>>18612029

Or, "Why does shit keep happening while I dream?"

>Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Metahuman%20Renaissance%20Quest

PREVIOUSLY, ON METAHUMAN RENAISSANCE: Dan finishes his call with the Red Star, and leaves with Professor Blackstone, interested in the notebook. Blackstone departs to track down Professor Ellsworth, while Dan checks in with the rest of the guys, and does some of his enchanting. Still a little sore from smacking his head earlier, the magic further tires Dan, who settles down for a nap, and is confronted by a familiar face in the land of his dreams...

>>18612055

You hear the voice say your name, and see, standing in her own spotlight, Dr. Moreau. She appears pretty much as you remember her from the club. But she's in your brain, so what does that matter?

"Hello, Doctor." You say, not sure if you should be professional, or casual. She nods at you. "So..." You say, awkwardly, "Is this a social call...?" You let the sentence peter out with some ambigious gestures. She gives slight shake of her head. "I mean," You continue, building a little bit of steam, "I assume you don't just pop into my dreams for no reason. Right?" "Unfortunately for me, you are getting much better at blocking out mental influences. It's much easier for me to bypass your active mind when you sleep." "Right." you say.

>>18612154

"I'm here to talk to you, Daniel. I need to see if you're capable of stopping Anna before midnight. Obviously, direct intervention in my experiment is bad form, and I would hate to alter the outcome unduly. But if you cannot stop her, she will trigger what may very well become an extinction-level event, which I cannot allow. Humanity is not yet ready for such a circumstance. Those with the ability and knowledge to safeguard the species are spread to thin among the population base. " You nod along, slowly, managing to understand her for the most part. "So, you wont step in unless I can't finish the job?" "Correct. While I cannot allow her plans to come to fruition, the data is still valuable is Anna proves to be your superior." "I doubt it, I've beat her at every turn." Dr. M smiles. "She is cleverer than you give her credit for, Daniel. In the Dreamlands, you managed to help her get a handle on herself, pick up the pieces. She is much less erratic now, which has its pros and cons." While that was kind of your intent, you can't help but be a little worried. Part of your edge on Anna was the fact she didn't exactly think clearly all the time. If she's thinking and acting more clearly, beating her might be harder. "Sadly, my ability to keep track of the situation has been impaired by my experiment, finding the third subject, and figuring out a replacement for Anna." Dr. M interrupts your train of thought with one of her own.

>What say?

I can just do this whole conversation, I guess, guys.

But I figured you picking what Dan says would be better.

>>18612342
"Third subject and replacement? Was I the third, or should I be expecting two new Moreau subjects on the scene sometime soon?"

>>18612567

"Third subject *and* replacement? So I should be expecting some more subjects running around, should I?" You say, trying not to sound annoyed. "Of course. You need an appropriate sample size." Says Dr. M. "Not counting the control subjects I have. This time around, I feel I have chosen better. Less likely to be aware, or interfere, with others. This was my problem with Anna, I involved her too much. Personally giving her the notes, making sure she understood, remaining in contact during the observational period. I could tell it was influencing the results, which is why I was more careful with you, and will be more so with my next subjects." If she wasn't talking about cramming random people to the gills with superpowers, you could admire her dedication to this scientific approach. "But you're talking to me." You point out. "Well, obviously. The situation has evolved beyond my original parameters." She looks you up and down, then continues. "As have you. I'm very proud of you, you know, for grasping power beyond your original means. It makes the data gathered so much more interesting, compelling..." He voice gets lower, more excited. You can tell that inside she's almost literally jumping for joy, even if the mental projection of her remains stoic.

>>18612716
Be simultaneously a little disturbed by how she's talking about us, and a little whyboner because Dan's into science chicks. "So, are you going to need to replace me too, within the context of the study, or am I still a valid subject? And do you have any tips or suggestions on where to look for Anna or an edge for beating her?"

Then, after a brief aha moment, "I hope this was carelessness on your part, rather than cruelty, but you really hurt Anna emotionally by being intimate and casting her aside. If you hadn't done that, we might not even be in this situation."

>>18612775
This, maybe adding the words 'contaminating the experiment'.

Actually, come to think of it this is a great tidbit of information to gently bring Anna down emotionally.

