damned_institute | Day 43: Intercom, Evening

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Day 43: Intercom, Evening

Hello! I.R.I.S. here once more to announce to you, our honored guests, that you have officially made it through a day of our typical Landel's treatment. Of course, it isn't quite over: we will now have you retire to our designated patient quarters with one of your agency partners to inspect their sleeping area and the tools that we provide them with for the true bulk of our behavioral testing. On an added note, we would like you to notice once again that the meals we provide to our subjects are of the highest quality.

For those of you feeling apprehensive about taking part in our more intensive methods, please be aware that we would never imagine putting all of you in any danger whatsoever. This last shift will be your last at our Institute; afterward, we will escort you to our Head Doctor's personal observation station to survey some of our test Next-Wave participants in the rigorous trials we put them through – all for their betterment, of course.

Once again, we hope that you are satisfied with what you find, and as always, direct any questions you may have to your console.

The nurses began to escort the patients to their rooms. They didn't even seem to be brought to awareness by words such as "testing" and "subjects."

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. (Find all of the newly changed room assignments and shift introductions here.) If you are introducing your character during this shift, you may either choose for them character to wake up before their roommate gets back, or after. ]

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Today had been a huge waste of time, and nothing had really gotten done. Not that days were usually productive but he'd slept in so late that there hadn't been time to organize anything. Marcus was frowning when he was escorted back to the room. The only good thing about the day was that he'd still had his gun when he woke up.

After having been without a room mate, Marcus wasn't really surprised to have a new one. There were new patients, and while the message from the machine on the intercom was troubling, although he was fairly confident he didn't have to worry about having some sort of agent in his room. "Good evening," Although it certainly didn't sound like Marcus was having a good evening.

He sat down at his desk before introducing himself. "I'm Marcus Cole, or Statesman, if you prefer."

The psychic paused, fork halfway to his mouth as what he presumed to be his roommate walked in. There was a certain...charismatic, authoritative feel to him, a nudge of the mind and extrasenses that human languages didn't have a word for because most had never truly experienced it. It felt almost like the kind of glamour you had with the more powerful fae that went beyond the appearance of beauty into convincing your mind to bend in favor of them.

Abe knew better than to be deceived by such things, but it did mean the man had some power to him and should be treated accordingly.

"Abraham Sapien. It is a pleasure to meet you." He set down his fork and made a small bow, hand, arm loosely curled against his stomach. With the fae politeness was everything, and even if he was an otherwise perfectly normal human it couldn't hurt to be courteous. "The statesman of what, if you don't mind my asking?"

That was an interesting surname Abraham had, but this place was full of people with interesting names. Marcus watched curiously as his room mate gave him a small bow, although it was probably just a cultural thing. He wasn't quite sure what the appropriate response to that was, so he nodded in acknowledgment of it.

"Statesman is the name I chose for my... alter ego, although everyone has known who I am for more than half a century so there's really no point to hiding it anymore." Marcus explained. "You're new here, aren't you?" It was better to get the conversation away from himself. Since the name Statesman hadn't been recognized there was no hope Abe was from a dimension he existed in. Or a dimension that was at least familiar with him.

"Yes, I only arrived this afternoon. What do you mean by 'alter ego'?" Abe was hard to pry off, once he found something interesting. He really wished he could get his mind around the man (or whatever he was), but he wasn't sure quite how to manipulate his way into shaking hands with the imposing figure. Perhaps he could find another way to touch him.

His arm bent back behind him and plucked up a chip between two delicate fingers, as if moving without his bidding.

"Well... I couldn't exactly go out flying in the middle of a city without problems so I put on a costume and took another name. It's a very common practice now in my dimension," Well, on Earth it was, at least. Even some of the Kheldians that had arrived had adopted the practice.

Marcus was a little distracted by the way Abe was moving. It was a little awkward, and there was something off about it, not quite human or normal. Was he dealing with something not human? Abraham was a very human, name, and Sapien had it's own implications.

Abe looked perplexed, head tilting to the side as his automaton arm fed him the chip. That sounded very much like Superman, or one of the other "superheroes" he'd seen on television. Was the statesman insane, or were such things possible in his world? It wasn't entirely out of the bounds of possibility.

"Then many people have these abilities and wear separate costumes for them? That's very interesting!" Now he couldn't resist finding out what was going on. Abe stood, grinning sincerely but far too wide, and offered the statesman a handshake.

