11344/What Lies Beneath

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What Lies Beneath
Date of Scene: 26 May 2022
Location: WestChester - Upstate New York - Montrose Point
Synopsis: The Foot are working on an experiment when they have a few uninvited guests.
Cast of Characters: Shredder, Vic Sage, Iara Dos Santos, Natasha Cranston




Shredder has posed:
    Montrose Point. What points to that? Recently there have been some things happening in Gotham. Some chemical thefts. They weren't large scale thefts though. Precise, ones that wouldn't generally activate any warning flags. Not for normal people. Each theft was done the same way, the cameras never saw the culprit. They were blacked out using a thrown projectile that seemed to be simply a chicken eggshell and was filled with some mixture of ink, graphite, and egg albumin. Horribly sticky and opaque, but overall, not that difficult to clean off later. It didn't even damage the cameras.

    The quantities were small, a series of chemicals that seem unrelated. But they all have a similar thread. Genetics. All of them are used in genetic experimentations. None of them are volatile, not for bomb making and the like, so they weren't flagged as all that big a deal. Individually, they are fairly begnin.

    So why Montrose Point? Quite frankly, it's one of the few places where there is no reason for someone to be along the river. Transportation was seen from the Chinatown docks, reported unknown vessels that just made their way out into the Bay, and up the river. The Hudson River has a lot of buildings. Houses, businesses, parks. All populated. All places someone would see you. But Montrose point is fairly undeveloped. It also makes a fantastic place to be alone. Occassionally a fisherman might be found by the shore, but nobody is really supposed to be in this sanctuary. It's just undeveloped land. A good place to find some quiet time.

Vic Sage has posed:
Why Montrose Point? Isn't that The Question?

Far from being 'normal people', Vic Sage saw a pattern. And it wasn't one he liked like that one time he broke into the MOMA during their Picasso exhibit. This pattern was no coke-fueled spark of inspiration. No, it was something more nefarious.

Leaving his beloved Gotham, Vic loaded up in his Pontiac and made his way to New York, putting his car through the fence of the sanctuary and making the rest of his way towards the River on foot. His hands are tucked deep into the pockets of his trench coat as he walks slowly, the mask covering his face disguising the fact that his eyes are bouncing all over the place in an attempt to drink in every detail. Who knows when something important might show up? When your dealing with a shadowy cabal that's trying to play god, the smallest bit of information could break the whole case open. Or save your life.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     A recent addition to the X-Family, Iara has taken to experimenting with her shark physiology, and today happens to be the day she tries out the brackish waters of the Hudson. So far she's only been in salt water, where her gills can breathe without question, and while theoretically she should have no trouble breathing in freshwater for a limited amount of time... Well, she's not going to push her limits to the extreme today but it's good to get a ballpark on what she can tolerate, and the Hudson should be a perfect baby step with its saltier water towards the ocean and fresher water upriver.

     Iara is wearing her simple red and black wetsuit today, a clothed and civilized looking giant face-eating shark woman, but the murky waters of the hudson likely obscure most of her save for the shark fin breaking the surface of the water.

Shredder has posed:
     A small fishing boat can be found anchored near the shore. It's nothing fancy, but it does a good job of hiding what happens behind it to those who are on the river. It doesn't hide anything, however, from the shore side. Into the water the sounds of splashes can be heard, and a team of people in scuba gear can be seen beneath the river's surface. Given the nature of the experiment, they must not have had a facility with enough water available to them.

    From beneath the water, the motor of a wench can be heard as the boat's small crane system lifts a hammerhead shark from a small tank. The creature is a bit lethargic, most likely sedated. It's not the largest anyone has ever seen, that's for sure, maybe eight feet in length. It flips a little in the sling, being cranked toward the water.

Vic Sage has posed:
Slinking up next to a tree and peeking around it as things start happening, Question slips a small camera out of his coat and begins to take a few snapshots.

