BODY SNATCHERS [modplot]

[letsgolegion]

Who| Rico, Tadashi, Zenyatta, Reinhardt, Joshua, Vance, Locus
What| "Body Snatchers" plot
Where| The planetary senate complex of prospective UP world Epryria, and the capitol city Mejehn.
When| The same time as "After These Messages"
Warnings/Notes| Plot has some really angsty stuff, mind control, character death. Please see ooc post.

Epryria and the UP have had contact for quite some time now, but it took new of the threat of Chronoblivion to finally push the world into joining the United Planets for safety in numbers.

The UP government has had its eye on Epryria for some time now, thanks to its thriving scientific community. The planet's advances in bioengineering even surpass that of the Coluans' in some respects. It's a large part of why why most of the population is sporting different cybernetic implants. The Legionnaires have found that to be something of a hurdle in acting as diplomats for the mission. Half of Epryrian communication takes places nonverbally, due to the sharing of words and images through implants.

Since the team is largely there as extra security and only the most experienced Legionnaires are being expected to help the UP ambassadors with actual diplomacy, Brainiac 5 and Kid Quantum were the ones that had opted to temporarily have optical and cortical implants put in.

There's one day left before the actual signing of the treaty, which is to happen in front of a crowded hall of government officials and special guests.

Comments

Afternoon

[legionnpcs]

There are strange delays going on in the setup of the treaty agreements. The Legion keeps insisting to the delegations that they have things under control, but something seems to be making the Epryrians hesistant to cooperate.

It leaves the different Legionnaires with not much to do other than keep watch over the people who are willing to show up and settle in.

That's when everything starts to go off the rails.

Rico, Zen, Locus

[legionnpcs]

They get a text from some outside source. It's not over the Legion's secure network - the outsider can't access that. But they omnicoms do have options for communicating with people on other networks.

The sender's username is just a meaningless scramble of Interlac symbols.

The message comes to all three of them.

Say nothing out loud when you read this. And don't bother asking who I am. I'm just a friend, giving you an important message: You're being watched. Heat signature.

[truefaceofthelaw]

Rico checks his omnicon and his face doesn't betray a single twitch when he reads the message, deleting it as soon as he's done.

Then he casually activates his helmet infrared vision, disguised as scratching his jaw. There's no sudden tension in his shoulders or any other clumsy giveaways as his gaze flickers behind his tinted visor, searching.

And then he texts Locus and Zenyatta, keeping it vague.

Any activity?

[orbislife]

Zenyatta makes the motions like he's using his communicator to browse the network when in actuality he's looking at their surroundings without moving too much. Omnics have an advantage for hiding where they are actually looking. He's also channeling his omnic energy to get a "feel" of the area.

Nothing yet. The positive energy of the crowd is wonderful. Perhaps I could get used to being a part of a much larger group more often.

He hopes that is enough of a hint to let his teammates that he's using his power to sense threats.

[agnominal]

It's a little too vague for Locus, but there's not much they can do without giving away the fact that they've been tipped. He's had a feeling for some time now that something wasn't quite right.

Sometimes, the paranoia wins.

No unusual movement.

That he can see. But if they have eyes on them, then they have to be somewhere. High ground, perhaps? He's been checking regularly out of habit.

[legionnpcs]

High ground is the right place to look. Up on one of the tiered levels of the room, a figure shows up on infrared, one that can't be seen by the naked eye. The figure is male and athletic-looking, but somewhat skinny.

[truefaceofthelaw]

Bingo.

Going to make my rounds. I'm patrolling the upper tier. Could be hot up there. Keep an eye on the crowd and on me just in case it gets rowdy.

And with that, Rico stows the communicator away in his glove and strides off in a well-practiced pace that very carefully doesn't look rushed. Not urgently enough to draw attention to himself and potentially tip somebody off that forces are in motion. Hopefully Zenyatta and Locus get the message, although they're welcome to act on his information however they want.

[orbislife]

I shall do that. Our rounds will be in harmony.

That must mean Rico has seen something.

Zenyatta will make sure to keep Rico in his line of sight. As long as he doesn't go too far, Zenyatta will be able to send him an Orb of Harmony to support him. If he goes far, then Zenyatta will have to move to do that, but he will do that if needed.

[agnominal]

Locus isn't worried about the distance. If it comes down to it? He won't miss.

Understood.

The tension of the moment is familiar. Waiting for the hammer to fall. His attention falls to the crowd around them, looking for an exit if need be. A surging, exciting crowd could pin them in the midst of the chaos.

[legionnpcs]

Whoever this is he's not just waiting to be found out. The way he moves suggests he's well-trained. He avoids the people in the crowd, slipping between them without letting himself be touched, and tries to put some distance between himself and Rico, as if he realizes he's been caught, but is trying to avoid creating a fuss by just booking it.

But he still seems to be trying to stay in few of Locus and Zenyatta, as if he doesn't want to lose sight of them even though he's starting to make his way towards escape.

[truefaceofthelaw]

There's no time to worry if their communications could be monitored. His target's already realized they're onto him. Rico doesn't reach for his lawgiver, not when he can draw it so quickly anyway and it would do nothing but cause a panic, but he switches on his mic to the local network.

"He's on the move. Well-trained. By his behavior, he might be trying to intentionally draw us out from the crowd. Stay here, I've got him."

