5548/Astral Flux: Howling Recon

Astral Flux: Howling Recon
Date of Scene:	12 October 2018
Location:	Mexico
Synopsis:	The howling commandos examine the Mexico site.
Cast of Characters:	Shadow King, Derek Khanata, Etrigan (Jason Blood), Hellboy
Tinyplot:	Astral Flux

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Shadow King has posed:
    While WAND was precise, the precision is only going to be as accurate as a snapshot possibly can be from weeks ago. That 'server' location, though, is situated not far from where the large battles with the fungal monstrosities took place back at the end of July. Which means, it is on the edge of a town.

    On arriving in their land vehicle, all of the recon team can easily see that the place was pretty decimated by the events of July. The movement of the thing under the ground caused huge cave-ins, and the whole town is in a mixed state of heavy damage, abandonment, and attempts to reconstruct. There are people, but for the most part the place is a ghost town. A handful of construction workers are seated out by some heavy cranes, chatting. A few are playing cards.

    Entrances to the lower complex could be assumed to be everywhere, where buildings have collapsed or fallen in, but it is hard to tell from afar. But the 'server' ping didn't occur in the middle of that, but to the south of the whole of the situation. Whether it was above ground or underground is anyone's guess: WAND can't be quite that exact. And this was where it WAS: there's no telling if is still there, and the trail is cold. Not without a closer look.

Derek Khanata has posed:
"Our international aid dollars at work. Bast."

Khanata shakes his head in disgust at the shabby state of affairs.

"White people are safe, time to pack up and go home. Don't worry about the toxic dump site under your town."

He flicks a cigarette butt into a pile of concrete rubble as they drive on, the mustachioed fixer at the wheel.

"Okay, GPS says that we're coming up on it pretty soon. You picking anything up, Blood?"

Etrigan (Jason Blood) has posed:
Jason Blood wrinkles his nose. He's been in bad places, bad situations. He's literally been to Hell on more than one occasion. He knows the stink of corruption and the rended truth of evil poured out over the ground, like gravy spilled on a warm biscuit. There was something of a sausage quality, at that.

"This place is a wound," he says. "You know what pus looks like, when you get an infection and it reaches down to the bone? That's how this place looks to me. Smells, too. Rotten. Poisoned," he shook his head.

"I'd say their property values have gone straight to fucking hell, that's for sure. I'm trying to sort it, but there's so much mess it's hard to trace back to the source."

Hellboy has posed:
    He had shared with the Commandos the same thing he'd shared with SHIELD. That Shadow King was equipped with something called a 'Mind Stone', that there was a heartbeat in the location at Mexico, that this whole thing was a whole lot bigger than some creepy hypnotising people to scam them out of their credit cards.

    For his part Hellboy was hanging out in the back of the vehicle, dressed simply in black shirt and black shorts, but with that utility belt fastened around his belt. With how rough the roads were, the headress he wore around his head was jangling and swinging around violently, the 'third eye' that was supposed to dangle in front of his forehead was currently whipping around in a way that made him look absolutely ridiculous, but he didn't seem to notice. Or was trying not to notice.

    "Whatever we're driving into, it's something big. Stark said he'd set up some drones around here, maybe we can turn some of them on and get a feel for what's happening?"

Derek Khanata has posed:
"Fuck the Avengers. Billionaire boys club dumps a bunch of untested acids on an intergalactic fungus and can't be bothered to consider containment solutions after the fact. Typical Tony Stark."

Khanata nods curtly to his fellow Commando, "Take your time, Blood. If you've got any countersurveillance hexes, now would be the time to bring them up, keep Farouk from noticing us poking around."

The African turns back to Hellboy and grins, "Great job yesterday, put a lot of pieces together. As far as Stark's drones--if you've got him on speed dial, go ahead."

Etrigan (Jason Blood) has posed:
Blood kneels on the ground and closes his eyes. His fingers run through the dirt in a set pattern, a runic invocation that he knows by heart. Better not to look at it as he does it, though. Sometimes it makes the caster a little crazy if they can see it. Some magick was like that.

As his fingers finish tracing, he can feel a thrum of energy running up his arm and he grits his teeth. This place just tastes funky.

"Underground, I'm guessing? Hard to say for sure. I don't exactly have radar and a map. And, for the record, counter hexes are good beforehand, but don't mean dick once you've crossed the threshhold. If you knock on the door, you can't take it back. If something knows we're here, we'll find out soon enough."

Hellboy has posed:
    "Hey, if you insist."

    Hellboy pulled out a...device. Technically a phone, but one designed for HB's large fingers(on his left hand, anything designed for his right couldn't possibly be mobile in nature.), buttons as opposed to a touch screen. He pushed a few, then spoke into it with that slack-jawed expression on his impassive face.

    "Hey, uhh, we're in Mexico. If you wanna turn on those drones, we'd love to get a good, long hard look at this place. Y'know, make sure we're not driving into a sarlacc pit just yet."

Shadow King has posed:
    Hellboy's attempt does not reach the person he perhaps was intending to reach. "Your call is important to the Avengers," says the bright answer from the phone. "You are being rerouted." Then a pause. "Mr. Stark is currently unavailable, but your issue has been escalated to obtain automated direct assistance. I am authorized to assist you," chirps the polite AI. "Please confirm, you are requesting drone escort at Mexico site B22?"

