5456/Astral Flux: This body's on You

Astral Flux: This body's on You
Date of Scene:	27 September 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Agents barter with the possessed telepath Paul Dannon, and earn their information in blood.
Cast of Characters:	Shadow King, Spider-Woman (Drew), Derek Khanata, Hellboy
Tinyplot:	Astral Flux

---

Shadow King has posed:
    Locating Agent Jessica Drew in the cafeteria, a frowning, older agent approaches her at a smooth clip. It's agent Mulberry. He moves over to her table and leans down to say to her quietly, "Agent Drew. Subject Paul Dannon has requested to talk to you by name," Mulberry says simply, in his flat, usual tone. "Do you know who he is?" His voice betrays little, although he appears to suspect she MIGHT know. He read the file.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica has just finished a rushed lunch, trying to finish and get back to work, when Agent Mulberry approaches. At his words, however, the world suddenly stands still. That last bite of tuna sandwich is stuck right where it is. No going anywhere, now. She hurriedly takes a drink from her water bottle to keep from choking. Her eyes water, and she tries not to sputter. "I...Yeah, I know who he is. Did he actually ask for me...by MY name?"

Shadow King has posed:
    Agent Mulberry squints, and pauses. He looks around the room, as if considering his answer. Something is wrong, and he's aware of it. "I..." the older agent crosses his arms over his chest, scowling, but it isn't at her. "I'm not certain what specific name it was. It was clearly you." His scowl deepens. He rubs his forehead with a few fingers, as if fighting a migraine. "I should have followed protocol," he says, almost to himself. Why didn't he?

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata is sitting at the end of a dining table, alone, hunched over a stack of reports and a styrofoam cup of coffee. Perking at the sound of Dannon's name, he watches the conversation carefully over the plastic lid, a neutral expression on his face.

Hellboy has posed:
    On the other side of Derek's table was the big, red-skinned bruiser, trenchcoat nowhere in sight as instead, it seemed Hellboy was wearing something more form-fitting. In addition to his black stretchy spandex shorts, he appeared to be wearing a black short-sleeved shirt made of the same material, with the BPRD logo right on the front. In his left hand a massive, massive cup of coffee, more like a jumbo jug, and the amount of steam coming up suggested that if this were to spill on anyone, it could easily lead to a lawsuit. But Big Red just seemed to sip it down like it was no big deal. Inbetween sips and big, powerful yawns, the haggard and tired agent continued talking to Agent Khanata in that low, rolling voice of his.

    "So get this, they send me out there with this big doodad an' they say, "Yeah HB, R&D cooked that up just for you, nobody'll even know you're in the area!" Somethin' about vibrations and the sounds makin' me invisible to the underground worms or somethin'. But when I tell ya that this thing only made me a giant target to every damn worm in Oklahoma, an' shook me so violently that I was havin' earthquakes every time I peed for a month after. What's so wrong about me just goin' in and punching everything like usual, huh? Tech guys always wanna fix what ain't broke. I just don't get it."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica sighs and rubs her face, wrapping up the crust of her sandwich in her paper bag. "Of course he asked for me. Why wouldn't he..." She rises and balls up that bag a little tighter than she really needs to, practically wringing it in her hands, then rakes her fingers through her hair with a sigh of trepidation, looking back to Agent Mulberry "I guess this is my cue to traipse fearlessly into the lion's den. If he's asking for me, he'll find me, whether or not I go in. Shall we?"

Shadow King has posed:
    Agent Mulberry stops rubbing his brow, and withdraws his mobile device, still scowling, and skims through a few things. "I got pulled off his case, I'm not on it now. I was... let's see. I was passing by to check on my own subject, and... still, I'm going to recommend Mr. Dannon be subdued, as a precaution, now that he's awake," says the man. "Unless you would prefer to try to talk to him more lucid, before that. I think it's dangerous to go alone, regardless." Mulberry pauses. "And you might want to do it via a video monitor, too," he suggests to her. "Damn telepaths."

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata's gaze never strays from Mulberry as he listens to Hellboy's complaints, just slowly nods his heads and sips his coffee. "Politics as usual. Got to justify your next budget increase request, protect your turf; nevermind the results."

