Continued from here.
Mid-Chapter Update
"First Blood"
Believing that the situation had been discussed thoroughly enough, Nick Fury felt it was time to get moving. "Enough dawdling, people!" he barked for all to hear. "You will follow me now. You can come on out now, Miss Maximoff." He left the room, walking into the deeper parts of the warehouse to where a new individual had been waiting. "This should be suitable back-up now."
"..."
A silent young woman stepped out from the shadows as she was called out. One had to wonder if she was there all that time or had just arrived, but perhaps, either way, it mattered little. If Fury wanted her along, then that must mean that she could be of some use, most likely.
"Oh la la~" Adam said, licking his lips. He looked Wanda up and down and felt his cheeks redden. "Why is she here? Moral support?"
"Sure," Fury said, ushering everyone along once again. "Let's go with that."
Past rows of empty shelves and abandoned storage crates was a ladder that went up to the room above. He pointed to a heavy door nearby and said, "That's where we came in, but you're not going that way. Up this ladder and make it quick."
In the room above, everyone had to crouch down due to the low ceiling. Fury pushed aside a shelf to reveal a hatch that went up into the room above. He tossed a flashlight to Scott before opening the hatch, revealing a dark passage.
"This leads to a water treatment facility. The outpost was originally intended to be self-sufficient, so sewage came through here, some of it being recycled as drinking water." He gave the passage a sidelong glance. "Don't drink the water now. It's been abandoned for a while, and it doesn't seem Umbrella has decided to make us of it. It's gonna damn hard to see, so stick by Mr. Lang and he'll lead you to the next floor. His... unique skillset should aid you in infiltrating the building."
In a few minutes, everyone would have climbed inside, finding themselves in a dark tunnel, where the only light was from Scott's flashlight and the open door below them.
"Once this door closes, it will not open again. We won't be able to extract you, at least not until the other members of the Avengers have breached Umbrella's security. Do not panic and do not let us down. Good luck." With that, Fury closed the hatch shut and all was quiet.
Scott, who had donned his Ant-Man suit well before the group had left to infiltrate the facility, gave a wave to everybody around.
"Just let me lead the way, team. I've got friends who live down here who managed to tell me about the layout, and it can be pretty easy to get lost in if you don't know your way around," he advised, walking in front of the group.
"... Friends?" Riesbyfe inquired with something of a deadpan expression. She couldn't fathom what sort of friends Scott could possibly have been talking about. She almost entertained the thought of Morlocks for a moment, straight out of a certain late 19th-century novella, but perhaps that was too crude even for her and the given situation.
The group navigated the dark tunnel for a few minutes, eventually coming to an open area with a pool of water and a dull emergency light flashing above. More tunnels branched off from this point, and the group was forced to linger while Scott tried to figure out the map in his possession.
All seemed calm, at least until a gunshot went off and took out the light above. Scott ended up dropping his flashlight in surprise and it shut off as it smashed against the ground, plunging the group into darkness.
Moments after the flashlight shut off, sounds of shuffling could be heard. Scott yelped and bright lights illuminated the entrance to one of the tunnels. This naturally grabbed attention, but as some stepped forward cautiously to investigate, there was the sound of something smashing against the ground, followed by a burst of gunfire.
Cullen had managed to find the flashlight in the dark, turning it on to illuminate the direction of the sounds, revealing a grisly sight: Alice Twilight's dead body.
"We just started..." Cullen said quietly.
"W-Woah! Oh, shit! Shit, shit, shit! We're all gonna fucking die down here, huh? Who the hell did this?! Aren't we the only fuckin' ones down here?" Adam looked wildly around. "Yo, Avengers! Ant guy! Hot goth chick! Do something!"
"Where is Scott...?" Riesbyfe asked.
The world had gone dark, but soon everything was white. Feeling a numb pain across her body, Alice would awake in what appeared to be some kind of medical center. A female voice spoke to her, "How are you feeling, dear?"
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"Are you blokes seriously considering searching every single gun between us to determine whether or not they've been fired?" Cullen asked incredulously. "We were in a battle not twenty minutes ago. Everyone's guns were fired." The boy rolled his eyes. "Do you think you're bloody CSI: Umbrella down here? Don't bother digging inside, it would take hours. Those bullets shatter inside the body-- That's why they hurt."
Cullen gestured to one of the guns in Jason's possession. "Mate, I probably know more about every single weapon sticking out of your pants than just about any of you and I can tell you're going to waste your time. Umbrella had no interest in handing out anything fancy. It was all the same, standard issue. Submachine gun, M9, MP5, all the same ammunition. 9mm across the board. They probably don't even give their real troops much more than that. Even your regular guns were changed over unless some of you had some real special ammunition."
It would seem that all of the guns issued by Umbrella carried the same ammo type, so determining which one specifically was fired at Alice was impossible. At the very least, it seemed Ali's gun couldn't have been fired as it carried a totally different ammo type.
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"I have never had siblings, so I am not quite sure."
"This is an entirely new feeling for me."
"... I am unsure of what it means."