    The construction crew is not really working: they're just chatting. Yet there's something 'more' to that area, and even the edges of the town, should the team inspect. It's as if there were a bloated pustule that had not yet burst.

    And it is actually fairly literal. There's a veil of illusion that's subtle. It doesn't directly show an alternate thing: instead, it just makes it more likely that someone might look elsewhere. Like overlooking someone disgusting in a crowd. But if a strong mind really insists on looking into the wound, they will see that between some of the cracks in the ground is a strange off-white bubbling mass. Particles of snow-like spores, in a slow churn.

Derek Khanata has posed:
"Stay frosty, then, Blood. Opfor's supposed to love sticking his fingers into our minds, turn us against each other. I'm counting on you to make sure we don't walk out of here with fingerprints on our souls."

Khanata stares hard at the construction crew. He lights another cigarette, a tightness around his eyes that speaks of a simmering rage.

"Someone remind me to find out who those SOBs are working for when this is over and done with."

He continues to stare as the team unseats from the jeep, seemingly oblivious to the monstrosity beneath their feet.

Etrigan (Jason Blood) has posed:
Jason Blood purses his lips and reaches down into his suit pocket. He draws out a handkerchief and covers his mouth and nose.

"Probably just pawns. No one who actually dealt willingly with such things would be stupid enough to stand in their circle of influence so casually. Except of course for us, obviously," he says.

"There's something hidden here. I'll see if I can show it, as subtly as I can. I don't want to pull the whole thing down. That definitely will set off an alarm. But it's covering the ground like a sheet on a trick-or-treat ghost. Maybe I can peek up underneath..."

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy, now outside the jeep and able to stretch his legs, did so with gusto. His back popping and crackling could be heard as he continued talking on the phone, that 1920s head-dress still looking ridiculous around his skull. But if Swammy Presto really used this to protect against "psychic spies", then maybe it would help in this situation.

    (Against the Shadow King, with a Mind Gem? Yeah, fat chance.)

    "YES, that's where we are. We wanna see the drones.."

    Idly, even with his attention divided, he still switched the phone to his right hand, placing it against his right ear with meant his left was free to unbutton his gun holster. He was looking around, and spared Derek and Jason quick glances, just to silently communicate his uneasiness. He was feeling it, just the same as them.

Shadow King has posed:
    "Processing your request. Two drones have been allocated with permissions for voice commands for your use," answers the AI on the phone with Hellboy crisply. Indeed, two small drones start to head over. One from behind them from the general vicinity of the open field and sinkhole. It comes over and will stop near Hellboy. The thing looks roughly like a floating volleyball with fins to propel it, and a lot of scanning sensory equipment on the front.

    A second drone starts to dart out of the city, before it suddenly twists in the air, slams into a building, and falls into pieces as if sniped.

    "Apologies, one drone has ceased communication. Would you like to place a request for a replacement?" asks the AI blandly.

    Under the 'crust' of the spores is more of the same. It's just hard to tell how deep it goes. But there's life there. The spores, all of it, alive. And steeped in corrupted 'pus'.

    When Derek examines south towards the GPS flag, they'll find a less destroyed side of the town. In fact, there's a recently built resort back there. It's a little disgustingly opulent compared to the destroyed town itself.

Derek Khanata has posed:
As the fixer cruises up to edge of the resort property, Khanata growls in disgust.

"Of course. The very heart of Western--"

The agent clears his throat, adjusts his tie.

"Okay, game faces, everyone. Armor, pass me a gas mask. Artillery, this is your show from here. You make the call on how to proceed."

There's a loud crash as the drone 'bounces' in mid-air.

"Bast! Looks like we've got trouble. What are you seeing, Artillery?"

Etrigan (Jason Blood) has posed:
Jason Blood already has begun to despise the militaristic code naming jargon. He's not a joiner, generally speaking, and he's not particularly crazed about being assigned a role. Still, it seemed to make Khanata feel better and Blood couldn't be bothered to make a fus.

"I'll prepare an evacuation spell, just in case, but I'd like to get a better sense of the aura of...this. It doesn't feel exactly demonic, at least not in the sense I'm accustomed. But there are some evils older than Hell."

Shadow King has posed:
    From the mixture of information the team can draw from (the drone, magical scrying, and peeking in windows, etc), it looks like there are a lot of vehicles there. A helicopter. The drone will be able to supply visuals of different faces present on the site.

    The most interesting one that arrived recently is one Dr. Arnold, whom SHIELD is seeking after he just took a walk out of the Triskelion.

    There's some magical wards and psychic presence that Blood may pick up on: mostly due to that what the drone can see will conflict with what the team sees. The drone is sure there's a helicopter, and various things, while illusion cloaks those things from mortal minds.

    There's also a streamer, a tendril, or more, extending from the town under the facility. The presence of the monstroscity under the town, that disease, extends easily into the south resort.

Derek Khanata has posed:
"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us, Commandos. Might need to call in a few of Assassin's coven after all."

Khanata scans the perimeter for guards through a pair of binoculars. He pauses for a moment to glance at Hellboy, "That's the right term, isn't it? Coven?"

"If Arnold's on-site, might be the vessel we need to contain Farouk. Speaking of which, Artillery, made contact with a young magi earlier today. He had an interesting proposition, want you to give it a look-over, determine the viability of his plan."

"Okay, this is starting to look pretty hairy. Let's bug out before me get made."