2014.03.13 - Investigating the Big Bang

The 'Big Bang' had the dubious honor of occurring largely concurrent with Darkseid's arrival in Metropolis -- which means that it went mostly unreported, shoved into the back-end of newspapers that were too busy reporting on the death of Tony Stark to make much of a stink over a squad of police officers showing up in the middle of a gang-war, tear-gasing the hell out of everyone, and suddenly discovering the majority of the gangs had either promptly died or become horribly disfigured. The police are claiming Darkseid's encroachment had something to do with it; most of the media is buying it -- but reports of a small spike in metahuman activity in the surrounding neighborhood shortly after the event has no doubt caught SHIELD's interest. A brief analysis of one of the tear gas canisters revealed a surprising proof: The canisters had been tainted with an unidentified chemical cocktail.

Throw in the fact that the small spike of metahuman activity was still increasing throughout Hell's Kitchen, and you've got a recipe for disaster -- and a reason for SHIELD to up their investigation. The area where the gang hit happened is an old tenement slum, largely abandoned, slated for (eventual) destruction -- three stories tall, it's become a home for the homeless and transients. Crumpled newspapers and used hypodermic needles are among the refuse that litter the floor; graffiti is scrawled across one of the walls. A fresh patch near the back of the tenement 'lobby' reads 'DARKSEID SUX', with 'BANGBABYS 4 LIFE' beneath it.

There's the smell of stale urine, here, along with some small signs of life -- police tape swarms the area. The investigation has been closed, neatly filed under 'Darkseid Did It'. But maybe that's not enough for Agent Coulson.

Lola. Agent Coulson's flying red convertable, one of his most prized possessions. The car stops near where the police tape begins. He steps out, and puts on a small breathing mask and latex gloves. There might still be some sort of residual chemicals that he doesn't want in his system. He opens the console on his car and inside are a few pistols. He pulls one out. The ICER pistol; almost as much stopping power as a bullet, but less lethal than a taser. He's not expecting trouble, but trouble has a way of finding him. He pulls a briefcase out of the backseat and ducks under the police tape. He had been sent in to investigate. Agent Coulson, like many authority figures, had assumed this was Darksied's fault; however, he intended to test this theory in hopes of proving it. Then again, not /every/ misfortune during that time can be attributed to Darkseid, so it's safer to at least check. He opens the briefcase. 8 'flying saucer' robots, called DWARFs, begin to fly about the area, starting to scan things. Maybe they'll find something interesting.

The scanning robots that peruse the area are likely to quickly discover this place /is/ still inhabited. A man sleeping in a corner stirs, emerging from a pile of fabrics, grumbling discontently as one of the floating machines pass him -- before returning to the tattered, stained wool blankets that have become his home. Presuming the robots can pick up airborne chemicals, it won't take them long to reveal that the same cocktail detected -- in trace amounts -- among the grenades is also present here. Again, only in trace amounts. Without a full sample, it will likely be difficult to determine precisely what the chemical is; however, if the numerous fatalities in the tenement building are to be believed, whatever it does, it's probably not pleasant.

As Agent Coulson moves deeper into the building, he will no doubt see something stir in the darkness -- something one of his robots immediately can scan and identify as... yep, another person. Probably homeless, sneaking in for the night to get out of the rain. Except... this one's a little bigger, judging by the size and shape of his hulking shadow. And as the robot hovers closer...

/SNATCH/. A massive arm extends out of the darkness, into the light -- an arm coated in what looks like... dark brown chitin. Interlocking plates, like an insect -- but with a more human-like shape. A palm big enough to grip a basketball in one hand reaches out to try and catch the DWARF -- and apply superhuman might to it. Attempting to *CRUSH* it, like an aluminum can. "--brrhgh."

Coulson has a seat and begins watching a screen on the briefcase. They've identified that there is some sort of odd chemical here. However, they cannot identify what it's made up of yet. He'll try to grab a grenade and deliver it to Simmons. One of his bots goes dark. Fittz is going to kill him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an arm. He sets the briefcase aside, and grabs his pistol. Obviously, this wasn't a normal threat. He shouts "Don't touch the robot!"

A bit late for that; the hand that just squished it is already dropping down to the side. As something... big is revealed. Big, and /insectoid/.

