7004/Just another Monday Afternoon
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| Just another Monday Afternoon | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 19 July 2021 |
| Location: | Reed and Sue's Suite - Four Freedom Plaza |
| Synopsis: | Piercing the Veil |
| Cast of Characters: | Reed Richards, Susan Richards
|
- Reed Richards has posed:
Johnny and Ben had been out running errands when the call came in. Trouble at the US Antartic research station. The one no one knew about, nudge nudge wink wink. The one that conducted research that was deemed 'too dangerous to attempt on American soil'. Granted Reed had a base there for the exact same reason, as did Tony and Bruce, the rich one, but theirs took the proper precautions and only called for help from each others, this was clearly different, The call was about the experimen Reed had warned them would go awry and it had spectacularly, now lives were on the line, the planet was in jeopardy and it wasn't even Tuesday.
- Susan Richards has posed:
"There's a reason Garfield hated Mondays," Susan muttered, following along with Reed at a quick march towards the base, where the Fantastijet had landed mere minutes before. Both were bundled up against the epically bitter cold, and both were on high alert for whatever might greet them upon their arrival. While the sun shone clear, the wind was high, and snow devils blew eddies and swirls of snow and ice around, and up in their faces. Susan is keeping a light forcefield up around them against the wind and its payload, the better so they can gain a clear view of the situation upon their arrival. "Remind me again just -which- experiment went wrong this time? It didn't involve cupcakes, did it?"
- Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards smirks, and squints, "Not this time, no." Reed chuckles, "We are not nearly that lucky. They were trying to open pan-dimensional portaling, typical inter dimensional transport, probably looking for the best place to establish a foot hole, maybe for resouces to exploit, typical capitolistic nonsense.
- Susan Richards has posed:
"Any word on how many personnel are left? Injuries?" Susan is all business at the moment, peering through the swirling whiteness at what lay ahead. This could not be good. Would there be a crater in the ground and bodies strewn about like so much flotsam on a distant, unnamed beach? Or would they be fortunate enough to find and bring home survivors--even if the experiment was a total write-off?
- Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards is kitted out, much like Susan herself. The uniforms are cold resistant, thinsulated, and mostly impervious to the elements. Reed is carrying a selection of scanners and sensors, that he relays to the suits and to graphic readouts on their forearms but he produces a padd like tablet, tapping away, "Looks like most of the personnel are help up in the cold storage area, smart. That's not SOP, it had to be Dr. Muransky, she's on the ball, probably saved lives. There's a few pockets of injured survivors, hmm, the only fatalities are in the gate room and there are..." Reed stops frowning, "That's odd." This is of course one of the more horrifying phrases your husband utters, followed by the even more horrific, "NO! No, no, no, off Phillip you magnificent fool, you couldn't... you didn't." Reed takes off at a dead run, "Susan, he pierced the veil. He- He, his wife, you remember Alicia, from the Monaco synposium, she had cancer, pancreatic, and, she- died, everyone told him to take time off, told him he needed the space. He refused... he... he needed her back. He opened a portal to the tother side, the dead are in there Susan. They're pouring through that portal and they can't be here, they're inimicable to our existance."
- Susan Richards has posed:
There are some phrases which must never, -ever- be uttered in the entire existance of mankind. Among them were "Oops" from one's doctor or surgeon, or "That's odd" from Reed. Should any of those words drop from the lips of the aformentioned individuals, one would be well-advised to assume the crash position and make their peace with their Maker.
Unfortunately, this was one of those times.
There was no time, however, to assume the crash position, as the dynamic duo were heading right into the proverbial belly of the beast, flinging themselves headlong into realms where angels feared to tread. A very unladylike oath, which shall remain unwritten here, dear reader, escaped Susan as she listened to Reed. "You've got to be kidding me. Do you think my forcefields will be enough to contain them until you can send them back across the veil?"
- Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards flashes Sue that cocky little boy grin. The 'Standback Im going to try Science' grin. The one which we're pretty sure won her heart. "They will because they have to." And they're offi totje fray wading hip deep through the beast's belly sneaking through the realms of the dead, or adjacent spaces. Gathering stragglers, treating wounded, bucking up the spirits of those who have been driven beyong what they're wee mortal minds were intended to endure. they wind their way through the labyrithine base and at last arrive at yhe potal room. The air is cold, warmer than putside but also colder a cold that stills the soul dead cold.
