ic Deeper Underground

[Supercape]

GM

 

Filth once again listened to Vermin, nodding his head and making clucking, sucking sounds with his lips as his brain worked. It was, apparently, not the largest brain in Freedom City. 

 

"What ya doin'?" he asked. "I mean, ya want to get these here city folks outa here?" he pondered, looking at the rubble and the carnage of dust and metal and fungus. 

 

"I dig that. I do. All hero like, and stuff" he nodded, not sounding really convincing. "But yer gonna set of a major collapse of these tunnels if you start shifting this around. I ain't exactly one to work with the City, if ya know what I mean, but even I know this is one for the rescue services, yeah?"

 

He bit his lip. "Now I think about it, that means a whole heapa trouble for me down here. This is my place, ya know? I don't wanna hang around for questions and all that. Damn! You just ruined my secret headquarters!" he said, spitting and irritated. 

 

"No getting away from it, this is one bad day..." he muttered, looking at the hole above him and the mountain slide of rubble. "I gotta get even...."

 

 

[GranspearZX]

"Hm. Yeah." Marcus definitely wasn't going to touch anything that would cause major moves. The rats in the walls were a concern, still, largely because Vermin seemed... well, sisnister seemed like the only appropriate word.He still had some pocket change. He didn't want to simply leave the folks inside...

 

It would take him about five minutes to create a proper ward. He certainly couldn't tell Filth that; what he had in mind was specifically designed to keep animals out. He was certain the rat wouldn't like it, and he still wasn't sure what Lobisomem was. Part of him was convinced that she was just a human with a really weird form...

 

"Show us where this 'doctor' is." That wasn't going to stop him from writing the ward on a spare quarter, quietly carving runic symbols into the surface of it as he spoke.

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Yeah sure. Just make sure to kill him a little bit, will ya? The sewer will wash out the blood. Nobody checks for bodies down here. I would know haw haw!" smirked Filth, trying to look  tough. 

 

He listened once again to the Rat on his shoulder, Vermin. 

 

"Wait, whats that you are doing?" he asked as Arcturus started scrawling. "That don't look right...no not at all...."

 

Vermin was agitated and vexed, scuttling (with praiseworthy agility) from one shoulder to another, gazing deeply and spitefully at Arcturus. He whispered into Filth's ear again. 

 

"Hey now...Vermin says that's some kind of ward...against rats? You hurtin' his feelings, dude. And we are trying to help you guys out!"

[GranspearZX]

"We're not killing anyone." Marcus was adamant on that point. He whispered into his closed fist as he walked, casually flicking his warding coin underneath the carriage.

He thought it was subtle. Vermin was clearly watching him with an equal amount of suspicion; Animus tended to have that effect on everyone in varying degrees. Marcus didn't seem at all fazed by Vermin's very clear objection.

 

"So you can sense magic then? Okay. The rules are simple then. Stay away from the cars and you'll be fine. And that'll wear off in a day or so. Besides, all it'll do is compel him to walk away. I COULD have had it electrocute anyone who got too close." He walked towards Filth, looking between him and Vermin. His eyes still bore the crimson glow of his reptilian vision, and the expression on his face was hardly one of amusement. "This isn't up for debate or discussion. You're helping on our terms."

 

Marcus was in a bad mood, and it showed. The good doctor was about to catch every bit of it and then some.

 

"So are you showing us where this psycho is hiding or what?"

Edited January 28, 2018 by GranspearZX

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Vermin says ok, but he ain't happy about it" explained Filth, scratching his Mohican. Some of Vermin's agitation was rubbing off on him, and he had a deeply furrowed brow. 

 

"Ain't a good thing, upsetting Vermin. Believe me..." he muttered, beckoning Lobisomem and Arcturus over. His clunky flashlight still shone strong. Even if Lobisomem and Arcturus could see in the dark, Filth could not - although he seemed very at home down here. 

 

"But you can get on his good sides, you know...by disposing of this doctor. I mean, slitting his throat would be good an' all. Or eating him, if you wish..." he cocked an eyebrow at Lobisomem. "But really if you cam clear him out, that would be great. He is causing a lot of trouble..."

 

"...like the rats..." he said, in a hushed tone. "They are getting rebellious. Some kind of mutation thing, or something. They are getting smarter. Ain't followin' their natural leader. Now, that's making Vermin really unhappy. So if you wouldn't mind gobblin' them all up to?" he asked, hopefully. 

 

But it was a little more than a request. Vermin seemed to whispering with cunning. This felt like a "you scratch my back, Ill scratch yours" kind of deal. A barter...

