Nuclear Depths (IC)

[olopi]

This smelt like a trap. Felt like a trap. Probably was a trap. And that was why it was worth checking out. What would it be? More sewers? More reactors? More gas? Some evil organization trying to take his brains? Was it not a trap but just good luck? Was it something else entirely? It was time to find out! Why was it always graves? Why couldn’t it be a tree?

 

“This is a trap. Totally. Let’s go check it out once you’re done. But stay behind me, there might be explosions.

 

But for now, let’s search through this van, shall we? Make sure to record this stuff!”

 

And search was exactly what Cass was going to do. Maybe he’d get into some small spaces thanks to smoke powers. Maybe nothing. Maybe there was some fancy flamethrower in here. Doubtful, but that was the one thing that Bonfire could actually use!

 

Edited April 27, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

The inside of the Gas-mobile remained resolutely untidy and disorganised. 

 

In no particular order, Bonfire found:

 

Some muddy combat boots

An unsavoury magazine full of unsavoury photographs

An Iron Maiden CD

Some Cuban Cigars

A large roll of dollars

 

And

 

Some pills marked "In case of radiation, swallow immediately"

 

A radiation counter, about the size of a toaster, and rather clunky, sat in the corner of the vehicle. Unlike the rest of the dusty odds and ends, this one looked new and polished. Probably reliable, too. 

[olopi]

Yeah. This was good planning. And something Cass should have gone around to getting a few days ago. He probably would cause the counter to explode if he used it on himself. He was right next to a superheating reactor. That was probably quite a lot of radiation. He quickly notified Casey so she could do her thing, then pocketed the pills. Might come in useful at some point. Might be poisonous. Only use when really necessary. Well, he and Casey could continue searching for a while, since that seemed like what would be most useful for her. The grave would hopefully wait. It was a grave after all. Maybe it was a secret base and all they’d find was a burning husk. It probably was a good idea to go down there ASAP.

 

“We should probably check out that thing down there. If whoever built it catches wind of this, it might go up in flames. And I think there might be something interesting down there. So, anything else you really want to do here, since I don’t know when we’ll get back? Only if you feel like joining us, that is, otherwise you can take your time. “

 

Edited April 27, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

Casey Cutter waved her camera in front of Bonfires nose. "Miss out on this? I'm going for a Pulitzer, baby!" she smiled. Well, she yawned. Then smiled. 

 

Then yawned again. 

 

"I just hope that sleeping gas doesn't knock me out. Ill need a bucket of turbo strength coffee to stay awake!" she grinned. 

 

Oooof!

 

Came the sound of the Gas Man outside. It followed what sounded like a boot to a body. 

 

"Take zat, you swine!" shouted Marie as she kicked the Gas Man in the stomach again. He was fortunate to be wearing his body armour, although it did take the wind out of him. Still, at least Marie's boot was scuffed. 

 

"Hey hey! I'm just doing my Job. Man's gotta ea....oooof!" he complained. 

[olopi]

And now it was time to save the Gas Man from more humiliation. Yes, he had just tried to fight Bonfire, but he deserved some dignity. After this he’d have enough trouble to find more work. Cass did feel a bit bad about that still. So he quickly poked his head through the van’s door, making his head appear again.

 

“Hey, no kicking somebody who’s down! It’s true, he’s just doing his job.”

 

The head went back in, and three seconds later Bonfire popped up again outside of the van, having quickly slipped through the hole in all smoke mode. He walked closer to the Gas Man, making sure Marie didn’t attack him further.

 

“Look, how about we just forget about all of this? No need to fight each other. We can work together or something. “

 

Maybe now the sweet-talking would work. This guy knew stuff, and judging by his budget, he could probably be a useful ally. Knowing somebody driving a tank in van form usually paid off, probably. And if not, at least he could get some more information.

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

"Scum!" replied Marie. Her goggles flared with an frightening green glow for a moment. 

 

"[breathe deeply...count to ten....in...and out....go to my special place]" she whispered, in french, to herself, unclenching and clenching her fists. 

 

"He is still scum!" she declared, angrily, at the count of six. 

