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The prison you find yourselves in is unlike any other prison you've ever heard of or though of before. You live in an open air village, with each prisoner having their own cottage, although villa might be a more appropriate term. Each cottage has been tailored to the person who lives in it, but each person whose power or skillset doesn't involve technology has access to cable tv, dvds and movies, and the ability to create email, although you are all sure that it is heavily monitored.
Even the guard force and warden here are unlike what you imagined when you were sentenced. Professional and polite, they act more like trained negotiators than a brute police force. The warden, a retired adventurer named Jackhammer (due to his excessively powerful punches) explained that "you were here because the system had failed you, but that he was going to correct that failure" in his speech he gave you when you arrived.
Each of you has mandatory psychiatric counselling, along with a large amount of optional training that you can engage in. In addition to the obligatory art therapy classes that make the rounds in most non-adventurer prisons, there are classes on basic employment skills like resume building and interviewing. There is also training available in the more traditional high school and college studies.
While there is a persistant rumor going around that there are different areas to this prison, none of you have ever seen or talked to anyone who has been to one of them. That meant that there were 25 prisoners held here, but you had only ever seen 20 of them. The cottages are arranged in an inner facing circle, with 5 central cottages that no one entered or left, and did not have any openings. Quite a bit of idol gossip went back and forth on who the people were in those cottages and what their powers were.
All of this aside, there were two things that set this apart from, say, a really nice addiction treatment facility: the uniforms and the implants.
Each of you has an implant in the base of your skull (specifically where it meets the spinal column). An octagon disk that is about the size of a quarter, you have been told that attempting to tamper with it would result in your central nervous system turning to so much pudding.
The other thing you knew of was the uniforms you were forced to wear. No one seemed to know what they were made of, but they had two distinct effects: one, they could change color or even become transparent, and two, the could change their density to allow you to either be immobilized or to take a shower in them (since you were not allowed to remove them).
The rules of the prison, which was nicknamed The Hole, were simple: treat each other with respect, violence would be met with violence, and obey all instructions given to you by the guards and warden as if they were sacrosanct. Other than that, there wasn't much that was off-limits, including sexual relationships with your fellow prisoners, as long as both sides signed a consent form ahead of time and took a 2 week class to understand the ways in which you can tell if your partner was willing or not.
For 626 the Hole was nothing short of Paradise. His small, four room hut was closer to the center of the "village", for lack of a better term, than the edge and was probably the simplest in terms of design. A living room and kitchen formed one open public space with an adjoining bathroom and small sleeping area. The windows were all glassless, substituting bamboo shutters. There was no tv and the computer was set up for Braille interfacing, though it was rarely used. It constantly scanned news outlet sites of all persuasions and output the articles on the quietly clicking Braille interface, but 626 rarely sat there to read it. He didn't have to. His passive telekinetic field allowed him to read the thing from any room in the house.
626 spent most of his time that wasn't occupied by his many extracurriculars sitting on his front porch in a old fashioned wooden rocking chair with his ice-laden lemonade on the small table beside him and his elaborately carved staff sitting behind. The guards had long since given up trying to remove the staff from his possession. The moment they got any real distance away the thing would disappear and return to 626. 626 found this hilarious.
As for extracurricular activities, 626 was involved in as many as his periodic naps and mandatory chats with the shrink allowed. He was adept at exactly none of them, but found the work, the production of something, cathartic. Welding came easy as his energy blade that proceeded from his right forearm could double as a torch, but he only used it if he had to, preferring the actual torches. The blade cut far too readily and deeply. That meant mistakes. Mistakes, ones of his doing anyway, were not acceptable.
He was talking to his shrink about that, actually, the degree of failure others showed on a regular basis was inconceivable to him. If he failed 1/100th as much as some of the others he would have been discarded long ago.
He had been designated a special shrink, a fellow Telepath named Dr. Amanda Downing, aka The Veiled Mistress. They would walk together in silence through the compound sharing words and concepts and memories directly from mind to mind. It helped to not have to talk about everything he had done aloud. She helped him see the world apart from death. Still, decades of programming and hunting sentient beings was hard to undo. It would take time, she said. All life had value, she said. He still wasn't convinced. He certainly wasn't valuable.
Besides welding there were meditative exercises like Tai Chi, mandatory art (he participated only in the more 3d aspects and seriously struggled with painting and drawing due to his blindness), and plentiful social gatherings, which he attended almost religiously with his best "friend", a short, ugly thing with blue skin named Igor.. Yes, with a period. Igor was able to form things out of thin air. Not quickly and not permanently, mind, but the limits on what exactly he could make were as yet undiscovered. He was also sported a downright crippling case of Cleptomania. 626 soon discovered that Igor. was completely without friends due to his sticky fingers and choose the little gretchin to be his shadow at Amanda's insistence. They actually met the first night after 626's transfer. Igor. had attempted to steal 626's fancy staff. 626 let him try. Repeatedly. Igor. kept at it all night until 626 finally just told him to give up and tossed him out. Now they are Dr Jeckyle and Mr. Hyde. 626's natural grace and social skills make up for Igor.'s complete lack and Igor gets to teach 626 things about how a world where nobody tries to kill each other works.
Amanda has asked repeatedly what he would want if he were to be released from over 30 consecutive life sentences. 626 only chuckles at the thought. He has floated several ideas including private security and retirement to the Himalayas. At his age, now approaching 60, he has very little concern for wealth or fame. He just wants to be left alone. To live and maybe love. Someday. But Amanda has reported that he is still a long way from stable. The Predator in Nightmares that is 626 is not gone. Only resting. Waiting.
