damned_institute | 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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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.

Day 43: Intercom, Evening

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