The Old Factory [Aaron/Stenson]

[tsukikoko]

When Aaron wrenched himself from her grip, Sara spun to see what the problem was, her heart leaping to her throat as she saw Stenson staggering around in the previous room. She hadn't realised he had been blinded! She watched with bated breath as Aaron dove back into the danger to save Stenson, a thump of dread smacking her gut like a physical force as tendrils whipped near the top of the men's heads. Her relief was palpable when the two managed to reach her again, but there was no time for words and comfort, the group needed to get moving.

When the narrow hallway demanded they move in single file, Sara always found herself in the middle, two walls of muscle in front and behind her to block a stray mimic should one come their way. Luckily, none had appeared and they never had to test the arrangement. The shifter found herself quivering slightly - a come-down from the adrenaline and a large shift remained in for too long, she guessed - and her gaze flickered first to Aaron's back and then over her shoulder to Stenson; what should have been a comforting protection in the form of these two men, did nothing to alleviate Sara's worry and guilt at being present. Needing to occupy her hands with something, the woman had turned her attention to straightening the riot gear her companions had managed to re-secure on her body, another preventative measure to stop her touching the black goo. She and her rapidly changing cells, they were a potential danger here and she knew it... but she just couldn't let her friend come here alone. If she just had some time, the right chemicals, she could cook up something to kill these things, if she just...

The convoy had stopped, stalled in its progress by a door. When a good few moments passed and her friend didn't open the door, she rose onto her tiptoes to see past him. She looked on in silence as he prodded at the cloying black tar that held the door in place. He turned back now, the lines of his face darkened by the apprehension at their current situation. Sara read his features for a second or two, registering the unspoken question and turned her thoughts to how they could escape. Her eyes flickered from the door, to the walls and ceiling, to her own body and the riot gear. An idea began to form, though she was certain Aaron was not going to approve of it. So best not to tell him, let him figure it out when she was already doing it...

The corridor was narrow, covered on both walls by mimic goo, squeezing past her friend would put her in a lot of direct contact with the stuff, even with the riot gear on it would no doubt seep onto her flesh. In truth, the shifter wasn't sure what would happen if she touched the black substance with her bare skin, since it wasn't part of a moving 'living' mimic it theoretically might do nothing to her, but she hadn't wanted to find out. With only a brief furrow of her brow and a 'Scuse me luv' Sara dropped to the floor and quickly crawled between Aaron's legs to reach the other side of him. Normally she would have chuckled at the reaction that action no doubt elicited from the agent, but she was focused now. As she looked over the door, keeping a slight distance, she tossed her idea over in her head, liking it less and less as she did so. Even if she shielded her horns with riot gear, she might still contact the substance for too long, or the door might not break under her force, the hallway wasn't wide enough for a large enough animal...

The shifter hummed under her breath, casting her eyes about the area and tapping her foot lightly against the ground. They were running out of time, Aaron wouldn't be able to keep his light magic going for much longer, she needed to think faster! Who was she with, what abilities did they all have? Suddenly, as though a series of neurons finally fired in the right order, a memory, cast aside in light of the group's impending doom, suddenly came to the forefront; a file, a record, a police officer with supernatural abilities, a Garuda? Gargouille? No... a Gargoyle. She had not seen the name, but considering the odd sheen in his eyes, the colour of his skin and the fact he had been sent to assist in a WDSA matter, she was damn sure Stenson was not entirely human. Well, with their current predicament and all, Sara didn't have much to lose by asking him. With a small smile that was as much an attempt to comfort him that she had an idea, as it was a nervous response to the situation at hand, and another squeeze through Aaron's legs, Sara thought to herself,
Well, if I'm going to die, at least I've managed this much.
Having wiggled her way back between the men, the shifter drew herself up to Stenson, taking hold of his hands with her own.
"Eeee, luv, I don't mean tah assume or nowt, but if you're the bloke I reckon ya are, like, could really do with ya other self breakin' that bloody door down."
Her eyes seemed to swell ever larger as she searched the man's face, looking for confirmation that he was the gargoyle she thought he might be, that he might be their escape from this dank hallway that might otherwise become their stone coffin.

[Pearl Dragon]

Stenson could hear the creature's screams, could feel the air whoosh over his head as something swept inches above from hitting him, and nearly lashed out himself as something grabbed his arm. Before reacting, he recognized the feeling as someone's hand, holding tight and pulling him away from the wall he was now following, urging him away and in a guided direction. Stenson kept pace with his guide, tripping slightly over stray pieces of equipment or metal, but managing to keep his footing to hurry along behind. He hated being so helpless, after all, he was supposed to the be support in this whole fiasco.

All Stenson could do was trust whoever was pulling him. The blinding white that had seized his vision, mercifully began to dim, but instead was replaced by a stark, photo-negative image of the exact moment he fired his gun and the explosion that followed. Though he was moving, looking around, he could only see the grotesque vision of the giant mimic, it's mandibled mouth frozen agape in mid-scream with long arching legs that stretched across a boiler room that Stenson knew they had already left behind. He almost wanted to laugh, if not for the fact that he was being forced by his own eyes, for the time being, to stare into the horrible face of that thing, at least until his vision bounced back.