 

The Gas Man was just glad he wasn't being kicked in the gut any more. "No fighting, yeah, got ya, man. I mean, cut me some slack, huh? I don't want to get my hair singed off by some blast of super fire or something" he said, trying (rather poorly) to crack a joke. 

 

"No hard feelings huh? Help yerself to cigars, just cut me loose and let me drive away. I didn't see nuthin...."

Edited April 28, 2016 by Supercape

[olopi]

See, this was what Cass had wanted to entire time! No hard feelings. Marie was pretty annoyed, yes, but what was that about breaking a few eggs Bonfire had said just a few minutes ago? In order to find out more, this was what he’d have to do. Sure, Gas Man was obviously lying, but at least he tried to sound reasonable! It was better than nothing. Something to work with. Something to push further.

 

“I’m made of smoke, hard feelings just pass through me! Who hired you anyways? There’s a lot of people that want my head out there, but actually acting on that and trying to get it? Not everybody’s that willing to take the trouble, so, who are these people? I kind of want to send them a postcard.”

 

Hopefully Casey was recording this. She had poked her head out of the Van when Bonfire had taken an alternate route to get out, so she probably was still recording? Then again, that would make it more difficult to get the bounty hunter to talk. Ah, worth a shot either way. The worst that could come from it was …. Him being able to remotely detonate something inside the van. He was detained, so hopefully not. That van was full of military grade everything.

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

"This dude. Called himself Green. All legit, as far as I could see. Warrant to take you in for questioning. Hell, I ain't no lawyer. Anyway, this dude, sounded angry. Slammed the papers right in front of me" explained the Gas Man, giving the odd cough as an after thought to his recent suffocation. 

 

"Green! That slimy bastard!" swore Marie. "Head of security at Neutron Industries. Remember him? We should have killed him when we had the chance!" she said, grinding her teeth angrily. 

 

Casey was photographing everything, much to the Gas Man's annoyance. Marie gave her a green glowing glare, indicating that she was not up for any mugshots. 

[olopi]

As expected. Green. This would totally help the entire situation with Marie, yeah. Great, more trouble. Marie was already in a bad mood, and all of this would not make it any better. After this it was probably time to head home to the Fens, and take a day or so off. Maybe check for some jobs requiring photographers. Relax a bit. And talk to Marie. No calm her down, probably cause the exact opposite to happen really. But, this was one thing that Cass would defend no matter what.

 

“We’ve gone over this before, no killing. Still stands. “

 

Maybe it was time to talk with the Gas Man some more, before going out to check the grave. Somebody at the church had probably called the police, so somebody would come pick him up sooner or later. He didn’t want to change, so actually releasing him would be a bit of a danger.

 

“Did he say anything else? Anything interesting in those papers?”

 

He also sent a quick smoke message towards Casey while talking with the Gas Man, not completely out of sight but probably not too easy to see, since Bonfire was standing between her and the bounty hunter.

 

Finish up inside. More stuff elsewhere. Police arrive soon?

 

Cass might’ve drawn out that question mark a bit too much, but forming smoke that precisely wasn’t easy. And it helped convey the fact he wasn’t sure about it, maybe there would be no law enforcement at all.

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

"Speak for yourself" replied Marie, sharply, responding to Bonfires comment about no killing. 

 

"There are no absolutes"

 

The Gas Man looked a little wary. "Look man, it beats me. Do you think they hired me for my reading abilities? The only thing I read are maps and comics. You know, the pirate ones like Skull Cannon!" he said, hopefully. 

 

"Shut up, you moron!" shouted Marie at him, her eyes flaring again. 

 

Casey stopped photographing. "You know, honey" she said to Bonfire. "Your girlfriend may be a big green rage monster, but she has a point. This guy wasn't picked for his brains" she commented. 

 

"Big? Look whose talking?" spat Marie, hand on her considerably more svelte hip. 

 

Casey Ignored her. 

 

"Look, I have been chasing Neutron Industries the last few months. I got wind something was up at Lantern Hill. So did the Reverend. That's why I asked to meet here. We thought there was some waste dumping going on here. Perfect place, right? The dead won't complain about radiation poisoning. And I'm guessing our little meet pressed Neutron Industries panic buttons...."