He sniffs, sets down his coffee, and slowly stands, "I might need some backup. You mind cutting lunch a little short?"

Hellboy has posed:
    "That bored, eh? Liz is the same way, she couldn't take a break to save her life."

    As he speaks, enjoys a few more moments of comfort, before rolling his neck, flexing the fingers and wrist of his right hand, and raising up to his hooves, so he can clack along and keep pace with what is now becoming a small group. Hellboy remembered the utter fiasco of SHIELD paperwork that his hooves being in the cafeteria area caused, back in the day. Those debates on the matter had been so boring he wanted to fall off the edge of the earth, a few addendums to the proper footwear rules were made, in his favor. Why they couldn't make the same effort to make good food, he'd never understand.

    He looked over the group. He knew Derek, and he knew Jessica. But Hellboy turned to the third guy, looking him up and down with a quizzical look.

    "Oh hey, M...Mull, Maynard? Mulligan?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
There is a rage that begins to roil beneath the surface of Jessica's mind, and it's likely visible in her expression, particularly her eyes. It's been there, lurking beneath the surface, since the night that the Avengers' Mansion disappeared. She seems to've lost her ability to filter out words and actions that might otherwise be kept to herself.

Pressing her lips together and considering her words carefully, she speaks calmly to Agent Mulberry. "I don't think a video conference will be necessary. I can handle Paul Dannon." She smiles politely and throws her lunch bag at the oversized garbage can so hard that it nearly tips over, trash and all. "Backup, eh?" She glances around and finds an unsuspecting Derek and Hellboy looking back. "Found 'em."

Shadow King has posed:
    "....Mulberry," the Agent clarifies to Hellboy to the side without looking, then actually looks. And then looks away. Some agents have a hard time staring down big red. This is less about staring down, but actively trying not TO stare. Politeness, with the older agent.

    "You can handle him? Good. I'm supposed t'be somewhere else," Mulberry says, grumpy, and disconcerted with the whole thing. He has a feeling he was used, somehow, yet he's not certain exactly if he was. An uncomfortable place to be: to distrust your own mind or memory. He shakes his head. And heads off, still trying to make sense of it.

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata taps Mulberry on the shouder, "Ah, Mayberry? Do me a favor, drop by the Psi Division, have them do a full workup on you, then send along the results ASAP."

He draws a tight, mirthless smile, "No need for a scene, just a quick check-up. I'll brief you after the fact."

"Ah, Agent Drew, is it? Do you mind if my partner and I tag along? I have a professional interest in the case."

Khanata extends a hand, expression neutral, "Derek Khanata."

Hellboy has posed:
    "His interest is professional. Mine is a stack of paperwork that I don't have to do if I'm coming with you guys checking this out."

    As he spoke, HB's left hand naturally dropped down to where his utility belt would be, patting what was just his bare hip bone under his shorts. He looked down in alarm, then realized that the gunbelt was in his office, along with the Samaritan(wearing a gun around his fellow agents just felt unneeded unless he was going on a mission with them)...and that meant his smokes were at his office, too. Quickly he inhaled deeply through his nose, looking around at the group as they made their way to somewhere. Suddenly this trip seemed more imposing than it was a moment ago. Suddenly he hoped they could resolve Jess' issues as quickly as possible.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I'd be glad for you to come along. Maybe you can keep me from doing anything the rest of you would regret. But...are you aware...TRULY aware, what this guy is capable of?" Jessica's face is flushed pink with rage. "It isn't exactly a good idea to go in there unaware. Or unprepared. This is /not/ a cakewalk lark to go on instead of having to do paperwork..."

Shadow King has posed:
    "Yeah, I will stop by; piles of tests is just what I needed to round out this day," Mulberry says, with some resistance and sarcasm, but he does accept the idea is a good one even if he's scowling. After all, he didn't expect to come deliver weird messages to Agent Drew suddenly in the middle of his busy schedule. His jaw tenses and he steers off, leaving the three to handle it. It's not his case, after all.

