Curtains#2 - It Came From Below!

[Keia]

Prof. Fate HP's: 0, Unharmed, Exhausted

Professor Fate looked on, listening to Paul. 'Was there some way to slow the process?' Fate thought. 'My degree isn't in the sciences, but in psychology . . . Can I get into his head and held out someway . . . convince the fungus to abandon Paul. High intensity light? would that drive the fungus away? It did wait until night to show up.'

"Paul, what about light, UV or otherwise, would that drive off the fungus?" Fate asked. "Stay with us, Paul. Focus, Nobody else is dying tonite if I can help it."

'Sooo tired . . . ,' Fate thought as he sagged slightly.

 

[Rybaer]

Lawrence excuses himself to the hallway and finds the zombies just as he left them. Some are standing and others laying, but none seem to notice his presence or react to anything at all.

He does pick up the sound someone else climbing down the ladder from the manhole above.

*****

Paul closes his eyes for a moment, then looks back at Fate. "Cold," he says. "That'll probably work. Find a freezer or some similar place where I can be placed - something that will slow my metabolic processes. It would be dangerous for a human, but I think I'll survive with the fungus incorporated into my tissue."

 

[Velmont]

Lawrence will move quietly and try to find an angle that will allow him to see the person climbing down without being spotted. He will try to identify the person before deciding what to do.

 

[Keia]

Professor Fate HPs: 0/4, Exhausted

"Cold," he says. "That'll probably work. Find a freezer or some similar place where I can be placed - something that will slow my metabolic processes. It would be dangerous for a human, but I think I'll survive with the fungus incorporated into my tissue."

"Cold it is, then," Fate responded, "Granite, Jorgi . . . any ideas of a nearby suitable freezer, cold water tank, or something else of the sort."

Meanwhile, Fate tried to think of someplace himself. Then, looking back down to Paul, Fate asked, "Paul, where is the intelligence of the fungus when it doesn't have a hold of you?"

 

[Rybaer]

Lawrence slips silently forward and into a shadowy nook in the wall. From here, he sees the legs of the newcomer appear on the ladder from the manhole above. The legs pause, and then he squats and pokes his head down to peer into the hallway.

To Lawrence's surprise, he recognizes the man. It's Arty Hagan, the Coast City Chronicle metahuman beat reporter who had questioned him the night before after the incident at the convention center. Arty is surveying the inert zombies and doesn't seem to have spotted Lawrence yet.

*****

Meanwhile, Fate tried to think of someplace himself. Then, looking back down to Paul, Fate asked, "Paul, where is the intelligence of the fungus when it doesn't have a hold of you?"

"I don't think it has an independent intelligence," he says. "If it does, it's too alien to recognize as such. No...I think it was using mine, and overwhelming me with its own survival impulses."

He looks away, grief written across his face. "I think I did some horrible things, though I can scarcely remember them."

 

[Velmont]

Lawrence quickly moves toward the door, but still trying to take a path that would allow him to pass unotice to the reporter. He enters the room where the others are and tells them not too loud to be sure the reporter would not hear, or at least not understand what he says:

"Problems guys! There is a corpse eater climbing down the ladder... I mean a reporter. That's not enough, it is Arty Hagan."

 

[Mimic]

Rolling his eyes at the mention of the reporter, he shifts slightly before speaking.

"Letting that reporter get a look at this guy wouldn't be a good idea, as for cold we still have the liquid nitrogen or if we don't want to kill him any good restaraunt will have a walk in freezer. Either way we should pick a choice before Mr. Hyde comes out of Dr. Jeckles body."

 

[Keia]

Professor Fate HPs: 0/4, Exhausted

"Letting that reporter get a look at this guy wouldn't be a good idea, as for cold we still have the liquid nitrogen or if we don't want to kill him any good restaraunt will have a walk in freezer. Either way we should pick a choice before Mr. Hyde comes out of Dr. Jeckles body."

"Deep freezer first," Fate replied. "Nitrogen if necessary. Granite carry Paul . . . if he becomes active you have the best initial resistance to him."

Fate took his cloak off and gathered a good portion of the base in his cloak (as a bag) tying it off. He was certain he couldn't do that again, and he didn't want to leave all of it behind in case they needed it. He handed the 'bag' to Jorgi and said . . .

"Here, this hopefully won't be necessary, but . . . " Fate commented. "You two go on ahead and find that freezer, I'll try and keep up. If I don't don't worry about it - your first priority is getting him frozen. I'll speak with this Artie on our way up."

 

[Rybaer]

Granite carries Paul with no more effort than a can of soda, while Jorgi (somewhat hesitantly) takes the cape full of sodium hydroxide from Fate. The three of them join Lawrence at the top of the landing and peer out into the hall with the zombies. Arty, it appears, hasn't mustered the courage to come all the way down the ladder yet with the zombies still milling around the area.

Granite and Jorgi head off down the direction from which they came - toward the subway tunnel.

Fate and Lawrence, weaving between the unresponsive zombies, reach the other end of the hall and look up the ladder at a seemingly unsurprised Arty Hagan.

"Ah, hello there," he says. "Guess my hunch to follow the zombies paid off. Mind filling me in on just what the heck is going on?"

*****

Granite and Jorgi work their way quickly out of the tunnel system. Paul's body continues to regenerate the fungal tissue, but slowly enough that they reach street level without having to stop and apply any of the base. The entire way, Paul slips in and out of consciousness.

Coming up to the street, they find it largely secured by dozen police officers and their squad cars. Onlookers at the end of the block are trying to catch glimpses of them. On this block alone, there is an upscale steakhouse and a four-star hotel - either of which would be likely to house a walk-in freezer.

 

[Velmont]

Lawrence leaves Fate to do the talking, but fates can hear the boy muttering "Just trying to protect your @$$, corpseater. And the best way to do it, is not having you in our way."