Scene #5026: The Mysterious Serum

Owner	Pose
Danse	The trip back from upstate is relatively uneventful. The Forged, as they had come to be aptly known, seem to be between raids, as they weren't interested in leaving the apparently functional steel foundry to pursue. There's a lot of backtracking around the same hazards and sights, even though it's the smart path to take, since it has been recently cleared. That still leaves another chance to take in things like the abandoned power plant, the old US Army facility, and even the trading town that sprouted up around the old Bunker Hill monument, though with what's left of the serum in the party's possession, the invisible clock is ticking. It's probably best to not linger too long at any of those. And then, presumably, it's back to the Cabot House, itself, a landmark nestled in the old town district. The Mr. Handy and Sentrybot are still there, though this time there's a new sight: The bodies of two raiders, having been shot and killed quite recently by minigun fire that would conspicuously, and unapologetically, precisely match the latter death machine. These particular brigands are a little more distinct from the standard Commonwealth fare, however, by way of their apparent choice of improvised armor and weaponry. Notably, they seem to be wearing the outer chassis and armor plating of various kinds of robots fashioned into a crude carapace, right down to one wearing an Assaultron's head as a helmet. Also closeby, the remains of a separate Mr. Handy, one that has been, to put it mildly, extensively modified with welded on spikes, chains, and given a Protectron arm with an autolaser in place of one eyestalk; those modifications were definitely not factory approved. The more standard Mr. Handy desperately tries to clean up the mess, pushing the collection of rabble with a broom, lamenting, "Oh, this blood is going to take forever to wash away! Simply dreadful!" The Sentrybot simply continues on its patrol, unfazed, though close eyes would notice it wasn't completely unscathed; several of its own armor plates are damaged, either by dents from bullets or scoring as though something tried to open it like a can of Pork n' Beans. Its suggestion? "Move...along." Nothing to see here. This is just every other day in the Commonwealth. The Cabot House's front door security, by now, has also been updated to simply allow any of Jack Cabot's contractees to buzz their way in, possibly through some hidden biometric sensor.
Kyle Katarn	Kyle cannot say he's shocked to see this is what greets the team when they come home. He'd trusted Rory with the serums, which meant he was in front with security on the way home. Running to the Cabbot estate, he had his lightsaber still in hand, while he went to investigate the smoke. "What the hell happened!?" he asks in a long-suffering tone, more like someone had keyed their car while they were gone than 'oh shit oh shit the house got attacked'. To be fair, Raider attacks seem pretty common around these parts. Shoot, this place was such a nice neighborhood probably too.
Raylene Dunwich	"Hello," Raylene says to the Mr. Handy. "I probably have something that could help with cleaning that up, if you really like. I could bring some over the next time we stop by. You wouldn't BELIEVE how many formulae I've had to go through to scrub down the living room. It took months to get back into shape!" With a small huff, she curtseys to the Sentry Bot next, and heads toward the Cabot house. "Interesting equipment, but I'm more interested in seeing what was so important about this serum." She frowns. "I wish there'd been enough left for a sample... I wonder if that pleasant ghoul gentleman is in?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Well the trip back is quiet, as they finf the bodies Kotone is going to be loking at them for a moment poddly curious about the robots generally the robot she'd seen on the way were not something she could get a chance ot take apart. Either too dangerous or belong to someone else but she'll leave it be as she arrives at the house still feeling unsettled about what happened with the Raiders she'll move though to take a look at the raiders. "Looks like a slightly more organized band of Raiders ran face first into the house's defences."
Rory White	"Someone has been playing Frankenstein's Monster with the robots." Rory idly notes while lightly stepping past the unfortunate corpses. It's sad to see, but this is a common sight in the Wastelands... "I've seen more dead Raiders than I ever see human infants or children. It's a wonder pockets of survivors have lasted this long." Rory observes, and promptly devotes a chunk of thought to analyzing that observation further in the back of her mind. But for now... towards the House. "If I had to guess... someone very unwisely thought that the robots wouldn't fire on something else that looked like a robot. Education levels are not high here."
