A Sinister Legacy—[Part 5] Take Notes

[astonishing_xmods]

WHO: The sick and the recovery team
WHAT: Research theft and retrieval of the ill
WHERE: Sinister’s old mansion, outskirts of London
WHEN: Late afternoon
WARNING(S): Violence and sickness

The estate was built away from the city proper and not quite on the river, but a bit back from the water, discretely screened by well-tended trees and away from the prying eyes of tourists. The canal that led to it was maintained enough to look picturesque, but not entirely functional; it’s barely wide enough for the boat to fit—one way only—and shallow enough that the bottom occasionally scraped up alarmingly against the boat’s hull.

Some stubborn bursts of the propeller got them through, though the way back out might be more challenging.

Behind a bend they found one of the service tunnels, disused for some time but at least not collapsed. Once it was used for coal and other cargo delivered by water—including the kind that came in living mutant varieties. Nowadays it was kept securely chained and padlocked to keep out tourists and teenagers.

A snikt put an end to that.

The trip through the tunnel was uneventful, short, but dark; it was flashlights only here, all the way up the stairs that led to the mansion’s interior, the door to which Logan also handily opened. The mansion itself had…seen better days. Much better days. It’s terribly dusty, with a large amount of furniture removed and covers thrown over the rest, blank spaces on the walls where paintings were removed for storage elsewhere, along with a number of books. Some remained, as covered in dust as the rest of the furnishings.

Logan pulled off the sheet covering one of the remaining couches, sending a small cloud of dust into the air. He swatted at it with the same irritation as a man chasing away a swarm of flies, which at least made Kurt laugh. His condition had worsened significantly after the escape, and he was grateful for the chance to sit again.

It was Logan who spoke.

"Find the lab or find a place to rest; we don’t have time for sightseeing."

((OOC: The mod account will comment every so often if important details are discovered; otherwise feel free to assume the layout of the mansion on your own.))

Comments

[diabhal_beag]

How did they... ... We'll have to make do. [And Carlyn just... Tries to pull the bookshelf right down, after making sure Krista's not in the way.]

[astonishing_xmods]

[It takes a moment—but the mismatched shelf catches on some inner mechanism, and the whole bookshelf swings out like a door-

-to reveal a brick wall. Half of one, really; started hastily from the floor upwards, with increasingly shoddy and rushed work holding them together until the wall ended, not even covering half of the doorway beyond. The mortar was even crumbling in places. Both of them could fit through it.

Beyond it was what looked like another servant’s corridor, but the paneling was nicer than what lined the previous hallways—and there were stairs, leading down. There was even less dust here.]

[diabhal_beag]

... Well, here goes. An incomplete wall - so whoever was boarding this up was in a hurry, badly enough that they failed to finish the job. [And in she goes.]

[astonishing_xmods]

[The hallway turns a corner, leading to more stairs going up--and down.

The dust is almost entirely trodden away on the steps leading down, cobwebs newly torn.

From upstairs, someone shouts, "Up here! There's something up here!".]

[diabhal_beag]

[Damn. Things upstairs, things down here, and the others showing up just a little too early... So, she shouts:] Found a probable lead down here, too! Library, fake-wall bookcase!

[endurancepoint]

Coming down!

[From upstairs comes the sound of pounding feet. Alex isn't making any attempt at being quiet. The time for subtly is over.]

Bit of a dead end up there. Probably just the formal office.

[diabhal_beag]

Then this way has to lead to the lab! Let's go!

[astonishing_xmods]

[The stairs turn down—and down and down, to a heavy oak door at the base.

Despite that, there are sounds of movement behind it.]

[endurancepoint]

[Of course. Sublevels. There's always sublevels. He should have remembered that.]

Does it seem like we've gone lower than the level we entered on to you, too?

[He keeps his voice low, not sure if they people outside have had enough time to breach the building or not, or if there are just more quarantine escapees on the other side of the door.]

[diabhal_beag]

We're definitely down low. Time to open the door. Be ready to run.

[And... Carlyn does just that.]

[nasty_surprises]

[The interior of the lab is full of antique alembics, crucibles, looming cast-iron machines, pipes, and tubes that seemed better suited to a museum than a laboratory.

Littered on the floor and desks and benches was more dust—and notes. Research notes? Recipes for cookies? They’re written in cipher, making it difficult to tell.

Of more immediate notice is precisely why the lab is lit in the first place.]

Don't you know how to knock?

[One of the men already occupying the lab spun and pointed a flashlight right at them, a sheaf of notes in his other hand. The other...person? seemed to be composed of a tarlike substance, with arms too long for his body.]

[endurancepoint]

[Oh, Alex is always ready to run. But what's on the other side of the door isn't really the running sort of situation. At least, not yet.]

Knock? Why would I do that when there ain't supposed to be anyone here?

