Something Old, Something New (IC)

[Lone Star]

Warlock blinked once as he studied the symbols. It seemed they were trying to level the Museum of Natural History, or more land than that. He took out his phone and snapped a photo of the sigils, in case they were needed for evidence later. He shivered and walked further down the cave. There would have been a much greater comfort had one of his friends come with him, and he was itching to get out. A sort of preternatural fear had a hold on him, and although this particular feeling wasn't alien to him, it still put him on edge. His shoes echoes in the caverns, and he realized how alone he was. His hand quickly reached into his pocket, and he gripped his wand as one would a trusty knife.

[Raveled]

The occult hero followed the tunnel as it traveled ever downwards and curved towards the waterfront. The air grew cold and clammy, and Warlock found himself huddling in the long folds of his overcoat for warmth; the walls were sweating with the cold, and he could see plumes of cold when he breathed out hard.

The hard walls carried sounds oddly, and for several minutes Warlock could swear he heart distant sounds of metal-on-metal, like a forge or metalshop. Rounding a corner though, he came out in a vast, rectangular space, held up by regular stone columns. He could see a dozen or so Deep One mutants similar to the ones that he had trounced earlier, except these were all equipped with verdigris-encrusted breastplates and spears. Also, they seemed to be crowding around a figure at the far end of the chamber. The mass parted for a moment and the hero caught a glimpse of green-and-gold armor that could only belong to one person: Ironclad!

[Lone Star]

The moment he saw her armor amidst the mutants, he sprang into action. His shoes echoed loudly against the stone walls, but he didn't care. As he ran towards them, brandishing his wand threateningly, he shouted at the top of his lungs "IRONCLAD!" and his eyes narrowed with fury. "You mutant freaks leave her alone, or I'll decimate the lot of you." He stood in the center of the chamber, already preparing his artificed weapons for combat.

[Raveled]

Across the room, Ironclad's flashing fists faltered for a moment as she caught sight of Warlock charging the mutants. One jumped on her back and tried to choke her; the heroine flew straight up and slammed the Depp One against the ceiling, knocking the creature loose and letting it fall to the floor. She zipped over until she was floating above Blake. Her mind worked at a feverish pace for a moment, then she raised her gauntlets at the charging monsters. "First we take care of them," she said. "Then I've got some questions." She paused for a moment, then added, "Thanks for saving me, by the way."

[Lone Star]

Warlock watched his girlfriend slam a Deep One into the ceiling, and he grinned.

"First we take care of them," she said. "Then I've got some questions." She paused for a moment, then added, "Thanks for saving me, by the way."

He threw his robes back with a dramatic flair, and drew his lightning wand. "Anytime, babe. I think we'll be able to take 'em." He sized up the situation, and glanced about the chamber. "They have something planned, I think. When I was going down the caves, I saw some earth symbols, along with some destructive runes. I have a feeling these Deep Ones aren't the ones behind what's going on, unless they got clever all of a sudden. But for the moment, let's kick some ass."

[Raveled]

The mutants closed in on the heroes; Ironclad fired off a blast that temporarily lit the cavern bright as noon and managed to make the leading Deep One stumble in its charge, but the rest quickly surrounded Warlock, bronze spears flashing in and out in dazzling displays of skill. Two tried hard, overhand blows aimed at popping the hero's mystic bubble, but they only succeeded in making shards of flying rock when their spears hit the ground. The rest of the pack jabbed defensively at Warlock, ensuring that he couldn't take advantage of the opening in the first pair's defenses.

[Lone Star]

As the two Deep Ones charged at him, he instinctively activated his mystic force field, and he couldn't suppress a grin when their spears fell short of breaking his force field. "Well, if you guys apparently know how to use magic, what's stopped you from making your own force fields? Silly Deep Ones, magic is for humans!" He reached into his mojo pouch, and whipped a handful of his magic sleeping powder at the crowd of Deep Ones. "Doing alright, babe? I wanted to ask- how did you get down here anyway?"

