I walk up to the nearest crate of ME- oo12 and look inside to try to determine what is inside and what this set of crates contain.
to identify
The crate contains several glass cases displaying moon rocks. It would appear this set of crates is for an old Moon Exhibit. You remember reading that this exhibit was active during the World Wake.
One particular Moon Rock glints at you from it's sealed case. It is silver and porous.
Shadows play along the walls from your lone flashlight. Strange sounds creak, wheeze, and trundle in the darkness beyond the reach of light.
The nearest set of crates are marked, PE - 0014 (East) and CE - 0024(South).
I pick up the case of the silver moon rock and take a closer look.
Hey, Baker or Emit,do either of you know anything about geology, this moon rock was on display during the World Wake and it seems off to me, can either of you help me pin what is so off about it?
Baker calls down from the top of the ladder:
Nope, can't help you with that. And how's it look down there? I'm not going to come galavanting down into another "dino exhibit."
as far as i can tell it is safe, but that doesn't mean someone isn't hiding in the shadows. But, we could use your help[ looking through all of these crates that are down here and try to find out what that Dr. O was doing and if he was working with somebody else.
Emit walks over to the shiny object and picks it up.
Its a name tag probably off that jumpsuit I seen in the bathroom, hey you guys I found something a name tag that says D. Mask. does that mean anything to you guys?
Emit then opens the closest crate to the name tag.
No I don't know anything about geology but i could take a look at it.
Emit, the crates are labeled, AE-0012. The crate you open contains a ton of old video cassette tapes and a modified VCR. The tape on top is labeled Orion.
Baker, after being reassured that it is currently safe, heads down.
You tell me where to look and i'll see what I find.
Baker pops open a crate.
Baker, the PE-0014 crates are for an old Presidential Exhibit that ran in 2014. You find a variety of limb pieces to a mannequin of Obama. There is nothing of value in the crate.
This might be a good time to check the tapes...doesn't look like i'm finding anything.
Let me know if you need me searching something specific, otherwise i'm gonna check security footage.
Baker pulls out his PDS to watch the security footage for the loading dock (backwards) until something interesting shows up.
@Baker: You are able to quickly arrange the video feeds for the backroom and start fast forwarding through them. You are also able to set the video feed from the camera above the loading door to fast forward simultaneously with the other feed giving you coverage of the entire backroom and loading dock from the start of this current feed. The feeds record 24 hrs and start at 12:00 AM. It will take you awhile to search through the entire set of feeds to find anything. No cameras for the basement oddly enough.
@Emit: You need a Perception check for the crate you opened.
There is only the far corner of the basement left unexplored atm. Keep in mind there is only one flashlight and Emit has it. PDS is an LED screen so there is a small amount of light near the basement stairs.
Baker, can you turn off any cameras in the basement for about a minute, i have something that i wouldn't want the cameras to catch.
Assuming Baker turns them off, or there are no cameras here,
I then use the clay to activate my regeneration ability.
Shouldn't be a problem.
Baker sets a quick loop on the camera until Joe is done doing everything he needs to.
@Baker
you see divine lightning spread across my body as the clay as well climbs over my body to my injuries and starts to enter the wound and heal it. in 40 seconds i am completely healed.
Clay, with it no injury is permanent for me. From earth did mankind come, and so from it i shall be healed.
Interestingly enough, the Moon Rock begins to re-shape and move!
It becomes the same as your clay, helping to fill in the wound from earlier. You now have a silvery spot on your hand.
Emit looks thoroughly through the crate.
Man, it's still weird being this close to supers...
Emit cannot help but notice the highlander-ish lightning arcs that play over the creature you know as Professor Joseph Fankenburg. His disguise is dropped as the clay he holds in his hand shapes and melds into his unsettling stony form, healing the minor wound in a manner of seconds.
At the bottom of the VCR and video tapes, Emit is able to make out a specialized projector. It would appear that these are the remnants of a Planetarium Exhibit.
The electric furnace continues it's erratic rumblings from the far corner of the room.
Should the furnace normally be on this time of year? And for that matter, I don't think they should be making that kind of noise...
This Joesph is quite intriguing well im glad I have back up down here in case things go crazy again. This guy might be what ive been looking for, he could be the solution to my problem.
Baker we probably should check it out, anything on the security footage?
Emit heads to investigate the furnace.
Ill check this furnace out I got the flashlight.
