"Rigor Mortis"-The life after death RP(Started/PM for participation)-Arc 4: Closing Loose Ends

[TheIronRuler]

"We need to get out of the town, the body was ditched somewhere near the road.", Frank answered as he entered the car and sat at the passenger's seat in the back, visibly uncomfortable in the automobile. "Been years since I went on one of those", he said quietly. "We need to hurry, the police might find him soon", he ordered both Adrian and Ben to enter the car and drive.
.

Gulliver went upstairs and kept looking for Marcus. He screamed at them while more blood kept gushing out of his abdomen and covering the floor. The rage overcame him and he continued to search for the man that killed him, occasionally stopping and killing bystanders demanding they show him to Marcus. He walked to the end of the corridor and to his left was a room with three men pointing their handguns outside the door, ready to fire at Gulliver. A woman stood behind them.
"WHERE IS MARCUS WILLIAMS?", he screamed again and walked towards the three. The three security guards opened fire and shot Gulliver many times, causing him to collapse on his knees, his hands on the ground as he coughed up blood. "I never give up... I never surrender... I am...", Gulliver mumbled under his breathe as he continued to defy death. The pool of blood that formed underneath him compressed into an iron rod that shot out of it and hit one of the security guards in his chest. The two others began to reload their pistols with a new clip, but Gulliver was already up. He threw himself at the two and pulverized the one of his right. The blood gushing from his stomach seeped into Gulliver's open wound in his right hand. The third one finished reloading his pistol and aimed it at Gulliver, he then raised his left hand at him. He looked as if he was begging him to not shoot, but his hand burst open and from it shot it a large iron pellet. He kept on bleeding and was shot yet again.
He looked behind and saw that woman hold a gun at him. She was shaking in her place and screamed for Gulliver to stop it all and die, but Gulliver never intended to do either.

When Gulliver had finished with her, she hardly looked human.

 

[Drakenian]

Damn.

The man with the gun had wondered off, but he had left the woman there. Therese had seen the two of them stand together talk, and as such, she had no idea if this person was with or against her, same as the man. But Therese needed to get around them...

A rapid spouting of bullets echoed through the building, clearly coming from upstairs.

Shit!

Therese ran off away from the lobby. There would be an alternate staircase about a minute back if she ran, this one much, much smaller than the one in the lobby, but it would get her upstairs. Upon reaching the stairs she heard a sound that froze her heart.

Victoria. Victoria was up there, not 15 feet above her. With the person who was shooting people!

Therese virtually sprinted up the stairs, thanking whatever God there was that she never wore heels. She reached the top, then sprinted past the door.

A woman was laying on the floor. At least, something that might have once been called a woman. Her body was so mutilated that Therese could barely tell that it was a human, let alone a woman. But there were a few defining characteristics: the long, black hair, the blouse and skirt, the high heels, the ring you gave her as a gift years ago when you first moved in with her...

What happened next, Therese would try to remember. She would look back at this moment and realize that she could not recall, for the life of her (no pun intended) what happened after she recognized the broken corpse on the ground as Victoria. She remembered a man, an ugly man, with what looked like iron coating his body walking towards her and screaming, and then, blackness.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The silence of the lobby was broken by the sound of several gunshots echoing from a few floors above. Someone was still fighting back. Marcus sprinted across to the flight of stair in an alcove at the far corner of the reception area and continued on upward. Whoever, whatever this thing was, it had come for him, and Marcus would not just stand by while people were being killed because of him. Soon after the gunshots came blood-chilling screams, and the muffled sound of a man shouting, fists pulverizing bone.

It was one of those moments when time ceased to have all meaning. The journey up the stairs could have taken seconds, or hours, Marcus could not be quite sure. The noise rose like a crescendo as he reached the right floor. It was coming from just around the corner.