Now they were single file, the feeling of a crusted wall sliding past on both sides of him as they went. The space was narrow, perhaps a hallway. He could only imagine the thick black substance, the familiar feel of it's dried-mucous surface, that covered the walls on either side of them. Not wanting to lose the group, Stenson reached a hand out ahead of him, resting it on the hard plastic riot-gear shoulder pad of whoever was in front of him. They continued like this for a short while, at least until the group came to an abrupt halt. "What? What is it?" Stenson asked, blinking to try and peer ahead. His eyes could now make out the blurred silhouettes of the others, and the bobbing lantern of the first person in line, taller than the middle, must be Aaron. He holstered his gun and rubbed his eyes once more with the back of his other hand, cursing himself again as he was reminded of his lost glasses. That's going to cost a pretty penny, will need to get those replaced if I get out of here...

"'Scuse me luv" Came Sara's voice.
When Stenson reached again for the shoulder pad in front of him, it was gone, and so was Sara. Stenson looked at the two, confused, but kept quiet while the others investigated whatever was blocking their path. There was a moment where the two seemed to switch places again, before Sara reappeared in front of Stenson.
"Is it a wall? Tell me what-" He stopped as he felt the touch of Sara's hands on his own, the rest of his sentence forgotten.

"Eeee, luv, I don't mean tah assume or nowt, but if you're the bloke I reckon ya are, like, could really do with ya other self breakin' that bloody door down." The mimic's horrific expression was fading quick now from his eyes, and behind it he could see Sara's expression, softened eyes searching his face with a baleful look. She must have read my file... Stenson opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again. Turn? Now? Here?

Where else...He thought, If I don't, we'll be trapped down here. This place is empty, except those monsters, no other way. We've got to get through that wall...

Stenson swallowed the knot in his throat, and gave Sara's hands a firm squeeze. "Alright," He said at last, "but you two will need to get back." He let go of Sara's hands and pressed his back against one of the walls, trying to give Aaron and Sara enough room to go past and behind him. Once they were out of the way, Stenson drew a deep breath, then began to unstrap the riot gear, followed by his utility belt and bullet proof vest. "Here, take these for me." He handed the belt to Sara and the vest to Aaron. The riot gear he left on the ground, better to come back for it once they were through, if he decided to come back for it at all. His uniform jacket and black tank top he wore underneath came off next, but he avoided removing anything else for the sake of the lady in the group. He handed these to Aaron as well. Then pushing a hand out at them to stand back.

Stenson felt the transformation begin, slowly at first, as it always did. His skin began to darken slightly, thickening into an armored, smooth texture. A small groan escaped his throat as the changes started, mostly because it felt strange, seeing as it wasn't exactly a habit he was used to performing, the sound progressing from normal into a deeper-than-human tone. As the transformation picked up, there was a loud snapping of bones and joints that began to sound inside of him. It started in his back, shoulderblades dislocating and extending, following the expansion of his rib cage and spine. There was a sickening, almost painful-sounding CRACK as rib bones beneath his shoulderblades snapped and broke in even segments, resulting in the beginnings of wings that quickly grew outward and past the blades. His torso and sides coiled and bunched, the musculature beneath his skin stood out, chiseled and lean, and his backbone extended downward into a tail that curled back and forth, short but lined with blunt spikes. His head and jaw began to stretch into a muzzled maw. He curled his lips back to reveal teeth thickening to long, pointed white fangs as big as a lion's, giving them room to stretch and grow. By now the transformation was well underway, twisting and reforming his body into a hulking monstrosity, wings expanding and pressing against the walls around him, curling down to the ground where legs and feet were now splayed in animalistic bends, gripping talons digging into the cement of the factory floor and the shredded remains of his pants hanging from his hips. Stenson let out a series of guttural growls sounding deep inside his chest amidst the changes, eyes brightening with a fiery, orange light and restored vision. He could feel the hallway pressing against him from all sides.

As the change completed, Stenson let out a deep huff, and hunched forward, one hand knuckled onto the ground while the other pressed forward, open-palmed at the dead end before him, dark claws curling into the hardened shell of the dried mimic-mucus. The black substance cracked and crumbled under his weight and Stenson could see what looked like a door just beneath its surface. With a guttural chuffing sound, Stenson drew back his fist and swung forward, driving it into and through the door. There was a sound like crunching metal and breaking rock as the door gave way off it's hinges, followed by most of the wall around it's anchor points. Dust billowed both ways, choking the group in the hallway and clouding the space ahead of them. Stenson pushed forward, tucking his wings in as close to his body as possible and squeezed through the hole and into the open space beyond. He gave a few loud, barking coughs in the process from the dust, before clearing the air with two massive beats of his wings to help the others breathe a little better. "We're through." He said, the words passing through a mouth full of thick fangs and his voice sounding loud and gruff in this new form.

[MP]

The creature's screams rang in the dark behind them. They were not the sounds of an blind, incapacitated creature. They were angry; hungry. But to Aaron's relief, the creature seemed to stay put for the moment. That was one good thing, at least.

He stood with his back to the door and stared into the dark, thinking over bits of scrap he'd seen scattered in the halls. If they went back now, before the thing started after them, they might be able be able to find something to chip through the crust and prize open the door. If it -

"Scuse me luv," Sara interrupted.

Aaron broke off mid-thought with a violent twitch as she abruptly crawled between his legs. He recognized the necessity of it a moment later, but it didn't stop his ears from reddening to a violent shade as he looked pointedly away and into space. Keep focus.