Danse	Among the best of neighborhoods, in fact! It's hard to see now, but once upon a time, most of the surrounding houses were similar in their old world splendor as the Cabot House has managed to mostly retain. Raylene would likely know these kinds of buildings. New England-style old money homes that mostly keep to themselves, save the subsection of society they'd carved for their own. In at least one case, the Cabots', that seems to have paid off, in the end. One of the Mr. Handy's triad of optical sensors pivots toward Raylene, as the mechanical irises behind the outer lens bring her into focus. At least this time the robot butler isn't trying to dust someone. "Oh, splendid mum," it responds in its synthesized tone! "You wouldn't believe the demand for even basic cleaning supplies these days. Why, last time I took a stroll down to the old grocery store, I was brutally attacked by feral dogs. People leaving their pets to run amok, what has the world come to?" There's a certain mixed awareness, that others that had been around the Commonwealth would recognize within its robots, that they're often unable to see the world for what it has become. Either that, or they are unwilling to. It seems to run especially hard within the Mr. Handies, which were granted a bit more personality. The robots don't seem to be helpful any further about details of the crime scene, insofar as the concept of crime even applies in the wastes. It is a bit peculiar, however. Besides inevitable incidental bullet damage to some of the surrounding structure, it doesn't seem like the Raiders made much of a push to attack the obvious Cabot House as a target. The only thing to come to significant harm was the Sentrybot. Quite strange...but a thread that won't lead much further, for the time being. The Sentrybot doesn't seem to pay much heed to Raylene's gesture. In fact, its head seems barely articulate from its armor plated torso at all, though its single, red glowing eye does pivot down within its grilled faceplate, as its tank tread-like motivators bring it around to focus on her. "Identity, confirmed. Voice print and, biometric scans, match. Edward Deegan, is inside." As a complete programming afterthought, its significantly more grating and obviously synthetic tone offers, "Have a, nice day." After this, the locks on the front door can be heard to be disengaging. Should the party step inside, they would find Edward Deegan having already stepped to the main hallway, waiting on them. He's the sort that wastes absolutely no time, it seems. "Did you manage to find anything? We got a call back from the guys up North that you'd been around the area." He has a realistic look in those clouded eyes of his, as though he'd probably accept at face value that nothing could be recovered. The area around the Asylum isn't a nice part of the Commonwealth, despite its relative, surface serenity.
Kyle Katarn	Kyle tilts his head. "Well, they /are/ feral." He points out, before he slips besides the Mr. Handy to head into the house itself, clipping his lightsaber to his belt. He slips into the kitchen pretty swiftly, shrugging to Deegan. "Kind of. We found some samples, but it looks like the raiders got to the courier first. We only found their body and some bits of the vials left, sorry." He frowns, leaning on the wall as he folds his arms.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa checks out the bandits for a moment longer. "I wonder were they after the house or something else?" She doesnt know much for now but she also knows they need to return theitems they were sent to recover she nods to the robot as he wishes them well. "Yes, we recovered two partial doses of it. THe Raiers were shooting it up like a local narcotic to be honest. I'm also sorry your courier is dead, but the Raiders won't be ... an issue anymore."
Raylene Dunwich	"We think there is enough for a full dose remaining," Raylene clarifies. "They... were using it, which made them somewhat more difficult to deal with. They died in a rather interesting manner." Funny, they seemed to die just like anything else, really. But... "A pleasure to see you again, Mister Deegan. I apologize that we couldn't bring you more. Will that be enough?"
Rory White	"Greetings again, Mr. Deegan! It is as the others say... when we found them, this is all that remained. I... am not sure what it did to them, but it was clearly hallucinogenic, among other things." Rory White gives the vials a troubled look as they're handed over...
