Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-25828117-20160219232209/@comment-5543592-20160227164157

3 months ago…

“Boss, I don’t think anything’s here…”   Tanner said, glancing around dubiously. He turned the red keycard over and over again in his hands, playing lazily with what he had found. The Boss said it was useless junk, as there weren’t any doors that had needed unlocking, likely brought in and left by “some Wastelander ass hole” a while ago.

The mainframe of the Vault-Tec headquarters was rather awe-inspiring, at least to Tanner. The massive mainframe terminal in front of him plugged into the dozens of massive computers below the cat-walk they were standing on. He sort of wanted to learn about the Vaults, but the Boss was hogging the computer.

That was the third time Tanner had said something along those lines, and now the Boss finally spoke up.

“Boy, don’t you got things to do?”   He asked, fingers still moving across the keyboard.

“Things?”   Tanner asked, a little confused, slipping the key card back into a pouch at his waist.

“Yeah, little kid things. Go play with some blocks or something.”

Tanner blinked at that. “I’m nineteen.”

“So? You ain’t ever played with blocks?”

“Not in a while, no…”

The Boss was quiet for a moment, as if he was contemplating Tanner’s answer of not playing with blocks, before finally speaking again. “Well, go away, I ain’t got time to answer your stupid questions. Trying to do some important shit here, with these techno-do-dads. Do I got to explain techno-do-dads to you?”

Tanner shook his head quickly, not wanting to risk another incomprehensible lecture. “No, no, I’m good. I’ll go out there.”   He said, jutting a thumb towards the doorway, and heading out into the hall. As he left, Tanner heard the Boss grumbling to himself, although he couldn’t make out what was actually said.

A destroyed Protectron lay flat on the ground out in the hall, a small hole punched through its flashy-light face, yeah the interior was probably a mess. Tanner hoped he was never on the wrong end of Almighty, that gun did not mess around. He headed down the hall, back towards the café area, supposing their might be 200 year old snacks or something that were only slightly stale.



“Fool boy.”   The Boss muttered to himself as Tanner exited, eyes scanning the mainframe’s screen. “Tryin’ta get up in my business. Can’t nobody see when a man’s busy no more?”   His fingers paused on the keyboard, frowning. The travel manifest he was scanning was off. For an entire day, what had been shipped was cleared. Which was wrong, of course. Even if there had been no deliveries, there still would’ve been a date. Instead, there was a gap in between March 3 and 5- no March 4 of 2076 was present, as if the day hadn’t existed.

The Boss growled low in his throat, and ran his hand along the terminal’s sides. There were gaps in the plastic, likely so holotapes or cards could be input or swiped. He then glanced back, out the hallway after Tanner. That key card the boy had found. That could be useful for something. He headed back out down the hall, looking around for Tanner.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Tanner? Boy?”   The Boss called, then heard shifting of rubble off to his left, or at least something that sounded like it. Of course the boy had gone poking around. Can’t keep his damn hands off of anything. Lord help the women of the world.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hades stomped off after the noise, into the bathroom, towards the rustling in one of the stalls. “Tanner, if you done gone and found a bomb, I will stick my boot so far up your ass that-“ he tore the door of the bathroom stall open and stared blankly at the massive super mutant sitting on the toilet seat. It rubbed its eyes, apparently waking up from a nap. The sound of rustling was the ceramic of the toilet seat being crushed underneath its shifting weight. The groggy mutant looked up, eyes slowly focusing on the Boss. The ghoul cussed and fumbled for his rifle.

<p class="MsoNormal">The mutant stared dumbly for a moment, before its face contorted in a sneer, and it roared in rage, rising to its full thirteen feet of height. Muscular arms scrapped the sides of the stall and even with its natural mutant hunch its head still hit the ceiling.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Fuck!”   Shouted the Boss as the mutant surged forward with another roar, launching itself from the toilet seat. He was clubbed across the chest by the mutant’s back of the mutant’s massive hand, and was sent flying backwards, crashing into the bathroom wall, and then passing through it in a shower of debris. He hit the ground in roll, tumbling into the hall.

