meadowlarklogs | EVENT 007.1

Entry tags:

EVENT 007.1

WHO: Daisy Johnson, Caroline Forbes, Hope Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson, Gabriel Reyes, Jack Morrison, Cassius and Doctor Grey.
WHERE: ?
WHEN: February 18th – February 20th
WHAT: After asking Cassius to remove their neural implants, Cassius makes good on his deal.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Body horror, psychological horror, physical trauma, mental trauma, surgery, loss of autonomy, coercion, and needles.

And uh, a fun brain ditties site we found.

> EVENT 007.1

Cassius sends out a location pin on the morning of February 18th, different for everyone who requested it. A black hover car with tinted windows pulls up to each, no driver at the helm, and sits expectedly until they let themselves in. In one car is Daisy, in another Caroline, Hope and Klaus, and lastly Gabriel and Jack. Any questions spoken aloud will not be answered, and the car will begin to hover before turning down the next available corner. The locks click, and suddenly it becomes difficult to stay awake. Limbs become heavy, and eyelids slowly begin to fall. For those that struggle to see their last waking moment before they drift off into slumber, they'll notice that the self-driving car has been circling the last mile over, and over, and over again.

When they awaken, there is an antiseptic smell in the air: fluorescent lights glare overhead in a facility that looks like it was made for an entirely different kind of experimental function. What the facility was used for previously isn't apparent, but its current purpose has been reimagined. If they look down at their arm, there is an IV feeding into it. They'll have the sense that they haven't been operated on, not yet. The source of the IV itself leads somewhere unknown. If they go to remove the IV, they'll hear a bark of caution from a speaker. "Tsk tsk! I wouldn't do that if I were you. Gassing you—it was so sloppy. But I'm prepared, oh yes I am, to do what must be done."

After a few more silent minutes, a projection pops up for all of the captive Displaced. "Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to my facility my fine patients. I'm Johann Grey, and you can call me Doctor Grey. First off, let's allow gratitude be given where it's due! Thank you for being so willing to invite my fine friend Cassius into your lives—and thus, me by association. The last specimen I had were … less experienced—less durable. Less familiar with what they've been given. But from what I understand, you have been around for a while. Let's see what we discover together, shall we?"

If there is room for alarm, Johann doesn't grant them much chance to respond to it. Whether they have the IV in their arm or they've removed it and have all but asked to be gassed once again, they'll slowly begin to feel the same wave of fatigue hit them.

As for anyone left behind or hopeful they may be able to trace the paths of the lost Displaced, they'll come up empty handed. El's unable to access the security feed once the hover limos set off for their final destinations, making zer blind to Cassius' actions. Any trackers (such as Daisy's engagement ring) can be traced to a location: a limo rental lot, where the limo has been parked and left for several hours.

DAISY
CAROLINE
HOPE & KLAUS
GABRIEL
JACK

> OOC NOTES

Hello and welcome to the Brain Surgery Club! If anything from our write ups doesn't suit what you'd like, please contact us on your thread on the Permissions Post so that we can make any necessary revisions. We want this to be fun for you. Some of your requests will be worked into the thread later on, but if you would like to have it there from the start, let us know.

All characters will be told that due to the number of surgeries, there will be a three day period before they're allowed to go free. Some of the reasons cited will be "need for care and recovery" and "the number of people going under the needle in contrast to the number of personnel involved." If anyone does any research before they get drugged, this will check out!

If someone sends a message to their currently missing friend, it will just show up as an unread message during this time (if they have those notifications turned on). They'll be synced up with their usual network presence afterward (unless they request a different outcome, such as a new identity).

We're assuming that all characters will want to have a neural implant reimplanted at the end of this process as they will otherwise be disconnected from the world, and our hope is to have them released on time for the Arrival Log! If your character is happy to sit locked up in a room cut off from the world, they may be able to be rescued from their unfortunate situation once some of the others are released back into the "wild."

Anyone who has their characters try to chase this lead will find that Cassius and Doctor Grey prepared for such a likelihood. Any trackers placed on them will be left in the limo to be found, with no other signs or residue of their presence.

As a final note: we give blanket permission for harming or killing Doctor Grey! There will be opportunities for that within these threads.