Danse	The old ghoul is a realist, if nothing else. He listens to everybody's detailing what had happened, and while his expression is hard to read, given that his face looks like scabbed over hamburger, his gravelly voice does manage to sound regretful. "Raiders jumped the Courier, huh? I'd actually been afraid of that. Most have been too afraid to attack the Asylum directly, but lately the guys in the field have noticed some of them snooping around the area. Almost like they're casing the place. They probably saw their chance. Damn... Good, if you put a bullet in them, though." He gives a vague nod, after making hilariously erroneous assumptions, and a smile to Raylene. At least the twists of his rad-scarred face seem to indicate one. "Not many people say it's a pleasure to see a ghoul again. Anyhow, even getting some of it back will go a long way for Jack, though I doubt he'll like that they were using it. That certainly complicates things. I'll leave the details up to him to explain, though. For now, you did a good job, so you've earned this." Leathery hands, that still retain an obvious strength to them, reach out to distribute from a case he'd already prepared. Each participant receives 400 caps, which most would recognize as a relatively significant sum for the Commonwealth's economy, and as an additional courtesy, 20 bills of pre-war, actual paper money. It's not as worthless as one might think! "Jack makes sure to pay all of us well." On that note, the man of the hour emerges from a side door, closing it behind him, "Loyalty well earned is loyalty returned, my dear friend Edward! I see that you're back. So...?" Edward spares the visiting Elites from having to repeat themselves, informing Jack, "It was a Raider ambush, Jack. They managed to get some of it back, but looks like it's been used." Jack Cabot's face contorts at the news, as he braces himself on a nearby table. It might be anger, though not at anyone in the room. "The contamination means it can't be used, as it is. Confound it!" Though, after he has a moment to recover his senses, he breathes a bit of a sigh, and immediately regrets saying so. "I apologize for the outburst. I...suppose it will be useful, as a study on the serum's effects on tissue. Separating the contamination is hopeless, otherwise." It also leads him to wonder, and invite Raylene to extrapolate further, "These Raiders...did you notice any 'particular' effects or symptoms? Superhuman strength, tolerance to pain and injury? Neurological defects?" Recognizing he's being rude, having everyone stand in the foyer, he also moves toward the living room, beckoning the others to follow, and likely to make themselves comfortable. He'll also be accepting any of the samples that had been offered, to him or Edward, broken or otherwise. Neither of them seem to be keeping a fixed account of what should be there.
Kyle Katarn	Kyle can't exactly fault Eddie for the realist attitude. "Can't say I expected to find much either. I'm surprised the body was in such good condition all the same, knowing how Raiders usually act. But yeah, some of them might've gotten to the serum, which meant like Raylene said, they were tough to kill." He nods to Jack when the doctor makes his arrival, looking pretty apologetic. "Hate to say it, Jack. Sorry we came back empty-handed." He shrugs a shoulder, tapping his chin. "Actually yeah, like I said they were tough to kill when we fought them. Guess that explains what happened."
Raylene Dunwich	Raylene smiles to Deegan, "Yes, quite a few bullets! But mostly blasts. And dismemberment. Claws and teeth may have been involved with some. I have some of the blood, even!" She holds up a tiny amount in a vial. But Likely, Cabot would be more interested in that. So she holds off until he's there. "Oh yes! They had odd regenerative properties that made them quite 'chewy' when fighting, and they were extremely hallucinogenic. Or, perhaps, seeing past the veil between worlds and reading auras or the like. Hard to say without further tests. As near as I can tell they were mutating, perhaps becoming something akin to a Deep One. If you're familiar with those." She pauses. "Just a guess, of course."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "They won't be doing it again, at least that bunch." What was it with raiders? Kotone had no idea on that. She nods as she vets the payment and knows 400 caps is a logt of cash for here. She will likely invest it back into the water flitration plant's upkeep and pay of the workers they have there. She gets the idea well payed workers are ones less likely to turn ot take offers from rivals after all losing a good gig could be very bad in her world let alone. "Yes one seemed to think it was the best high they'd ever had, as they told the others in the middle of the fire fight. Kotone will turn over any thing they have recovered. "I wouldn't know if they were seeing past the Viel? That's supernaturla things I don't have any real ability to experiance with."