The lantern was slipping in his mind's eye. He'd lost the lights held in the monster's eyes altogether. He tried to keep hold of what was left, tried to pool the brightness again, but his thoughts were beginning to feel watery around the edges. Magic bled from the lantern, and the creatures were crowding closer to it, pushing in.

Aaron blinked back to the hallway. Sara was returning now, and he rose on the balls of his feet to let her through, since he couldn't get out of her way. He kept his eyes on the gaping hall as she spoke to the officer. Kept his eyes on the dark during the awkward shuffle to get Stenson to the front. Something was scuffling around in the distance, huge and erratic. He wondered how long it would take the rest of the things to catch up when the light went out. Aaron lowered his lantern gently to the floor. It rattled slightly from the tremor in his hand. There was another sound too.

He turned and saw the beginning of wings unfurling from Stenson's back, the source of the hideous crackling. Though he was aware that many supers hated being stared at while shapeshifting, he couldn't help but gawk slightly. The gargoyle in his original form was much larger than he'd imagined from the personnel file, with teeth like knives and gutting claws - he'd pictured something closer to spout gargoyle size. The sludge crackled and split beneath the creature's talons as Stenson stepped forward, palm to the door. The barrier itself never stood a chance. For all the grime caked over the exit, the door flew off its hinges at one strike from the gargoyle's fist. There was a hush as the dust settled around it.

"Jones," Aaron said in the silence. "That is cool as shit." 

They filed out from the hall one by one - it was not the exit as he'd been hoping, but another haphazard series of rooms. Aaron looked at the broken frame of the door and then back at the dark, where his last lantern winked back at him. He wished the door hadn't been quite so thoroughly destroyed. They could have used it as at least a slight obstacle. He looked back at the others, shivering, a little shamefaced.

"Sorry," he said. "I can't hold the light upstairs. Too far. They're - going to be coming." Even as he spoke, he felt the glare of the lantern fade somewhere far above. There was a brief lurching sensation as the first of the things broke through the dying light, blotting out the last of it. And then he could no longer feel the upper floor. The pressure in his head had subsided somewhat, but the tremor lingered in his hands.

"Come on, let's hurry." And then to Stenson: "Can you take point?" He didn't quite trust himself to the front just now. His focus was all on the lantern - their last. Of course the sunlight inside would fade, as it was meant to do. His magic could only slow that down. But if it bought them even a few seconds, he meant to keep it there for as long as he could.

[Marshmallow]

The old factory had been chosen for his field tests for a variety of reasons. It had stood abandoned for a number of years, and had no prospective buyers on the horizon, so there were no people. It had few windows, providing plenty of dark shadows for light-sensitive equipment and studies. It was relatively isolated - there were no main roads adjacent, which meant traffic was low. High barbed-wire fences, combined with long stretches of open asphalt and unkempt lots, provided a buffer zone and relative privacy from the closest neighboring buildings. And all of this combined into the very best reason: it had no visitors.

Drivers on the winding roads of the industrial sector paid it no mind. The high fences and shady alleys kept trouble-making children at bay. Aside from the odd homeless addict wandering in just to find a roof for a night, no one visited the broken old factory. He could conduct his studies in peace and perfect security, assured no one with trustworthy eyes would ever bear witness.


Until tonight, when a bone-jarring crash of abused metal and mortar echoed throughout the factory's dusty interior, shattering the doctor's concentration.


Walter almost dropped the fragile specimen slides as he jolted up from the microscope with a start, tail coiling tight to one leg. The sealed door at the far end of the room caved inward with such force that it kicked up a massive dust cloud, and caused a few of the generator-run lamps to wobble on their posts. He steadied one with a thought as his gaze was drawn to the door - or, rather, the space the door had once occupied. In its place he saw, as the dust cloud dispersed, a trio of interlopers that were definitely not of the 'homeless addict' classification. Two resembled officers of some kind. The third was some sort of beast. They were talking amongst themselves, but their voices didn't quite reach his end of the room.

"... I did not sink zat door could efen open anymore," he mused aloud, blinking his 'good' eye once as he took in the scene.


Abruptly, he noticed that the drifting dust had begun to reach his tables, carried on the gusts of the grey creature's wings. It would soon settle on the equipment, spoiling more fragile instruments and specimens. Scowling darkly, he began brushing the dust away, buffeting the clouds with faintly-shimmering fields of telekinesis. Protecting his work from contamination was far more important than a handful of dazed trespassers.

[tsukikoko]

A grateful smile flickered across Sara's face as Stenson both affirmed her theory about his species and agreed to break down the door, she almost breathed an audible sigh of relief. She followed the officer's instructions to step back out of the way, nodding her agreement to keep hold of his utility belt. When Stenson began to undress, the shifter made an effort to avert her eyes, for his sake, but couldn't help glancing sidelong at him and a raised eyebrow when she realised his shirt had come off. Despite the circumstances, she could appreciate a good set of shoulders and this man.. well, he certainly had a fine set of muscles on him. She was a little disappointed that more clothing didn't come off, but quickly berated herself and darted her gaze away for thinking it at such a time; there could be time for daydreams of that sort when they weren't in danger of being eaten alive! The loud snapping and cracking sounds soon drew her attention back however, as a mix of scientific and plain curiosity drew her gaze back to the shapeshifting officer. His change didn't look or sound comfortable, causing a stab of guilt to hit Sara, since she had asked him to do so. Admittedly though, his gargoyle form was nothing short of impressive, both in terms of appearance - those claws looked like they could do a lot of damage - and just sheer size.