> NAVIGATION

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[ she doesn't need much more than that — until, of course, she realizes she won't be able to go anywhere just yet. ]

My implant. You took it out.

[ she's going to need it back in. ]

[ more like her story that's missing details, but fine. if she can't press him, no use fighting. easier to loop back to the other. ]

So Judas was for you. Why not reach out to us directly, then, rather than let Cassius play the messenger? You would have gotten a lot more bites if the offer hadn't come from an AI people already hated.

[ she pauses for a moment, considering. ]

Do you have a way to reach us? The Displaced, I mean. Did you know who we were?

The process from there is meticulous. Johann doesn't bother to tell Klaus what he hopes to do with Hope, and the meaning behind the changing IVs and injections into them won't be clear. Some of the added fluids will be a different color, tinted gold and red, swishing around as it floods the IV. The end result won't be instantaneous. It's as if he's prepping himself, a smile widening as if someone's passed along a message to him.

"Keep monitoring her heartrate, Cassius," he adds at some point.

The changes to Hope begin as he begins to temporarily close the wound, allowing it to come together and heal naturally. The pain at this point is—dimmed. Limited.

Until Hope's bones begin to move and change inside of her. She'll feel a dull ache beneath her skin, within her gums, bits of her beginning to move and contract as if it's trying to come to life.

Johann steps back, humming all the while.

The end result won't be perfect. Experimentation never is at this stage, and he's had so few human(ish) experiments at his disposal. The last group was merely around for observation. This one is more for him, handed to him. For Hope, it'll be a painful shift: fingers elongating, limbs trying to do the same, unable to reach the correct point. Her restraints won't hold her for long.

Her face will change, too. Discoloration but no growth of a snout, only sharpened teeth and bright, glowing golden eyes. Her hearing will be enhanced many times over. Hope will be able to hear what's happening in other rooms, will be able to tell that there are others. Will be able to hear the beating of Johann's heart, the different ways it upticks when he gets a response through his neural implant.

To so casually throw out the possibility that he's gone blind (even if it's only temporary, and how can the doctor be sure of that anyway?), only to then say everything is fine? It's erratic behavior, and Jack's starting to get the sense that this guy might have a few screws loose. Not the sort of person you want to be handling your literal brain surgery.

"Do you have a lot of patients? I can't imagine that this is your day job. And how exactly did you and Cassius meet? He wasn't even supposed to exist."

The alarming nature of the situation has helped him push through some of the sedative that had left him hazy at first, and now that he's properly awake (for better or for worse), he's going to ask as many questions as he can get away with.

He's got his power to fall back on too, but he isn't going to use that just yet. Maybe after his skull has been stapled back together.

"How curious that it's something we share in common. Cassius makes for good conversation, but Judas?" There's a tsk tsk tsk that comes from his throat.

Even if Gabriel probably didn't want to share solidarity with this man, Johann seems to find the whole comparison somewhat amusing. After some sort preparation, Johann motions to one of the medical chairs nearby. There's an IV that hangs nearby, filled with fluid. Gabriel has to get up to move a couple of steps, but it's not far enough that it seems impossible.

"Now, I know everything is still raw, but trust me, this procedure is far less complicated."

Oh ho, yes, yes—of course.

[ It's said as if he'd forgotten, but it's debatable if he has. ]

I suppose I'll just have to put that in again. Well, the procedure isn't terribly difficult, so you'll be back doing whatever hobbies you do in no time! [ What kind of hobbies would Caroline do? Oh, whatever. ]

Please, make yourself comfortable. I'll prepare the chair and the transportation. The hover limo will take you back from whence you came. I hope you didn't have to travel too far from home.

Psh—of course.

[ That was part of this whole thing, anyway. He has been paying attention. ]

It wasn't as if Cassius didn't want to see him—besides, it's always interesting to see you work, after all. My interference is more of a wrench than not.

[ Of course he knows them. There's a little pause where a hm! comes across the intercom, followed by an interesting, interesting that's definitely not meant in Daisy's direction. He comes back after a moment. ]

Though I most certainly could, if I wanted to. Cassius has a little soft spot for the lot of you, after all.

[ But perhaps not for the same reason Johann has them here. ]

Just one or two screws, if Jack were counting.

"That's quite a lot of questions at once to ask your surgeon during surgery." Despite that, which came out kind of as a warning, Johann continues to talk as if it's nothing. "I've had enough patients over the years, yes, thousands, most likely. I'm a scientist as well as a doctor.

"As far as Cassius and I go—well, that's a story that goes back to just after the Xelkoven War. Cassius is petter equipped for that sort of story telling, I think you'd find my particularly depiction rather blasé."

They're both in a precarious position, as Jack can't exactly finish the job and stitch himself back up.

"Though after this, I have quite the delicious proposition for you. Oh yes, speaking of—I was thinking that I'd treat you to a meal. I have some delicious steaks that I've been meaning to share. Do you have a preferred cut?"

Edited 2020-01-15 23:20 (UTC)

Back to the Xelkoven War? Didn't that happen over three hundred years ago? It doesn't make any kind of sense, but being offered steak doesn't make much sense either. What the hell is with this guy?

Granted, Jack should have known better than to assume that handing his body over to the accomplice of an arguably evil AI would end well.

He sucks in a breath and then has to fight the urge to shake his head.

"I think I'll pass," he mumbles, even as his mind searches for the correct angle here. "You saying we can talk after this? 'Cause I've got more questions." And he doesn't necessarily want to give up the chance to ask them. Who's to stay that Johann will be anywhere accessible after Jack wakes up again? If that means interrogating him mid-surgery, he'll do it.

He's curious about the offer, but he also doubts it's something he'll really want to go for.

Gabriel knows he can make it over to the chair, but of course he refrains, eyeing it with no small amount of suspicion.

"You want to tell me about it before you cut into my head again?"

He's not about to get an IV full of sedative before he gets his questions answered.

Was this ever a good idea?

"Well, that's a disappointment. It's a luxury not many are offered this day in age." He says it in his best too bad voice. But if Jack pays attention, he'll notice that the faint pressure on the back of his head is gone and Johann is wiping and sanitizing his hands. Most likely from the sound rather than the sight.

"Oh, more questions? Why, it's not so often that anyone asks about me. Is this going to turn into an interrogation, or is it more like a curious, friendly chat? If it's the latter, I'd suggest you take me up on the offer of that steak."

The choice is a what Johann would consider a generosity. If necessary, he could always gas him again.

"You want to know the detailed procedure in implanting a neural device? I didn't think you cared to know the specifics of that one. It's not so different from your first implant, and far simpler. Your brain won't get knocked around much."

Is it evident that it's a joke? Johann shrugs.

"Unless you'd like to deny the use of anesthetic."

"You think I'm too stupid to understand it?"

But he agrees that there's likely not much more to know--perhaps he's just delaying the inevitable. He frowns.

"Not that crazy."

Give him the good drugs, please.

"I think that it'll be useless to you in the long run. But if you have that sort of time, who am I not to indulge you?" He says, in his most annoying voice possible.

Well, as long as Gabriel wants to take, anyway.

"If you've got any files, I'd be happy to read those instead."

Save Johann the breath, and maybe give something more tangible for Reyes to make off with, even if it's only what he was able to memories. He doubts this will be an acceptable response, but hey, shoot your shot, right?

"Once your implant is back in, you mean."

There's a little tsk tsk tsk that comes from his throat.

"Come on now, don't be stubborn."

"All right, all right."

He guesses this is as far as he's going to get without outright interrogation tactics, and he's pretty sure he wouldn't be able to do that in his current condition.

Any resistance now is just for show, anyway.

"Let's get this over with."

Johann beckons him over and sits him in the chair. He begins to hum The Beatles' Hey Jude as he puts the binders in place. He goes through the motions of finding a vein, inserting the IV and tapping the pipe. The drugs, at least, seem to kick in quickly. It's a little hazy, gleeful and sensation all but melts away. Johann's humming seems both far away and close, resonating like an echo.

Johann gets his instruments ready, then says: "And how are we doing now? Still feeling stubborn?" He stands above him with a device that resembles a drill.

Then everything goes black.

While it's true that a good steak is something that Jack hasn't enjoyed in far too long, and he'd also like to know how Johann would have gotten his hands on such a rare commodity, there are too many unknown variables. Sure, he's already handed over his body to be toyed with, but ingesting unknown meat on top of all that isn't going to happen. He has his limits.

