Fall of the Mutants: Prologue 1
Jan. 16th, 2016 10:43 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsMore mutants are missing. Is this the government making a move against homeless, vulnerable mutants, or something else entirely?
Callisto stared down into the coffee cup cradled between her hands, brow wrinkled in a lopsided frown. They'd been back in the little chamber they used for 'group meetings' for perhaps half an hour. Finally, she cleared her throat to speak.
"So she was missing for, what. Five days? Maybe just four?"
The large hulking form opposite her rumbled unhappily. "Four, mostly likely. We're so scattered it's hard to keep track of exact movements, but that seems to be the last time anyone remembers seeing her." Sunder gave his leader a helpless look, strange on his battered features. "This isn't the same as before, Cal. You think the government's finally decided to come after us? That's what the Tunnellers are saying."
Callisto shook her head, but even as she did so it was clear she wasn't sure at all. "Someone's after us, that's for sure. This doesn't feel like the government though. Wouldn't they try to flush us out of the tunnels? They could do that legally, and whoever this is clearly knows we're down here."
"Incomplete information? They don't know the tunnels and it's doubtful they know what our numbers are. If they think there are a lot more of us, caution would make sense. Pick off some of us, gather intelligence from the survivors and then move." Sunder shook his head. "It just doesn't fit normal procedures for the NYPD."
"Well, the Tunnelers are making hay with it regardless," Callisto said, her frown deepening. "If it's not them, we need to find proof. Fast."
"You think they'll make a move?" her second in command asked. "They wouldn't be that stupid."
Any reply was forestalled by the arrival of another party - a small, brownish-grey party with a twitching pink nose. And then another. And another, until there were a half-dozen rodents arrayed in the doorway, all staring at Callisto and Sunder with beady black eyes. A few moments later their companion arrived, a short, heavy woman with eyes as dark and round as the rats that perched on her shoulders.
"Callisto," she wheezed, her words underscored by a dozen small squeaks. "You're talking about the disappearances, aren't you? Everybody's worried. They're taking people, aren't they? To do tests. They're taking our people."
"I know." The young woman made a face. "I mean. I don't know. Maybe. We don't know what they're doing."
"Have your friends seen anything?" Sunder asked the woman. "You have rats all over these tunnels, Mother, one of them must have spotted these people in action."
"They wear uniforms," Mother Inferior replied, flinching at the word. "They move with coordination and purpose. They know their way through the tunnels. We must fight back, or we are doomed."
Callisto glanced up. "What sort of uniforms? Any sort of badge?" The Mother's charges did not have brilliant eyesight and wouldn't have been able to describe anything in great detail, but they might have seen enough...
The other woman screwed up her face, producing a series of squeaks almost indistinguishable from those of the rodents surrounding her. They answered in an ear-grating chorus and she spent several seconds listening, head cocked to one side. "They dress like the police, but their badges... their badges are not familiar to us."
Sunder frowned. "Could be the FBI," he suggested. "Or maybe another government task force. Still..." and here he looked over at Callisto. "...whoever they are, they sound organised enough to take us out without anyone noticing. At least as long as we're scattered like we are."
The Morlocks' leader rose to her feet, raking a hand through her hair and adjusting her eyepatch. "Put the word out; get together everyone we can at the Meeting Junction," she said. "We'll see if we can at least tamp down the panic a bit. See if we can keep this from going nuclear before we know who's really to blame. Once we do know..." Callisto's jaw clenched, and with a quiet *crnch* her mug crumbled in her fist, cold, leftover coffee escaping in dark rivulets between her fingers to spatter on the floor along with the dust and debris from the destroyed container. "Well. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Callisto stared down into the coffee cup cradled between her hands, brow wrinkled in a lopsided frown. They'd been back in the little chamber they used for 'group meetings' for perhaps half an hour. Finally, she cleared her throat to speak.
"So she was missing for, what. Five days? Maybe just four?"
The large hulking form opposite her rumbled unhappily. "Four, mostly likely. We're so scattered it's hard to keep track of exact movements, but that seems to be the last time anyone remembers seeing her." Sunder gave his leader a helpless look, strange on his battered features. "This isn't the same as before, Cal. You think the government's finally decided to come after us? That's what the Tunnellers are saying."
Callisto shook her head, but even as she did so it was clear she wasn't sure at all. "Someone's after us, that's for sure. This doesn't feel like the government though. Wouldn't they try to flush us out of the tunnels? They could do that legally, and whoever this is clearly knows we're down here."
"Incomplete information? They don't know the tunnels and it's doubtful they know what our numbers are. If they think there are a lot more of us, caution would make sense. Pick off some of us, gather intelligence from the survivors and then move." Sunder shook his head. "It just doesn't fit normal procedures for the NYPD."
"Well, the Tunnelers are making hay with it regardless," Callisto said, her frown deepening. "If it's not them, we need to find proof. Fast."
"You think they'll make a move?" her second in command asked. "They wouldn't be that stupid."
Any reply was forestalled by the arrival of another party - a small, brownish-grey party with a twitching pink nose. And then another. And another, until there were a half-dozen rodents arrayed in the doorway, all staring at Callisto and Sunder with beady black eyes. A few moments later their companion arrived, a short, heavy woman with eyes as dark and round as the rats that perched on her shoulders.
"Callisto," she wheezed, her words underscored by a dozen small squeaks. "You're talking about the disappearances, aren't you? Everybody's worried. They're taking people, aren't they? To do tests. They're taking our people."
"I know." The young woman made a face. "I mean. I don't know. Maybe. We don't know what they're doing."
"Have your friends seen anything?" Sunder asked the woman. "You have rats all over these tunnels, Mother, one of them must have spotted these people in action."
"They wear uniforms," Mother Inferior replied, flinching at the word. "They move with coordination and purpose. They know their way through the tunnels. We must fight back, or we are doomed."
Callisto glanced up. "What sort of uniforms? Any sort of badge?" The Mother's charges did not have brilliant eyesight and wouldn't have been able to describe anything in great detail, but they might have seen enough...
The other woman screwed up her face, producing a series of squeaks almost indistinguishable from those of the rodents surrounding her. They answered in an ear-grating chorus and she spent several seconds listening, head cocked to one side. "They dress like the police, but their badges... their badges are not familiar to us."
Sunder frowned. "Could be the FBI," he suggested. "Or maybe another government task force. Still..." and here he looked over at Callisto. "...whoever they are, they sound organised enough to take us out without anyone noticing. At least as long as we're scattered like we are."
The Morlocks' leader rose to her feet, raking a hand through her hair and adjusting her eyepatch. "Put the word out; get together everyone we can at the Meeting Junction," she said. "We'll see if we can at least tamp down the panic a bit. See if we can keep this from going nuclear before we know who's really to blame. Once we do know..." Callisto's jaw clenched, and with a quiet *crnch* her mug crumbled in her fist, cold, leftover coffee escaping in dark rivulets between her fingers to spatter on the floor along with the dust and debris from the destroyed container. "Well. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
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