Moreau didn't pull away from Anna because she didn't like her, or because she liked Dan more, but because Moreau saw that she was contaminating Anna's experiment.

>>18613030
It could also break her even worse, since it would prove that Moreau cares more about her experiment's validity than Anna's feelings.

>>18612775
>>18612854

"So are to replacing me too, or am I still a subject?" Dr. M laughs a little, a crystal clear, light sound. "Don't be silly Daniel. Anna is no longer acceptable as a subject, because she has compromised herself. Her path has allowed another entity to influence her evolution, and, in a way, mankind's. You are still in charge of your own course, and as such can still be considered a valid subject. Anna is still useful for me to see what merit her route has, and compare and contrast it with yours, even if I can't let her play it out."

You pause to think about that. Then decide to play on the offensive. "But Anna was doomed to deviate from the path in the first place. You contaminated the experiment when you were intimate with her. It affected her emotional state in ways it wouldn't have otherwise, which you avoided... with...me." Shit. Right, of course the brilliant scientist has thought of that. "Glad you understand Daniel. I know now, that such actions were a mistake, which is why I did not continue the illusion with you at the club once my proper intent was complete. Originally, I meant it as a way to build trust with Anna, keep her open and easier to initiate the experiment and observe." A little frown comes across Dr. M's face. "Sadly, other deviations have compounded human error in this instance, which allowed Anna's emotional instabilities to play a more prominent role in her decision-making." She goes back to looking squarely at you. "Don't be so high-and-might Daniel, Anna already had existing emotional issues which would have caused similar instabilities. It all goes back to the root problem."

>>18613068
Be internally unconvinced and still blame her for treating people as data rather than people, but outwardly accept that Moreau isn't a person who can be convinced of things by other people. "So, do you have a tip on where to look for her, or a tactical edge I could use tonight? Or is this a social call?"

>>18613030

Fun fact, Dr. M didn't really pull away. She did reduce direct contact with Anna because she was making sure Dan was an okay subject #2, which did put some doubts into Anna's mind about their relationship.

These problems were compounded, you're quickly finding out, by her connection with the Red Star and its Voice who were influencing her into making more bargains with them. Kind of a slippery slope sort of thing.

>>18613127
Are YOU Moreau? Because you are so far inside my head you're making my posts before I even type them.

In case it wasn't clear, this is an emphatic second.

>>18613127

Don't think it too loud. She's already in your brain, and good at picking up surface thoughts. It's how she keeps track of her subjects.

>>18613202
Right, think it in the back part of our brain that smells kind of funny where she wouldn't want to listen anyway.

>>18613068
>"Don't be so high-and-might Daniel, Anna already had existing emotional issues which would have caused similar instabilities. It all goes back to the root problem."
Her emotional issues wouldn't be nearly as large or problematic if you hadn't helped her put an eldritch abomination in her head.

>>18613202
Visualise the memory of Anna and Dr. M making out as hard as we can and see if she reacts.

>>18613307

This would be that "root problem" she was talking about.

Mad Science, sometimes it just doesn't work out.

>>18613307
>Visualise the memory of Anna and Dr. M making out as hard as we can and see if she reacts.
That's a bad idea. She wouldn't do anything aside from, perhaps, growing annoyed with us and perceiving us as immature. She's not a person that can be rationalized with like that, unfortunately. Remember, she has MSRMD, not BSRMD.

>>18613307
>visualize the memory

NO THANKS

>>18613215
The same corner of our mind that knows where the crusty sock is, can be called upon to visualize the nipples of fully clothed women, and knows the exact pattern and make of several comic book super-heroine costumes (real and fictional).

>>18613365
Oh thank god it's not just me

>>18613332
>That's a bad idea.
Yes, it is. But it's fun, and she watches us 24/7 so I think she has a good enough picture of what we're like to not instantly label us as immature and annoying over one little incident. I'm sure we've had dirty thoughts before, everyone does. If she doesn't want to be exposed to it she shouldn't read our mind.

>>18613337
You don't like lesbians?