Seth has taken the opportunity to further his studies in Physics, attending postgraduate courses primarily on quantum mechanics. In his more cogent state, he wonders whether the manifestation of magic could be through manipulation of nature's various quantum states. Besides, it was something to do, engaging his brains on something he can focus on, and not worry about the slow leak of demons through the A&F outlet in downtown Manhattan.
He doesn't think very much about what happens after his sentence, for which there are approximately 4 years more to go. Since he acquired his powers, he has not thought much about his future, and he wasn't about to start now.
Other than Rob, his rat familiar (a manifestation of the soul of the boy he "saved"), Seth spends most of his time (and sometimes their beds) with Marcus Franklin. Marcus is an African American in his mid 30s, who is charismatic, good-looking and well-built, but ended up in the career of a struggling painter and artist. Marcus discovered he could change the colour of objects he was touching, which was really a minor talent, at most. But not when he realises that includes making things completely colourless, i.e. invisible. The "struggling" part eventually pushed him into crime. (Although during times when he is honest with himself, he'll admit that a more "malleable" sense of ethics was likely the main cause.) It started simply. Brushing against someone and turning his pocket and wallet transparent momentarily to see the credit information. Turning himself invisible to look at ATM pin numbers. His first attempt at a bank heist, however, failed horribly, and he ended up in the Cube.
Why the two of them connected is uncertain. Marcus didn't mind the more at-times off-centre Seth, and in fact, seemed attracted to it. Seth might have been drawn to his good looks and charisma. (And although not conscious, that he looked like Jon, his ex-husband.) Or maybe it was just two lonely souls coming together.
For most of its prisoners, The Hole was more pleasant than expected. Jason Majors had no such illusions. He knew his rights—knew that his arrest had not been exactly legal, and that he'd never see a lawyer in this place—and, from the first, resolved to resist. And he had the talents to make that possible.
The implant was the biggest problem. Jason could feel its presence, interact magically with its tech-field; and he knew how to shut it down, at least for a few seconds. And he maintained, in talks with the prison's psychiatrists, that he believed this would give him enough time to blast it out of his skull—and in the likely case that it didn't, he would be willing to die trying.
And so, because any object in his hands could become a sledgehammer, and with a wave of a finger he could blast holes in walls—this meant his hands had to be restrained, at all times. With the stiff-suit, it was easy enough; with fingers posed in resting positions, he could eat some foods awkwardly (or be fed others), and he was allowed to wiggle his hands at regular daily integrals, under armed guard.
And, just to be safe, he wasn't allowed near anything digital. Which meant mostly solitary time in his room, with book stands and a microfiche projector that could be paged through with a rigged-up foot pedal. And so he read, mostly, to pass the time—old newspapers, and language books, finally bothering to teach himself Chinese, and scanning for old crime stories—though after only two months, the pastime hadn't quite worn thin yet.
Simile keeps herself occupied, despite her natural inclination to pick things up, she had never had the opportunity to actually go through the human education system. She will study a few shorter courses, including the one on consent. Humanity has different social expectations and it is a situation she has attempted to avoid. A world in which shapeshifting, mind-reading and outright mental or physical manipulation exists can make the subject difficult, even with the best of intentions.
She maintains her 'heroic' form, she's tested in privacy whether she can still change shape (and that the suit/implant doesn't block it), but isn't sure when, if ever she'll encounter other inmates out of the facility, so prefers to keep her talents a secret from them.
She maintains a friendship with Dameon, an unfortunate who's power manifests in continuous growth of quills from his back and arms. These quills start as needles and within a week or so grow to knife-like protrusions, and continue to grow while attached to him. Simile has aided him in keeping them 'plucked' before they get too big. Which is a mildly painful procedure for him, similar to extracting a splinter. She also enjoys his company - they spend time playing games and listening to music and he enjoys spending time with someone who doesn't get disturbed by his body.
Aside from the obvious physical aspect of his, they never discuss powers, Simile is unaware of any further abilities he may have.
Hypatia was pleasantly surprised at the conditions in the prison and mildly amused at Jackhammer's explanation as to the reason why the conditions were as they were. Yes, she supposed, she was here due to failings in the system but it was in trying to correct those failings that she ended up being arrested. When she got out she would need to be smarter... and less impatient. Well, prison is the perfect place to learn patience.
Hypatia spends much of her time in prison studying, focusing especially on Philosophy, Mathematics, and Ancient Literature. She completely ignores the employment skills courses and treats the mandatory psychiatric counselling with disdain. She knows that such things may be useful for others but does not believe that any psychiatrist is in a position to understand someone of her intellect.
The inmate she is closest to is a hulking brute of a man, named Jerry. Not very bright but with prodigious strength (and anger management issues), he ended up working as hired muscle and was arrested after a bank heist gone wrong. Jerry is apparently devoted to Hypatia, possibly seeing her as the daughter he never had, or possibly because he simply needs someone to tell him what to do. The two make an odd sight around the compound, the huge thug and the tiny child riding on his shoulders.
Anyone who has been here more than a few days knows the Rat, so named because he's always around and tries to make friends with everyone. He's been here longer than anyone else here can remember, and no one knows what his crimes that brought him here are, nor what his powers are. If pressed about his crimes, he will simply say "A misspent youth", and if asked about his powers, he will say "My powers really only work on me."