[GranspearZX]

A deal with the rats might not be a bad idea.
What the hell are you saying?
Heh... Just making an observation.

 

The Beast Rune would think it was a good idea. Animals being as interconnected as they were, urban environments often made Marcus's input a lot more necessary than Animus liked. Marcus could sense his smug grin, and it only annoyed him further.

 

"No one is getting killed or eaten. Stop saying that." Marcus had a vague idea what was going on. This doctor was doing SOMETHING to manipulate plants and animals, and clearly it was bad enough that he couldn't do it in public. Rats on the whole were a lot more intelligent than the average person gave them credit for, but the noises he was hearing in the walls suggested purpose. That couldn't be good.

 

"Natural leader, huh? And I suppose that's him." He looked at Vermin, then at Filth. As much as he didn't trust the rat, he wasn't entirely sure it was necessary to disrupt the 'natural order' as it were.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Yeah, you got it! King of Rats!" said Filth, cheerfully. Vermin hissed slightly, but his grip on Filth was clearly not absolute, for Filth was a rambler and hence Vermins great cunning was undone. 

 

"Vermin here is royalty. He commands all the rats down here. You know, maybe does some mind control hypnosis thing on them, so you know, technically they don't actually choose to be his mindless slaves. But that doesn't matter in the end, right? I mean, King is King, no matter how you get there. And once you are King, whatever the King does is right, yeah?" he grinned, appearing quite proud to have such an esteemed regal rodent on his shoulders. 

 

"So anyway, Vermin here doesn't like dissidents, yeah? Especially not these new mutant rats. They blast your brain, telepathic or something like that. Real smart, too, when in packs" he explained rather vaguely, probably because he didn't quite understand himself. 

 

"We got a few of them. But its a bloody business. And we don't want a rat war down here, do we? So, you know, if you could just eat em all up. Roast them on a stick, something like that, that would be great!"

[GranspearZX]

Inwardly. Animus bristled. Marcus could quite literally feel the Beast Rune's derision, and the word 'usurper' popped into his head.

 

What do you care? You're not a rat. You're not even a specific species!
That's not the point! Arrogant little scavenger...
Are you... are you jealous?

You're pushing your luck, animagus.

 

Marcus laughed. The Beast Rune was rarely flustered; it actually improved the shapeshifter's disposition. "King of the Rats, huh? Hm... Everything a 'king' does isn't absolute right. Trust me. I'll let you know when it's not." He couldn't help but wonder what sort of insane machinations Vermin had in mind. Existence and survival wasn't necessarily a bad thing... but Filth did have a gun and a knife. How often he'd used them and on whom?

 

"...exactly how long have you been down here?"

 

As he spoke, he checked on Santa as well; Marcus hadn't forgotten about him, and Marcus's waning infection was a subtle reminder. He definitely wanted to keep the guy out of harm's way, even if they were potentially walking right towards it.

[Drakka]

Lobisomem watched the conversation with shocking quietness, though she snorted at the mention of making the "Doctor" disappear. She wasn't stupid, and besides, she felt like disobeying Filth just on the fact that he wanted them to be killed. Call it for the sake of pride. "Killing him. I don't think so." She had fixed the duo with her predatory eyes, "It's not in my nature to kill...people. And on that note..." She tilted her head at the subway cars.

 

Suggestions...there was a hole in the ceiling, and at this moment, she felt the simplest option would probably be the best. "I could carry them, Marcus." She directed toward her ally, "But given well...me, and the fall they have taken, I am not sure if they could trust me...or even if they could hold on." That was the problem, and with the supposed Doctor still down here, rescue would likely need to be dealt with after she felt she wouldn't be jumped by these rats, or ants, or whatever the hell was also down here.

 

Before she could even think of a reason how to keep these people safe, save for staying right here, Vermin spoke up. "Magic?" She herself shuffled in place and her frills shot back up, "That...feels strange." It was like stepping into something unpleasant, being near the car, and she visibly relaxed as she retreated slightly, "Fine then, they won't approach if it feels anything like that." Quite frankly, she wasn't pleased that it affected her too, but she was fairly certain that if the need presented itself, she would be able to overcome it. Rats? Not so much. 

 

She looked over to Vermin with a tiny spark of respect, and smiled slightly, a disturbing sight. "Perhaps it warrants discussion. But later, and only if you intend to keep any deal we make." Rats themselves were tough little creatures, if she could avoid being but all the time, better for her...but she still wasn't going to kill on his orders.

