EVENT #010

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam and any other megacity the Displaced happen to be in/travel to!
WHEN: May 28, 2512
WHAT: Golden-eyed monsters stream into New Amsterdam and other megacities the world over.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence, death, body horror, mind control, and transformation.

> EVENT #010

It starts in the middle of the night, when most everyone should be fast asleep in their beds, whether they're still taking up a cot in the safehouse or staying in their own apartment. One moment it's quiet, with most of the rest of the city having also turned in for the night, and then in the next? It isn't.

There will be mass confusion as the scope of the situation becomes clear. Monsters stream out onto the streets, thundering up the stairs of a train station, skittering out of construction sites, or climbing up the walls. Some of them fly. Others slither. Others run, loping forward with only one goal in mind: to find something to sink their teeth or claws into and to leave destruction in their wake at every turn. They are a horde, a swarm, a teeming mass of creatures that have no intention of stopping. All of them have eyes or bodies that shine gold and wherever they go, they seem to leave decay. Concrete turns black and porous where they step; plants wither and die.

There is no real preparing for an attack of this scale. New Amsterdam will awaken as the sound of these monsters crashing down on cars or bursting through storefronts or into homes forces people to run screaming from their dwellings or places of work. There is no discrimination in who these beasts might target, and no discernable pattern in where they go.

All that one can really tell is that they seem to want to spread out. They're constantly on the move, leaping from victim to victim, and they're relentless. No one knows why they've come, where they're come from, or what will make them stop. At least for now, the only option seems to be to cut down their numbers. It's time to fight the horde.

The first night will be utter chaos as everyone reacts to the monsters' sudden appearance, but by the morning hours news reports will start streaming in. This is not only happening in New Amsterdam, or wherever else a Displaced might be staying, but seemingly everywhere. Some cities seem harder hit than others, but practically every megacity is overrun with the creatures.

With no way of knowing who might have unleashed the monsters, all of these cities have essentially been turned into battlefields. Not many civilians are prepared to fight for their lives, and it will take a mobilization effort from the police, Morningstar, the Displaced, and anyone else who's willing to take up arms in order to survive.

◉ As a note, this attack starts simultaneously in multiple cities. While it's the middle of the night in New Amsterdam, the monsters will appear at other times of the day in other parts of the world depending on the timezone!

> BESTIARY

So as to not make this post overly long, we have compiled all of the monster descriptions into a Google doc here for everyone's reference!

> (NOT SO) SAFEHOUSE

For those Displaced who stay at (or spend any time in) the safehouse under the hoverbike shop or the Red Wings bar, they may become aware of the presence of the monsters sooner than others, due to the fact that at least a few of the giant mole monsters will end up burrowing up through the concrete basements to wreak havoc. The screeching noise of steel claws tearing through the floor will be sure to wake up even the deepest of sleepers.

This won't just be an occurrence on the first night of the attack, either. Unless something is done to deter them, tunnels leading straight into the safehouses will continue to be created, allowing even other types of monsters to find their way through (the smaller ones, that is). Where exactly they're coming from won't be entirely clear, though it's a safe bet to assume that they must have originated in the cave system somehow.

Suffice to say that El won't be happy about the safehouse being compromised in this way, though this isn't a possibility that ze or anyone else could have really prepared for. While ze can't do much to physically help with containing the invasion of the monsters, ze will offer whatever resources ze can—though Morningstar is going to be busy in plenty of other locations, as well, and they only have so many resources.

The Red Wings, being a Displaced-operated location, will also be in need of assistance, especially if it's meant to be a point of safety and a hub for handing out supplies. Speaking of—

> RED WINGS HQ

As things begin to deteriorate, Clarke Griffin and Stephen Strange sink their resources into Red Wings, adapting it into a base of operations for the Displaced. Clarke also called in PRESERVE to set up a checkpoint here, too, and anyone—from the Displaced to civilians—will be able to seek aid here. (Of course, Red Wings will be just one of a few locations throughout the city where they attempt to set up shop, but Red Wings may prove to be more fortified thanks to the talents of the Displaced.) Civilians will not have access to Red Wings' safehouse, however. That's still something that Clarke and Stephen want to keep under wraps, for now.

