Genesis End
By Spinning Demon (Topman) and Gauntlet (Shadowman)
Chapter Six - Splitting Up
Shadow Man wasn't lying when he said the next day would be a busy one. We awoke to the news that twenty-seven more deaths had occurred within the night; nineteen with circumstances resembling that of the infected man, another six frozen in fear like the woman, and two that apparently showed no parallels with the other deaths but were put under our jurisdiction once they were declared 'fibs' (police slang for an FIBHM., a Feat Impossible By Human Means). Another eight civilians had been admitted to hospitals after reporting serious wounds inflicted by normally innocuous movements, and had since tested positive for signs of viral activity in their blood. By now it had become clear that neither case was an isolated incident- in fact, the disease had already become notorious enough to be named, and headlines across Monsteropolis warned bystanders of the Keratin Accelerated Deficiency Epidemic - the KADE virus.
It was common sense to divide into two groups to investigate the two increasingly different cases. Snake, Mags, and Needle, all more experienced with sciences and technology, were to look into leads on how to immobilize the spread of the KADE virus, while Hard, Gemini, and Shadow were to investigate all possibilities of mystical, psychic, or otherwise non-corporeal homicide. Spark, meanwhile, was working on overdrive, helping to treat or at least comfort the eight KADE-diagnosed patients, so far with no luck. By early afternoon the number of known infected across the city had multiplied six-fold, and five of the eight first admitted had already died.
And me? I had the distinct pleasure of being babysat back and forth by whichever one of them had the least hands full.
The mood was grim when we reassembled at the table late afternoon. Two of the seats were empty, Spark moving from one hospital to the next to help in any way she could, and Hard having wandered off to brood elsewhere. After the drama of the previous meeting, nobody was willing to argue that he didn't deserve some time alone. Magnet didn't seem too happy about letting Hard out of sight, but the team was pulled in too many different directions as it stood so he had little choice but to accept it.
As Needle Gal slumped into her chair with frustration, it was evident that she'd had as little luck as everyone else seemed to. The first plan had been to look for a pattern that linked all the victims together- for the KADE case, the most pragmatic solution would be to look for a time and place where the contagion could have been spread to hit all of the victims simultaneously. Meanwhile, for preternatural murder, the motivation was usually ritualistic, or else retribution for some act or characteristic shared by the victims that upset or disgusted the killer. We quickly ruled out the latter- race, age, gender, sexuality, career and religion varied among the victims, and the only similarity we were able to find was that none of them had a criminal record. Unless the killer had had a serious issue with generally nice people, it could be assumed that they had been killed in ritual, and given Gemini's intuition, it was likely they were killed for whatever it was that had been taken from them posthumously.
It was here that we'd hit a roadblock- how do you find what was taken when nothing is missing? Mags' comment about the bodies being intact might have been a jab at Gem, but it was frustratingly accurate. In all the cadavers, everything was in its proper place. Shadow's hypothesis of information or memory theft had seemed likely at first, but unless someone wanted a great recipe for peach cobbler, then victims like ninety-year-old Alzheimer's patient Samantha Everett seemed to offer little reward for the killer. And of the hundreds of sacrificial rituals that Gemini could name, all involved some sort of bloodletting or desecration of the corpse. It seemed like we had exhausted all possibilities, but at the same time it felt like the answer was staring us in the face. The KADE team was faring no better. Not counting the victims with lives so shady that retracing their footsteps was impossible, no more than two or three of them had ever been in the same location simultaneously. And despite several of them being lowlifes and criminals, none shared a common enemy, and some of the victims held perfectly respectable jobs and families, which eliminated any hope for a link that tied the victims together.
After minutes of reports that just proved how little we'd figured out, we sat, quiet and contemplative for a good while. Of all people to be the one to break the silence, Snake Man was the first to speak up. "I've been giving thought to something you said earlier," his deep voice echoed with a metallic rasp as he turned to face our leader. "Yesterday. You made mention of the victim possibly being a test subject for some kind of experiment."
"Yeah, but that was when we'd thought it was an isolated incident," Needle Gal replied.
"Right," Snake continued, "but the virus has been confirmed to be engineered. And if we assume that the point of origin of the outbreaks is somehow connected to where the virus came from, that narrows things down considerably. There are not many in Monsteropolis with the resources to design a biological weapon with the potency and efficiency of the KADE virus."
He had a point. We'd focused so much on figuring out how the virus was being spread that we hadn't even stopped to think about where the virus had come from. KADE symptoms had, as of yet, been localized to within the city, so it stood to reason that the agent of the outbreaks was near enough to act quickly and without alerting suspicion. And while not impossible, it would prove very difficult to smuggle a biological weapon onto U.S. soil after airport security was heavily reinforced in response to frequent incidents involving snakes in the cargo hold.