>>18613215
>>18613163
>>18613127

You feel some doubts about exactly who cause who's problems, but you don't dwell on it too long. Some times its easy to forget Dr M isn't exactly sane either, the method to her madness is just easier to grasp. "So, is there at least any advice you can offer me on beating her? Or where to find her?" The frown returns, and she shakes her head a little. "No. One of the many trades she has made with her new patron has allowed Anna to block her mind from me, so I cannot communicate with her telepathically, or sense her mind directly. It prevents me from getting an exact fix on her location, or knowing exactly what abilities she possesses and how well she knows how to do them." She cocks her head, like she's listening to something in the distance. "I can get a sense of her. She is... somewhere on this campus, I believe. Or very near to it. She's recovering, still. Resting to prepare herself for the evening." Dr. M looks at you again. "You and your friends caused her more physical damage than you think, but with her patron's support, I believe she can recover those injuries quicker than normal. All it requires is time and concentration on her part." "Right, thanks, you've been a *great* help." You say. Sarcasm can no longer be contained! "Got anything else helpful to tell me? Like that she dropped her wallet and would really like it found. The Doctor says nothing, just folds her arms and looks down her nose at you, the way only a 60 year old mind with a 20-year old self-image can.

>>18613413

Honestly, Dr would give zero fucks, since she's mentally at least 60 years old, more if she's ever had multiple versions of herself running around at once and reintegrated the experiences later. And also insane.

She'd be much more interested in how Dan had an actual image of the event, and not just an imaging, but that's a conversation I don't want to bog us down with because ITS GO TIME.

>>18613525
"No, seriously, sarcasm aside, I'm not even remotely too proud to accept help."

>>18613563
>ITS GO TIME
So that highly useful dream conversation in which neither of us learnt anything is over? It didn't take long, maybe we can actually get a bit of normal sleep in for once.

>>18613687

Over-ish, yes. Probably, unless in the next short while somebody says anything that really continues it.

The ITS GO TIME is more that I have way better stuff than all this planned, I just need to get to it. Hence the sleeping for several hours in the middle of the day. Let's just say I know with planefag over with SWQuest has the MC fall unconscious or go on long plane rides so often.

One more question for Dr. M:

"You mentioned the last time we met that we could talk shop about Psionics. It isn't due to a lack of interest, but a lack of a teacher. Anyone in particular you'd recommend I go to in order to learn more about that?
Y'know, assuming I survive the day."

>>18613600
>>18613866

"Sarcasm aside, I'm not above asking for help here, clearly." You say. Her expression smooths over again, but her arms remain folded. "Given the nature of outside interference on your opposite number, it would be only fair to aid, you, but given I am no longer certain of Anna's capabilities, I cannot offer you any directly useful assistance. Suffice it to say, should you be unable to stop Anna, one way or the other, I will be present to step in and prevent her from destroying us all, but beyond that would only cause further undo disruptions." She gives to a level look. "And do not think I will simply appear as your guardian angel to save you. If you fail and die, you will still be dead. I will not excuse laziness." "General assistance, then? I know last time we had a pleasant chat, you wanted to talk psychic shop." She purses her lips. "Sadly, we don't have much time for that now, either. The discreet nature of your powers make it hard for me to teach you anything. You would have to speak with a Cyrean or someone else well versed with their technology for much help on that. I haven't integrated much of their technology into myself, I'm afraid." She puts a finger on her chin. "But, maybe just a hint. You have the ability for Psychic Programs, do you not? Perhaps there are some variations to that module you are capable of employing but have yet to use?" The void of your dream seems to become more void like, and it kind of blurs. You look around, trying to figure out what is up, and when you look back to where Dr. M was, she and her little cone of illumination are gone.

Someone is shaking you, trying to wake you.

>>18613970
Well, then let's wake up. So, let's see, for modules we currently have Wisp, Barrier, Psibolt, and Psychic Senses, right? What new, neat combinations do you think we can make with those?

Personally, I want Barrier + Psibolt. A Barrier which also incinerates things which impact it using friction, thereby super-buffing our melee abilties? Yes please. Combine it with Wisp and Psychic senses and suddenly we're a radiant, destructive figure which illuminates the surroundings and highlights psychic and magical things.

>>18614045

The Psychic Programs doesn't quite work like that. Remember, the idea is that it creates self-sustaining phenomena, hence the dice mechanic behind it.

A combination of Psibolt and Barrier could be used to allow you to project barriers at range onto other targets. Or possibly to build a limited shield to reflect ranged attacks back, or something.