Derek Khanata has posed:
"I have some idea, Agent Drew," Khanata nods curtly and turns, stepping in the direction of the cells, "But I'm afraid that I've walked into this thing fairly late; been putting out fires since I touched down from Nairobi. Perhaps you'd care to catch us up while we walk and talk?"

He claps Mulberry on the shoulder as he goes, "Good man, Mulligan. Just think of it as an afternoon off."

Hellboy has posed:
    "Yeah, an' I'm walking into this thing blind. 'Course that's par the course for my ops, they just drop me in to figure things out and take the beating, an' it usually works out ok enough."

    Every so often as they walk, runes and glyphs start lighting up along Hellboy's arm and hand, deep lines etched in by...something, long ago. Hellboy never did figure out what they meant, he had them ran past every language translator on the planet, including known 'dead' and 'demonic' tongues, and nothing. All he knew is they tended to glow and 'pulse' when either he was steaming mad, when he or it was on fire, or when he was having the beginnings of a nicotine fit. He was ignoring it the best he could, but that was just making the problem worse. Soon in an hour or two he was gonna be at the fidgeting stage.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica pauses and takes a deep breath to compose herself in the middle of the hallway, turning to face the other two. "This man is a telepath capable of things beyond anything I've encountered, before or since. I thought...once...that my own willpower was plenty to overcome his little..." she gestures vaguely around her head. "Mind tricks."

Jessica closes her eyes, and takes one more deep and steadying breath. "Paul Dannon told me to die, and my body obeyed what my mind could not even comprehend." When she finally opens her eyes again, she looks more focused, but the fire in her gaze is as fierce as ever, and her skin is prickled with goosebumps. Perhaps she's afraid. Or perhaps she senses danger.

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata flashes a wry smile at Hellboy, "Welcome to SHIELD. Never enough time to save the world."

As Jessica's outburst continues, Khanata retreats back into a stony detachment, and he nods sharply in response: "I would not be so certain that it is Dannon, Agent Drew. The WAND boys have started to unravel a particularly nasty bit of astral infrastructure which Dannon's mind has been attached to; possession is a near-certainty."

After traversing some ways through the byzantine halls of the Triskelion, the odd ensemble reaches the end of a little-traversed back hallway, dimly-lit despite unnecessarily complex backlighting. Khanata flashes his badge at a scanner, unlocking the door and holding it open. He gestures, "This way, agents."

Hellboy has posed:
    "Wait a second, this guy can do the brain whammy...we're not going into the same room as him, are we? What if he gets me and makes me punch you two through the floor, or takes control of Jessica an' makes her kick both our asses?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"He'd have to have the chance to get to you first," Jessica replies to Hellboy, although she is looking at Agent Khanata. "But maybe it's a better idea if we don't take you in. He can't weaponize you, if you're not here." Jessica's expression is at least one of composure.

Shadow King has posed:
    The cell containing Paul Dannon is monitored from afar, and has very little visual access for the occupant. There's a good amount of shielding, as well, on that wing of the security facility. A check on him will prove he is sitting on the floor by his cot, looking at his fingernails in a distant way. Similar to what he has done for weeks in his near-vegetative state.

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata returns Agent Drew's gaze and, after a moment's pause, nods, "Your call, agent. I'm your backup."

"Okay, we're going to need a WAND team here monitoring; I want you to keep him on the line as long as possible, give us a chance to set up a trace. If it's Dannon, he must have a fallback somewhere; possibly a coma patient."

He turns over an odd carving of a bulbous clay figurine, a doodad from one the WAND team, "Or, I suppose, something more esoteric. If not," Khanata grimaces, "I want to know who's running this psyop, and why."

His brow wrinkles as he turns to fully face Agent Drew, his gaze openly calculating as he assesses her reaction, "Are you sure you're up for this?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I need to know what he wants and why he was asking for me." Jessica's response cuts straight to the point. "If he wants something from me, I need to know what it is. If he just wants to screw with me again, though...he's definitely chasing the wrong agent. I just feel like...if there's something bigger out there, the more invitations we attend with these telepaths, the more likely we are to find out who or what it is. The telepaths, when they can find a moment of their own free will, have at times sought help. If that thing that tried to kill me wasn't Paulie, then I'll give him the chance to prove it before I rip his lungs out."

