[Heromux] Typhoid Croyd: Quarantine!

Quarantine!
Nate and Lunair try to find out if Croyd is causing the Wild Card Virus. He is.
Location:	Soho Quarantine Zone
Date:	2015.03.25
Emitter:	Croyd Crenson
Players:	Nate Grey, Lunair Weir
NPCs:
Groups:	Stormwatch
Tone:	Gritty
Rating:	Restricted

The BSA (not the Boy Scouts of America, the other guys), the Army, and FEMA and the CDC are all out in force and have quarantined this part of the city. It's not a pretty picture as row after row of tents has been set up for the vast majority of folks who are in writhing agony, a coma of pain and slowly dying.
Another tent, isolated from the rest contains the jokers. Physically twisted folks who have suddenly become nightmares of their own devising, they are often driven insane or into abject misery as the virus brings them to the edge of madness.
Nate has been looking for Croyd for a couple days without luck, and he was starting to think he had gone to sleep out of schedule. Then he got told about the virus and... yeah, Void confirms it is the Wild Card that got Croyd over a decade ago. Maybe Intergang managed to duplicate it? In any case the Sleeper gotta be involved. He is getting into the quarantine area, forcing everyone to ignore him, looking for information.
Lunair is down for a day or two, but busted rib or not, the world goes on. She'll just make sure to nosh a few painkillers and do her best. She'll follow Nate, if he lets her. Or she'll do her best to wiggle in elsewhere. Croyd was high as a kite with Charlie Sheen tied on last she saw him, and she's worried, too.
The place is just...horrific. This isn't just a virus, its a nightmare. Reading about it is one thing, but seeing it? Each Black Queen is their own personal nightmare, sometimes drowning...repeatedly...out of water, or being set on fire, or collapsing into a nightmare world from which they cannot escape. The screams coming from the tents are horrific and most have to be sedated or isolated.
The joker's are the 'lucky' ones but tell that to the person who is now a squid, or a walrus or a giant talking doll. Many are simply caricatures of human beings like out of a scene from Dick Tracy. But all are horrified.
The humans are wearing full contact suits, no matter what they say in public, not trusting regular face masks and all are afraid. VERY afraid, and there are checkpoints with armed guards every two hundred feet. Their are tanks with mounted machine guns every thousand feet.
Nate's trips into the memories of these people is..horrific, and a lesser telepath would be driven mad even trying a black queen. It is slow going no matter what, and the astral plane here is awash in negative and toxic energy that will last for some time to come even if a 'cure' is found. The mental scars here may be permanent. At first, there is no sign of Croyd but eventually Nate does find shadows of memories of these people seeing a tiny albino freak walking in the air down the street. But there is something wrong with his eyes. They are glowing red, almost malevolent and demonic. Worse, even, than the effects the MGH had on him. There is something more. Something very very bad.
The key here is, finding Croyd will be hard, but supplies of every kind are hard to find here. As yet, none of the cities have come to help relieve the pressure on the civil services, and the city's forces are stretched to the limit as are the federal government.
Nate is, unfortunately, very used to the horrifying and the mad. He grew up in a world where death camps and inhuman experiments were commonplace, so he is better prepared than most telepaths to deal with the pain and nightmares of the victims of the virus. He is mostly reading the minds of the researchers and doctors, though. Looking for the areas where the first victims appeared, as well as reports of unusual events just before the manifestation of the epidemic. "Looks like the only common point is Croyd's presence," he comments to Luna. "Perhaps the MGH made him contagious? Or whatever the MGH had... Void thinks now it was tainted with something alien."
Lunair isn't sure what to make of this. "I think your MGH theories are probably the ones," She remarks. She's unusually quiet, behind her mask. "They were injecting it and reinjecting it into mutants," She remarks quietly. She watches, looking here and there. "Is there a pattern to where he's going?" She considers. What would they use to even bait Croyd?