In the bar proper, there will be medical aid, supplies, and even weapons for those who can use them. During rare moments of downtime, the gang at Red Wings will also work on reconnaissance missions to find safe spots throughout the city to provide much needed protection and safety for the people of New Amsterdam. This task may be much easier said than done. Gathering intel on the monsters is a high priority, too, and for anyone who tries to capture a monster to learn more about them, the basement might be a good place to hold them. If the Displaced are going to be able to fight back, they need to know exactly what it is they're fighting.

However, the truth of the matter is that this attack happened quickly, and in the middle of the night to boot. As much as the group at Red Wings tries, resources are stretched thin, and they didn't have time to prepare as much as they wanted to. Supplies need to be rationed, bandages and stitches used for wounds that really need them, and if you're not a great shot, it might be best to let someone with more training take that gun you're eyeing.

More than anything, despite the difficulty, this is a way for the Displaced to help out as many people as they can, and a way for them to cement their humanitarian efforts and affect the population's opinion of them. The citizens of New Amsterdam are sick of this cycle of destruction, and are just waiting to be empowered. Now's the time to teach them to fight back and help them protect their city.

Red Wings' safehouse underground will be damaged by burrowing monsters as well, and will need protection. The bar itself will escape relatively unscathed.

> INVESTIGATING / GATES

Maybe the best way of dealing with the monsters isn't violence at all. Maybe there's a more strategic way to deal with this.

The monsters will be moving from city to city via the gates, just like the Displaced do. There might be a way to keep them from spreading, or at least slow them down, by shutting down the gate network. Of course, with the mag trains shutting down, getting back home could be an issue. One option is the delivery network of hover trucks. They'll still be running to get supplies from city to city, but their batteries don't run indefinitely, so these will be relatively local trips only. No getting from New Tokyo back to New Amsterdam with this method, unfortunately, and convincing a driver to let you hitch a ride might be a challenge, but it's doable.

Of course, there's also the question of where these things are coming from. Intrepid characters might be able to track them back to their nests, which are tucked away in wildly different places depending on the city. In New Amsterdam, they might be in the caves below the city. In other places, they might not be in the city proper at all, but just outside of it. It's important to keep in mind that the nests are far away from any of the action taking place elsewhere. Tracking these origin points may provide some answers, but the cost would be less involvement in the crisis taking place.

And then there's the matter of the monsters themselves. How can you fight an enemy you know nothing about? For those determined or crafty enough, capturing them might be an option, although this will take some creativity. Once these creatures are captured, they'll need to be kept contained, and kept alive. Just because they're monstrous doesn't mean they don't have to eat, after all, and some will need special environmental considerations as well, such as the mind control slugs.

What happens after that is up to the Displaced. Is dissecting them the best bet? Their internal anatomy won't be wildly different from most "normal" animals, with the exception of some creatures who have strange appendages or the like. Still, this might give the Displaced a better idea of how they operate and what their weak spots are. Sending samples to a lab is another possibility, if the Displaced can figure out how to safely store those samples. After all, the world is in a crisis, and no one is running tests at the moment.

All monsters, though, seem drawn to the blue light. When a Displaced uses a power or activates the empathy bond, the creatures will lock onto it, utterly transfixed, and if this is done enough times, that gold glow of theirs will intensify. What does it all mean? Maybe figuring that out will be a pathway to stopping their attacks.

> PITCHING IN

While all of this is going on, it certainly won't be just the Displaced who are heading out into the streets to try and stem the flow of the monster attack. These creatures are certainly not holding back, and no matter how much work might be put in, their numbers are overwhelming. Plenty of people will end up dead as a result, ripped to shreds or dragged off somewhere to be eaten. Yet, for some reason, these monsters are not as vicious toward the Displaced. They'll engage them in a fight and injure them, but they never go so far as dealing a fatal blow.

Seeing how that's not the case for the rest of the populace throughout the world, however, some groups and organizations will be rising up to do their part.

