network; open; forward-dated to the 15th

[sorser]

Who: Stephen Strange
Username: strange
Warnings: reference to multiple skin lacerations


There’s been an incident. ADI’s already given me the go-ahead to relay this to everyone for the sake of moving forward, so there’s no need to ask if the higher-ups are aware. They are.

When I’m not working in medical, I’ve taken up occasional volunteer work at the local hospital. Earlier today, Sable, one of ADI’s contacts at the docks, was admitted with severe lacerations along her right hand and arm. As she tells it, she’d found a box that was making odd noises, bound for Things of Beauty. She tried to be discreet about investigating whatever was inside, but it didn’t matter.

Again, according to her, she stuck her arm in to grab whatever was inside and paid for it immediately. Based on my own examination, her wounds looked like bite marks, and a lot of them. From very small mouths with very sharp teeth, about mice-sized, but the shape doesn’t match up with any kind of rodent I know about. Whatever it was, it took literal pieces of flesh off of her, and I can’t imagine how and it would've been if she hadn’t been wearing sleeves and thick gloves.

She’s already admitted it wasn’t the smartest move on her part, but that isn’t the point here. It’s a foregone conclusion by now that nothing good is happening at Things of Beauty; you may have been seeing the ads around recently, “a new year calls for a new you”. The promise to unveil a new product on the 16th — which is tomorrow, I should point out.

Basically: if what I saw today was a taste of things to come, I don’t have a lot of faith that it’s going to be an uneventful reveal. There’s a lot more harm in store, and what all of us decide to do with this information in the 11th hour is ultimately up to the individual.

Personally, I’m less of a wait-and-see kind of person. If there’s still a product being shipped and received this late in the game, then there’s still a chance to cut off what’s left of the supply. Impede the off-loading process, slash a few delivery truck tires, etc. Get creative, throw a wrench into things, create delays, because *time* is what we need for ADI to establish proper damage control and further investigation.

Whatever you do, just be careful about it. Don’t go sticking your hands into suspicious boxes, all right?

Comments

Text; @jelica

[musicdied]

Out of everything that could have come of those ads, I was not expecting tiny flesh-eating horrors.

Again.

I'm not sure if it would be better or worse if this was related somehow to the teeth in the forest.

[sorser]

Being related to anything at all would at least give us a starting point. They’re packing *something* into boxes, and it has to come from somewhere.

Unfortunately, we’re past the part where we can stop it outright, but we can at least make them work for their product launch.

un: supertemp

[thedoctorsmate]

[Off the proverbial universe-hopping boat and she's still running straight into aliens. Or what she's still assuming is aliens. There is something this sounds like, though, and it chills her to the bone.]

That box... is she sure it was the goods being shipped and not what was around the goods?
Shadows can be dangerous, you know?

[sorser]

[That’s… definitely a way of thinking about it.]

At this point, I don’t think we can be sure of anything other than it had a physical effect on Sable’s arm.

[A very bad one.]

Do you have experience with shadows growing teeth?

@gasstationjack

[stations]

You could try calling in a bomb threat? Maybe get the store shut down and flooded with cops before it even opens.

If you need it to sound convincing, I have a bomb guy.

[sorser]

[Funny how ideas that Stephen would seemingly shut down are fairly considered when things are on the verge of going pear-shaped.

And so—]

What do you mean, a bomb guy?

[Okay, he does need details though.]

un: freakscene

[cacophonish]

oh yeah dude i'll slash some tires

[sorser]

[Once again… one might expect Stephen Strange to not be a bad influence, but other times…]

Just do it quietly and carefully. We really don’t need someone else getting in over their heads if at all possible.

un: looselystrung

[henchgal]

If you need someone to make some very official-sounding phone calls, getting things rerouted or delayed, I can whip up some red tape bullshit pretty easily. Probably quicker if there's someone who can get into the delivery company's systems and get me actual information to work with.

I would love the opportunity to use my talents for good.

[sorser]

Sounds like a job for the IT department, don’t you think?

[At least in regards to getting delivery information.]

Otherwise, what better way to use your skills for good than tangling up Things of Beauty in so much red tape that their product launch is botched? My advice: make the biggest, official-sounding ruckus you can manage.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Wow, that place is evil? What a shocker.

Full frontal assault is probably going to get us in trouble with the law, but we could probably try to engineer it so that the cops do the assaulting instead.

[sorser]

Something going on behind the scenes in this town? Imagine.

We already have a few offers to make Things of Beauty’s launch a logistical nightmare. Throwing one more wrench into the works is just going to make it more confusing for them — fortunately, I think that’s basically our strategy at this point.

[It’s already so late in the game, so just throw something at the wall and hope it sticks.]

What did you have in mind?