"Probably more like an interrogation," he admits. He gets the feeling that honesty might serve him better with this guy.

With the pressure gone, he has to wonder if the worst of the operation is over, and he's tempted to reach out and feel at the back of his head. Without any means of seeing what's going on around him, though, he's hesitant to move much.

"Where did you get the steak? And how could you have met Cassius during the war when that was hundreds of years ago?"

He sure hopes he actually remembers this conversation when he comes to later.

"Where did I get the steak? The same place I got this facility—that's a joke, you see—the punchline is 'I have enough credits.' Anything is possible with enough money." There's the squeak of a few wheels moving over the hard floor, and Johann toying with the instruments on top. They clank around as he picks them up to examine them. The logical next question of 'Where did you get those credits?' isn't expanded on.

"If you cast away all your doubts for what you know is possible, you'll find the answer to that is simple."

Jack can hear the cart coming over and a deep crack without feeling anything. There's a sudden pressure to the back of his skull (it's most likely Johann stapling it back into place).

Johann only answers the first of his questions. So he's rich, most likely to an absurd degree. It does explain how he would be able to have the resources to perform unsanctioned brain surgery on a handful of people like this, though where those credits came from is left unknown.

Cast away all doubts for what he knows is possible? So he needs to think outside the box, in other words. Jack wants to try and connect the dots, but between the alarming sounds and that pressure, he's momentarily distracted from his interrogation.

Even though he can't see, Jack finds himself wincing his eyes closed against the pressure -- and clenching his jaw in anticipation of pain that might follow. His hands ball into fists and he lets out a long exhale.

"There you are, all stitched—or, well, stapled up." Johann seems to find the joke more than amusing. "So, how are those eyes of yours, hm?"

Jack can't see Johann, but he can most certainly feel his presence in his space. Johann leans in a little, as if he were trying to test a theory before leaning back again.

"How about that offer? It'll only take a moment to collect the goods." There's the sound Johanna getting to his feet. "You can tell me just how much you like your implant removed after I get back."

"You tell me," Jack spits out, venom in his voice even as his body reels from everything it's just been put through. He's got sharp enough instincts that he can sense Johann in his bubble of personal space and he jerks his elbow back as he makes a bold attempt to sit up.

It takes a few seconds, but he does manage to get upright. He's still woozy and his body sways for a few seconds as he braces his hands against the operating table. He blinks once, twice, three times, and even tilts his head around, but no light is coming through.

"Not gonna give me a choice, are you?" Jack grumbles, as he can hear the retreating footsteps. This pause will at least give him some time to get his thoughts in order.

Ah, definitely right. Jack makes an attempt to sit up, and Johann steps back out of his space. There are footsteps heading back to the door. While Jack tries to adjust his vision, Johann tsks.

"It's not for my satisfaction."

Johann's just here as the hands of the brain surgery, after all.

"Give it some time."

And he leaves with a little swoosh of the door. It's a while before he comes back, at least long enough for Jack to come too a little bit and poke his nose around if he decides that he wants to look through anything. Of course, the door doesn't respond to him if he tries to leave, the lack of the neural implant sees to that one.

After a couple hours, Johann's voice hits the intercom.

"Now that you've gotten a taste of what it may be like to be without a neural implant—how about two? I've got a perfect good UNA neural implant model that would go very well if I mean to reinstall your old one."

Jack can't imagine what this is really for, if not Johann's (and Cassius'?) satisfaction, but he isn't able to get any more sharp remarks in before the doctor leaves him to the dark and the quiet.

Despite the fact that Jack is still pretty sedated, he resists the urge to fall back to sleep, even as the time that Johann's gone becomes longer and longer. He tries the door and even makes attempts to force it open, but to no avail. Pacing around the small operating room isn't that simple when he can't see a thing.

He could ask himself what he was thinking, but it's not like he didn't have some idea of what he was getting into.

Finally Johann's voice cuts in, though the special offer isn't anything that Jack's interested in.

"Why the hell would I want to put more implants in my head? The UNA models have software that controls their thought processes, doesn't it? And the whole point of this was to get a different implant put in, not the same one you already pulled out of my head."

One that's possibly been tampered with.

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EVENT 007.1

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