Even after all the strange events of late, Marcus could not quite believe his eyes. It was the man from the day before, the man who's gun Marcus was holding in front of him right now; the man he had killed without mercy. What looked to be liquid metal was oozing from gunshots in his abdomen, some of it beginning to congeal and rust on his clothes. The man was standing in a pile of bodies, with blood smearing the walls and floor around him. He was finishing off the last as Marcus stood there. Yelling at the top of his voice, his words finally clear, and punctuated by the crushing blows of an iron fist.

"WHERE. IS. MARCUS. WILLIAMS?"

"I'm right here." Marcus announced, holding the gun and his voice steady.

The man wheeled round with blood lust in his eyes, but Marcus wasn't going to give him a chance.

"Don't take another step!" Marcus threatened, gesturing to his pre-existing wounds. "Unless you want to see if you can survive one through the head. Who woke you up? Who sent you here?"

 

[TheIronRuler]

Gulliver turned back as he heard a familiar voice. His rage grew even more as he saw the man that killed him. Nothing could stop the stampede forward, but before Gulliver even came close, the floor shifted. Gulliver's blood covering the floor formed into small iron pellets and shot out into Marcus. Gulliver continued to run as Marcus was penetrated by dozens of iron pellets.

Spoiler: OOC

Oh, Mira, comes to save the day.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Marcus, understandably, hadn't counted on the man's ability to use his own blood as a ranged weapon. He was peppered as if he had been blasted with a shotgun, and was knocked backwards. The iron pellets didn't go as deep as a bullet, and thus Marcus didn't feel the worryingly familiar sensation of his life slipping away. Not that that was much consolation, as before shock and semi-consciousness had at least worked as an anesthetic.

Writing in agony, Marcus tried through the fog of pain to summon a memory. With effort, the image of Ryan, the alpha bully from his orphanage, swam in front of his eyes. That was who this man was to Marcus now. They were bullies. Marcus had wronged them, but he did not feel sympathy when he considered the pain that they had inflicted on others, innocents, for no reason other than sick, twisted rage. Marcus felt the anger he had felt, watching from afar while Ryan had exacted his wrath on lesser creatures. He felt the triumph of beating him, seeing him jeered at by those who had once fled in fear of him, knowing that his power was gone. These two emotion memories burned through him, allowing him to extract the shrapnel embedded in his flesh, and to close the gaping holes. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Marcus acknowledged the absurdity of the situation. It was as if serious, even life threatening injury, had become more of an annoyance for Marcus than anything else. How long before it simply became routine?

Marcus had dropped the gun, and the man was now too close for Marcus to pick it up in time. Physically, he had lost, and Marcus was sure he was about to die, and doubtful that Frank would be there to bring him back as he had done with Ben (It was still the most logical conclusion to assume that the man was hear because of Frank, or at least on Frank's orders.) However, there were other ways to 'win'; and if it was time for Marcus to die, he was not going to go quietly. He would not allow this man to feel his vengeance was just.

Marcus stood up, and braced himself for the incoming hail of blows, his body still running hot from his righteous anger. The man's fists came crashing down,one after the other, in powerful, punctuated blows. Such an attack would have beaten Marcus' to a pulp before. However, the raw emotion that Marcus felt meant that his rate of healing increased. Every time a bone was broken, or an internal tissue damaged, his body had healed it in time for the next blow. Short of tearing his head clean from his shoulders (which Marcus feared might be a distinct possibility) the man could not hurt him, and he was beginning to wear himself out in this battle of attrition. Marcus tried to speak, to reason with him to stop, but his words were either obstructed, unheard, or ignored.

Eventually, it seemed to register with the man that Marcus was remaining impervious to his attacks, and he relented, looking exhausted by the sustained assault. The murderous glare in his eyes still remained. If Marcus wanted to get out of this situation, he needed to act fast. Calm, almost nonchalant, yet with presence, Marcus walked towards his attacker until there was no more that a yard between them, and looked down upon him like the very sight of him was mildly distasteful.

