Realistic or Modern The Trapdoor Spiders (Closed)

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

"-To my fellow orphans of state,



I hope This message finds you well. I know after wHat you've likEly faced in Your life, you could use some company. PerhAps it would be Right to gEt some of our old bunkmates together this Winter And have us a good old Time. The holidays are saCred after all. I've been visiting the old cHurch, gettING in touch with mY spiritual side. This October has been Unusually cold.

Meet me at the old church.

-Best Wishes, MB"

---

We were orphans picked up by the state. Not one of us had any relatives to take us in. No one to come looking for us. The men in the red coats came to take us away. They stashed us away in secret facilities, did all kinds of experiments. Some of us had our heads all screwed up, others got their guts all messed up. The lucky ones. There were 43 of us. Subjects to project Olympia. The Department of Psychic Phenomenon had us strapped up to fuckin' tables. Had us look at pictures and shit. They called us Espers. Only 7 of us made it out alive. When they were done with their tests, and the project was ended, they didn't really want us getting out. Locked us all up. Kept on studying is for the longest time. That was until we broke out. Scattered throughout the country. Haven't seen any of my "siblings" since. Hope they're okay. Feds been sniffing around lately.

It's been seven years. It might be time to get the gang back together.

(DIARY OF M.B.)

---

This role play takes place in modern times, though the plot stretches far back before then. Our characters are powerful psychics called Espers, who were once trapped in a government facility before escaping. Now, my character is trying to get them back together to try and solve the mystery behind why they were experimented ok in the first place. The Old Church is a code name for a now defunct facility once used by the government to perform experiments on children with possible psychic powers.





-Rules-

1. Give everyone a chance to respond.

2. On the other side of the coin, You don't necessarily have to respond to everything. If your character doesn't have anything more to say in a scene, simply respond with -SKIP-, so other players know they don't have to wait for your response to continue.

3. Remember, every response needs to be at least a paragraph long. I expect some effort, but it's not a job. I'm not going to be super strict about quality. I just need something to work with.

4. I'd like to see at least one response per day. If someone doesn't respond in two days, I will kick them unless they have a reason.

5. Character conflict can be good. Player conflict is never good. No attack will land unless agreed on by everyone involved in the fight.

6. Any communication outside of the RP should be preceded by OCC:



-A few things to remember-

-This is primarily going to be a mystery/adventure rp with some action, but romance and some black comedy is welcomed. The tone of the RP should lean into noir.

-Our characters are psychics, and while their powers may focus in differing ways, they still have the general skills to vaguely sense thoughts if they focus, or lift small objects with their mind. Feel free to be creative and use the your characters abilities to their fullest potential.

-This RP will be violent, and have horror themes, especially psychological and body horror.



-:MY CHARACTER:-

Name: Tommy (No last name) goes by the Alias Machine Brother
Age: 24
Height: 6'01"
Appearance: Tommy is tall, broad-shouldered, and lean. His shoulder-length hair is white from the years of experimentation. He also bares scars from the experiments all over his otherwise flawless skin. He typically wears high-waisted trousers with black high-tops, and a pink turtleneck. Always, he wears large round, pastel yellow-tinted glasses.



Powers: Digital Synthesis - Tommy can interact with digital infrastructure. Any form of technology that uses programming can be read by him, and altered by him. He can do it from a short distance, but it gets more difficult the further the distance.
Notes:
-It took less than a year for Tommy to realize he could never live a normal life. He had a few close brushes with the law that nearly had him caught. He had no identity, no money, no help. He adapted though. Using his power, Tommy had siphoned millions of dollars from dozens of accounts. He had to build a long network of contacts online to barter and trade for everything he needed. Even getting food dropped off at locations for him. Soon though, mere survival wasn't enough. Tommy began planning, and amassed resources for his own secret project: Trapdoor Spider.
-Tommy is sharp-eyed, wary, but sensitive and wants more than anything to have people to love in his life. Several years of solitude has made him envious of those with normal childhoods.
-Tommy lives his life by four cardinal virtues; Generosity, Loyalty, Integrity, and Humility.
-He's more than willing to kill people, especially if he deems them morally repugnant.

 

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

Sophia saw what her desire produced.
It changed into the form of a dragon with a lion’s head
And eyes flashing lightning bolts.
She cast him far from her,
Outside of the realm of the immortal beings
So that they could not see him.

She had created him in ignorance.

Sophia surrounded him with a brilliant cloud,
Put a throne in the center part of the cloud
So that no one would see it.

Except for the Holy Spirit, called the Mother of the Living

She named him Yaldabaoth.

-A Crisis that Became the World, Apocryphon of John

---
It had been 7 years since the escape of the Espers from The D.P.P [Department of Psychic Phenomenon]. It was quickly discovered by Tommy that the DPP was actually just a branch of a larger organization; The Anomalous Research Agency [A.R.A.]. It was founded in 1733. Even Tommy didn't know much about this organization. The DPP however, he learned much about. The DPP had been "Harvesting Specimens" since the 1950s. They had become aware of some techniques to coax out latent psychic abilities within humans. Their preferred specimens were orphans, specifically those without any connections. If not them, they made do with what they could. They went through several cycles of collecting, researching, and harvesting. The researchers in the facility were distinguished by their red lab coats with reflective film on the inside. They had several abandoned facilities scattered around the country. They typically kept the kids mobile, transferring them in secure armoured vehicles between facilities. The last batch of test subjects was involved in something known as Project: Olympia. They were being groomed for some sort of task, that much Tommy knew. Three years ago, Tommy managed to find a way into their secure system and stole huge amounts of data before doing irreversible damage to their servers. He spent the rest of that time preparing for the next phase of his plan...

It was a very cold winter. The air was sharp and crisp, the night quiet and bleak. The water in the air was condensing into a thick fog and obscured the distant city lights. The Old Church was actually a now-defunct facility once contracted by The Department of Psychic Phenomenon, built into an old hotel. It's far upstate of The City of New Calena, in the mountains overlooking it. No one knew about this place. It looked like just another abandoned building from a distance. Just another old memory.

The entrance to the building has a large overhang, made of some polished stone, which reached out into the walkway leading up to it. Winter flowers were in bloom, surviving against the chill night wind, lining the path. They terminated in large evergreen bushes framing the entrance. The actual hotel only had a handful of parking spaces in the front for VIPs. The rest had to park behind the huge building. The whole property is surrounded by large marble walls, broken up by Huge pillars. Behind each pillar was a nasty surprise; hidden automated large caliber guns. Scattered spruce trees grew up against parts of the marble wall, showing a lack of upkeep.

Standing outside in the cold night, Tommy waited patiently for his 'family ' to arrive. The message he sent had no other information other than a date and time. He hoped that was enough. He stood outside, just under the overhang at the entrance, a steaming thermos in hand. His hair was drifting in the wind, and he had to swipe it out of his face a few times. He was wearing a turtleneck like usual, and black trousers with fur-trimmed boots. What kept him warm though was his oversized coat. It was thick, with a large cur collar that kept the wind mostly out of his face. The gate in the wall was open, allowing a direct path from the cobblestone road outside to the tiny parking lot inside the property. He wondered how many of them would have their own vehicles. Or if anyone would show up.