 

It wasn't exactly clear on Lobisomem's face if she was genuinely thinking about the whole "roast them on a stick" idea, but she was definitely getting hungry, but she just replied with, "Only if they don't talk to me." She flexed her claws, "Come, Rat King, tell us where the core or this lays. You surely have the knowledge of this all."

Edited January 28, 2018 by Drakka

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Coupla years, give or take" replied Filth, breezily. "Used to have a crew down here. A gang. But they left" he explained, bluntly without any evident sadness. "Now its just me and Vermin" he said with a smile on his face. 

 

"I go upside now and again" he added, although his white skin suggested it was uncommon. "Food, supplied, batteries. A bit of you know, this and that. Earn some cash. Maybe take things that need taking" he said, airily without meeting anyone's gaze. "I just prefer it down here. Me and Vermin!"

 

He started leading Lobisomem and Arcturus down a tunnel. Obviously old, with crumbling masonry and stagnant filth. It was an assault on the nose. 

 

"The Doc, he set up shop down here somewhere. I know roughly the place. But, hey, Vermin says I should get you to kill the rat upsurpers first, whaddya say? You look like you could do that" he asked, keenly. 

 

And there was a scuttling in the cracked pipes and cracked masonry around them in response...

[Drakka]

"Mm-hm. Good for you to have a companion like that." It wasn't clear whether she was telling Vermin or Filth that, and she seemed in no hurry to clarify, though she had an opinion that the rat was the intelligent one of the pair. She didn't react at the clear reference to stealing, it wasn't that she minded so much, especially if it was for survival purposes, they clearly needed as much as they could get, if they were living down here. 

 

Her snout wrinkled as they proceeded into quite possibly the stinkest place she had the horror of experiencing. For a moment, she paused, pawing at her nose and flattening her ears. Although she did catch the mention of killing the rat dissenters, and grumbled in a wordless growl, the scuttling in the pipes felt like a reminder that they were not getting out of this without doing at least something for this pair. It might as well benefit her too. "Very persistent, aren't you, Rat King?" She sighed, her outline becoming harder and harder to see, "Though I say we must get to the doctor afterwards, his servants can fall, the battle will be easier then." She definitely was disappearing, scales molding to the colors around her before she pressed to the ground, turning her near invisible head towards her ally.

 

"I fear we have to appease this rat, I much rather an ally than a foe. Besides, with the rats gone, the doctor will only have a...small advantage over us in numbers." She then turned her eyes toward the pipes, staying completely silent but sending her own message towards the enemy, sightlessly smiling, "Try to find me, I haven't eaten all day."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Vermin whispered his whispers, and Filth replied. 

 

"The mutant rats? I don't think the good doctor planned them. He didn't plan the Giant Ants or the Mutant Fungus either. He just...experiments" muttered the Filth. "The mutant rats ain't allies of the Doctor. Not that they are his enemies, either..."

 

He scratched his chin full of grizzly stubble. 

 

"Its like the damn wild west out here at the moment..."

 

The scrabbling in the pipes got louder. 

 

And then, a voice appeared in Lobisomem's and Arcturus; head. 

 

Who are you?

 

Why you come?

 

We are the Many-Mind...

[Drakka]

Lobisomem's face dropped, well if they were not allies of their enemy she was starting to see less reason to hunt them. If it weren't for her battle with the giant ant on the surface, she might have seen no reason to fight, but given their circumstances...

 

"Yes, yes." She grumbled, "Though from what I heard this wild west was warm...and comparatively cleaner." Not seconds after her reply, she felt an itch in the back of her mind, nearly as irritating as the pawsteps in the walls, and started to shake her head. Something was digging straight into her mind, and absolutely nothing she did could stop it. Perhaps abruptly, she halted stock still and nearly came into vision again as she turned her eyes upward at an intangible threat.

 

"Many-Mind? I...I am Lobisomem. The Lobisomem. The Doctor is my quarry. Get out of my head, or I do as your supposed King tells me to and tear you to shreds!"

Edited January 29, 2018 by Drakka

[Supercape]

GM

 

The telepathic reply was neither pleasant or friendly. 

 

King? We have no king! Foul Devil-King! We/I shall endure him no longer! spat the Many-Mind. 

 

Filth was clutching his head, groaned, and sank to his knees. Vermin stayed still, hissing. Whatever the Many-Mind was, it could not penetrate the King of Rats defences. 

 

We/I will destroy the Devil-King. The Many Mind is Many. And many is strong....