Emit, as you round the last corner, you find the Electric Furnace. After a quick inspection of the control mechanism, you come to the conclusion that it runs on a relatively simple quad-harmonic quark fluctuator. The company stamp reveals the fluctuator is a product of Anvil Industries. Strange, a quad-harmonic quark fluctuator should be noiseless.
The wheezing and clanking noises seem to be coming from a nearby Large Air Vent. Shining your flashlight in that direction, you notice a body slumped against a stack of crates. The crates are labeled SE-0012.
I got a body over here I need some help.
Emit rushes to the body.
Are you OK!
Emit looks in the air vnet after dealing with the body.
Still looking at the tapes, hopefully whoever put him in there will show up on here soon. Does he need medical attention?
@Emit: The man appears to be dead. Without a Treatment check you won't know how or why. He is wearing nothing but his underclothes. There are calluses on his hands. Obviously a working man.
The ventilation grate is on the ground and there is a rope hanging just out of reach inside the shaft. Something tied to the other end seems to be making the noise. The shaft is just big enough to try to wriggle through but it would be a tight fit.
@Baker: As you sift through the tapes, the first thing you see is
the morning janitor crew arriving in the back door. They chat and start heading into the museum to continue cleaning. The only thing you note is that three janitors entered and only two left.
Skipping ahead to only about an hour ago, you see Archibald Louvre, the museum director overseeing a shipment. He eagerly accepts the box of cigars and once the driver leaves, steps outside for a smoke.
This continues for several minutes until he suddenly lurches backwards, blood flowing from a wound on his head. Some invisible force begins to half drag, half hover Archy inside the museum. When it reaches the inner museum cameras, Archy halts momentarily and the video feed goes dead for about 30 minutes. When the cameras kick back in, you can find no trace of Archy on the cameras. He is definitely somewhere inside the museum.
He looks dead but im not an expert. One of you take a look real quick. Theres a rope just in the shaft with something on the end of it, I think its making the noise but it looks like a tight fit. Emit studies the shaft a second Ill give it a shot! Emit teleports into the shaft grabbing the rope and will attempt to turnabout ability back to where I started.
anybody think they can squeeze in the and check it out?
Hey guys, I've got something to show you on my PDS. I've set the specific event on a loop and you should take a look at it while I try and reach into that duct.
As for this guy--
Baker nudges the man with his foot.
--he doesn't look recently incapacitated...but that's all I really know about the subject, I'm really not sure what to look for other than what I've seen on some of those Discovery Channel specials... Either way--
Baker prods the body aside with his foot to better access the vent shaft.
--let's give this a shot.
Hey one of you two, if you would, this is a really tight fit and it looks like I need to get back into mobility training...
Emit, as you are nervously fiddling with the nametag you recently found you accidentally peel something off. The name D. Mask peels off to reveal M. Lopez as the original name. perhaps it's part of a discarded disguise?
Now that you get a closer look at the man's face, it seems twisted into a macabre smile. His facial muscles seem to have been stuck in that position.
Baker, Marrisa is calling you. Partially inside the shaft, you are unable to reach it and it goes to voicemail. You can hear her whispering. Baker, the police just called. I had to answer because Madelyn is giving the tour. They say that janitor you guys found died on the way to the hospital. Cause of death is unkown but get this, he wasn't a janitor. He was a security guard by the name of Jacobs. What the heck is going on?!
Call me back as soon as you get this, the tour group is impatient for the reveal and are pressing Madelyn for more speed. You guys have 10 maybe 15 minutes before we get to the Final Exhibit.
What the hell happened to this guy, did you see his face?
Wait whats this the name tag peeled off and there's a name under it a M.Lopez. Oh sure ill give you a push.
From inside the air duct:
What's the name that you peeled off of that name tag?
The name I peeled off said D.mask does that mean something to you?
Emit says to Baker inside the air duct as he pushes his feet while holding on to them.
I'm sorry i don't know anything about healing and don't know where to start with helping this fellow,though that smile is odd. i don't know a M. Lopez or D. Mask. Baker, could you track where the criminal put the director Archibald by tracking multiple cameras and when they go blank to see when then criminal went, and if the trail stops in any room we can start looking for the curator there.
As Baker pauses a moment to think about where he last saw the name D. Mask, Emit straightens baker's legs and Joe walks up and crams Baker further into the ventilation duct.