Rory White	Rory isn't a very greedy sorts, but 400 caps and some bills is a worthy amount of money to invest into Weston's economy, so she doesn't complain. She accepts it gratefully and with a polite nod. Ghoulish appearances don't bother her one bit, after all! She follows along with Jack when prompted though, and seats herself on the couch. "If there is anything to be gained, I might have equipment you could use to purify the serum, assuming the problem is particle contaminants and not a chemical reaction that's already occured. Though yes, they reacted.... similar to Jet, at a glance, but I did observe questionable grips on reality. Hallucinogenic experiences. One made mention of the idea that 'everything is a lie.' In the context of all of history and existence. Would you like a video of the encounters? I keep full recordings of everything I do."
Danse	Edward is an old vet. He's seen a lot of...personalities pass through, and he tries not to ask too many questions, as long as people can get the job done. He gives a long, and slightly wary, look at that blood vial, but otherwise doesn't seem to be too bothered. Maybe she just means the Deathclaws came and joined in, in which case the escape with anything of value would be all the more impressive. "Thanks for the tips," he further offers to Kyle and Rory. He'll leave the deeper understanding of what the serum did to them to Jack. As for what it means to him, it's all about the job, "I'll let our people at the Asylum know to be ready. Judging from how drained the vials were, who knows if some of them are still out in the woods somewhere. I better get ready to head up that way, myself. They could probably use the help." With that, the ghoul excuses himself to his room, which would be the bedroom downstairs. With his guests in tow, Jack steps over to the liquor cabinet to begin pouring some into an (actually clean!) glass. "Tougher to fight, hallucinations..." It's probably a good thing that he wasn't currently actually drinking from the glass, when Raylene and then Kotone add in the crazier details of the encounter, especially the former's observation. As it is, he still has to draw in a breath, with a light cough. "That is quite the compelling testimony," he responds, by way of understatement. "I take it your holotape recordings will further back that up, but...I believe you. While the terminology is different, I suppose you've put enough of the pieces together on your own. I hadn't intended to conceal this from you, but you must understand the sensitivity of my research demands I be careful about my associates." Else some junkie might show up and do exactly what those raiders ended up doing. A woman in advanced middle age emerges from upstairs, around this time, "Jack! Are you sure it's wise to tell these people?" He seems undeterred, however, half-turning his head back to regard her, "They're involved with this now, mother. They deserve to know." He clears his throat, which downing his drink all in one go assists with, before making his way to seat himself with the rest of his company. "I mentioned precusor civilizations before. I'm not certain if they are the same as these 'Deep Ones' you mention, but from what you've described, it's impossible to ignore the coincidence. When I made mention of an ancestor of mine that discovered an ancient and lost city, that was actually my own father. If that had been the end of it, perhaps we wouldn't be having this conversation, but not...he also brought back one of its artifacts." He mutters under his breath, "That damnable crown, that has cursed our family ever since." He takes another deep breath, "The crown. It...changed my father. Like he wasn't even the same man. He became dangerous, amoral. All he could kept talking about is the discoveries that had been revealed to him, by whatever beings had created it. It even began to change him, physically...I suspect to become more like its creators." Jack's mother continues watching from above, clearly frustrated that the secrets are coming out.
Kyle Katarn	"Yeah. About that, what exactly is so important at the asylum you've got armed guards patrolling the place?" Kyle asks, cocking an eyebrow as he grabs a seat while pocketing the payment. He might be able to get some nice stuff for that much money around here. He glances sidelong at Rory when Jack brings up holotapes, before EXPOSITION HAPPENS. "THat...checks out, I've got my share of experience with that sort of thing too, first-hand even." He says grimly. "Where's your father now, exactly? He can't have many places to hide after the bombs fell, unless he ran across entire countries if there /are/ any left."
