Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Van Leugen: Knight Manor

[Tiko]

as written by Calcos

The riotous noise of the engine was like a predator's growl, the darkened beast swiftly advancing down the dead-end roadway, pushing around gusts of wind with its behemoth mass, whipping around the air and causing it to bend the blades of grass beside the asphalt. The trees outside passed by in a blur of dimly-lit green and brown, left behind in the vehicle's over two-hundred-mile-per-hour wake. After a sufficient amount of driving, the right foot eased away from the accelerator, the brake being gradually applied--not too quickly to avoid spinning out--before crawling to a slower speed, then even slower still, before creeping to a halt in front of a large, jagged cliff face.

A series of inputs on the holographic interface that emanated from the wrist triggered the facade to reveal itself; a large split in the middle of the lower portion of the rocky edifice, each half sliding outward to reveal the mouth of a long, dark tunnel. The Raven drove forward.

The vehicle came to a stop at the end of the line, parking upon a large, round and brightly-lit carport. The Ravenclaw sat upon that spot for a moment, before the whirring sound of machinery filled the cavern and the smooth sensation of ascension overtook its driver, the platform rising up further into the darkness. It came to a halt after moment, and the Raven popped the hatch of the car, clambering out with evidence in tow. Just then, a series of lights snapped on throughout the vast expanse of cavern that rested deep below the foundation of Knight Manor, illuminating an awe-inspiring scene of cutting edge machinery across various work stations, all resting upon large metal platforms or behind well-constructed rooms of steel and ballistic glass. Each area served a specific purpose necessary for the Raven's operations.

He called this collective workshop buried far beneath his home the Raven's Nest.

Sauntering to the right and across the walkway that branched off of the carport, the Raven sought the way to his forensics laboratory. The walkway ended at a flight of stairs. The metallic clanking of his boots meeting the steel steps reverberated throughout the cavern as he made his way up and onto a large steel platform, making his way off to the right and across another, much shorter, walkway. Stopping at a sliding glass door, he spoke. "Open," he commanded, causing the pane of ballistic glass to slide leftward and out of his path.

Inside was a slew of apparatuses suited for forensic investigation: high-quality chemistry sets, sleek computer terminals, various microscopes, a rather large fume hood at the rear of the room; it was all there.

Now all that was left to do was to set to work.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Krysis

A few hours after the Raven got to work on the things rescued from the bank robbery, Allison rode the elevator down from the house. She had a tray loaded down with a balanced meal, since she was pretty sure that her employer was probably going to be too busy to remember such mundane things as eating. Hopefully he remembered to take off the mask before getting involved this time.

Her evening had been rather busy, though not very productive. She had given her statement, been detained and questioned about the unusual vehicle for an additional half hour, pried loose the hold of the last remaining member of the support group, and finally made it back to 'home' and work. After cleaning a bit and making sure that the empty rooms were still empty, and the doors that were meant to be locked were still locked, she had made her way to the kitchen. From there, to the 'Nest', though she had to smile and shake her head again at thinking of her employer's eccentricities. Still, he did some good and it kept him functional in other respects. She couldn't argue with his choices, just his manner of application.

The silt from the floor of the bank vault had proven to be composed of minerals commonly found in the dirt under the Nocturnes district. It was mixed with metal shavings that could have come from the pipes and wires beneath the bank. Some of the shavings looked burnt, some of them seemed to have come from the same materials found inside the hollow rubber ball drone thing.

The device inside was mostly clockwork, brassy cogs and gears with a decidedly steampunk style. There was eight 'limbs' of various functions, pairs for movement, cutting, arc welding, and delicate manipulation. They seemed to have been powered by a much smaller metal ball on 'top' that was etched with the image of a rodent's head, which had sensors attached to the appropriate places. There was also a pouch that hung inside, full of collectible coins in plastic sleeves, a couple of pieces of jewelry, and various other things that probably came from the safety deposit boxes in the bank.

