killerwaves: (Default)
Last Resort Mods 🌊 ([personal profile] killerwaves) wrote2023-06-06 02:31 pm
allworknoplague: (006)

Monday let's go

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-06 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[Billy Butcher, you've got a phone call from a familiar contact. Answering it will get you Overhaul's low voice, clipped and businesslike.]

Beach below the golf course, tonight after eleven. Got a bonus proposal for you.

[Then there's just the click of hanging up. Go figure.]
Edited 2023-06-06 21:44 (UTC)
butcherspice: (what you really really want)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-06 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[Figures that the guy hangs up before Billy can even question what he's talking about.

Oh well, not about to ghost the guy since he's already going through the trouble of blood samples and all that. So, a bit after eleven, Billy takes the trek to below the golf course to meet up with his part-time captors, part-time business partners.]


Evenin', gents. Y'got somethin' to propose, do ya? Lay it on me.
allworknoplague: (007)

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-06 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[He'll find Overhaul on the beach, what little of it there is -- it's more like a small littoral of rocks and tide, poor excuse for a beach only vaguely underlined with a token strip of wet sand. There's not much room, but the cliffs also completely block the view from the planetarium.

And it's just Overhaul, stepping out of the shadows, or perhaps out of the cliff face itself; there's an opening there, if you look real hard -- but it's equally hard to say if it was there a few minutes ago. He's in his usual shirt and tie worn for trials and executions, complemented this time by a forest-green jacket with an odd, fluffy purple collar. Fashion, fashion.]

I'm sure we've got plenty to discuss. Got something to show you, too.

[A tilt of his head towards the strange new doorway in the cliff, and then Overhaul lopes back into it, disappearing from view.]
butcherspice: (you wanna get with me)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-07 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Huh. That's new, maybe. Going into a suspicious door alone with a kidnapper might not be the best idea, but Billy never goes places unarmed, so he's confident in his abilities to make a break for it if this is an elaborate trap. So he follows Overhaul towards the doorway.]

Would say we do. That mad science lab your little project? If I'm gonna keep gettin' you those samples from here on, you best not be swindlin' me. I ain't sign up to feed your Frankenstein.
allworknoplague: (008)

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-07 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
That was more of a side effect from them fiddling with things they don't understand. It seemed easier to teach them a lesson, and Shigaraki wanted to make use of it.

But that lab went out of use a while ago. It's not part of our projects.

[The tunnel they enter is just tall enough for a couple of people to fit comfortably without banging their shoulders or hitting their heads, an unnaturally neat aperture in the rock face. It doesn't look cut out, but rather like something simply pushed aside the rock as though it were in the way.

Once they get a little ways in, Billy will see why. Overhaul stops to strip his gloves and place his hands on both walls, and if he were to look behind him -- he would see the entire tunnel closing up as though it were never there, stopping just short of where they are. It's a pretty decent ways into the underside of the island by then.

Overhaul nods at him.]

A precaution. I doubt they'll find us either way, but it cuts down on more incidents.

[Then he turns and moves deeper into the underground. They'll eventually reach a metal-lined hall more like what you'd expect from an underground base, which also very eventually opens up into a bigger metal room that looks very much like a lab, though it also has what looks like a reception area with plants (real??) and a coffee table and couches.

There's tea set out, and there's Shigaraki as well.]
butcherspice: (who likes it on an-)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-07 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
Bird monster's a fuckin' massive side effect there. Why'd you have samples there if you ain't using it?

[Billy doesn't completely believe the explanation, but there's not a lot he can do at the moment to prove it either way.

But damn, this stuff is higher tech than he assumed it'd be. Though in hindsight it makes sense that the secret base is somewhere hidden right inside the cliff faces.

He briefly nods to acknowledge Shigaraki before taking a seat.]


So. Lot to chew on here. If that creature ain't the project, what the fuck is it? And then what is?
handsheld: (The time bomb clock)

[personal profile] handsheld 2023-06-07 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ Billy gets a wave back in greeting with a little more vigor than usual, even if Shigaraki is still the more casual of this terrible duo, not moving from his sprawl on the couch. His sneakers are up on the coffee table because no one ever taught him manners.