(Also, your Melee doesn't need super buffing. You can already punch with psibolts)

>>18614138
So if we look at it at a more abstract level...

Psibolts = Projection
Barrier = Repulsion
Senses = Observation

Then to have more "I'm in ur head, lookin at ur thoughts" powers would be Observation + Projection? A combination of Psibolt and Psychic/Mage Senses?
Or maybe it's just an entirely different module we haven't found yet?

>>18614202
Our psibolt + senses power lets us throw a psibolt which illuminates magic and psionics in the area around where it hits. I'm wondering if we could flip the direction of barrier, though. Normally, we can toss a psibolt out through our barrier, but things don't come in through it. Could we toss a psibolt + barrier on a person to keep their powers locked in until they can break down the barrier while allowing everyone else's bullets/magic hit them just fine?

Because that would be a really nice debuff. Hell, it would probably even prevent teleporting unless they roll high enough for the teleport to break it. What do you think, Omega?

>>18614202

Yeah, telepathy is something Cyreans actually do racially. As in, it is part of being Cyrean. Like with the original Psi Sense, Dan may be able to find a module for conscripts to use that would also make him telepathic.

More the combination idea is to take one of the features of one module, and combine it with the other in a self-sustaining system.

EG, Psi Spotlight is Wisp's floating with Psi Sense's aura-sensing, and Option is Wisp's hovering with Psibolts PEW PEW.

>>18614245

Yes, you can invent Stasis. the Asari were one of multiple inspiration sources for Cyreans.

If you want to do that when Dan has some free time next (Since I forgot he was waking up n' stuff, I should probably handle that next) the way it would work is thus, how ever many dice you give it is how many dice you roll both to hit, and how many dice that opposes the subjects roll to break free. So, if you want to Stasis one guy really good, you give the shot all the dice. But then you're out of Psi program juju until they break out, or you dismiss it. They may be able to utilize some miracles from inside, still, as long as they don't need to make any movements and whatever their doing doesn't have to go through the barrier, or is allowed to bypass the barrier (Like air, or radio signals).

>>18614304
Sounds good to me. That sounds like a really useful tool against Anna, since it seems like her shatter hands require touch attacks. If it impedes that teleportation even a little bit, that's really good for us too, since it would force her to face us in physical mobility, where we're pretty awesome, instead of magical mobility, where she can teleport versus our gliding.

>>18613970

"Wake up, Dan. Wake up." Someone is shaking you. You open your blurry eyes, and rub them. "Yeah, I'm awake. What's up?" You get your bearings and find it's Roxy. She looks a little... concerned? Maybe just tense. "My bots got a hit on their search, got the text message a few minutes ago." You sit up straighter now. "Near the entrance to some of the maintenance and storage below one of the buildings. Huan, Anya and Jeanne went out to go look at it." You nod and say "Alright." Then stand up. "How long was I out?" You ask, as you stretch a little, and shake the sleep off from your body. You also find yourself kind of hungry. "Almost three hours, now. We were thinking of waking you so we could go to lunch anyway when we got the text. C'mon," she says, gesturing for you to get moving. "The others went to go see if they could find Blackstone."

>What do?

>>18614644
I'm thinking go give Huan, Anya, and Jeanne backup. Anna is dangerous. Also, we have a great idea for a new combo power.

>>18614665

"Let's go help them, then." You say. Roxane nods, and you both leave, exiting the building, while Roxane pulls out her phone. "Here, this way. It's a basement level, that goes under the building. Y'know the tunnels to the Fallout Shelter?" Right, that is a thing the campus has. Which means that cellular communication is out once you go down there. You nod in response to Roxy's question. "Yeah, I've seen 'em. It found something there?" She nods back as you pick up the pace to a jog. "At one of the entrances, exotic radiation traces. Maybe where she forced a lock or something with her abilities. Huan, Jeanne and Anya all volunteered to head down there. I stayed when the others when to find Professor Blackstone to wake you."

You arrive at the location Roxy specifies, find one of her little robots waiting, which happily skitters up to her and rubs against her leg, like a cat. The door is on the outside of the building, built in so you can get into the basements. It is slightly ajar, which you know is not how the doors are supposed to be.