"Yes, some people with abilities join specific organizations with uniforms, but for the most part everyone wears something different," Marcus was a bit surprised at the interest, and the sudden grin and offer of a handshake.

Marcus warily accepted the offered hand and shook it. Abe didn't seem like he was being deceptive or had any ill intentions, but his reactions were still very strange. Not stranger than some of the people Marcus had teamed up with, but he was definitely not the average, relatively normal kind of person Marcus expected to encounter. Even considering that he was in a mental hospital that abducted people from multiple dimensions.

Abe was ready for the headache this time, and gritted his jaws to try and keep an innocent expression even as the psychic knife stabbed into his brain again.

Marcus. Defender, protector, flashes of red and steel blue, and power...not a human's power...

It wasn't the pain that made Abe wince and blink his eyes, but the feeling of unearthly strength of being that hit him like a sudden gust of air making a flag snap to attention. Not fae but he was as much a normal human being as Abe was, possibly less. Definitely someone to be cautious about, even if Abe hadn't felt anything particularly sinister about him.

"Oh," he offered in response to Marcus' comment, blinking again to try and get his eyes to focus. He'd barely heard it, but 'oh' seemed a stock answer.

Now that was not a reasonable reaction to a handshake. Marcus couldn't tell exactly what was going on the way someone like Sister Psyche could have, but he could definitely tell that something was up with the way Abraham winced and blinked. He seemed just a little bit stunned, and Marcus pulled his hand away.

"What was that about?" Marcus was a little more concerned about what had just happened than if Abe was alright, but so far he had no reason to believe Abraham was hostile. He was, however, a lot more suspicious about him now than he had been a few moments ago. Something had definitely happened, and Marcus was not happy about anyone trying to pull something on him like that. It was supposed to have just been a handshake, and that sort of deception wouldn't be tolerated.

He wasn't going to jump to conclusions just yet, there could have been a reasonable explanation, but Marcus wasn't going to hold his breath for it, either.

Abe really needed to work on this acting natural thing, didn't he? This would be so much simpler if he didn't need the tactile contact. He rubbed one hand over his protruding eye socket and tried to fetch his mind from wherever Marcus had blown it. "You have...great power in you," he murmured. "I felt it."

There were monsters he'd found with great strength of being as well as body, and he tended to stay out of their minds. Marcus, on the other hand, was masquerading as human and hadn't given Abe any indication that his mind was a bad place to go poking his fishy fingers. It was almost rude.

"Yes. I could have told you as much. You really should be more cautious here, everyone looks human, but I've met a fair number of others who aren't," So it was just a matter of sensing his power and reacting badly to it, if Marcus was understanding him correctly. That wasn't too bad, but Marcus could put up with that sort of thing. It didn't seem like Abe had even picked up any of his thoughts or memories, although Marcus still wasn't sure exactly what had happened.

He had to deal with people hearing nearly his every thought at home. "I'm guessing you're not an average human either. You've probably noticed that whatever abilities you have don't work the same way here they did at home. Everyone seems to be reduced to more or less the same level," Marcus couldn't tell for sure, but there wasn't a clear imbalance of power as far as he had seen aside from the nights when patients were taken and brainwashed.

"Not quite the same level, there are variations. But those with paranormal abilities are stifled as I have been, and as I assume you have been as well. I feel...power from you, but I can't identify exactly what, nor who or what you specifically are." Abe's pose had gone back to being more formal, not quite submissive but polite in the manner befitting a guest.

Raz had his abilities and he was just a child, and if they each came from separate worlds with seperate rules their potential could be unlimited...no wonder they were stifled. A mob of sufficient caliber could take this place over in minutes.

"Not exactly, but there's no huge imbalance of power here either," Marcus commented. "I told you who I am. What I am is a little more complicated, and not something I want to go into. I suspect that I'm among the strongest beings trapped in this place, although I don't really know for sure." Although as soon as Abe found Stefan, he'd probably gladly spill their secret. Marcus really did need to warn Abraham about him.

"Although I should warn you about another person like me. His name is Stefan Richter, although he's also called Lord Recluse. Since you're my room mate he may be more interested in you than normal. Be cautious around him, and be suspicious anything he asks of you or asks you to do. He's been behaving himself so far, but I don't trust him not to take advantage of a situation," Marcus explained. It probably wasn't a good idea to get into this, but Abe seemed a little too curious for his own good. "And if I noticed you trying to do something, he certainly will. He's also around my level of power."