He hadn't exactly kept in contact with any of the other Espers. Once they broke out, it was agreed that it was probably best if they all split up and went into hiding. In hindsight, they probably had a better chance together. Tommy has spotted Agents who work for the DPP more frequently lately. Noticeable by the strangely shaped red pins they wear on their collars. He hadn't heard of any of his fellows getting recaptured, he feared the worst. The thought of being forced to go back to the DPP was the worst thing he could imagine. Being forced into the endless cycle of imprisonment, testing, and isolation again was unbearable. He didn't know how he survived. He was shy, with little to no backbone. The other kids seemed to like him though. Maybe it was because he made them feel like family. One memory stood out over the others...

The men in their red lab coats with reflective film on the inside, and large sunglasses were gathering up everyone from the cafeteria. Two of them signaled for him, and he followed them out. After passing through the halls, and nearly bumping into one of the the grumpy guards who wear the black masks and helmets, he was pulled inside a room. It was small and white, with only a metal table and some chairs. He had been in here plenty of times. He felt the mechanical collar around his neck started to itch, but he knew better than to fidget with it. The two men in the red coats were on the other side of the table, looking over some folders. The one with brown hair turned to Tommy and said flatly, "Sit down." Tommy did as he was told, and after a moment the two men joined him at the table. He saw his own small reflection in the mirrored lenses as the researcher looked up from the papers and folders he had set down on the desk. "You know why we are here, don't you SE-37?" Tommy looked between the two pale faces, "I'm gonna be looking at cards again, aren't I?" The Man looked to the other and pushed the files over to him, "Then you should know the rules." He pulled out a stack of flashcards from his pocket. They had black and white drawings on them, of things like little cartoon boats and animals. Tommy felt his fists tighten around his white tunic. The man held up one of the cards; it had a smiling monkey on its face. "What is behind the monkey?" Tommy swallowed thickly. "I-Is it a giraffe?" Tommy immediately felt a jolt leap from his collar through his tiny frame. His body jumped involuntarily in his seat and he clamped his mouth and eyes shut to avoid making any more than a soft groan. The man didn't seem bothered by it. He simply revealed the other side of the card. It was a lion, not a giraffe. He laid it on the table, and held out another one. This one had a lighthouse on it. "What is behind the lighthouse?" Tommy opened his eyes, and stared at the card for a moment. "Is it a boat?" The collar struck him again, this time the shock lingered for a second. Tommy let out a short scream, his back arching, before collapsing back into his chair. The man revealed the other side of the card. It was a barn. He held out another card. This one had nothing on its face. "What's behind the {----}, SE-37?" Tommy's eyes fluttered open as he tried to catch his breath. He was fearful now. He didn't want to speak, but he knew if he didn't, it would be worse. So much worse. He whispered tentatively, "{----}?" This time, the shock shook him in his seat. He felt his limbs curl like a dead spider. He felt his bones heating in a flash. When he finally stopped shaking, He felt wet between his legs. He felt pain, and shame. The man looked disapprovingly over Tommy shaking in the chair. "SE-37 is showing minimal development despite high potential. Maybe it's time to try a different method. Approve him for RED LEVEL exercises."

Tommy touches the tiny scars around his neck. He felt hate, and motivation. Tonight was the night. No more waiting. It was time to set his plans in motion again.

 

[CanaryCry]

It had taken days for Zara to decide what she would do with the letter. Briefly, she had considered burning it, shredding it, or simply tossing it out the nearest window - but how could she? As much as she and the other children had suffered in their time together, and as much as she wanted to forget most of it had happened, it had happened. They had grown up together, endured together, and then parted ways with no plans to ever see each other again. At the time it had seemed like the best thing to do, but now with the letter in her hands, she was surprised to find just how deep an ache of longing it put in her chest. Tommy had sent it, a copy for each one of them. That much she could feel just by holding it in her hands.

It was just to find out what ‘watching you' meant, and to make sure the others weren’t going to somehow cause trouble and bring the DPP down on her head, too, she told herself. Sentiment had nothing to do with it.

So she'd ridden a couple of buses as far as they would take her, with the plan of getting a cab when she had to get off. To this day, the rocking of large vehicles gave her a mix of odd feelings. Moving days had always been tense, full of anxiety, and as she sat in the quiet bus as it made its way to the edges of town she could almost feel guards standing over her once more. At the same time, sitting inside the big, open trucks as a child, waiting to be trapped somewhere new, had been some of the very few times she could be sure there were no tests to take. As long as they were quick, quiet, and did exactly as told, there had been no reason to hurt them. Anywhere else, there had always been reasons to hurt them.

When the cab dropped her off a good ten minutes' walk away from her destination, it was easy enough to pacify the man's suspicion as it drifted toward her by simply mentioning with a little smile that she had lived nearby once and was used to navigating it in the fog. When he was gone, she pulled the hood of her thickest winter coat up over her head, and her scarf up over her nose, and started to walk.

Approaching the building filled her with a cautious sense of dread, but nothing set off any active danger signals as she moved towards the open gates so she pressed on anyway. Eyes shifting warily back and forth, she stopped in her tracks upon spotting Tommy in the distance, meeting eyes with him while she was still a long ways away, and had to stop and breathe for a moment before she could find it in herself to keep going. It made the short walk to reach him feel very long, and when she stopped well out of arms' reach, there were a tense few moments of silence between them before she finally reached up to pull her scarf down so he could see her face.

"You’re taller than I remember." She murmured softly, something a little fond in her voice despite her best efforts. She was sure she looked different to him, too. As much white as they had worn growing up, she had a tendency to wear a lot of black now, and in recent months had started dying her once white-blonde hair a pale silver. How much had the others changed, she wondered. If they all came, maybe she would get to find out.

After a pause, she pulled the letter he'd sent her out of her pocket and held it up for him to see, folded into a neat little square. "A determined five year old could've deciphered this."

 

[Windjammer]

Valentine read the letter several times over a couple of days trying to figure out why someone would want to drag this deeply buried trauma that he had completely hidden away for so many years. He was not happy about this at all. He paced the floor as he contemplated how to respond. He had been living in a small town in the mountains for some years now making a living off of fixing the various cars, tractors and other machines and equipment the locals needed worked on, especially when they couldn't afford or risk going to the normal shop for repairs. The locals fully know that Valentine is different, but they don't judge him for it, since the world as a whole view the locals with suspicion. these facts make reaching a final decision even more difficult as these are the people that care about him, that make him feel safe, even if they run moonshine on the side.

After pacing the kitchen floor of his 1905 home for another hour he decided he would go see what was going on. He packed a few clothes, some snacks for the road, his tools, some spare parts, some cash as well as a couple of large hunting knives in case he had to hack and stab his way out of a potential trap. After loading his things into his car, and letting his nearest neighbors know that he' be gone for a bit, he fired up the engine and went on his way.

Valentine knew the moment he pulled up to the driveway of the meeting location that things were going to get interesting. He dimmed his headlights and slowly drove up the winding road, but stopped with a bit of distance between him and the two other people who were already there. He had enormous reservations as he sat in his car. The car itself was a Rolls Royce Phantom II with a black cherry red paint job black bumpers and running boards an whitewall tires. Valentine had rebuilt the car himself some time ago had been driving since.

He shut the car down as he sat silently in the seat wondering why he decided to even come at all. He had no desire to be there what so ever, and he was fully prepared to start the old car up again and leave for home on a moment's notice.