Upon examining the researchers' minds, Nate can tell that they've learned a few things. It's a nasty SOB, clearly alien in origin, with a self shifting DNA/RNA matrix, it changes EVERY time infection occurs. In fact, in a world without superheroic geniuses and alien tech, a cure would effectively be impossible. He also learns that it doesn't seem to infect from person to person, just lots of spores from one patient zero. They THINK. They are running tests to prove it. Other victims were found near the sewer grate where Croyd first left, and a while bunch in Belle Reeve prison. The first sure looks like Croyd might be their patient Zero.
As Lun asks herself what might be useful as bait, the army officer who thought he didn't need to wear a mask ALL the time, suddenly engulfs in flame and suggests, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" as he keeps burning and healing.
No one else has any suggestions.
Nate winces and then knocks out telepathically the burning man. Not much else he can do unless they find a cure. Turning to Luna he tries to think. "He is high on MGH, maybe he will try to get more. It usually fades in half an hour... uh. Intergang pushers, maybe Mutant Town. And Croyd probably has a list of the pushers we were watching."
Blink. Lunair jerks, startled as the officer bursts into flames. She'll take his suggestion into consideration and keep her mask /on/, thank you. At all times, really. She looks to Nate, and nods. "That makes sense. He mentioned wanting to keep the powers or something. He didn't want to sleep. I guess we should get that list and start following them." She seems uncertain now. Croyd has cooties like whoa. How strange.
The man immediately collapses. Two CDC medics take him to a nearby tent. The fire is horrific, but he is one of the few to find peace among tens of thousands of victims in constant pain.
Croyd's list of pushers is eclectic but highly traceable. None of them would be in Belle Reeve however.
A quick trace by Void is able to winnow out the four most likely candidates based on proximity, frequency of use and potential volume of amphetamine availability.
After checking with Void, Nate has to shakes his head. "No fit, Luna, the vectors are wrong. Do you know if Croyd has friends or some place where he would go?" He is also texting Void, what is this about Belle Reeve?
Well, food, music, entertainment... "We'll probably have to try talking to the dealers. He really didn't want to sleep," Lunair taps her chin. "If he got into MGH, then he's probably in ultra no sleep mode," She points out. "Let's go for speed dealers or drug shops. I have some contacts," More to keep her ear to the ground than drugs. Her experiences with hospitals have left her entirely wary of drugs.
Void's analysis of Croyd's...very...interesting...mind follows, "He's highly suggestible, so if he THOUGHT he was supposed to take MGH and had his mind damaged he'd take it, but if he thought he was still rescuing mutants then he'd actually potentially target MGH dealers or Intergang and protect Mutants. If he's in paranoid mode then his single impetus is not to sleep. He fears it above all else, and the one time I tested him when he was just starting on the speed indicated that he is totally irrational in regards to it."
Lunair's contacts don't turn out well for the first two calls but on the third. "Lunlun! It's been ages! You still working? I've got a guy I wanna make Dubsteb. It'd be hilarious." After listening a moment, he says, "oh. Yeah, the Sleeper. He hits me for speed sometimes, but he wanted 'the good stuff'...what he wanted didn't exist. It was magic. I think he kinda was 'inspired' and went that way but I have no idea who."
Lunair huhs at Nate. "I see," She considers. "Okay," Lunair murmurs. She tries her contacts, and on the third, she beams. "Hey you! It has. I am! And sure, I'll bring a dubstep by," She promises. "And really? That's good to know, thanks. Do you have any idea which direction or neighborhood?" She is thinking. "And I appreciate the help, by the by." She's a gracious contact, if nothing else.
Nate waits while Lunair makes the calls, considering people he knows. But the couple superhuman healers he knew are off his radar, and Xavier is not really a biologist. Although McCoy might know enough. Would Cerebro detect a mutate using MGH? As Luna finishes the third call, Nate looks at her sharply. "Magic? That guy thinks Croyd went looking for a sorcerer or something?"
