forum Out in Space (classic lit and sci fi) (Reboot) (CLOSED, stalkers welcome)

Started March 10, 2021 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Victor arrived, three o'clock, on the dot. Eden had waited behind, saying that they would arrive on time, but they were nowhere in sight. He looked around, wheeled over the rusted metal walkways a good five or so yards away from and around the building, but nothing. What were they doing? They had said they'd had business to take care of earlier, but Victor thought they'd already dealt with that yesterday. Who knew? Maybe Eden was already in the building. Victor wheeled his chair in, and waited in the silent, empty lobby for any sign of life, anything at all.

A loud crack rang through the old greenhouse as Eden yanked a man's jaw down further than any jaw was meant to go, and then further still. They elbowed their attacker in the chest, and threw another across the room. Once the last of the hulking brutes assailing Eden had been disposed of, they wiped the blood onto their black coveralls, adjusting the army green jacket around their shoulders and stomping off, shaking the fragile floorboards in heavy boots they'd taken great pains to obtain, especially something in their size. They stalked through the facility, and eventually met a man holding a suitcase.

"I've taken great pains to keep this low, you know. Why the goons? Your competitors must be aware of-"

"Careful, Eden," the man said, in a thick Martian accent that would have been considered something close to Northern if you were from the UK in the 21st century. "You don't want to test me. Did you at least get me the spice?"

"Yes, yes, of course I did." Eden shook their head. They exchanged briefcases with the man, and he looked through it suspiciously. "There. Believe me now? Believe it or not, I always get what my clients want."

"Ha, right. I knew I could keep my faith in you. Believe it or not yourself, this shit makes you see God. Just get a little under your tongue, it completely changes you man. Try some." the man tossed a brick of strange orange powder that fit in Eden's hand perfectly, wrapped in a sealing wax often used to hold powerful drugs for a low cost. Like this one.

"You're just giving me a month's worth of this shit to keep?" they raised an eyebrow.

"Eh, you look like you need it. See you next year, buddy." the buyer said. Eden's suitcase suddenly felt heavier, but the other weight in their hand was light, promising. They shoved the brick in the pocket of their jacket, and walked the rusty streets to find the building Victor had been so insistent about. Really, he needed to call off the drama, this wasn't that important.

Victor sighed in relief when Eden sent him a message on his comms. be there in 15 the message read, and while it had already been ten minutes Victor didn't mind waiting a little longer as long as Moriarty wouldn't mind. Eden wasn't too bad in Victor's mind, they were probably just working on something personal and he couldn't fault them. He wheeled around the building, bored, and then moved to seat his chair in the corner of the building, to look out the giant window stained with age. Things didn't look as new as they had when he'd gotten here, he knew.

(just gonna describe the two events simultaneously for now, even tho they happen at different times)

When Alek arrived at the Morcan de Rouge, he cast a critical glare up at the building, taking in as much of it as he could, along with anyone else nearby. The young man had a hood pulled up over his head, casting most of his face into shadow and making sure no one could recognize him. That was, to be honest, pretty much his top priority. He did not want to be recognized. Once he was satisfied about the building's outside appearance, he made his way inside, waiting in the lobby for something to happen. Anything, really. He didn't know what he was supposed to be looking for, if he was being honest.

Sherlock, for their part, arrived five minutes before they needed to. They had done a bit of research on everything involved, that they knew of, and so felt at least a little prepared. They knew quite a bit about James Moriarty, and also quite a bit about the Clay Man. Or at least, they knew as much as anyone possibly could, which, admittedly, wasn't much. But nontheless, they felt prepared, save for anyone they'd be working with. That, they had merely done their best to prepare themself for mentally.

Victor wheeled over to Alek when he arrived. “Excuse me, sir, are you of any relation to a Mr. Moriarty? I’ve been waiting for a while, he had some sort of appointment that he requested me and my associate to attend, but I’m afraid they haven’t arrived yet. Would you mind telling him that, if you are of some relation to the man?” he asked, tilting his head and adjusting his glasses, which he wore more for fashion than function as he could generally see just fine without them. “If you are not, however, I would apologize for wasting your time.”

Of course, Jonathan volunteered to accompany Mina on her trip the moment he heard the news. There was the obvious fact that he was worried for her safety, but Mina thought the summons itself intrigued him as well. He had gotten into accounting ever since he quit working as a solicitor three years ago, and though the work was quiet drudgery, that suited him just fine. It allowed him to notice the things that stood out amongst all the facts and figures, and he found that both James Moriarty and the Clay Man were common threads tying the largest corporations and businesses in Soul Station together. But he only knew the what, not the why and how, and Mina suspected this, to both of them really, was an opportunity to learn just that. At least, if nothing went wrong.
The two of them were fairly punctual people, and arrived at the Benjamin Towers on time. Jonathan tugged nervously on his turtleneck as they passed through the front doors without preamble, Mina’s arm in his assuringly. When they spotted the other person already there, Mina suspected they might be apart of the team the letter mentioned, but it felt too soon to talk to them about it, so they just waited with them. Plus, Mina’s mind was on the orphanage and how Aunt Charlotte and Aunt Elizabeth were managing.