 

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

Tommy held his thermos up to his lips, and smiled. "You're shorter than I remember." For some reason, it didn't surprise him that Zara was the first to show up. He took a sip from the hot tea and lifted an eyebrow, "Oh? Well, I'd have been impressed. I'm no Red Coat, but I've done my own research into Espers. The ink I used was designed to show up to your eyes only. And even if they managed to find out the letters, their minds couldn't comprehend it. It reads completely different to humans. And even then, if god forbid they had an Esper on their side who they trusted to decipher a piece of random paper, sent to a random person, they would've had to guess where the Old Church is. Because only a handful of us knew of this specific place. I also deleted most of their files in an attack. It would take them years to find out which of the dozens of random properties they had used and discontinued were connected to us." He presses his glasses up and gives Zara a wink, "It's lovely to see you again Zara. I see you're just as cheeky as before. I'm glad the hard world hadn't snuffed out that beautiful flame of yours. I'm sure you'll find I'm not as easy to tease though." He laughed. He was actually quite giddy to see someone, anyone, for the first time in a long time. He had to tame his excitement though. This was a delicate situation. He'd spent a long time making sure everything was perfect.

He lowered his thermos, and lowered his head, thinking of a way to politely ask his friend to go along with his paranoia, before darting his eyes up when he saw lights through the fog. When he saw that the car had stopped outside of the gate, his brows furrowed. It took him a moment to recognize that it was quite the fancy vehicle. Definitely not something someone drove to an abandoned facility like this. He couldn't see the driver just yet, but figured they had to be one of the survivors from the Escape. He relaxed only a bit before turning his attention back to Zara. He cleared his throat, "Well, I hate to be that guy. You took quite the risk meeting me here. Though you probably suspected me of being behind something like this. I really have to know I can trust you, though. I'd like to scan your phone, just to make sure you aren't some kind of doppleganger. Or just a traitor, god forbid. BUT, I'm not going to scan your phone without your permission. I figure I owe my childhood friends at least that respect." He was feeling quite good about this situation, until a signal pinged on his phone. The edge of his gold-hazel irises lit up with jagged green light. It pulsed infrequently, like the digital display of a sound device. His attention seemed to split as he focused. Part of his attention was transfered through the camera systems watching the perimeter, his brain interpreting their information directly partly as visuals. He could see movement, outside of the perimeter, enough to trigger motion sensors. The auto guns stored at the back of the pillars had activated, sliding up the pillars and unfolding their rotating barrels. But the movement was quick enough to keep from triggering the guns automatic fire. It took him a moment to recognize who was hidden in the fog. Moon. He felt his chest tighten. He had a big crush on Moon when they were in the facility, and really never had the guts to talk to him. He was always closer to Zara because of it. He deactivated the perimeter weapons and pressed his glasses up nervously, the green light in his eyes fading. "Okay, so, If you don't mind. Please call Moon and tell him to come around the front. He about gave me the heart-attack of a lifetime."

He looked back over to the car. Whoever it was still hadn't come in. His nerves were already pretty high. At this point, he really just wanted everyone to be on the same page and get out of the fridgid night. He waved his free hand over to the car, and shouted, "Hey! Come over here so we can get inside. I'm freezing. If I'm gonna get jumped, I'd like it to be sooner rather than later."

 

[CanaryCry]

Her first mistake was thinking anything had changed and that Tommy would accept the little jab as what it was, a friendly sort of poke at him for sending a cryptic message, without dissecting it for a while. The way he rambled was almost nostalgic in its familiarity, and other than briefly sticking her tongue out at him for calling her short, and raising an eyebrow at the idea that she may be a 'traitor', she just let him keep going uninterrupted. As long as it had been, she still remembered that it was best to just wait it out and save herself the chore of speaking again only to set him off on a longer tangent. It wasn't like she minded. It had been so long since she’d heard any of their voices, she was content to sit back and listen.

When he was done, despite the strangely paranoid lilt to his words, she gave him a small, fond smile. "And you are just as long-winded as ever." Some things didn’t change. And some things she would never forget - like the way his eyes changed when his attention was no longer on her. She blinked at him, surprised at first that he knew Moon was around, then gave a soft 'oh' as the knowledge floated to her that there were cameras. And weapons.

"I would ask how you'll prove to me that you’re not a traitor," she said, amused, as she pulled out her phone to give her brother a call, and gave him a knowing little smirk, "but he’s here." Things like strong feelings for people did not escape her perception for very long, after all. She had never told Moon - that was Tommy’s secret to handle how he wished - but even if Tommy didn’t have loyalties to her, which she was sure he did, he would most definitely not betray her brother.

"Come around front, Moon," She said when he picked up, glancing off in the direction she knew he would be. "Tommy's here. He sees you already." There was grumbling on the line but otherwise no hesitation. She hung up, and moments later footsteps became audible nearby.

"Why the fuck are there active auto guns in this place!" Moon complained as he came jogging around the corner, expression manic as he came down from the adrenaline rush. "I almost smashed one!" He’d been quick to duck away from its sensors, and it had been deactivated rather quickly, but still. He'd been looking for people and traps, not military-grade weapons.

Zara only shrugged and held out her hand, waited until he realized what she wanted and handed over his phone, then held it and her own out for Tommy to take. "Its polite to say hello."

Moon paused at the gentle scold, frowning as he considered how to respond, then finally just settled between Tommy and his sister with his hands in his pockets and a little smile on his face. "Figured it had to be you. Nobody else’d be so secretive." He glanced over at where a car was still idling, not so much worried about it as curious. If it were anyone dangerous, Zara would likely have sensed it by now. "Want me to go retrieve whoever that is?"

 

[Windjammer]

Valentine continues to watch as a third person joins the other two for whatever reason. He rolls his window down by only an inch or two and starts to listen in. He realizes that their names are familiar. This suddenly sends him into a flashback, where Valentine remembers things he'd rather have erased from his memory. He sees within his mind a traumatic event where he only knew pain and fear. He wanted to forget. He wanted to truly forget so badly, but for some reason it came back.

Valentine suddenly screamed in terror at something that wasn't really there. "I won't say anything again! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Just as quickly as it began, the memory faded away. Valentine then found himself white knuckling his steering wheel. Thankfully the car was not running, else he would have slammed into the building and possibly gotten hurt. He looked around like a young child waking from a nightmare. He saw that there was no threat for the moment, and started to take long deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

He knew for sure at that point whoever he was watching was fully aware of his presence, but he simply sat and waited for their response. He had it in his mind that he'd ask what the hell the note was for, and why on earth they really needed to be there. Valentine was not thrilled to be anywhere near that wretched monument to torture, yet, there he was. Waiting. Waiting to possibly be murdered, or even scavenged by wild animals. He hoped that his life would be uneventful for the remainder of his days, but it was obvious that wasn't to be, at least for now.

 

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

Tommy did in fact talk a lot when he had the chance. He simply shrugged the comment off. He was sociable, but at many times oblivious. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that Zara clearly knew his feelings. He did wear them on his sleeve after all. He began to fuss with his hair absent-mindedly when Moon came up. He looked between the siblings, "Well, let's be honest, this place was one on a long list of places none of us wanted to be at again. That's why I picked it. No one would expect us here. That being said, I've sabotaged, stolen, and destroyed a lot of resources from the D.P.P. Despite none of them have ever even gotten a glimpse of me since the first year I escaped. You'll be thankful of my paranoia by the end of this. Plus, wait till you see what I got inside." He took another sip from his tea and sighed, "I guess there's only so much I can expect though. I trust you guys, and I'll just have to take you at your word." He looks Zara up and down, "Though let's not pretend you can't tell my intentions with your level of skill, miss perfect." He smirked, "I seem to remember you and Moon being among the highest-rated Espers documented. Your telepath rating in particular was off the charts as a child. I could barely tell you what was behind a piece of cardboard, or a playing card, let alone read the intentions of actual humans." He looked back to the car whenever Moon mentioned it. "Well, we should probably approach..." He heard the scream from the vehicle faintly, and immediately he reached by his hip. He hadn't brought a weapon out though. He moved slowly to the side of the car, relaxing as he closed the distance.