@Hana
Following Road's searching gaze, the princess eyed the teal-haired 'robot'. While she didn't really understand the workings of technology in this place - Umbrella and SHIELD had things far advanced past what her world had in terms of man made tools - she was starting to get the train of thought the girl had. "... So because she is a machine, you think she could be more susceptible to being controlled without her knowledge?" If that was the case, theoretically, Miku hadn't done it herself. "If possible, we could question those who were seen studying the use of firearms earlier along with those who own such weapons."
She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at Alucard's non-answer. The slight pause in his words hadn't gone unnoticed. "Something about what you saw disturbed you." It was a gentle prod to make the dhampir look back at her. "It may be unrelated to the problem at hand, but it could continue to affect you later onward." Hakuei left off at that, wondering if she had come across as too forceful. The expression on her face turned into one of apology, and she softened her tone, placating. "But if it's not urgent now... I will merely look out for your wellbeing."
@Sen @Azuremoon @Atomyk @Anyone
"It.. it is nothing. Do not pay me any attention."
He swallowed. Now would be a bad time to have a reaction to seeing blood. He had stopped drinking the blood of humans for quite some time - he wouldn't deny he had done it before. But now... it would be inappropriate. Though the dhampir had a feeling she would continue pushing him until he shared his problems - as humans did. "I simply did not feel well."
"Hnn, so they drowned him instead of just beatin' him to death, huh? If it was just one guy with superhuman strength, they'd have just punched a hole in the guy's head, or just punched right through his helmet. So I agree, it looks like two different people."
With that Shirou pulled his Desert Eagle out of his jacket, the large pistol sitting firmly in his hand. Chains formed around his arm before he held it up towards the ceiling.
"Needless to say, it's a .50 cal. Like hell I'd need a buncha bullets to put down one person with this. Not to mention, my bullets aren't something anyone else can reproduce."
Assuming that explanation was enough for anyone who might have suspected him, he spun it around before sheathing it again. Not only would it be inefficient to blast someone like this with a pistol, but it'd take too long. Just a headshot would've done the trick. So, whoever did this must have had a way to fire rapidly. An automatic? Or maybe he'd assumed there to be more shots than there were. To ascertain this, Shirou took a glance to see how many bullet holes there were.
He took a glance at Setsuna. Her expression seemed pretty stoic, but there had to be something going on in that head of hers. She'd managed a smile earlier at least, so she wasn't a literal emotionless robot or something.
"Oi, whatcha think about all this? Who do ya suspect? That's what I want next."
@Hospes @Atomyk
Hearing more about Road's past always brought sadness the man of tomorrow.Contrary to what Hakuei might've thought... no. Road hadn't been putting up a front. She couldn't help that she was naturally, as Alucard thought her, a bit impish. Manipulative and stirred the pot whenever she could, but now was different. Especially with them. As soon as Hakuei called her name, Road simply walked away from the scene to be closer to them. To be honest, the 'imp' she kept being was more of a front then who'd she'd been with these two.
Road, however, saw nothing wrong with how she'd been acting. Seven lifetimes of being raised to believe such behavior was actually rewarded by the Noah family would do that.
Now that she was in confidentiality with these two, her expression changed to show her concern. Her brow furrowed and her cheek could be seen moving as she chewed on it, nervously.
"What do I think?" she spoke, "I think Clark might've killed them. A goody with Umbrella's stuff in his head but..." Road eyed the one she'd called aquamarine earlier. Miku. "They taught her to shoot a gun at Umbrella. They said she's a... robot? A machine?. She has superhuman strength... maybe those machines in her can make her do things she doesn't realize she's doing. I've..." she looked down, "-done something similar, in the past."
Was that shame on her face? It was, but... also confusion. She didn't understand why she felt shame in that now, when a moment ago, she'd admired Umbrella a bit. What was it about these two that made want to be... good? The expression washed away and she looked back up with a look that said, 'what do you think?'
@Sen @Hana
Seeming content to just listen to what Shirou had to say about her little summary, Setsuna remained quiet for the momentof dreams, merely hearing out his words. Determining he had agreed with her, she simply gave a small nod. Just in time to hear Jason's words, which caused another small pause to think. "...It is a possibility," she agreed. But something came to her, moments after. "...What sort of weapon did Alice wield? Did she possess any heat source?" she inquired, briefly furrowing her brows. "Perhaps it is further indication of her struggle, if so." Regardless of the answer, something unexpected happened.
A mildly surprised expression crossed Setsuna's face when Shirou asked her what she thought on the matter, as though such an inquiry was uncommon- or completely new, even -to her. Kyoshiro wasn't one to ask her on her thoughts often, if at all, and the only time she could recall him asking such a thing was when he asked her what she thought of Kuu. So naturally, it took the Absolute Angel a few moments to figure out how she was to respond.
What did she think?
It was absurd, how difficult it was to compose her thoughts. Hell, to think independently, period. She asked herself the same question, over and over- what did she think? Who did she think did this? But it was to no avail as her gaze drifted over the others present, her mind simultaneously going over the evidence. "...I don't know," she finally spoke, at first. "It is likely the shooter possessed superhuman strength, but it is possible that someone with such strength merely held them down while someone else shot them, rendering the need for at least one of the culprits to possess both irrelevant and thus widening the suspects. In addition, it would appear whoever killed the S.H.I.E.L.D. man does not possess heightened strength, but that is the most we know."
