epidemiology | EVENT ★ THE SICK AND THE DEAD

EVENT ★ THE SICK AND THE DEAD

THE LAST HURRAH

STATE OF WOODHURST

Things are bad. There's more infected on the streets every day, ravenous since their would-be victims are all boarded up in their houses. Audentes members who are infected are likely feeling ravenous now, too, and some of them are far gone enough that they might need to be subdued.

The city is in a state of panic, and the military has been given permission to use lethal force if necessary to stop people from leaving quarantine; keeping the virus contained is the number one priority of the federal government. As for the local government, all non-essential persons have been given leave until further notice for their own safety.

The police department is still running, but they're in a constant war against the infected, forced to retaliate fatally more and more each day. They have no time to focus on any other crimes.

Some citizens would be thankful if Audentes ran some "errands" for them — attempting to loot what's left of the stores, for example — or accompanied them outside as protection. Many people have family to see, some of them on the other side of the city, but it's nearly impossible to get there without a bodyguard of some sort. Someone could possibly make some cash this way, but there's something more important to do.

MEANWHILE . . .

The hospital, formerly chaotic, has devolved into outright bedlam. Theft and fights with the staff are increasingly common, and frenzied people are constantly demanding a cure the doctors don't have. Fortunately, it looks like Audentes does. Science-minded recruits have been hard at work creating a vaccine, which is widely available already, and a cure, which is rolling out slower.

Administering the vaccine is risky, as it requires escorting people to the hospital without getting killed, as well as hoping the infected constantly wandering into the hospital have been taken care of.

Administering the cure is even more so; it's highly recommended that the infected be unconscious before being given the cure. Even Bristol sufferers have to sleep! If not asleep, knocked out or otherwise sedated will do. It is absolutely not recommended for anyone to go at an angry infected with a syringe, but it's not like anyone's going to stop you... except maybe the infected.

Escorts and security guards are necessary at the hospital. The police department has offered their services, with their main priority being the vaccine. Until everyone is vaccinated, the city can't afford to think of a way to safely administer a cure to the infected population, so anyone interested will have to do it themselves. Stock up on syringes at the hospital and get going!

DR. PERCY

For those more interested in seeking out the source of the virus rather than treating it, it's not difficult to surmise that "Doctor" Percy is hiding out in the sewers. Very deep in the sewers. He's apparently built a subterranean expansion: a series of winding, metallic tunnels with many forks and dead ends. Be careful when exploring, as you might run into one of Percy's robotic bodyguards before finding him.

But once he is found, tucked away in a wide cavern . . .

It seems he's preparing a hasty exit, with almost everything packed up and his human disguise dropped. Without it, he appears to be an alien of some sort, but not one that Audentes has run into yet. His skin is amber, smooth, and slimy. He has several pairs of wide-set eyes of different sizes, but no nose. His mouth extends far across his face, and below it is a wattle, not unlike that of a turkey. Peeling off him at all times are scales; apparently, he's shedding more than just his disguise.

He's completely alone, without another Zymandis agent in sight, and not a particularly good fighter. Subduing or killing him would be easy, especially when it's several against one. When first encountered, he says nothing if spoken to, and only attempts to run.

If attacked, he will summon several robot bodyguards -- seven-foot-tall bipedal constructs who only listen to Percy's commands, directed via remote control. They will fight to the death to protect their master, who will use the distraction to again try to run.

It looks like the choices are clear: Audentes must choose whether to non-lethally subdue him or kill him. If subdued, what happens to him afterwards is still up in the air. Whatever your decision, it's highly likely you'll meet some resistance from the other members of the team, so get ready to argue.

CYOA

Each character will only be able to officially do one of the following choices.

Confront Percy.
Protect citizens.
Spread the vaccine/cure.
Other.

For the sake of tallying, we ask that each individual character submit their choice separately rather than in a group. The Dr. Percy encounter will be open for 48 hours only, after which participants will receive the outcome, which will be based on their choices. The rest will be open for 7 days, will not receive a reply, and will only be used only for tallying purposes. Making a choice is not mandatory, but the choices will affect whether Audentes passes or fails the mission.

You may of course thread out other options, but they will not count for the purposes of the pass/fail tally. Again, you may only officially choose one option per character.

OOC NOTES

Because this log is being posted late in the month, threads are eligible for March or April AC, but not both. Though the encounter with Percy will be a short one, the rest of this log will last two IC weeks. After that, characters will be immediately rifted away from Woodhurst without warning.

THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE CURE: As the virus is not a degenerative disease, characters will suffer no lasting (physical) trauma caused by it. Side-effects from the cure may include nausea, weakness, vertigo, rash, brain fog, numbness of the face, insomnia, dizziness, fatigue, heart palpitations, or vomiting. This may last for anywhere up to four weeks.

THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE VACCINE: Side-effects may include irritability and hunger for anywhere up to four weeks.

Questions about Woodhurst can be submitted to this thread. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

All bounties listed with a 3/25 due date are now closed. There are two open bounties remaining on the Bounty Board, which will need to be turned in by the end of the mission on 8 April. ( 1 2 )

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[The rift Odinson fell through wasn't kind enough to bring Odinson's weapon along with him, so he's making do with a baseball bat. It's probably for the best since they aren't supposed to be killing anyone.

There's a family hiding out in a building nearby waiting for him to finish dealing with the current mob of infected- Odinson's helping them get to a more secure location. He isn't worried about the five infected surrounding him: he's both immune to the infection and used to dealing with pain. There are bite marks scattered over his exposed arms, as well as a various cuts and bruises (the infected are strong.]

Hail! [He butts one infected in the face with the end of the bat as the young man approaches. He recognises him-] You are recovered from your illness?

( really unfortunate on that one, buddy, but for the record? you seem to be doing just fine with that bat. maybe a little too fine. also, wow, those are some bitemarks you got there. he's almost a little dazed watching Odinson fight, with such reckless disregard for taking a blow. it was slightly worrying.

Odinson doesn't even stop the fight to answer, and Peter just stares at him, slightly agape, for half a second, before another infected wheels in toward the giant man in an angry snarl. not to worry, he secures that guy to the ground, too, just so the man doesn't get a good swing of baseball bat. that wouldn't be any fun to deal with after the guy got his cure. and since Peter has plenty on him, he'd like to see to that soon. )

I— um. Yup. Sure. ( this sounds exactly as painfully awkward as it reads. is there a good way to recover from a question like that? he's at least not trying to eat people anymore, so... vague process. ) What about you, are you okay, man? ( most of the infected are dazed on the ground or confusedly pulling at feet stuck to the cement, so Peter has the freedom to wave a hand at the few bite marks scattered over skin. )

[The webs are immediately recognisable to Odinson, and they bring a smile to his face. He had suspected something when he stumbled across this young man in his infected state earlier (how many people had spider-like abilities?) and seeing them up close only confirms it.

If he notices or cares about the awkward responses he doesn't show it. Instead, he laughs- he assumes that just as he has recognised Peter, so too will Peter have recognised him.] One must be human to fear human infection.

[They're thinning the crowd of infected quickly, soon only two or three of the infected are left shamblingly toward them.]

( lbr some degree of awkward is inherent in every variety of Peter Parker. it crosses worlds and existences without any discrepancy. that's just how they are.

if he's supposed to recognize Odinson, well... he doesn't, no. Peter can spot him as a member of Audentes at the very least. the people of Woodhurst were not particularly known for claiming to be inhuman. he's got more questions about that, and they're probably have to get to them, soon... just not now, because there are clearly more relevant tasks at hand. )

I've got some of the cure, but I need them relatively still to administer it. ( relatively. spider senses were at least marginally helpful in stabbing veins of thrashing infected. ) No offense, but you seem like a good man for that job.

[His eyes are back on the infected, reaching for the closest one that's still on it's feet, and he calls over his shoulder-] Where would you like them, Peter? I shall line them up for you.

( he can't help it, the slight wince of his features when the stranger identifies him by name. he actually doesn't assume the guy has met a Peter Parker in a different world — while he knows that's a thing, it's pretty hard to jump to that conclusion.

no, it's much simpler to assume he knows because he'd been crawling all over Woodhurst trying to eat people, and Stiles had rightfully gotten the team to help find him. it's not hard to put those dots together, though while Odinson had run into him, it was impossible for Peter to know the guy hadn't actually gotten his name from the desperate search party trying to find them. )

There's a bench. By the street. ( he'd rather focus on the cure than the reality of his powers and his identity being common knowledge to a stranger. he forces himself to turn and head that way, instead of lingering and fixating. a real struggle, let me tell you. )

Throw a web on it and I'll get it done. [Odinson doesn't seem the wince, doesn't think that Peter Parker might be anything except thrilled to see a familiar face. As gently as he can, he picks up two of the infected that are still standing and heads for the bench.

He chats as he goes, like this isn't a strange situation in which to catch up with a friend-] I did not recognise you the other night, without your spider costume. Had I known it was you, I'd have made a better effort at chasing you down.

[It would have been hard without Mjolnir, but he's pretty sure he could have kept up.]

( so it's going to be one of those days, huh? Peter has dealt with being Known before. it's not even that new. Tony, Natasha, Loki, they're all aware of some version of Spider-Man, Peter Parker, or both. even if he's not quite the same Peter they knew, that knowledge is enough for them to feel comfortable interacting with him, have a baseline of knowledge to work off of.