He squinted his eyes at the man in the car. His face tickled the back of his memory. It felt distant but distinct. He knew this had to be one he sent a letter to. He spoke tentatively, "Valentine..?" The more he looked, the surer he was. He smirked, "Jesus Christ man, you gotta stop messing with me." Tommy pushed up his glasses again and held up his thermos, "Let's get inside where it's safe and I'll get you something warm to drink. I know you wanna know why I sent you that letter. I'll explain inside." Valentine was two years younger than him. When they escaped, Valentine was just 15. It was hard for Tommy to believe that the giant in the car was the same person he knew so long ago. He didn't know Valentine as well as others, but he was glad to see him.

 

[CanaryCry]

Zara wrinkled her nose at the idea that they hadn’t wanted to come back to this building - it was very true, and there were still little prickles of unease under her skin, but she had her intuition, and Moon by her side, and now Tommy. They were older now, more experienced. It would take a lot to get the better of all three of them, she was sure. She did not, however, feel the need to reassure Tommy that she had never spilled the 'secret'. That truth would become apparent on its own.

"I can’t believe you’ve been sabotaging without me," Moon complained, mostly oblivious to the way Tommy grew nervous around in his presence. To him, Tommy was just a nervous person all the time, and there was a bigger mystery afoot, anyway. "Zee never let's me smash anything anymore."

Zara shook her head at the way her brother smiled, as if he were carefree. She knew, under the surface, he was just as uncomfortable here as she was, he just liked to pretend nothing was wrong. She, for her part, simply didn’t call him on it. It wasn’t as if the three of them were unaware what had happened as a child when Moon had been forced to 'smash things'. There had been too many days he had come back to her trembling and sobbing incoherently as a child because they had made him push too hard, move something too big, lit every nerve in his body on fire. It was easier to forget it ever happened.

"I would never tap into your thoughts or intentions on purpose," she reassured instead, taking the praise with an almost shy little scuff of her boot. "That much hasn’t changed." At times knowledge drifted to her without her trying to find it, and it wasn't as if Tommy couldn’t push her back out of his head if she had tried.

When the scream happened, the twins both tensed but didn’t quite flinch, only turning slowly to find the source. They followed closely behind when Tommy moved towards the car, alert for any sort of danger, but Zara had a feeling Tommy's easy camaraderie wasn’t going to be enough. It was too quick, too close, too boisterous. She had gotten used to people being in her face, watching her every move, but their newcomer had lived a quieter life. That much, at least, she could tell without trying.

"Valentine?" She parroted softly, putting a hand on Tommy's arm to stop him from getting any closer and lowering her voice just a bit. "Let me," she told him softly, and took a couple of slow steps towards the car, her hands in view. She was a smaller, softer target than Tommy or her brother. Less intimidating, and perhaps because of age and gender her face had been less changed by time than either of theirs.

"Valentine?" She called softly, out of arms' reach of the door still and with plenty of room for him to run if he still felt threatened. To one of them, she knew, being trapped was the worst feeling. "Are you all right? Do you want to come inside?" She offered him a little smile, hesitant but open. Despite everything happening, it was still good to see him. "You came all this way. You might as well say hello, and tell us about this cool car of yours." She hoped starting somewhere that wasn’t conspiracy might make it easier for him to release the death grip he had on the steering wheel.

 

[Windjammer]

"Yeah, just a second." Valentine spoke softly as he rolled up the window. He then opened the door to the car and slowly got out. He was shaking slightly as he stood up due to having nerve damage from the years of mistreatment he went through. The shaking only goes away when he is trying to do something with his hands, and as such, he picked up a small stick from the ground so he could give his hands something to do.

Valentine was still not exactly thrilled to be going inside a place he'd rather be on fire. "Did we absolutely have to meet here?" He said in an uncomfortable tone. He examined the entrance as he slowly made his way to the door. and he blocked out the rest of what memories he still had as not doing so would likely only lead to total panic, and now was not the time to do so. Valentine never talked about his feelings, and he wasn't about to start now. If he was asked about it, he would simply say that he was fine or that he would discuss it later, with later really meaning never. It was best for someone to not prod him for such information once he said he didn't want to talk about it, as he would simply shut down, sometimes after telling them off. Valentine was intent on keeping his secrets and feelings hidden away for the rest of his existence, refusing to relive his suffering no matter what. He knew this would be very difficult in the coming times, but he sure as hell was going to try.

 

[coffee_flavored_mochi]

"Shit."

Raine knew she wouldn't be the first one here, but arriving and seeing four of her old friends already at the rendezvous point was a bit nerve wracking. She hoped they hadn't been waiting too long, though from the looks of things someone was just getting out of their car, so it looked like she was fine.

After receiving the letter, she had crumbled it up and burned it, careful to make sure not a single part was still intact. Her first thoughts had been filled with fear, but she knew that if the red coats wanted to take her again, they wouldn't do so by sending a deceptive letter.

Glancing around her small apartment, Raine gathered a bag with some extra clothes, food, and cash. Who knew how long this would take, and even if it was short, it didn't hurt to be prepared. After locking up her place and sending a text to Gus, who owned the coffee shop she worked at, that she might not be in for a bit, she headed off.

Managing to get a taxi, she sat through the 30-minute drive in silence. Who all would show? She assumed Tommy had sent the message, as he tended to be the one to bring them together in hard times. Most likely the siblings would show up, as they had always been close with Tommy himself, but she couldn't imagine the others would. She herself was surprised that she was on her way so quickly. More than likely, it was this feeling of loneliness that had pestered her for the past few years. Sure, she had the coffee shop, but Raine had made an effort not to get too close to the family who owned it, in order to keep them safe. Other than that, she hadn't spoken to anyone since the escape, besides the occasional grocery store clerk, or customer at the shop. Even though her childhood was the worst memory of her life, at least she had had the others to talk to, occasionally. Hopefully, these years apart hadn't tarnished her relationship with them.

When the taxi finally arrived at the old church, she took a second to calm herself. She knew Tommy wouldn't call them to meet up unless it was important. After paying the taxi driver, she grabbed her bag and headed up the trail, waving slightly when someone spotted her.

 

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

Tommy stepped back and let Zara handle Valentine. She seemed to handle it just fine. He turned his attention to the road, where a figure was walking up. He smiled as they got closer. "Raine." That's one face he wasn't sorry to see. He looked between the four. He couldn't help but glance at Valentine's stick but figured it was probably best not to question it. "Sorry, but yes. We're going inside. It's probably the safest place on this Earth for us right now." He nodded to Raine, "I'm guessing you knew who sent the letter. Come on in. It's time I explain why I contacted all of you." He turned and headed towards the entrance of the building. He took another drink from his thermos, "43 of us were taken for Project Olympia. 19 of us survived their experiments and escaped. But only 7 of us are left. If no one else shows up, then only 5 of us are left." He stepped through the sliding doors into the main lobby. It was once a quaint hotel for middle-class families to stay. Now the walls were reinforced by metal plates, with thick cords running around on the ground. Metal boxes were scattered about, with tools and other instruments laying around. A robotic arm is in the far left corner slowly piecing together some kind of kit. The only path is past the Counter in the back, to each side. Automatic doors have been welded to the paths, obscuring the halls behind. The room is lit by an ominous pale rail of white LED lights on the top of the walls. The roof, where lights would normally be, is covered in assorted cameras and other strange devices.