The door didn't stand a chance.

A small cloud of dust found it's way into Sara's nose and created a tiny sneeze from her, so she was glad when a couple of mighty beats from Stenson's new wings dispersed the main bulk of dust.
"We're through."
Goodness. He sure had a deep voice now. Shaking her head to focus, the shifter followed the gargoyle through the threshold, then took a moment to tip her helmet up and away from her face and laid her hand on Stenson's forearm,
"Thank you."
By raising herself right onto the tips of her toes and using her tail as balance, Sara was able to peck a little kiss on the edge of Stenson's jaw, before she placed her helmet back over her head and turned her attention to the room they found themselves in.
"Come on, let's hurry," came the word from Aaron, then when he addressed Stenson directly, "Can you take point?"
The shifter began to fall into place behind the gargoyle, when her attention was caught by something decidedly white amongst the general dankness and grey. Her brow furrowed, eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to discern what it might be. For a few moments, she couldn't believe what her eyes were telling her, it couldn't possibly be...

"Oi guys..." she whispered to her two companions, "I think there might be someone over there..."
The white, so stark in this factory setting, were they wearing a.. a lab coat? She took one, then two steps forward, getting ready to call out to the person, when their features snapped into focus in her mental image. She knew that man, that scientist. An abrupt and rather loud inhale of breath was followed by an excited exclamation from Sara as she very suddenly bolted towards the other side of the room, covering the distance at a remarkable pace. She slowed once she was within a few feet of him, not wanting to disturb whatever research he might be conducting by kicking up more dust. Her voice had risen an octave or two when she spoke again, the tip of her tail swiping the floor rapidly,
"Cor blimey, you're Dr Walter Hahn! Christ, I've read so many of your papers, like, your research is bloody incredible, it's what got me into, ya know, splicing research, methods are a tad unorthodox but can't deny the results, why aye, ya must be workin' on something reet now I can't believe I get to meet ya 'ere-"
Sara's rambling came to an abrupt halt as she finally remembered where she was and what crawled through the factory with them. Her eyes flickered from the scientist to the table of samples, then back to him, as she took a step back, tendrils of uncertainty creeping into her voice.
"What.. what are ya doin' 'ere Dr Hahn?"

[Pearl Dragon]

There was a moment as the dust cleared that Stenson thought he heard a voice from somewhere in the farther reaches of whatever room they were now in, but this quickly left his mind as he felt a small touch on his forearm and then a small peck at the bottom of his jaw. "Thank you" Sara said.

Stenson glanced down and saw her on her tippy toes, before his ears drooped downward and eyebrow ridges rose in a look that could easily pass as embarrassed in gargoyle expressions.
"Come on, let's hurry." Aaron exclaimed suddenly, the sound of urgency in his voice, "Can you take point?" Stenson nodded, his eyes sweeping the room, taking in what he could through the swirling dust. Having night vision in dark places was great, but it was far from x-ray vision through the thick clouds. He took a step forward to start moving when suddenly he stopped, eyes catching something white, and focused, squinting to try and make out what exactly it was. It looked, human shaped, like a coat. A lab coat?

"Oi, guys.." Sara whispered, "I think there might be someone over there..." She took a step or two forward as well, before inhaling and bolting forward towards whoever it was. Stenson reached out to stop her, grunting a "Sara, wait-" but she was already out of reach and upon the stranger in white. What reached his ears next sent a stab of panic through him, and a shocked, "Oh shit, what do we do?" look back in Aaron's direction, his muzzle wrinkling into a fearful grimace.

"Cor blimey, you're Doctor Walter Hahn!"

As Sara carried on in excited ramblings to who apparently was a high-priority wanted criminal, Stenson made an instinctive grab for his gun, before realizing that he was only able to feel his bare hip where the holster should've been. His clawed hands swept up and across his chest and back down to his hips, still absently searching for something to use, before he looked down, around and forward again at the utility belt still in Sara's hands. Gargoyle. Of course, stupid. His mouth opened for a moment and then clenched together in a worried snarl, before once again looking back at Aaron with a panicked shrug. He didn't want to speak. Not yet. It was obvious Hahn knew they were there, how couldn't he, but for some reason, Stenson wanted to keep talking to a minimum. Though, if Doctor Hahn saw the utility belt, (hard not to since it was all but basically being presented to him by the overexcited Sara standing before him), their cover might already be blown. Plus the riot gear. Plus Sara's obvious recognition of his fame. Stenson was frozen, unable to think of the right course of action. They'd briefed him and the other officers extensively on what to do if any should come across this man, but Stenson never quite imagined he'd be the one to find him.

"What...what are ya doin' 'ere Dr. Hahn?" Sara's rambling finally stopped, replaced by a new, more nervous tone. She had even stepped back a bit, perhaps realizing who this man really was and where they were. Stenson felt tense. Ready for anything. Sara was in the danger zone, and he wanted nothing more than to charge forward and drag her back. But, this was now a delicate situation. He knew how passionate Dr. Hahn was of his work, according to the psych records that had been shared, perhaps Sara's interest would actually help keep Dr. Hahn calm, despite their loud intrusion. Enough where things wouldn't need to get too crazy, if that was possible considering they now had Dr. Hahn ahead of them and a horde of mutant mimic beasts soon to be hot on their heels. He could already hear the distant screeches of the creatures as they began to make their way through the factory depths after them. One thing was for sure: Dr. Hahn was, after all, infamous for his preference of genius over sanity and his upredictable states of psychosis. Making any wrong moves now would only increase the danger of the entire situation.