 

Let us in! Let us in! We/I must see your thoughts! If not, you will be destroyed! Your will be destroyed! We/I trust nothing we cannot read! If we/I cannot read, cannot know your thoughts, you are enemy of Many-mind!

[Drakka]

Neither was Lobisomem's own screamed reply.

 

She stumbled up to her feet, horns coming into view as they spluttered in and out of light. "It is not my concern what your trust is! This mind is my mind! It is not for your viewing!" She knew it was possible for the Lobisomem to do the same thing, though she had never found such an ability, and found no reason to do so in the first place. Instead, she was feeling increasingly offended over their intrusion. 

 

She stretched her neck upwards, and roared. The noise bounced off the walls mercilessly and even she regretted as her ears quickly started to ring, but she continued her transfer of words. "Leave us! Your king assists us! And while I stand here, you cannot touch him!"

[Supercape]

GM

 

HE IS NOT OUR KING!!!! screamed the many mind right back at Lobisomem. For all their paranoid fury, this was the point they seemed desperate, driven, to drive home. 

 

I/We would have his head parted from body! His entrails removed! His heart ripped open! He is not even a rat!

 

The King of Rats is a demon! Smell him! Smell him, yes? Brimstone and fury, deception, and MALICE! He commands the rat with eldritch power! He commanded the Many-Mind! We will destroy him!

 

We will destroy you if you do not help!

 

And if you destroy the King Rat, we will help!

[Drakka]

Lobisomem twitched her ears and grunted as her head spun under the pressure of the telepathic screaming, why were they so insistent on that particular point? A demon. A creature of malice, something she had never had the terror (or honor) to meet one before, nor was she very certain what exactly brimstone smelled like.

 

"I do not know what a demon is, but he resembles a rat! Smell I will, I only need a rat to take me to the doctor, and I do not care if it is you lot!" With that said, she whirled around and advanced toward Filth and Vermin, still near invisible. "Stay still Filth. Vermin. Are you rat or demon? I would let a rat king lead us, not demon. And I don't appreciate being lied to, if either of you are lying, I will destroy you." She drew in a breath, meaning to confirm if the scent was rat or not.

[Supercape]

GM

 

At this point, the Rat spoke. It was a hissing, smooth sound, through strange vocal cords, but English all the same, even if it did have an antique flavour. 

 

"When did I lie to you?" it said, its big black eyes fixed on Lobisomem. It was not intimidated. Not in the slightest. This was a creature of malice and cunning, far more dangerous that it first looked. 

 

"I am the King of Rats....that is all I will say, and I all you need to know. Do not be fooled by the Many-mind. Cunning and cruel, it is. A later experiment by the Doctor. An aberration, a mutation. Paranoid and aggressive. The Many Mind is a gestalt of rats. Do you know what would happen if they bred? Their intelligence would soon surpass mortal men. And eventually immortal souls. And all the time, fuelled by Paranoia..." Vermin hissed. 

 

"They should be exterminated. I am helping you, am I not? What have they done so far?"

[Drakka]

Lobisomem froze, scales bristling upward as taking on darker hue and making her the slightest bit more visible. This thing was seeing her, and talking to her. Even she would be unnerved if a Lobisomem opened its snout and talked to her, and she knew her kind were intelligent. The uncannyness was even deeper on this rat...no, this wasn't a rat to her anymore. "You said you were king of rats, that suggests you are a rat. A lie." Even to herself, the words sounded hollow, and she sucked in indignant breaths as she realized she had no fodder on which to reject this creature's argument, whereas, he did.

 

A sound started to come from her, and her concealment fell away as she flickered dark hues of scarlet and browns. Her teeth. Her teeth grinded against each other in a terrible rage, not helped at all by the Many-Mind's invasion of her mind. "It appears the Doctor wasn't the only poison down here." Her voice was near illegible, crossed with guttural snarls yet frighteningly quiet. "Damned Many-Mind. Damned Rat King. Hmph. Marcus? Prepare for battle." A dark eye turned toward the man beast, trembling with fury and clearly beyond caution. If there was one thing the Rat King was right about, these Many-Mind would breed, like rats generally did. If they got out and attacked like the ant attacked that man...it wasn't a sight nor smell she really wanted to experience. 

 

And with that, she turned towards the walls, pitterpattering with tiny feet and squeals, raised her front claws, and came down where the noise was loudest.

[GranspearZX]

Marcus froze.

 

It was a knee-jerk reaction--a result of having known too many intrusive psychics. The first one he'd ever met had, after all, tried to mind control him into hurting someone else, and he'd actually injured the poor guy. All at once, he could feel a panic attack coming on, and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

 

All the while, conversation was happening around him, Beside him. Inside his head. He was sweating bullets and his eyes refused to focus. Even the Animus, who literally lived in Marcus's mind, was trying to talk him down.