- Susan Richards has posed:
Susan knew that, when she married Richard, they would be embarking on a lifelong adventure, one that would take them across realms of life, death, love, and loss. A journey together that would take them to universes known and beyond, where they would witness things no mortal ever could, would, or should. But never once had she counted on a cold so chilling as this. It seemed to suck the life out of her very soul, and not even the thinsulated gear the pair wore offered much defense against it.
A shiver ran down her spine, of the sort one gets when it is said someone is walking over one's grave, as she beheld what was happening in the portal room. Eldritch faces faded in and out of existence, some with expressions of peace, others forever painted in a twisted, grotesque mask of horror and anguish. Some had passed peacefully, and others, not so much. But all of them were not where they belonged--and it was time to send them home.
Immediately, Susan set to work, drawing upon her gift to create forcefields meant to start 'herding' the spirits of the dead back towards the portal where they belonged--with varying degrees of success. "Good god, Reed, there's just so many of them! How the hell did this happen?!"
- Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards stands in the center of the room, the heart of the maelstrom. He stands over the prostrate weeping form of Dr. Phillip Marlowe. The doctorvisvprostrste at the feet of his wife's shade. The shade looks down at her husbanf with the muted concern of those who have earthly concerns behind. She can offer no consolation. Reed's voice is a hoarse whisper, "Grief." You can hear yhe sympathy, Reed knows where this man is. The way this lose hit him. "She can't stay, you have to let her go, we have to send them back. The entropic birdge is fracturing. if we cant restore the balance the change will become irreversible the bleed will becone worse until we're all shades and the veil will annex the living. Phillip, PLEASE!"
And there is a single word from the shade, whispy and half formed, "... Pl... Please... ease... " Phillip blinks and nods, he rises to his feet and Reed helps the older man to the console. He finaly meets your gaze abd you can see the tears in his eyes, feel the sorrow. You know Philip's pain could never exceed Reed's if he lost you. But it occurs to you with Reed's intellect and resources what lengths would /he/ go to?
- Susan Richards has posed:
Susan meets Dr. Marlowe's gaze with a sorrowful one of her own. She cannot, however, reach out to offer a supportive hand on the shoulder, as both hands are upraised, holding her forcefields in place. "You will both be together again one day," she tells him. "But that's not today. You can see her, you know she is there, waiting for you. But you need to let her go." A light smile touches her lips, in lieu of that comforting hand. Looking to the shade of Dr. Marlowe's wife, she nods. "He won't be alone. He'll always have friends in Reed and I. That, I can promise you. Please... rest in peace."
- Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards flies over the controls his hands moving in ways no one elses can. He works the console like the vituoso he is. Dr. Marlowe assists lending his expertise walking back his calculations. The portal vibrates there is a thrum you can feel in your soul and the portal shifts, you can feel the warmth of the living world seeping into the room and the shades retreating into the void.
- Susan Richards has posed:
A single tear slips down Susan's face when she thinks nobody is looking, as she watches the shades return to the other side. Somewhere in there, everybody had someone waiting for them. Everybody had lost someone. That they were here at all was a testament to the power of a love so strong it transcended the veil itself. Through it all, Susan did her best to guide the shades back towards the portal, where they could rest in peace once more.
But one soul lingered just a few moments longer than the rest.
With sorrow and love lingering in eyes that no longer truly saw the world, the shade of Alicia Marlowe took one last look at her husband. One hand, transluscent and shimmering, reached up to brush beneath his eyes, as if she could wipe his tears away. Lips that no longer lived curled upwards into a smile that surely the good doctor would never forget for all of his days. And, with a voice barely above a whisper--yet strong enough to reach into his soul--she murmured softly, before she, too, faded into the void beyond the veil.
"I love you, Phillip."
- Reed Richards has posed:
The shades retreat and the living world reasserts itself like what had passed was a dream. Few will know how close we came to annhilation. But for those few who saw the veil collapse, witnessed the dead return. Most will not return to this facility. The government send in teams to debrief the survivors. They shut down the base and begin a full investigation, Reed and Sue slip into the background and use their status and resources to slip away flying home in the fantastijet.