Rory White	THIS turn of events has Rory completely freezing in place. The fact that her breathing works on a mechanical rhythm and she doesn't have any of the human biological impulses to even twitch a muscle becomes incredibly obvious. She's still as a statue and STARING. A crown. From what might be an ancient civilization. And seemingly supernatural properties. A dozen realizations strike her at once. But she voices none of them, just yet. Instead... she reaches around in her robes and pulls out a holotape to hand over. "I had one prepared, nevertheless. ...To the best the format can handle." Her eyes have gone cold. Weirdly cold and dead. Because her awareness is now turning inwards and processing what-ifs at hyperspeed. A few people might be familiar with this state of hers. She's ever so prone to forgetting about the world around her like this.
Raylene Dunwich	"Well," Raylene continues on, blithely unaware of talking too much. "I only mention Deep Ones because they can interbreed with humans. Sadly there is much lost lore that I'm unaware of, so it could be anything! Also, different worlds, and inaccurate transcriptions... it's safe to say that it is something very alien to this world, but whether it is the same would be a stretch. My family has a similar, but much milder curse than what you are describing." How cheery. Sigh. "If I can see it, perhaps I can find more answers. That is what I am good at. Though... if it has been a long while..." She spreads her hands. "I was told not to get people's hopes up. See, I can learn what people like."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "I understand you need to keep things from being leaked out. There's rumours of that group behind whole synth thing right? That would make anyone not connected to them to be wise to keep things quiet and under heavy guard." She however pauses s the arugment flares up with Jack and his mother. she remains quiet and listens for a moment. Kotone has a look of suprise on her face but she doesn't think that he's lying she listens for a moment. "I have tarveled to places where such things are a known truth, the bones of lone dead civilizations still found by the young. So I do not think this is ... impossible and if your saying that...wait is your father contained in the old mental hospital?"
Danse	When Rory becomes cold and mechanical, Jack Cabot still manages to take notice, even as he reaches across the coffee table to retrieve the holotape. It's a fairly data dense format, but the random access speed is terrible. "Ah...thank you. Are you alright? I'm sorry if my revelations disturbed you that greatly. But, it's best that the truth be known." He draws back into his chair, now, taking another long breath of his own, as his bespectacled eyes grow more distant, perhaps a fleshy analog to what Rory is experiencing. "If it would be helpful to you, I managed to preserve father's old travel logs," he mentions to Raylene, since she seems to be the chief investigator among their number that is familiar with these things. "Now that the truth is out, it's best that you be educated, especially if you're to continue working for me." Edward stops in briefly at the door, to interrupt, "Jack. I'm heading out," he mentions, hefting a missile launcher with almost disturbing ease over one shoulder. "This talk of super raiders has got me anxious." "Yes, Edward. Keep up the good work." The woman from before steps downstairs to implore the ghoul, "Edward, if you see Emogene on your way..." "Don't worry, Miss Cabot. She always comes back eventually...but for you, sure thing." "You're such a sweet boy, Edward." With that out of the way, there are other things on the table. Kyle was angling in the direction, Raylene rightly wanted to get to the source of the matter, and Kotone all but guesses precisely how things have turned out. Jack Cabot gives a slight rub to his forehead, "It's as she said. Please understand, I still love my father dearly, but I couldn't allow him to run loose in the state he's in. He's...there, at the Asylum. Safe, behind a force field I devised. Freeing him from that, thing, that's gained control over him has become my life's work. But, it's difficult, and if I'm not careful, my attempts might end up killing him, instead." To Raylene, in particular, he gives a slight nod of agreement, "Let's let Edward conduct his security evaluation, and then, if I'm able, I'll try to let you have a look." She seems to know much about this, despite her modesty -- possibly even more than him, since he's approached it purely from a scientific perspective. "For now, while I go over this holotape, and figure out what can be salvaged from the vials, you're free to relax here, as my guests, and make reasonable use of my labs and research materials. You've walked a long way, after all. The food and drink here aren't contaminated with radiation, either, so help yourselves." The beds and sheets are even clean!