On the counter a mounted turret with double-barrel gatling guns sat menacingly. A cardboard cut-out from the 80s of a lady in a sundress stands next to the counter, where the face would be is a big hole clearly shot through. Above her missing face a white strip of cardboard is taped with the is the words "Smile, you're on camera!" written in red marker. Waiting for Tommy was two robots. One is a short thing that moves on two tires, with a wide head and big eyes, two arms with clamps as hands on a squat barrel frame. The other was a spindly tall stick of a robot with small hands. To make him look less intimidating, he has a moustache and hat welded onto it's pole of a head. They both eagerly greet him, "Welcome back sir!" "Yes yes, would you like us to put on your playlist?" Tommy shakes his head, "No, no. We've got company." He holds his drink out to the short robot, who takes it without question, while the other machine takes Tommy's coat from him. Tommy adjusts his short-sleeved turtleneck and sighs, "They've been going after all of us. They've been mostly successful. But even with just us here I plan on making them pay for every life they've taken." He stops at the counter and picks up a pile of manila envelopes and goes through them before holding up five. He turns around to face everyone else, "This right here is half the reason I gathered you here." He opens the top one and reveals several papers. He holds up the top one. "They've gotten close to us. They even got stuff on me in here. Just a taste of what's on here."

He presses up his glasses and begins to read of the dossier,

"Subject Title: SE-37
Status: Alive, Wanted (Dead or Alive)
Alias(es): Tommy, Machine Brother, [Apotheosis?]
Height: 6'01"
Race: Caucasian
::CAUTION::
Threat Level-B (I.H.)
-This subject is rated as a threat to the country. An information hazard. Simply communicating about this subject can put an informant in danger. Knowledge of this ESPer is need-to-know, only. The global digital infrastructure is under threat of this subject. do not underestimate SE-37."

A six year old picture of Tommy is attached to the bottom of the page.

"The rest of the pages is about the research on my powers, what they know about them, the documentation of the experiments performed on me and their purpose. Projects attached to my research. AND, more importantly to us, all information about my activities they have available. I've kept out of sight. But you guys, they got some good pictures of you guys. They likely haven't found where you've been hiding lately, but they've got enough to find you. Unless you've hidden from the entire outside world like me, you aren't safe anymore." He hands out the folders to each person they belong to. "I can imagine everyone here is probably at least Threat level C. Threat level A is the highest I've seen, but the kind of threat varies. All I know is that us Espers involved with Project Olympia were scheduled for some other project that was put on hold after we escaped. That's probably why they've been so adamant about finding us."

 

[CanaryCry]

Moon looked over when Tommy greeted someone and flashed a little smile when he saw Raine, raising a hand in way of a wave and waiting for her to catch up. Zara watched the way Valentine fiddled with a stick, wishing for a moment that she’d brought something better for him to tinker with to keep his apparent anxiety at bay, but this trip was meant to be quick and light. They had brought very little with them - with only her switchblade and Moon's padded gloves hidden away in pockets in case of emergency - so that it was easier to flee if necessary.

As they moved into the building, Moon's eyes wandered around and around, jaw dropping a bit at all of the 'toys' Tommy had lying around doing various tasks. He’d known their old friend was good with technology, but the amount of resources involved was baffling. He had to wonder where Tommy had gotten all of the parts, and how much better they all would might have done if they'd stuck together. But that was in the past. Now they could only move forward, deeper into shark infested waters.

Moon was standing still, soaking in Tommy's speech with his file in his hand but without looking at it. ". . . Do you have robot butlers?"

Zara, flipping through her own with wide eyes, snatched the papers from him and poked through his as well, lining up the pictures of them with the days and places they were taken in her head. "Moon, focus!" She hissed, too busy reading as fast as she could to bother with smacking him. "This is blocks from home."

He cringed at her tone, then leaned over her shoulder a little to look at the pictures with a more pronounced grimace. "That one's from the Tinder House. . ."

They’d used a telephoto lens from far away to try and avoid her claircognizance, but the pictures were crystal clear and had full shots of their faces, the location they'd been in, who they’d been with. They were recent. So recent she found it very difficult to remain calm, fingers beginning to tremble as she looked through the papers again and again like it would change anything. They’d been so close, and she’d gotten no warning. Nothing at all.

"What do we do, Tommy?" Moon asked after a heavy pause, voice suddenly quiet and small, a hand resting at his neck as if he could feel the collar that had once kept them trapped. "What do we do?"

If he’d gathered them all here, he had to have a plan.

 

[coffee_flavored_mochi]

Raine followed the others inside, and like Moon, was shocked at everything she saw. It was clear that Tommy had been busy while they were all in hiding, and she felt a bit disappointed in herself at her lack of effort to solve their problem. Here Tommy had been, collecting data and supplies to help everyone out, and what had Raine been doing? Working in a small coffeeshop, collecting meager cash to help her get by, and sitting in her apartment reading novels she found at a discount bookstore. Sure, her abilities weren't as useful as Tommy's, but she could have done something other than hide.

Glancing at the papers, photos, and files Tommy had gathered, she gasped as she saw photos of herself. Like the others, they were taken from a distance away, but they were obviously zoomed in on herself. Buying a book at the store, serving a customer at the shop, even walking down the street. They all looked recent, and she recognized the shirt she was wearing in one of them as one she had worn earlier that week.

Feeling her knees weaken, she propped herself up with the table. They had been that close. Who knew what would've happened if Tommy hadn't sent the letter when he had. She could have been taken. They all could've. They would've had to return back to that- to that place.

Taking a few deep breaths, Raine grounded herself. It was fine. They were together now, and Tommy clearly knew what he was doing. There were cameras and weapons everywhere, they would know if someone had followed them, or if someone was outside. It was fine. They were fine.

She glanced up when Moon asked Tommy his question, and nodded. "Yeah. You wouldn't have called us here if you weren't sure of what to do, right?" She began fiddling with her rings, trying to rationalize the fear coursing through her veins.

 

[Windjammer]

Valentine carefully looked through the photos a few times over and recognized that only two were of him. He closed his hands tightly enough to snap the twig in his hand in two. Valentine now spoke in his usual thick Appalachian accent. "Those damn cowards. They didn't even try to follow me." He found that fact both irritating and amusing.

"Both of these photos of me were taken at the same place just at different times." Valentine recognized that one was taken in the spring, and the next was taken that fall. "See, this one was in the spring, right after the leaves had just come out." He pointed that out to the others. "This one was in the fall that same year, because the leaves are down." Valentine was rather amused by the fact that he hadn't been photographed much, because it proved to him that even the government has no business going anywhere near his home. However, he was very irritated that they felt the need to be doing it at all.

"So, what do we do now?" Valentine wondered. "Just because they aint got the balls to go after me on my mountain, doesn't mean they won't try to come after us here." Valentine might have been nervous on arrival, but now he's mad. He was finally ready to try and figure out why this was all going down, and hopefully put an end to it once and for all.

 

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

Tommy understood the fear and anger they felt. He felt bad about not getting them together sooner. He looks down at his feet. "First, I just want to say I've missed you guys." He tossed his folder onto the counter, "I knew you all tried to move on from our past. I didn't want to involve anyone in this. I tried to leave you all be. It's easier to hide when we're spread out. But now, it's no longer an option." He let a little smile show on the corner of his mouth. "And yes. I guess you could call them robot butlers." He lifts his head, "Beep is the smaller one. Toggle is the stick-looking one."