Everyone seems to like the Rat, mainly because he goes around offering anyone and everyone that will take it food that he prepared , Mostly sweets like cakes and cookies. The majority of people in the vault look forward to what he will unleash from his kitchen, and the smell alone is enough to convince one or another inmate to try his delicacies.
While some people chose not to partake, most people will gladly eat what is offered for free.
Telepathic communication is tricky, and keeping thoughts hidden while doing so is considered the mark of a master telepath. Amanda has been trying to help you recover your memories from before the Pain, before what Dr. Dire inflicted on you. She has even had a breakthrough, albeit a minor one by anyone else's standards: you see yourself sitting in a room. There is light streaming in from a window to your left, which is far enough away from the stuffed chair that you are sitting in that you can't see out of it. There is an open book in your lap, and your head snaps up as if you had just awoken from a nap. the Sepia walls are a warm color, and you can feel the sensation of being truly relaxed and satisfied. Then the memory ends.
Today, however, Amanda makes a slip when communicating telepathically with you and shows you something it's clear she didn't mean for you to see: a memory of her as a child, causing the models of birds she had hanging around her room to fly of their own accord. It's a pleasant one, but at the same time you get the feeling that there is tragedy there, one that she has never spoke of. With the feeling of a wall coolly sliding between you, she breaks the telepathic communication, saying aloud (mainly for the benefit of the guard) "I'm sorry. I did not mean for you to see that. You did nothing wrong, but I...I'm going to need to leave for today. I can't focus enough right now to be able to be of much use to you. I'm sorry." She then repeats the phrase "I'm sorry" several times while collecting her things and then she leaves.
Today has been a pretty good day. Marcus spent the morning with you, sharing breakfast and showing you his new idea for a triptiche that tells the story of a heroe's journey. He's lately been talking alot about what he is going to do when he gets out, since he has less than 6 months left on his sentence. While you can enjoy his optimism, you also know that you could have another episode at any time (although your episides here happen so rarely, that the first time you had one a few nights ago, it actually scared you.
A disembodied voice spoke to you post coitus as you were drifting off to sleep. The voice, clearly a demon of some sort, said the same thing to you multiple nights in a row, each time in a different language: the first time was Sumerian, the second time Babylonian, and the 3rd time Celtic. The message, however, was the same: "The cost shall be weighed in the price of Saul, and the weight shall be in the acts of David." while it took you a while to place the reference, you became convinced that the voice is referring to King Saul and King David from the bible, a document that is predated by two of the three languages you had received the message in. After the third night, there was no more contact from whatever entity had spoken to you.
He'd mentioned this to his therapist who tried to assure him that there were worse places someone convicted of assault and battery could end up. That in fact this was rather homey compared to the other places, and if he thought he was in a cage here, he'd have a panic attack in a small barred cell.
He'd tried explaining to her how things were in the feywild, but she seemed, to Kailynn, not to want to understand the difference. All that he said she wrote down, probably to pass to the warden, the head of the human's cage.
When asked what he was planning to do when he got out, Kailynn would get upset and say that he was going to clear his name no matter what it took. He always asserted his innocence no matter how hard pressed on the matter. What he didn't tell them was that after he cleared his name, he'd go back to being a diplomat, recording human life as he saw it, for the feywild back home. These reports would in turn determine the amount of interaction the feywild would have with the plane.
As for classes, other than the mandatory art, where Kailynn painted scenes from the feywild as best he could, Kailynn took history classes. He figured if he were stuck here, he might as well work on other areas that the wilds were certain to want to know about. Thus far, it was war after war, not a plane that Kailynn thought the feywilds would be interested in based on that alone. Thus he was more than ever determined to continue his present day evaluation of human society and see if the warmongering of the past still continued.
The only person that Kailynn spent much time with was named Alex. Alex was a likeable sort and found the oddities Kailynn brought with his own personality to be funny. Kailynn liked that the african american man was forthright and honest about things, right down to his conviction for murder. He didn't seem to hide anything, and Kailynn used him as a sounding board for his ideas about human nature, finding out the hidden side of some of the war factors and finding out about fast living and the women attracted to that lifestyle. Again points for his notes, perhaps there was something to be liked about this plane. Alex's power was that he could turn into malleable metal, gaining strength and protection from harm.
Kailynn's hut was probably the closest to being called such, being filled with plants and crawling vines. He had a television and cable, but hadn't mastered how to use a computer or the internet. Something he planned on learning if he was in his cage long enough.
Whenever you rebel or threaten rebellion, you are met with a response that, in retrospect, appeared to be how one would deal with a rebellious teenager. They send you to your room. Literally. After using the uniform to subdue you, the pick you up and escort you into your cabin and lay you on your bed (gently enough). they then lockdown the door to your bedroom and you discover that it turns into quite an effective solitary confinement cell. You're not sure what the material is, but it has enough density that breaching it would be tough, even with your enhanced strength.
Today is another day like any other. You have just been released from your room after "threatening" one of your therapists. You were stuck in your bedroom for 4 hours, and when you emerged, The Rat was ringing your doorbell, a plate of cookies in his hand.
626 is mildly shaken by the thought of tragedy. More specifically, tragedy felt. He had always known tragedy was a thing and that his job probably generated said tragedy, but knowing there is a thing and knowing how that thing feels are two different ball games. Mistake or not, Dr. Downing has shown the Predator in Nightmares something important. It was probably important to her, but he wasn't focusing on that. He turned the memory in his mind like a diamond in the rough, trying to get a hold of the facets inside.