[olopi]

Bonfire and Marie weren’t dating. Not that he’d mention it, but that was in fact the thing that stood out most to Cass. Marie really wasn't his type.

 

All the stuff about Neutron would probably be more interesting however. Nuclear waste dumping. Well great, this was just calling for radioactive zombies. Because that was what this entire saga needed. Zombies. And now Cass was just hoping that please, just please, the dead would not be affected by radiation. It was even more time to head there.

 

“Well, Casey, you done? Last thing I want to deal with right now are radioactive zombies.”

 

After Casey would be done, they’d just leave to go to the spot marked on the sheet of paper Bonfire had pocketed. The Gas Man could continue lying on the floor, he’d get picked up sooner or later, either by the police or by somebody trying to help him. Yes, this would just mean one more potential enemy, but he didn’t seem like one to hold too many grudges. He was in it for the money, not for personal revenge. Hopefully.  

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

"I can't stop flashing!" replied Casey, giving Bonfire a wink. She gave one more flash-photograph into Bonfire's face. 

 

"But yeah, I'm done...."

 

A few minutes later...

 

...By an abandoned grave...

 

Casey, Marie, and Bonfire found the grave in question relatively easily. It was dark, now, but Bonfire lit the way, and Marie could see perfectly well in the dark. 

 

The grave appeared to be for one Horace Wetstone d.1921. At least, according to the crumbling tombstone. On closer examination, the crumbling tombstone didn't look that old. And the grave looked freshly dug. 

 

Marie scanned the ground, and with a blast of razor sharp beams of green light, carved her way through the grave until she hit a steel structure. It looked suspiciously like a funnel, to dump things in. It was wide and stout, and had a ladder going down to blackest blackness. 

 

"Halt! What are you doing? Disturbing the sacred rest of the dead!" came an angry voice. Reverend West, out of breath, was stomping towards them, leaning heavily on his cane. 

[olopi]

Yeah, this had to be expected. A Reverend would not just quietly accept this. Hopefully there was a way to turn this around. There had to be something Bonfire could do. Certainly Casey also would be able to convince the Rev that something foul was going on here.

 

So Bonfire quickly turned around, speaking softly. Last thing he needed to do is annoy an old man.

 

“Looks like Neutron’s been doing so for a while. There’s a funnel here, and I don’t think I want to know what’s down there. I really don’t want the dead to decide to become restless due to radiation.”

 

Hopefully this would ... well, not calm the rev, but turn his anger towards somebody else. A common enemy. And maybe he knew something about it. This was his turf, so to say. Maybe he’d noticed something and just kept quiet? Worst case he was in on the entire thing, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person to act like that.

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Hmph. Well..." grumbled the Reverend. It appeared he was displeased. Displeased with himself. And out of breath, too. The man was elderly, and in all likelihood infirm. 

 

"...it does seem as if there is no dead to be disturbed. And you do seem like a good Christian soul" said the Reverend. There was almost the faintest whiff of an apology there. 

 

"Perhaps it is better that you do unravel this. It seems that you might be protecting the dead from defilement rather than instigating it" he conceded. 

 

He handed Bonfire his flashlight. It was an antique, but just serviceable. And it was a kindly gesture. 

 

"I'll be in my church. Saying a prayer for you. My God be with you, my son!" he said, crossing himself before pottering off. 

 

[olopi]

“Sir, I think we might need any help we can get, so God’s certainly is appreciated.”

 

Cass wasn’t really religious, but having somebody pray for his cause did lift his spirits, that was for sure. Would it actually do anything? Who knew. But it certainly made him feel more confident. Anything to help with going down into a deep, pitch dark hole. The sewers were one thing, but there usually was some light down there. Even though light-bulbs were broken quite regularily. Probably sewer workers avoiding places due to rats. And hopefully not soon also zombies…

 

“Hey Casey, you take the flashlight, I can’t really carry it!”

 

And then it was time to head down there. Bonfire first, he could just float and did not have to worry about slipping, or anything really. Apart from the dark, which hopefully the ladies behind him would deal with, one way or another. So it was just time to prepare for whatever was lingering down in the funnel, be it nuclear waste, more rats, a person, or actual zombies.

