Welcome To The 80s

[Will Stanton]

As the group walked along, Will stayed pleasantly engaged observing the doors and whatnot. This was strange, sure, but this was their Element. They felt strangely comfortable here, for reasons they couldn't quite put their fingers on at the moment. Something to be analyzed later when they weren't actively infiltrating somewhere.

"Don't worry, you two," he said to Miriam and Tosh, the more nervous half of the group. "I mean, why would they shoot their own agents?" he grinned, shifting into an imitation of the Siren they had encountered, in the outdated suit they had seen her in.

"This is all about rolling with the punches; going with the flow..."

[Toshiro Narumi]

Tosh shook off his nerves. "Yeah, I'm good. I've done scarier things without breaking." It came across as a bit defensive, but the telepaths could feel the pressure he was under.

He cracked his knuckles and started studying the keypad. "Anyone have a powder of some kind? I can use that to figure out the numbers."

[Miriam Bell]

"Sorry, I didn't bring my purse through the ocean portal. Can't you just... hack it?" Miriam asks with the understanding of electronics that barely extends past her using phone.

[Samantha McManus]

"If it's magnetic, I'd bet you could short it."

[Will Stanton]

"Remind me to help you sort out some sort of utility belt when we get back," Will said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small packet of black powder from....somewhere.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I was hoping to avoid turning into a shark man in the nest of monster hunters," he told Sam dryly.

With a nod of thanks, he took the powder from Will and dusted the keypad to identify the numbers used.

"And I couldn't exactly bring my 21st century tools with me. I should really look into getting something waterproof to carry stuff in."

[Narrator]

Tosh manages to reveal the buttons with the most residue left on it. And while the code required has a whole 8 digits, the only button that seems to see any regular use is the zero. Seems like making the code long for the sake of security made enough people forget it to make someone give up. It's a weirdly human thing in the middle of concrete corridors of magical doorways. And sure enough, upon punching in 8 zeros the magnetic locks click and the door swings open.

Moving deeper into the facility they do occasionally come across people, usually dressed in quite boring office attire (albeit it in horribly outdated cuts and padded shoulders). They catch a couple of glances, but none of the paper pushers try to stop them. In fact, everybody seems to be in kind of a hurry and pre-occupied with something else. A something they soon come across as they enter what appears to be kind of a central hub. It's a wide open gallery at least 6 stories tall with occasional walkways stretching across. On the ground floor a kind of central desk or dispatch or something is set up, staffed by multiple people moving between the encircling desk and the bank of ancient looking computers at the center.

However, nobody seems to be doing their regular jobs. At least that's the only reasonable assumption, really. It's chaos, multiple groups of people, all caught up in their own performances. Right up against the desk is a group of what must be agents, judging by their attire, aggressively stepping back and forth and snapping their fingers in synch as they demand information or instructions or who knows what from the poor central staff, who in turn are caught in their own frantic, hectic dance routine. One floor up, leaning over the railing is what must be a higher-up, constantly trying to start a song-and-dance of his own to bring everyone in line, his attempts petering out and being strangled by the general pandemonium.

In another corner someone dressed in khaki shorts and short-sleeved button-up is wrestling with the leash of some muzzled hyena with scales and tiny bat wings on it's hunched back. It seems less aggressive and more hyped up and eager to run along with any number of people who jump past in a choreographed dance. On another side a smaller group of agents has managed to arrange themselves in kind of a formation but doesn't seem to be making things any less confusing as they perform some kind of rap number about black-ops agents and the paranormal cryptid threats they protect the general populace from. Somebody arrives from an adjoining corridor, dragging along another agent whom they nudge into formation. Apparently someone is rounding up the ones who can't seem to keep themselves from bursting into expositionary numbers in an attempts to maintain some level of OpSec.

[Will Stanton]

"So, I think we can rule out 'this is part of their defense mechanism'," Will quipped, looking over the barely controlled chaos.

Will frowned a the hyena-thing being muzzled and restrained, but bit her lip at that.

[Samantha McManus]

"It means they won't notice if we pick around a little," Sam sends with her inside voice, sending the flock out to get a surface idea of where Katarina or Ryn might have gotten to.

[Narrator]

The layout of the House was not much less confusing now that they were past the endless hallways of door; part of the very nature of the building itself was to be confusing and chaotic until you had walked its boards for an extended period of time.