She has also shown him something else. He was not always blind.
When she leaves the chip snaps back to full power and he feels his other sight diminish to nothing. He takes his staff and starts feeling his way back to his home. Stupid suppression tech. Good thing he had actually learned how to operate as a blind person before he was captured.
Within moments of the guard's departure Igor. reappears and reports that the Rat was baking something again. It smelled divine. 626 smiles a small smile and offers his hand. Igor. leads the blind old man to the impromptu bakery.
After the snack 626 makes his way to a sculpture class. They were glaze-firing their pieces today. He couldn't participate in the loading due to his blindness, but he kept the people there company anyway. Igor. followed and helped under the other student's watchful gaze. He was only caught trying to steal pieces four times. It was a good day.
Dameon was a really nice human, physical characteristics aside. While you never discussed powers, he finally broke down today and told you what had brought him to the Hole. "So I was walking down the road, minding my own business, when this truck full of loud, proud Texans pulled up beside me and started shouting at me. I figured that they would go away if I ignored them, so I did just that. I kept walking, and they kept shouting and laughing, and then one of them threw a full beer can at me. It hit my spines and exploded all over me. I still ignored them, and kept walking, and then one of them got out of the truck and stood right in front of me. I moved to walk around him, and he must have been really drunk, because he tried to grab me by my collar. My spines went right through his hands and he started screaming. I stammered an apology, and then one of them raised a gun and before he could pull the trigger he had spines in his face and throat. When that happened, they got in their truck and left, but I couldn't move. I just stood there staring at the man that I killed. I....I couldn't" at this point, he just breaks down sobbing. After a few moments to get ahold of himself, he continues "The trial was really quick, and I got convicted for assault with a deadly weapon and manslaughter. I got 35 years, and I've been here a little over a year, so 34 more to go."
The "training centre" consisted mostly of a track that went around the outside of the circle of huts, but it was a 1.5 mile course and certainly helped to eat up time and keep you in shape. There was also an area near the 5 center cottages that had some weight equipment and a basketball/tennis court (the kind you see in apartment complexes around the US).
You were just finishing your 15th lap today when you saw Jax waiting for you. While not an ugly woman by any means, she gave off the vibe of someone you'd like to get a beer with as opposed to someone you'd like to take to bed.
"The warden wanted me to gather you and have you join a group of some of the other prisoners. He called it a work detail, whatever that means. Go take a shower and get changed and I'll meet you in front of your cottage when you're finished. You have 15 minutes."
Today was a pretty laid back kind of day, with neither you nor Jerry having class or therapy, so once again you have gathered in your cottage to play chess. You showed him how to play once and now he is constantly trying to get you (and occasionally other people) to play with him. For a beginner, he has a surprising knack for the game, but he doesn't really remember the terms (he calls knights "horses", bishops "steeples", and rooks "towers" for example) but he could be molded into a good player if given the chance.
Since Jerry was useful muscle (he helped insure that you were never hassled, and that if you needed something you got it), you occasionally graced him with a game. Today just happened to be one of those days.
As you were 7 moves out from checkmate, there was a knock on your door, and when you looked up, you saw Rat standing there with a tray of chocolate chip muffins and two tall glasses of milk. "I brought a snack for the competitors." he said through the door.
As a being who comes from the Feywild, you know something is going on in this place that relates to illusions. As your elders would say "All illusion comes from the Fey, and all Fey come from the Feywild."
While you know that there are illusions here, whoever laid them is a master at their craft, rivalling one of the Eldest in skill and natural ability. No matter where you turn, whatever you think might be is solid.
The cold iron that they shoved into your neck hurt. Not enough for real pain, but enough to make it hard to think, and definitely prevent you from feeling the aura of this place or speaking to the spirits here. Their casual use of the bane only serves to show that these Humans were either unaware of what it did to the Fey, or that they knew and did it on purpose. Either way, the mortal world was a dangerous place, even without the beings called adventurers.
That being said, not all of the mortals were terrible. Your friend, Alex, was a contradiction. While he was a soldier and killer, he spoke to you with dignity and respect. When you spoke of your powers, Alex told you that the ability to turn into metal wasn't his only power, but that he could also absorb it as well.
You were spending time alone this morning when there was a knock on the door. When you looked up, you saw one of the guards, a female one, standing there.
"Prisoner 91224, I have been instructed to inform you that you have been selected for a work detail by the warden. You are to form up near the basketball court in about 20 minutes where you will meet the others and the warden. Do not be late please." and with that, she left, not waiting for a response.
As you are finishing up your art class and gently scolding Igor not to steal, you are approached by one of the guards, a female one. She says, loud enough for the entire class to hear "Prisoner 551634, I have been instructed to inform you that you have been selected for a work detail. Please arrive at the basketball court within the next 20 minutes and you will meet the warden there. Do not be late." and then she left without waiting for a response.
"What is a work detail?" asked Igor, while the other two people in your art therapy classes whispered among themselves. From what you can gather by eavesdropping, they have never heard of this prison doing a work detail.
Simile doesn't know how to react and sits a little stunned for a moment. Ending a life is not to be taken lightly, but it sounded like it was both accidental and in self-defence. Punishment with near as well lifelong incarceration seemed harsh.
The words seem hollow, but she tries to reassure him. "I don't pretend to understand how you feel. Ending a life can do things to a person, even if when it is accidental, or in self-defence. But if you must spend your life confined, I've seen far worse cages.