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata's brow knits, "Agent, I understand you have a personal stake, but I need your chin up on this one--whoever it is, they're deliberately provoking you, pushing your buttons. Let them get inside your head and this thing'll go pear-shaped, no two ways about it."

He turns back to the monitor, staring at the man that resides within. "As far as Dannon being the cause of your past troubles, I have no reason to doubt it," he taps the screen, "this thing, however, is nothing but an empty vessel that's been tapped into something bigger; it's a decentralized network used for covert communications and, I suspect, server farming by persons or entities unknown. What remains of Dannon is likely little more than a tool, and there's a troll sitting on him, looking to cause mischief."

Shadow King has posed:
    Paul Dannon is distracted from his fingers to lay on the floor near the foot of the cot. There are a few stubby crayons there, but he doesn't interact with them. He stares into space and drools a little on the floor, his cheek now pressed on the tile.

    Paul Dannon is a middle aged, overweight man. He's balding in areas, and his hair has gotten a little overly long otherwise in the last month or so. He's been here two months. He's dressed in the issued garb he was given: some calmly colored light gray sweatpants and a shirt. He isn't particularly interesting at a glance. At least, not now.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica peers into the room, nodding calmly at Derek. She pushes the door open resolutely and moves inside the room. She is stonefaced now, and appears resigned to whatever it is she faces inside.

Seeing Paul Dannon in this shape, on the floor...it isn't even all right. Jessica's expression softens. "Paulie," she says quietly, and she kneels down to rest on one knee beside him. She doesn't touch him. But she tilts her head, and speaks his name again. "Paulie. Did you ask for me?"

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata taps his headset, "Go ahead."

He nods repeatedly as he taps on a keyboard nearby, "Understood, Agent Pandora."

"Okay, Agent Drew, our WAND specialist is in place; the ritual room's been prepped, hex lock underway. I'll be able to monitor Pandora remotely, and we'll be in constant communication. All you need to do is keep 'Dannon' talking long enough for us to establish a psychic ID. Now, before you go in there, let's talk strategy--"

"Hey!"

The African agent looks up to find that Drew has long left him behind. He speaks urgently into the headset, "Pandora, we are live. I repeat, we are live. I want that h-lock running ASAP, damn it!"

The transceiver clicks as Khanata taps it again, "Hellboy, stay frosty. We might need you sooner than expected."

Shadow King has posed:
    Paulie remains there without moving for a good ten seconds. It extends into fifteen seconds.

    From his headset, Khanata will be given signal that something's different; Paul's getting some serious input mentally from his mental link.

    "Ah, here you are. I am not the best host, at this time, I fear," Paul says thoughtfully. The room flutters with beautiful illusion; a shimmer of colors of rich carpet, the cot turning into a long comfortable couch with sapphire blue velvet cushions, and there are windows to the outside world: a jungle, it appears, with birds that move and chirp, sounds of water. It's elaborate. He didn't touch his own appearance.

    And none of it sounds like the Paulie Jessica had met. Either he was possessed before, or he is now. One of the two.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Paul Dannon," Jessica says with a bit more authority. "You can either talk to me, or I'll be going." She leaves the demand hanging in the air between them. If this /is/ Paulie, then gut feeling she's ever had was wrong. "You're powerful enough to give /me/ a sign that you're there. -IF- you're there. I don't negotiate with terrorists. So with that in mind, what do you want from me?" Her signals may be confusing. She's talking to Paulie. She wants a sign that he's even there, or she'll walk. But curiosity is getting the better of her...

Derek Khanata has posed:
"Drew, you're going to feel a prickling sensation--don't panic. That's the Firewall of the Faltine kicking in, preventing astral intrusion. Pandora's one of our best esoteric counterintelligence operatives, so unless this thing starts dropping some serious juice, you should be A-OK from possession or telepathic intrusion. All you've got to do is keep him on the line, Agent."

Drew can hear Khanata through her earpiece, sounding unnerved despite the steely tone he attempts to project, "As soon as we ID this SOB you're out of there. Do you read?"