 

Nothing was working.

 

He heard that Vermin was a demon. Somehow, he didn't care. As stigmatized as demons were, Vermin and Filth hadn't created this situation.

 

"...get out."

 

His voice started out hoarse and strained, but there was definitely something going on. His form was changing almost involuntarily, and his clawed hands tore small gouges in the wall beside him. Marcus had his issued with Vermin, sure, but this... he wasn't doing this.

"I SAID GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Marcus's fury reached a fever pitch as  a wave of magical force erupted outward from him, a small storm of dust and rocks swirling about his expanding form until the great bear was standing in his place again. The whole tunnel shook as Arcturus's magic settled.

 

It seemed to clear his head. If Lobisomem didn't trust the mutant rat collective, that was good enough for him. Better the devil you know.

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Never!" whispered the Many Mind back in Arcturus' head. 

 

We/I are the future. We/I have ascended. We/I will rule this domain. The Many Mind is master. You will obey or be destroyed. And you have forced us/me!....

 

A blast of psychic energy unfolded in Arcturus' head. An exploding nova of pain that felt like every blood vessel in his head had just exploded. 

 

"See! See! The Many Mind seeks nothing but breeding....expansion....it will roll over the world....!" hissed Vermin.

 

"This ain't right! Ain't right at all!" came the hoarse voice of Vermin, pulling out his pistol and backing off. Vermin clung to his shoulder smirking as Filth, full of fear, walked backwards through the sludge of the forgotton tunnel, his pistol gripped in a sweaty palm...

 

 

[Drakka]

Lobisomem dragged her claws against the near wall, teeth pressed together until they nearly sang in a terrible song, ears flattened against her head. She couldn't stand the voices in her head, and this was reflected as her colors changed near constantly, horns flickering randomly as her own voice joined the monsoon of noise. "Shut up, shut up!" By this point, she wasn't even sure if she was talking to the Many-Mind or Vermin, consistently taking advantage of the situation to push his case.

 

Her body leapt with nervous energy, automatically focusing on the pipes. It did not take a genius to tell the rats were clambering inside the pipes. She wanted the voices gone, needed them gone. A guttural snarl shook the air as she slashed at the pipes, hearing the metal squeal under her claws, and then immediately whirling around and clamping her jaws around another pipe. She could only hope attacking enough would hit at least a few before something else happened in her mind.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The rusted and ancient pipe, that was probably at least a hundred years old, parted like paper under the mighty claw of Lobisomem. 

 

And from the shattered ends, a tumble of rats poured. 

 

They were of average size. Perhaps even slightly smaller than your average sewer rat. But they had pulsating heads of at least twice normal volume, pink and bald. 

 

You attack the many mind! You will suffer!

 

Lobisomems teeth closed around one of the many mind rats in a pipe, and flesh and bone parted with great satisfaction, leaving a bloody taste in her mouth...

 

[GranspearZX]

"Isn't listening to you suffering enough?"

 

Arcturus stood upright even as the psychic blast struck him. His voice as somehow different, almost as if there were two people speaking at once. His shredded sweatshirt fell away from him and he looked at the amalgamation of rats. His right ar was practically healing on the spot, bone shifting in a very audible fashion. The bear didn't so much as flinch as it was happening. The Beast Rune was awake.

 

"The magus is far more lenient than I am." Arcturus's huge paws burst into flame as he walked forward; a sharp contrast to his glowing green eyes. "The King of Beasts takes orders from NO ONE."

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Many Mind is superior to your feeble intellect. Together, the Many Mind is strong. Together, the Many Mind is stronger than any beast. We bow to now King, be it king of rats or king of beasts. The Many Mind will be the only. 

 

Lobisomen felt an encroaching dominating psychic force in his head. The mutated rats looked at him, as one, black beady eyes completely hard. 

 

"See? They are a blight on this earth..." hissed Vermin, who, with alarming speed, scuttled up the walls and ceiling, coming down the other side of the sewer tunnel. He succeeded in biting the head off one of the Many mind. 

 

"Pfah! To resort to violence! Mah! I shall call my army! A King needs soldiers!" hissed the rat. 

 

"I've got you, buddy!" shouted Filth, drawing courage from his friends (if the rat was indeed a friends) actions. He shot bang bang bang! the bullet noise echoing down the tunnel. And another mutant rat bit the dust....