[MP]

Aaron turned at Sara's words, alarmed at the thought of a civilian lost here, trapped in a building full of rabid creatures. He took a step forward, but before he could so much as look around Stenson's wing at the stranger, Sara was already dashing forward. Her words were tumbling over themselves with such high-pitched exuberance that at first he heard them as nothing more than nonsense syllables. The meaning came trailing behind a moment later, along with the squealed name: Walter Hahn.

"Oh shi-oot." The muttered words mutated halfway out of Aaron's mouth as he tried to stop himself, as if a milder profanity might escape Hahn's notice.

He met Stenson's stricken glance, the expression mirrored on his face. His thoughts were a tangled mess - no, that was the sound of the creatures swarming somewhere in the dark. Think. Focus. Hold the lantern -

He made a silent motion for the gargoyle to stay put. Took a soft, almost casual step sideways, edging behind Stenson's wing. He was already partially obstructed from view - a fact he hoped had prevented Hahn from noticing the tranquilizer gun still slung over his shoulder. He reached for it now, eyeing the passage behind them.

Holding Stenson's gaze, he signaled first toward Sara, and then at the exit sign. The screams of the burned mimic grated from somewhere behind them, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. They had no time to deal with Hahn. Not here. Not in an extended confrontation. They needed backup - a full quarantine, before nightfall expanded the monsters' range. But his mind was piecing the clues together: the missing persons, the altered mimics, the perfectly untouched doctor alone in their midst. He doubted Hahn would simply let them leave.

Aaron had the tranq gun in hand now, finger just hovering over the safety, ready to cover them as they moved. He listened to the soft click of lab equipment and the rustle of steps, noting the doctor's location. Nodding at Stenson from behind the gargoyle's wing, he moved his fingers in a silent countdown. Three...two...one.

[Marshmallow]

"Cor blimey, you're Dr. Walter Hahn!"


A woman's voice - a very excited woman's voice - called out from much too close. The patchwork scientist straightened with a start, dropping his careful telekinetic control of the last remaining wisps of dust as he turned to face the rambling bundle of riot gear. He stared at the strange woman, momentarily stunned by her exuberance. The shock faded a heartbeat later, allowing her words of praise to register, along with other details.
Even as he smiled at her compliments, his gaze traveled down her armored body. He knew that gear by its colors and the small jackalope emblems emblazoned on the helmet and chest-piece. He even recognized the model of utility belt she was holding.
Admittedly, this was not how he expected to be confronted by his former employers.


"What.. what are ya doin' 'ere Dr. Hahn?"
The woman's excitement rapidly dulled. He detected an edge of fear to her voice as she backed away.


Walter smiled genially. "You know of my vork? Zen you haff gut taste! A fellow scientisht, ja?" he said as he turned back toward the nearest table, and carefully set down the slides he was still holding. He fussed with a few of the instruments, ensuring they were dust-free. "Is not efery day zat I find someone who appreciates my akomplishments... Und vat haff I been doing? Ahh, I haff been studyink zee local population of Mimics. Shtay a vile and I vill be happy to show you vat I haff uncovered." His tone was warm and friendly, as if the unexpected intrusion was no more than an opportunity for pleasant socialization. As if she had just walked into his living room, and not the dusty, gutted interior of an infested factory. He welcomed her to stay with a beckoning gesture, and a wheeled chair rolled forward wrapped in the shimmer of his telekinesis. An accompanying force pressed at her back, encouraging her toward the offered chair.


"Und your friends as vell," he added with a hum. The gargoyle and the second agent had not gone unnoticed. He turned to the other two intruders and took a few steps toward them, sharpened teeth bared in what was otherwise a pleasant grin. In lieu of closing the door behind them, he grasped a few sheets of discarded metal and a couple of hefty crates in his telekinetic grip and levitated them to cover the gap, blocking the hissing swarm on the other side. At least, for now.

"Zerr vee are, safe und sound. Velkom, velkom. Don't be shy now. You've already beaten down zee door, so vhy not kom inside?" he greeted them warmly, though there was an almost... predatory edge to his tone.
As pleasant as he'd been with Sara, these people were still interrupting him.
That edge got sharper a moment later, as the thin, shimmering field of his telekinesis passed over both the gargoyle and his hiding companion. Like a second skin, he could almost feel what that mental pressure closed upon. And the shape of a gun soured his smile. "Really? Let's not get too hasty, now. Here, let me... help you vis zat." The field condensed, focusing around the tranquilizer gun like a vice and attempting to twist it from the agent's grip. Even if he couldn't wrench it free, he could keep pressure behind the trigger, prevent it from firing, or push the barrel away and toward the winged beast.

