated with marble, and he broke through them as though they were Styrofoam, stopping in the now enlarged doorway as dust and debris rained off of him, before stepping forward into the lobby itself, leaving an Alpha-shaped hole in the wall behind him where the front doors used to be.

"XC-001 Alpha online," said the former Omnicorp-mech. "Mission parameters have been translated and synchronized to weapon subroutines. Force Level Beta Authorization parameters loaded. Lethal force is not authorized at this time. Unit will fire to subdue."

The weapons ports for Alpha's non-lethal ordinance, his sludge gun, taser, and compressed air cannon, all slid open, while the more lethal weapons did not. It slowly scanned the members of its 'team', cutting its lights as it did so, and turned carefully towards the doors that led to the lab complexes themselves.

"Be advised," said Alpha, "this unit is programmed to act as hard cover for supporting agents during lethal-risk engagements as necessary. At present, this unit is unable to determine potential likelyhoods for situations meeting established criteria for hard cover subroutines. Please communicate all evaluations relevant to this possibility with all dispatch."

Though his language was rather technical, those familiar with such terminology could tell that Alpha was asking them to let him know if they wanted him to act as a bullet shield.

"Proceeding on your command."

[Charon]

Inferno paused and thought it over. He hated the idea of someone besides him going into an unknown situation first.

He looked over the rest of the team, then slowly nodded. "Alright Legion, you and Alpha will be taking point. But be careful, they might have a psychic assault capability."

He looked over at Alpha. "You will be taking point with Legion while clearing the fourth floor. The two of you will be taking the freight elevator up. Lethal force is authorized on a provisional basis for the rest of the team. Agent Alpha, I also want you recording everything you see up there. When the shit goes down on this place, I want some video evidence of what they were doing."

Inferno took a deep breath. "Alright, if that's all, get going. And good luck to the both of you. If you guys get in trouble you call for backup immediately."

[Dark Silver]

Legion nodded, looked to Inferno, nodded and reached into the suit-coat which hid the chest holster of his M1911. He unlatched the holding strip, freeing the weapon for a quick draw. The encounter suit was hidden beneath the button down pale blue shirt he wore beneath the coat and black tie - aside from the bit of the black material near the neck, it would appear he didn't wear a encounter suit at all.

"Don't worry kid, I've been through worse before. This will be a simple clean and sweep. Alpha's firepower will be enough to suppress near anything they can throw at us, and my force field will make us near untouchable."

With that, Legion looked back to the War-mech, and nodded towards the freight elevator, "Agent Alpha, your with me, maintain constant surveillance and sensor sweeps as capable. Record every second that will be pertinent to future investigations and Boards of Inquiry. Comm Links will remain on sub-voc once we hit the 4th floor. Agent Alpha will act as comms relay should something occur."

With that, Legion walked to the freight elevator, and pressed the button for the call. It would be a few moments before it arrived, and the shaking of the floor meant Alpha was right behind him.

[B4UTRUST]

The elevator arrived for Alpha and Legion. The two boarded and with a press of the proper button, lifted upwards to the proper floor.

The elevator slowed to a halt. The elevator doors slowly parted, revealing the interior of the 4th floor labs. Only a few of the fluorescent lights remained working, flickering and barely giving any illumination at all. The only sound was the quiet hum of fans somewhere further into the lab and the constant drip drip drip of some liquid. The floor was a dark deep red where it could be seen, thick with congealing blood.

From somewhere to the right of the door, out of the sight, came a crash of something fragile falling and shattering on the floor. The lights flickered a few more times and went out.

[General Havoc]

The lights were all dead, but dead lights did not phase Alpha. The massive law enforcement mech had not a prayer of remaining stealthy, even in total darkness, and so it made no pretense, but rather turned on lights.

Spotlights, floodlights, colored police lights, diffusive lights, every light the war machine had flipped on, dowsing the hallway and surrounding area in a tapestry of light. Even as the machine did so, it powered up its video recorders and fed its optical data receivers into them, turning its torso back and forth slowly to the accompaniment of whirring motors.

Its loudspeaker came to life.

"This is Ultima Sentinel-class unit XC-001 Alpha. Come out with your hands above your head and approach this unit's position in a non-threatening manner. Failure to comply will result in the use of force."

[B4UTRUST]

Nothing moved at Alpha's command. The blaze of lights from the giant mech flooded the lab, making it look like high noon. The light threw the dark red of congealing blood and the bright shiny candy-apple red of the still liquid blood into sharp contrast against the otherwise clean white walls.

Lab equipment lay in ruins, computers and monitors torn apart, and shards of glass from flourescent bulbs littered the ground. Small, wet chunks and globs of flesh were visable here and there, stuck to the walls, floor and ceiling. Several foot of intestine dangled messily from an air conditioner vent in the ceiling that had been cracked open. The length moved slowly in the breeze generated by the building's HVAC system.

The air seemed otherwise still, carrying the weight of death along with it's pungent odor, that outhouse smell of human waste and gore. The sound of the HVAC circulating the air was barely audible and the source of the continual drip, drip, drip was revealed as more drops of blood fell from the top of a table to the pool beneath it on the floor. In the center of the blood pool was a single, naked eye, staring emptily at the elevator that contained the pair, a tiny section of the optic nerve trailing behind it. The eye, one would note upon close examination, was hazel. It's striking white seemed out of place amongst the pool of scarlet.

Sticking partially out of one wall was the cracked and shattered end of a human femur. That it had been broken to such a degree was of little surprise given the rest of the damage visible. What might have proven to be a surprise, however, was the fact that the bone was piercing a steel wall.

Still, nothing moved. Nothing changed. The still charnel and the endless drip...



drip...




drip...