At least he's following the memo of wearing their best or something like it, which in Shigaraki's case means a tapered black shirt, black pants, and a red cape trimmed with white fur. Despite his chuuniness, it's easy to tell he's not a twink under all this edge. Weights are numbers too.]


It's called a Nomu. They're somethin' that one of my sponsors back home made for my Master. They belong to me now, and I don't need anymore of 'em. And even if I did, immature ones are really only good for fodder.

That machine's function is basically reconstruction, give it criteria by puttin' something in and it'll spit out somethin' related to it, or it'll try to anyway. You got a Nomu because you used someone from our world. If you used someone else, who knows what it would've spit out. You know what a gatcha is? Or RNG? Like that with a focus banner.

[ He won't explain if Billy doesn't know, smh. And for the other question, he just gestures to Overhaul. ]
allworknoplague: (002)

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-07 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
Feet off the coffee table. Enough of this.

[Is Overhaul immediately going to set upon the table with some alcohol wipes that mysteriously appear from below the tabletop once he takes a seat away from the other two, rather like a harried mother of four coming home after a long day at the shops? He absolutely is. It's a habitual motion, quick and efficient, but harried all the same.

That being done, he'll pour tea, because that's the other important part. Obviously. One cup for Shigaraki, one cup for Billy. Apparently, he's not going to bother taking his mask off even here, to drink or anything.

He sits back and immediately goes into shaking his head at Shigaraki's explanations. It's like watching a well-oiled machine with five mismatched spare parts somehow working smoothly.]

... Random Number Generator, is what he means. Our ability to interact with other worlds still isn't fully under control, for a lot of reasons, but that's part of the reason we have you all buying time. There's still some variables to test before we'll be ready to leave the island.

That's one of our projects. But you'd probably be more interested in a different one -- that's your reward. We're in the business of producing drugs that can cancel out superpowers. I've got plenty of past experience with it where we come from, but here we're working on something more robust and easier to scale, that would work on powers from different worlds. It would be completely useless to you if we didn't account for that, wouldn't it?

That's where you come in. We're ready for human trials.
butcherspice: (pinkies out)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-07 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
[Billy takes his cup of tea as he listens to the explanation. He has no clue what the hell a 'gacha' or 'focus banner' is, but he can manage to parse a few things.]

So you're workin' on being able to teleport shite in and out of here on the side.

[He's not particularly worried about that one as long as it doesn't become his specific problem. Besides, Billy is far more interested in the drug that can cancel out superpowers.

Oh, that's perfect. Without superpowers, what is Homelander but a pathetic manchild? Billy could just shoot him in the head if that works.]


So that's what it is--well, if we could get a whole vat of somethin' like that in the water supply where I'm from, world'll be a much better place. Even the playing field a touch.

So I take it you need a test run for it. I wanna make sure you ain't just sellin' snake oil to me anyway, so win-win in my book.
handsheld: (Ashes like fireworks in the sky)

[personal profile] handsheld 2023-06-07 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
We all gotta get back sometime, don't we?

[ Shigaraki of course, does not move his feet off the table, instead throwing Overhaul a smirk. But then he does, if only to grab the tea, holding it with way more care than you'd expect. ]

Heroes without their powers are nothing. Worse than nothing, but that's what makes it so funny.
allworknoplague: (006)

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-07 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
We'll free them from their delusions.

[That's said almost offhand, a gravelly hiss through the auspices of the bird mask, but there's something to it. Darker and stronger than the tea itself, if but for a moment; the offering is an Earl Grey, because apparently some things come standard when you're entertaining the British. Fragrant, with the tickle of spices in the back of the nose and lingering on the tongue. It's good tea. There's milk and sugar in little trays to the side like they belong there.

It's a very strange gathering, in the gloom of machines like behemoths in the background, the clinking of cups.

Overhaul doesn't harp on about the table, since he's back in rhythm now, rolling out his words smoothly.]

With the time limits we have, we might not have enough for a town's worth of water supply, but a building or a smaller area? Yeah. We can do that. This one can be ingested, and we're testing other means of administering it. If you can't get close to your target, the potency won't matter.