A statesman and a lord, of the same nature but on opposing sides...oh dear, had he just walked into some sort of political struggle? It seemed hugely inappropriate here but then again many nonhumans had very strange priorities and he honestly wouldn't put it past the type or beings who carried grudges to death and beyond.

Abe really, really wanted his frontal lobe back so he could make sense of this mess. "I will keep my wits about me," he promised, hands folded together with the fingertips interlocked. What he didn't promise was who he'd believe, if either of them. Getting into such struggles meant trouble no matter which side you were on or who was in the right, something that Hellboy steadfastly refused to learn.

"That's all I ask," Marcus said. If he could get people to just be wary about Stefan it would be an improvement. There were no clocks in the room, so it was hard to tell how much time had passed, but Marcus didn't want to have to linger in the room longer than necessary.

"I need to get changed... do you mind?" He didn't want his room mate to get the wrong impression if he suddenly started removing his clothing, so he at least had to offer an explanation.

That was perhaps not quite the right wording Marcus wanted to use around someone who had an entire shelf devoted to were-creatures, skin-walkers, and other shapeshifting beings. Sunset was drawing close, or at least Abe assumed it was in outside this small windowless room, and whether it was compulsory or voluntary it did make sense to be in a body more powerful than a human's.

Abe waved a friendly hand at him. "No, it's quite all right, I don't mind at all." He knew such things could be unnervingly graphic to watch, but Abe had seen enough horrors that a simple distortion of physical form that a simple shapechange wouldn't bother him.

Actually, he was curious to see what form Marcus would take. A large predator would be helpful here, or a bird, or something fleet of foot. Ideally not a uncontrollable monster, but the strength of being he'd found in Marcus' mind seemed to signify that his roommate had far more control than that. Besides, someone would have mentioned roommates being messily devoured if he'd been doing it. The psychic shifted his chair to the side a bit, then folded his hands in his lap and sat back to watch.

Well, at least this wasn't going to be a problem. Although Marcus wasn't shy, he'd been naked in front of enough other men in the military, he did think it was a little strange that Abe wasn't looking away. Marcus frowned just slightly as he started removing his clothing, starting with the slippers and socks, and followed by his shirt and pants, which were tossed into the bed.

He didn't remove his underwear immediately, and instead went to open the closet to set out the uniform correctly so it would be easier to put on in the correct order.

At first Abe thought Marcus was simply confused that someone wouldn't be discussed by his abilities. The prejudice against shapeshifters was strong in most cultures, either out of fear or deluded superstitions (or, Abe had to admit, out of justified concerns about bodily harm). Watching Marcus disrobe was a bit unnerving, but Abe assumed he was just taking off his clothes to make sure he didn't tear any of them when his body rearranged itself. And nudity really wasn't the biggest problem in the world, he'd taken plenty of showers with Hellboy.

It wasn't until the statesman took out another set of clothes that the psychic finally figured out that "getting changed" might have meant something far more mundane. And less acceptable to watch.

Abe gave a very soft, startled "oh!" and, far too late, jerked himself around again and faced the wall with his head bowed. "I'm terribly sorry, I hadn't realized...I thought you meant something quite different," he babbled. His face felt warm--perhaps he'd induced his first blush.

The sudden noise and Abe turning around drew his attention away from getting changed, and Marcus spared a moment to wonder what Abe had thought he was going to do. Well, at least now he wasn't being watched, so Marcus got dressed quickly.

Once he had the pants and shirt on there was really no need for abe to stay turned around. "You can turn around again," Marcus said as he put his belt in place. Next up was the cloth mask, and as soon as he had it on properly Marcus reached for his cape.

Abe peeked nervously over his shoulder before facing Marcus again. And yes, there was the barest hint of pink on his cheeks.

He blinked, pondering how Marcus' costume did look like that of a superhero, mask and cape and all the rest of it. "Why do you wear that?" Abe asked, fighting back his embarrassment in the name of research.

"Originally I wore a costume to hide who I was. Since then it's become more symbolic, although it is pretty functional. It's more aerodynamic than normal clothes so it doesn't create as much drag or instability when I'm flying at supersonic speeds. Most costumes these days are made of special materials," Marcus explained as he put on his cape, spending a moment adjusting it before he put on his faceplate as well.

"Fascinating." On anyone else it would sound bored, but from Abe it always sounded wholly sincere. A world of superheroes, then. Hellboy would love it, half the appeal he found in his job was being able to punch things in the face in the name of justice.

The other half just being punching things in the face, of course.

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Day 43: Intercom, Evening

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