[tsukikoko]

"Shtay a vile and I vill be happy to show you vat I haff uncovered."
Those words accompanied an invisible pressure on Sara's back, insistent and encouraging. She saw the doctor's beckoning gesture, the chair wheeling itself forward of it's own accord. The mentionings of Dr Hahn's telekinetic abilities hadn't been exaggerated then. His control was masterful. Sara would have been enthralled if she wasn't in the midst of a rapidly growing unease at their situation. She glanced at the empty seat, taking only a moment to decide it would be better for now to go along with Hahn's wishes, to not upset him. The redhead took hold of her tail so that she could arrange it in a way that allowed her to take a seat and smiled gently at the other scientist. She couldn't deny, she was still, on some level, ecstatic to meet him, to get a glimpse into the mind that had uncovered so many scientific mysteries. But she also knew there was a very fine line between genius and insanity. Considering the surroundings they currently found themselves in, she suspected Dr Hahn had crossed over into the latter somewhere along the way.

"Really? Let's not get too hasty, now. Here, let me... help you vis zat."
His words made Sara look over her shoulder, to see Stenson still stood over by the door. She couldn't see Aaron from this angle, was he hiding behind the gargoyle? No matter, for now she needed to draw Hahn's attention away from whatever he had noticed. Her skin rippled ever so slightly, but no - no shifting wouldn't solve anything, would likely only anger Hahn. Sara needed to do something else, figure something out, get him invested in conversation to such an extent he stopped paying her friends any attention...

The shifter's eyes fell onto the research table, the instruments and all Hahn's findings. That was it! If there was ever something to distract a true scientist with, it was the object of their latest scientific obsession. Her voice became clipped, professional, her accent fading to be replaced by well enunciated English. After all, when speaking with another scientist, she had learnt it paid to be understood.
"Ah, yes, the mimics! I must admit, I was only able to undertake a small scale investigation with a single sample introduced to contact with horse blood, but what I saw was blo- ahem, simply fascinating. Am I correct in my assessment that these creatures require other living matter in order to survive and replicate, not unlike a virus?"
Sara let a measure of excitement creep into her voice, made easier because she had actually found the mimics rather intriguing; but now she spoke as if they were the single most incredible thing in the world. Aaron and Stenson needed his attention diverted, perhaps she could distract the doctor with his own research. It was worth a shot, if nothing else.
"I would be honoured to see how much more you have uncovered, you have no doubt had much more opportunity to study them than I have! Is it not frustrating sometimes, having no-one to share that knowledge with? I cannot say I am anywhere near as experienced in this field as yourself Dr Hahn, but I have delved into your research on genetics and splicing, it has become my specialist field, as it were."
Just keep him talking, keep stalling, hope the others come up with a plan.

[Pearl Dragon]

Aaron motioned for Stenson to stay put, eliciting an understanding nod from the gargoyle. Then, as Aaron positioned himself behind Stenson's wings, he developed a faint idea at what Aaron was about to attempt. The tranquilizer gun, forgotten until now, had become the obvious course of action, and Stenson was tense, now watching as Walter Hahn's attention perked at Sara's interest. There was a blue shimmer in the air, appearing at Sara's back, and it seemed to nudge her forward along with a chair that had approached from behind for her to be seated in. His tone seemed calm enough, to Stenson's relief, but with this particular scientist, his true mood was anybody's guess.
There was a small flutter of adrenaline in Stenson's chest as Hahn then turned to them. "Und your friends as vell." The sound of the door being replaced followed by scraping metal and other debris, blockading the mimics from the room, at least for now. Another relief, even given their circumstances. Only problem now was that they were trapped in with a potentially more dangerous monster...
"Zerr vee are, safe und sound. Velkom, velkom. Don't be shy now. You've already beaten down zee door, so vhy not kom inside?" Although he seemed welcoming, Stenson couldn't help but notice the sense one might get when being sized up by a predator.

There was a shimmer of blue, and suddenly Stenson felt as if there was a strange pressure all across his body. Creeping...feeling...searching him. Stenson shuffled his wings against the odd sensation, absently brushing at his chest and arms with clawed hands, as one might do when they'd walked through a spider web. Even in this form, he couldn't help but feel an odd, tingling sensation, like goosebumps.

"Really? Let's not get too hasty, now. Here, let me...help you vis zat." The gargoyle tensed, unsure of what the doctor meant, and his ears flicked backward momentarily at the sound of a very subtle struggle. Was...was he trying to wrestle the gun from Aaron!?

Sara suddenly piped up, her accent no longer present, and began to address Hahn's work with great interest and a newly replaced enthusiasm. This time, however, it seemed much less impulsive, and more focused. Intentional. And Stenson was grateful. The layer of granite that had begun to form across his back and sides, preparing for a possible stray dart to nail him from behind, relaxed and dissolved as Aaron's silent struggle ceased. He hoped this meant the scientist was now distracted enough to forget the gun...even if for just a moment.

Stenson's mind raced. He needed to do something. He needed to act. It was now or never, even if just to buy Aaron more time. Stenson waited for Hahn to turn to Sara, perhaps to see if she was messing with his things, or maybe to address her interest. As soon as the doctor's back was turn, Stenson stretched an arm back at Aaron, pushing him backwards urgently, but still in line to take a shot. Then, unfurling one wing to the side, and drawing it back almost like an arm drawing back to punch, Stenson took a few quick strides forward to close some of the distance between himself and Hahn before sweeeping his wing around and low with the top edge angled at the back of Hahn's knees. Stenson held his breath while he did this, trying to land the blow as swift and silently as possible, aiming to sweep the scientist off his feet and onto the ground without noticing his approach, disorient him. He only hoped Aaron would react fast enough to take advantage of the confusion.