[Raveled]

Several of the mutants ran straight into the dust cloud and promptly fell to the ground, snoring heavily. One managed to stumble to a stop though, and the one that Ironclad had blasted was starting to come to his senses. The armored heroine zeroed in on him and let loose with another strike that felled him. The last Deep One soldier leapt forward and unleashed a spinning strike at Warlock; it fell short of the hero, but forced him to take several quick steps back. "Long story," Ironclad snapped, spinning around in mid-air and waiting for her target systems to acquire the new target. C'mon, hurry hurry! "Knock this guy down a peg and we can talk."

[Lone Star]

Warlock stepped backward as he dodged the attack. "I was thinking the same thing myself, lovely lady. Let's take this last mutant down." He stood heroically, a half-smile on his face, and drew his lightning wand. "I love you very much, by the way."

He concentrated, and released the bolt of eldritch lightning at the Deep One. A ray of magic energy raced from the tip towards the mutant while Warlock casually watched. "This is really a strange situation, though. I never thought Deep Ones could figure this stuff out on their own, you know?"

[Raveled]

The Deep One spun his spear, deflecting the lightning bolt into the stone ceiling. Some of the shock was evidently still transferred into the mutant's webbed hands, because it dropped the weapon and shook them. A moment later Ironclad dropped down behind it and smashed the creature behind its ear-hole, but though it staggered wildly it didn't fall.

"You called these things Deep Ones? Any idea what they'd want with a DNA-typer?"

[Lone Star]

Warlock furrowed his eyebrows with annoyance. "Yep, Deep Ones. Corrupted Atlantean monsters. Some kind of cross-breeding with Serpent People. They're mutant creatures who are not exactly known for being rocket scientists. I don't know what's up with these. I suspect someone else is involved, or maybe they got ahold of the monolith from 2001." He fired another eldritch bolt at the Deep One, almost impatiently. "And this one just refuses to call it quits!"

[Raveled]

The Deep One staggered at the twin blows from behind and in front, falling to one knee just long enough to grab its spear from the ground. It gripped the haft of the weapon and struck back with the butt of the shaft, hitting Ironclad in her gut. The metal flexed, but the heroine was still winded for a moment; only for a moment, though, because she managed to grab the weapon, snap the shaft in half, and kick the mutant creature in the face.

Ironclad looked at the last Deep One warrior sprawled out on the floor, making sure it wasn't about to get up and attack again. Sure that they had managed to defeat their enemies again, she walked over to Blake, rubbing her stomach where the spear butt had hit her. She hugged him briefly and then stood back, brushing at some errant hair that was falling into his face. "Hey there, hon. How's your day been?"

[Lone Star]

Blake hugs her back, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. He smiles at her nonchalant question. "Oh, you know. Had to do some investigations for the museum, found this hole in the ground, fought some Deep Ones. You know, the usual." Blake grinned and started looking about the cavern. "Now I don't know who or what is causing all this, but whoever he is just pissed off the wrong wizard. Healing potion, babe?" He turned back to Jessica, and dug through his equipment. A grin lit his face up as he offered her some of his healing potion. "Made with all-natural ingredients! I think."

[Raveled]

Ironclad took the offered phial, swirling the oddly colored liquid inside, trying to determine just what it was made of. She finally decided that Warlock wouldn't knowing hurt her, so she unfolded her helmet -- and started, staring directly into inky blackness. Blake got to watch his girlfriend flail around for a bit as she tried to drink something in the pitch dark, then she hatted back up and glanced around quickly. "Forgot just how dark it was in here," she said lightly.

Ironclad moved over to the wall of the cavern, resting her hand on a spot between the pillars. "Never heard of Deep Ones before, but someone stole a compact DNA sequencer from the Lab. Tunneled directly into storage and walked out with it. No one would've found out for weeks if I hadn't gone looking for it." The armored heroine frowned at the blank wall behind her helmet, pushing at it gently. "I followed the tunnel down, tussled with some weird looking webbed-feet dudes and eventually stumbled on this... Hall, or something. They were all clustered up in front of this wall, but I can't detect any kind of opening."

