Fortune's Favorites: Frostbite

[Starsign]

Fortune City Showcase #5 presents: A Frostbite Adventure

"Prowling in the Cold Night"

8:48 PM, Fortune City Apartment

The sunlight covering Fortune City slowly falls as night begins to come. In the brief moments of dusk, one can see a fantastic view of the beautiful light coming as the sun disappears over the horizon of buildings. From higher up, one can get an even better view as they see the entire city be bathed by the dusk's light. The sun shines down and eventually disappears over the horizon.

It's about the only real luxury Rudy gets from his apartment room. The balcony shows off the busy streets and bright lights to a degree that can't be seen on foot. Inside his apartment is a lot more standard, which is to say, crap. The bedroom simply composes of a single bed whose springs not all function well; the bathroom is in a dire need of the plumber; and the living room doesn't have much more than a small kitchenette and a three-seated sofa with a small TV and wooden desk.

On the desk in particular is the files Rudy rooted out from WARD's warehouse the other night. Listing people who were involved with WARD by some means or another, their files give a vague outline and summary of them and their abilities. Some of them however are incomplete and don't even give a name, much less a lead to follow. Despite that, there's enough for Rudy to follow on any of those that he chooses.

Alright, hopefully I don't screw this up. From the files given, there are the following Rudy knows of that he can follow:

Toadan: A subject victim who was tested in development of making an underwater scavenger capable of transporting information and resources through sewers and watery passageways. Subject had been known to escape only recently, around a week before Rudy was taken to be experimented on. The files state that Toadan now lurks in the lowtown area of Fortune City known as Silverago as a grunt in tax-collecting.

Rok'hammer: A possible member of WARD who is stated to work as one of the bouncers at the Neon Hornet club, one of those over-the-top flashy dubstep hangouts. His abilities are transforming earthly and urban materials into weapons and other objects as he chooses to. His general favorite is blunt objects, which is where he gets his "title" from. He is labeled of having a speech impairment, though it only hides his intelligence as having a surprisingly capable intellect. The files don't state anything but it's a possibility that the Neon Hornet may be tied to WARD in some form if one of they have one of their workers there.

Livid: One of the rejected subjects. The files paint a very mean idea of this person. The name comes from the incident that it escaped WARD, where it's powers incited mindless rage into the majority of the people who came into proximity into it. As a result, Livid is stated to be "highly dangerous" and is to be executed upon sight. No other details are properly given excepting one person that was apparently involved in the testing of Livid, a scientist named Farel Kenyon. Dr. Kenyon is stated to be deceased in Livid's escape, however Rudy has files regarding Dr. Kenyon's residence in case he wishes to examine that.

Commandant Ecks: Commandant is a title given out to some of WARD's more esteemed officers who command a specific group or place. In this case, Ecks is the police chief in one of the corners of Fortune City away from most of the attention. Powers are vaguely stated to be "heightened senses and physical attributes." There isn't any indication of him working for WARD aside from the "Commandant" title, however his role as a police chief likely means that he is a mole for WARD so they can "control" the area of the town as they see fit to their needs.

[ChronicLunacy]

Rudy sat on his couch watching the fading light paint the bare walls of his living room. He'd long since memorized the file folders sitting splayed out all over his simple desk. He'd had to have read them about a million times by now, squeezing every last piece of information out of them like ringing out a washcloth over the bucket of his mind. On the coffee table in front of him was a nearly empty pack of store-packaged lunchmeat, an untouched glass of Wild Turkey bourbon and the open container it had been poured from. Rudy was starting to look like a homeless person, with stubble coating his blue chin and dark purple rings under his yellow eyes. He'd been wearing the same clothes for a good week now. It wasn't important that he look presentable, so it had fallen by the wayside along with hot meals and cleaning his bathroom.

Judging by the files, he had two potential allies and two highly probable enemies and he knew where to find all four. The only problem was in what order he wanted to visit them. Strategy dictated he gather his allies and then attack the enemy in rapid sequence, not giving them the opportunity to hole up or move shop. Then again, every day he had these files there was the possibility WARD would decide to move their operations anyway to prevent such a visit. So Rudy's only choice seemed to be to stagger his "missions" and try to get as much done as possible.

He would start with Toadan. Contacting him was the least likely act to attract attention, and with an ally the rest of his operations could potentially run more smoothly. He was an escapee, so he probably had just as much reason to hate WARD as Rudy did. If he refused to help, likely wanting to just live out the rest of his life quietly under WARD's radar, it also wouldn't cause much if any trouble for Rudy. Plans for the other ops would have to be finalized after he was done with Toadan, taking into account any changes that may occur, but next he suspected he'd be visiting a nightclub...

Rudy stood, leaving his drink on the coffee table, and slammed the door shut. He was headed down to Silverago.

[Starsign]

The trip down to Silverado is uneventful as Rudy wanders the streets of Fortune City southward to his destination. As someone who has read the papers enough times over to break a supercomputer, Rudy has the details of the documents regarding Toadan down in heart.

Toadan was one of WARD's first experiments to have a capable organic transporter of supplies and information. Unlike the ones before, this one lasted six months in "development" rather than trying to complete it quickly

The document states that "subject failed to meet the prerequisites for assigned objectives." Said prerequisites seems to include heightened agility and reflexes, elongated tongue that can transmit severe toxins to opponents, underwater breathing, an immunity to poisons and diseases, and superhuman swimming speed. The documents don't say which powers Toadan does or doesn't have, only that it is considered to fail having all of them.

Toadan's escape came from a fortunate incident that happened with another subject. Subject "Ark" had apparently attempted to escape a few minutes before Toadan did and fried all the electronics in the base to set the other experiments free. Toadan was the only verified escapee; all others who tried, Ark included, were executed in the attempt.

As of currently, Toadan lives and works in Silverado as a simple tax collector for the "lord" of this section of the city. Considering the lack of law enforcement and control here, it's highly unlikely that this lord is anything less than a crime lord.

Upon arriving in Silverado, the section of Fortune City comes off about as Rudy could expect. Dank, dark streets and alleys pollute the bright neon lights that the rest of the city has. People who currently walk the streets are few in number; those which do could pass off as someone waiting to mug an unfortunate passerby's wallet. The lack of lights make this place feel almost lifeless. In a way, it makes Silverado a good place for an escapee to hide in the shadows from WARD. Living conditions here though makes Rudy's apartment look like a mansion in comparison.

Though it's only a portion of the city, Silverado is a big enough place that one simply cannot find who they're looking for with a few documents. Rudy would need to search around. He could simply ask the oh-so-pleasant populace about Toadan at the risk of attracting unwanted attention. If he's patient, Rudy could also try hiding in a unassuming house to see if Toadan or another tax collector may come by. Knowledge is power, and power can be obtained in many ways.

Sorry this one took way longer than planned. :smallfrown:

Anyway, CL you are free for Rudy to come up with any plan he wishes in case neither of those options suit Rudy's fancy. Creativity is always appreciated. :smallbiggrin: