MISSION 002

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: May 3rd-28th
WHERE: Within the Labyrinth
WHAT: The second Mission
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential death, violence, injury. Please add additional warnings as needed within threads.

⏵ into the labyrinth ⏴ Aurora's announced time for the mission was correct: four days after, as she had promised, the door to the Labyrinth opens, connected to Etraya's atmospheric bubble by its entrance point. Characters are directed to come to the entrance on May 3rd, and warned that they may want to bring medical supplies, weaponry, and any important artifacts along with them. She warns that large vehicles will not fit within the limited space available, and smaller ones may be difficult to remove, thus advises those to stay behind. Aurora also offers to watch over any companion animals and keep them safe while competitors complete the Labyrinth. They are given a short amount of time outside of the entrance to speak with one another, to plan and organize themselves, before they are ushered into it in groups of two to four. Once passed the entrance, they'll find that they are unable to turn around and exit out of it: a barrier keeps them from going back into the city proper, and as soon as they are far enough forward, the walls around them shift, closing them in, moving in complex patterns meant to separate them and bring them together. Characters with extraordinary abilities may find some of them inaccessible: super strength may be downgraded to closer to ordinary strength, magic may prove to be less predictable than it should be, and regardless of how strong, fast, or clever characters are: passing over the Labyrinth walls or destroying them proves to be impossible. While one may be able to run through the pathways at superhuman speeds, the pathways compensate for it by running them in circles, refusing to allow them to make any progress on their own. ⏵ pathways collide ⏴ Junctures of the Labyrinth often present competitors with choices, some that may have consequences: a left turn down a darker path may prove to be harmless, whereas the well-lit path may be full of traps intent on slowing them down: a trip wire that activates a swinging massive axe, or arrows that shoot straight out of the wall as soon as one gets close enough. Other junctures may present characters with choices that have consequences: they can choose the shortest pathway, but at great personal risk to themselves or their partner (ie, you can go this way, but your arm isn’t going with you) or they can choose the lengthy pathway full of traps and trials they’ll have to surpass to get to the end. ⏵ balancing act ⏴ The pathway opens up into a massive space, but it's not one with an easy path out: instead, competitors will find an obstacle course that will not let them continue forward until they complete it. Many of the tasks involve things that one cannot do on their own: they must walk across multiple wooden boards balanced precariously on a tall beam, but to ensure it's balanced, there must be one person on both sides of the boards and make sure that they're walking on the board in just the right space to ensure their weight doesn't cause it to sink too far on the opposite side. If a smaller child is on one end, they may want to stand significantly further away from the beam than the larger person on the other half. ⏵ help! i'm bleeding! ⏴ A large garden area spawns off of a pathway. The peaceful chirping of birds can be heard among blooming cherry blossom trees, and it all seems utterly peaceful and calm. An area one might wish to take a breather in, enjoy the sunshine reflecting from above, and get a good nap in. Or would, except a companion bot whose abdomen is covered in ketchup appears to be struggling across the ground, crying out for help. They state they are bleeding profusely and require immediate medical attention, otherwise, they will die. The companion bot also carries a bag of medical supplies and MREs, which player characters are welcome to utilize. The pathway out of this open space will not open until after the companion bot no longer states they are dying. Whether it's because they're "dead", or because those who came across them offered "medical attention" and patched them up until they've stated they're good and no longer need assistance - well, both will technically suffice. ⏵ choice is an illusion ⏴ After walking down an additional pathway, characters will find themselves trapped within a glass box. In front of them is a pedestal with two buttons: one red, and one green, as well as a tablet above it displaying the image of another group of characters. The tablet states hindering them will help you. You may either choose to make the second group's time through the maze more difficult, or hinder your progress by pressing the green button and helping the other group forward. Characters are given two minutes to decide which path to take; the timer, on the tablet, counts down regardless of any attempt to break or hack it. Pressing the green button will drop several squishmallows into the glass box. Inside one of them is a key that unlocks the roof of the glass box. Pressing the red button, while it promises to hinder the other group, actually. . . causes a toxic yellow gas to flood the glass box. The gas will burn the lungs of those who breathe it in, but it also begins slowly melting the glass box. This gas will make breathing difficult for the next 24 hours, but will not kill those who inhale it. Healing factors will not offset the gas. ⏵ who deserves the knife? ⏴ A group of two characters will walk through one corridor and find themselves strapped to two chairs, the backs of which are leaning against each other. In front of the both of them are drills, slowly approaching their chests. They cannot go sideways but can push forward and backward. They can push backward and get themselves further away from the threat of injury - forcing the person behind them to suffer but allowing themselves to escape - or they can push into the drill and free the person they're with. Alternatively, they can choose not to push either way, potentially sacrificing them both. Three options, but they are left with minimal time to decide as the drill continues to press closer. If they choose to go out together, they'll find that as the drills press against their chest - they simply stop. Minimal blood will be spilled, and they will have all the time they need to figure out how to squirm out of their bindings. ⏵ the Siren waits for thee ⏴ A seemingly harmless pathway turns into much more trouble than it's worth. A few steps through a corridor, and suddenly competitors will find the floor falling out from under them, revealing a body of water and - no solid ground on either side of it. There are the walls, but they lack any good climbing holds. Within the water are numerous Sirens - beautiful androgynous creatures that sing soft songs meant to entice others into following them deep into the water. While they may look beautiful, their mouths are full of razor-sharp teeth, and their intentions certainly aren't innocent. However, the Sirens can only touch competitors once they have initiated touch first. They will do their best to encourage this: holding out their hands, crying out for help, pretending to drown, or trying to coax them into coming in close enough for a kiss. As long as they remain on the path, they're harmless. But the moment they reach out for the Sirens... getting away from them will not be easy. Their tails are powerful, built for moving swiftly throughout the water and dragging others along with them. They bite hard and will dig their teeth deep into flesh to discourage struggling. If one gets captured by them? They're lunch. Or worse yet: if they get bitten but manage to escape, they may find themselves becoming a bit.. scaley around the neck, eyes shifting color to a too-soft green, and an almost impossible-to-resist urge to take a bite out of their friends. This effect will continue until May 28th regardless of when the character reaches the end of the Labyrinth. After May 28th, they will find that their scales slowly begin to shed, their eyes begin to turn back to their normal shade, and any other new features slowly turn back to how they were before they were infected. ⏵ don't forget your ball of twine ⏴ The Labyrinth is large, and there are many challenges around each corner. There may be space for breaks in between monsters, challenges, riddles, places to sit and recuperate between battles and mind games. It's not all chaos and challenges meant to test one's strength of will. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ May's mission is completing a massive Labyrinth. All characters must enter the Labyrinth; whether or not they participate once they're inside is up to them, but no one will be permitted to stay behind in the city. The duo who completes the Labyrinth first will be allowed to assist in choosing the next mission. Sign-ups for this are here. We will contact the chosen characters on May 13th. This mission will cover the time between May 3rd and May 28th. After May 28th, any characters who have not yet exited the Labyrinth will be gathered by the companion bots and brought back into the city. The companion bots will be aiming for nonviolent intervention. If more is needed, please let us know here. The first to exit will be returning to the city on May 15th. There will be powercapping during this mission, but the extent of which is fully up to players. We want the Labyrinth to be challenging but don't want to hinder gameplay too much. If you have any questions relating to this or want assistance coming up with ways to powercap your character, please feel free to ask us here. We will be largely leaving this up to player discretion. Food is scarce within the Labyrinth, but not impossible to find. There are chests (or maybe they're mimics?) strewn throughout with various useful items. One might have a sword, another might have a fresh chicken nugget Happy Meal from McDonalds. Or an entire birthday cake, candles included. Large vehicles will not fit in the Labyrinth and must be left behind in the city. Numerous challenges are throughout the Labyrinth. You are welcome to make your own, but we will also provide several you may utilize! Please feel free to throw down wildcards, or your own challenges into your prompts! The limitation is that characters must remain themselves throughout the challenges. There are no mirror replicas, nothing within the Labyrinth will affect their personalities or core values. It’s meant to challenge, not change them. Deaths that occur within the Labyrinth will last 24 hours. Please report these on our Death Tracker. All new locations will appear after player characters have returned to the city. Feel free to note the differences from the May 3rd map, versus what characters will be returning to on May 15th.