[MP]

In the very instant Aaron tensed to move, there was a pressure at his fingertips, faint but distinctly unnerving. The rifle began to turn in his hands, and he eased his finger off the safety at once as he looked down and saw the faint blue flicker.

"Really?" Hahn's voice came smoothly to his ears. "Let's not get too hasty, now. Here, let me... help you vis zat."

He dared not make a sound - show weakness with audible distress. There was already something ugly in the doctor's tone that did not need feeding. Aaron struggled with the weapon in desperate silence, trying to angle it away from Stenson's back rather than regain his aim. There was a desperate, trembling moment as he put a clammy palm to the muzzle and strained. Then, by increments, the rifle slid sideways and the pressure eased. After what seemed like an eternity, he had control again.

Aaron stepped back at once as if that could move him clear of Hahn's influence. He was pushed the rest of the way by Stenson's clawed hand. The agent stumbled, off balance. Went to one knee in time to see the gargoyle spring forward and flare a massive wing. His thoughts were sluggish from the magic; his hands trembled from its overuse. Aaron saw the wing sweep out, saw it arc toward the doctor's legs, but he couldn't seem to collect his thoughts and steady his aim like he should have. He fired once - twice - late. His response was a fraction slow, and between Stenson's strike and the two shots, there was a noticeable moment's hesitation.

[Marshmallow]

All told, the doctor would have been quite happy to sit and simply discuss science with the amiable young woman. He had evaded capture for this long, he was confident this encounter would not be the end to his freedom. So he let her sit without bothering with threats or restraints, let her chatter on about how intrigued she was in his work, while his concentration centered on relieving the tranquilizer rifle of its current owner.


That is, until a handful of words fully registered in his comprehension: 'I was only able to undertake a small scale investigation with a single sample...'

He'd only been half listening to her at first, her professional yet conversational tone just a pleasant buzz of compliments in his ear. But on reflection a moment later, his concentration abruptly faltered. He lost his grip on the gun as he turned to her with a furrowed brow and a dark scowl.


"Vat vas zat you said? You haff sampled my vork..?" he asked slowly, right eye narrowing with growing suspicion. The very idea that the WDSA would send agents to poach his hard work was more offensive than their desire to incarcerate him. His tone turned venomous. "Is zat vhy you are here? Agency dogs, you haff kom to steal my research!"

The shimmer of his telekinesis manifested around the woman's throat, but before he could tighten his grip, something struck heavily at the back of his legs. His world pitched roughly to the side as he fell, interrupting his efforts - and giving him a sharp reminder that she hadn't arrived alone.


With a reflexive twisting of his body that was beyond natural for a human, Walter caught himself on his palms on the concrete floor. He poured his energies into putting space between himself and the gargoyle that had managed, rather disturbingly, to sneak up on him. A wave of his telekinetic energy rolled out from him, his left eye practically burning in the dark socket with the effort of knocking the beast away. The other agent's two late shots whiffed harmlessly, pushed off target by the same pulse.

And then he was on his feet, swiftly retreating to keep them all in his field of view. A scalpel nestled in his lab coat found its way to his hand, a weapon of last resort. His second tail uncoiled itself from its position around his waist, loosely wrapping around a leg to remain hidden from view yet still ready to strike.

"I vas villing to be civil, but I see zee Agency has ozer plans. How... unfortunate. I vas truly lookink forvard to discussink my findings..."

[tsukikoko]

Sara saw, in clear detail, the exact moment Dr Hahn's demeanour shifted; the abruptly stiff posture as he turned, how dark anger settled over his facial features, his brows furrowed, eyes narrowed dangerously and the tendons in his neck stood proud and prominent. The words that followed were dripping with barely contained fury,
"Is zat vhy you are here? Agency dogs, you haff kom to steal my research!"
Too late, Sara realised she had said exactly the wrong thing. The shifter opened her mouth to speak, to make her best effort at diffusing the situation, when a pressure took hold of her throat and cut the words off along with her breath. The sensation was frightening, for she knew even before the grip tightened that this was a manifestation of Walter's telekinesis, that he fully intended to strangle her. She reached for her throat in alarm but, luckily, before the doctor had chance to do more than touch at her skin with his powers, a knight in stone armour came to her aid in the form of Stenson's massive gargoyle form.

Her throat freed, a shriek threatened - turned to a whimper in Sara's throat as she fought to hold it in. The seconds that followed Stenson's attack and Aaron's gunfire passed in a blur of instinctive movement until she found herself on the other side of Hahn's research table, chair she had previously been sat upon thrown to the concrete by a thwack of her tail. All of a sudden, the weight of Stenson's utility belt, forgotten over the last few minutes, became noticeable in her grip. Her gaze slid downwards for a fraction of a second, noting the gun still holstered there, before she looked back up again as though she had never noticed at all.
"I vas villing to be civil, but I see zee Agency has ozer plans. How... unfortunate. I vas truly lookink forvard to discussink my findings..."
She could see the scalpel blade in the doctor's hand. Despite its small size, given the control of his powers Dr Hahn possessed and how quickly he had gone to strangle her, Sara considered it a highly dangerous weapon. After a small stammer, she addressed him, hands held up in a placating gesture.
"W-wait! Dr Hahn no, the Agency didn't steal your research! I ran a single test, on me.. my own terms! I was curious about your specimens, but I never intended to steal anything, I-I'm sorry, we.. we could still- "
She stopped mid-sentence, realising that considering how her two companions had already tried to attack him, trying to talk the doctor down at this point was almost certainly a losing battle. The shifter's heart thundered in her chest.