He honestly looks like something straight out of Kafka's 'Metamorphisis'; big, hulking, and brown. Almost clearing 7 feet, his body is made of interlocking segmented parts -- his arms, his chest -- though around his waist are the tatters of what look like ripped up sweatpants. His head is the most human-looking part of him, but even that has... segments, along his cheekbones and nose, like crevices -- as if his entire head was a series of symmetrical puzzle-pieces that had been recently locked together. Bald, his eyes are pitch-black, without a single white in sight. As he moves down the hallway, the arm that's holding the crumpled robot lifts... and deposits it. In the back of a shopping cart, he's tugging -- full of what looks like... metal scrap. That he's /collecting/.

The insect-man stares out toward Coulson, those pitch-black eyes narrowing. Before... "Th'fuck are you doin' /here/." His voice booms, followed by an insect-like chitter. Apparently, he's not happy with Coulson's presence here. Well, at least he got some scrap to sell.

Agent Coulson winces when he sees the crumpled robot. He gasps "That was 800 dollars!". He's clearly more concerned with the robot being destroyed than with the bugman who destroyed it. He'd dealt with too many weird things to even be fazed by it. He calms down and says "I work for SHIELD. I was in the middle of an important investigation into the events of the Big Bang. ANd I don't imagine you're wanting to pay for that 800$ piece of equipment you just destroyed?

Bug-Man proceeds to snort, though the sound comes off more like some more insect-chittering. "--don't imagine so. S'bout 5 bucks from the recycling depot, now." Those dark, pitch-black eyes settle harder on Coulson -- and the basket he's pushing rattles forward as he moves toward him. WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP -- those footfalls are /heavy/. Heavy enough to make the building shake a little as he closes in. "You wanna know about the Big Bang?" the insect-man rumbles. "You're looking at it, G-Man."

Agent Coulson steps backwards a little and says "Stay back." He hears his comment on the big bang. He gathered that this man was a victim of the incident. He said "Calm down. I'm not here to harm you." He considers what to do if the person here tries to harm him. He begins to formulate a plan. Still, he needs to see what will come of this.

"You scared, G-Man? Scared I might get your suit a little dirty?" The insect-man pauses, here -- not approaching. But then, with another chitter, he hums, before adding: "I ain't one of them. The gang-bangers, the ones who got offed. Was just squattin' here when shit went down. But you lookin' into it? Maybe I can help you. Maybe," and his chitinous lips peel back, exposing rows of yellow, sharp, /razor/ teeth -- like a platter of steak-knives, "I can give you a little somethin' to work with. For a little green." Those massive hands clench and unclench, making a loud series of *pop*s.

Agent Coulson lowers his weapon. He smiles and says "It's my favorite suit, ok?". He goes on "Maybe I can work something out. How about 50$, plus you don't get fined for destroying 800$ of equipment? That's about 850$ total. That sounds fair to me."

Bug-man snorts. "Hundred, and I get to keep your little tin can." As if to demonstrate, his massive hand drops down into the cart, fishing out the crumpled remains of the DWARF. "Plus? I don't eat your liver. Now /that's/ a goddamn bargain, G-Man."

Luckily, 850$ was just a starting offer to be worked up from. 900$ was still reasonable. He goes through his wallet and says "Alright. But give me the information first, please." He gets out a hundred dollar bill.

"Heh." Again, Bug-Man grins, showing off those yellow daggers of his. Rather than offer Agent Coulson information... he shoves the cart he's tugging forward, minus the DWARF. Inside is -- a collection of metal scrap he's been gathering. Along with various items -- a few pieces of cloth, jackets, a few wallets (minus the money inside of them, of course). And... several unexploded tear-gas grenades. Oh /my/.

Perhaps not immediatly noticed by Coulson is one other interesting little piece of evidence, near the bottom of the cart -- a small science textbook, dog-eared and tattered, stained with just a little bit of blood (and /soaked/ in the same trace chemical his agents detected earlier). The name written inside of that science textbook, in neat, brisk pen? 'Virgil Onid Hawkins'.

Bug-Man holds his massive palm out expectantly, waiting for the bill, even as he pushes the cart toward Coulson.

Agent Coulson grabs the cart that was shoved towards him with perhaps a little too much force. He looks down and his eyes widen. He looks back up and says "Oh, that's even better than what I was expecting". He smiles, pleasantly surprised. He hands him the money and says "Spend it wisely."