Police departments will be mobilizing in every megacity to put the monsters down, and while they are armed, it's not on the same level as the UNA. They also don't have any sort of training that's prepared them to fight monsters, but they'll still be putting their lives on the line to put a dent in the monsters' onslaught. When it comes to enforcing regular law and order, they certainly won't have the bandwidth for anything like that. Then again, most people won't be in any position to take advantage and commit crimes either, given the chaos that will be a constant everywhere.

Morningstar will also be jumping into action around the world. The New Amsterdam branch will be most likely to work alongside the Displaced and share some of their resources, particularly with those who are signed up as official agents or those who've supported them in the past. In cities like New Prague and New Beijing where the Displaced have made some contact with Morningstar before, they'll also be open to working with the Displaced. However, their resources are by no means robust. Morningstar is an organized rebel group, but they're hardly an official army in any sense of the word. They might be able to hand out a weapon here or there and they have a safehouse set up in almost every city, but beyond that, they'll mainly be getting boots on the ground to help with the fighting.

UNA soldiers who have been left without any sort of purpose or guidance will now have an opportunity to put some of that training to use. Their involvement will be much more scattered, though in some cases small groups of these soldiers who used to work in units together will reconnect in their effort to fight off the horde. However, having been cut off from the UNA in an official capacity, they won't have much in the way of gear or weapons. They're still formidable fighters, though, and now might be the perfect time to reach out and make a connection with some of them.

Mercenaries belonging to various different outfits, depending on what city they're based in, will also be joining the cause. Whether they're acting out of a basic desire to survive the attacks or if they're actually being paid by someone to go out there and risk their lives will be less clear, but they're some of the best-equipped fighters (other than the police). They also won't really find much reason to protest any of the Displaced pitching in to fight with them. The more firepower, the better, right?

A group of regulars from the New Amsterdam fighting rings will be rising up to add their fuel to the monster-fighting fire, as encouraged by Hawke and whoever else might know them well enough to reach out. Given that some of these people have illegal mods to enhance their strength or cybernetic attachments that can do impressive amounts of damage, some of them might hold their own against the monsters. Hell, some of them might even ask the Displaced to demonstrate some of their powers if they end up fighting together, as word of their abilities has become more known among their ranks. Either way, they'll be jumping into the fray with quite a bit of gusto.

PRESERVE will be involved on the other end of these efforts and will be doing their best to tend to the wounded and the dead, along with finding shelter and safe spots for people to barricade themselves from the attacks. It's not like the grand majority of civilians could stand a chance against these monsters, after all, yet not all of them can rely on their homes to be safe enough to stay in. They'll be quick to accept an offer of Displaced help, as they'll be doing their best to try and drag the recently dead to hospitals to get them put into medi-units before they're too late. Along with what's set up at Red Wings, they'll also be cobbling together other relief spots throughout the city for taking care of wounded and offering up what supplies they have (food and water, medical supplies, etc).

And what are the corporations doing in all of this? Well, suffice to say, mainly just panicking. Unsurprisingly, they're not much help during a crisis like this, with most of the super-rich opting to hide away in whatever highly secure bunkers they might have. Too bad that these bunkers might not prove so secure in the face of these attacks. Could that prove to be an opportunity if someone went looking?

> FINAL OOC NOES

Please refer to the OOC EVENT POST for all OOC info, including suggestions for directions on how to engage with the event. Given the spread out nature of this event, as well as the amount of additional details provided here, please direct all questions to our QUESTIONS thread below. This is, naturally, a huge event in terms of scale, and so we're certain there are aspects of it we haven't covered and questions that have yet to be answered. We do encourage that all of our players use the event planning post for any additional ideas and for touching base!

Please do not begin to thread out any aftermath until AUGUST 8, 2020, which is when we will put up the aftermath log and OOC post. If this date changes, we will provide a gamewide update as needed! As a note, the August calendar will be posted alongside the aftermath!

As a reminder, there is one power level up available for this event, granted for a thread of at least 5 log/action comments containing your character utilizing their power in some way during the event itself. They will need to reach the 5 comments required by SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 to be eligible. Submission will be handled on the wrap up post.

Our Activity Check will be posted AUGUST 1 at 12 AM UTC. It will run for seven days and close on AUGUST 8 at 12 AM UTC.

Have fun and fight some monsters! Or … whatever else you might do with them. 😉😏 Your secret's safe with us. 😙

> NAVIGATION

Comments

[jettisons]

[He's going into shock. He must be. Bellamy can't deal with this the way Clarke can—he doesn't know how to piece Murphy back together—but he pushes down his own panic, shoving his way through the bar. People make way automatically, and Bellamy lays Murphy out on the floor, too focused to shout for help.]

Hey, Murphy. Stay with me.

[Murphy's shirt has slid up a bit, revealing blood dark as ink on pale skin. Bellamy doesn't think anything of it at first. A trick of the light, surely. But then he presses his hands to the wound, applies pressure to slow the bleeding, and that blood bubbles up between his fingers, black as pitch.

His brain stutters to a stop, unable to process it. There's no way. No way.

Except that Murphy had practically begged Bellamy not to push, not to ask too many questions. He doesn't have the context to even guess at why or how Murphy could have done this, could have had it done to him. Bellamy's eyes lock on Murphy's, and as much as Murphy was terrified of relationship destroying anger, all he gets is confusion.]

[frontierbashir]

[Julian is tending to another minor injury, merely cleaning and dressing a wound, when movement near the door catches his eye. Quick assessment from across the room tells him that this newcomer is his number one priority right now.

He's on the other side of Murphy in a heartbeat, fingers at a carotid. Tachycardia and tachypneic and hemorrhaging.]

I need two large bore IVs in him. Now! Bring over a liter of normal saline as well!

[Julian is hyperfocused, using Murphy's own shirt to wipe inky black blood out of the way, just now registering that it wasn't simply old blood.

His eyes widen. Is this what Clarke and Lexa had been referring to?

He places a hand over the deep gash and he can see bone. Julian's chest glows bright blue, and the gash fills in a bit, no longer hemorrhaging, just oozing at this point.

Two medics are already working on getting an IV in each of Murphy's arms.

Finally, Julian looks up at Bellamy, taking some wet towels that were brought over to him to try and clean away as much blood as possible.]

What happened to him?

[Another medic comes by to cut Murphy's shirt off entirely and bring him a blanket for at least the lower half of his body.]

[jettisons]

[As the medics converge, Bellamy is jostled unceremoniously out of the way, and he moves back without complaint. He's still reeling, and when he moves to kneel beside Murphy's head, it's half out of pure instinct. His hands are drenched in black.

Julian's question snaps him out of it, but it's hard to answer. He shakes his head, overwhelmed suddenly by fear for Murphy and Clarke.]

A friend transformed and attacked him.

[And now all he can do is hope that Lexa has it under control.]

Will he be okay?

[frontierbashir]

[Julian's mask of professionalism slips. This had been exactly what happened to his friend. He nearly attacked both him and Lexa. He's still a bit sore from the encounter. His expression softens.]

I'm sorry. He should be, though he lost quite a bit of blood. He'll need a few stitches for the wound, but the more important thing is to get his blood pressure up.

[Julian can tell simply from Murphy's state and his vital signs. He turns back to the medics.]

Once they're in, I want that liter delivered push-pull and have another liter ready. I anticipate needing it. Also, give him a touch of thyroxicil for the pain.

[One medic goes off to bring back a second liter and a syringe with a small amount of liquid in it. He injects it into the first IV while the other medic works on using a large syringe to pull fluid out of the IV bag and then rapidly push it through the second IV.]

Is this...is this Nightblood? I'm afraid if it is, we'll be in dire straits if he needs a transfusion.

[Perhaps these people even know Clarke and Lexa?]

[jettisons]

[Bellamy's jaw sets as he wipes his hands off on his jeans. At least this guy seems to know what he's doing, and he must have talked to Clarke.]

Yeah, it is.

[Absently, his hands settle on either side of Murphy's head, as though to hold it still, or maybe just to keep contact.]

We were the same blood type.

[Once. He doesn't know enough about Nightblood to know if that still stands.]

[frontierbashir]

[Julian hands him a damp towel he can use to wipe his hands. And his jeans. The doctor allows the medics to continue pumping Murphy full of fluid as he talks to this other person.]

You were? [He lifts an eyebrow. He's assuming these two are humans based on appearance and inferring from what he knows from Clarke and Lexa and their respective cultures. Last he knew, humans can't change blood types.