His free hand tugs at the tie around his neck, loosening it a touch as his whispers to himself. "Doesn't look like Cadmas. Or STAR," he notes. His blank, pseudoderm face bends into a frown and he's tucking the camera away and shifting himself closer to the boat, hoping to get a better look.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Shit. Scuba divers. Iara has to think about this, taking a moment to sink beneath the waves since nobody's been calling out "Shark!" in an alarmed fashion, and emerging back above the water in her human form, significantly shorter with a wetsuit that hangs off her now, the brown-skinned and wavy-brown-haired brazillian in what used to be considered her normal form. Slinking over to the water's edge to creep up closer on land, the mutant sees the shark being hoisted from the water... and that never fails to get her goat. Resolving to put a stop to... Whatever the hell they plan on doing here, Iara creeps closer, but she's no ninja, and in fact, wearing bright red amongst the trees of the nature preserve, but hopefully a tree to hide behind will give her a little bit of stealth when it comes to spying on what the hell is going on here. They could be researchers, after all. Can't just go around attacking every college research project or something, right? But she's had experience with shark finners, so if anyone grabs a knife and approaches that hammerhead... She's ready to spring in.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
        Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man?

    Small thefts. Almost tiny. If one of the victims hadn't had delivery contracts with a CMS subsidiary, Natasha might not even have caught wind of them, but once she knew to start looking, the pattern became... Concerning.

    Clearly the goal of the theft wasn't profit -- chances were that the equipment expended and the preparation time would cost more than the value of the items so stolen -- and while the thefts themselves seemed almost random, it was equally clear that the thief or thieves had a very exact shopping list.

    A brief consult with a retired chemistry professor yields as many new questions as answers; many of the stolen items could just have easily been purchased legitimately... Unless the culprit was trying to avoid creating a trail leading back to them.

    Putting all that together suggests that someone is planning a little unauthorized genetic experimentation and doesn't want to be held responsible for the fallout.

    This bears personal investigation. Montrose point, it is...

Shredder has posed:
    The team seems far more interested in their project than in any of those who have become aware of their presence. If they do know, they are currently keeping focus on their task as anyone who would have a legitimate activity would do. Maybe it is normal?

    Two of the divers reach up, guiding the shark down to the water. Exiting the small cabin is another figure that is overseeing the project. He's tall, and almost certainly no scientist. A purple cape hangs down his back, and a helmet that is reminiscent of ancient japan covers his head. A kabuto. A black cloth covers the nose and mouth of his features. Silver pauldrons sport blades, as do armguards. Those who are intimately familiar with the underworld of New York may have heard his description before. It's the Shredder. A woman exits behind him, holding a large syringe with a green substance.

Vic Sage has posed:
"Shredder," Question growls, kneeling down behind a rock. "It's always ninjas," he complains to himself, tucking a hand inside his coat to rest on the grip of the Colt 1911 resting inside of his shoulder holster. He doesn't pull it, he just likes to remind himself that it's there. Call it a compulsion. He clenches a fist in frustration and punches himself in the leg, voicing a quiet grunt. "Damn it."

He stands up straight and slides over the top of the rock he'd been hiding behind, tucking his hands into his pockets, walking straight-backed and confident towards the dock. "This whole thing smacks of unofficial," Question calls out to the folks aboard the vessel. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to see some permits. Introducing a non-native species to an ecosystem comes can cause a whole heap of mess. Just imagine if he were to make his way into the City and open up a pizzeria. Then we'd all be in trouble."

He stops in front of the gangplank and slides his hands out of his pockets, gloved hands clenching and unclenching.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The Question's presence comes as a surprise to Natasha as well, who had been preparing to make her own entrance to disrupt the ongoings. Instead, she shifts her position, still hidden, for an angle where she can range on both Shredder and the syringe, whichever she decides prioritizes her attention.

    But shooting can wait a bit longer. For now, let the Question make his play, and be ready to back him up when needed. After all, against a ninja the best weapon is one so well concealed you yourself didn't even realize you had it...