Shadow King has posed:
    The illusions in the room warp. It's probably a little nausea-inducing, since the walls bloat a little and then settle back in. The jungle's gone, leaving a dusty desert outside, night. Soundless. The interior remains the same, illusion-wise, though the detail level improves just a little bit. The carpet is more realistic.

    Paul's gaze focuses, slides to her, and he sits up, one knee pulled up and in, to where he can rest a forearm on it. He appraises Jessica, hazel eyes seeing quite a bit. "Speaking to you isn't instant. It isn't quite like a cell phone. There is no patience these days," Paul says with a relaxed quality, looking down over his hands and body in an assessing way, and flicking some bits of crayon off of his pants.

    Paul settles and smiles a little. "I see your hounds circling, by the way. I feel really important. You flatter me."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica narrows her eyes as Paul sits up to speak to her, and she sits quietly in front of him, hearing him out. "/YOU/ aren't Paulie." She flinches, shaking her head with a quick gesture, as if a bug has tried to land on her face. Or on her brain.

"I asked for Paulie. If Paulie is IN there somewhere, I need to find out. If not, we're done her--" Jessica closes her eyes tightly and jerks her earpiece out, throwing it against the far wall. Whatever barriers remain in her mind are slicing through these new firewalls, and a psionic energy resonates so loudly in her mind she cannot begin to think straight. It fills the room with sunbursts and dots her vision. It screeches in her mind so that she can no longer sit up, and she falls sideways to the floor, her cheek resting on two crayons as she convulses. "P-Paulie stop....st-sto--" And there's nothing else for now, but silence.

Derek Khanata has posed:
"Damn it, what the hell's going on in there? Pandora, we can't leave her in there--I'm going in!"

Khanata tears the headset off as he lunges down the hall, tearing his ICER from the shoulder holster as he throws open the door, and shouts, "On the ground! Get on the ground, right now!"

Shadow King has posed:
    "I'm already on the ground, Agent," Paul assures Derek fearlessly, mild, but places his palms next to him on the floor. He's seated there, very calm. He looks at the agent, and then aside down at Jessica. "I /could/ restore your fiance. But really, he wasn't the best guy, was he? He did try to kill you," Paul (or the thing inside Paul) says, contemplative.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica twitches slightly and lifts her cheek, looking around uncertainly. The screeching hasn't stopped, but she's determined to overcome it, and find out why she's here. "St-Strange said..." What did he say? Her own barriers could strengthen - break through the magical barriers he placed there. She looks up at Paulie with a soft expression - almost childlike. "Please stop...I'm...I'm here. Wh-what do you want? Why are you hurting me?"

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata hesitates at the door, uncertain how to act.

"Agent? Should I ICE him, sir?"

He fingers the trigger, looking back and forth between the two limp forms.

Shadow King has posed:
    "You and whoever you've made pacts with have done a number on your mental barriers there," Paul answers Jessica, with a gesture loosely at her, after a little bit of a focused look. He examined her, probably, in a cursory way. "I don't much trust magic. Exacts too much /cost/," Paul's voice says. He clicks his tongue in his mouth. "What did I want with you? You interest me. You've been through hell, I think. Do you want it fixed?" he asks, glancing to Derek as if he expects to be shot with the ICE gun.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"You...won't...fix me." Of that much, Jessica seems certain. "Why...trust you?" Her words seem pained and deliberately chosen for economy. She has all the appearances of trying to pull herself from a riptide. "YOU don't know me." Jess seems to have given up the effort of holding her head up, and her cheek is again pressed down against the two crayons. Yellow and red.

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata watches the exchange for several moments, clearly uncertain how to act. Finally, he leans down to offer a supporting hand to Drew, "Okay, Agent, we're getting you out of here. Do you need me to carry you or are we walking out?"

Shadow King has posed:
    "I can /actually/ do anything," Paul responds, rising to his feet smoothly, but he doesn't approach, he just sits on his illusion-couch like a lord. He flexes a little bit mentally, and the illusions adjust once more. Paul's appearance 'improves', a softened dark quality to how light moves, as the finesse shows more. "Really. I'm not suggesting you free Paul, far from it. Easier to have this nice line directly to your group here." And talking third person. So much for pretending to be Paul. "Extend a bit of mercy to you, and I get more back, you see?"

