Lugar de Morte - Superhero RP

Community Role Playing
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“I think I will be fine,” Veronica said. She didn’t mention the fact that she truly did not want the dampeners again.

She turned over to the alternate room. There she saw what she expected: blast resistant walls, titanium equipment, things meant to resist great explosions and power. Veronica closed the door behind herself, making sure nobody else followed her.

Veronica breathed deeply as she stood in one place, tilting her head back. The fire crackled around her body again, growing from a small flame to a great intensity as if it was a bonfire worsened by gasoline. She sighed in relief. For her, it was the first time she could finally let herself go in ages. She did not have to worry about burning anyone and everything. She could let her body do what she felt was almost second nature at this point: burn.

But interrupting her moment of relaxation came the sprinklers, which drenched her fiery form. Also, a beeping came over her uniform, which began to alert her of “dangerous” heat levels. Steam billowed off from her face and hands, as well as emitting from the uniform she was wearing. Veronica went to a bench as the extinguishers went off, and she sat down, downcast.

The first time I can feel comfortable, she thinks, and I’m a hazard.

Veronica then saw her gloves: the make-up she put on her face had been washed off. In some puddles in the water, she saw the redness of her face, and her scorched hair. Is was as if an alien had been staring at her. She wondered if wearing some sort of mask would be better.

When the sprinklers went away, she stood back up. She controlled the heat intensity on her skin just enough to dry herself up quickly. Then, she looked over the equipment in the room, seeing if there was anything she could use to test her powers further.

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Dr. Huber watched with slight surprise as Veronica split from the main party. “Ah well. I’m sure one of the staff can show her around when she is finished.” He turned to the main group. “Any questions further? If not, we shall move on.”

In order to reach the alternate room, Veronica had to pass between the guard and the old man, with the latter visibly recoiling. As she calmed down and observed her environment, there was a furious thudding on the door.

There was also some commotion going on behind very thick treated glass which was hard to discern. Numerous people in white uniforms were either conferring with or observing a large black object taller than them all. Aside from that, the room was empty.

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OOC: Just realized I misunderstood this was still part of the tour oops. I will roll with it.

She wondered about the thudding, and the black object concerned her. Funny, the black object sorta reminded her of 2001: A Space Odyssey. She wondered if it was some sort of strange celestial object, as she had seen her fair share of. Or, perhaps it was some government experiment going on? The thudding was concerning to her though, and she could not keep her mind off it.

She decided to check on what was going on with the thudding.

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Wen clicked some more, before saying a few words. “when…click…can…click click talk?”

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“Wait, we can just leave? This is optional?” Lucius asked, straight back into confusion. Only to see Veronica walk away and rapidly looks between Dr. Huber and her.

“Wait, we can just do that?”

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As the door opened, it was obvious the mechanical device which locked it into place had never been secured, and the old man pounding on it could have just opened it at any time if he had noticed.

Oh, and it was the old man.

“Consarn it, young lady!” The old man stamped his foot, beginning to run out of breath from the blasting of his shrill voice. “Don’t you have any mannerisms in ya? Don’t ya have the sense to actually- to NOT walk between people havin’ a conversation?! I demand you- answer-”

“We would appreciate if you informed us you intended to utilize this space.” The guard commented, keeping an eye on the old man, who was panting and resting his hands on his knees from the effort. “Roswell, it’d really be best if you sit-”

“I won’t!” Roswell barked back. “I just- Eeugh- I need a-”

“You need a seat.” The guard responded wearily, gently leading him by the shoulder to an open spot.

Dr. Huber laughed heartily. “Friend, were it up to me I would let everyone here go wherever they choose.” He sighed. “But unfortunately, the governments of the world would be more pleased if you were all conscripted into service with no questions asked. You are here for me to prove you are not a threat to anyone, to help enforce your own choice about military service, and to help you get home.”

“Ah, that’s what your mask is for, isn’t it?” Dr. Huber smiled. “I will arrange to have it delivered to us at the cafeteria.” He motioned with his hand, and one of the guards quickly left.

No sooner had the guard departed than a maddening cackle erupted from the closest corner of the room. “FINALLY!! Alone and DEFENSELESS!! Now, Huber, now I have you!!”

Out from the shadow jumped a thin, almost skeletal man, about 6’6", with a large metal collar and a shaved head - even his eyebrows. “You won’t stop me this time, Huber!! And you’ve even brought me an audience to see your death, your final demise!!”

“Five seconds, Max.” Dr. Huber flatly replied, adjusting his gloves with a cold air.

“HAH!! You’ll be DEAD long before then!! I’m gonna coat the walls in your blood and brai-”

Max’s head suddenly blew apart, remaining solid for a split second as a large hole directly through his face was visible. As his body collapsed, the inside of his cranium appeared to be made of a blue, spongey substance, which shivered and pulsated in fragments along the floor. Dr. Huber sighed bitterly as he adjusted his glasses as two guards pulled the body of Max out of the room.

