NOBODY EXPECTS THE ALIEN INQUISITION

[scarabsuited]

WHO: Khaji Da, Abby Boylen, the Negotiator, Terry Ward
WHERE: Negotiator's shag pad
WHEN: Saturday or Sunday
WARNINGS: punching noseless faces, death threats, alien terrors etc
SUMMARY: OUR WEAPONS ARE TWO, FEAR AND BIG GUNS AND SNIPER RIFLES –– AH, FOUR, FOUR WEAPONS...
FORMAT: NO




Finally. The connection was there at last. The Scarab knew it had to be there. No way was Jaime's death a simple accident.

The late Gregory Brown, friend of the imprisoned Brandon Ilke, just so happened to be a City Hall intern. City Hall just so happened to house a certain Khepri Romero. And Romero...

Well. He wasn't as incognito as he'd like to be. Not with Khaji Da on-task.

There was no reason to hold back now.

Comments

PART I: KOOLAIDMAN.JPG (Scarab -> Abby -> Negotiator)

[scarabsuited]

[and, as promised, the call went out to Abby Boylen's communicator.]

I HAVE FOUND HIM
MEET OVER THE OPERA HOUSE ASAP

[cloud9]

[ She hasn't been sleeping all that good-- partially because Terry and Tommy's couch is kinda lumpy and partially because she's been waiting for that message. You better believe that girl is on the fastest cloud to the opera house, only pausing to respond with a quick OK on my way and to make sure her rifle is loaded.

When she touches down, she tugs her goggles down around her neck and glances around. ]

Scarab?

[scarabsuited]

[time is not for wasting on words. it merely turns to regard her for the moment it takes her to land before he's airborne again, lifting a hand in gesture to follow before speeding onward.

the message follows as they're on the move:]

GIVE NO QUARTER
SHOW NO SYMPATHY

[cloud9]

[ The young girl in Abby hesitates, but the soldier in her understands those orders. She steels herself. Reminds herself that whoever this is, they deserve to pay. And she didn't bring a loaded gun without being fully prepared to use it.

She takes off a second after Scarab, keeping just slightly behind. ]

TOTALLY LEGIT PLACES FOR NEGOTIATOR TO LIVE fight me

[monopolyonsnark]

[ Negotiator, or rather, the man known as Khepri Romero, was paid. However, why pay for an apartment when kindly, easily charmed old ladies who voted for the mayor in the last election, yes she did, what a handsome fellow, oh, Mr. Romero, you're a handsome fellow too --

Well, they have perfectly viable almost-basements he could live in, and don't ask too many questions, do they?

At the moment, he hadn't quite let go of his human form yet, since kindly old ladies were nosy and would possibly offer him dinner (if he murdered her, would anyone notice? more importantly, would he get her townhouse?), and was busy checking the Network for any new or relevant information. ]

[scarabsuited]

[without forewarning, the Blue Beetle veers, then dives. the neighborhood is nice, quiet, and unassuming. old money is no doubt a factor; insurance rates in the City were horrific enough on rickety, one-room apartments...

with both arms forward, the suit gets to work, morphing and molding a massive, angled play off its old shell shield and, speeding up, blasts right through the roof of the old townhouse, through the second floor, through the first, and into the basement with all the sound and fury necessary.

that sweet old lady is going to have something new to do with her retirement money when she gets back from the grocery store.

with dust, wood, and plaster bouncing off Jaime's back, he's lifted up out of the impact crouch, locking gaze on Mr. Romero.]

[cloud9]

[ The collateral damage makes her wince a little. She tries not to think about whose house that might be. This is all necessary, right? Right.

The girl swoops in after Scarab through the rubble on her cloud before touching down, that rifle-- loaded with heavy-duty, adamantium-jacketed bullets-- immediately trained on the only other person in the room. It's a man she doesn't recognize. ]

[monopolyonsnark]

[ Khepri Romero's appearance flickers as the sudden appearance of people through Negotiator's ceiling make him lose his concentration enough to let it go for a second - but he'd been practicing regaining concentration after the Incident With The Punch, and regains his disguise just a bit longer. Not that it mattered much, considering who the intruder turned out to be.

He sees the suit, the infiltrator armour first, and for a moment understands what it must like to be hunted by the Reach. ]

What are you doing?!