Baker from your new vantage point in the enclosed space, you can reach the end of the rope and can see the other end glinting in the reflected flashlight illumination. You are pretty sure a fan further up is hitting against the metal anchor at the other end. A good pull should be able to pull the anchor loose. or you could attempt to climb further up into the ventilation shaft.
Emit, the man has no pulse, he is quite dead. Rigor mortis has already set in indicating he has been dead for a number of hours already. His face is abnormally pale and chalky and he has cataracts over both eyes. Combined with the twisted, frozen smile this man's face seems almost...a death mask. I'm afraid the exact cause of this man's death eludes you.
What do you see kid?
I cant help but think something is wrong here. That man what happened to him. All this intelligence and i know nothing about what is going on here i hope we figure it out before someone else dies.
We need to hurry up and figure this out to many people are getting hurt and or dead and there are a lot of innocent people upstairs for this gala so we must move with much haste i think gentlemen.
From inside the air duct,
Yea, I think that's the name of the security guard I bumped into at the desk and told to go help Madelyn... And careful dude, this thing is tight!
Baker gives the rope a tentative tug.
I think I can get it loose.
Baker, you manage to pull at juuuuust the right angle and the anchor comes loose. You, the rope, and the anchor all come tumbling out of the vent. Upon closer inspection, the anchor is in fact a climbing piton matching the set of climbing gear you found earlier.
While on a routine job at Yellowstone, you found what appeared to be some sort of ancient artifact made of some hardened metal alloy. Based on the age of the surrounding stone, it must have been present the last time Yellowstone erupted in 1350 BC. You received a generous finder's fee from the Sphinxonium for the find but the artifact was never placed on exhibit as promised and you never received any real credit for the find.
Now your funds are rapidly dropping and you've been forced to moonlight for anyone who can use your services. Namely,the local water treatment plant. You are supposed to meet with the manager of the plant at 9:30 to discuss exactly what he needs investigated.
While it's not too late to refuse, the jobs from M.C.C.C. and the Sphinxonium have been rather scarce and you are not sure when you'll be getting your next meal ticket.
has the noise from the furnace been removed with the climbing piton, or is it still making a racket.
so this D. mask fellow killed that guard that was dressed as a janitor and killed this man here. why would he climb up the air ventilation shafts, in uniform he could get around virtually unnoticed without the dangers of the furnace. the only thing i can think of is he didn't want to be on camera but he already messed with those earlier.
Baker, can you mess with the furnace to make it extraordinarily hot in the shafts and try to flush him out or prevent him from returning to his escape route.
I'm muttering to myself while getting ready for the day Stupid water treatment people never know what they're doing...Ok, bag, directions, and keys all ready at the door aaaannnnnddddd food I grab an apple and stick it in my mouth, grab all my stuff, and head for door.
I leave my apartment and head to the street where my car awaits me, munching on my apple the entire way.
Morning Elli. You're in an awful hurry today? You recall his name is Drake Tracer. He's something of a minor celebrity in the mutant community because of his rather obvious mutation. He sports a pair of full-sized feathered wings and a sunny smile. He's carrying his book bag so he must be heading to the University.
He gives a good natured smirk. uhm...nice apple.
I can give it a shot. Do you see any control panel around here?
Baker wriggles back out of the shaft, brushing dust off his suit.
Man, I should have taken the jacket off first... and the main question right now is: who is this guy? Also, I suppose what is this D. Mask up to, was he working with Dr.O, and where is Arty? GAH! Too many questions! Too few answers!
well we know Arty is in this building, and we can assume that this D.Mask is as well.
can either you or emit here look for blatant blackouts in the camera feeds to get a hint at Archie's location. if you send it to my phone i can look too but i can't guarantee i know what i'm doing.
The panel for the quad-harmonic quark fluctator that runs the the museum's heating system has already been located by Emit. The device runs on a very sophisticated mainframe. You'd need to be some sort of hacker, to override the automatic controls.
Joe, the noise in the shaft has abated.
Oh! Mr. Findsen was looking for you yesterday. Something about rent being due? He didn't seem upset, but kinda worried. Yikes! Look at the time. Going to be late! Have a good day, Elli. Don't let the X's get you. With that last comment, he swoops off the third floor landing and lands gracefully on the street.
As you watch his descent, you notice something else. You've got another ticket under the windshield of your car.