“If you are ready.” He addressed the group, the smile gone. He turned and began walking towards the cafeteria.

@Chronicler @Cordax @TheMOCingbird @ajtazt @MakutaOisli

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Veronica held up her hands in her defense against the old man. “I apologize, darling. It has been a long - Month, I suppose? - Yes, a long month for me. I’ve been in confinement for so long I must have forgotten my manners.”

She looked over to the old man. She feared something might be wrong with his health. “But less concern over me. Is he going to be alright?”

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The guard shook his head. “It is best for Roswell to not exert himself too greatly. While resilient, his stamina-”

“Cut yer jib!” Roswell heaved. “When I was half yer height I was whippin’ longhorn bulls around, and I wan’t afraid then, and I wan’t afraid now neither!” He tried to stand, but his knees did not agree with him. He grumbled out some irritated noise in response and looked away glumly.

“Roswell can take a great deal of physical trauma with little issue thanks to his abilities, but he overexerts himself very easily.” The guard continued. “We have to make sure he is never in need of medical assistance because of it.”

“Say anything you want. I’dnt care…” Roswell didn’t even bother looking back as he tried to rub it in.

“Roswell’s ability makes him a potential asset to military groups all over the world.” The guard continued, unfazed. “He is capable of growling bullet-proof teeth all across his skin-”

“They ain’t teeth!” Roswell snapped, turning around to glare.

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Silas winced at seeing the grizzly scene transpire at a sickeningly slow pace. The man’s head material didn’t seem quite normal, so maybe he was okay? Either way, it wasn’t really a pretty sight.

“So, uh, is that kind of thing a normal occurrence?” Silas asked, nodding toward the corpse on the ground as he stepped up alongside the Dr.

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Veronica stroked her chin. “Is it alright if he demonstrates? Or is that off-limits like everything else here?”

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“Max is…” Dr. Huber began, pausing afterwards and silently moving his jaw as if his mouth was searching for the words he wanted to use.

“The real Max, or perhaps I should say original, since this one is like him in every possible way, died after being enveloped in flames during a raid on a laboratory in the Louisiana swamplands.” He continued, looking off at his destination as the party traveled. “He was seeking to steal and monopolize a bio-regenerative formula of some kind, only he was doused in it when the bomb he planted went off ahead of schedule. Running to the swamp, he died, and not race of him was ever found.”

“The Max you see before you is a… Projection of consciousness, of sorts. The real Max is a massive collection of this strange, blue sponge, which can perfectly imitate how Max appeared the night he died. As long as it is able to feed, it can in theory live forever.”

The cafeteria had approached faster than anticipated, as Dr. Huber stopped just short of running directly into the door. He forced the smile back onto his features and nodded to the guards, who swung the doors open. “Max is also incredibly ambitious and just as murderous as he was the night he died. He has tried to escape the island and holds a personal grudge against me for preventing him, which leads to our one-sided spars. I tolerate his actions to keep him from being a danger to others.”

“Well. Shall we?” He gestured for the parts to enter while standing just outside the door, sliding his hands into his pockets.

The guard had begun to respond before becoming offended at the jab, but Roswell forced himself back onto his feet. “Well I don’t see why ye can’t, already got tons of holes in this.” He tugged at his attire. “But this time you keep off the beard! You understand, mister?”

The guard sighed as he adjusted the hair and facial hair of Roswell to keep it out of the way. “It’s like goin’ to a salon.” Roswell raised his eyebrows and pointed at the action with a grin. “Now you better go back with him to the safe room while I get torn to pieces.”

Sighing, the guard walked to a panel in the wall, which slid back as he approached, and gestured for Veronica to follow.

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After staring at an Italian-to-English book she had been flipping through for several minutes now, Renata finally made herself known. Her crystalline body refracted the sunlight, creating quite the display and throwing green-tinged light around the area. She deiced to attempt to get the attention of Dr. Huber, seeing as he was the one in charge.

She unfortunately had not been given much preparation for the trip, having been held in some sort of stasis, or so she was told, while the men in black suits determined the nature of her new biology. Unfortunately, this also meant she had little time to learn english. She had been cramming for the few days she was able, but she could only accomplish so much. She was fluent in both Italian and her native Croatian and her local dialect of it, but she had next to no experience with English, or Portugese, as isolated as she had been.

So, she attempted to open with a simple phrase that would hopefully get his attention.

“Mi Scusi?” she said, after clearing her throat.

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Lucius gives something along the lines of, “well that’s good,” in response to Dr. Huber reassurance to possibly send him home. But it seemed like this process would be totally unnecessary if they just, you know, left him home in the first place. Perhaps he really should have read that TOS agreement instead of following the steps immediately. Last time he relied on it being the most upvoted how-to, that’s for sure.