[ And then he sees the companion, some unknown quantity - an ally of Jaime Reyes'? He thought he knew most of Reyes' City allies. He raises his hands, defenceless, if still furious. ]

[scarabsuited]

[there are going to be no communication gaps, energy conservation or no. quickly, the Scarab connects to Abby's communicator, giving itself free reign of the text-to-audio feature several of the City's blind ImPorts enjoys. a little volume boost, and...]

BE ADVISED: YOUR HIDING PLACE OF CHOICE IS A JOKE

[Jaime's arms are lifted and bent as the fingers began to elongate and sharpen.]

YOUR FOOTSTEPS WERE NOT ADEQUATELY COVERED
YOU ARE TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR CRIMES

[cloud9]

[ The stranger looks unarmed. That makes her hesitate. She's never shot an unarmed opponent before. It seems unfair. Abby lingers behind, not advancing, even though her weapon stays raised.

She's sure Scarab knows, but can't help herself-- she has to say it out loud: ]

Scarab, he's unarmed.

[monopolyonsnark]

Of course I'm unarmed! [ Which wasn't necessarily true - his sword cane was within reach and his fingers could be considered deadly weapons - but why jump into a fight? ] I don't sit in my home preparing for battle with sudden intruders bursting through my ceiling!

[scarabsuited]

PERHAPS YOUR ABILITY TO PLAN AHEAD HAS DETERIORATED
YOU SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS

[blind to Abby's worried looks and words, Jaime is advanced forward, sharp ends scraping as fingers flex.]

KILLING HOST: REYES IS NOT THE END OF THIS MATTER
IT IS THE BEGINNING

[cloud9]

[ No, no, no-- this doesn't feel right. Even if she separates Jaime from Scarab, it doesn't feel right. Somehow, even if she has become capable of making herself do something like this, even just having Jaime unconsciously present... She's having so many second thoughts, they're turning into third and fourth thoughts.

She hesitates. Then hurries to catch the suit by the arm, gun lowered now. ]

Wait. Just-- [ Abby glances at the Negotiator. ] You'll surrender, right? Just. Surrender. Please.

[monopolyonsnark]

[ He waves a hand at Abby in a "shush shush, the adults are talking" patronizing sort of gesture. ] Why would I surrender? I am innocent - you're the intruders.

[ He turns his attention back to the Scarab. More importantly --] Are you broken? That is, beyond your normal state of disrepair, obviously. I had nothing to do with Jaime Reyes' death. Explain how you arrived at this error, now.

[scarabsuited]

NEGATIVE

[the body lurches forward, snatching at the Negotiator's human garb and hefting him up a few inches off the ground.]

YOU SHALL BEGIN EXPLAINING YOUR ROLE IN THIS
IMMEDIATELY

PART II: NOFUNNYPICTURE.JPG (Terry -> Abby -> Scarab -> Negotiator)

[scarabsuited]

[so guess who's getting flown into this big mess of a post?


spookypants, that's who.]

[demonspawn]

[ well normally spookypants would've been way harder to convince to use his powers. but he'd been living with abby the past few days, and he'd seen how upset she was. plus, jaime was... well, his friend. and if it had felt right to use his powers on angelica einsturzen, what made this murderer any less deserving? besides, maybe the threat of his powers would be enough without the full blown manifestation.

in any case, it wouldn't hurt to let himself tag along and see this murderer for himself. ]

[cloud9]

[ It was weird, how calm she felt. Maybe it was the reassuring weight of her sniper rifle, held up against her shoulder, trained steadily on their prisoner-- just in case. ]

[scarabsuited]

[down through two layers of giant hole-in-house they go, with Terry-in-a-bubble following down after his chauffeur. down to where the girl keeps her rifle locked on a roughed-up, no doubt wild-eyed alien bound to what's left of a dryer with an assortment of basement piping twisted snugly to suit the job.

the construct begins to evaporate as Terry's feet get closer to the concrete floor, sending the place back into musky, dusty shadows save for the light above and glowy Beetle eyes.]

[monopolyonsnark]

[ The Negotiator hated everything and everyone right now. He hated the scarab. He hated the sniper and the new arrival and he hated this house and planet and dimension and he hated Jaime Reyes This was all Reyes' fault. If Reyes hadn't went and got himself shot, like an idiot, he wouldn't be dead and the scarab wouldn't be loose. Not to mention that it was Reyes' fault in the first place that the scarab rebelled against the Reach at all.