[Lone Star]

Warlock drew his lightning wand, and concentrated. A small electrical current caused the tip to glow, allowing them to see the room any better. "I still think someone else is behind this. Deep Ones don't know enough about technology nor do they have the planning skills to organize a heist like this." He looked at his girlfriend with her hand against the wall. "Hmm. Although a secret entrance wouldn't be beyond them. Scoot over and let me push on it a little."

He holstered his lightning wand, tucking it back into his robes. His eyes narrowed as he raised his arm, and the ring on his right hand glowed with eldritch power. "I'd better be gentle- wouldn't want to bring the house down."

[Raveled]

Ironclad stepped aside and Warlock applied a gentle pressure to the cavern wall, but when there was no change he pushed harder and harder. Suddenly, the wall gave away with a sharp crack, the rock shattering into a million tiny shards. Just beyond was a smaller room, a long corridor bored out of the bedrock. Most of the floor seemed to be underwater, but there was a, for lack of a better term, elevated walkway that lead the length of the corridor, to a wide stone platform. Condensation dripped from the ceiling and beaded down the walls, and the salt water smell of the ocean was thick in the room.

Ironclad motioned for Warlock to stay back and floated through the resulting hole, weapons fully powered, sensors scanning the whole area. The tension stretched, but after a minute or nothing happening she relaxed. The armored heroine spun in the air and shrugged at Blake, still standing by the hole. "I don't think there's anythi--"

A large, muscular form erupted out of the water and wrapped two scaly arms around the heroine. It pulled her back underwater with a roar, and the pair went under the water, struggling against each other.

[Raveled]

Ironclad had no idea what was happening. She was suddenly underwater, steel-strong arms wrapped around her and pulling her deeper. He view was filled with a scaly fish-faced creature, looking like the Thing From the Black Lagoon had a child with an angler fish. The arms tightened around her midsection suddenly, driving the air out of her lungs in a whuff, but whatever was grappling her obviously didn't plan on its prey having an internal air supply. Inside the suit, Jessica sucked down another break and tried to figure out how to get out of this situation.

[Lone Star]

Logic, although firmly a part of Blake's mind, abandoned him at that moment. Without a second thought, he leapt into the water after her, trying to pursue the aquatic beast. His arms, now more muscular than his former self, cut through the water, but not with the effectiveness of a Deep One. His eyes burning with the salt of the water, he attempted to find the Deep One. After vaguely spotting a black shape, Warlock hurled a handful of his sleeping powder into the water, hoping the fish would breathe in its magic dust. The gears in Blake's head started turning again, and he blinked. I realize this may not have been a good idea.

[Raveled]

Warlock's powder didn't get very far in the water, but it was clear enough that he could see Ironclad break free from the mutant's grip and began turning the momentum of the fight. He didn't get a chance to watch her for very long, though, as he was suddenly lying back out of the water.

The occult detective fell back onto the rock 'bridge,' his coat taking the blow and he raised his eyes to see a fairly normal looking man standing there. He was maybe six feet tall and slender, clad in a white lab coat. All in all he could've passed unexamined in any hospital or -- or the Lab! The man laughed at Warlock's expression and flexed one arm, unexpectedly splitting the sleeve of his coat into shreds. "Isn't it glorious," he said, eyes shining with some kind of fever. "To see two mutants destroying each other! No matter who survives, we all win. And who knows, maybe they'll kill each other!" The coated man threw his head back and laughed again.

[Lone Star]

Warlock stood up, his wand drawn. His eyes were full of fury, and his chest rose and fell quickly. His teeth gritted, and he pointed the wand at him like a handgun. "You bastard. I can't fight whatever the hell just took my girlfriend down there, but when she gets back up, we're both going to kick your sorry ass." He squeezed the wand's handle, and it glowed with eldritch lightning. The handle sparked, and lit up the room for brief moments with flashes of light. "You're going to tell me who you are. Maybe not at this moment, but once we're through with you, you'll talk. Whatever you've got planning won't be happening." Warlock released the bolt, and it flew towards the scientist.