That being said, it was still a building in regular, three-dimensional space in this section, so Sam would be able to get at least a general overview of the place as she tried to hone in on familiar psychic impressions.

Ryn was difficult to track at the best of times, and this was not the best of times. Sam would find no immediate evidence of her in the House, though that doesn't necessarily mean that she wasn't there, nor that there could not be a more subtle trail to pick up if they were to get closer to something. It just wasn't anything Sam could find on a surface level.

Katarina was easier; a strong and distinct personality caught in her own mental turmoil. That was generally down closer to... we'll call it 'street level' for now, though the lay of the land was hard to get entirely. The important bit is that they could probably find her without too much effort, save a couple wrong turns down some confusing corridors.

There were other impressions, too; the Agents tending to stand out a little compared to their more mundane office-dwelling counterparts. There was some sort of menagerie deep in the bowels of the place; the mythological and cryptozoological emanations shining out like strange beacons in the night. There were familiar impressions as well. Some were nearly identical to people Sam knew from back home; doppelgangers of friends and faculty. Others were twisted, fun-house reflections of people she may be familiar with. And one in particular was like...like a piano being played with one's toes. Or the sound of crystal shattering on concrete.

This was a strange place, even when it wasn't breaking out into song.

[Samantha McManus]

Sam cants her head to gesture to one of the hallways before heading that way herself.

[Miriam Bell]

Not bothering to ask but simply skimming Sam's surface thoughts for meaning Miriam follows after her. Clearly somebody has never been yelled at by Miss Kinney about the importance of communication and team work.

With the internal compass of the Ravens it's not too difficult to stay on target and they pretty quickly find an elevator, though when it opens a tiny furry creature drops into the cabin and hits every button on it's way down before scampering off with an obnoxious shrill laugh. In response one of the agents currently riding it lets out an exasperated sigh and bursts into song.

In response Miriam physically pushes Sam over to the adjoining one and they proceed to take the thankfully empty one when it arrives a minute or so later.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"It's pure chaos out there. I don't envy the ones trying to get this under control," Tosh commented, albeit in a suspiciously sing-song manner that made him frown. "Anyway... what's the plan here? Generally snoop and hope we stumble upon something useful?"

[Samantha McManus]

"I don't know about you, but I'm aiming to find out why they attacked us."

[Will Stanton]

"And to figure out how to stop it from happening again," Will added. "Don't much like strangers breaking into my room and breaking me."

[Samantha McManus]

"That said, I'm trying to head to the one who probably won't attack us on sight."

[Will Stanton]

"Well, we are sneaking around," Will pointed out, still in Katarina's form. "If we're spotted by people who recognize us, I would expect at least a little resistance."

[Miriam Bell]

"I'm trying to drag any info out of the people in my range but for some reason they all seem to be focused on, you know..." she gestures around vaguely.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"The least cohesive musical ever?" Tosh quipped.

God, why was he feeling so much more under pressure? Was it the phenomenon at work on him, or was living with three passengers in his head finally making him crack? It felt more and more like he was under atta--no, can't start rhyming!

[Will Stanton]

"I dunno, I heard Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was so bad that Tony Stark actually sued them on Parker's behalf," Will said, as the elevator reached it's destination.

[Leo N. Eskandari]

The elevator doors slid open to reveal a tall, imposing man in a long coat who glanced between the fake Katarina and her unidentified entourage with interest. If his scruffy, flaming red hair wasn't enough to identify his is Leo's counterpart, all doubt was erased when he opened his mouth. In a somewhat milder Boston accent, he asked, "Robbing the cradle for new meat, Kata? Picked a hell of a day for it."

Even without trying, the telepaths could instantly get the sense of the savage thing that had become part of him. It felt like a bloodthirsty mob being held back by riot police, or like a chained guard dog pulling at its bonds. His mutant counterpart had the air of a kitten by comparison.

[Miriam Bell]

"Is everybody here just a lot?" Miriam mutters under her breath. In a way this mind is even worse than Ryn's, it's certainly leaking through to hers more and making her pissy.

[Will Stanton]

"Just giving them the grand tour," Will quipped. "I figured it would be better to take them somewhere a little quieter, wouldn't you say?"

[Samantha McManus]

"With an attitude like that, I bet the girls are beating down your door," the apparent Molly Ringwald says.

[Leo N. Eskandari]

Leo blinked. He at least thought his current outward appearance and body language weren't anything to worry about. Did he really look that menacing? "Attitude like wha..." Confusion gave way to recognition. "Wait... aren't you...?"