Julian asks one of the medics for a suture kit and sterile gloves as well as a numbing agent. Now that resuscitation is under way, he can focus on the rest of the gash.]

And you must know Clarke then? And Lexa?

[jettisons]

We're from the same world.

[Murphy seems utterly out of it, which is a small blessing at this point. He's still trying to shove down his shock, that slowly mounting sense of betrayal.]

There's a serum that turns you into a Nightblood. Before that, everyone on the Ark was Type O.

[Lexa is the exception, being a grounder, but that's not really important right now.]

[frontierbashir]

[He nods in understanding, putting a couple of fingers to Murphy's neck.]

A bit of an improvement. [He motions for one of the medics to start giving Murphy the second liter of fluids.]

My name is Julian Bashir by the way. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.

[The other medic comes back with his requested supplies.]

Do you get queasy with procedures at all?

[The last thing Julian needs is a second patient right now, passing out.]

[jettisons]

Bellamy Blake. And no.

[At least Julian's lucked out in this. Where Bellamy's from, everyone's long since lost their queasiness.]

Tell me what you need me to do.

[frontierbashir]

[He hasn't gotten into too much detail yet with either Clarke or Lexa about their homeworld, really knowing bare basics such as a nuclear apocalypse making it uninhabitable and some people stayed and some people fled.

Julian starts cleaning the area around the gash on Murphy's chest first with water, then with an antiseptic. While preparing a sterile field and getting tools ready, he finally responds.]

Bellamy. Would you mind grabbing that flashlight on the bar over there, turning it on and holding it over the wound? It would help a great deal.

[He may be Augmented but extra light never hurt anyone when it came to suturing.]

[jettisons]

[It's an easy enough ask, and so Bellamy hops up to grab the flashlight without complaint. He parks himself beside Murphy again, aiming the beam at his wound. In such stark light, the damage looks even worse. He tells himself it's fine. He tells himself not to worry about Clarke. Neither works.]

Thank you. For helping us.

[frontierbashir]

[Once the light is focused, Julian gets to work, putting on his sterile gloves and beginning to suture the laceration. He's very practiced and his hands don't hesitate at all. He has surgeon's hands.

Without looking up and a slight smile:]

Of course. I'm a physician--I'm glad I can help.

Who is the person I'm stitching up right now?

[It'd be nice to at least know the name of the person he's stitching up.]

[jettisons]

John Murphy.

[He's not sure if Julian is asking because he really wants to know, or because he's trying to be distracting. Either way, Bellamy keeps his eyes locked on Murphy's wound.]

How do you know Clarke?

[frontierbashir]

[Julian nods in acknowledgment, laser-focused on the task under his hands. It's a clean gash at least, so fairly straightforward. Periodically, he has to wipe away some of the oozing blood, but the more he sutures, the less oozing blood there is. ]

I reached out to her, actually. I met Lexa when I first arrived who pointed me in her direction, once I heard her described as a "healer". Not to mention she's mentioned in the newcomer's guide for Displaced as being a contact point for medical issues.

[He finishes suturing and ties it off, doing a gentle check by gingerly trying to pull apart the two skin flaps on either side of the gash. They seem to hold steady, so Julian washes the area off with antiseptic again, places a cloth bandage along the length of it, and holds up a roll of loose cloth.]

You can get rid of the flashlight for now. If you wouldn't mind holding him up very slightly so I can wrap this bandage around him, it would be appreciated.

[He takes off his slightly bloody gloves and uses antiseptic to sterilize his hands again, putting all of his tools aside now. Another two fingers at Murphy's neck and Julian nods to himself.]

Much better. His heartrate is nearly in the normal range.

[jettisons]

[Bellamy exhales when Julian nods, some of the tension draining from him. They're out of the woods, he assumes. For now, anyway. When he lifts Murphy up, he does it gently, watching his face for signs of discomfort.]

No transfusion?

[frontierbashir]

For right now, no.

[The real answer is--even if Murphy truly did need one, he doesn't know enough about Nightblood to know if it's safe to transfuse Nightblood from others.

