Stheno Quest (Worm Case 53 Quest)

An uncomfortable feeling in your belly turns your gaze to Alice, still cradled in the crook of Jeanette's arm. After a moment she notices and meets your gaze, and then, after a little hesitation, nods. Returning to Spectrum, you say, "Very well, we'll comply."

Spectrum smiles warmly. "Good. That's good." Almost immediately, the distortion in front of you vanishes, the alley before you seemingly back to normal. She presses the portion of her mask you assume covers her ear and says, "I've got a couple of those new dogs of Terracotta's penned in here, and three people who have agreed to come in and give a statement. Requesting transport for all. Be advised, two of the people are Case 53's."

"Um," you speak up, drawing her attention. "Just so you know, we've had a rather bad day so far, and I'd really appreciate it if you could arrange some medical attention for my friends." You gesture to them with a tentacle.

Spectrum looks at them for a moment, taking in Jeanette's injuries, you assume, then nods. "Of course," she says, before pausing for a moment. She detaches a small object from her belt, fiddles with it, and tosses it over the distortion behind you. Your eyes follow its arc, and you see the armored dogs start to lunge for it when it bursts. In moments, they are buried up to their barbed tails in some sort of white foam. The distortion between you and them disappears soon after.

"Well, this is where we part, for now." The now-familiar sound of heavy footfalls comes from behind her, where five soldiers clad head to toe in black armor round the corner into the alley and head your way, slowing as they go. The letters PRT are emblazoned on their chests; each carries a gun, smaller than what the ceramic-clad ones had carried but no less lethal-looking. Two carry what look sort of like flamethrowers on their backs, while the others carry some sort of large gun you don't recognize. You tense up as they approach.

Luckily for your nerves, none of their weapons get leveled at you. One of them salutes to Spectrum, who gives a more casual salute in return. "Have these three escorted to the Protectorate building, if you would, Sergeant" she tells him. Turning back to you, she assures you, "I'll have the medical staff there informed," before flying off in the direction you'd fled from.

Hearing Alice murmur something to Jeanette, you glance over to see your transformed friend bend down to set her on her feet. You move over to her, the clicking sound of your claws on the concrete focus the PRT troops' attention on you. Feeling a little self-conscious, you lean in and whisper, "So we're going with them, then?"

It takes Alice a moment to reply. "Yeah. I mean, we kinda have to, don't we?"

"But what about that stuff you were telling me about? How they'd coerce me to join?"

She grimaces. "We'll, ah, deal with that when we come to it, I guess."

You frown. "You 'guess'? You… Will you at least help me avoid that sort of thing?"

"Yes, of course! I-"

Whatever she's about to say is interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Looking up, you find the Sergeant has gotten closer to your little group. Her fist lowers from her protective mask. "If you're ready, shall we go?" You find yourself surprised by the undeniably female voice you hear, and embarrassment for your incorrect assumption makes your cheeks burn. With trepidation roiling in your gut, you meet Alice's eyes, and she nods. "Excellent." The Sergeant turns away from you. "This way."

She turns, leading you back from whence she came. Two of the other troopers follow behind you as you go, leaving the remaining two with the entrapped hounds.

You walk for about a minute before you see one of those black vans, which seems to be your destination. Distant bursts of gunfire spur your steps, and soon you are clambering awkwardly into the back, seeing a bench running the length of either wall. You're barely seated when the vehicle rocks sharply, and you turn to see Jeanette bent almost double, displaying a great feat of spinal flexibility as she all but crawls in. Unfortunately, her height and tail conspire to keep her from taking a seat, forcing her to crouch in the middle of the floor. The troopers pile in after a moment's pause, closing the door after themselves, and off you go.




The drive is actually rather boring. None of the troops seems willing to speak with you for whatever reason, but with the way their face-concealing helmets make it impossible to determine where they're looking, you can't help but get the feeling that they're staring holes in you. With a soft sigh, you settle for a bit of self-examination, both physical and mental.