Comments

Tim Drake | DC Comics

[mostdangerousbird]

[ I'll be putting up starters based on what was requested in the plotting post and in Plurk discussions with me at seemarierun before any OTA. If you want something specific, please let me know. ]

Adaine

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Labyrinth, day one. Tim already hates it. He's taking the left wall approach, following the left side of the maze so long as it exists and only taking rights as a last resort. He lost the person he came in with during a pit stop and has been trying to find them again ever since.

He swears to himself as he turns a sharp corner and sees another person not 30 feet ahead. Pulls up the red motorcycle fast and rides out the drift with his boots down to stop about two yards away from a young woman.

After a few seconds to make sure it won't be missed in the what the fuck of the moment, Red Robin gives her a grin from under the mask. ]

Hullo. Fancy meeting you here, miss. Are you looking for a way out of the Labyrinth, too?

[furiousfists]

[ It's not hard to miss the sound of a motorcycle coming closer. Not when Adaine is so attuned to hearing Fabian ride around on the Hangman all the time. It is a bit surprising to see said motorcycle come zooming around a corner, drifting to a stop only six feet from her. She flinches, at first, but relaxes as it seems that the motorcycle's rider seems to know what he's doing. ]

Aren't we all?

[ She squints at the masked face, unfamiliar with the concept. Is this person hiding his identity because he's an obstacle? No... He'd just said he's trying to find his way through the Labyrinth. ]

Wait, hang on. Are you one of those secret heroes?

[ Superheroes, Adaine. Get the nomenclature right. ]

[mostdangerousbird]

Maybe we are, maybe we aren't. I know I'm looking for a way out, but there has to be more to the labyrinth than just the maze. They could've put the maze in town if it were only a maze race, and not bothered with oxygen and pet threats. As to the secret hero question...

[ Okay, he's amused by the terminology. She's not wrong, secret identities are life, but she's also not quite wrong.

He leans back in the seat, folding his arms loosely across his chest before shrugging them. ]

I'm supposed to be something of an urban legend, but I think the cat's out of the bag since we're talking. Vigilante or superhero are the terms of art where I'm from, depending on how you view us.

[furiousfists]

[ She mirrors his pose, folding her own arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow. ]

"Superhero?" What makes you so super, exactly? Apart from the stylish outfit.

[ Capes are a little tacky, but she has to admit it looks kind of cool. ]

Clarke

[mostdangerousbird]

[ As good as Tim is with close quarters maneuvering on his motorcycle, there are stretches of the Labyrinth where it's simply not safe to drive at any reasonable speed. It's not even a matter of wanting to go above 5 mph to avoid dropping the bike; it's because no one can make a 90 degree turn in a hallway that isn't even as wide as the bike.

Ergo, he's walked it through a brutal right angle hairpin sequence, and got himself a real workout having to pivot and occasionally pick up the front end to make it work. 9 times. When he's finally clear and apparently ... in a grassy meadow?

(Whatever. It's soft.)

Kickstand goes down and so does Tim, mask still on, and he just lays in the grass. He's staying here until his arms stop burning. Don't mind him. ]

[skaikru]

( despite being a big proponent for the fact nothing in life can ever be easy, when clarke walks into a grassy green alcove after several days of trudging through the labyrinth and spies a lone vehicle — line of sight fully obscuring the likes of tim drake/red robin behind the body of the modified ducati — it feels like a little sliver of luck.

she has no idea how to operate a motorcycle. but spares about five seconds reasoning with herself — it's just a machine, it can't be that different from driving something like a rover, the balance required is probably the same as required to stay atop a horse. and most importantly it's faster than walking, would give her legs a bit of a respite but not impede on the bone deep desire to reach the end of this twisting, unkind maze. and that's all that matters, getting out and getting out first — because if she can't manage to keep her friends close while in here, least she can do is have a say in whatever mission they face next and keep them safe that way.

and so, clarke creeps. she's not entirely unconvinced this isn't another prop at the center of a trap, like all the grass will erupt into flame the second she touches the handlebars or something equally hellish. the eventual sight of a body sprawled out several yards away doesn't dissuade her of the desire for a ride, but also lends to the idea this could be dangerous.

but nothing immediately awful happens when she swings a leg over to straddle the seat. and nothing explodes when she keys the ignition, bringing the bike to life with a dull roar of the engine. )

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Nothing explodes, although it's pretty close to his temper exploding when the engine roars to life. His eyes fly open and Robin scrambles to his feet, already reaching for the righthand grip of the handlebars to block the accelerator. ]

What are you doing?! That's my ride!

[ If she so much as moves towards to take off, he'll have to shove her off or jump on. But she's started the bike, so he'll give her a chance to have some common sense. ]

[skaikru]

( a shape leaps to life out of the grass, and clarke's head snaps in that direction as she grips the throttle tubes with clammy, blistering hands. her heartrate rockets, half expecting a monster to converge but — the thing is boy shaped, and shouts at her with a particularly human sort of indignance. so for a long moment, she just freezes.

still hunched towards the front fairing, still absolutely braced to take off at any moment. even when faced with the bikes owner, she doesn't recognize him and still considers smashing her heel into the kickstand and seeing just how far she'd get. but when approaching the scene it'd been with a sense of convenient appropriation, not outright theft. her lips curl against her teeth in visual displeasure, but...

slowly, clarke peels stiff fingers off the grips and slowly raises both hands in the universal signal of surrender. )

Sorry. ( does she sound particularly sorry? no, more a little put out. ) I didn't see you there.

