It's a dirty job but they're very suave.

[swordedpast]

WHO: Archer (swordedpast), Hank McCoy (professorlionface), Yako Katsuragi (topslug), Kurt Wagner (themisfit), Peter Parker (incywincyhero), Val Richards (smarterthandad), Saber (promisedvictory), Mordin Solus (heal_or_execute), Curt Connors (mostlyarmless), Minako Arisato (xxii_thefool), and Tony Stark (liverletdie).
WHERE: Near Esperanza Base, Antarctica; Belfast, Ireland; and the Cayman Turtle Farm, in the Cayman Islands.
WHEN: Starting Tuesday, June 18th, and extending over the next few days.
WARNINGS: There will probably be some violence!
SUMMARY: Three teams of plucky, or possibly foolhardy, researchers set out to uncover more about certain scientific anomalies they've found that may be linked to Vulcanus.
FORMAT: Quick-log.

For over a month now, the ragtag group of scientists, or at least science-minded people, gathered by Archer to hunt down scraps of information left by Vulcanus has researched and studied, studied and researched. Finally, by early June, they've narrowed their list of suspicious locations to a few targets, and by the middle of the month, they're ready to depart to investigate those locations up close.

In the tiniest hours of the morning on Tuesday, June 18th, they split off into groups and begin traveling.

Hank McCoy, Archer, and Yako Katsuragi head down to Antarctica, to get up close and find out more about reports of scientists inexplicably visiting a desolate location.

Saber, Kurt Wagner, Peter Parker, and (carefully watched by the adults) Val Richards head to Belfast, Ireland, to learn more about the city's peculiar flooding.

And Mordin Solus, Curt Connors, Minako Arisato, and Tony Stark take a flight to the Cayman Islands to see the truth of rumors about mutant turtles with human body parts growing out of them.

The intention is to be back by Saturday at the latest, and to share any important information found out there with the Network as soon as possible.

Comments

ANTARCTICA: PLOT

[swordedpast]

[ After the better part of a day trekking across the Antarctic waste, the team has arrived at the abandoned Alborada Station, a former outpost of Esperanza Base. This is where the records of recent activity have centered. But why? The whole place is covered with snow and ice, and deathly still in the freezing cold. The only entrances into the ice are too small for humans to use; they'll have to uncover the buried station before they can proceed. ]

[topslug]

[ Perhaps surprisingly, given her lack of visible physical stamina, she's kept up well enough for the trek, without a peep of complaint. When they arrive at the abandoned station, she looks up with a frown that's mostly obscured by her mask, before she turns to her companions. ]

It doesn't seem like anyone's been here in a while. [ Emphasis on seems, though. In this climate, all it would take is a few good snowstorms to bury a place like it never existed. It's a lot of ice to get rid of, at least at first glance, but all they really need is one functioning entrance to get into. Still, that's hard when she can barely even make out the outline of the building. ]

[professorlionface]

"Seems" being the key word. [He pulls a device from his belt, tapping a few buttons on the face and frowning at the results. Even with his fur and gear, he could still feel the winter cold creeping through his fingers.] The location may be remote, but that doesn't mean they want it visible.

I'm getting readings from under the ice. They're not definite, I could be getting false readings, but that's certainly what it looks like from here.

[swordedpast]

[ Archer, meanwhile, seems utterly unfazed by the polar winter. He has some standard winter gear on, for appearance's sake if nothing else, but other than that, he appears defenseless to the cold. Naturally, he hasn't explained whatever powers are keeping him warm. ]

I can carve the ice away from one of the openings, so it's large enough for us to use.

[ The whole place is almost eerily quiet and deserted. ]

[topslug]

[ She nods, bringing up a finger to tap at the display on her screen. The blueprints for the place are once she's already gone over until she could probably draw them from memory, but that doesn't mean it matches up to what she can see.