Pausing once more, Setsuna turned her gaze to the ground, looking more solemn than before. "I... I apologize, Shirou..." she murmured. "Are you displeased with me..?" Well. Looked like her uncertainty on the matter had her getting worried that the male would be upset with her for it. Oops.
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The android nodded, beginning to think back to some of the easiest and simplest songs she knew of. She held countless songs within her databank, in both Japanese and English. It boiled down to picking one that Doremi was likely to know as well.
"... How about "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"?" She asked curiously after a moments thought.
@Bomb @Otto #Anybody
"Sure..." Doremi would agree with the song being simple enough. When both were ready to sing, Doremi would close her eyes, and held her hands to her chest. Then, she unexpectedly let out some beautiful words.
When both were finished with their parts, Doremi was surprised at what just happened.
"I can still sing?? But..." Doremi would question and trued to sing the song she previously tried to sing. Nothing. Only silence was in the air.
"What could this mean..." Doremi would ponder, not realizing that the song she once used to soothe many, was forgotten.
@Kaide` @Otto
Well, that was enough to make Setsuna brighten back up a bit, even giving another smile akin to that she'd only shown before for Shirou. Though, despite seeming happy about Jason's approval, she still obviously was waiting to see Shirou's reaction as well. After all, while her purpose was to please everyone she could, she really was starting to see the redhead as her master. Even if temporarily. And her master's approval took precedence above all else. Nonetheless...
"...Unless someone here was merely disguised as one of us, I cannot see the shooter being one of Umbrella's men. Unless they are a double-agent," she spoke with uncertainty. "If it had been one of their men, it would seem most likely that we would have heard them running back from wherever they came, as they clearly aren't here. Unless this sewer is equipped with defense systems... Which is highly unlikely." Despite that statement, she briefly glanced around, as though searching just in case. Satisfied that this was not the case, she fell quiet again after saying one last thing. "It is still most probable that it was one of our ranks responsible."
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Seeming content to just listen to what Shirou had to say about her little summary, Setsuna remained quiet for the momentof dreams, merely hearing out his words. Determining he had agreed with her, she simply gave a small nod. Just in time to hear Jason's words, which caused another small pause to think. "...It is a possibility," she agreed. But something came to her, moments after. "...What sort of weapon did Alice wield? Did she possess any heat source?" she inquired, briefly furrowing her brows. "Perhaps it is further indication of her struggle, if so." Regardless of the answer, something unexpected happened.
A mildly surprised expression crossed Setsuna's face when Shirou asked her what she thought on the matter, as though such an inquiry was uncommon- or completely new, even -to her. Kyoshiro wasn't one to ask her on her thoughts often, if at all, and the only time she could recall him asking such a thing was when he asked her what she thought of Kuu. So naturally, it took the Absolute Angel a few moments to figure out how she was to respond.
What did she think?
It was absurd, how difficult it was to compose her thoughts. Hell, to think independently, period. She asked herself the same question, over and over- what did she think? Who did she think did this? But it was to no avail as her gaze drifted over the others present, her mind simultaneously going over the evidence. "...I don't know," she finally spoke, at first. "It is likely the shooter possessed superhuman strength, but it is possible that someone with such strength merely held them down while someone else shot them, rendering the need for at least one of the culprits to possess both irrelevant and thus widening the suspects. In addition, it would appear whoever killed the S.H.I.E.L.D. man does not possess heightened strength, but that is the most we know."
Pausing once more, Setsuna turned her gaze to the ground, looking more solemn than before. "I... I apologize, Shirou..." she murmured. "Are you displeased with me..?" Well. Looked like her uncertainty on the matter had her getting worried that the male would be upset with her for it. Oops.
@Kaykay @Atomyk @thatguyinthestore @Verite @Josh M @Mason Moretti @The Myrmidon @Takumi @Everyone
"Ten seconds?" Cullen asked, looking at Jason. "Where are you getting that? Sure it happened fast, but I don't recall any of us taking out a stopwatch. You really seem intent on throwing out some weird theories so let me break it down for you as I understand it--" Cullen aimed his flashlight at the burn marks on the wall. "So some flashing lights go off and you assume it has nothing to do with those marks? That they were there long before this place was abandoned? That seems quite a coincidence. Unless you think we're not the only ones here as you're suggesting." Cullen gestured to Wanda. "This one confirmed we're the only ones down here at the moment, so the only Umbrella men who could have shot her are among us."
Pausing, Cullen thought a moment before turning to Setsuna. "... I think she's talking the most sense here. You just seem to be creating your own clues for us. No, a gun went off and took out the light above us and Ant-Man dropped this flashlight. Obviously, he was hit in the head after that and judging by the wound, it wasn't the hit that killed him."
The wound at the back of Scott's head wasn't too severe. It was likely he still had consciousness.
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