Project Genesys

Okay, I'm hooked. Good to see you writing again.

Nice very nice. At first when I saw project "genesys" I was like I wonder if it is like that image mini series. Turns out it is. I'm diggin this story hour.

The Seraph of Earth and Stone

“Look out belooooow!”

“Eeek! No, Eddy, do-“ SPLASH!

Deacon slipped into the pool area to the sounds of his fellow students happy at play. A rare smile turned his lips as he rounded the corner and observed them carrying on; he would be the bringer of doom and gloom. This suited him just fine.

He made his way to one of the poolside chairs and flopped down into it, savoring the moment.

“Hey, Deacon, what’s up? You don’t look like you came to swim,” his roommate, Bobby, was pushing himself out of the pool and walking over. In the pool, Roxy quit fussing at Eddy and turned.

“Have you seen Jimmy, Deacon? He was supposed to be here a long time ago.”

Deacon casually inspected the black of his painted nails and ignored them for several seconds, not even listening to their mindless prattle. Finally he looked up, making eye contact with Roxy.

“You guys haven’t heard yet? There’s been an ‘accident’ – one of Jimmy’s roommates got ahold of a gun and killed himself. Jimmy was right there, saw the whole thing. Close enough to get some of the mess on him – I hear he was trying to knock the gun away.

“No one’s seen him since.”

There was complete silence for a moment, then splashing and stomping as the kids hurriedly collected their things and ran out of the pool area. Deacon was left alone again, which really was as he preferred.

*****

“Miss, you are not allowed back there! Please move to the cafeteria with the other students!”

Roxy and the other kids were pushed back. The corridor to their rooms was blocked off and guarded by a group of soldiers, though behind them Roxy could see people coming in and out of Jimmy’s room.

“Let me past, dammit! Jimmy! Jimmy!” she yelled and pushed at the men but they didn’t budge. Eventually she allowed herself to be herded with the others to the cafeteria and took a seat.

Rumors were spreading about the room like brushfire. In addition to the event in Jimmy’s room, there was another story that some kid had torn his own eyes out during physical training. Slowly the room filled until it appeared that all of the students had entered, though there was still no sign of Jimmy.

At last Stephen entered the room, his bionic eye flashing as he surveyed the gathered kids. He waited patiently for the murmuring to die down before addressing them. “Greetings,” he began. “I’m sure all of you have heard about the tragedy that took place today. Let me say how sorry I am for your loss. Alan was a bright young man who was well liked and I am sure he will be greatly missed.

“Unfortunately, it seemed that Alan had problems he was not sharing with any of us, or else this tragedy might well have been avoided. Rest assured that a full investigation is under way. All classes and training have been cancelled for the remainder of the weekend to honor your fallen classmate.”

With that, he turned and left the room, leaving the kids to talk amongst themselves.

*****

Hours later the students were still in the cafeteria, being held until the cleanup crew finished its task. The task was done now, but it was dinner time. In a dead end hallway nearby, a grate banged open and a figure stepped out, covered in dried blood and gore. Numb, Jimmy walked back past the cafeteria and made his way towards his room. The door was locked shut and had a ‘DO NOT ENTER’ sign plastered to its surface.

He sighed and walked to Eddy’s room, finding the door unlocked. He entered and slowly peeled the stiff clothing from his body, dropping it into a chute labeled ‘TRASH.’ Then he went into the bathroom and started a shower, stepped inside, and closed his eyes, letting the warm water pound against his body and slowly remove the gore from his skin. As the crimson water pooled about the drain he felt cleansed, though he would never forget the horror of the day.

Finally he stepped out and turned the water off, then went into the main room and opened the closet, grabbing one of Bobby’s jumpsuits and pulling it on over his naked skin. He turned as Eddy entered.

Eddy stopped in the doorway, a mixture of relief and concern etched in his face as he studied his old friend. Jimmy looked whole, thank God, but his eyes had a haunted look that he couldn’t ignore.

“Jimmy, man, you look like hell. Roxy’s been worried sick – where’ve you been?”

“Hiding in our spot. I couldn’t… I had to deal with it before I could face any of you again.”

“What happened? I mean – I know the line of crap they fed us, but what really happened? The other kids said you were in the room…”

“Get the others, Eddy – get Kate and Roxy and Bobby. I only want to tell this once.”

He told them, and they sat up late into the night talking about what it could mean, and what they could do…

Next: I’ve got the power!

I haven't read this series but this Story Hour is cool!

Sunday was uneventful as the kids were given the day off and the staff basically left them to their own devices. The next day they attempted to take a stand of sorts. At the morning physicals they went along with the routine, until it was Eddy’s turn to take his shot.

“I’m not taking it,” he stated flatly, eyeing the nurse coldly.

“What?” she replied in disbelief.

“You’re not stickin’ that needle in my arm. How do I know what’s in that thing? Some kid shot out purple fire the other day and blew his own head off – how do I know it wasn’t from whatever you’ve been pokin’ us with every day?”

“Mr. Chang, this is for your own good. Please take your shot with the rest of the students.”