She didn't know what to do.

The redhead's eyes roved wildly, searching for anything she could do to distract the doctor again, give the group a chance to either subdue him or at least escape from the creatures still clamouring to reach them. Finally, her gaze settled on the dust particles kicked up by her tail's aggression towards the chair on the ground. She watched as a single one floated towards the table in front of her, where her gaze then took in all the specimens and in-progress experimentation. No doubt a lot of it was supremely delicate and, considering his explosive reaction when she had mentioned just sampling a piece, she could only imagine what he might do if it were to be say... threatened. Oh god she knew this was stupid, but she had to do something to make the doctor react, to have him move without thinking or focus his powers on something other than the two other men, perhaps that would give her companions a chance to get the upper hand. She turned slightly on the spot, angling her body so she stood side-on to the table. She hated the idea of what she was about to do; despite everything, it still felt wrong to damage another scientist's work, but now was not the time for moral dilemmas.

Without warning, Sara's tail suddenly flexed upwards and, so long as she wasn't interrupted, the limb smacked into the underside of the table with enough force to make the equipment wobble precariously, potentially scattering some of the smaller vials, glassware and specimen containers.

[Pearl Dragon]

Stenson couldn't have struck a moment too late or too soon. As the mention of Sara having tested Dr. Hahn's samples left her lips, Hahn's mood changed in the blink of an eye from eerily welcoming to dangerously livid. As Stenson swung, he heard Hahn's threats as he turned on Sara, glimpsed the flicker of blue TK around Sara's throat, and then felt as the edge of his wing collided with the back of Dr. Hahn's legs.

The strike was, as Stenson had hoped, completely unnexpected, knocking Hahn off his feet. Stenson felt a flutter of hope that they had been victorious, but all of that changed in the blink of an eye. Even as he fell, Hahn's body seemed to twist unnaturally, landing on his palms instead of his back. Stenson rose, curling his wing back from the strike, when suddenly a force hit him from where Hahn lay. The blow struck across Stenson's torso, causing the gargoyle the choke out an "Uhmph!" as he staggered backwards from the wave pulse of telekinesis.

When Stenson next looked, Hahn was already on his feet again, backing up to keep all of them in his line of sight and at a safe distance. A scalpel rose from the scientist's coat and into his hand which he brandished threateningly.

"I vas villing to be civil, but I see zee Agency has ozer plans. How...unfortunate. I vas truly lookink forvard to discussink my findings..."

Sara pleaded from where she stood, trying her best to calm the mad doctor, but to no avail. Stenson knew the situation had reached a point of no return.

"Civil?" Stenson said, speaking up in a gruff voice, "We have been chased through this factory by your 'findings' all afternoon. Things that should be put down on the spot, which will be necessary no matter what." All in all, he was testing the doctor's sensitivities towards his pets. Perhaps they could be used as leverage later on?

Suddenly, Stenson noticed Sara's movements towards Hahn's work. There was a shuffle followed by a loud THUMP as Sara's tail smacked into the underside of the worktable where Hahn's samples and tests were kept. stenson was wholeheartedly against further infuriating this criminal, but for the sake of distraction, he would take it. Although Hahn had them all in his sight, Stenson hoped the distraction would be enough to give him another opening to strike. Already, this opponent was proving to be far more dangerous than what was early anticipated, which was saying a lot because earlier they had been estimating a great amount of trouble to start with.

If Sara's distraction worked, which Stenson was hoping in that moment that it did, he would then move forward in another swift charge. His aim was now to try and either knock the scientist unconscious with a swipe to the head, or otherwise try to subdue him physically in a hold so that Aaron could try another shot. Either way, it was all he could do, now that Sara had gone and made herself a target once again. He tilted forward into a half gallop, large claws digging and scraping into the cement ground, while hoping his weight and momentum were enough to combat his opponent's telekinesis.

[MP]

Aaron saw the faintest blue flicker in the air, heard the whine and clatter as the darts went wide into the far wall. He cursed and lowered the rifle, switching the safety on as he broke into a charge. Two tranqs left; mimics on the other side of the door; a scientist, mad in every sense of the word, the only thing that stood between them. He was saving the last two until he had a surer shot. Or until something potentially more dangerous got through.

While Stenson charged straight ahead, Aaron darted sideways, his eyes on the flashes of the doctor's coat through Stenson's wings. He'd heard the ominous thump and rattle of glassware and understood what Sara was doing. If darts could be pushed and debris could be moved, then that wickedly gleaming scalpel could be hurled and directed, and with deadly accuracy.

"Down - get down," he barked, all but shoving the shifter down into a crouch as he reached her. He wanted her head out of view. Needed cover.

Without hesitating, he overturned the closest table, forming a makeshift barrier. Vials shattered, equipment spilled across the floor. He was lying if he said it wasn't satisfying. Sara had the right idea, but with her armor askew from the shift and her potential susceptibility to the samples, she was the wrong target. Aaron leaped the table in the next instant, boot crunching a petri dish as he went, dashing after Stenson to rush the doctor from the other side. With their initial strike a failure, he hoped they might overwhelm Hahn with speed and aggression before any major harm could be done to either parties.