Looking down, you grimace when you see that your borrowed clothing is utterly ruined by rips and tears. Luckily, the chitin thus exposed mostly just has shallow scratches, with only one small piece of glass still embedded. You assume from the fact that you hadn't noticed it until now that it didn't do any real damage, so you feel safe grasping it with a couple of tentacles and easing it out.

"Wait!" You stop pulling and look up in surprise at the speaker, the Sergeant, who is retracting a hand with which she'd apparently been reaching out to you. At your questioning glance she says, "Wait until the doctors have a chance to look you. Just in case pulling it out makes it worse, you know."

"Oh. Okay."

The awkward silence returns. You glance at Alice, but she's busy comforting Jeanette with a hand on her arm. Sighing softly, you look down at your many feet and let the rocking of the van lull you into a doze.

You don't know how long you spend sitting there half-asleep, but suddenly you are shocked awake by the van stopping. The doors open, revealing a well-lit parking garage, with a group of blue-armored security personnel watching the van. In their midst stands a dark-skinned woman in an ivory-colored bodysuit and visor. Their eyes pass over the troopers clambering out and immediately lock on to you. Feeling a little self-conscious, you smoothly exit the vehicle, then turn to offer a tentacle's assistance to Alice. She thanks you with a small smile, which you force yourself to return. Last to exit, of course, is Jeanette, having to awkwardly back her way out.

You return your attention to the guards only to find the woman approaching you, her hand on her hip and her lips set in a thin, no-nonsense line. "I've been informed that I am to take you to the infirmary," she brusquely states. She glances at Jeanette and the corner of her mouth dips slightly. She gestures to a nearby elevator. "Come this way, please."

You look at the door, then back at your altered friend, before Alice starts to walk forward. You hurry up beside her, drawing a few stares as your claws click on the concrete. "Who's she?" you whisper to her.

She flinches away, quickly catching herself, but not quickly enough to stop you from feeling dismayed. You carefully keep it off your face, though, as she looks at you with a smile that's probably forced. "She's Hailstorm, one of the newer members of the local Protectorate," she whispers back.

The elevator arrives and its doors open before more can be said, and you breathe a silent sigh of relief when you see that the interior is larger than you expected. Your little group, Hailstorm, and a single guard manage to fit inside without excessive squeezing, and you only leave a few scratches on the steel floor with your claws. Jeanette, of course, has to crouch a little, but she doesn't make any noises that sound like complaints.

You almost don't realize it when you start to rise, the ride is so smooth, and it isn't long before it stops with an aesthetically pleasing 'ding'. The doors open, revealing a beige, carpeted hallway and what can only be a checkpoint, with two guards in attendance. They snap to full alertness at the sight of you and Jeanette, though they relax a little once they see Hailstorm. The cape in question goes up to them and, after a few murmured words, waves you through.

You occupy yourself with the sensation of your claws sinking into the carpeting as you follow her past two more checkpoints to reach the infirmary proper. It is there that you meet the first person thus far to not immediately stare at you or flinch away, that person being a tall, dead-eyed woman in a lab coat.

Her eyes scan over you, taking in your chitin and ripped clothing and dismissing you in the space of a moment. Her gaze settles instead on Jeanette, stooping to fit through the door and in doing so revealing her back in all its yellow-clotted glory. "What do you have for me this time, Hailstorm?" she asks without sparing a glance at the hero.

The corner of Hailstorm's mouth twitches downwards before she replies, "A couple Case 53's and a civilian. Spectrum wanted them looked over, since they were found at the site of the skirmish between Brigadier and Teracotta earlier."

"Um," you start to say, only to stop and glance at Alice for support as their eyes turn to you. Mustering yourself, you point at Jeanette, "Actually, she's not a Case 53."

This time the downturn of the corner of Hailstorm's mouth lasts a little longer. "Explain."




Well, she did ask. Kinda. Sorta. Okay, it was more of a demand. So, what'll you say?


[ ] Explain what you know of your power.

[ ] Explain the bare minimum.

[ ] Silently beg Alice to take over.

[ ] Write-in.