After all of this chaos, he may need to talk to Clarke and Lexa--and now Murphy-- about donating their own blood to be stored in case an emergency happens to them. Inconvenient, yes, but that's the best he can do without knowing more about its properties.

Julian does his best to quickly wrap around Murphy's chest, holding the bandage against the wound. Soon enough, it's completely covered with just a small spot of blood diffusing where the gash would be. He will have to keep an eye on that.]

I don't anticipate one either.

[Julian now pulls the blanket up and around Murphy's arms and chest to try and warm him up. He'd been working as fast as he could but he still needs to watch Murphy's temperature.

Then, the thin, tall, lanky doctor puts one arm under Murphy's knees and the other under his back and lifts him as though he weighs nothing. No blue glow.]

Let's get him out of the middle of the floor and a bit more comfortable.

[Julian brings him closer to the bar where there's a few spaces set up with folded blankets to make the ground less cold and less hard. Plus, it's closer to the stored supplies. He places Murphy onto a makeshift bed and directs a medic to set him up with a fluid drip.]

[jettisons]

[Bellamy notes that strength, files it away in the back of his head, but doesn't dwell on it. He's hovering over Murphy, and he realizes it, but isn't sure how to stop himself. Later, he'll have to grill Murphy on what else he's hidden. It's already needling at him. Right now, though, worry overtakes that need.]

What now? We wait?

[frontierbashir]

Yes. Allow him to recover. He did lose a bit of blood and may be in some pain. We'll try to keep it under control as best as we can.

[jettisons]

[Bellamy nods at that, though it's distracted. His eyes flick to the door, then back at Murphy. Lexa will take care of Clarke, he tells himself.

Still. Still.

He forces himself to sit, jaw setting. As worried as he is about Clarke, he can't leave Murphy alone, either.]

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on him.

[frontierbashir]

[Julian's brows furrow and he turns to grab a couple of bottles of water from their supply--handing both over to Bellamy.]

Bellamy, are you alright?

[It's quite obvious he's upset with what happened but what else lay beneath the surface, Julian can't know. He's had enough experience with trauma patients to know those around his patient can be psychologically harmed from something like this as well.]

[jettisons]

[He's so focused on Clarke and Murphy that Julian's question throws him. He glances up, eyebrows raising in bafflement for an instant.]

I'll be okay.

[Bellamy hesitates, then swallows.]

Something's... wrong with Clarke. Someone's taking care of it, but I don't know if she'll need your help after.

[reproached]

[ Murphy comes around, then. He might have played dead a little longer, if Bellamy wasn't hovering so close. It's hopeless to pretend, though, when the slightest contact between them would betray his rising anxiety. And hasn't he tormented Bellamy enough, without drawing out his worry?

The toxin has worked its way out of his system enough for the fear of death to come creeping back, but by now, the danger itself has passed. Murphy's left with a neatly patched wound and the ache that accompanies it in the absence of adrenaline. Without the mortal danger, there's nothing left to shield him from the consequences of his lies, either. Soon, Bellamy will stop worrying about him and start blaming him.

He reaches for Bellamy's hand, anyway. ]

[frontierbashir]

[Julian's eyes widen in surprise.]

Clarke? What happened to her? [He's panicking slightly--he's been awake for a long time so his emotional filter isn't at its best. Not to mention Clarke is one of the only other more skilled medics he has.

He's about to ask more, but his patient's hand moving catches his attention. Julian kneels down next to him.]

John, how are you doing? [Likely in a lot of pain--he'll get an idea first.]

[jettisons]

[Bellamy's about to answer Julian's question, but then Murphy takes his hand, and he's utterly distracted. Bellamy's hands are still stained black, an odd gray cast, and Murphy gets a front row seat to his worry, edging out his frustration and confusion. For now, he stays quiet, just letting Julian do his job.]

[reproached]

[ Murphy's sorry. More than anything, he's sorry. In answer to the worry that meets him, he gives Bellamy's hand a weak squeeze. Then he opens his eyes and fixes his attention on the doctor. ]

Feeling great. Just a little scratch.

[ He's being sarcastic, and his voice doesn't even sell his humor. Yes, it hurts a lot. A whole shit ton. Fortunately for everyone, he's very accustomed to pain. ]