[He strolls into the room as casually as he can, hands half tucked into his pockets. Let them see a slovenly London teen who broke into a seemingly abandoned house for kicks. He drops his aitches and scours his brain for slang he hasn't used in over a year. Keep the attention off Carlyn and those bat wings on her head. Pretend he doesn't see the tar-guy, even though he keeps his focus on tar-guy as much as he can without looking directly at him. Alex talks to the guy with the flashlight instead.]

Look bruv, we don't want no trouble, yeah? We didn't know someone was already casing the place.

[Four people in the same room. So many probabilities. So many things to go wrong.]

[diabhal_beag]

[That second person's the one that worries Carlyn - enough that the wings along her head pop out. No time to try and bluff her way the normal way, so instead, she focuses a bit, her wings 'broadcasting' a calm, charming influence on anyone who could see them. Hopefully that'd be enough.]

[nasty_surprises]

[Carlyn's influence is enough to keep both Ramrod and Gorgeous George's attention focused entirely on Alex. It's Ramrod who speaks, though.]

Smartass prick, aren't you? How about you turn that smart mouth of yours around and fuck off before George here has to get involved, yeah?

[Neither of them seems to have noticed Carlyn.]

[endurancepoint]

[If this was any other situation, Alex would have fucked off and legged it. He's tired, he feels terrible, and using his power makes his head hurt even worse. But if this isn't what they're looking for, then he's the Queen of England.

But there's two of them and Alex doesn't particularly feel up to a fight. Even if he wasn't sick, he'd still think twice about tangling with tar-guy. Flashlight-guy looks normal enough for the moment, but if he's hanging around with a mutant, chances are good he's one too. The question is, what can he do.

So that leaves trying to outsmart these two, or get them to turn on each other.]

"George? Is that you back there? I can't see with this wasteman shining a torch in my face. Why didn't you tell me this was the other job you was doing? I thought we was mates."

[diabhal_beag]

[Carlyn steps forward. She's going to try the more direct route.] Job or not, you may want to just drop stuff and get moving; based on what I heard on my way down, there's going to be at least one X-Men team coming any second now, and they're after what's in here. [Only slightly a lie, since they're after WHO'S in here.]

[nasty_surprises]

[George seethes--quite literally--stepping (or...oozing) forwards.]

That's not how you talk to the boss!

[He stops suddenly when he sees Carlyn, blindsided by the appearance of someone else. When did she get there?

Ramrod puts down the papers to pick up the wooden staff on the desk nearby.]

Look, missy, I ain't heard nothing down here. There's no one coming except the police when they get a call some damn kids broke in again.

[knowledgeandshadow]

[Patchouli, attracted by the noise, then takes this moment to show up.]

I think you'll find she's as old as I am.

[Her accent's clearly upper class English.]

I would suggest you head her, there was the sound of jet engines not long ago.

[diabhal_beag]

Indeed. The police do not normally use jets, correct?

[And as she speaks, Carlyn uses her powers to make her words extra effective... As best she can, with her illness, but still.]

[endurancepoint]

[Oh good, reinforcements. Three-to-two is better odds, though Alex is still not sure they're good enough. It doesn't escape his notice that Ramrod has picked up his staff, and Alex keeps his eyes open for something to use himself. But he can also tell Carlyn is doing something, trying to influence something. What her power is exactly he has no idea, but he hunts for the probability affecting her ability's effectiveness and gives it a push.]

At most they have a chopper. And that wasn't a chopper earlier.

[nasty_surprises]

[Ramrod wavers a little.]

L-look, there's no one coming, yeah?

[George, however, does more than waver.]

Sorry, boss, you're on your own!

[He breaks from his lurking position, making himself shorter and more puddle-like as he races towards the exit.]

Wha—hell no! Nobody's going anywhere, hear me?

[Ramrod taps his staff on the desk—and the oak door behind them grows and twists in place as if it were living wood, blocking the exit.]

[diabhal_beag]

... Fair enough, but if I may... What has brought you two down here?

[knowledgeandshadow]

[Patchouli was silent, for the moment, simply considering how to best use her ability to break down that door is it became necessary.]

[endurancepoint]

[So that was what tough guy's power was. Wood. That could potentially hurt a lot. Alex let Carlyn do the talking, focusing instead on supporting her power with his own. He'd only tried something like this a couple times before and it was a really weird probability to work with.]

[nasty_surprises]

[Alex's power bolstering Carlyn's was beginning to have an effect, at least where George was concerned. He had reformed...slightly from his puddle-like shape, but not so much that he'd be easily identifiable if he got a chance to escape again.

...or noticable if he decided to attack.]

Mister Sinist-

[Ramrod smacked his hand on the table, knocking several sheafs of paper onto the floor.]

George!

[Nope, back to being a puddle of tar-mutant.]

Sorry, boss!