Regardless, Hank's assessment tells her that quiet is no guarantee they're alone. After a moment, she looks up, indicating one of the holes visible in the ice. ]

Based on the plans we've been able to find, that's likely to lead to one of the facility's main entrances. We should be able to get in from there. [ Her tone's cautious, though, wary about rushing in. ]

[professorlionface]

[Hank's down on all fours, running ahead to get a good look. His readings don't change much, just a faint flickering as he moves back toward the others.]

It's worth a try. My guess is that if there's anything here, it's most likely underground.

[swordedpast]

[ With a nod, Archer sets off in the direction indicated by Yako. He reaches out, and twin blades, black and white, appear in his hands. Before anyone call shout at him to stop, that's an unreliable way of breaking ice, seriously come on dude, he's striking the ice. ]

Hah.

[ But somehow, through luck or carefulness, he strikes the right places, and it starts to chip away without imploding all over the place. ]

[topslug]

[ Having Archer start hacking at the ice is a little alarming, but it seems to be effective, and Yako leaves him to it, preferring to cast a wary eye over their surroundings, just in case they're drawing unwanted attention. Perhaps it's silly to feel so, with no other visible living things around, but even so... she doesn't stray far, glancing over to Hank as Archer continues to work. ]

Have the readings changed at all?

[professorlionface]

[He perches on his hindlegs with one hand in the snow, watching as Archer clears a path. Not quite what he was expecting, but it might not be long now.]

Not yet. It may change once we're inside, but the environmental shielding is blocking my scan for the most part.

[swordedpast]

[ After a minute, Archer backs away from the opening, the swords disappearing from his hands. It's now big enough for even Hank to go through. Beyond it, a heavy double door can be seen, wedged far enough open to admit people by drifts of snow. ]

It looks like we can get in at least this far.

[topslug]

[ Well, there's nothing for it but to step forward, which Yako does without prompting, sliding into the gap in the ice without a word. She's relying on the blueprints on her visor to tell her where they need to go from here, though she waits until they've followed her through the ice before she starts squeezing past the doors. ]

If there's anything here, it's most likely in the main experiment chambers. [ She comments, a little out of breath. ] It shouldn't be too difficult to get to from here, as long as the rest of the hallways are still intact.

[professorlionface]

[Hank ambles in behind her, lifting his goggles and wiping the frost from his snout. He notices it's still too cold for any kind of real habitable comfort, though thankfully less exposed.]

I have heat signatures coming from a ways up. I take it that's probably the chambers you're referring to?

[swordedpast]

[ Now that he's opened the way, Archer falls easily behind the others, content to follow along. ]

It doesn't look like the snow came in very far--

[ He stops as the smell hits.

The whole place...

...smells like bird.

And indeed, there are feathers and droppings to be seen, but no actual creatures in sight. Yet. ]

[topslug]

[ Yako nods at Hank's question, picking her way gingerly along deposits of bird poop and feathers as she guides them onward. It's not that she's squeamish, as they look like they're a fall hazard; she's not sure her footwear was ever designed to be slip-proof under these conditions. ]

There's a stairwell not far from here. We could take that to go up.

[ And unless there are any suggestions to the contrary, that's exactly where she starts leading them to. ]

[professorlionface]

[Hank makes a face at the floor, then takes a glance around the rest of the hallway. The ceiling might have iced a bit, but he'd rather take his chances there, climbing his way around to avoid the floor.]

[swordedpast]

[Archer follows without a word.

The stairwell should lead up to a common area, but it doesn't seem like it's been used in some time. At least, not by humans. Downy feathers cling to the icy walls.]

[topslug]

[ It doesn't take long to get to their destination, and Yako looks around once they're there. There are doorways leading off the area they've come up in, and it takes her a moment to point towards one of them. ]

That way.

[ As she steps towards it, though, she could almost swear she gets the feeling they aren't alone. Just her imagination, maybe? ]

[professorlionface]

[Hank hops back down onto the floor, looking ahead at the door she's pointed at.]

I'm getting readings up ahead.

[He turns about the room, his dismay growing. For all the signs that this facility's been abandoned, there is definitely something here.]

A lot of them.