You're Not Getting Away - individually for Natsuno, Billy and Alex

[mostdangerousbird]

[ How long has he been in here? Hard to tell. With the communication devices down, Tim doesn't trust any time pieces right now, including celestial lights. It would be fitting, if they rigged this place to make you lose track of time.

They've certainly rigged it so that you lose track of people, and isn't that fun. He's been separated from multiple people now, and it's just. not. possible. By the last one, Tim had been keeping eyes on them. Purposefully. There was a noise in the distance, and his eyes had flicked. Just a flick!

When they flicked back, he was staring at a stone wall a mere inch from his nose. Gone without a trace.

To heck with that. He's done letting Aurora separate him from every potential ally that crosses his path. These times, he's ready for it, and has the rope or batcuff secured on the arm of the other individual as he lays eyes on them. The other end is its twin on his arm.

Maybe they see it coming, maybe he sneaks up on them. At least there's a simultaneous apology. ]

Sorry about this. I need your help running a little experiment with how much they control the labyrinth. Teams keep getting split up, and I think Aurora's doing it on purpose. My motorcycle's there, stick it out with me and I can get you a lot farther.

[ OOC: Your choice on cuffed or tied with an expert knot. ]

[seenitall]

[Oh, absolutely not.

Alex has been having a rough go of it already, and there's a good chance he wouldn't have been a good target for Tim to sneak up on at all if he hadn't already been effectively propped up against a wall and dissociating a little in lieu of getting any proper rest. Unfortunately for Tim, he snaps out of it pretty much immediately and reacts on instinct to being handcuffed, driving his elbow into his captor and then effectively trying to put the man into a chokehold using his own handcuff.]

[mostdangerousbird]

[ The apology was because he knew it wouldn't be taken well, but Tim had hoped he might have a chance to further explain.

The elbow in his gut drives out some air, but doesn't get as much of an oof as Alex may have been expecting. The body armor takes most of the bony elbow impact, and the handcuff chain goes around his throat for a moment.

Thing about handcuffs, though, is that both boys have leverage on each other at all times. Between Tim's arm on the other end of the handcuffs and his free hand grabbing at the guy's wrist, the vigilante has more than enough to throw the spy over his shoulder, following alongside him in a hands-free cartwheel so neither of them snap a wrist. ]

[seenitall]

[It's unfortunate when the person handcuffing themself to you against your will is foresighted enough to wear body armor and skilled enough to turn your kneejerk fight reaction against you. Alex manages a decently balanced landing, body tense and ready to strike again when his brain catches up to what the masked person said when he snapped the cuff on.]

I'm not helping with your experiment.

[It's not that it's a terrible idea, exactly. It's the 'being attached to a complete stranger' part that he really hates.]

[neverleave]

[Like Tim, Natsuno's been separated from too many people and he's sick of playing this stupid game. He's covered with a mix of dirt, monster goo and blood from long-healed injuries, and he's this close to set camp and refuse to move until something kills him or the "mission" ends.

He runs into Tim when he turns a corner, and doesn't even get to open his mouth before the other teen snaps a cuff around his wrist.]

Seriously?

[He scowls, giving the handcuffs an angry tug. Dammit, his super strength would've been useful right now.]

So you wanna see if they'll saw our hands off, or what?

[mostdangerousbird]

Seriously. It's a good option.

[ He's in uniform, and his gauntlets keep the handcuff from digging into his wrist when it's pulled. Still, he moves his arm to compensate for the tug, to keep the other one from digging into the guy's own wrist. ]

I promise I can have us out in under 1.3 seconds. I'm not going to let anyone's wrist get sawn off. Just please, hear me out on this. If this is about teamwork like Aurora said, then why is the Labyrinth separating us?

[neverleave]

[He can't break the cuffs on his own, and fighting this guy would probably be more trouble than it's worth. The getup screams superhero and consodering how quick he was with the handcuffs, there's little Natsuno can do with no superhuman stamina.

He stops struggling and listens, though he's clearly unhappy about it.]

Probably to make us team up with more people. Force more bonding. I wouldn't leave my friends behind if I had a choice.