[He reaches into his pocket and then slides something across the table, a small nondescript box that looks like it might contain a pen or something. It's sturdy, and opens to reveal a vial. Similar to what Billy's been getting until now from the kittybots, just with something to be dosed instead of extracted.]

We'll try one dose this week. You're the one on the ground, you pick the target. It'll take about a day to really get the effects going, but they'll be plenty noticeable. This one is to test side-effects in humans rather than targeting powers specifically, but it'll be fine-tuned in a few batches.

Any more questions?
butcherspice: (if you want my future)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-07 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
[A wicked grin spreads to Billy's face at Shigaraki's words. Yeah, he made the right call with pouncing onto an opportunity with these people.]

Couldn't agree more, mate. It's like rippin' the wings off a fly--all the poor bastard can do is shiver and piss itself.

[The slight bitter flavor of Earl Grey blends well with the malicious zeal he's feeling thinking about it.]

Gettin' a bit ahead of myself on that--there's one specific cunt that's my top priority for a dose of this little beauty. Long as I can get it in him, any other supe's just a nice bonus.

[He observes the vial, noting that it doesn't look particularly conspicuous. It'd be easy to just slip it into one of the glasses at the bar at the right opportunity.]

Final product's gotta be strong--you ever try this kinda shite on a nigh-invulnerable bastard?
handsheld: (You know us)

[personal profile] handsheld 2023-06-07 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
[ Now really is the time for dark laughter, given that Shigaraki lets his own bubble forth, as deep and dark as the tea. He lets it settle along with all the memories that accompany it, along with all the thoughts he has of the present, interweaving together.

Again, he'll leave the specifics to Overhaul, but before he does: ]


One more thing. Pick whoever you want, but Ibuki or Moravia if that's who they are today, is off limits. Got it?
allworknoplague: (007)

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-07 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
[Overhaul's gaze flickers from Billy's glee on over to Shigaraki's little moment, impassive behind his mask but sharp and intent. There's both interest and disdain there, just as there always is with his glances, but the subject is up in the air.]

... If you'll indulge him.

[Or he might just be back to being the harried mother of four, who knows at this point. Maybe he could have done with some tea, but his gaze hasn't once strayed to the teapot.

Instead, he gives Shigaraki a nod -- fully acknowledging the request -- before getting back to the matter at hand.]

Staying focused is fine, but I meant what I said -- if your enemy is nigh-invulnerable, then getting near him will be the first hurdle. Spread your net wider, and that will be less of a problem. But you'll likely only have one shot.

That said, I can guarantee the strength of the drug once perfected. Our tests at home have been conducted on all kinds of quirks -- power users, that is, at all levels of skill and society. What we need here is to understand the effects on powers not seen at home.

Do you have a detailed list of powers for the superhuman you're after?
butcherspice: (I told them you were livin)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-08 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Billy's eyebrows lower in curiosity, not expecting that sort of exception. Leave it to the strange shapeshifter to have a strange relationship with the administration.]

Fine, I'll keep the sauce away from your little pal.

[He takes a small sip of tea.]

Can manage the particulars once I get me hands on the material. Been waitin' too long to off this monster to fuck it up.

He's a near-invulnerable man with superhuman strength and speed, along with flyin' and shooting heat lasers from his eyes.
handsheld: (I'm a little twisted)

[personal profile] handsheld 2023-06-08 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
Indulge me? If he doesn't indulge me I'll indulge myself.

[ That's pointedly at Overhaul, though confusingly it's paired with him sitting more like a normal person on the couch; because a split second later he's reaching over to tap one finger on the table, cracks spreading out nearly instantly. A few seconds later, the coffee table is now a nice coffee table shaped pile of ash. The decay snakes up one of the plants too, claiming it as a second victim, but he halts the spread there.

Sorry this probably means the tea pot is on the floor in pieces? As is the remaining tea in the pot. But this is part and parcel of negotiations with Shigaraki when he actually has a vested interest, as at least Overhaul knows.