"It'll take some time to look into who would be rich enough and sick enough to do something like this," Needle pointed out.
"That haystack may be smaller than you think," Mags replied. "If we're talking scumbags with the resources and self-interests to create a bioweapon, there's one corporation I can think of that could collect a hefty, pretty paycheck if the right buyers come along."
Around here the words "scumbags" and "corporation" were synonymous with only one name- emerGEnesis. Rising to power in only a few short years, the pharmaceutical megacorp emerGEnesis had swatted all competition away like flies, and now had a monopoly on the testing of chemicals and medicines. And surprise surprise, one of their largest facilities was resident to dear old Monsteropolis.
Still, a corporation that big would have surely anticipated the media blitz that the epidemic would lead to, and known there would be a good chance it would be traced back to them. "If it was emerGEnesis," I replied, "do you think that a multi-billion dollar company would develop a deadly virus and then do something as risky as unleash it on civilians?"
"Not necessarily," Shadow cut in, "although for the right price it's not unthinkable. They have enough money to buy their own justice, or at least cover up their paper trail. More likely, though, they could have been commissioned for the production of the disease without knowing the intentions of their client, or else have developed and spread KADE unwittingly while researching another project entirely. Still, it's a good start, and I'm glad that we finally have a foothold. Snake, Magnet, Needle, I want you to look into any evidence that might show a link between emerGEnesis and KADE. Forget trying to get a warrant, I'm sure they've bribed their way into immunity from the local law. We'll have to do this the old fashioned way. If we're right I'm sure Crorq will find a way to spin it in the best possible angle. After all, it's in his own best interest to look good for the press and the Council."
After much discussion of tactics, it was decided that the "old fashioned way" would involve a late night infiltration of the facility. Snake Man would take point, and he would try to navigate them as best he could through the labyrinthine corridors, avoiding detection from the tight security the laboratory was sure to have. Sheriff Mags would use his magnetic fields to disrupt the security tapes, eliminating any concrete records of their presence should anything go awry, and would also be able to pick any lock in the facility with no more than a twitch of his finger. While Snake Man would attempt to dig for information digitally, Magnet Man would search for any hard-copy evidence. When I asked why Needle would accompany them on the mission, she said something about her "people skills", which I can only assume was a euphemism for taking out any guards that might pass by. It was a risky plan, given that if emerGEnesis was involved in KADE's creation then they would be very protective of incriminating information, but it was the first break we'd had so far, and all three of them looked confident as they teleported out. Besides, we'd been through bigger ordeals than a B&E.
It was just Shadow, Gemini and I at the table now. The ninja was deep in thought, but made no move to speak, nor to dismiss us. Finally, he rose from his seat and said cryptically, "Gemini, I'd like to speak with you in the other room."
Gem turned to me as he rose to follow. "Wait here, Top Man, I am still charged with watching you. I am sure this shall take only a minute or two."
As they spoke at a low murmur to each other in the adjacent room, I waited uncomfortably, trying to think of other things and not of the private discussion that probably involved me in some way or another. It wasn't working, having a team member escorting me everywhere I went. Not with all this other craziness going on. I wondered if they were discussing what they could do about it.
A sudden sound, muffled by the thick ceiling above, alerted me to a movement upstairs. If it was Hard tromping up the stairs the sound would have been unmistakeable, and Spark would never have returned so early with the amount of KADE victims that needed immediate treatment, which meant that all of the Mechs were gone, or downstairs. Which meant an enemy. Forgetting all about Gemini's order to wait in my seat, I dashed to the stairs and propelled myself up several steps at a time using the handrail as leverage. My boots sparked with kinetic energy as I raced towards Spark's quarters, where I'd estimated the sound had come from. I skidded to a stop inches from the door and stood, tensed, waiting to ambush the unknown intruder. As the door opened, I gave a start. Gemini Man blinked back at me from the threshold.
"Top Man? Did I not tell you to wait downstairs?"
"What the hell, Gem, you scared me half to death! I thought you were talking to the boss-man."
"Of course I am. At the same time, Spark-Chan requested some items since she won't be returning tonight, and being the gentleman that I am, agreed to bring them to her as well."
I was still reeling from fear and adrenaline. Of course it was just Gemini, his copies come and go around the base all the time. I felt like such an idiot! Was I starting to panic over nothing? Or was that another part of Mesmerman's game with me, to reduce me to a paranoid wreck for his own sick pleasure?
I was about to explain why I'd rushed upstairs so quickly, when the door to the hall opened and Shadow strode in. Here it comes, I thought, he's going to tell me off for wandering off on my own like an idiot and putting anyone I happened to come across at risk. However, he showed no signs of anger or disappointment. "Top, head downstairs and meet us at the teleporters," he ordered, "we'll be heading out in a couple of minutes."
"Heading out where?" I asked.