>>18615077
We have the Prof's number, right? Let's try to drop him a quick call before heading in. Also, I don't know, give Roxy a hug or a smooch or something because she was the one who stayed behind to make sure we weren't ambushed in our sleep.

>>18615077

>Shit is about to get Aliens. Method of approach?

>>18615124
Don't forget to check ceilings. Fool me once and all that.

>>18615201

Funniest thing is I did that for effect, but I never actually gave her any Unconventional Move miracles. So I have no idea how she actually spider crawled that ceiling.

>>18615240
Mundane badass fitness. She was rock climbing. SO IT IS A ROCK CLIMBING VS PARKOUR BATTLE NOW, HUH!?

>>18615201
>>18615120

You pull out your phone and dial Blackstone. "Yo, Alice." He says, casually. "I was right, Professor Ellsworth was sleeping." You wait for him to pause for a second then get words in edgewise. "We may have a lead on Anna, on campus." The line goes quiet for a bit. "Where?" He asks, simply. "Well the trace is on one of the sub-level entrance doors. A maintenance tunnel under..." You pause and examine the building you're at. "The Math and Sciences building." You in brief relay to Blackstone what Roxane relayed to you. "Alright, I'd go in, and see if you can find the others, but if they haven't found Anna already, get out. No point in taking any risks in that tight space." He pauses for a second. "Oh, I see the others. I'll let you go. Be careful down there, Dan." You murmur your thanks, and he ends the call. You push the door open, revealing a dark, dank concrete tunnel, with poor lighting in cages running through it. You look up to check the ceiling instinctively, but note than the tunnels are too low for anyone to reasonably hide on it, except in the pitch dark.

>>18615421
Does Option provide enough light to illuminate the area for Roxy? If so, bring up Option on the counter-attack setting. If not, just bring up a standard wisp.

>>18615466

Option is slightly less luminous than Wisp, but does illuminate.

Wisp can basically be as bright as a bloody spotlight, which is why its dice gives a bonus to Perception/Scrutiny when you use the wisp. The downside is, you are lit up like a spotlight.

>>18615532
Then let's bring up Option, ask Roxy if that's bright enough, and if it's not, bring up Wisp instead. We can see in the dark, but she can't. Also, let's turn on mage sight, see if we can get a bit of a psychic train for us to follow.

>>18615571
If we do, let's make that psi spotlight instead, so Roxy can take a look at it too.

>>18615587

Another advantage the Spotlight has, if you guys want to do that one, is that its just that, a spotlight. It throws out a cone of light, like a flashlight beam. Less likely to paint you as a target like a flying blue road flare.

>>18615571
Roxy probably has a flashlight cell phone app. Let's only bother with bringing up option/wisp if we feel in danger or need to show Roxy a psychic footprint.

Also guys, it's not pitch fucking dark down here, the tunnel is meant to be used. It's just kind of dimly lit. About as well as in the pic for >>18615421

>>18615750
Then psychic eyes up looking for a red trail, suggest Roxy break out a cell light if she needs it, and let's start moving. If we can't pick up Anna's trail, maybe we can pick up the trail of one of the club members.

>>18615768
>>18615571

(2x5, 2x6 and 2x10 on Magesight)

You gesture for Roxane to stand behind you and to use her phone if she needs more light. Then you call up your mage senses. It's getting really easy. When you do so, you realize the place doesn't really seem that different. You guess the true form of the tunnel is just that, a dank, dimly lit tunnel. You don't see, so much as feel, the traces. Anya, Huan and Jeanne were definitely here, and recently. You can feel Jeanne and Anya's traces as Magistra strongly. Anna may also have been here, you think. Echoes of her going by may yet remain, but faint, they're from a while ago. The tunnel goes on for maybe 10 yards, then widens out into a larger room you can't make out much of.

>How do you proceed?

>>18615869
Move slowly, let our genetic military training inform our motions. Roll tactics if that would help. Make sure to take point ahead of Roxy. She's no wilting flower, but she's also not wearing a super space breastplate. If we start getting a 'something is wrong here' tingle, bring up Barrier and Option.

And this is why I normally post updates with an image.

>>18616047

You guys can call for a skill roll any time you'd like. In this case, a Tactics could be helpful

Sorry Omega, got distracted with dinner.