    A smile shows. It's not a good smile. It is a smile that shrieks of something really horrible, somehow. A flash of what is underneath. He extends nothing, and expects all.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"You /won't/ fix me." Jessica changes her tack with venom in her tone. She heard Derek's question, but first she has to deal with /this/. With every ounce of her strength, she gets to her hands and knees, and looks up at Paul with an expression of intensity as she remains there on the floor. Full contact with hands and knees while she watches him, as if formulating further response. But instead, she springs with superhuman speed toward him, attempting to convey a blast of electric energy directly to his head. "If you won't fix anything, then WHAT GOOD ARE YOU?!"

Shadow King has posed:
    As Jessica Drew leaps, there's some illusionary movement. He was actually sitting one foot to the left. One of two things happened: eitehr he turned OFF the illusion to actually let her hit him, or she startled him and adapted quickly to his real location. Either way, she's on his head suddenly, but he's laughing.

    "Everything falls into fear at /my/ pleasure. At my very WHIM. You will suffer, it will never end," the creature in Paul promises her, baiting her to kill, as the illusions surge to a fever pitch of horror, rippling shadow and formless hatred oozing off of his shape to fill the cell .... and their minds. Paulie is gone in the feast of illusion -- if it still even IS illusion. Is it real?

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata is awe-struck by the phantasmagorical horrors conjured, squinting to make sense of the squirming, writhing forms that emanate from the thing that calls itself Dannon.

He breathes once, focusing, and steps forward in a smooth motion, grabbing 'Dannon' by the back of his shaggy locks to stare him in the face, "Next time we have once of these chats, let's keep it civil."

He raises his service needler and fires, point-blank, into the thing's left eye.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica basically richochets off Paul and skids across the floor. She holds her ears, shaking her head, but it makes no difference in the screeching. "Stop it, YOU HAVE TO STOP IT!!"

As Khanata shoots Paulie in the face, Jessica releases one ear and holds out a shaky hand, thwipping out webbing to bind Paulie's arms in place, and cover his mouth. Not that it ever stops a telepath, but it's harder to use a puppet whose mouth doesn't work. "STOP THE SCREECHING!!"

When Jessica lowers her hands at last, her palms are covered in blood.

Shadow King has posed:
    Paulie is shot. He collapses immediately and all illusion breaks. It's just a sad overweight man, shot in the head, falling into his crayon bits, in his little gray shorts. Most of his skull on the side is missing. Well, not missing, it's all over the bed.

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and calmly wipes his hands of brain matter, though a bit has stained his shirt sleeve. He frowns at it, completely detached. After several long moments he speaks calmly, "This went sideways from the jump, Agent Drew. You were here to gather intelligence, not torture the man."

He sighs and absent-mindedly wipes his brow, leaving a crimson smear, "We're dealing with colossal powers, Agent, and you put us all at risk by provoking him. This body's on you."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica can scarcely make out words, much less put meaning to them. The screeching in her head is unbearable, and blood is dripping from her ears, freely now. Additionally, a trickle has appeared from her nose, covering her lips, as she collapses on the floor. This time, no crayons. This time, no salvation at hand.

Shadow King has posed:
    Pandora Peters' voice comes into the comms, a frown in her tone: "Aaron Grant just said he has a message for Agent Drew and Agent Khanata from Paul."

    "..."

    "...And I don't think we're interested in whatever it is right now. ENOUGH. We have our lead. We're sedating Mr. Grant."

Derek Khanata has posed:
Khanata shakes his head, face slackening. "By the Panther God, what a mess."

Facing away from Agent Drew, standing over the body, he taps his headset, "I need a medical team down here, stat. Tell our 'friend' in Aaron that I'll meet with him again tomorrow."

He heaves Jessica into his arms with a huff, knees creaking audibly. "Nice to meet you, too, Spider-Woman; big fan," he grumbles as she bleeds onto his sport coat.