And then the good doctor killed a man.

One moment, the guards were leaving to get the cosplayer dude something - though Lucius was starting to think it was no longer a costume with unnatural claw extensions - and in the next this guy came out screaming. Lucius backed away of course, unsure what to do and the guards seemed unconcerned. Only for an invisible and silent bullet to shred through the man’s head.

At that, Lucius’ eyes were affixed wide open, wedges preventing them from closing. Part of him screamed to run but he was bolted to the floor. Flight? Fight? Double-back like the squirrels? No, his response to danger was always the same, just let the car run you over.

Yet he felt a different sensation this time as well - that tingling. Realizing he was starting to vibrate and, quite literally, turning green, Lucius put on his hood. His knees slowly bent until he was huddled on the floor, waiting for his heart to stop shaking.

When his eyes finally allowed him to close them, he tried to shut out the world. However, he fails at this as he never did learn the discipline to block out the sounds and he was without his earbuds. So hearing footsteps and the others leaving, and not wanting to be left behind with who-knows-what around, Lucius gets up and follows. Pulling his hoodie’s strings to hide his face, looking to the floor to guide him. He just had to remember they were going to the cafeteria, things should be looking up there. It has food after all.

Provided Dr. Huber’s explanation of Max is loud enough for the other to hear, Lucius can’t help but find this story sounding a lot like BH7. This idea does not bode well in his mind.

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“Ah, ciao! Speravo di vederti oggi.” Dr. Huber replied. “Gentlemen, this is Renata Leko, and she is not the most fluent English speaker, so do have some patience with her.”

“Mi dispiace, ma devo continuare con il tour. Possiamo parlare di nuovo più tardi, se lo desideri.” He nodded to Renata, and turned to the serving counter before turning back around again. “A meno che tu non voglia unirti a noi?”

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Renata nodded, relieved that at least someone here spoke Italian. “Ti seguirò, sì.” (I will follow you, yes) She said smiling at the man. “Volevo solo sapere se c’era qualcuno qui in grado di insegnare le cose rapidamente o comunque in grado di aiutarmi a imparare più velocemente. In questo modo non sprecherò il tempo di nessuno cercando di capire la tua lingua.” (I just wanted to know if there was anyone here able to teach things quickly or otherwise able to help me learn faster. That way I won’t waste anyone’s time trying to figure out your language.)

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Huh. An arm made of crystals. That’s neat. Silas thought as Dr. Huber introduced her.

“Ciao.” Silas said to Renata with a quick wave and smile. “I’m Silas.” He said while lightly tapping himself on the chest. Hopefully it would get the point across.

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she nodded, understanding enough english to get that. “Ie, Unterstande” She said, with a thick accent.

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OOC: Apologies for VERY late response, it has been a long weekend. I will try to get back to the rest of the group, but not without some sass.

Veronica followed him, though a bit concerned that the government is holding an old man hostage. But, from the display the guard gave her, even questioning the ethics, health, and freedom of these people was apparently also off-limits.

America, the land of the free, Veronica thought. Then she spoke. “So I suppose I am being sent back to the tour. Seems like a very tight ship around these parts, isn’t it? There is no browsing around and taking a breather, just cold and hard regulated activities?”

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“Naturalmente, ovviamente, ci sono un paio di opzioni disponibili per questo.” The doctor scratched his eyebrow. “Conosco qualcuno che lavora in questa organizzazione il cui potere aiuterebbe enormemente in quella veste; saresti interessato?”

The only response from the guard, outside of a deadpan glare, was the comment “I’m not American” muttered primarily under his breath.

The inside of the room was revealed to be the same room she had seen behind the treated glass before. Roswell could be seen on the other side, flexing his shoulders and mouthing off at the glass, while on Veronica’s side, a group of men in white labcoats were discussing something in murmurs until she entered, with most of them giving the guard a confused look.

“We’re ready to begin.” The guard said, closing the sliding panel.

The labcoat men shared a glance, and then pressed a switch. On the other side, a violent explosion of gunfire suddenly smashed into Roswell, sparks and spent bullets bouncing off every surface in the room. When the smoke cleared, he could be seen crossing his arms in front of his face, only now covered head to toe in white, bony scales, and giggling up a storm.

“Hee hee, they don’t make those like they used to!” A speaker in the room crackled to life. “I remember back in the pacific I fired a gun big enough to knock a house down! Why can’t we use one of those?”

“Any questions?” One of the men asked her.

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Veronica raised her brows a little bit, stunned that the guard had read her mind.

Veronica was fascinated to see how such a strange mutation could overcome the man. Sorta reminded her of the mutant in the previous group she was in. Only one thing was on her mind, however.

“How did this… happen to him?”