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara's brown eyes peer at the man in the blue trenchcoat and fedora, squinting, but this is rapidly looking like one of those situations she's overheard at the x-mansion, some ne'er-do-well doing... something shady out here. She still doesn't know enough but gets the feeling this is about to get scary, so she gets scary again in turn. Still... attempting stealth and not exactly trained in it, the barefoot brazillian's skin turns grey as her eyes turn glossy and black once more, teeth forming triangular and serrated as she grows in height and weight, filling out her wetsuit properly. Purple cape and japanese helmet vs blue fedora detective lookin' guy, that's basically all the context she needs to know the blue guy thinks the big purple guy's up to no good... and he looks outmatched.

     Iara swallows as she prepares herself, a shark head peering around the corner of the small cabin that the tall one had emerged from, looking between the two of them and ready to leap into action when the fight starts... Though hopefully the detective-lookin' one realizes she's on his side, if it comes to that.

Shredder has posed:
    The show from Vic gets little attention, but the attention that it does get? It's not friendly. The Shredder's steel eyes shift to the approaching man, and he speaks deliberately and quietly. "Hold." The team below stops, the shark touching the water, but not in it. They splash some water up onto the animal to keep him wet, but the woman on the boat with the syringe doesn't move.

    There's the snap of his fingers, and two more figures emerge wearing red kabuki masks and black shozokus. They look remarkably unfriendly. One carries a Kurisama, of average heigh, and atheletic in build. The other carries what looks like an atgeir, and is a rather impressive height of 6'10", and barrel chested. Apparently not all ninjas are small and lithe.
    "Dispose of him before we proceed." Does the Shredder see through the ruse? Or perhaps he really doesn't care whether The Question is a legitimate official or not. He's in the way. For the moment, though, he's managed to draw the full attention of the Foot Clan, giving The Shadow and the Shark Girl a pass on being detected.

Vic Sage has posed:
Question rolls his neck, producing a litany of pops and cracks his knuckles in front of his chest. "Saw your little shopping list, Shredder. Need to learn to be a little bit more discreet. Like me," Vic advises, fingers flexing as his hands lower back down to his side. He spies the friendly-seeming shark lady and tilts his head a bit in confusion. Maybe the Hand worked real fast. Either way, she can wait.

Question isn't too concerned about the impending fight. He was trained in this sort of thing by Richard Dragon. He can do jumping split kicks, punch like a freight train, and judo throw with the best of them. He's also got a gun.

The Colt is produced in an instant and leveled at the ninja with the Kusarigama, the slide bouncing back as the barrel barks and spits flame. Then he's trying to point it at the man with the atgeir. He never was the best at acquiring new targets. A real hyper-fixater, that Question.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Shark-Girl has seen enough, it's time for action, her jaws opening wide in anticipation for all the biting she's about to do, saliva drooling from her blender of a maw. But how does she do this? How will the blue guy know she's not with them? Does she just say she's with the X-men? Do the X-Men have a battle cry? If they do she hasn't been told it... Wait, no, a big monster type like her is more of an X-Force deal, right? That sounds believable, she's wearing red and black, yeah, that should work! Do they have a battle cry? It's too late, her words are going faster than her brain as she starts running towards the giant ninjas, shouting "X-FORCE! X-... uh... ATTACK!"
     Iara's plan is simple and not all that thought out. Tackle the big one from behind and start biting until he goes down, then move on to punch the other one and maybe bite him too, whatever savage attack will get them to go down. That plan might be thwarted straight away if he goes down from Question's bullet before she can even get there, but either way, she's getting close and personal with these ninjas.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    And just like that, violence ensues and the shooting starts. There won't be a better moment for this, and every second that that syringe remains intact is one where its owner might do something drastic with it.

    A shot rings out from the shore, and before anyone has quite realized there was another player on the field the syringe shatters into fragments, sending spatters of green goop scattering on the deck.

    At the origin point of the shot, fog and darkness seem to swirl up together, expand, solidify... And then there is a second figure in a long coat and a concealed face -- although this one's eyes can be seen. Not that the cold glare from underneath a slouch hat is any more reassuring.