"Before you start again, listen." said Marcus, his voice level, but in a way that showed utter disdain for his opposite number. "In case it had escaped your memory, you were the one who shot me first, remember? I felt bad about what I did, I never wanted to become a murderer, but on reflection I think I did what most people would have done. I'm no monster, but I don't think the same can be said for you."

This was utterly bizarre, insane even, but Marcus supposed it was a sign of the times. Nothing in his world was 'normal' anymore; so why not stand up, in the face of imminent death, or torture, and talk down to your killer as if he were nothing more than a thug. If not to make him back down, at least to make some small part of him feel guilt.

"Look around you. These people were innocent. They did nothing to you. What you've done here isn't self-defense, you slaughtered them while they begged and screamed. They had friends, families; did you not think about that? You killed these people because you were selfish, because they stood in the way of a revenge you don't even deserve, and you don't look to sorry about it to me! If you need to blame someone, blame the people that sent you here. The same people that sent me to you. They're the ones that play God, screw with people lives, turn people like me into killers and never even explain what its all for. Don't blame me, because I don't accept it!"

Marcus raised his fists, standing poised on the balls of his feet. It was a hopeless gesture, Marcus knew that if this man continued to fight, Marcus could not overpower him, and he didn't know if his supercharged resistance would last forever, but right now he didn't care. Maybe, just maybe, he could front his way out of this...

"If you want to kill me, come on then!" he finished "But I'm not the villain here, and you don't get to walk away feeling good about what you've done."

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Mira couldn't stop herself. A few moments after Marcus had told her specifically to stay, Mira left the safety of the outside and ventured into the bloody building before her. The smell was something familiar but not easy to get used to. Blood and ichor nearly flooded her nostrils going deeper and deeper into the building.

Then she saw Marcus. He was drenched from head to toe with blood and his skin was pocked with little holes as if he was shot by a million little bullets. Before him was an angered figure, the same one that she saw before in the lobby killing those people.

A cry escaped her lips and she ran forward.

"MAARRRCCUUUSSS!!!" She screamed. Tears flowed once again. Her breath was short. Mira ran to Marcus not caring if the monster would strike again. She was scared. For him. For her. For the both of them.

Then before she reached them Mira stopped in her tracks. She could feel it again. The pain was coming back but in its place with a red-hot desire. A desire to protect. Mira dropped to her knees clutching her body. She had to protect Marcus like she had to protect the people that she used to save, that woman and child, her past patients, and finally the brother that she failed to protect. Mira couldn't let Marcus slip away like she did David. Not while she was still breathing.

"GRRAAAGGGHHH!!" Mira growled. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" From her crouched position she bolted up like an Olympian sprinter and the velocity of a train. Whatever happened back before was happening now but this time she could feel the power she had at her fingertips. The man saw this coming and raised his iron arms to block the incoming attack but Mira didn't care, she just wanted to get him as far from Marcus as possible. So Mira rammed her fist at the monster's abdomen hearing a loud crack and bend of metal. But Mira didn't come from the attack unharmed as her skin began to tear from her expanding muscles. Blood began to seep through but she had felt this pain before and she needed to brave through it.

 

[Berenzen]

Ben silently sat in the back seat of the car. He processed what had happened over the past few days.

I suppose most people would go to therapy for this..

Ben felt emotion welling up inside of him. Was that anger? Sadness? What were these? What did they mean? Ben quashed the thoughts alongside the emotion.

Ben leaned his head back on the seat. Why had he given Adrian the glass of water. Was it because of compassion, or cold logic that the older man would need to be ready.

No. Stop it.

The thoughts quelled inside of his head. Ben finally spoke directing his question to Frank.

"What are we expected to do with the body once we get all of our answers?"