Allison, of course, had no idea what had Knight's attention so completely as she walked in on him. "Better move to a clear space, or I am going to set this tray right on top of what you are working on." She told him with a playful lilt to her tone. She wasn't actually serious, at least, not yet, though he did know from experience there was only so far she'd let him go before she demanded that care for himself take precedence over everything else.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Calcos and Krysis

The soft hiss of the sliding glass door opening did little to rouse his attention; Allison's presence was not unexpected. On the contrary, he'd been waiting for her to arrive. At her prodding for a place to set the tray she carried, he pointed, without turning to look, behind him and to the right, towards a space on one of the nearby counters that was cluttered with a multitude of paper files--lab results from previous tests--and empty beakers. Indeed, he'd been expecting her, he just hadn't prepared for her arrival.

Allison gave a less than amused snort at the heap of papers and beakers blocking her way, and was tempted to just knock some of it to the floor... But then she would have to clean it up. The beakers would clink and one would roll a bit before she could catch it as she set the tray down. "So anything interesting? Are you going to be awake for three days straight again?"

He looked over his shoulder, his pale face visible enough to ease her worries that he had left the mask on. "Two and a half," he rebutted only half-humorously. Turning back to the microscope before him, he peered into the lens once more, studying the structure of the burned metal found within the sediment he collected at the crime scene. "And yes, I think I'm onto something: The soil at the crime scene is standard fare for the land around here. Coupled with the metal shavings found within the deposits, I think it's safe to assume those 'drones' burrowed a hole from underground." He turned away from his station, striding over to a table that was situated in the middle of the room. It was a long, rectangular thing, resting under a bright fluorescent light.

An autopsy table.

The broken machine rested on it, the red liquid spilling onto the tabletop like blood, fittingly enough. "Studying this machine, I've found that these 'limbs' here have various functions. These two here," he said, tapping two of the 'arms' attached to the drone, "Appear to serve as cutters of a sort. Plasma, maybe. Seems to be how they got through the pipe." He gestured to some of the contents the machine had contained, placed in a dish that lay on a small table beside the autopsy slab. "What's more, it was carrying the goods away inside of it. Whoever designed these is nothing short of brilliant..." he paused, letting Allison take the information in.

Allison raised a brow at the assessment as she walked over to take a look. She pulled on a pair of latex gloves as she peered at the thing on the table, and then would fearlessly move the clockwork limbs around in the creature. "Brilliant? Or just very specialized. Hydraulic fluid? That makes sense. Pistons and gears-- A golden rat-head? Huh."

She bent to peer at the cutting tools, giving them a sniff before letting go and backing off. "Are you going to risk walking around in the tunnels and stuff under there? I mean, if they dug into the bank, they probably used the structures that were already there to save as much energy as possible. If this thing is the battery and the brain, they probably didn't have a lot of juice to spare by that point."

He pondered on that for a moment, considering his options. As lovely as it sounded to trudge around Van Leugen's underground network of sewers and drainage pipes, he was more inclined to come up with a more efficient solution. "If I could locate these drones' point of entry into that pipeline, that might point me in a more favorable direction. Either that, or I'll hit a dead end, and be back at square one."

He stepped away from the mechanical remains of the device, stopping in front of a computer screen. With a series of keystrokes, he procured a 3D model of the drone, captured with the scanner he had in the lab. Alongside that image were several snapshots he had taken of the wreckage from various angles. He stared at these images for a moment, as if absorbed in thought. "If nothing else, I could always do something...drastic," he said with an air of macabre seriousness to his tone.

Allison nodded a bit, then reached into the 'body' of the creature to catch hold of the 'head' and give it a sharp tug. It took a few tries, but soon it came loose in her hand and she'd toss it to Knight. "Why don't you see what that does? It might be a computer or receiver or something. It would be odd for it to be a 'head' if it didn't have some means to control."

James caught the object rather unceremoniously, giving it a look over. "Seems obvious," he stated plainly, setting the 'head' down on the counter beside himself. He mused over the evidence, thinking over and over about what to do. "I could strip the electronics, down to the bare wiring, look over each piece, see if any of the components come from anywhere specific." He stated, sliding the drone's 'head' off of the counter in his grip as he walked away, setting that portion of the machine next to the rest of the ruined mechanical critter.

All of this talk about work, and he'd still neglected his meal. In his mind, eating could wait; protecting Van Leugen from the evil that threatened to overtake it was more important. He knew Allison didn't feel the same way, however.

"Later. Dinner first. And then sleep. You should be sharp before you go mucking around with this thing." Allie smiled tiredly as she reached up to grip Knight's shoulders and turn him around to the table where she had put the tray.

"I can eat later," he said flatly, "Right now I-"

"Nope. Don't make me sit on you. I can spoon this stuff into your mouth just like I did when you were a baby."

James afforded himself a chuckle at that; he'd trained with some of the most skilled martial artists around the world, had endured the most rigorous and brutal training one could ever even conceive of. Yet, somehow, he believed her. "Fine," he said, smiling.

"You win."

 

[Tiko]

as written by Krysis

some time later

Allison didn't bother to be quiet for James. Ever. If he wanted to sleep while she was running his household for him, well, he would just have to put up with it. There was always a limit to how late she'd let him sleep though, since he had to keep up appearances in the real world, as well as the fantasy of making a difference by wearing a mask.

So around noon, the former mercenary just let herself into the master bedroom without bothering to knock. "Up!" she commanded briskly as she strode to the heavy curtains and rattled them briskly to one side and let the sunlight stream in with every ounce of obnoxiousness that a bright, cheery day could manage.

"You have a meeting in an hour. You can be a few minutes late to this one, but can't skip it." She announced, just in case Mr. Knight wanted to argue.

If he didn't move fast enough to suit her, a homemade pastry wrapped in cling wrap would bounce off his head. "Up! Or I'll throw the coffee too!"

 

[Tiko]

as written by Calcos

James tried his damnedest to shut out the fiery surge of sunlight that poured in through his windows, burying his head under the blankets in order to escape the horrid glow. He could not, however, shut out the sound of Allison's voice --not even one of his contraptions could do that much. And so, after much pestering, he resigned to sit up, slowly shambling his way from underneath the ebony bed sheets, their silky embrace sliding off of him as he retreated from his resting place, immediately dropping to the floor as soon as his feet touched solid ground.

Up, down, up, down. With quick, successive motions and sharp breaths, James initiated his morning routine, completing a set of thirty push ups before standing to devour whatever breakfast Allison had whipped up for him. He eyeballed the coffee, giving Allison a quizzical look. "You know I won't drink that," he said with a flair of amusement in his voice. Never had the man liked coffee; the aroma was all well and good, but the bitter taste that lingered after a hefty gulp of the tar-black liquid was enough to make him retch. Plus, he didn't like how dirty it made his teeth feel.

After he finished with that, he decided to step into the bathroom and run himself a cold, cold shower. It did wonders for the skin and hair, as well as the immune system. He grabbed a towel, making sure to close the door before disrobing from his morning clothes, and stepping into the icy chill of cascading water. The bathroom was a rather large yet plain establishment, decorated in neutral colors of blacks and greys (much like the rest of the house), save the marble tiling that covered the floor. It didn't really matter to James how the place looked, just so long as it served its purpose.

Lathering himself in an unscented body wash, James called out to Allison. "So, what's the agenda for today? Any good news?" Mostly, he was referring to the meeting, although he had a good idea of what it would be about: the usual drab rhetoric about stock exchanges and shareholders and how to maximize profits and blah blah blah.

The boring life of James Knight never did interest the man himself.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Krysis

While James was at his push-ups, Allison whipped the sheets off his bed, not minding if she caught him with the stray edge of fast moving cloth. Mumbling all the while about laundry day, the pillows got flung back on to the naked mattress as the grumpy housekeeper piled the sweaty cloth to be taken away.

"You'd be miserable in the military. Nothing to drink but shitty coffee and nasty water." She pointed out as the heap got hefted onto her shoulder. Then she smirked at him, "You sure are a picky guy, for everything Pops said you did." as she picked up the coffee pot in her free hand.

When he went into the bathroom, she left to take care of the work of the day, so didn't hear his questions about his work. After all, he was a big boy. He could figure it out himself.