@jermiacumberbatch

[murderology]

[ Guess who was summoned by the mention of a bomb threat upthread?? This guy. ]

just in case a bomb threat falls through i suggest using an actual bomb! just say the word i can make it happen.

cumberbatch why

[sorser]

What? No. We are NOT going to bomb anyone or anything. There’s no way we can formulate a plan for that to work without putting people in danger with the time we have to work with.

The veil of a threat is fine. An ACTUAL bomb is not.

un: liquorchild

[sakaya]

[ Hmmmmm. For once, Shuten may have some input, but ]

It almost sounds like a sea demon.
Very toothy beasts with tentacles
Ah, but if it's mouse-sized...

Still how lucky.

[sorser]

Lucky? Someone actually suffered from all of this. I don't think Sable would describe herself as *lucky*.

[Waiting for that helpful input, Shuten.]

@katrina; voice

[twicelost]

I hunter. I help stop this.

[ Because she's kind of thinking... maybe humans aren't quite so terrible, if ADI is trying to stop a full-on mass extinction. Maybe. She's not sure yet. But better safe than sorry at this point. ]

voice!

[sorser]

[The sentiment is clear, though Stephen needs more than that. And this isn't someone he recognizes.]

What do you plan on doing? Hunting isn't exactly how we need to approach this, unless you direct it to solely tracking down boxes.

un; mkblackwood

[lowficharm]

Wait wait wait they're shipping something alive??

Or at least with... with teeth??

[sorser]

I feel like "alive" is even an assumption at this point, but yes to the second point. Something with teeth. The bite marks made that clear.

un; punchgirl

[lesbeau]

so do we know what the boxes looked like? anything identifying them other than where they're headed? ive stolen a boat before i can probably do it again

[BEAU, NO]

[sorser]

[BEAU... yes? Perhaps it isn't a bad idea, though it does sound like the quickest way to get caught.]

Garish, apparently. They're hard to miss.

You've stolen a boat *successfully* before? How was security at the time?

un: Kugrash

[ratjesus]

this fucking town

jesus christ of course it's evil

everything's evil here

but hey listen

if it's mice or anything i can probably help out

dunno about demon mice in boxes but normal animals tend to listen to me i was sorta the rat king back home

it sucked

un: bruno

[brunonono]

You like rats?

Or you don't like rats? I'm not clear what you're saying here.

[Asking the important questions here.]

un: archivist

[the_archivist]

Would she be up to giving a written statement or possibly recording to tape at some point? It would be helpful to read over and get an idea of the details to see if I can find any other information about similar incidents.

[Also he is hungry.]

[sorser]

That's something you'll have to ask her yourself, but considering she was fairly open about what happened when I spoke to her? Probably.

Wanting to keep an official record?

text | g.arroyo

[inlieuofadad]

Im acquainted with Khalil. Been trying to get a little more familiar, get information about the store and the things that end up there. He keeps to himself. To a paranoid degree. Hes not physically or mentally healthy, and I dont know whats happening but Im not sure hes a willing participant.

Thanks for taking care of Sable.

[sorser]

[That's interesting, and adds yet one more layer of complexity to this whole situation -- one that's unraveling fairly quickly, or at least has the potential to, and Stephen isn't sure he appreciates yet one more variable piled on top of things.]

So you think someone else is pulling the strings? He didn't say or do anything that gave you pause that something like this would happen?

[As for Sable:] Of course. Most of the thanks should be directed at the healthcare workers since I was just a volunteer, but I'm glad she ended up in good hands.

un: max

[carmesi]

nothing is ever calm here, is it?

we should be prepared for what happens next. if we want to be one step ahead of all this, we need to stop limiting ourselves.

[she does not mean actual bombs for the false bomb threats, but ?]

get into their heads. even just a little.

[sorser]

"Calm" would be a nice change of pace. Not one I see in our futures anytime soon.

That's an issue you need to take up with ADI and not me. [In other words, Stephen isn't having that kind of conversation over a public network.] The hardest part of what you're suggesting, though, is identifying "they" in every single instance *before* anything bad happens.

private text; un: stark, welcome to Tony's new Avengers Filter*

[fightinginfinity]

What are you thinking Doc? Is this something that requires a certain level of subtlety or are we talking more my style here

[ Not saying his suit repairs are far along by any means, but things are...functional. Enough that Tony feels comfortable taking this opportunity to tell Stephen that he's more or less back in business, anyway. Sort of. Look, being a Genius makes up only half of his superpowered arsenal, and this Not-Being-a-Billionaire-Here thing is hindering his progress quite a bit.

*Also, nothing is impossible for the higher-ups obviously, but this is a very, very tricky filter to get through.]

private text;

[sorser]

[Ah, here we go. The heroic tendencies are coming back to life; if they were ever gone to begin with. (Not that Stephen can talk.)]

You're going to have to be more specific in regards to what you had in mind for "your style".