[Raveled]

The burly scientist leapt up to the ceiling, gripping a stalactite with inhuman strength and easily avoiding the blast of energy -- until it struck the far wall and rebounded, clipping him along the ribs and causing him to fall to the stone bridge again. He kit up quickly though, tearing his coat off -- literally, shredding it with his bare hands -- and dropped into a loose fighting stance, feet wide apart and hands held out at his side. "Who am I? Oh, just a garden-variety genius. 135 IQ, graduated from MIT when I was 20. La, such frivolity! But because I'm not a genetic freak like your girlfriend down there, I end up taking orders from a hormonal teenager, and bowing and scraping to someone that sounds like he's from a period drama. But that all ends here, because your little squeeze is going to be crushed down there -- just like I'm going to crush you, up here!"

Underneath the water, Ironclad shook off the Deep One's clawed and webbed hands and tried to throw a punch in retaliation, but the extra resistance from the water threw her strike off. Either that, or the mutant was simply too adapted to fighting in such an environment and ducked under it easily. The beastie reached for her and gripped her arms, squeezing hard. The suit held up though, resisting the creature's inhuman strength. Above their heads, the surface of the water frothed and roiled, churned up by their fighting.

[Lone Star]

Warlock laughed a little, cracking his neck. "Hahaha. Oh wait, seriously? You're going to try to beat up a wizard with your bare hands? I'd really like to see you try. If I give you the chance to do so. There are things I know about magic that would make your head spin. Things no man should ever know." As he distracted the young genius, he prepared a handful of his sleeping dust. "Are you really going to fight someone who's seen all that? Someone who can kick your ass back to MIT."

He stepped forward, throwing a handful of his magic powder at the man. "Besides, no one like a show-off. You d*ck."

[Raveled]

The man in the tattered lab coat swung at the cloud of dust but only succeeded in spreading it through the air more. He tried to move through the cloud, but as he inhaled the dust he noticed the world starting to... swirl around him. He stood there, swatting at things only he could see, not even able to respond to Warlock's taunts.

Underneath the water, the Deep One mutant continued its single-minded assault on Ironclad, but its webbed fingers and sharp, pointy teeth continued to slide off the heroine's armor. For her part, the young inveotr was getting mighty tired of tussling under the waves with the amphibious creature; she pushed back hard, forcing the fishy humanoid back through the water until its head cracked against the stone of the cavern. It fell suddenly limp, hanging bonelessly in her arms.

[Lone Star]

Warlock sighed in relief as his sleeping powder struck the burly scientist with the effect it should. A bead of his sweat fell from his forehead and hit the cave floor. Thank God. He probably would have kicked my ass if I got too close. Grinning with a near-complacency, he strode over to the scientist, and threw another handful of dust right at his face.

"Come on, dude. I told you. Magic beats fisticuffs every time. We just have range, you know? And...well. Force fields to protect against bare knuckles. The victor was already decided, dude. Night, crazy."

[Raveled]

Warlock's throw was exquisitely well-timed, coming out just as the scientist was trying to clear the last bunch of dust from his sinuses. He snorted the dust out and sucked in a big load of the next batch. The amount of sleep powder managed to overwhelm his body and he fell backwards, snoring before he even hit the ground.

Under the water, Ironclad grabbed the Deep One mutant before it could fall into the depths. With a burst from her magnetic-etheric drive she broke the surface, hauling the limp fish-person after her. She put the creature down next to the recumbent scientist. She regarded him with a cocked head, trying to place his face, when it came to her in a sudden rush. "Hey, I think this guy works in the Lab's biochem division. Well, worked, anyway. What the heck is he doing down here, working with fish people?"