Event | Turtle Dive | January 20 - 23 | Underwater zombies crave your briiiiiines

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all PCs
Date: January 20th - 23rd
Location: All Sectors
Situation: Tu Vishan continues swimming along the ocean floor after his monumental dive, but it turns out there are a whole bunch of undead that want in on the party!
Warnings/Rating: Underwater situations, violence, potential gore; to be updated as noted.

>See the comments of this post for various situations and areas available for tagging.
>Each header will be set for a date and/or area.
>Feel free to start your own header for specific situations.
>The Palace subplot will be run in a separate log.
>Refer to the two OOC posts for further details. 01 | 02

Comments

[duelkatana]

The weight is suddenly wrenched from Leo's shell with brain-rattling force, and for a moment he lies sprawled and grasping blindly for his katana with the roar of adrenaline in his ears. It only takes him a moment to find them; the second their hilts touch his palms he's staggering up to his feet, glancing over to his brother and muttering a breathless thanks.

Raph makes the call to retreat and Leo can't argue - their weapons are useless if cutting and stabbing won't work. He glances down to where the alley opens up into the street, hordes of the disgusting undead ambling about and some of them heading this way. Yeah, retreating sounds good.

"Fire escape," he cries, turning to face the newest wave closing in. If they can just get to the rooftops...against his better judgment, Leonardo's eyes drift to the kedan's body - and a cold, sick feeling solidifies in his gut like a block of ice.

The corpse is moving. Leo watches in muted horror as its limbs twitch, bending and twisting into unnatural positions. The pulpy mass of its abdomen trembles with the movement, dark blood and gore rippling in the air like rancid soup. Then the kedan's head lifts, and slowly, with a jerking motion and horrible grinding of vertebrae, it twists to meet his gaze with a glistening crimson maw. Eyes dead, sunken...and so very starving.

Leo tears away to look at Raph. "Move!"

[meanandgreen]

If there's one thing Raph hates it's running away from a fight. But this fight? Yeah, he's pretty okay with running. The minute that kedan starts coming back from the dead, he's out of there like a shot, booking it for the fire escape and grabbing the metal rail. It shudders as he flips himself onto it and sprints skyward. He makes it to the roof as the creatures howl their demented, hungry screams from the ground below.

It's a small mercy that these things are too wracked with rigor mortis to make their way up the rickety stairway. He reaches the rooftop, panting and gore-covered, and more than a little disturbed. Below them the zombies moan and paw at the brick, lamenting their escaped prey.

Still, Raphael can't help himself. He perches on the side of the rooftop and watches with morbid fascination as the body of the dead kedan drags itself onto its feet and ambles out of the alleyway with the other creatures, its half-eaten intestines dragging behind him.

Soon the alley is just a gore-spattered memory, the monsters filed back into the streets in search of easier prey.

[duelkatana]

Leo is less than half a second behind Raph up the fire escape - and just for good measure, he slams his heel into the rickety ladder leading up to the first level, causing it to snap from the frame and clatter to the ground with an ear-splitting crash. It attracts the attention of a few more jiangshi, but without a way up they're powerless to catch the turtles, and Leo's not taking any chances with their ability to climb.

He scrambles to join his brother at the rooftop's edge. The zombies clawing at the walls with gaping, rotted faces stare back, their heads angled too far up to be natural, many of them coated in the gore of nameless victims. Leo watches in silence with his brother until they give up and shamble away - including the kedan.

Now it's just the two of them. Leo backs away from the roof's edge and sits down, hanging his head and shaking it. Unbelievable. He's seen more than his share of disturbing situations in his life, but this is a serious contender for something he'll be seeing in his nightmares. The stench of the zombies' blood, congealed thickly on the both of them, makes him want to puke up everything he's eaten in the last week or two; this is even worse than Stockman's degeneration.

"Damn." Succinct enough.

[meanandgreen]

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Raph just folds his arms, closing himself off as the adrenaline slowly ebbs out of his system. He's seen a lot of disgusting, terrible things in his life, but this takes the cake.

He's more than a little shaken up, and it's a feeling he doesn't really know how to cope with. The best he can do is just try not to think about it. Just keep moving. Eventually this whole thing will be over one way or another. He just hopes it won't cost them their lives.

He stands in silence for a long while, pulling himself inward and away from everything he just saw. His eyes are dark, disturbed, his stomach twisting inside of him.

But he won't give in to it. He refuses to go down this way. They have to keep moving. They can't just sit around and let this happen. Let people die. Let them become one of those things.

What's most disturbing of all his just how close he came to getting bit himself. How close Leo got. If that happened to his brother he doesn't know what he'll do.