The two machines were standing a polite distance away, clearly waiting for instruction.

"Ask them and they'll gladly assist you however they can. Just don't ask them to do anything too complicated."

His eyes seem to unfocus for a moment before the door welded into the left hallway slides open. The hallway is long and straight, with rows of doors to each side, ending in the distance with a double door. The hallway was lit with more LED, A familiar sight to the children who were once brought here. He whips around and marches into the hallway, his voice brisk, "I've got a plan. A plan within a plan, stretching out on a vast dark web. And I've laid the foundation for this web. Me alone vs. the Shadowy organization that stole our childhoods. That's what it started as. But I've seen too much to let it just be petty revenge. Now that I have you all, I can begin to enact the far more ambitious elements of my plan." The doors they passed which once served as office rooms and security were now marked with different labels, like "Sulphor Prototype" and "MurderBot V.1" Glowing lights could be seen in the small windows that gave view to the insides of the rooms, which were filled with strange machinery. every once in a while the window to the door would be welded over and painted with the words 'DANGER'. Halfway down the hall, to their right, the wall is halfway replaced with glass. This used to be the cafeteria where the kids would eat. Now, it was shadowy as the rest of the rooms, completely dark save for a dozen lights that would disappear and reappear seemingly at random. Those lights, like ghostly green rings, looked eerily like the eyes to something inhuman.

Tommy threw open the double-door into a huge open space. This was built as an indoor pool area, where all the main rooms were built around. When it was used by the DPP, they used the pool and hot tub to test the children. There were no lounge chairs or glass tables. Only cold metal efficiency. Tommy didn't seem to change much when it came to the furniture. The same square metal tables were scattered everywhere. There were only a few LED strips to light the dim space. Cords as thick as an arm run over the ground, all leading into the pool. A closer look shows that whatever the fluid is in the pool isn't water. It smells something like oil, despite being mostly clear, and small bubbles stream up from the bottom. At the center of the pool is a collection of hardware, with the heavy cords leading into the tightly packed Server racks at the center of the submerged kit. Reaching up from the faintly glowing mass, a black spire reaches up to the surface of the water. At the top of the spire is a silver disc shape,

Tommy stood at the edge of the pool, "It's time I introduce you guys to someone special." His eyes flashed green, and the silver disc on the top of the spire began spinning. Soon, a green light began spreading from its surface, strobing upward until it began focusing into a holographic image. The green hologram was a replica of Tommy's face, including his piercing eyes. The hologram spoke. "Machine Brother."

Tommy nodded to the hologram, "This is IGOR. An A.I. I modeled after my own mind, though simplified. He helps me operate this facility from time to time. Most of the time he spends iterating upon himself. Creating the most efficient hacker to exist. An A.I. who takes over machines." Tommy turns back to the rest of the group, the green glow behind him casting his face in shadow. "I"m about to lead you into some very dark waters. What I'm about to involve you in could determine the course humanity takes. That's how serious this is. I told you that there was another project that was put on hold because of our escape. But the details are not for the faint of heart. I'll say it now; I'll keep you guys safe, regardless if you decide to join me. You can stay here in the facility as long as it remains secret, and if it becomes compromised, I can hide you in another one of my safehouses. I'll make sure you don't go wanting. BUT, if you don't want to be involved, I'll need you to find yourself a room. If you're really willing to risk life, limb, and possibly your mind, then I need you to swear on your life that you will not reveal what I'm about to tell you unnecessarily."

 

[CanaryCry]

Moon was fixated, eyes glued to the two robots in the background despite the urgency and anxiety coiling in his gut. "Beep and Toggle, I love you." Bad things were happening, but they were all together now and he was sure they would be practically unstoppable together once they figured out what was going on - and robots were cool! He never got to have anything cool, and he could really use the distraction.

Zara only sighed at him and took his hand, to pull him along after Tommy but also to soothe both him and herself as best she could. As they moved deeper into the building, she could feel the rising tension through her hand touching his, see the bad memories in the way he dug his nails into the skin of his own neck while his eyes wandered, as if he couldn’t feel it at all, as if all he could feel was cold metal around his throat again. She was sure they were all remembering the horrible things that had happened in this place. It had changed, but not enough to make the memories go away. Despite it making tactical sense, she couldn’t fathom how Tommy had managed to stay in this place for so long on his own.

The largest room was perhaps the most changed, if only because of the darkness and the machinery. Zara remembered it as always well lit, full of equipment but much cleaner. She remembered being in the water with eyes all around her, waiting for the next test, the next result. Her fingers were tight around her brothers hand as the green light grew, and a face began to form over whatever it was that filled the once pristine pool.

"That is . . . so creepy, Tommy," Moon murmured, transfixed on the glowing face in front of them if only because it was a spectacle slightly less daunting than their imminent future. "Why the hell did you give it your face? You could’ve made it Brad Pitt. You could’ve made it Lieutenant Data. See, this is why you need us around." He could have picked anyone, Moon thought. Literally anyone. It struck him as a little narcissistic but in the darkness it was mostly just creepy - and at least a little bit hilarious, but that could’ve been the stress talking.

"You know I want to support you," Zara started, voice haunted still but steady, firm, ignoring Moon's anxiety-fueled rambling. This was important. "And you know I want them to pay. . . But what has humanity ever done for me?" She turned sharp eyes away from the glowing projection, back to where the real Tommy stood promising them safety and danger in equal measures. "Why shouldn’t we just we just pick up and run? Why should I believe that it’s worth it? Convince me. I can’t say yes to vague peril and empty promises."

She was sure what he would say. That they could only run for so long, that there was nowhere to go that they wouldn’t eventually be found, that there were worse horrors to the world than the ones they already knew. But she wasn't going to put both her and her brother's lives and safety on the line without more information. All of them knew already there were much worse fates than death.

 

[Windjammer]

Valentine listened as he followed the others down the hall and into the pool room. He watched as the various pieces of high tech did their thing but that was of no comfort to him as Tommy went on and on about humanity and its potential fate. He couldn't help but think that the situation they found themselves in was only going to get more and more difficult, both physically and mentally. He was most concerned by the statement concerning the course of humanity. He couldn't help but agree with Zara on it. "I completely agree with Zara. This whole thing is a horror show terrifying enough to make the Devil hide behind his hands as it is." Valentine was also of the belief that humanity had not benefited him either. As such, Valentine found himself adding on to Zara's statement. "Not only has humanity not done anything for us, the things that were done to us were supposedly in the name of bettering humanity." Valentine wanted to help, but was very reserved. "I'm willin' to do whatever it takes to make things right, but I'm not just gonna jump into this barrel full of snakes unless it's truly worth our time. Our lives." He was willing to stick with every potential member of the team until the end, but was concerned about what the world at large would eventually do. "I'm completely on board with us stickin' together, because that's what good people do. I'm willin' to do my part for us as a group, but we can't be expected to blindly walk into the mouth of destiny. I want to be prepared."

Valentine realized he had gotten an uneasy feeling about the extreme amount of electronics in what was originally once an old hotel turned Laboratory. He was concerned that it was pulling from the power grid, which would be noticed sooner or later, and looked into. "Where is all this stuff pullin' power from anyway?" The fact that the building had power at all had struck him as odd from the start, but only now did he think to ask. He was also concerned about the risk of fire, since an old building like the one they're in could burn quickly. "Also, do you have a plan in case this thing goes Chernobyl on our asses?" Valentine was indeed perplexed by the nature of the place.