"You're not a bad person."
Simile tries to think of something further to say, but after a moment gives up and sits there, waiting for him.
He was enjoying the time spent alone when the female guard knocked on the door.
"Alright I'll be there."
Fifteen minutes later, Kailynn got up from his relaxation and went to see what this work detail was all about."
626 nods to acknowledge the order and comments over the chatter, Now now. Let's not get too excited. They just invited an old, blind grezer to "work". There's no way it's very exciting.
He motions for Igor. to stay, then motions for the test to watch him. He then takes up his staff and works his way toward the basketball area with a steady *tappity tap*
Without Igor. He probably arrives last. There's no use speculating, so he doesn't. He just enjoys a solitary walk.
Hypatia's eyes light up at the sight of the chocolate chip muffins and she opens the door and greets the Rat cheerfully.
"You really are too good to us you know" Hypatia says as she reaches out for a muffin, giving a little shudder of delight as she bites into it, "Oooh, how do you make them taste so good? You simply must share your secret."
Tearing her thoughts away from the food for a second Hypatia gestures for the Rat to take a seat if he wants.
"So do you have any tasty gossip to go with the food or were you just feeling neighbourly?"
Before he can respond to you, there is a knock at the door, and when you look up, one of the guards, a female one, is standing there. "Prisoner 1547, the warden has assigned you to a work detail. Please report to the basketball court in the next 15 minutes and he will meet you there."
When you turn back, Dameon appears to be more collected. He says "thank you for listening, and for your kind words. They mean alot"
He then frowns and adds "I've never heard of anyone getting a work detail here. I wonder what's going on?"
"A couple of people and the Rat, believe it or not. I'm curious as to what's going on; we don't do work details here."
"Well, I do know some things, but they were told to me in confidence. I like the people who told me too much to be comfortable sharing their secrets."
As he says this, there is a knock at your door. Looking up, you see a female guard there. "Prisoners 222614 and 918273645, the warden has assigned you to a work detail. Please be at the basketball court in an hour from now to meet the warden. Thank you." she says and then heads off before getting a response from you.
The Rat will shake his head and say "I wonder what's going on? I've never heard of any work details here, and I've been here a long time. This might be exciting!" He rubs his hands together and has an excited smile on his face.
Much as he tries to listen attentively to Marcus enthusing about the the glimmering effect he has achieved on the scales of the dragon that stretches across the three panels, Seth's mind repeatedly drifts back to voices he had been hearing the last few nights. Eventually, Marcus notices as well, and gradually falls silent.
"What is it? Marcus asks with some concern in his voice, but with some frustration leaking through from the stonewalling that Seth had been giving him previously.
"I ... um ... just a headache, I guess." Seth replies rather feebly.
"Fine," Marcus replies with some exasperation, tinged with worry. He sighs deeply, before he gathers his belonging. "When you are ready to talk, I'm always here. And unlike those counsellors, there are no strings attached."
Just before Marcus reaches the door, Seth suddenly calls out. "Marcus?"
"Yes?" Marcus turns back, somewhat hopeful.
"Um ... do you have a bible?"
Marcus does his best not to slam the door on his way out.
Seth stares at the door for some time, until his earl grey has gone tepid. Unlike some of the other inmates, Seth actually likes it in "The Hole". Whatever the chip has done, in suppressing his "knacks", it has also kept the visitations at bay. Perhaps that is why he is pulling back from Marcus, who is clearly excited to be getting his freedom in 6 months time. But shortly, Seth's mind drifts back to the voices.
Could the chip be failing?
Seth continues staring at the door. Rob runs up his leg, and sits on his thigh, looking at him forlornly.
"And the day was going so well" Hypatia sighs. "This is surely going to be a complete and utter waste of my time'
Glancing briefly over the board again, Hypatia turns toward Jerry and says, almost as an aside "Checkmate in seven, by the way, Rook to F6, Check. You can take the Rook or retreat your King but either way the best you can do now is delay the inevitable. Your mistake was moving your Queen to B6 a couple of moves back, it left your King too exposed."
Seeing the look of disappointment and confusion on Jerry's face, Hypatia pats his hand gently. "You are getting much better dear, your opening defence was solid, you just need to seize the initiative and not just react to the moves I make"
Turning back towards the Rat Hypatia continues exactly where she left off. "I do hope that it's not physical labour. I mean look at me! What use would I be at physical labour? she exclaims with a swish of her hair.
"I do wonder what could have prompted this change in routine however. I highly doubt that it will be exciting but we might learn something interesting if we keep our eyes open.
"Any time, provided work-detail isn't a cover for my execution" Simile smiles to ensure he knows she's joking.
She'll head out towards the basketball court, see what's going on.
As the Rat is standing there waiting for you to respond, a female guard approaches your door, knocks, and says loud enough for you both to hear "prisoner 14259, the warden has selected you for a work detail. Please report to the basketball court in two hours to meet with the warden and a group of others. Thank you." then she walks off without waiting for a response.
As you ar contemplating Marcus' behavior, the chip you have implanted in you, and the cryptic message you have been receiving, a female guard knocking on your door breaks your reverie.
"Prisoner 333442334243, you have been selected by the warden for a work detail. Please make your way to the basketball court immediately. Thank you." She does not wait for a response.
