7080/Weeeeeird Science Science

Weeeeeird Science Science
Date of Scene:	26 July 2021
Location:	Mysteirous Lab
Synopsis:	April stumbles across a mutant lab and may or may not have released a Cougar Man on the world.
Cast of Characters:	April O'Neil, Alderic

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April O'Neil has posed:
Its night time in a strange lab in the NYC area. April O'Neil has used her recent investigations in to the Rat King to lead her to this site. She snuck in through a series of daring and foolish tricks, and some skill she's earned over the years of her young career.

With the bulk of the high tech research lab being gone for the weekend, April made her way in through the security posing as a visiting scientist. A bit of flirting with the guards and she was inside and snooping around.

In one of the lab rooms, the sound of a small yelp can be heard inside of a metal chute as the door to the chute swings open and the young O'Neil flies out of the chute and in to a laundry basket with a FOOF!

Animals in the lab cages start going wild in the dark, the young woman made enough noise to wake several of them up and the reporter peers up over the edge of the laundry basket to look around in the dimly lit cage room...

Alderic has posed:
The room contains dozens of cages, from small ones holding creatures like foxes and housecats, to larger ones containing more dangerous beasts. One such beast was curled up on the floor of his cage, having little more than a layer of straw to sleep on. The sound of other animals freaking out at an unexpected presence waking them up also stirs Alderic from his slumber, and he pushes himself upright into a crouch the best he can manage in the cramped cage he's kept in.

The room smelled heavily of straw and animals, but it wasn't so bad as to suggest the cages weren't cleaned at least. They're obviously there in an attempt to hide them from prying eyes, but with April's snooping around, it's clear they weren't hidden well enough! It isn't long before the noise wakes up the rest of the animals, many of whom are now howling and squawking and yelling. The noise will certainly attract guards if this keeps up!

The lights flicker on suddenly, activated by motion sensors. There's lab equipment everywhere - and a few of the cages look like they were only recently emptied. Several computers sit in sleep mode. Surely one of them has more information about what's going on with these animals, or at least it may have access to the electronic cage locks!

April O'Neil has posed:
April's blue eyes are peering over the edge of the laundry basket, her dark hair framing her face as she slowly scans the room for cameras. The lights come on and she ducks down only to realize it was a motion sensor trip which just has her slowly peek over the edge again. All the animals are rushing about, and she knows she's found a ... well a thing. She's not sure what kind of thing, but so long as giant Lizard Men aren't attacking her, then she's at least somewhat happy, right?

Her eyes scan the cages, but she only notices the normal animals at first, or doesn't see anything out of the ordinary so within another handful of minutes April just stands up and steps over and out of the basket... revealing herself to Alderic so to speak.

She's wearing a white lab coat over some business casual clothing, a pair of heels are in her right hand and her feet are bare. She's walking quietly across the room and ends up going down the row of cages looking at the animals inside them and wincing.

"God this is nuts..." April softly says, her left hand going in to her lab coat to pull out her phone and to start instantly recording what she's seeing... because, reporter! She's stairng at the cages, but headed toward those computers on the far wall... as they're her main target for now!

Alderic has posed:
Most of the animals are just ordinary creatures in cages. It's an infuriating sight to see for someone who cares about animal rights, of course, but they seem for the most part to be perfectly ordinary. Alderic's cage is near the back of the room, and though the camera sweeps past him, it's entirely possible that April will miss him among the cacaphony of noise and movement from the other cages. The cougar, himself, has chosen to be quieter than his animal counterparts.

Instead, Alderic is crouching low to the ground, his ears back and his eyes alert. He watches April intently, staring at her from inside his cage. It's almost like he's studying her, or at the very least, wary of her. She is, after all, another one of the people in white coats, and Alderic does not have a particularly friendly rapport with any of them!

He shuffles a little bit in the cage, trying to make himself smaller and more hidden by pressing back into the corner of it as much as he can. There isn't any way for him to break free, with the heavy locks placed on the cage. He's tried to escape, of course, but each time he does, he invariably winds up shot with a tranquilizer dart and shoved back into a cage!

April O'Neil has posed:
April DOESN'T notice Alderic because there's just too much going on and he's one of the more subdued elements of the madness. Instead she just breezes right on past his cage on her way to the computer terminals.

"Okay, okay..." She says as she pulls out the chair and just elect to lean over the desk to type on the keyboard. She uses the mouse to direct herself to the various files and apps installed on the machine...

Her eyes are scanning the various files and programs on the desktop and she starts to access the research documents. Quickly she puts in a thumb drive to the computer tower, then begins a file transfer...

Of course its taking awhile so April begins to scan the security systems. This computer has access to the doors on thsi level and it makes her look back over her shoulder. "Fudge..." She says with a grunt before her eyes go back to the computer where she starts to try and open all the doors between here and the garage exit.

