snowblindrpg | [network] @ADMIN; Arrival

[She lets out a little breath. Not as bad as she expected, honestly.]

You're lucky you can "see" anything at all. Most people here have been stripped of their abilities completely.

I figured as much.

[ Did the admin take pity on him because he's blind? :\\\\\ ]

Still can't read the screen though, this tablet assistant is pretty useful.

[ it's no iPhone but it'll have to do ]

I'll try to catch you up as much as I can. Do you have any questions?

No way out, no idea who's really behind this or why we're here: nowhere to go but further down a spiral. Oh, and exposure every night, so stay away from anomalies and going outside at night. Is that about right?

Your tablet will warn you when lockdown is about to start, and if you aren't in a building by curfew, you'll be locked out. You can't leave the houses during the night at all. Sometimes our hosts like to surprise us and keep us trapped in the buildings for extended periods—a few days is the longest stretch I've heard of.

And by then, cabin fever hits or radiation poison or... any number of dangerous side effects begins to take over.

[ beat. ]

Cheery place.

Well, it wouldn't be our luck if it were a tropical paradise, would it?

[ Matt smiles. Aw, Nat. ]

It sure wouldn't.

[ if it's bad luck that got them there, then... yeah, makes sense. ]

So are you with Tony and Clint?

No, I'm alone. I'm meeting up with Clint tonight.

[She might as well tell him since someone probably will. Ugh!]

Tony and I had the opportunity to test the revival system recently, and we were separated. I don't recommend it.

Oh.

[ Give him a moment. He kind of regrets choosing video now, he's sure his face betrays how he feels about that. Which is to say, not good. ]

Was it one of those Anomalies, or...?

[Oh, Matt. Natasha's voice softens to something more soothing.]

Everyone was hallucinating a few days back, and we couldn't find our way to one of the houses before lockdown. We're alright. Don't make that face.

What face?

[ This face. It's ok, being called out on it brings it back to a more or less normal scowl. ]

So it's not just radiation and anomalies and exposure that we have to worry about, but hallucinations and mind games too?

[ Great. ]

Wonder how that'll work for me.

[Ah, yes, the scowl. That's more like it.]

I'm not sure.

[Maybe his senses will just go haywire. Who knows.]

We've all been injected with nanomachines, some sort of medical treatment. They prevent the radiation poisoning from taking hold, but they have their own negative effects. They were also used to control the original residents of the town, to keep them in line. I'm not sure if that's why we're hallucinating or if it's something else.

[So, things not great.]

So it could just be someone pressing a switch and making people dance?

[ Well... great. He's going to lock that knowledge away and try not to think about it too hard. ]

How did we even get here?

We don't have a full picture yet. Apparently, something went very, very wrong here a long time ago, but a few of the city's employees were protected by hiding out in some sort of underground bunker or facility. Robert Miller, the systems administrator, has appeared on the network once or twice and claims he was in some sort of cryogenic stasis until very recently. The town has a minimum number of residents required by... Some sort of law? It wasn't clear. We're being brought here to fill a quota, but there have been other "sessions" before that were all terminated.

Edited 2016-10-08 23:56 (UTC)

Sounds like an experiment.

[ Reed Richards, maybe?? This is so beyond Matt. ]

So they pick people out from different worlds to see if we, what? Write Shakespeare? Survive whatever they throw at us?

I don't know.

[She sighs. She has far too little information and it's driving her nuts.]

I wish I had more answers for you.

It's alright. You're doing what you can.

[ There's that Murdock reassurance. The one where he's screaming inside but manages to smile and comfort people anyway. ]

You guys have had it tough, I don't need to make it tougher asking stupid questions. I'll stick to the ones that matter.

Where do you need me, and how can I help?

[She knows you, Matt, and she knows you're bullshitting, but she doesn't think it's worth bringing up while he's alone and lost.

So, of course he offers to throw himself into helping immediately.]

You're not asking stupid questions.

[But, okay. Matt wants something to help with.]

Right now we're trying to gather as much information as possible while protecting the people here. It's not just the weather and the anomalies—there are a few murderers wandering around, as well.

[ That's the Matt Murdock way. We take out feelings and we push them down. ]

I heard a little bit on that. This "Joker" he's some kind of supervillain, right? Who else is there?

Beckett. He isn't a supervillian, but he's had violent outbursts. He gouged out someone's eye and bit off someone else's finger. Brian—he's unstable, as well. He kidnapped a doctor a while back. Don't trust Solomons or House, either. As far as I know they aren't violent to that extent, but they're both manipulative and opportunistic.

[ Matt nods, committing these all to memory. This place can have negative effects on people, so it figures some would be unstable by now, moreso if they were already that way to begin with. ]

How would I identify them, if I run into the violent ones? Any particular tells? [ And while he's at it... ] Solomons is a criminal, right? He almost reminds me of Wilson.

[ Wilson Fisk, that is. ]

...Which one is House?

Runs a gang in London, yes. Gregory House is another doctor. "Hotstud xxx."

[She says the username almost sarcastically.]

I haven't run into Brian or Beckett, but the Joker is nuts. Sometimes he feigns sanity. All of them tend to post on the network regularly.

[ Matt snorts. ]

Figures. People like that love an audience.

Of course they do. I guess that's always a constant.

[And, then, because she knows he's doing the whole Matt Murdock "I'm fine everything is fine let me worry about you" thing:]

We'll be alright, Matt. I know they've altered your powers, but if anyone is stubborn enough to figure out a work around and not let it affect them, it's you.

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