<p class="MsoNormal">The mutant screamed, spittle flying, and pounded a fist against its chest, then came stomping towards the Boss.

<p class="MsoNormal">The ghoul struggled to his feet, using his rifle as a tool to slowly prop himself up. To his eyes, his vision danced, and he saw double. He looked up just in time to see two identical mutants coming at him.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Mother-” The beast seized gigantic hands around his head, its palms completing enveloping his puny human skull, then lifted him off the ground by it. His neck stretched painfully as it bore the weight of his entire body, and he could feel it’s muscles flex, preparing to squash his head in between its freakishly large hands. The Boss growled silently- this dumb piece of shit had just bitten off more than it could chew.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Boss kicked out with his heel, driving his boot’s sole into the mutant’s oversized junk, and simultaneously punched out, fist connecting with the mutant’s nose. Its nose exploded in the murky red color of mutant blood, and it screamed in anger more than pain, but was disoriented enough by both blows to lose its balance. It tossed the Boss aside like a doll and he crashed shoulders first through a second wall, flying through the air. Flakes of dry wall sprinkled around him as he realized he had just passed through one of the support walls of the building, and had a ten foot drop as he fell from the second floor down to the first. He attempted to roll as he hit the ground, but just managed to painfully land on one of his arms and ended up tumbling across the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Jesus fucking Christ…”   Hades coughed, pushing off the ground unsteadily. His rifle had snapped off its strap in the collision and landed near him, a few feet away. He glanced up at the hole he had made in the wall just in time to see the mutant smash his hole, and the wall, to pieces by leaping through it, and landed with a crash on the ground. It had simply bent its knees to absorb the shock and the building had shook upon its landing.

<p class="MsoNormal">Its eyes focused on the Boss and it came towards him at a walk, faced contorted in that permanent sneer.

<p class="MsoNormal">He wearily rose to his feet, body aching, and stumbled after his rifle, getting one hand on it before something whacked him across the back. He was sent flying through the air again, and collided with the receptionist counter. Pain shot up his spine and his eyes widened at the shock of the air being knocked from his lungs. He lay gasping as the mutant slowly turned to its victim’s new position and began walking towards him.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Boss’ bleary, watered eyes focused on the ceiling, the numbers 101 dancing across his vision.

<p class="MsoNormal">101. It said that in big emboldened letters on the Vault door. The Vault door attached to the ceiling. The Boss glanced from the hanging Vault door to the super mutant, back to the Vault door.

<p class="MsoNormal">Almighty was there, his hand limply wrapped around its stock, and he let it slip down to the trigger. The mutant drew closer now, growling lowly, drool leaking down the corners of its mouth. Boss raised Almighty hesitantly. The Super Mutant Master didn’t even flinch. It was pretty confident in the fact nothing could hurt it.

<p class="MsoNormal">The mutant passed underneath the Vault door. The Boss swiftly raised Almighty and slammed a fist down on a button next to the targeting computer. The computer bleeped three times as it locked onto the cords holding the Vault door up.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Boss let out some kind of shout, meant to be a battle cry, but was more of a garbled, incomprehensible sound. The mutant, not to be out done, planted its foot forward and bellowed at Hades. The sound was deafening.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Boss fired three shots, Almighty humming and spitting out three lightning-bolt trailed projectiles. There was loud snapping noise and in an eye blink the fifteen ton Vault door dropped, squashing the screaming Mutant, its roar abruptly cut to silence. The Boss just lay there, staring at the Vault door, before beginning a croaking laugh. He rolled onto his back, laughing heartily, as Tanner rushed out to the hole in the wall above.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What the-?”   The boy muttered to himself. “Boss?”   He called hesitantly. Hades didn’t reply, but the kid must’ve heard his laughing, because he called out:

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’ll be right down!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Hades was uncertain how long he lay there laughing to himself before Tanner was at his side.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Boss, what happened?”   Tanner asked worriedly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Get me one of my packets, boy.”   The Boss said in between deep chuckles. “In that pouch.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Tanner came out with one of the IV bags filled with green liquid. “This?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah.” The Boss said, taking the bag from Tanner, and jabbing the needle into his arm.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Now, here’s what you got to do…”

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">Tanner stuck the keycard into one of the inputs along the mainframe’s terminal, and suddenly an entirely new screen popped up. There were several entries, but Tanner choose one.