Anyway he'll take a sip of tea, not really concerned with the rest of the conversation. ]
handsheld: (… My mother she told me)

Week 6, Tuesday Late Night

[personal profile] handsheld 2023-06-20 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Later in the evening on Tuesday, once the meeting has fully dispersed, Billy will be brought back to his favorite teatime locale by Overhaul. The route isn't exactly the same, but it's done in the same matter with the entrance sealing off behind them.

Shigaraki is on the couch, feet not on the table this time, though his sneakers are on the couch given his crouched, cat-like position. Is this better? Maybe it's better. He'll wave at Billy when he enters. ]


Yo. Did they melt your heart and convince you that since we're both evil, terrible, villains you should hold hands with 'em and kumbaya your way to victory?
butcherspice: (now war is declared)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-20 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[One group meeting to another, such is island life with Billy Butcher. Shigaraki gets a light smirk at that comment.]

They made the attempt, at least. Don't get too jealous, Shigy, you're still my favorite evil bastard.

[He sits down in the usual chair, politely tenting his fingers.]

What's your plan with that lot by the end of this, anyway? Gonna send 'em packing through the portal or what?
allworknoplague: (008)

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-21 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
[These things happen when you work for alternating management. Or something like that.

Overhaul takes his own spot, glancing at the shoes on the couch and then dusting off the cushion behind him first. Though, it doesn't seem like he's going to bother to chide Shigaraki today -- perhaps because everyone is busy in this state of the island of problems, perhaps because after weeks of this he's given up. One or the other.]

They're a bit late to the negotiating table, but I'm sure they've got plenty of perks up their sleeve.

[His tone suggests that he does not think this, but is maybe politely putting words on the table.]

It's not exactly as simple as just packing anything through a "portal". But first of all... You probably know this, but the last test was a success. We successfully isolated enough foreign superhuman factors that we could chemically target the ones we wanted, and apply that pretty broadly to any superhuman -- even those that have never been this island. It's no small feat.
Edited 2023-06-21 00:16 (UTC)
handsheld: (âš«)

[personal profile] handsheld 2023-06-21 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
I'm touched, really.

[ That is very obviously sarcasm, but he does move his hand to his chest as he says it, palm spread open. There's no noise but Billy might feel something briefly, lighter than static. ]

But yeah, what Overhaul said. I don't stiff my dealers even if they get to be a pain in the ass. [ This is what counts as affection in these kinds of things, but Billy probably knows this all too well. ]

So no matter what they try to say, know that we got you.
butcherspice: (we got G like MC)

[personal profile] butcherspice 2023-06-21 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
It's a winner then? That's fucking brilliant.

[Genuine happiness slips into his voice--finally. God, this is the closest he's ever gotten to a way to kill Homelander. It actually feels attainable.]

How does the way out of here actually work then? Reckoned it was the same way you dragged people in but flipped around.

[The feeling does strike him as odd, similar to how it had been before.]

No disrespect, just want to make sure I ain't sent up shite creek without a paddle once everything's said and done. Few specifics might ease me mind.
allworknoplague: (Default)

[personal profile] allworknoplague 2023-06-22 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
I don't go back on my word unless someone else does. Business is business, but integrity is central to making things run smoothly.

[Does he really have room to talk about integrity. Apparently we're just being highfalutin about this now; though it's said with the same tone as always, on the cusp of casual but with a certain gravity to it.

Like an easily-understood law of nature (water is wet) or something taken for granted (these are the same couches as before, and not reincarnated ones after a Shigaraki incident).

Overhaul inclines his head, acknowledging both of their statements. Maybe it's a moment for optimism?]

You and your goals are accounted for in our plans. You're correct: it's the same way you were brought here, and the same way we were brought here, but reversed. It's considerably more difficult to return multiple people to their original destinations than to pluck a few out of space-time and bring them to the same place. That was most of the hold-up.

We already know that the pathway is stable. We've been able to figure out a reliable way to set the right coordinates.
handsheld: (You know us)

[personal profile] handsheld 2023-06-22 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's a glance at Overhaul but Shigaraki says nothing. Maybe we can have a little optimism in this house office too, this week. ]

We all know what matters in the end, huh? This has gotta be worth it for all of us.