Lunir looks thoughtful. "Well, magic could refer to something alien or - yeah." Could've been drug slang for all she knows. "It might not shock me if he did, though. They can make some serious drugs, from what I've heard. I remember rumors of this drug in Hell's Kitchen that was killing people made by demons," She rubs her chin. "But it's only a theory, to be honest."
"The one witch I know is not responding to the phone calls either," comments Nate. Limbo has bad coverage. "Alright, I am going to keep trying to find him telepathically. But at this point I think we need to tell the BSA guys Croyd is the human vector and give them his current description. Explain also he got doused with MGH and that has caused the outbreak... damnit, this is going to cause backlash on mutants for sure."
Lunair nods at Nate. "I see. Alright. And um. Well," She looks thoughtful. "I don't think an alien virus counts as mutant, and you can't help a chemical spill... but it seems like our best option. They have a lot more bodies than we do."
"I am going to keep calling Croyd, too," although he spends a few minutes staring at his holophone, trying to remember how to setup auto-calls by running through menus. Hey, it is complicated and he usually uses telepathy, okay? "We gotta check that Belle Reeve thing, too."
Nate is the brains of the outfit, as far as Lunair is concerned. She looks to him, and nods. "Okay. And yeah, that sounds like a plan. I'll help you as much as I can."
He answers after four rings. "Whatwhatwhatwhat? IcantdeliverpizzasthistimefortheloveofallthatisholyandareyoutryingtostareintomybrainIsweartogoohhiNatehowareyoudoingyouwouldbeproudofme," Deeeeeeeep breath,"becauseIgotsomethingthatllletmekeepmypowersonlongersoweshouldtotallytrytocontacteachotherandfindallaintergangerssoicankicktheirassallatoncebythewaydid youreadaboutthatplagueonthenews?ThatsliketotallydepressingandlikewhathappenedtomewhenIwasakidsomeoneshoulddosomethingtohelpthosepeoplemaybeweshouldespeciallynowthatImallpowerfulandeverything
"Er... yeah," Nate expression hints he missed half of what Croyd said. "Listen, buddy. MGH is doing something weird with your powers; you might be the cause of the plague. You need to hole up for a while. Are you still in Manhattan?"
Lunair is quiet, looking just as confused as Nate.
Croyd says, "Whatareyoucrazy?Thatsrediculousbecauseiwasaffectedinachemicalreactionandiamnoteven waitareyousayingiamcontagiousaretheymakingyouworkforthemNateohmygodtheygottoyoumustgettotinfoilnononononononoIamsosorrynatesosorryyouwereoneofthebestofembutIllmakeempayallofemandfindawaytofreeyoufromthemindcontrolraysandyesiamtotallyinManhattenwannagetabiteIknowagreatplaceonHoustonavenuethatservesgreatburgersifyouwant."
"Sheesh, I eat mind-control rays for breakfast," replies Nate. "Look, Void found something weird in the MGH. Not even she understands it, so all kind of weirdness is expected. Even you becoming contagious, which was impossible yesterday. Just stay put, we can get the food for you in half an hour or so."
"Are we going for food...?" Lunair looks confused, likely only getting half the conversation. She glances between Nate and his phone.
Croyd says, "FoodisntasimportantasspeedVoodooMasterspotionmakesmethinkfasterandbesmarterbutitisntreallykeepingmeupsoIneedlotsandlotsofspeedbutokyourerightmorethanyourewrongnatesoIllstayhereforawhileIamat5555thstreetinthefifthfloorthoughyoudontneedtoworryaboutfoodbecausethisguyhasafullystockedfridgewonderwhereheisanyway."
Sounds as if Croyd has started early with the speed. Nate links up with Lunair telepathically so she can hear the latest of Croyd's speech. 5th floor of 555, 5th street? Sounds like a made up address, but they will have to check out. "Leave some food for us, dude. I am going with Luna." << Luna, ask Void to locate his halophone, please >> he tells the young woman telepathically.