 

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

OCC: Since coffee_flavored_mochi hasn't responded yet, I'm going to continue. If they don't respond by the time we move on with the scene, I'll assume their character left.

Tommy looked away to IGOR when Moon said he was creepy. He hadn't really thought of it. He'd been living in an eerily lit abandoned hotel full of strange machines for such a long time, that he forgot how strange it might be. "Well, I didn't choose IGOR's projection. He did." Tommy figured that Zara would be stubborn. He knew that he couldn't just tell them everything, but Zara would always be unsatisfied. At least until he'd revealed enough that he would make them uncomfortable. It upset him a bit that she didn't seem to trust him, but he couldn't blame her. "Call it egotistical. I don't care." His tone became stern, "I have spent years hiding, and I've still managed to accomplish feats that would get me worldwide acclaim. I've not spoken directly with another human in 6 years. I power this facility with a SMR, decades ahead of anything you can find being built right now. I've had so much money move through my hands, I could not explain to you how much time and effort went into keeping everyone safe, to keep them guessing. But it didn't matter, they got most of us anyway. I fought as hard as I can by myself, but I can't do it anymore. I need people who I can trust, who've got skills that none of them can keep up with. And can achieve things they cannot." He turns to Moon and Zara, "You two are probably the most physically dangerous humans alive. And not only that, you have powers that give you access to places I can't reach on my own." He turns to Valentine, "You more than anyone here can match my passion for the wonderful art of mechanics. I may be unrivaled in the field of robotics, but even I cannot match your skill in comprehension of mechanical features. Together we can dismantle anything, create anything. And we don't have to enslave little children to make our work matter." He looks to Raine, "And you? You can hide yourself from anything. Anyone. It's a wonderful gift, and yet they didn't appreciate you for you. A wonderful person, with powers that would make her untouchable, could take anything she wanted. And all you wanted was to be happy. To be good to other people." He pinches the bridge of his nose, "Why fight for everyone else? I ask why not? What better revenge than changing their plans for the world? I choose to be better than them. If you think I'm creepy, what about the red coats? Because if we don't step in, they will find more children. More people. It didn't end with us." He raises his voice, "IGOR. Play the last words of Alex."

The hologram is silent for a moment.
"Playing ISE_28F_3.MOV"

The first thing in the audio is the sound of a familiar screech as a metal chair is pulled back from a table.

"Hello SE-28. I hope you're doing well."

The voice was clean, crisp, proper. Wherever the audio receiver was, it was close to the speaker.

"please, just kill me and save me the fucking games"

This voice came in almost as well. There was a bit of reverb. They were definitely in a small acoustic room. One just like many the Espers had been in as children during evaluation. This voice, obviously an Esper, sounded tired and irritated. He was ignored by the first speaker.

"So, you were among those that escaped, right? Must have been quite the difficult time surviving out there on your own. You must have had help, right?"

"I have told you  several times already, I haven't seen or heard from anyone, you fucking clown."

The sound of a pen scratching against paper could be heard before the interrogator continued

"Why is it that you broke into the facility?"

This time Alex refused to answer the question

"I wonder why it's just you red coats that handle us. What about the other researchers?"

The pen began scratching again. Harder and faster.

"Tell me SE-28, what is your interest in Project: Winter Sun?"

Alex laughs. Bitterly.
His voice condescending

"I know why you where those red coats with the reflective film on the inside. I know why you wear those pins on the side of your collar. That symbol. You guys aren't even human, are you? I wonder what's behind those sungla--"

The audio cuts out abruptly.

 

[CanaryCry]

I choose to be better than them.

For a moment after Tommy spoke, Zara only wanted to bristle, to be angry at him for trying to make it look like he was better than her, too, better than any of them. But it wasn’t as if she could say he was wrong. After all the things they’d suffered, all the things they knew somewhere in their hearts could happen to others just as unlucky as they were, they’d done nothing to stop it from happening again. They’d run away and never looked back, and the whole time Tommy had been here, pushing back against the redcoats, trying to stop them. All this time, he’d been watching over her, and Moon, and the others as best he could. Part of her had to wonder how much he knew about how she and her brother had been living, all the people they’d hurt.

She could feel it in the way Moon's hand tightened around hers, see it in the way his expression melted into something pained as recorded voices filled the room. He was making up his mind already, she didn’t have to read it to know.

They got most of us anyway. Those words rang in her ears even as shame burned at her chest, and for a long moment after the sound abruptly cut away she and Moon only looked at each other, making faces, shaking their heads, communicating silently.

"What's out there for us, anyway, Zee?" He finally said aloud. "Stealing and hiding to survive? We'll never be a part of this world again." He turned away from her despite not letting go of her hand, looked to Tommy with a fierce determination in his eyes. "We might as well do something worthwhile while we still can."

Zara was slower to respond, something almost embarrassed in the moment she couldn’t meet his eyes before finally forcing herself to do so. ". . . We won’t abandon you again." They had left each other once, split apart and run away scared while Tommy was here, watching their backs from afar. It wouldn’t happen again.

 

[Windjammer]

Valentine developed an expression of bitterness as he listened to the tape of Alex being interrogated. He admired the resilience Alex had as he listened. The few sounds that could be heard along with the human speech were all to familiar. The chair was simple enough, and whatever was being written down was likely being written on an ordinary notepad, like the ones with the slight yellowish color that have been sold for decades. W0hile the pen an paper were nothing special in and of themselves, Valentine fully understood that the words that were written down were far more significant, and he was not shy about stating that. "I'd bet my ass that whatever was bein' written down was either a bullshit statement or horrific one. There aint a damn thing good on that paper. I guarantee it."

The ending of the audio file was the most angering thing by far to happen that night. Valentine was not shy about stating that fact, and he was not about to watch his words when doing so. "That son of a bitch! The damn redcoat on that file knew exactly what the hell he was doin'! Alex got his answer alright, and I can promise you he did not like what he got." Valentine further noted that the redcoat turning off the recording was punching down. "That redcoat's a damn coward. He knew his words might get out, and I can tell you right now he's not about to willingly face his crimes."

It didn't take Valentine long to make his final decision. He was in it for the long haul, however long that might be. He looked Tommy dead in the eye and told him this in no uncertain terms. "Hell, you've got my vote. I've heard all I need to hear. I'm tired of hidin, and I'm tired of runnin'. Them redcoats are lower than watered-down chicken shit." Valentine was finally able to get through his reservations. "Whatever you need done, you just let me know."

 

[coffee_flavored_mochi]

(OOC: aah so sorry i kind of went quiet without saying anything, i was on a trip for the past few days and didn't have much access to my phone. im back home now though!)

Raine trusted Tommy, along with the others, with her life. They had grown up together, had been through the worst times of their lives together, and even though she wanted nothing to do with the place that had stolen countless lives, that had almost taken her life, she knew she couldn't just stand by and watch as they tried to take more. The area Tommy led them to brought back a flood of memories, memories that she had tried to keep down the past few years but hadn't succeeded very well. The dim lights of the room offered little comfort, and she shuffled closer to the others in the hopes that their presence would ease her fear of the darkness that surrounded them.



She knew what Tommy was saying was true. Children, innocent children like they had once been, didn't deserve to suffer like they had. No one did. If she could help stop them from hurting even one more person, then Raine would fight until the very end. She, like the others, felt bad for hiding and remaining silent for so long while Tommy was creating a plan and building up his army of machines. She knew she couldn't help very much with her powers, not like the others, but she was 100% willing to try if it meant they could take down the red coats once and for all.