Just uh, go into the room I guess? We're in a hallway here, it's either forward or backwards. Not really a choice.

>>18616087
Then let's do that. This seems like a perfect time for Dan's Cyrean genetic memory to kick in and inform his method of entry.

rolled 1 = 1

>>18616087
Kay, here's a roll.

>>18616102
>>18616092

(3x6 on Tactics check)

You put out your hand in a universal sign for Roxane to hold up. You listen for a second, but don't here any immediate movement, and detect no signs of ambush. All the same, you half-crouch, walking a little lower, and hug one of the walls, keeping an eye out for any movement. Roxy doesn't imitate your exact movements, but also doesn't do anything to get in your way. When you reach the entrance to the room, you carefully scan one way and then the other, then actually step into the room. It's not that large, basically a four way junction room. Some cardboard boxes lay piled in a couple of the corners.

You quickly ping your magical senses, then hiss under your breath, "You have got to be shitting me." "What?" Says Roxane, trying to keep her voice low also. "Those idiots split up. Like motherfucking Scooby Doo!" Roxy shrugs. "Well, not much else they can do in this tight space." You can feel two magical trails, Anya and Jeanne you assume the hall lacking them is where Huan went.

>Who do you follow first?
>Anya
>Jeanne
>Huan

>>18616253

You're missing about 6 more d10s there buddy. But that's okay, I have a random die roller I use anyway.

>>18616254
Not Huan, he's the most likely to be able to handle himself in real combat. Did Anya have the cool talismans, charms, and fetishes that Jeanne was decked out in? If not, let's go for her first. Secure the least-capable people first, and all.

>>18616286

You decide Huan and Jeanne are at least battle-ready enough that they can handle danger, so you decide to follow Anya's trail first. Her tunnel is labeled "To Parapsychology Building" interestingly enough.

You follow it for a while, it forming a tunnel similar to the one that you went through when you entered the service tunnels, only longer, but then it starts having small storage rooms off to each side, probably for storing maintenance stuff. Anya's magical presence grows stronger as you go farther down the tunnel, until you see one of the storage room doors open, and can hear sounds like some one moving stuff around in there. You approach the door, and say in a low voice, "Anya?" Her blindfolded head whips around the edge of the door and looks at you. "Dan?" She's more surprised than anything. "Yeah. What's up, short-round?" She comes of of the room and quietly shuts the door. "Looking for the hardline phones they're supposed to have installed down here, so you can call out. Should be in one of the rooms between the buildings. Been down here for like 10 minutes, can't find shit." You nod.

>>18616534
Go double back with Anya and find Jeanne. We should hurry and round everyone up

>>18616534
"I'm getting you, Huan, and Jeanne together and we're heading back out for now. We're waiting for backup, rather than barreling in. Let's go get Jeanne now. We'll grab Huan last, since I'm pretty sure this is exactly what he had been trained for. What were you guys thinking, splitting up?"

>>18616561
>>18616585

"C'mon," you say. "Let's hurry back and get Jeanne. What is wrong with you guys, splitting up like that?" You ask, a little frustrated. "What?" Says Anya, a little hotly. "It's not like the three of us bottlenecked in a fucking tunnel would be any good against a more agile opponent. At least this way we can maneuver." She pauses for a second. "Was Jeanne's idea, but she wasn't really invested in it until I told her I could, with 90% certainty, pop all the lights in the tunnel in one go." You two go back and forth quietly about the merits of tunnel tactics all the way back to the junction.

Then you lead the way, Anya following close behind, and Roxy as the rear guard, tracking Jeanne's magical presence, with Anya acting as your second opinion, since the two of you are interfering with each other's spookydar at this range. This tunnel is marked "MSB Basement". You walk for a couple of minutes, homing in on the signal, then you see a heavy, emergency exit styled door, which leads to the regular basement level of the building, which could just be a stairwell up. Two rooms, probably for maintenance stuff like on either side. The door on the left side is wide open, and you can feel Jeanne's presence inside, but don't hear any movement. Also, the sense of her seems to fluctuate wildly, spiking high like when you first witnessed her unadulterated aura, then dropping really low. You feel nobody else obvious in the room, but you're not sure if you'd detect normal people.