Either way, they can't stay here. Not with those things falling from the sky. But he's got absolutely no clue what they're supposed to do next.

"What now, Leo?" He knows it's the question of the century. "We can't stay here. We're sittin' ducks."

[andaway]

We'll have to show you then, but we'll have time to deal with that later. How about I freeze them off and you kick them as much as you want later?

[tactile_telekinesis]

[He couldn't help but bring it up. Saving it for later would keep being that very thing, 'later'. There was doubt he would ever bring it up again and just keep it to himself even though he had spoken to so many people about it.

His brow was creased and he shook his head.]

I'm pretty good at hiding things, no one did. [He pauses.]

Not...really? I'm not exactly the happiest person ever but...I'm not angry the way I was. I've had time to calm down and listen to what people had to say. There's still anger, I mean I didn't like what I saw. Smallville High? Really, Kal? [He smiles a little.] Talk about a borefest!

[notdreaming]

Alright. Then I can take care of the civilians.

[wholenewstory]

[Cass takes a more defensive stance, shifting close to Kara and striking at any creature that gets in range.

Her eyes widen as Damian's words sink in, and she turns to Kara with a determined gaze.]

Shouldn't be out here.

[notdreaming]

Kal has... something...

[ She's just so tired. She can't think of the word, she can barely register what they're saying. Suddenly her laser vision stops and she blinks, looks down at her hands, but her x-ray vision isn't working either. Darkness creeps in the edges of her vision and her hands drop along with the rest of her. ]

[andaway]

[He knows he's trying to make him laugh, he knows. But it's hard to let himself do more than a little smile when he feels Kon slipping away like he did that last time.]

I thought it'd help you adapt to a normal life like I did, but you never really seemed to like the idea.

[He sighs, looking down. The little cube is done working, he can tell they won't be any more energized than this.] I... well, now you know. There isn't much more I can tell you that you don't know already if they showed you, but if there's any way I can help you just tell me.

[andaway]

We have a plan then. And please, yell for me if you need to recharge.

[demon_brat]

[Damian actually helped her turn sideways, to make sure water could be expelled from her body without choking her, and he actually heaved a sigh as she passed out again - but steadied her in recovery position while he sat back to catch his breath and thoughts.]

[If they were adults, five people on a bike would be sheer idiocy. However, they were all of them... young. And the kedan could shrink their size ever further. He looked up at the trio.]

She'll be fine. But we should probably get back to Keeliai. Can you... make sure we all fit on the seat of the bike? Her in front of me, you three behind.

[The kedan looked at each other, than at the bike, then slowly nodded.]

[And the one who was still wet darted closer and whispered thank you in Zatanna's ear.]

[heinously]

[ And by golly, it did.

The fire rages across the abdomen first before spreading like hot oil. It isn't long before the creature's body gives a sickly lurch, sagging forwards on a crumpling gait before collapsing in a heap of ashes into the earth. ]

Potential, [ Albel murmurs in amusement, drowned out by the din of the roaring flame. And if Terry happened to hear him, well, that would register a solid 0.0 on his care-o-meter. Left much to be desired in the matters of grace, yes, but the boy could play the needed part to the hilt during a crisis.

In more immediate and practical terms, this meant that Terry wasn't completely within the realm of uselessness. After a moment's pause, Albel approaches the scalded carcass before stopping in his tracks. Nothing better than the bittersweet scent of sizzling zombie-flesh in the morning. The captain had scarcely ever seen anything else so splendidly beautiful. ]

Perhaps I should give you some pointers. You seem to need them.

[demon_brat]

[Damian looks over at Cassandra, but then Kara drops, and he moves automatically, taking as much of her weight as he can (either because of distance or because of, well, his sister probably doing the same). If nothing else, he makes sure the blond head doesn't crash into the tile.]

Do you think he'd come if we just called? Or get her to a place with a console?

[backwordscompatible]

[Somewhere, deep in the recesses of her subconscious, Zatanna heard him. She wouldn't remember the expression of gratitude, nor what happens from then until she wakes up again, but a small part of her would still know.]

[She was dead weight in their arms, the majority of it her wet clothing. Not much they could do about that, though, as her lithe frame was loaded into the seat of the bike. With more care by some than others.]

[wintershepherd]

[ He gives her a ghost of a grin. ]

Don't worry about me. Do you have any idea what kind of brain freeze I'd give these guys if they tried to chew on me?

[dragonswag]

[ Lina cringes at the tone of voice, and she throws her hands upas if in defense. ]

Jeez, give me a little credit, will you? I'm not aiming at the civilians! And you won't be able to clear out anybody if we don't take care of these undead. Fire's the only thing that works.