Kate wrangled her hair into a ponytail, some thick strands still escaping. She let them stay there; they added a slight bit of desperation to her look. Something that would divert people's eyes from her in the streets as she made her way to the Benjamin Towers. She checked her watch. The letter had said twelve o'clock sharp, and she wasn't about to miss out on such an opportunity. Her heels made the walk a bit difficult, but they also gave her a bit more height, and compromises must be made. Kate's suitcase was heavier than the one she'd fled with, but not by much. A bubble of rage boiled in her as she remembered all she'd left behind with Petruchio. Sure, it was all stuff, but it was her stuff. Things she'd bought herself or kept from her home, now abandoned and likely smashed. Petruchio had broken her things before, and she doubted any of it would have survived his rage over her leaving.

Kate made it to the Benjamin Towers without a minute to spare. She noted the crowd gathered outside, but didn't let herself show it, save for a scrutinizing glance over them. Were these people the only ones who would be staying at the Towers with her? And if they were, who were they? She'd ask those questions later, but now was the time for introductions.
"Kate Minola," she said bluntly, sticking out a hand. "But when we're in public, you call me Lucia or you don't address me at all. Understood?"
~~
Morcan De Rouge. Three o'clock sharp. Thursday.
Victor had burned the letter, of course, but kept the line on loop in his head. The street markers would have to lead him there; he had taken one look at a map of Soul and felt his brain short-circuit.
"Morcan De Rouge, three o'clock sharp, Thursday," he muttered, turning a corner sharply. Too sharply, it would seem, and he collided with another man, sending them both sprawling. Luckily his glasses didn't break, but his hands still stung from the gravel.
"My apologies," Victor said, standing and offering a hand. The man glared at him, one eye hidden behind a simple black patch.
"Watch where you're going!" the man snapped, brushing himself off. "Stars. Look up when you walk."
He shoved past Victor before he could apologize again, and Victor dug his nails into his palm.
Stars help me if that's any indication for how this will go, he thought bitterly, then looked up at the street sign. MORCAN DE ROUGE, it announced, NEXT BLOCK OVER.
Victor made out two figures in front of it, one in a wheelchair and one clothed in a black hood, and made a beeline to them, weaving in-between pedestrians. He glanced down at his outfit and brushed off any gravel that had clung to him, took a deep breath, and walked to the other two.
"Hello," Victor said, "Are you all…gathered? For, um, the…meeting?"
He was unsure of how to phrase it, or how covertly he was supposed to, if at all.

“Oh, so we all must be here for the same reason. Hello there, my name is Victor Frankenstein and I must say, it’s a pleasure to meet you young fellows.” he smiled, wheeling up to who was, unbeknownst to him, an effectively younger version of him without the ego. “Now that we’re almost all here, I’d be happy to get to know you two in full. I presume that you,” he pointed to Alek, “won’t be talking much, but that has yet to be seen so feel free to join into the discussion as you like.”

(Sorry for the shorter response, I just kinda wanted to keep my characters moving and establish Victor’s old-man-edness.)

Well. This was surely not going the way he'd expected. What in all the worlds were the odds of that?
"Sir, I fully trust that you won't believe me, but my name is Victor Frankenstein as well. That may make things…a bit awkward, but I am very pleased to meet you as well." He managed a slightly strained smile and extended his hand.

Alek hadn't meant not to reply, he had just gotten a bit lost in his own head, and by the time he realized it, this new Victor had arrived. "Alek." He said. "And no, I don't know much about what exactly is going on here." He shook his head faintly, tugging on his sleeves just to give himself something to do.

Jonathan had watched the woman approach, and now he took her hand and gave it one firm shake. "Jonathan Harker," he said with his soft voice. "And yes I… understand. This is my- " he looked to Mina, who had been unusually quiet. She seemed to be deep in thought. Jonathan tapped her shoulder, and it was like an electric shock went through her.
"What?" Her head snapped to her husband, and then she noticed Kate. A smile grew on her face. "Oh, hi! You said Kate Minola, right? Nice to meet you! I'm Mina Harker, and this is my husband Jonathan. Am I to assume you are here for the same purpose as us?"

"It seems so," Kate said, giving a slight nod. "Do you have any idea what the four of us are meant to do? I know next to nothing about the Clay Man."
She'd spent the past few days searching for information on him, but came up empty-handed. She hadn't found anything worthwhile, not even a suspected name or address, or even what planet he hailed from. No, she was to go into this blind, and she didn't like it one bit.
~~
"Well, that makes two of us," Victor said. He glanced over Alek and the other Victor, then darted his gaze back to the ground. "Are we the only ones here, or are more people to be expected?"
He almost hoped that no one else would arrive; he wasn't much of a people person. He hoped that Morcan de Rouge would offer them all plenty of room to move around as opposed to being stuck on top of each other the way he'd been with his classmates at Enna's college.

"My associate, unfortunately. They're very brash and rude actually, I wouldn't recommend talking to them when they do arrive. I'm not even sure they intend on attending, but I wouldn't blame them." Victor rubbed the back of his neck in an awkward gesture of "what can you do?". "Not that either of you are unpleasant company, just that this isn't the type of place they prefer to visit."