[wiccant]

( tim gets him when he isn't paying attention. billy's got his lips pressed together, giving an irritated little hum as he finds himself - once again losing track of where he was going and where he is.

things like this were a lot easier when he could just open doorways from one end to the other. or teleport. or shift the way the walls fall to give the labyrinth a much more open floor plan. none of which he's capable of currently, even if billy's still able to do some magic - like manage his clothing. tim's rope wraps around a star-covered forearm, which billy's tilts his head to look down to before raising an eyebrow at the guy the other end of the rope is attached to. )

If this isn't meant to be a kidnapping you could like, ask first?

[mostdangerousbird]

I did consider that, but I think the reaction would be the same whether I announced the intention or not. You meet a guy wearing a mask in a labyrinth and he asks you nicely, would you please let me bind you to me with this rope so no one can separate us? I promise it's for your own good.

[ His voice, normally a clipped, hushed, low tenor, veers into something that can only be described as Sinister Frat midway through. He goes back to his usual Robin voice. ]

Fight or flight or freeze kicks in no matter how I bring it up. I'm not kidnapping you, but please take a minute and think about it.

[wiccant]

Or you could just ask, and I could've said "oh, sure, that makes sense, go ahead" and let it happen?

( billy could get out of this any moment he wanted to. rope isn't enough to keep a witch captured. but his arm's resting slack next to tim's regardless; he's not pulling against it, not magicking himself out, just leaving it be. )

It'd be a very inefficient way of kidnapping someone anyway.

Cass

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Runners, take your marks. Tim's doing a last-minute check of the bike and the minimal supplies that it can carry. The motorcycle is built for speed, not storage, and everything the rider's bringing needs to be strapped to the pillion seat.

Since Red Robin's bringing Batgirl, that means they're down to belts and whatever can fit in the backpacks they'll have to wear with tight straps to avoid upsetting the balance. He's taking the calculated risk that the vehicle can be managed in the labyrinth and that the gains made by being to ferry others along in turns is worth the risk of running out of supplies. ]

I don't like how she said they were going to clear the labyrinth once someone got to the end. That's not the same as letting the losers out. You ready?

[smallbat]

[Cass double checks each grip of each thing on her utility belt, greatful that she'd happened to be wearing her costume on arrival other wise this all would be much worse. Out of habit she does a once over on what Tim is checking too because well, better safe then sorry.]

Yes. Agreed, we're just going to have to win.

[So maybe this was encouraging her competitive streak a little too much.]

[mostdangerousbird]

Whatever winning means.

[ There's this look that Tim gets sometime, when he's sure that he's about to make the best decision and knows the decision is crap. Winning the race for Tim is important because he suspects that the others are going to get entirely lost on helping everyone else, and the overall threat to their universe remains in play. ]

No one ever did get the scoring rubric out of the AI. We need to remember to run the cleanest race possible. We have to run it like Superman and B are judging us on it.

Dick (Comics)

[mostdangerousbird]

[ The stone floor of the labyrinth gives way to a packed dirt and sawdust mixture that doesn't hurt the bike, but changes the ride as he slows to a stop in a wide, irregular courtyard.

Tim gets off the motorcycle, as he has anytime he encounters something drastically different. "Different" has so very often meant dangerous in the maze. He won't stray far from the vehicle, in case a quick escape is needed. But he will get a full look around. Verticle striations of color in the walls. How'd they manage that with interlocking brick. And there's something about the walls themselves.

His hand drifts through the air in an imitation of the curve. ]

Parabolic - no, oval. Who builds an oval courtyard? Why would they waste the build time on making it artistic?

[ The narration is habit. There's usually an open feed, being logged away on two supercomputers and sometimes eavesdropped on. It's hard to break, and muttering still helps him think. ]

[riskfalling]

I don't think anything in here was a waste of build time.

[ The corridor he'd been in spilled him out here, and it doesn't take even one step before the familiar scent of sawdust fills his nose, fills his mind with sense memories.

None of it's enough to dull the relief he feels at who he sees: this place is hellish, but he and Tim have fought through worse hells together. ]

Everything I've seen so far has a reason behind it. We just need to find out what this one is, and brace for it however we can.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ The startle to alertness slides smoothly into a pivot and a wide grin as recognition latches on to a voice he'd know anywhere. ]

Nightwing! Fancy meeting you in an overly elaborate - [ Fake coughing around the next two syllables ] death trap - maze.

[ But in all seriousness, Tim waves a hand at the courtyard. ]

I think most of it is a waste of build time, if you're looking for efficiency and not style. This is about a display of resources and power; it's not just about giving us a challenge. Aurora could've made us run an obstacle course. This is panache.