 

[TheIronRuler]

Gulliver was surprised at the appearance of another woman. She had stopped his rampage and caused him to stumble back. He looked around himself and blinked quickly. "N-n-no, where... why", he said as he continued to look around the corridor. His eyes moved around the room and focused on the trail of blood on the floor, then his hands. His right hand was covered in rust and his left hand was completely white and numb. His stance changed, his shoulders slumped back and he looked back at Marcus. The rage built up again as his left arm turned red.

Loud taps were sound in the background. It came closer and closer with each tap. Klaus appeared from behind and watched Gulliver throw himself at Marcus, staying silent in the distance. He grinned as he looked at Mira in her changed form. "Kinder, kinder", Klaus said as he walked though the bloody corridor, "Why so angry?". Gulliver pounced back at Marcus but Mira stood in his path. Even though her sheer force was staggering, he managed to land a few hits that cut through her flesh, causing her some substantial harm.

Klaus could be seen bending down and forming a cup of sorts out of his hand, filling it with fresh blood and getting it near her face. He drank it with delight. He slowly walked away from the fight and towards the security offices, bending down and taking another sip of blood. As he rose up he grunted and began searching the floor for something.

Gulliver threw himself at Marcus, but this time his attacks were slower and had less of an impact on Marcus. Marcus, already exhausted of energy, had his regenerative ability slow down and nearly halt. Gulliver looked down at the beaten Marcus and kept on throwing punches at him, crying out "YOU did this to me" and "You took her away". After each punch he seemed to look paler and paler.

Klaus turned left and saw the body of a woman lying in the corner. He bent down and tasted her blood. After verifying his initial suspicion, he wore a leather left glove and bent down on her corpse.
.
"We only need it to guide us, that's all", Frank said while sitting down in the back sit of the car.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Spoiler: OOC

ignore this post.

 

[Link_to_Future]

Without another word, Adrian took his position behind the steering wheel and put the key in the ignition. As he drove, his mind began to drift back to the simple question that Frank had asked him back in the apartment.

Do I love Alice?

It seemed like a stupid question to even consider. His interactions with Alice had been nothing but baneful up to this point. The crime that she had perpetrated against his mind would have should have been completely unforgivable. She had tampered with his brain and ruined the integrity of his memories. There was no going back from that. I should have been so simple just to nurture the grudge and let the rage further fuel his actions.

And yet his mind kept coming back, mulling over images and fantasies that one would be unable to describe as "vengeful." Even the mere thought of her face was enough to make his blood run hot with ideas that were less than family friendly.

But these emotions...they couldn't be based from anything more than primal lust, right? This woman had expertly proven that she was wretched. How could anything more meaningful than instinct come into play with her.

Time passed swiftly as Adrian mulled through his thoughts. Soon, the buildings of the city were packed less densely, finally giving way to the beauty of nature. Adrian's spirits lifted at the sight. The city had always rubbed him the wrong way. The marvels of industry and urban development were fine, but man would never be able to approach the majesty of the natural world.

For the first time since he jumped in the car, Adrian broke the silence.

"How much further?"

 

[TheIronRuler]

Frank looked to his left and saw a small restaurant and rest stop. "Pull over after you go past the tree grove".

 

[Berenzen]

Ben looked at Frank. There really wasn't much to talk about with their employer around. The solemnity in the car had killed much of the conversation topics. Ben decided to go with something a little bit more lighthearted than what they were about to do.

"So what do you do in your downtime Frank? Considering you are our employer, and yet we know so little about you. To an extent, we want to know at least something about you other than the guy that keeps us afloat."

 

[TheIronRuler]

"I have my haunting grounds", Frank said as he kept looking at the roadside. "I tried to break the Embargo on Cuba", Frank said playfully. "But my work keeps me busy", Frank said.