    "<<You may find disposing of him more difficult than you assume, onmitsu, >>" the Shadow taunts Shredder in reasonably fluent Japanese. << Besides, it would do you no good - the shadows will not shelter you here. >>

Shredder has posed:
    The smaller of the two ninjas is faster than a simple hip shot, revealing that these two are not run-of-the-mill recruits that have often been encountered in the city. As the gun is raised, he immediately drops to the ground, the bullet only narrowly catching him in the arm, rather than in anything moer critical.

    The second leaps forward on that same instant, only to find himself from behind caught by an equally massive opponent, sending them both crashing off the side of the boat and into the water. He doesn't yell as the teeth sink into him and draws blood, but releasing his weapon, he moves to his sash, pulling a kunai from his belt and begins to stab behind him in the water at his unexpected assailant.

    As the syringe shatters, the woman holding the syringe recoils with a gasp, the glass cutting her hand. "No!" The mutagen mixes with her blood, and she quickly tries to wipe it off. "No no no no!" she screams, drawing the momentary attention of the Shredder. He doesn't spend long on her panic, nor give her comfort. His gaze immediately traces straight back to the origin of the shot to see the Shadow. "Bravado will offer you no shelter," he answers her. "You should run."

    He shows himself not to be a backline type of leader, but bursts forward to the edge of the ship, leaping from the bow toward the third interloper, his tekko nagi blades brandishing as he glides forward in a pounce as one might expect of a hungry lion.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara is frequently at risk of losing herself once she gets the taste of blood, her shark instincts taking over once she's in the water with her foe and only compounded by the sharp pain of being stabbed in her side. What little restraint she had left disappears instantly, the bone-crunching bites becoming lightning fast as her scales allow her body to move through the water much faster than the human's bulky clothing.

     What the others can see from above the waves is... a lot of blood in the water, and pieces of the large ninja slowly surfacing, bobbing around in the turbulent waters. Probably the most terrifying thing is the silence that follows, broken only by more chunks of flesh that looks like they belonged to one of the divers, the shark-woman lost in a frenzy in the waters and attacking anything she can get her teeth on... and likely sending several divers screaming as they try to get out of the water before they're eaten alive.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    A lesser man than the Shredder would not have been able to make that leap. But even so, it takes time, and in that time the Shadow moves, darting away -- but as the figure moves there is a flicker, like an involuntary blinking moment, and a double memory of seeing the figure leap away to the left and to the right, or both, or neither... But regardless of anything, where the Shadow stood is nothing but empty air and an echo of mocking laughter.

    "Nor do I need it to," comes the reply, somehow echoing across the water and among the trees despite there being no surface to echo off of. "You, on the other hand would do well to worry about what's currently eating your lackeys rather than swinging at mist and shadow..."

Vic Sage has posed:
With things very quickly and severely 'popping off', and his first target ducking out of view, Question brandishes his handgun now at the man with the plan, The Shredder. He's got six shots left and all of them are fired at the big man. It's not likely that the .45 rounds will do...anything at all, but they may just serve up enough distraction for Vic to come up with a better plan.

Shredder has posed:
    One of the elites down through an unfortunate bloodthirsty rampage that has torn him to pieces. Understanably, the scientists in the water panic, desperately clamoring for shore, forgetting the shark that was left behind. The animal has started to wake up, flopping desperately in its sling, though unable to get out.

    The smaller ninja puts his head up over the edge of the boat, seeing the carnage below. A rage boils in him, and with Vic forgotten, he takes the chain and blade, slinging it out toward Iara. He has a grudge now, and he's going fishing with his hook.

    Shredder, as infuriating as the Shadow's evasion may be to him, does recognize that the problem in the water is far more significant. Vic, though, is more immediate. As the first bullet whizzes his direction, he shifts, a ring of ricochet off his helmet. By the time the second is fired, he's already sprinted low beneath the aim of the pistol. On the third he's to the left of it. On the fourth he's to the right. By the fifth he twists making a lower profile, and on the sixth a shuriken whizzes from his hand straight at the revolver. The shuriken isn't the problem though. It's the two blades attached to his fist that are thrusting straight for Vic's belly!