 

Please no zombies. Please no zombies. Please no zombies.

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

Once again, Bonfire nostrils were assailed by a most unpleasant smell. It was on the same menu as the sewers, but it was a different dish with a different flavour. Like rotting flesh. 

 

Ping went the counter on Marie's arm, indicating radiation. 

 

"Nothing harmful...well, nothing too harmful...." she explained. 

 

"Easy for you to say on with your NBC suit on" complained Casey referring to the armoured suit that Marie had repossessed from Neutron Industries with Bonfire. Casey strode on bravely nevertheless, the torchlight sweeping an arc. 

 

It seemed they had hit some primitive and ancient sewer system, albeit bolstered by modern concrete and steel. Probably connected, somehow, to the sewers of Freedom City proper. 

 

A faint groan could be heard down the tunnels. A faint green light...

[olopi]

Why, oh why. Why did this have to happen. Why couldn’t it have been anything else. Anything. Literally anything. It had to be nuclear zombies. Maybe it wasn’t zombies, there was still some hope. It just groaned, and was nuclear. Maybe it was …. A machine! A bird! Somebody technically not dead! Anything.

 

Bonfire quickly stopped, signalling both his allies to do so too. He whispered, making sure the others could hear, but nothing more.

 

“I need you to shine some light onto whatever’s making that noise. And probably get ready for combat. I don’t know what it is, but I’d prefer less radiated … things scrambling around below a graveyard. “

 

And so all three of them slowly advanced, Bonfire ready to start combat at any point. Hopefully this was still salvageable, and not some mindless thing.

 

Fate, I’ll give you one last chance not to disappoint me.

 

Edited April 28, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

Around the corner shuffled...

 

...three radioactive zombies!

 

Their flesh hung in strips from bones that cracked with green light. They had a phosphorus glow to them, pale and unearthly. They were not fast, but neither were they slow. 

 

Casey gasped. 

 

Ping went Marie's counter. 

 

Ping ping ping!

 

She slapped her counter angrily and retorted with a blast of green light from her eyes, screeching and furious, that could have melted steel. 

 

The three dead men just glowed more brightly in its wake, as earth and steel smouldered behind them. 

[olopi]

Why, oh why. Fate truly was cruel sometimes. Of all the things this radiation could have reached, it had to be corpses. It had to be zombies. It couldn’t be more rats, a crocodile, anything really. It had to just really, really be zombies.

 

Oh the other hand, living to tell the tale would mean that now Neutron was in even more trouble. Rats were one thing, but dumping nuclear waste into a graveyard? And causing zombies to happen? That was a lot higher up the scale of evil.

 

But for now Cass and his allies actually had to survive. The zombies didn’t look like they were too much of a threat, but they were nuclear, so that didn’t have to mean a lot. Hopefully they didn’t have Marie powers.

 

It was time to take out as many as possible at once. Smoke formed in the air surrounding the zombies, before bursting inwards, hopefully slowing them down at the very least.

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Stop them! Stop them!" said Marie, panicking and gripping Bonfire (or trying to). She was not used to something shrugging off her powerful eye beams. 

 

"That would be swell" said a calmer (but still concerned) Casey, who backed away but kept her torchlight squarely focussed on the three horrible creatures. 

 

Fire swept away two of the corpses, who had a long overdue cremation. The third stumbled forward, singed, but out of the fire by luck rather than judgement. 

 

Her (at least, it looked vaguely like a her. It was hard to tell with the rotting flesh) eyes burned green, and a blast of green energy, much like Maries, smacked Bonfire in the chest. 

[olopi]

Cass just had to jinx it, didn’t he? Of course they had Marie powers! Because why not. Because all that was needed now was radioactive zombies with the ability to destroy steel roaming around. This was bad. This was really bad. If anyone were to get down here they’d be in a lot of trouble. As it turned out the smoke surrounding Bonfire was radiation proof. Or, at least, the damage didn’t get through. The radiation itself probably would. It was time to take out this zombie-lady. The other two zombies had shown her how to do it, she just had to follow their leads. And hopefully be the last one of all of them. If there were many more of these Cass would have to call in back-up. But who could’ve been that Back-up? There wasn’t really anybody Bonfire could quickly get to join in. Something to change after all of this was over.