[ And then she looks quite a bit more serious, looking critically at Shepard. ]

Look, you obviously know what you're doing. I'm not here to rain on your parade, just to lend a hand. I'm trying to save them too! Besides, this is what I do. So just trust me, okay?

[ "Just to lend a hand" might be an exaggeration, but whatever. Lina can demand payment for her services from the civilians later, and only if they survive. So she's at least...invested. ]

Can your magic -- whatever it is -- can you make a barrier with it?

[demon_brat]

[... hey, Robin was careful. Not necessarily gentle, but he wasn't rough, either. Merely efficient.]

[He also made sure she had the most of the protection his body armor could offer, against the ride. Not much, but still. He let her settle against him, head against his shoulder so he could watch where he was driving, and pressed close so the other three could fit behind them. (He wasn't leaving anyone behind.)]

[The ride was probably a little faster than comfortable speed would be, but Damian wasn't looking forward to what they'd find in the city - so he wanted to be done with it as quickly as possible.]

[And there would be a lot to be done with, there, almost as soon as there were houses around them. Damian used the momentum and his strength to smack some of the most eager zombies away from them, but that wasn't going to last.]

There. The purple house. [It was still some distance away, but he wanted the kedan to be ready.] As soon as I stop the bike, climb to the second-floor window, get inside, and barricade yourselves. Can you do that?

[There was a brief silence. And then a quiet,] Yeah. We can do that.

Good! Ready, set, go!

[He'd maneuvered the bike as close as possible to a portion of the wall they could climb with only moderate difficulty, then he stopped, slipped off, himself, as soon as the three bodies wiggled out from behind him, and laid out Zatanna on the bike seat, preparing to give them all a little bit of breathing room before venturing further into the city - to somewhere safer. He couldn't just leave her, after all.]

[backwordscompatible]

[She groaned twice during the ride back, whenever he hit a rough patch of road, jostling her uncomfortably in the seat. If she didn't wake up soon, she would be incredibly sore in the morning.]

[Actually, no, scratch that. Her everything was already scheduled for some serious pain once the initial endorphins and adrenaline wore off.]

[The path was clear for the duration of the first trip. The kids, safe and already heading for shelter. Offering one last glance to the pair before taking off. It was clear for the moment. No signs of life or afterlife or any other potential dangers. Not until they made it further into the city, where one of them had almost been waiting for them. A familiar face that no longer recognized either or theirs.]

[sophos]

[Annabeth darts when Rikki beckons, then gives a whistle of approval for the grenade.] You can still conserve them - you know, try not to use them unless there are multiple zombies within its reach.

[She scans the area. The grenade took out two, with a third fruitlessly attempting to put out some flames on its arm. But there are two more approaching, lured over by the sounds and souls.]

Can you get your sword back? [She's not sure it's in the ashes or not.] We can corral them, then you should be able to get the rest with just one more grenade.

[Her brain's already making calculations and going a mile a minute as to making just that work, and she probably looks super focused. She's hardwired for this.]

[cmdreffingshepard]

No rear exit? What kind of planet is this? [She mutters it to herself, but herds them all inside anyway. Shepard is nothing if not good at improvising with limited knowledge and resources. She hurls another shockwave out, knocking the zombies back, then concentrates some of her biotic energy to create a barrier outside the door they just came in.

It won't hold for too long, but she hopes it'll delay them a few minutes at least.]

[cmdreffingshepard]

[She lets him take this one - her biotics are powerful, but they take it out of her if she uses them too much.]

Getting the sit-rep on the run is kind of old hat for me, though.

[cmdreffingshepard]

Like I said, getting them to the palace or some other safe, secure location is the first priority. If destroying the zombies is how we get there, fine, but I'm not risking more life than we have to. [It's a point she won't budge on. No matter how high her personal body count gets - and to be fair, it's really high by now - she won't sacrifice innocent life if she can help it.]

I can do some barriers, but they won't slow them down for more than a couple of minutes. Long enough for us to duck down another street, maybe.

Re: closed

[imaginate]

[Kyle's been working hard once he discovered fire's the most effective solution. He's worked on freeing all the pockets of civilians still remaining, and getting them towards the safehouses, as well as assisting anyone who doesn't have a torch with them.

Seems like Annabeth is amongst that number. She's too close for him to risk firing directly, so with a quick flick of his wrist he puts a glowing green aura around her before he takes aim and toasts them.]

[hackingyoursensors]

[He nods.]

Got it. ["Be careful."]