"Is Wyldclay pulling a trick here?" he 'Katarina'.

[Will Stanton]

Will paused for a minute at the name.

"...Almost assuredly, but this is something else. It's being handled."

[Samantha McManus]

"'Robbing the cradle for new meat' isn't what you say when the 'meat' is in earshot."

[Miriam Bell]

It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots between the existence of Leo's doppelganger and the implication of the name 'Wyldclay'.

"Well, I can't imagine they recruit people for their manners." she says in a perfectly jovial tone that really only enhances the insult as she puts a hand on Leo's arm, making contact with his mind and trying to get as much context as she can without coming near that raging... something underneath it all. Wyldclay, shapeshifter fae, an immediate connection to Katarina, one she immediately goes to sever in an attempt to walk back Leo's realization and try to save their subterfuge. She finds loose memories of some places around the facility, archives, medical, housing. No sign of the little weirdo in recent memory.

"We're just looking for Agent Ryn." she says, trying to skim his surface thoughts in case he'll lie to them. This place seems too Illuminati BlackOps for people to be straight-forward. Plus he alread suspects them and she's not sure how well her improvised disconnecting of clues will stick in the mind of a secret agent.

[Leo N. Eskandari]

Damn. I've really gotta mind my manners better. What would Ma think?

"Well, if Agent Kane doesn't know where she is, I don't know if I could help. She doesn't like me much anyway," he answered, not yet sure what to make of another celebrity recruit.

[Will Stanton]

"She's a slippery one, that's for sure," Will agreed. "We'll keep an eye out for her," she added, placing one arm around 'Molly''s waist. "Can't let the 'new meat' go to waste now, can I? Thanks for the help."

[Leo N. Eskandari]

Leo stepped aside to let them pass. Something about the group bothered him, but he couldn't identify what it was beyond it being odd that one was a movie star. Luckily for them, any difference that might exist with Will's scent was covered by the distinct aroma of seawater.

"Good luck with..." He trailed off as the song that had been trying to invade his thoughts grew more insistent.

A more beastly version of him appeared behind his shoulder, singing in his ear:

"When they called me broken, I knew
When they called me evil, I knew
When they called me ruin, I knew
I would always find my way to you"

"You should go!" the real Leo warned. If the musical phenomenon was really bringing out his monstrous side, then he wasn't safe to be around.

[Will Stanton]

"Ah, there's no...no shielding down here, then? That's...not great," Will said, tugging Sam and Tosh along with her as she exited the elevator.

[Miriam Bell]

"Maybe find a vault to lock yourself in." Miriam shouts as Will hurries them along.

"This is getting more insane by the minute." she harshly stage-whispers to the rest of their group.

[Leo N. Eskandari]

Leo took the suggestion to heart and headed to containment to lock himself in a creature pen until the situation was resolved. This, of course, assumes nothing will happen to keep him from getting there. He just hoped he held it together that long.

The singing avatar of his dark side kept pace.

"When I begged forgiveness, they knew
When I begged for mercy, they knew
When I begged for nothing, they knew
I would always find my way to you"

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Something tells me his personal demons are a sight more literal than his counterpart's," Tosh responded with a quiet shudder. He worried that his special brain friends were going to make a similar appearance and blow their cover. He didn't think he could take being the one to screw the pooch right now.

[Will Stanton]

"It doesn't bode well that this...agency or whatever...can't even keep their own house in order. When we've got a problem on campus, at least you can tell from all the punching going around," Will noted.

[Samantha McManus]

"I mean, for all of this 'agent' this and 'agent' that, most of these people don't seem like secret agents or cops, just... I don't know, nerds who hit the mother lode?"

[Will Stanton]

"It's a little...grim to be the motherlode, isn't it? I mean, it's all very ...concrete and brutalist. Maybe that's just '80s government style talking.

The two we encountered didn't seem...overly happy to be here."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I don't know, it seemed to me that other Leo was less angry than... well, whatever is living in his head. Judging by his reaction to it coming out, he gets why he's here if nothing else," Tosh observed, his own experience with voices in his head giving him some sympathy for the man. It was far from the same, but similar enough. Having friendly voices was stressful enough; he could only imagine how a hostile presence would wear on someone.

[Will Stanton]

"One way or another, I'm not eager to spend a lot more time down here. Giving me some weird vibes..."