Life on fastforward is a bit much for Lunair. Her eyes cross. She nods at Nate, << Okay, >> Unused to thinking back at someone. Lunair will use her own phone to contact Void. "Hello! Would you please locate Croyd's halophone for us, please, Void? I hope things are going okay over there." She's well mannered, if nothing else.
There is a pause, "There is, in fact a 55 55th street. It appears that the ....whatever he is on..." she says with distaste, "might make obsession and compulsion a side effect. If so,this is new behavior but with the Sleeper everything is new. Things are Ok up here...not so good in Soho."
Lunair seems quiety amused. "Yeah, I think that would be a good advertisement." She curls her fingers around Nate's hand. "There's the Nullification or Cancellation Ray," She offers. "It stops drugs. I had to use it before when I accidentally overdid it with the pixie dust," Lunair admits. She seems happy enough with that.
The two of you fly through the air with the greatest of ease, the horrific sound of screams and people being turned into living fish or toilet brushes far behind you. You arrive at the door and upon arrival it is thrown open and Croyd stands there, Mexican Salsa playing in the background. He has set up five card tables with three places each and a fully dealt hand for everyone. There are lots of chips and salsa for everyone. He hugs you both quickly, getting you all nice and germy. "HitherewelcomeIamsogladyoucouldmakeithereNate" he hands him a Tin Foil hat, "thatshouldhelpwiththemindcontrolraysIknowyouthinkyoudontneeditbutyouneverknow."
Nate is going to take a risk and assume he is immune to the Wild Card on grounds of being a mutant and already having an alien virus doing weird things to his nervous system, but he does stand between Croyd and Lunair so he doesn't get all huggy with her. "Nice place. Looks comfy enough to spend a while here." He puts on the tinfoil hat, willing to humor Croyd. "So what are you up to?"
Lunair will keep her distance a little, looking to Croyd. It's a bit uncertain, and she tries not to get a hug. "T-thanks, Croyd. It's good to see you. You're very sweet. And ummm... thanks for thinking of us." She rubs the back of her head. "This looks like a nice place, yeah." Nod. She looks between the two.
Croyd seems genuinely glad to see his friends. Their complete lack of using insane levels of violence on him on sight, is actually a remarkably good idea idea and would likely have saved many many many lives.
If Fate, that cruel force, had not intervened.
Just as Croyd extended a plate of Nachos and Salsa to Nate, saying, "IamsogladyouarewearingthehatyouhavenoideahowrelievedIamto-"
The spores from Croyd that had not infected Luna (and could not infect Nate if they tried with all their microscopic black hearts to the heart death of the universe) slowly wafted through the ventilation shaft and into the next room. This Black Queen was bad....much much worse than any of the others encountered thus far, and a high pitch keening began, slow at first, but rapidly rising.
"Nate..." Void said over the comm, "Get out of there..."
Not quite willing to leave their team mate, Nate tried speaking, but the noise was impossible. The noise continued, and this time with a second telepathic missive, Croyd tried to answer but the sound was unintelligible as his mind was working even faster than his mouth. The noise became louder and louder but before Lunair could take out the Anti Noise Gun....The teleportation was activated and Void stared at them. "I am sorry. But the risk was too high."
She points to the window's shattering in a ten block radius and the first ACTUAL Black Queen death has occurred. It will not be the last.
"No!" Nate glares at Void, "you should have taken him too! And ported us to the artic!" But that is not how it works. As Void's calmly explains, Croyd's MGH-affected powers made too hard to lock on him in the minute or so she had him located. Also, they both are going through anti-viral procedures and some testing to see if she can kill the virus spores. No more looking for Croyd for a few hours.
Oh crap. Lunair can only stare as she listens and just - kind of gapes. Fate really is cruel. She was happy to see Croyd. They helped. "Thank you for thinking of us," She offers to Void. It really is nice of her, but ... She's definitely quietly worried.