"I doubt it will be physical labor. I'm guessing that if it was, our large friend here would have been selected, not me." says rat with a smirk. Standing, he says "Well, I best be off. I have some croissants in the oven that I would hate to burn. See you at the basketball court!"
As you ask the Rat about the secret to his baking skill, he chuckles and says "No secret at all; it's all about the ingredients, and a little elbow grease to get things done. I am glad you enjoy them though. It's so nice to have one's work appreciated."
Seth calls out. "Is Marcus down, too?" The guard, however, had turned away even before Seth started asking the question. Whether she didn't hear him, or had chosen to ignore him is hard to tell. Seth stares at her and sighs. He takes a couple more minutes to gather his mind from whichever corner of the galaxy it had drifted to, then gathered Rob and deposited him into his chest pocket. He then wanders out of his hut, leaving behind his pancakes half-eaten and the tea unfinished. Not quite registering that he is still in his pajamas, he slips on his flip flops and drifted in the general direction of the basketball court.
In his month in the prison, Jason hasn't interacted much with the other prisoners—he's got little interest in socializing with criminals who might be truly terrible, and the limited spaces he has access to makes it easy to keep to himself. If he interacts with anyone, it's mostly the guards; often this is antagonistic, but there's a few he gets along with. Specifically, the "Sarge"—Sergeant Nicholls, one of the senior guards, overseeing the Cowboy's block—left a veteran detective job through forced early retirement not too long ago, and occasionally brings by photos and files from cases he never solved, asking for a clever criminal's insight into the tech or gadgets that might've been used.
"Basketball's not really work..." Jason mutters to the Rat, as he puts down the book, and scoops up one of the cookies between his two locked hands. "You know anything about this?"
As the group of you assemble at the basketball court at the assigned time, you see that the warden is not here to meet you. The seven of you, plus the Rat, have been waiting for about 5 minutes, and still the warden has yet to show up. The Rat has been entertaining you all with the story "of a guy he knows" named Anthony, who believed that he had powers, but didn't. "...and so Anthony, he figures since he don't got superstrength, and he doesn't have super speed, and he can shoot beams of light from his eyes, he must be bullet proof. Well, in my neighborhood there was a gang called the Latin Kings. They were just a normal, non-adventurer gang. So Anthony figures he would start a..." and the Rat's next words are drowned out by the sound of screeching metal on metal, followed by the sky...fritzing out like an old TV? as you watch, it glitches once, then it is gone for a mere instant, and then it is back, same as it ever was.
And then the façade of the outdoor village vanishes.
It is instead replaced by a dome, made of some sort of metal.
Loudspeakers begin blaring Pale Rider protocol has been initiated. I say again. Pale Rider protocol has been initiated. This is not a test. All personnel to quarantine stations. all... and then that voice is in turn drowned out by a torrent of what can only be gunfire, followed by a new voice that blares over the loudspeaker: Boss? Are you here boss? We're here to get you out!
As people are looking around in bewilderment and starting to come out of their metal cells, one person remains calm. The man you know as the Rat.
"Excellent. My ride is here." he mutters to himself before turning towards the gathered group of adventurers and shouting loud enough to be heard, getting the attention of most of the residents.
"Prisoners of the Hole, I must confess that I have played a cruel game at your expense. I pretended to be a bumbling fool, and unfortunately far too many of you fell for it. This will not do at all. I can't have soldiers for my army be nearly this gullible. Tsk tsk tsk." He pauses for what is clearly dramatic effect before beginning to pace back and forth as the rest of the residents join your group. A large African-American moves next to Seth and takes his hand, and a mountain range of a man picks up the teenage girl and puts her on his right shoulder.
Then, after a few moments of quiet murmuring from the assembled adventurers, the Rat continues. "Oh, well, I guess I should get right to the point. Are you about ready, Frederick?" he shouts to no one in particular. "Yes boss, we're just about there. need a couple of minutes to lock things down here."
Turning back to the assembled group, the Rat continues "I assume many of you are wondering what is happening. I am orchestrating a jailbreak. I technically have been, for a while now. I should explain about...my power. You see, I have absolute control over every molecule of my body. My blood, my skin, my muscles, and even my hair." As he says this his hair grows to a moderate length. "It wasn't until the 1980's, however, that I discovered that most of my bodily fluids were addictive if ingested by someone else." As he looks around the assembled group, he says "I see a certain realization has begun to dawn on some of you. Yes, the food I have been giving you has been laced with my blood, the most addictive of my humors. Not to fret, it won't make you sick. It doesn't even digest in your body if I don't want it to. It's clinging to your various internal organs, per my absolute will. I really must thank our jailors for providing me with a stockpile of soon to be willing soldiers. For you see, if you refuse me, I will simply will the parts of me to return. I assure you, it is a most terrible way to die."
As he is raising his hands to hush the crowd, the man who was holding up the teenage girl sets her down, bulls his way to the front, and says "And what if we don't want to serve you?", his voice tinged with just the right amount of not-so-subtle threat.
"Why, something like this would happen, I suppose." and the Rat extends his hand and the large man begins twitching and then collapses into a seizure that ends far too quickly. Afterwards, a mist flows from the dead man's ears, eyes, nose, and mouth into the Rat.