 

Same thing as before. Smoke. Lots of smoke, surrounding zombie-lady, and bursting inwards. Maybe she’d go down now, maybe it would need another round after this. The smoke formed, tightly around her and spreading out from there, going behind and around her with the excess smoke. Maybe all it needed was more heat.

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

With another roar of fiery flame, a pile of ash was formed from the decaying remains of the corpse. 

 

"Another one bites the dust. Thank God" sighed Casey. 

 

"See? See? As if killing people wasn't enough, they are reanimating them too!" declared a scared and furious Marie. "I swear by all the Gods of the periodic table, they will pay for their arrogance!" she shouted, smacking her hand into her palm and flaring her eyes. 

 

The three piles of ash glowed slightly but made no other movement. 

 

Ping ping! went Maries geiger counter. 

 

"We must be close, the radiation levels are getting higher. Not, err...too high" she added, again clasping at Bonfire (without success). "Just, erm, you know, un petit high!" she squirmed. 

 

With that, she cautiously went on ahead. 

 

Casey brought out her camera. "I'd keep those pills handy" she sighed to Bonfire. "And I hope you are in a sharing mood...."

 

 

[olopi]

Okay, the zombies weren’t too much of a threat. For now. But if they had even more numbers? That could get bad. Ten of these? Twenty? Even more? The entire graveyard? That would be dangerous! At that point it’d be run, and call for some more firepower. There had to be somebody on Bonfire’s contacts list that could call in some power.

 

“Okay, if we see too many of these, we run. No need to fight a much bigger force, we can call in some more fire-power for that. I’ll turn us invisible, so it’s only noises that’ll reveal us. Be careful.”

 

Then, a quick burst of smoke around Bonfire and his allies, and invisibility. Now it would take something that wasn’t vision to find them. Whatever would be coming up when continuing forwards might not see them coming now. Maybe it would see them quickly afterwards, but even one second of lead to run away could safe lifes here.

 

And for now, it was time to carefully move onwards, everybody moving slowly. Cass was ready to either fight, or turn tail and run, at a moment’s notice. It would probably be necessary. And maybe it’d just be nuclear waste and all of this was just being afraid of nothing. Then again, nuclear zombies…

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

Just a few moments later....

 

The dumping ground appeared. 

 

It was slimy, dank, dark, and the smell was awful. A worrisome rate of Pings accompanied it. 

 

The dumping ground was rather like a cess pool, a concrete chamber lines with peeling (and inadequate) lead, and a central pit of think green glowing ooze. 

 

"Uranium-7!" said Marie, helpfully. And angrily. 

 

Casey snapped and snapped from every angle. 

 

The concrete chamber had some rather rusty but (just) functional equipment here. A few basic computers, basic lights, sensors. Machines that went "beep", and a clip-board that seemed to have been left in a hurry and had barely legible numbers written all over it. 

 

Every now and again, like old faithful, the pit frothed to the tune of Ping! and a blast of heat.

[olopi]

Inside Cass’s head the bells of victory rung. No zombies. For now, maybe there were some hiding. But no zombies at the core of it all meant good things.

 

This place looked … well, as one would expect an illegal nuclear waste dump to look. Maybe this place had been abandoned? All these numbers, all of these computers. They suggested this place was left quickly, and maybe Neutron didn’t bother coming back for it yet. Maybe they would now. Maybe all of this was some elaborate trap.

 

Well, they had found the source of this all. Question was, what would they do with it?

 

“Okay, here we are. The source of zombies, radiation, and possibly soon a Pulitzer. So, what do we do with this place? Go through the notes and report it to the state? Anything useful we could get from this? And why was it abandoned anyways? Be careful, everyone. I don’t feel properly safe just yet…”

 

It was a feeling. A hunch really. Something suggesting that this wasn’t over yet. There probably was something more to all of this. It once again felt like a lot of coincidences. So Cass really just stood and watched from a distance. He’d gotten radiated enough already, no reason to risk more. Treatment was already far too expensive.

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by olopi