    What may not be noticed in the midst of this chaos, though, is that the woman on the boat who held the syringe, she screams out in pain, her right arm starting to discolor to a grayish tint. She drops to the deck, watching in terror as her body starts to transform before her.

Vic Sage has posed:
The Big Man's either got great aim or bad aim, because that shuriken digs into the back of Vic's hand causing him to drop the now-empty pistol to the ground. Digging throwing stat out with a curse, Vic's featureless face somehow manages to betray the pure horror that he's experiencing as he spies Shredder's blades heading straight for him. It's Lady Shiva all over again. He wasn't prepared then, but he is now.

Pulling a small yellow capsule from his pocket, he whips it towards the ground and leaps out of the way, the capsule exploding into a plume of dense yellow smoke.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     The giant mutant shark's gills are narrowly missed by the hook of the smaller ninja when it pierces her shoulder and pulls, the shark woman's face emerging from the water with lifeless eyes and lips curled back into a silent snarl, the savage woman's webbed, clawed hands at the ends of her muscular arms reaching to grab that chain and pull the smaller ninja into the water down with her, freshly drawn flesh hanging off her triangular teeth as the pain and spark seems to make those giant eyes narrow a little, pulling her a bit out of her frenzy without a target in arm's reach. She audibly gasps now that her face is out of the water, even though her gills are still splashing amongs the surfance, and realization seems to start to hit her face... but she can't focus on that now, instead just pulling on that chain that's hit her, hopefully the smaller ninja isn't super strong enough to start really pulling her out of the water...

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    As Vic jumps away under the cover of his smoke bomb, the Shadow's guns roar - several shots fired in Shredder's direction, bracketing his likely movements and forcing him to give up on a direct follow-up after the Question. "Your lackeys seem out of sorts, onmitsu. You'd do well to cut your losses."

Shredder has posed:
    Shredder's missed strike causes no missed beats as the blades slide past the dodging Vic Sage and over the pluming yellow smoke, he continues his movement as he adjusts his weight. The movment fluidly passes from a stab into a spinning crescent kick, aimed to kick his opponent into the water, hopefully closer to the shark girl. Knowing little of her demeanor, he can only hope that she'll happily take another meal and spare his scientists. Good scientists are hard to find, you know. The first shot from Natasha draws his attention away, glancing up toward the Shadow's assault. He throws a pair of his own black smoke pellets to cloud her shot, but it does take his attention off Vic.

    The smaller ninja plants his foot on the railing of the boat, preventing himself from being tugged into the water. He's strong, but nothing beyond normal human standards. While he doesn't go in, the contest does result in the small fishing boat drifting closer to shore. The hammerhead is able to use the momentum to wriggle out of the sling and into the water, disappearing beneath the surface.

    "To the boat!" the Shredder roars at the scientists. The rage in his voice is clear. He is most certainly displeased in the interruption. As they reach the shore, he grabs one by the back of the wetsuit, and hurls him back toward the boat that is now drifting closer to the shore. It's time to leave.

    On the boat, the woman convulses, and fins burst from her forearms, and then from her legs. Clearly the substance is highly volatile, and given that a shark was the most recent creature she had been in contact with, it seems tha ther body is absorbing and merging with that DNA in a fantastic manner.

Vic Sage has posed:
Rolling across the ground, Vic produces a small tracking device from his pocket and whips it towards the boat. Even before Shredder's calling for their tactical withdrawal, Vic is smart enough to realizes that his chances here are bordering on nil. Possibly even zip.

Collecting the hat he lost in the roll, Vic stands up straight and places is on his head, taking a moment to straighten it and adjust his coat's lapels. His dry cleaner is gonna have a hell of a time.