When Tommy played back the tape of Alex, who had been with them at the time of the escape. She knew when she cut off contact with the others that there would be a chance of any of them getting recaptured, and even though she had prepared herself for the possibility, it still hurt to know that it had happened. After seeing the photos in the other room, she realized how close she had come to ending up just like Alex, and shuddered.



Clearing her throat, Raine finally spoke up after hearing the others thoughts and figuring out her own. "Of course I'll help. It's true that humanity never did much for us, but if I can help stop the red coats from hurting even one more child, then I'll do whatever you need me to do. Just tell us the plan." She clenched her fists and looked down at the ground after speaking, knowing that there would be no going back after she uttered those words. They were in it for the long haul now, and she couldn't stand down when they finally had a fighting chance.

 

[A_Prince_of_Earthsea]

Tommy inhales a deep breath. What comes next is many years in the making. He felt unsure. But he prepared for a long time for this. He lets out his breath slowly.

"That's good to hear. I'm about to give you a rundown of the third phase of my plan. I call it The Trapdoor Spider. But first, I'll need to get you guys caught up on some important details."

His eyes flash, and a map of the northeast of the united states shows up in place of IGOR's face. A dot marking a spot glows in the southeast of Texas, by the ocean.

"This is Black Site Nova Grandiosa. The facility Alex was caught in. I hadn't even known this place existed until I combed through their archives. It took months to sort out their data, which was filled with stuff we already know. But there was some interesting information hidden among the clutter. Firstly, The D.P.P or Department of Psychic Phenomenon is actually just a branch of a larger organization; The Anomalous Research Agency; A.R.A. It was founded in 1733. I don't know much about this organization. But I do know that at very least, The Anomalous Research Agency isn't just a government agency. It's privately owned, backed, and supported by an organization called the Marigold Foundation. These guys have deep pockets. Even in the A.R.A. and D.P.P. members of the Marigold Foundation go by codenames, if any information exists on them at all. No one can tell me who any of them are, what any of them look like, or what they plan to do with the discoveries from the A.R.A. I do know that they are the ones who supply the Red Coat researchers. The D.P.P. however, I've learned much about. The D.P.P. had been "Harvesting Specimens" since the 1950s. They became aware of some techniques to coax out latent psychic abilities within humans. Their preferred specimens are orphans, specifically those without any connections. If not them, they make do with what they can. They went through several cycles of collecting, researching, and harvesting. We're last batch of test subjects they gathered for something known as Project: Olympia. They have a lot of information hidden behind coded language. Whatever Olympia was, it required 'harvesting' us, to perform some kind of task. There's one thing that's clear to me: Whatever Olympia is, it's connected to WinterSun. Those to are required for them to progress with something called The Silver Key. Which, of course, is pretty ominous."

The map zooms in, closing in on a place labeled Luderock County.

"Here, outside of the Port City Puerto La Costa, is where we'll hammer into Nova Grandiosa. No doubt there will be more agents in this place. I suspect even more suspicion from them. Now that they got your pictures, it'll be a bit more difficult to hide who you are. Thankfully, The A.R.A. and D.P.P. aren't keen on working with other government agencies. Otherwise we'd probably have the police looking for us. It's not a good idea for us to tell the world about ourselves, but they can't afford to let anyone know either. That's the important part. Of course, I trust the other agencies as much as I can throw them but they'll be easier to deal with. Local Police won't suspect us going in. BUT, leaving, that might be a different story. Alex made us aware of this site. But no doubt they've doubled security. And knowing I exist out in the world has made them paranoid as well. They likely won't rely solely on digital technology. That won't be enough though."

He smirks.

"It's not just me anymore. And it might be easy enough to stop me, but you guys? I don't think so. With us, we'll be executing variation 4. We've got Valentine, which can comprehend any physical lock, digital or not. And we have Moon, who can use his telekinetic power and precision with Valentine's guidance to unlock anything. Then, me and Zara can collect any information we need. And in places requiring stealth, we have Raine."

The map zooms into a render of the actual site, surrounded by miles of fence, patrolled by guards, and dusty barren land until one single structure at the center. Made of several feet of concrete, the building looked more like a mound made by giant ants. It had no windows, and only one entrance. That entrance being 40 feet tall steel doors pressed together like metal teeth.

"Unfortunately this is the only visual I have on the site. I have information on the inside of the facility though. The site is essentially a bomb shelter that was expanded into an active facility. It's about 10 stories down, with each story being of varying size. This is basically the place they perform their more experimental tests. This A.R.A. facility is our target. We need to break in, get to their servers, and grab whatever we can about Project WinterSun. If we can get anything physical, that's even better."

He holds his hands out, "That's the basics of it. Any questions so far?"

 

[CanaryCry]

It was a lot of information at once. Moon was sure he wouldn’t be able to keep up with all the acronyms, but for now he could rely on Tommy and Zara for that. It was enough to know that the people that had hurt them, the people that were still hurting others, were the target. Even if he wasn’t as thick-headed as others sometimes believed him to be, Moon really did prefer when he had someone reliable to simply point him in the right direction and say 'go'. He looked over at the others, trying to get used to the idea of being together again but too anxious about everything that was happening to make any attempts at a proper reunion.

"I have so many questions I can’t even pick one right now," He said with an eyebrow raised, peering at the map and then the pictures of the solid stone building in turn, head practically buzzing with all the new information about people he hadn’t had to think of in years. "But I don’t think I’m gonna be able to brute force my way through that door."

Zara shook her head, looking over it all and considering each piece of intel as it was given, doing her best to leave herself open to any insight that might float her way. "If it’s a keypad, Tommy or I can get in. Harder if it’s a physical key, but I’m sure Tommy's right, and you and Valentine could tag team it." Tommy could likely hack the lock, and if she were close enough to touch whatever device inputted the code she would definitely be able to glean the right information. And if it was a physical lock, Tommy was right, Valentine would know enough of how it worked to help Moon get the job done.

"The real problem is the distance," She said with a frown, looking to Tommy to see if his plan had gotten that far yet. "How are we supposed to get from the outer layer of security all the way to the building, inside, and then back out without all of their numbers raining down on us at once?" They were an impressive force together, but even they were not that good.

After a thought, she looked back at Raine and manage a small smile that might have been genuinely amused if the stakes they were facing weren’t so dire. "Unless you’ve gotten a lot stronger since we were last together, I don’t imagine you could hide us all the whole time."

 

[Windjammer]

Valentine pondered the fence for a moment, and came to a rather unusual solution for the fence itself. He recognized the significance of the region and what it had to offer. "Rural Texas huh? Well that might just offer a way past the fence and guards." Valentine knew there was an enormus amount of open range in the area. "Rural Texas is ranch country, and that means cattle, and lots of 'em. If we can open a hole in the fence just big enough, perhaps we could get a good stampede of longhorns goin' in there to throw the guards off and buy time. At that point Raine could do their part." Valentine's proposal was unusual and he was fully aware of that. He was prepared to have it rejected, but he wanted to throw it into the ring anyway.

Valentine also had an idea of how to get the cattle there if need be. "If it comes to it, I can probly get an old semi and we could snag 'em ourselves. It would be best to use the least looked over herds in this case, as thos animals would be the most stubborn to handle, especially with guards who have zero skill in such matters." Valentine then considered another problem the guards might need to work around. "It would also be in their best interest to not kill the cattle we set loose because it might raise local suspicion against the facility." Valentine knew how rural people often operate, and was adept at befriending such personalities.