>>18616892
Roll tactics to know whether we should call in for Jeanne or cautiously enter.

>>18616944

(2x4 on Tactics)

Moving into the room, cautiously, would be the best way to do it. On the slim chance there is someone there, saying something will alert them to your presence.

>>18617152
Okay, let's do that, then.

>>18617199

You cautiously step inside, pushing the door out of your way gently. When no one is readily visible, you say quietly, "Jeanne?" "Here..." someone says quietly, through clenched teeth and you snap your head around to a corner, where Jeanne is curled up, back to the wall, clutching her shoulder. Her breaths come in short gasps, and her face is scrunched up in pain. "Jeanne! What happened?" You say, approaching closer. Jeanne says something you take to be particularly nasty in French, then hisses, "I think she broke my collar bone." Well, that would explain the pain. Anya and Roxane come into the room and huddle around. Roxane has her phone ready, then says "Crap. No service. One of us needs to find the hardline or get above ground and call an ambulance."

>>18617525
Give her collar bone a feel. We need to know how bad of a break it is before we make the decision. If it's been snapped like the picture, well, we need a stretcher, she can't be moved in that kind of condition. If it's less severe, we may be able to use some necromancy to get her up and moving, at the very least.

Let's see if Roxy has any ideas, if not, try seeing if there's anything around we might be able to use to MacGuyver a stretcher.

>>18617525
If Red is obviously ahead, we can send Anya back for help without worrying about her right?

>>18617554

"Hey, lemme have a look," you say, and you gingerly place a hand on her collar, to try and feel for the break. The air in the room gets tense, like before a lightning strike, and Jeanne's violet eyes snap open and give you a glare of primal rage. Your hand shoots away as you feel like you just got a giant static shock, and everything goes back to normal. You turn to look at the other two. "Yeah, she needs a stretcher, and some EMTs." "Sexy EMTs..." Jeanne mutters, under her breath, as she relaxes.

>>18617623

You look around the room, trying to find anything you can make into a stretcher. You don't find anything but various manners of storage crates. One cluster of which has a red sheet, or curtain (hard to tell at this stage) draped over it all, and five reddish animal tallow candles arranged in a vague star, or person, shaped array.

>>18617686

Storage room.

>>18617719
Oh. Duh

>>18617697
A red cloth and rust-coloured candles? Yeah, Anna was here. Let's give this whole place a one-over with magic eyes really quick while searching for a phone. We need EMTs, a stretcher, an ambulance, and some cops, hopefully Howard and Phillips in particular. We also need to find Huan, since we've confirmed the danger.

"Jeanne, we're going to find a phone and get you out of here. While we're looking, though, tell us everything you remember about your encounter with Anna Ellsworth. Every detail, no matter how small. You know, standard police drama show style."

Fucking hell, she's going to have to wear a shoulder brace for a few weeks. I do not envy her. Clavicle breaks are terrible.

>>18617755

You need to find a phone. You know from orientation, and from some of the stuff your dad told you about working here, they do have hardline phones at certain points, by mandate. Thinking about it, you remember one in a little alcove in the wall of that junction room. You look back at Roxy and Anya. "There's a hardline in that junction back there. You two go back and dial out for an ambulance, then see if you can get Huan. I'll stay here with her," You jerk a thumb at Jeanne, "and check out the scene. Stand by the door when you're done." They nod, and scamper off.

You turn back to Jeanne. "Jeanne, can you hear me." She says something in French again, then "Yes. My collarbone is broken, not my ear drums." You decide to take that as a good sign. "Can you tell me what happened?" Through her clenched teeth, she hisses out, "Not much to tell. Felt her in the room. Opened the door, she was on that blanket over there," She gestures with her head a little, then winces. "Stood up. I tried using on of my evocations, but it slid right of her barrier. She closed the distance at full speed, drove her heel into my collar. I hit the wall, world went white, she said some weird word, and was gone." You nod. Make sense. You recall your training match with Jeanne, where she had a good ranged game, but was terrible at close-quarters. You stand up, and walk over to the little shrine, for lack of a better term, in the center of the room. If you had to guess, this is where Red was recovering, like Dr. M said. Judging by how soundly she handed Jeanne her ass, you'd say she's recovered.

