10028/Age of Darkness: A Dark Secret Revealed

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Age of Darkness: A Dark Secret Revealed
Date of Scene: 13 November 2019
Location: Midvale, New Troy
Synopsis: The Shadow discovers a strange occurrence on the outskirts of Metropolis near the waterfront, and an ancient Cadmus facility long thought abandoned. A facility that may contain a very special prize being experimented on.
Cast of Characters: Superman, Shadow
Cast of NPCs: Deadshot, 330, Enchantress (Moone)
Tinyplot: Age of Darkness


Superman has posed:
It was cold and rainy afternoon, near dusk on the outskirts of Metropolis and near the waterfront. In the distance, through the misty-rain, you can see Stryker's Island Penitentiary. What was strange about this day is that a gate, to an abandoned warehouse with an old, barely legible sign with "Cadmus Technologies" on it, was unlocked, and appears to be opening all by itself.

Those listening carefully can hear the sounds of car engines coming closer, more quiet than a normal automobile, but still noticeable. A typical black sedan was flanked front an back by large, black Suburbans. They were traveling very, very fast considering the slippery conditions.

Pulling through the gates, the puddles splashing as the tires hit the water, the three vehicles pull up to the building. A caucasian, red-headed woman wearing all black and a long, dark overcoat was standing in the darkened doorway in front of the dilapidated building waiting for the arrivals. A woman, who until five seconds ago, was not visible.

Shadow has posed:
    Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Man?

    Natasha had been preoccupied lately with developments in Gotham, to the point where she'd been neglecting reports from the rest of the Tri-State area. Until one evening, she'd finally found some time to catch up, and nearly spat her tea across the room.

    Looking back on it, her agents weren't to blame for missing this; the anomalies were minor, and someone looking at the increments from day to day would have missed it.

    Shifting funds. Odd transfers. An uptick in activity at what was supposed to be an empty, abandoned warehouse -- except that the listing designating it as empty seems to have been backdated.

    It all adds up, even if she isn't sure to what just yet. But there are ways of finding out...

    The warehouse is a ways off the regular thoroughfares, and even cabs rarely pass close by. Certainly not close enough that any hypothetical observer would be likely to notice if one of them briefly slows down to take a corner...

    Likewise, between the misty rain and the badly flickering streetlights, said hypothetical observer could easily be forgiven if they failed to note the way one shadow appears to be moving differently from all the others -- or how some of the splashes are a bit too big and a bit too regularly spaced to be caused by raindrops...

Superman has posed:
The red-haired woman in the shadows seems to be shivering in the cold...even though she appears to be warmly dressed. Her crimson-red silk scarf was just showing covering her neck, and her eyes were staring at the sedan as the door on the rear driver's side opens, spitting out a very large, ebony skinned woman. Standing up with a "huff and a puff", she appears to have an angry expression on her face, and moves fast for her size to confront the woman.

"Dr. Zeul." That was from the large woman.

"Waller. Did you bring it?" The red haired woman was obviously agitated and looking around with suspicious eyes. So far, she hasn't spotted anyone, but she was obviously paranoid.

"Waller" held up a vial filled with something green and glowing. Zuel grabbed it, and looked at it in the headlights of the nearest vehicle. "Excellent! One of the rarest substances on the planet, and the only way we can continue to experiment on him."

"How is the experiment progressing?" Waller asks. Zeul frowns. "Don't worry. Your precious Kryptonian is still in stasis. Amazingly his body hasn't decayed. It must be the yellow solar radiation. But with this..." She held up the vial "...we can begin!"

Shadow has posed:
    Part of the training to prepare her for her role as the Shadow was impeccable self control. Despite that, it's all Natasha can do not to visibly or audibly react to that key word. Her mind works feverishly as she inches closer, letting the natural shadows conceal the one part of her she can't shroud.

    A Kryptonian. In stasis. A body that isn't decaying, implying that a body /should/ be decaying, meaning a dead body. Only one Kryptonian has died recently. One plus one plus one...

    Who are these people, and what are they doing with Superman's body?

Why do they even HAVE Superman's body?

    More questions than answers. For now, she holds. And listens.

Superman has posed:
As the Doctor and Waller are chatting, something itches at the Shadow's preception. Something out of the corner of her eye...the window of the front seat of the back Suburban opens. Just a touch. Enough for Natasha to see a red dot appear in the darkness and begin to scan the area. Almost like a laser sight. By looking closely, it looks like a man in a white head piece, with a laser sight for his right eye. Deadshot. So far so good, the man hasn't seen her.

"This needs to be done now. This facility is secure. I have brought some help to ensure it stays secure. My man and his team can stop anything. However. If it comes to it, you are to use the vial I gave you to destroy the body. If this ever got out, we'd have the entire world calling for blood. Ours."

Dr. Zeul simply nods, and desposits the vial in her black coat. "Understood. Is there anything...?" A pause. "What?" Dr Zeul looks at Amanda, her eyes narrowing.