Peter cannot boast the same. he has no idea who this guy is, or how they're supposed to know each other. he's not sure if he prefers being recognized as the crazy team member that everyone knows was trying to eat people not too long ago, or as a Peter from a world he knows nothing about.

he hesitates, because does he really want to deal with this, right now. the answer is sort of no, but what choice does he have? he crouches to collect one of the unconscious himself, but true to the request he leaves a spot of web as a signal. he gets there first, probably because he was slacking and only carrying one person at a time. he barely even knows what to say in response. )

It's fine. I wouldn't have chased me down, either. ( what a weird thing to have to say out loud... he crouches and sets about finding a vein to deliver the small syringe of the cure. it still baffles him, how little is required to trigger the process of cell death that chases out the virus once and for all. ) I'll be honest, man, I don't recognize you. I guess there's just versions of me everywhere.

[So he is not the Peter Parker Odinson knows. For a second, he stills, his back turned to Peter as he goes to pick up more infected and bring them over for the cure. Then he takes a breath, his shoulders rise and fall, and he keeps moving.

It should not be such a great sadness not to be able to trust this Peter Parker as he would the one from his home.] Well met, then.

[He has another two infected in each arm, bringing them back.] I am Odinson, of Asgard. God of Thunder. I have fought beside a man who had abilities like yours in defence of Earth. I would be honoured to fight beside you in defence of the timeline.

( he's used to the quiet disappointment of being not quite the person he's supposed to be. it's not the best feeling, wanting to apologize for being himself. still, he wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to upgrade to a more capable Peter Parker; after everything that has gone on lately, it's hard not to feel like the worst version of himself. )

Nice to meet you too. ( God of Thunder... he doesn't really remember any gods named Odinson from his mythology class, yet considering his own discomfort at being compared to the idea of something rather than himself, he's not going to make assumptions as to who this guy is, either. )

You're not the first to say that. ( apparently other versions of him are way better at being team players. he's always done his fighting alone, or with Gwen... and it's not a fun story, how that one turned out. ) In my world, it was just me, but... having someone on my side doesn't sound so bad.

[There's another pause, one which the Thor of old would have made an encouraging remark about their combined valour and assured victory. Odinson cannot muster the enthusiasm.

He doubts neither the strength nor their valour, but he is not what he should be. Better to avoid the question altogether.] Tell me, Peter Parker, how long have you been with the Audentes? Can you tell me of our team mates?

( uncomfortable silence re: teamwork. man, okay, you're really selling it here, Odinson. it's fine, Peter doesn't really know what being on a superpowered team would even be like. he just assumes that it's great. now that he's opened up more about what he's capable of, there's a lot of chances for him to learn.

Peter works quickly, providing the cure to each dazed infected Odinson sets down. ) It's... I guess it's been close to a year, something like that. ( which is weird to think about, but Peter isn't even certain of that number. he's never been good with dates. )

I think there's about eighty of us. Sometimes less, when people get transferred. The entire team works... kind of independently, almost. Opinions are divided on practically everything, and the chips don't always land where you'd want them to.

( that might just be personal experience, but Peter finds himself at odds with the actions of the team much of the time. )

Most of them seem like decent people, though.

[Odinson would have to agree with that assessment. He'd arrived here, in the middle of the action, with no direction from any of the Audentes. He'd only learned of the decision not to kill the infected because of someone on the network.]

Aye, I have had the same impression. Well-intentioned, but unorganised.

( not always well intentioned, either, but it's early in the morning to be casting shade on the team... or Peter is trying not to throw a bunch of negativity at a newbie. a giant, unbelievably strong newbie, but newbie all the same. )

I've been here almost a year, I think, and it's always been this way.

( just a warning — hoping for a cohesive unit might be a bit of a high expectation for the team as it was now.

the two of them work together fairly well and surprisingly quickly. the crowd Odinson had incapacitated through sheer beefy strength have all been seen to, administered the cure they needed to get better. it's barely a thimble compared to the flood of affected, but it was a start. ) What are your thoughts about teaming up to try and tackle the infected in the sewers? ( there were a lot of them down there, but by the looks of it Odinson would be a good partner to have, when he wasn't even worried about catching the virus in the first place.

maybe being a team wasn't so bad after all. )

[It is good to have someone familiar to work with, to take his mind off his problems. Sure, this Peter Parker is not the one he knows, and on closer acquaintance

When the offer comes to prolong the work, he doesn't hesitate. He doesn't quite smile, but his eyes are bright with excitement.] We'll have it cleared by sunset.

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EVENT ★ THE SICK AND THE DEAD

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wrap on yours?

donnne