With some clues collected and no great urge to fight a raging and recently-transformed super shark with less manners that Iara, Vic collects his pistol with his unharmed hand and begins to beat his own retreat.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Unwilling to remain caught on this line, Iara pulls her 250-pound body up the chain a bit until she can brace a fin-like foot against the boat, wincing as she lifts herself with her left arm to give slack in the chain beneath and then the brace against the boat to pull the hook out of her shoulder, snagging it on her wetsuit. Falling back into the water and tearing the shoulder of her wetsuit in the process, her gills flaring at the surface of the water before she switches to breathing air with her head out of it, swimming back and out of the fishing boat's way as the motor starts up, trying to get to the other side of the shore before the motor really gets going, NOT wanting to be caught by that, shouting "HEY!" as she spots the question running off, looking to the boat... and then to Vic, deciding to risk it.

    Shark-Girl is FAST in the water, going low and speeding in the same direction the boat is headed, easily outswimming it before she springs from the water, wincing as the kunai in her side is tugged by the breach of the surface of the water as she leaps from the water to the shore, chasing after the blue trenchcoat, but losing speed now as her adrenaline and frenzy fully subside and the pain of her injuries starts to get to her...

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Mocking laughter follows after Shredder as he beats a retreat with what dignity he can muster, but the Shadow declines to give pursuit for now.

    Just as Iara begins to falter, a hand wraps around her arm and holds her steady.

     "You are in no condition to keep running like this," the Shadow comments, icy blue eyes looking over the gashes in her shoulder and the kunai still embedded in her side."Do you require immediate medical attention, or can you hold out until we can get you to a hospital? I can make arrangements, if so."

Shredder has posed:
    The Shredder sees his people onto the boat, though with little care for their emotional state. He hops onto the boat, looking back at the Shadow, and then to the new mutant that was unintentionally created on the deck. "Interesting," he comments. Perhaps it wasn't a total loss after all. "See to the injuries." He looks back again to the pieces of his slain shinobi. "We will find that beast," he says. "I'm not done with it yet."

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic doesn't slow down until he's made it back to his GTO. Though, when he's stepping around the caved-in fence he'd taken down with its bumper to get to the door, he turns and looks at the other two. "It's now or never, ladies. As soon as this old girl's in reverse, I'm making tracks," he explains, swinging the door open and tossing his hat inside. A hand runs back through his hair and he's sliding into the driver's seat, looking to Iara and The Shadow expectantly. Well, maybe expectantly. Again, it's hard to tell with him.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara is shocked by that sudden touch, mouth opening as if to bite... only to spot not a ninja, someone she had failed to spot during the entire fight, The Shadow. Iara nearly collapses as she leans on this new person a little, shakily saying "I... I don't know... I need to get back to Westchester..." in her accented voice, rough and throaty but still feminine and one that grew up speaking portuguese. "Holy shit I killed a guy..." the shark monster says in an exhale, "They warned me that could happen, ugh... Just... shit. Probably deserved it just... shit..." She looks to the blue eyes with her glossy black ones and then to the open door and the driver within, saying "Xavier's school. They have the... facilities for people like me. Don't wanna change back like this, might make it worse..." as she hobbles into the car.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    "Westchester it is," the Shadow acknowledges, nodding toward the faceless behind the steering wheel as they help Iara get situated in the back. "A word of advice; don't attempt to process things right away. Concentrate on recovering first, then speak with a counselor when you feel ready. But for now, I'm sure you'll understand that I have secrets to keep..."

    A jerk of the head draws Iara's attention to the Shadow's face -- or rather, the ice blue eyes that are the only thing visible between the scarf and the brim of that hat, and the way they blaze with an inexorable power. "Sleep. When you wake, you'll be where you wished to go..."

    As Iara drifts off, the face turns toward Vic's. "She appears mostly stable, but I'd recommend you expedite. Traffic laws are a lesser consideration."

    A smartphone is pulled out of one pocket. I'll call Xavier's and inform them we're bringing one of their students, mostly intact, and that we'd prefer not to be asked inconvenient... Questions."