[orbislife]

"I understand."

Hovering a little higher, Zenyatta fills his orbs with more omnic energy. The orbs take a more golden hue, and he moves his hand in a fluid, circular motion. A golden sphere of energy forms. Zenyatta will need to have a visual on the target to attach an Orb of Discord on them, but he can send Rico an Orb of Harmony. It will help keep his health up should their mysterious guest tries to bring Rico to harm.

Tadashi and Reinhardt

[legionnpcs]

They get a text from some outside source. It's not over the Legion's secure network - the outsider can't access that. But they omnicoms do have options for communicating with people on other networks.

The sender's username is just a meaningless scramble of Interlac symbols.

The message comes to both of them.

Say nothing out loud when you read this. And don't bother asking who I am. I'm just a friend, giving you an important message: Your teammates are being watched. The group with the robot. They're about to find out and when they do it's going to get messy. They'll need you.

[the_civilian]

Tadashi's eyes widen and he looks to Reinhardt.

"We need to move."

[justicecrusader]

Thankfully, Reinhardt's helmet did a good job of hiding his expression. Because it was impossible for him to hide the way his eyes widened, that gut feeling he'd been having before only getting worse.

This must've been how Jack felt, he couldn't help but think.

"... Yes. Let's." He said simply, the usual humor in his voice gone. The large wall of muscle immediately starting to move, not wasting any time being subtle or silent.

[googledox]

Someone moves to intervene. Someone they're probably not expecting.

Brainy, up where he'd been working on a balcony, discussing some security measures with some of the security forces, sees them start moving, down out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes go wide and his jaw clenches as he sends out a message over the implant network.

But he wipes the resigned expression off his face as he drops down in front of the two.

"You both seem startled. What's wrong?" he asks them both. "Have you noticed something amiss?"

He makes it sound as if he's simply reacting to the way they're acting, as if he thinks they've noticed some kind of security breach. His voice is its usual calm. Helpful.

But in asking that question, he's revealed something very important: He didn't get the same message.

[the_civilian]

Tadashi hesitates, hovering in mid-air (he can't push through the crowd as easily as Reinhardt, it seemed like a better idea).

Brainy approaching them when he sees them moving with a purpose isn't strange, but blocking them is. Reinhardt had suggested Brainy and Kid Quantum might be compromised, but --

He smiles weakly.

"Gut feeling," he explains, unable to help glancing back in their intended direction.

[justicecrusader]

Reinhardt was not good at the art of subtlety. He was the sort of person to charge in, without a second thought, and hope for the best. He was the muscle, the wall everyone hid behind. As such, he hadn't really given much consideration to his actions, assuming he would come across a clearly-defined enemy, and simply take them out.

Brainy, however, was the opposite of clearly-defined. An ally, potentially compromised, was the very definition of 'complicated'. It didn't help that the entire situation was uncomfortably familiar, reminding Reinhardt of the fall of Overwatch. But rather that stand here trying to come up with an excuse, he simply stated:

"We believe there might be trouble. Please, follow us."

[googledox]

"If there is indeed something wrong, we should remain in position," Brainy says carefully. "I'll contact Kid Q and let her know you have concerns."

The lights on the implant flash and his eyelids briefly flicker.

"There. She'll ensure the nearest Legionnaires investigate."

Now there's no need for them to leave this area, right?

Joshua and Vance

[legionnpcs]

They get a text from some outside source. It's not over the Legion's secure network - the outsider can't access that. But they omnicoms do have options for communicating with people on other networks.

The sender's username is just a meaningless scramble of Interlac symbols.

The message comes to both of them.

Say nothing out loud when you read this. And don't bother asking who I am. I'm just a friend, giving you an important message: Your teammates are being watched. The group with the robot. They're about to find out and when they do it's going to get messy. They'll need you.

[whereabout]

Joshua's expression doesn't change; the game face has been on since about the first five seconds after this mission began.

But he glances towards Vance, catching his eye and tilting his head slightly in the direction away from their assigned beat - over towards where Zenyatta's group was posted.

[sir_vancelot]

He may not have had a lot of experience with this sort of thing, but Vance knows how to be circumspect when necessary. And it IS necessary right now. So when he reads over the message, he takes another few moments before he glances over to Joshua. Nothing that would be taken as out of the ordinary.

He inclines his head in agreement, putting away his comm as though bored. But anybody watching his face would find his eyes sharper, taking in everything as they moved.

[relativityspeaking]

Someone notices. Someone notices they're also moving out of position.

Kid Quantum smiles and walks towards them, omnicom in hand.

"I have some extra intel I'd like to go over it with you two."

Clearly, she didn't get the same warning message or she would've been responding to it.

[whereabout]

Bad news.

Whatever suspicions the group had been tossing around before now, this adds another layer - that someone would warn them of impending danger, but not trust their leaders with that same warning...

But he doesn't bat an eyelash. "Did something urgent come through?"

[sir_vancelot]

He doesn't even have to glance to Joshua to know they share their suspicions on this one. It's too convenient, too pat. And if somebody sent messages to them and not to Brainy and Kid Q?

Well. Either they're being played or there's something wrong with both of them.

Still, he turns his attention to Kid Quantum, not having to mask his concern. It's just that she can't tell why he's concerned. "And is it something we probably should have known a while ago and are only just being told?" Because that wouldn't surprise him, either.