"They stand a better chance out there than in here..."

Alderic has posed:
Eventually, there's a loud, harsh buzz. Simultaneously, all the little green lights on the cages flash to red, and the unanimous clack of locks unlatching is heard. Chaos erupts as cage doors fly open and all sorts of animals erupt into the room! They're largely predatory creatures, and the research April saw clearly has something to do with the same ooze that resulted in her having four green, shelled friends. None of these animals look like they've been affected by the mutagen, though.

The flood of animals eventually bursts out of the door of the lab, and the stampede of creatures reaches the security guards. The lights dim and alarms start blaring throughout the building! A voice over a loudspeaker announces an emergency situation: The lab animals have escaped! There's chaos in the rest of the building, buying April a distraction with which to escape.

It isn't until the rest of the animals, most of them anyway, have cleared the room that Alderic finally prowls out of his cage. It's clear to see him now, even in the dimmer light of the lab. He's obviously been given an anthropomorphized form, but he stays low to the ground on his hands and feet as he crawls out of the cage. His eyes are still on April, wary of her still, as if this could all be some sort of elaborate trap! He stays as close to the wall as he can get from her, cautiously making his way around the room and towards the door!

April O'Neil has posed:
April's blue eyes are darting back and forth fromt he file progress bar to the security stuff she's messing around with. When the cage doors fly open she looks over her shoulder to watch the animals burst from the pens. Her heart skips hoping that they don't come her way, and for some grace of God they don't! They rush out the main door which is almost like they know the place... which they probably do to some level.

Quickly, April looks back where she's bent over and waits for the progress bar to stop before she yanks the thumb drive otu of the USB port and stuffs it in to her lab coat pocket. "Hell yeah..." She mutters with a smile before she notes the Power Options...

Within moments the power in the building goes off and is replaced with emergency lighting of reds and yellows...

With a grin, April spins around and is about to run on bare feet after the animals when she suddenly skids on her toes to a stop.

She now sees Alderic. Her face goes slack as she stares at him with shock. "Shit." She says as she watches the Cat Man slinking toward the doorway himself, but eyeing her too...

"Wait!" April calls out for him, whether he listens or not is up to him...

Alderic has posed:
With April having run towards the door, she put herself between Alderic and his way out! The cougar-man stops in his tracks, pausing there when April shouts to him. His ears remain folded back and his tail twitches behind him. He looks around, quickly, for another means of escape, but he doesn't see one. Eyes back on April, Alderic bares his teeth with a hiss, followed by a raspy "Rrowr!"

He back away from her a little, back arching a bit to make himself appear bigger. An unnecessary precaution, as he's already quite a bit larger than April! He's clearly a result of the mutagen, or at least something akin to it. He isn't standing upright, though, or speaking. Something about him is fundamentally different from April's turtle friends. At least now it is plainly apparent what the lab has been using the animals for, and why so many of those cages looked empty.

April O'Neil has posed:
April keeps her eyes on the cougar but she starts to move toward the doors again. She can hear the shouting outside and knwos they only have so much time so she sets herself on to the doors.

Once she reaches them she pauses and looks back, but motions a hand toward him. "Come on." She says. "We don't have a lot of time. They're gonna organize and we'll be screwed!"

She pushes the door open and steps outside of it to hold it open for the cougar then! When out in the hallway, April looks down toward the mayhem, then back to Alderic.

Alderic has posed:
Alderic hesitates. He looks between the door and the woman holding it open, as though expecting it to slam shut the moment he tries to bolt through it. Eventually, he bounds forward, rushing through the doors fast enough that he almost knocks April off her feet! Once he's in the hallway, Alderic slides to a stop on the tile floor. He looks back at April for a moment, watching her and blinking a few times. His head tilts a little. "Rrowr!" Maybe it means thank you.

Having been freed from the cage, Alderic rushes towards the way out. The lab isn't particularly large, and it isn't before Alderic reaches the front doors, where the guards have corralled most of the animals and are trying to get them under control. They're holding the doors shut from the outside, but Alderic crashes right through them! Animals burst from the lab, taking off in all directions. Alderic is right there with them, fleeing the scene as quickly as he can!

April O'Neil has posed:
April lets out a feminine yelp as the cougar man busts out the doors at high speed. She ducks out of the way and then looks at him as he looks at her.

"Don't mention it." She tells him with a charming smile before she motions toward the exit. "Go, fast!" She tells him moments before he does just that. "Good luck!" She adds as he runs off.

She moves after him becasue she needs to go past the lobby to to get to the garage where her car is waiting... But she skids to a bare foot halt again to watch what he does to get out.

"Jesus..." April gasps as she sees his power and abilities in action. The guards are toppled and the Cougar Man is released. "I really hope you're nice to people out there..." She mutters before she turns to book it for the garage exit where her vehicle is she borrowed to start this whole break-in scheme!