Amanda Waller looks around. Her eyes peer into the darkness, staring, looking. "Nothing..." She obviously didn't believe it, but she doesn't see Natasha. Her abilities stop even the willpower of Waller. "You haven't told anyone about this place have you?"

Dr Zeul looks aghast, and then, gets pale. "No! Not even Luthor knows what we are doing. This old facility hasn't been used in decades. I made sure, before I left Cadmus, that I cleansed this place from all records! As I told you I did!" For some reason, Zeul starts to rub the back of her neck, looking very, very afraid.

Shadow has posed:
    If Deadshot is involved, chances of this being anything even remotely legitimate are vanishingly small. Adding to that the way this Dr. Zeul is more worried about something at the back of her neck than one of the most notorious hired killers in the business and it all comes up to something ugly indeed. But the longer they talk, the more The Shadow can learn, so Natasha holds her tongue and place for now...

Superman has posed:
"Excellent Doctor. Keep doing good work, and your head will remain on your shoulders." Amanda turns as if to leave. Then, she pauses, looking over her left shoulder at the Doctor. "Don't disappoint me Doctor. I want the answers or we are all doomed. They are coming, and we need to be prepared for...Apokolips." With that, Waller puts her right hand up, and points to the two Suburbans. Two dozen men in black tactical armor and with weapons to match get out of the Suburbans, and head towards the building.

Next, three individuals get out of the sedan. First, Deadshot. Still looking around as though his instincts were going off like a fire alarm. Next, a woman in a strange green outfit, with a "witch's hat" to boot. She cackles insanely for a minute, and mutters something to herself. No one listens to her. Last, a very, very large man. Or what appears to be a man.

"Any questions Deadshot?" Waller looks at the man staring off into the dark. "No. It's handled." The woman nods, once, and gets into the car, the same seat she got out of when she arrived. "Good. See that it is. Ensure the place is secure. My finger is itchy..." *SLAM*. The door closes.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha watches the car drive off. She doesn't have the resources to tail it, and she suspects that the woman -- Waller -- is off to yet another undisclosed location. But if she can confirm that Superman's body is located here...

    She needs more information. She needs evidence. And she needs to /not be detected gathering it/.

    The addition of a squad of troopers makes her task harder /and/ easier -- on the one hand, more risk of one of them getting lucky; on the other, a great deal more background noise and scatter to hide herself in.

    She doesn't recognize the other two individuals, but memorizes their descriptions. There'll be time to research later...

Superman has posed:
As the car drives off, leaving the Squad behind, Dr Zuel stares at Deadshot, but is noticeably less "afraid" than she was. "Why did she send you losers, anyway? I can handle anything that comes up."

"Hey, Doc, s'okay. We're here to ensure "The Big "S" stays here...and "buried" if you know what I mean. We're the muscle. You are the..."

A long pause, as though the next word was distasteful. "...brains." Deadshot shrugs and looks at the Officer in Charge of Tactical.

"Okay boys, take 'er downstairs. Level K. Do not go to level I or L, if you want to live. Cap'n, start your patrols, inside, as soon as settled." The man salutes, and orders the men inside.

As they head in through the doorway that Zuel had appeared in, one by one, Natasha is not noticed so far. Then...for a split second, it was almost over. The Enchantress looks right at you, grins, cackles, and then moves to walk behind the last Tactical Team member. And was that a wink? Must be a trick of the shadows.

"Okay Grundy. You next. Head down and get something to eat..." a pause"...or, whatever you do to pass the time. Just stay out of trouble." Lawton avoids the big brute, and looks one last time at the shadows. "Hmmm."

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha won't have long to decide. Sneak in with the troops and have a chance to scope out the facility, at the risk of being stuck inside if she can't trick her way back out. The risk is /significant/, and if she's spotted it'd all be for nothing even if she got away. On the other hand, she'll have her work cut out for her to convince anyone powerful enough to check with just what she's seen so far...

Superman has posed:
Lawton stops before entering the building. Looking back to ensure no one was following. Dr. Zuel moves from left foot to right foot, obviously impatient. Lawton lowers his voice, so it was almost impossible to hear. "Relax Doc. I know you have Superman downstairs, working on him in that high tech facility of yours. The new Dr Frankenstein. No one knows he is here except you, and me. And Waller." A pause. "Well, and maybe Moone. But she's crazy."

"What do you want Lawton?" The woman looks at him with cold fury. "She'll kill us. With a click of a button."

"I know, I know. I just don't want to be here when the "Capes" find us. And they will. It is a matter of time. So, we need an out, or a scape goat. Start thinking about it." As their voices fade, the door begins to close behind them...

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha narrows her eyes, then nods. She has no illusions about Deadshot's morals; he's a mercenary and a coward -- but the message is received and understood. Both of them are.

    Gradually, the empty courtyard becomes even more empty, as flickering shadows disappear down the road leading back to more civilized areas.

    People will need to be warned. Oracle will be able to get the word to where it's needed.

    The Shadow Knows -- and very soon, so will other people.