 

[Calm Voice]

Spoiler: Tape #1: 02/08/2012

Recording Begins
Man's voice (affectionately): Wake up miss...miss, you have to wake up~
*A smack is heard*
Man (shouting): Wake up! Oh, wonderful.
Woman's voice, Later confirmed to be J. Summers (sobbing): W-where am I? Who are you?
Man: You're here, that's all that really matters. I apologize for hitting you but it's very important-
J. Summers (still sobbing): Why am I tied down!? What are these? Chains?
Man (continuing): but it's very important that you're awake for this.
J. Summers: For, for what?
Man: For a learning experience. For you and for me.
J. Summers (crying softly): Please, please let me go. Plea-
Man: I love to learn, to figure out more of how the world works, how people work. Do you? Like to learn, that is?
J. Summers (still crying): Yes, I...please, I swear I won't tell anyone, just-
Man: I'll remove your bonds after I've finished the study, my dear.
J. Summers: Thank you! Thank you! You can um, teach me whatever, just let me go once-
*A metal scraping noise is heard*
J. Summers (quietly): That's...that's an axe.
Man: Actually it's a hatchet but that's just me being pedantic, I suppose.
J. Summers: *Screaming*
Man (shouting to be heard): Please stop, we haven't even started yet and I need you to tell me how you're feeling while I work.
J. Summers: *Continues to scream*
Recording ends

Spoiler: Police Timeline Report

12:13am:Call is placed to 911 in the Chicago area. Phone is left off the hook and caller does not respond to dispatcher's queries.

12:16am:After 3 minutes of silence police begin to trace call. Caller found to be located in office building on south side of city. Officer is dispatched to location.

12:27am:Officer arrives at callers location. Building is abandoned and has clearly been so for months. Officer begins searching the building.

12:39am:Officer finds locked door to basement. After several attempts officer managed to force it open. Body of Jessica Summers found in locked room, seated in reclined chair. Chains lay on either side of her body. Officer calls for backup.

12:51am:Additional officers arrive, CSI arrives several minutes later. Area is cordoned off and search begins.

01:04am:CSI begins photographing crime scene (see evidence 1A-E)

01:15am:Evidence 2 & 3 found on floor of room adjacent to where Summers' body was found.

01:31am:Evidence 4 found in supply closet on 2nd floor.

01:47am:Evidence 5 found in trash can one block from abandoned offices.

02:05am: Search ended, majority of officers returned to patrol. Body removed and transported to morgue for autopsy.

Spoiler: Evidence Log

1. Photos of crime scene
a. Multiple angle shots of J. Summers' body
b. Surrounding area and blood splatters
b. Location and position of evidence 2 and 3 (tape and cases)
c. Location and position of evidence 4 (damaged bones)
d. Location and position of evidence 5 (murder weapon)

2. Three (3) tape cases for XXXXX brand audio recorder.

3. Partially filled tape found in second case. See audio log for contents

4. Bones, covered in blood. All are shattered or broken in two.
* Bones confirmed to be human, belonging to arms and legs. hand and feet bones not present. Bone marrow has been extracted by unknown means.
* Autopsy study confirms bones belong to J. Summers.

5. one (1) Hatchet of indeterminate brand. Blood present on blade. Located in trash can near crime scene.
* Blood confirmed to belong to J. Summers.

No fingerprints were found on any of the above.

Spoiler: Abstract of Autopsy Results

Body of Jessica Summers, aged 32, found in abandoned office complex. Subject was found naked w/ severe lacerations to torso, abdomen, arms and legs. Head was untouched. No defensive wounds found on subject. Mild tearing on wrists and neck suggest subject was bound before being killed. Chest and abdomen wounds found to match hatchet blade found at crime scene. Leg and arm wounds found to more precise, possibly done with scalpel or sharp knife, and were inflicted post-death. Exact C.O.D. uncertain, either massive blood loss due to chest and abdomen lacerations, or organ failure due to same. Arm and leg wound appear to have been inflicted in order to remove the bones within the limbs (see evidence 4) while hands and feet have been left untouched. For analysis of evidence 4 please see attached sheet.

 

[Link_to_Future]

Adrian kept driving, unsure of how much longer it would take for them to reach their destination. Ben had tried to break the silence with some idle chit chat directed at Frank. The smoking man's response had caused Adrian's ears to perk.