He was going to kill everyone in this room. ]

This is all highly unnecessary - I've done nothing.

[demonspawn]

[ He's never going to get used to that sight -- the one of Abby, looking like a killer, no matter how many times someone tells him or shows him that inevitable future. But this isn't the time for that. He's been brought here to do something. Might as well get it done.

He approaches, stares the Negotiator dead in the eye. ]

Yeah? We're gonna find out, I guess. [ He's not particularly intimidating, not like this. Just a teenage boy in eyeliner and black clothes. The tone he talks with is flat, unamused by the situation. ] I'll tell you what. I'm gonna explain to you what I'm about to do to you. And I'm gonna be the nice guy here and give you a chance to talk before I do it.

[ He glances over his shoulder at the others, as if to say: Last chance to back out. ] I'm going to telepathically sense your worst fear. And I'm going to use it to scare you so badly you won't sleep another night in your life without remembering it. So. We can do that, or you can answer their questions. What's it gonna be?

[cloud9]

[ Again, that feeling of uncertainty. She's never sure if anybody deserves this-- to have Terry's powers used on them. But maybe it won't come to that. She steps closer, gun still lifted and trained on the Negotiator. ]

Just. Do as he says, okay?

[scarabsuited]

[or suffer a little. the Scarab isn't about to mind a little of that.

from the volume-jacked communicator in Abby's possession, another monotonous, text-transcribed response:]

EXPLAIN YOUR PLAN TO EXECUTE HOST: JAIME REYES IN DETAIL
DO NOT DENY INVOLVEMENT

[monopolyonsnark]

[ He's torn between being furious, and a slight encroaching panic. He hadn't actually done anything. They were interrogating him for no reason.

He stares at the scarab, before glancing at the girl and looking back into the newcomer's staring eyes. ]

Even if you manage to find something so supposedly frightening I would speak against myself, you will not get your answers. If I cannot deny involvement, then no explanation I could give would be the truth.

[demonspawn]

[ He can taste that slight panic. It's like blood in the water. If anybody looks closely at him, they'll notice the way his irises are starting to look redder, his skin turning -- if possible -- even paler than before. ]

Guess we're doing this the hard way. Not a smart choice. [ He leans closer, so they're eye to eye, the demon and the alien. ] I'm not bluffing here.

I know your worst fear.

[cloud9]

[ She feels her palms starting to sweat inside her gloves. She always reacts poorly to seeing Terry's powers this close-- it's a gut reaction she hasn't quiet been able to suppress yet, even though they've become close. She'll never forget how dangerous he is. Never.

She does her best to swallow her fear. She won't feed the fire. She knows, this close, the demon in him can sense it. ]

[scarabsuited]

[as for the one in the armor, no trouble there. an AI has no emotional wavelengths to feed off of, anyhow.

it simply shifts footing, rooting itself; as far as the Scarab's concerned, nobody's going anywhere until it gets the responses it expects.]

[monopolyonsnark]

[ The panic and the anger is causing him to start to lose it, though it's still barely contained, except a bit of spittle along with his words. ]

I fear nothing.

[demonspawn]

Liar.

[ His heart is beating a million miles an hour in his chest right now, his palms just a little damp. He doesn't want to completely let loose, but it's hard -- he hasn't really fed the demon in a long, long time, and he can taste that panic on the back on his throat. He does his best just to loosen the leash, just a little --

The change ripples over his form, fluid, supernatural, carried by dark magic until Terrance Ward is no longer himself. The shape he's chosen -- no, the shape the Negotiator's mind has chosen for him -- is half-human, half-machine. A young man, one that will be familiar to every person in that room, practically fused skin to armor with an almost grotesquely mechano-organic Blue Beetle suit, far more exaggerated in obvious weaponry than the one standing behind them. Only half his face shows, but that's more than enough. Even nightmarish and contorted, it's obvious who this is.

Abruptly, with speed almost inhuman, the manifestation reaches out with sharpened metal fingers to close around the Negotiator's throat, just tight enough to be threatening, to tease at cutting off air. ]

Your worst fear is Jaime Reyes.

[cloud9]

[ She feels her throat closing up. She hates this. She hates it so much. The fact that he takes Jaime's form makes her sick to her stomach. She holds her breath and counts to ten, just to subdue the vague feeling of nauseousness.

This necessary. This is all necessary. ]