“No way,” Eddy folded his arms and glared at the nurse, and failed to notice Stephen enter the room through a side door and move up beside him.

“Is there some problem, nurse?” Stephen’s voice was calm but held an underlying menace.

“Mr. Chang refuses to take his shot today, Mr. Callahan.”

“Is that so? Well, Mr. Chang, in that case would you do me the honor of joining me?” Stephen grabbed Eddy’s arm and led him through the side door. Inside was a small office area with one way glass looking in upon the larger room. Two guards stood by a second door in the back of the room with shouldered rifles. “Please have a seat and I will be back momentarily.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy had reached the front of the line and also refused to take his shot. Stephen stopped beside him and calmly collected him, though his smile was fraying at the edges. Jimmy soon joined Eddy in the back room, and the door was shut firmly, finally.

Stephen sighed, “And how did I know that both of you would try to pull the same stunt together? Nevermind, don’t answer that.

“What exactly seems to be the problem, gentlemen?”

“The problem is my roommate started shooting purple fire out of his eyes and then blew his head off the other day,” Jimmy replied heatedly. “And you know why and you’re not telling us. In fact, I’d say you caused it!”

“Yeah, so Jimmy and I ain’t jumpin’ through your hoops anymore until we get some sort of explanation,” added Eddy.

Stephen’s smile slipped into a mask of cold rage and he took several moments composing himself. “OK, you want an explanation?” he shouted, jabbing his finger into Eddy’s chest to punctuate each word. “Here it is: yes, I am sure that the injections had something to do with Alan’s death. I am just as sure that the two of you are going to play like good little soldiers and follow the program. Including the shots.”

“You’re wacked man – I ain’t doin’ for you, an’ I especially ain’t takin’ no more shots!” Jimmy nodded in agreement with Eddy.

“Don’t you understand? You are both the property of the United States Government! You are going to do as you’re told or you will be discharged from this program and shipped out –“

Jimmy interrupted, “You mean you’ll send us home?”

“Oh, yes, you’ll be going home, alright – in a box. Accidents are not hard to arrange for punk kids that don’t follow orders.

“If I hear of any – and I mean any – disruptions from you two, you’re gonna disappear forever. And just so you don’t get any smart ideas – whatever happens to you, your buddies share the same fate.”

Stephen paused and loomed over them menacingly. Slowly, his cold smile spread across his face again. “So,” he said finally. “Are you ready to take your medicine?”

Jimmy and Eddy looked at each other, wide-eyed, then each hung his head.

“Yes, sir,” they replied.

Next: I got the power!

*****

Thought I'd make it further, but work interfered with my writing We should see the first powers develop next update, though.

You fool! Don't stop now!

I'm surprised it took them this long to object to daily injections!

Good going, so far! (Now, time to crawl back into the air duct and make the ol' Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll)!

Yes must keep going! *twitches* need more

The Seraph of Earth and Stone

Things are starting to heat up! Looks very interesting.

I also would have refused the shot the very first day.

And as for Stephen... the man is a freakin' idiot. He's setting himself up for an underground resistance movement among the kids - kids who are developing superpowers, no less. "Property of the US Government" indeed! Typical megalomaniac behavior, though.

If it'd been me, I would have used the honey-tongued approach: talked up national security, lauded Alan as a hero, expressed horror that he slipped through the cracks, etc.

And if they remained resistant, I would have separated them from the rest of the kids instantly.

Of course, if it were me, I'd have all the rooms bugged so I could listen in on their conversations. Plus I'd have ringers, kids who were on my side from day one. And that little ventilation shaft would have been deliberately set up for them to find.

... But then I'm devious.

Heh - yeah, thats how Stephen is supposed to come across. The man is a freakin' idiot, with a short fuse and no self-control to boot. He doesn't have a subtle bone in his body. I would have liked a smarter, more cunning villain, but the first session was played with about half an hour of prep-time and I just made him stupid and shallow and easy to play (and easy for the players to hate - and they do hate him).

There are some NPCs that are smarter and truly devious walking about, though - they just haven't shown up in the story yet. I wouldn't be surprised if some of that was set up - but not by Stephen.

The thing I've never figured out is how cooperative the players were. I had to keep pushing them into rebellion, and then I still had to give one final nudge before everything blew up. Maybe they were just being tentative since they knew there wasn't a high priest with a raise dead waiting at the temple...

As for devious, I save most of that for my Freeport game, which I put most of my prep-time into developing. Hehehehe, I'll never forget the looks on their faces when Sealord Drac showed up and gave a speech - the day after they killed him (no raise dead magic in that game, either). I'm gonna have to write that game up one day. This M&M game is much less serious (sometimes downright silly) and is more like 'occupational therapy' for a tired DM. My preparation for the session will usually consist of one or two sentences, like "Trouble at the mall" or "fight in the funhouse" and maybe a stat block or two (though I usually improvise those on the fly, too).

Edit: Of course, I'm also dealing with the problem that all this was played months ago and I'm reconstructing it as best as I can from memory. I remember Jimmy and Eddy having a much longer with Stephen in that room, but darned if I can remember anything beyond the threats at the end of the conversation.