"Poor, poor Jerry. He was never going to survive in the world I am going to build. Now where was I? Ah, yes, the 80's. I created a drug using my blood and distributed it to the four corners of the world. Unlike most drugs, this drug didn't dull your senses or make you hallucinate, it made your senses more acute, and it gave you a great deal more energy and drive, because I used my blood to increase the amount of Seratonin, one of the neurotransmitters in the brain that control mood, that was in your body. As a result, the money poured in. After several years, however, I was starting to wear thin. So I collected all of my blood. At once. That was the day I became a killer on the scale of a natural disaster, and that was also the day that the League of Adventurers decided to interfere with my life. They raided my beautiful South American home, killed my family, and captured me. I never did find out how they knew what was going on, but I wound up here. The same as did the lot of you. Unlike the lot of you, however, I made a concrete plan to escape. I managed to smuggle parts of myself out in the food that you have been so richly consuming, and took control of a couple of people to get a message out to my loyal supporters on the outside. It took years, but I managed to lead them back here. And that takes us to now, and the most important decision of your life: I am going to burn the League of Adventurers to the ground, salt the ashes, and sell the movie rights. Your decision is whether you're going to join me as a one of my subordinates in my new world order, to borrow the term, or whether you want to stay here and wait for me to call back my blood, most likely resulting....what happened to our object lesson here." he indicates Jerry's still form. "But here, a token of my esteem. I give you yourselves back." as he says that, two things happen: first he steps backwards through his uniform, and as he does, the implant in the back of his neck is left standing there for just a moment, until gravity takes hold as it usually does. At the same time, you each feel a slight electric charge in the back of your neck, and then the phantom limb that was your missing power comes ROARING back to life.
"So, what will it be? Stay here and rot, or join me in shaping the new world? Decide now, my ride won't wait."
Turning his back on the group again, he looks at the 5 "cottages in the center of the ring of stand alone cells. "But what about our poor friends here?" he says, gesturing emphatically to the cottages. "Why, since I am such a benevolent man, I am going to free them, of course. Those really are the worst cells of all." and with that, he gestures both his hands dramatically at the 5 "cottages" in the center of the circle.
And nothing happens.
626, a kindly and easy going older blind man who has only been here a short time, is... conflicted. He just got done being someone else's dog, and now he appears to have no choice but to submit again. He is about to protest when Jerry steps forward first and is killed by the sound of it. He holds his tongue.
Then the award, the "token", restores him! His Sight returns! He can feel everything in the vicinity again! An extremely low level telekinetic field snaps into place, and it's miniscule pressure against everything in 60 feet is what gives 626 a kind of OtherSight in spite of his physical blindness. He swaps his staff to his left hand and ignites the light-drinking energy blade that resides in his right forearm. Every shred of light within 20 ft. starts bending toward him as the energy blade drinks it in. 626 is unaffected as his Sight doesn't depend on light. He quickly "sheathes" it. It wouldn't do to plunge this area into utter dark just yet. It wouldn't be polite.
He waits for the invitation, naturally. You don't want to seem too eager. But his mind is already made. The League would burn. It would be the greatest hunt of his life.
Kailynn thought of all the snacks he'd eaten prepared for him by the Rat. He'd traded a cage for being a pet. Someone would pay for this, and when he got the opportunity, that someone's name would be the Rat.
"I don't like this one bit. But for now you've forced a wild man such as myself to be your cur." "Just keep in mind what they say about wild animals, you can never quite domesticate them" Kailynn finished in thought to himself.
The young girl looks dispassionately at the body of her erstwhile friend. "I knew there was something irresistible about your cooking. I thought it was just the high sugar content..." she says half to herself and half to The Rat.
Without moving her head Hypatia observed how the other prisoners were reacting.
The Rat's plan was bold. A little messy for her taste, heavy-handed and likely to breed resentment rather than gratitude in those being rescued but still... bold.
She chuckled as she remembered something the Rat had said earlier that day. "You were right. This 'work assignment' is indeed most exciting"
The Rat again gestures at the 5 cottages, which, minus the illusions that surrounded them, are solid metal boxes with no windows or doors.
And again, nothing happens.
Without turning, he shouts "Frederick! What are you doing!"
"I don't know what's happening boss. We disabled the entire technomancy safeguards, and still..."
Whatever came over the loudspeaker next is drowned out by the powerful *THUD* that echoed throughout the entire prison area. It made the sound that someone hitting a metal door with a sledgehammer would make, complete with a ringing sound to it. It was followed by another. And another.
After the fourth hit, the wall started to bulge. After the 6th hit, it started to buckle, and after the 10th hit, the wall exploded away from the cottage and what appeared to be a seven year old girl, complete with red hair tied in pigtails, stepped out.
And screamed.
Even the Rat seemed taken aback by what was occurring. Clearly, whatever he was expecting, it was not this.
As the sound washed over the assembled group of adventurers, many fell, bleeding from one or more orifices.
As her scream petered out several of the adventurers assembled were either bleeding out or outright dead. The cottages where much the worse for the wear as well (not just the cottages in the middle, but all the cottages on the floor). From another of the central cottages, what could best be described as a black slime began to seep. It flowed along the ground, far to quickly, to the closest adventurer and then...poured itself into his ears and mouth. When it was done, the man's eyes had turned a solid back, and he began flexing his arms and legs, as if stretching.
"THIS WILL DO!" The man shouted, as if unaware of his volume.
At first, all was silent, and then the walls of another of the cottages began to glow; at first, a dull red, then turning brighter and brighter until it actually turned white, and then a hand made of white hot energy began shaping a hole big enough for the man-sized shape of plasma to step through. It said nothing, but flew straight up...through the metal dome and into the sky beyond. As it did, cold began to seep into the dome.