<p class="MsoNormal">May 4, 2076

<p class="MsoNormal">Tanner quickly scanned it before transferring the data to his Pip-boy, but as he did so he frowned at the contents of the missive.

<p class="MsoNormal">Forced Evolutionary Virus Batch P transferred to Science Building of New York World’s Fair.

<p class="MsoNormal">Notes:

<p class="MsoNormal">''Batch is still heavily in testing phase. Side-effects are minimal to non-existent, but so are developments. Best effects were achieved when several cadavers were added to vat before the batch was administered to subject. Residue of the deceased individuals was minimal, several technicians theorized that the deceased remains were absorbed by the subject when undergoing the treatment. Flesh became tender and pigmentation was green immediately after experiment, but wore off within a matter of seconds. Skin was stained green until given wash in distilled water with cleaning fluids. Irises were changed to bright green color regardless of subject’s original eye color.''

<p class="MsoNormal">''Several abnormalities were detected. Within weeks of treatments, some subjects claimed to be hearing voices, and most later become incomprehensible, rambling about nothing and soon became entirely dependent. The residing psychiatrist diagnosed them all with an advanced form of schizophrenia. No subjects had a family history of the disease.''

<p class="MsoNormal">Four subjects committed suicide within a week after treatment.

<p class="MsoNormal">''One subject developed an anti-social disorder and manipulated the staff into releasing her. She was recovered a week later after a string of murders were connected back to her.''

<p class="MsoNormal">''A second subject had a rapid increase in mental efficacy, his intelligence out matching any of that on the research team. In fact, an IQ test revealed that his intelligence was too high to be measured. However, within a week it rapidly declined, and dropped to a level that was akin to mental disability. The subject forgot how to chew and had to be put on life support.''

<p class="MsoNormal">''The one major success of the project was a subject’s ability to display extra-sensory abilities. In a sound-proofed room across the hall from his own room, he knew everything that was being said.''

<p class="MsoNormal">It was theorized that all subjects developed something akin to this, but it left them with crippling mental illness.

<p class="MsoNormal">Conclusion:

<p class="MsoNormal">This batch has the most promise, but has several major kinks that must be worked out.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You got it?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Tanner flinched, quickly dragging his eyes from the screen. He glanced back at the Boss, who was leaning against the doorway into the mainframe’s room.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, it’s on my Pip-boy.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The Boss nodded tiredly. “Let’s go. Nothing here for us now. We’ll head back to the hide-out and get some rest, then I’ll draw up plans for later.”

<p class="MsoNormal">As the ghoul turned away, and lead Tanner out of the building, the boy quickly read the last few lines of the conclusion.

<p class="MsoNormal">''Subjects all developed the intended immunity to (physical) illness and were resistant to hazardous materials. Subjects who survived three weeks after exposure to Batch P were dubbed ‘psykers’ as a nod to the potential abilities they may have developed. Notify me of any further progress.''

<p class="MsoNormal">-Doctor Philip Reacher MD Ph.D, West Tek

<p class="MsoNormal">Tanner looked up and frowned at the Boss’ back, who was headed down the hallway. What did he want this information for? Was this to be Tanner’s cure? It sounded dangerous, far more dangerous than Tanner would have imagined, but he supposed that’s what it took to cure yourself of a terminal illness.

<p class="MsoNormal">The boy sighed to himself, and turned his Pip-boy screen off, then let his arm fall to his side. There was no use worrying about it now.

<p class="MsoNormal">He’d just have to take things one step at a time.