>>18618127
I really wish we could do something with necromancy to help her out, but I don't want to risk healing her before the bone has been set. Let's take a look with our mage sight, see if we can get anything useful out of this room. "Yeah, that barrier's trick business. If I survive tonight, I'll make sure to help you with your injury, after the bone's been set."

>>18618127

Alright, our options are limited.

Wait until the other two return from the phone and keep one of them on the hardline so we can relay intel to the rest of the team.

We need to scout deeper, locate Huan and track possible Red traces, in that order.

>>18618386

Not much to scout, chief. She out.

>she said some weird word, and was gone.
>weird word

>>18618386
She teleported out. There isn't a deeper, we're in one of the branches. To get to Huan, we would need to backtrack to the hub room and then go down Huan's hallway. At this point, it's better to hope that the girls can get in contact with him via the phones. If not, THEN we go see if we can find him.

>>18618418

Alright, well I guess we hope that Huan returns to base camp. We should immediately get above ground and see if Roxy has an update for us.

>>18618571
Roxy and Anya weren't going above ground, they were going to the phone junction in the tunnel to call the EMTs. We are currently waiting for them to get back and for EMTs to arrive. We need a stretcher to move Jeanne and we aren't going to leave her here alone.

>>18618602

No, >>18618571 is right, Dan told them to wait by the door to outside, so that the EMTs would know where to go. And, y'know, like shout down a tunnel for Huan when they went. Or something.

>>18618269

I'm also really glad somebody caught on that just trying to fix her arm would be a very bad idea without letting a medical professional at least set the bone first, probably have some X-rays taken too.

>>18618127

Nothing more about the room strikes you as interesting to look at really, so you kill time, until Huan, Roxane and Anya come back down the tunnel, with a couple of EMTs who have a stretcher. They carefully move Jeanne onto it, give her a shot of something for the pain, and hustle her out. You follow, emerging into the open air to find Blackstone and the Evokers waiting. You explain the story to him in brief, as Jeanne is loaded into the ambulance. Anya insists on riding along, and somehow manages to persuade the techs to let her. The ambulance speeds off, and you all watch it go, followed shortly by a couple of patrol cars, and an unmarked crown vic. You notice an armored MRF van pulling up at the same time.

>>18619047

You turn to Blackstone, who nods at you. "Well, the cops are going to sweep the entire tunnel system now." You nod. "Only thing they can do." You reply. Blackstone puts a hand on your shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. Not much you could have done if you were there. And what you could have done may have collapsed the foundations of a building." Blackstone sounds like he's speaking from experience. He turns to face the others. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I don't mean to sound discouraging, but many of you may be outmatched, here. I'm sorry to say our little training sessions haven't included too much hand-to-hand fighting, and what is has has been basic self-defense stuff, no good against a trained martial artist. I recommend you guys go get some lunch, then go see Jeanne in the hospital. She'll need a ride back to her dorm." He shoots you a sideways glance. "Wards or no, I'd leave a couple of people with her at all times." You nod in agreement. The crowd of you kind of bunches up to go. But Blackstone stops you, and says in a low voice, "Meet me when you've got some food in you. I'll be in my office. We should talk."

METAHUMAN RENAISSANCE PART 30 END

>>18619060
I hope the break isn't as bad as it seemed. Either way, we'll be healing Jeanne up tomorrow if we survive. If we don't, well, that invalidates all of our plans anyway, so we may as well keep that plan in mind.

>>18619060
So, one thing I'm wondering is this. The Nazi lich's immortality is such that his soul can't be destroyed as long as his body isn't destroyed, and his body can't be destroyed as long as he has his soul. We have part of his soul in us. Does that mean our body counts as an extension of his, insofar as we'll Gandalf if we get killed?

>>18619123

No, Dan kind of ate and digested a part of Gespenst's unique essence.

But should you have the misfortune to die, that would be a great lead-in for me to by lying about.

>>18619123

I have no doubt that Gespenst is hoping that this is the case, and that he'll be able to possess us at one point.

After all, he really only needs hands to get back to villainy.

>>18619161

>After all, he really only needs hands to get back to villainy.

In all honesty, this is my favorite part about that character. No joke.

>>18619253
same for me. Gespenst is probably my favourite character.