"Uhh, boss? We should get out of here. I just found the files on the 5 beings that were kept in those boxes. We do not want to be here when they wake up."
The voice coming over the loudspeaker shook the Rat from his reverie, and wiped the look of disgust and shock from his face. Regardless, he was clearly rattled. "So, anyone who wants to leave, come with me. If you don't, stay here and get killed by these monsters."
As you watch him all but flee, you realize you have a choice; You can stay here or go with the man. If you leave, however, you will most likely be put on the list of most wanted by the League, who would hunt you mercilessly. If you stayed, however; you would likely remain in prison. You might also have a chance to get whatever the Rat had put into you out of your system. As you pondered your fate, the girl with the pigtails made a leap and flew out of the hole that had been made by the man made of plasma. and still, there was no response from the final two metal boxes...
The man in the cowboy hat shakes his head. "There's too much you're not telling us, Rat. With a power like yours, why wait this long to escape—and if you could have shaken off all our implants at any time, why aren't you in a special cell? Hell, if you had freed us all in the middle of the night, I bet we could've broken through those walls without any outside help."
"Plus, I'm not eager to try and murder every one of the most powerful folks in the world. Sounds like an extraordinarily painful way to die—and as wanted as you say you are, leaving with you seems a good way to put a big damn target on my back."
"Still... thanks for the unshackles. I owe you something, but someone's gotta stay behind and play hospital."
And he begins quickly moving among the unconscious prisoners, stopping the bleeding of anyone who still has a pulse—and glaring, briefly, at the man with the black eyes.
Simile, aside from a gasp at the pain from the scream remains quiet, she has no sympathy for Rat, or whatever he's called.
She could join him, and find some way to strike at him from within his organisation, or she could remain here and find some way to expel the corruption within herself and try and fight him from the outside.
The man in the cowboy hat brings her back into focus. There are people to help here and now, and if whomever was in the boxes are enough to scare Rat's men, many of the prisoners here may be defenceless against them.
She moves to aid the man in the hat, treating the wounded speaking softly but clearly "How can I help?", as she keeps glancing nervously over at the other 'boxes'.
"Being someone's lapdog, or staying behind and staying in the cage? Why can't choices ever be easy? Still, there's the reason I'm here at all, which is to act as a diplomat. I'm pretty sure a diplomat wouldn't run at first chance."
Ignoring whatever pain the screaming caused him, Kailynn went to Overrun, "I'm able to cure some wounds, send me to the ones that need it the most, it's always hard for me to tell among you all."
Seth, stands still in his flannel pyjamas, seemingly trying to maintain a low profile. His aged eyes are a jarring contrast to his youthful looks. Otherwise, he looks rather ordinary, if somewhat unkempt.
As all hell breaks loose around everyone, Seth looks increasingly confused and bewildered. That is until a familiar hand slips into his. He turns and smiles at Marcus, seemingly more relieved that whatever is happening has put the argument this morning behind them, rather than being concerned with the chaos around them. At least for this brief moment.
However, when he feels a strange itch at the back of his neck and the chip falls away, Seth suddenly grows alarmed. No! The voices! Almost immediately, he sees a glimmer to his right. He looks down and a small faerie flits into his sight, blows him a kiss and flits back into the Otherworld. Seth stares into blank space for a few moments, not paying much attention to Rat, then heaves a big sigh of resignation.
A loud scream piercing through the air breaks him out of his reverie. He instinctively flicks up his hand, as it to tear a hole in a curtain, diverting some of the sonic attack somewhere else.
ooc]GM, can I assume that Seth would have access to his spells? He has not studied his spellbook (pages) for the whole year, but would still have memorised the very last set of spells when he was captured?[/ooc]
Clenching Marcus' hand tightly, as soon as his head clears somewhat, Seth groggily turns to the man beside him to check on him. Marcus, other than bleeding ears, gestures to him that he's fine, and drags both of them to take cover behind a hut. Seth is secretly heartened that Marcus has not let go nor turned invisible to flee. Until Seth realises that Marcus is staring at the Rat, seriously considering his offer. Seth grabs his shoulder and turns Marcus to face him, more focused in his mind now than he has been the whole day. "No! You have only 6 months more! You were just telling me this morning of your plans to join the art academy after you leave!"
Marcus frowns at Seth, irritated at him at first for interrupting his thoughts. But after staring at him briefly, he gently smiles and nods. "You're right. But I thought you would go with him, too. Unlike me, you are not guilty of your crime."
"No, it is not their fault their justice system do not understand. Besides, what meaning is there to destroy the League? In shaping a new world order? When the Old Squikraw could arise from the seas tomorrow and wipe out San Francisco?" He continues internally. I live in a different world from everyone else. And from you. He then adds on wryly, "And besides, perhaps the League would put the chip back."
Seth peeks out and sees the mayhem. He glances at the escapees from the central five huts still left behind, rampaging through the compounds. He sees some of the prisoners (ex-prisoners?) trying to help the injured.
"Come, Marcus. We've work to do." Seth has suddenly become quite collected, rather different from barely minutes ago.
Seth dashes over to Kailynn and Overrun. He abruptly turns and stares over their head, seemingly addressing thin air. He waves his hand rather irritatingly, and scolds ... nothing... "Go away! I know I'm back. But now is not the time!"
In a normal tone of voice, he turns to the two would-be rescuers. "Pull back to somewhere more defensible. I can then put up a wall to give you some protection while you do your work."