"I tried to break the Embargo on Cuba..."

He glanced over at his superior, a trace of a smile gracing his face.

"You know, when you say things like that, I can't tell if you're joking or being serious."

His eyes focused back on the road ahead.

"What a world we now live in..."

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Pain. That was all Mira felt. Her body took its horrendous shape again. Her muscles grew and tormented her but she had to do something, to fight back. The man's attack had cut into her skin and into her muscle. It was hard enough to move as it is but now there were gashes where even more blood began to spill out from.

I have to fight...I have to save Marcus...pay him back what I owe...

Through sheer strength and will Mira picked herself up. She could no longer talk so all she focused on it action. She charged at Gulliver breaking his hold of his grip on the pale Marcus. What followed was hard for her to see as it was all in a blur of action now. While Gulliver was brought back Mira brought back her own arm and sent it flying at him with what must have been the velocity of a speeding bus. She couldn't see past her own blood but all she heard was a tremendous crack.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Marcus lay panting on the floor, feeling battered and bruised. With the aggressor tiring, his healing powers had continued to deal with the worst of the injuries. However, some of the blows had broken through and now Marcus had no strength left to heal them. It looked like he'd just have to get better the old-fashioned way this time.

Wincing a little Marcus sat up and tried to figure out what had just happened. Mira stood over him in her bulky, transformed shape.

"Remind me... never... to piss you off." Marcus remarked to Mira as he got to his feet, picking up the gun just in case he still needed to defend himself. "Thank you." he added, more sincerely this time.

Mira had sustained some nasty cuts in the fight, and he transformation was probably causing her more distress. However, she still seemed to be holding up,l probably through adrenaline. Marcus tried to return her to normal, but he had nothing left to give at the moment. Just sensing her injuries made his head ache, and he almost passed out.

"I'm sorry." he told her. "I can't. Can you... turn back... by yourself?"

 

[TheIronRuler]

Lying in a pool of his own blood, Gulliver began to lose his consciousness. His eyes still fixated at his murderer, he cursed his name, calling his a cold killer. Klaus had invited the woman to join and work for him, calling for her through the glove. She accepted. As she woke up, Klaus greeted and asked her, "How would you like me to call you, girl?".

"Enough", a voice came echoing through the building, "Enough of this violence and needless bloodshed", it continued with a distinct Latin accent. A man in robes came to Gulliver as if he were floating in the air. He bent down and held his head, moving his hand through his hair. "I will cure you, son", he said. The iron covering some of Gulliver's body began to crumble and the man closed his eyes, once and for all. The man moved his right hand to his left shoulder and made a cross in the air, saying "in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritūs Sancti". He let Gulliver's head rest on the pool of his own blood and then stood up and looked at his two previous opponents, barely able to stand.

"Welcome, children. I assume you are Frank's servants?".

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Welcome, children. I assume you are Frank's servants?"

"I'm nobody's 'servant', and I'm not a child either." Marcus replied haughtily, his physical pain doing nothing to help the way he felt about these people. This one was new. He looked and sounded Spanish, or perhaps South American, wearing robes that Marcus assumed had some religious significance, judging by the way he had put the man to rest. It seemed that the more was revealed to Marcus about these people the less clear everything became. What were they? Government agency, criminal organisation, religious cult?

"What the hell were you doing sending that maniac here?" Marcus demanded, "After yesterday, what did you think he was going to do; are you trying to get us killed?"

 

[TheIronRuler]

Jose walked over to the two injured lost souls that stood in front of him. "Klaus, is the girl ready?", he said out loud to the man a room away. He didn't hear an answer. "Hell, little one, is something you can not comprehend and thus something that should never be taken lightly. I am here to cure poor Gulliver, and I come to offer my cleansing to you", Jose explained himself while still floating over the blood covering the floor.