Morose

Rise of the Evos

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Scott Rydzynski

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Location: A Pastry Shop - Seattle, Washington
Interacting With: Gideon, Jace, Janelle, and Isley

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"Now, I'm no damn scientist - hell, I'm actually an engineer if you'd believe it - but this type of thing doesn't just happen," Scott pointed out. As his coffee was delivered to him, he called the server dollface before taking a sip of it and making a face. He really did miss Irish coffee and he'd had one within the last twenty four hours anyways. If he wasn't poisoning his body with alcohol, what was the point, really? "But also - why us? And do we have to go track down her murderer, because sweethearts, I ain't doing that for free," Scott scoffed.

Besides, he knew better than to go into work as a private investigator. Jade was easily the best in the business that he knew and he liked having the occasional hook up with her. If he started trying to steal her cases - or even just heading into the same exact profession - he doubted that that would last much longer. Besides, he wasn't a good person. He did what he had to do in order to get paid. Sure, sometimes people might think of him as a hero - but he had too much blood on his hands for that.

The Wolves of Red Lake (Completed)

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Jenna Westbrook

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Location: 052 Forrester Drive

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Jenna sighed, knowing that she owed her cousin an explanation. She debated whether or not to mention the fact that she could see ghosts, that the Mayor had been killed because of a demon deal, or that the Mayor was likely in some sort of cult. Then there was the fact that while it seemed to have been some sort of wolf that mauled the Mayor, and a werewolf didn't kill him from what Jenna could tell, there were werewolves in their town - as well as people who could see the future. It was like a really poorly paced episode of X-Files -- or a comic book arc that had been jammed into a single issue. So much had come to light all at once.

"I'm investigating the Mayor's murder - and I came across evidence that led me to conclude a werewolf may have been responsible," Jenna said bluntly. "I need to know whether or not they have control during their transformations - do they retain their human mind?" She didn't beat around the bush at all. From what Robert had already said and what she had observed, it appeared that the transformation allowed them to keep their mind - at least partially. She didn't feel that warranted any sort of apology to Declan, however. She had simply requested information. Nothing more.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

"You and I have a different definition of nice enough, Tony..." Banner mumbled, putting on his glasses as he looked at the screen. He kept a spare pair in almost every lab or medical facility that the Avengers - and by extension, Tony - had. The Hulk didn't really care about Banner's vision and any pair of glasses he carried on himself was inevitably crushed and destroyed. Banner frowned as he took in the information. He would have preferred Guin pushing drugs on Lance to someone trying to use mind control on his kid.

Guin shrugged at Tony. She didn't really have a good excuse to give him for attempting to break the restraints. "I was bored..." Guin eventually decided on. She heard them discussing Kilgrave and on one level, she was thrilled - as that meant they'd already figured out what was going on. Yet on the level of thinking Kilgrave was controlling, she was already running through ideas as to how to convince them she was cured when she hadn't been.

He then walked over to one of the monitors and pulled up the data files from the tests he'd run on Lance. Despite what Tony said, he had found drugs in Lance's system. Banner frowned, noticing that the drugs appeared to be overstimulating the pleasure center in Lance's brain. "It's a pheromone, Tony," Banner muttered, showing Tony a quick scan he'd taken of Lance's brain. He then walked over to Guin and tried to run the same brain scan, but the scan came out like a hot mess. It didn't make any sense to him. "What the hell..." Banner muttered. He rubbed the screen with his hand, in case that all had just been a smudge.

"Does Guin have any anomalies in her brain?" Banner asked Tony. "I know your entire family is....weird, but uh...This doesn't look right."

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

Guin managed to do a decent job of damaging the restraints. It was enough that she should be able to slip out of them if needed, provided that her father didn't notice she'd damaged them in the first place. She doubted that Banner would notice - he seemed to have tunnel vision on Lance. She glanced at the monitor Tony was looking at, before realizing P.H.I.L. was sending him data and she slipped off the watch, causing P.H.I.L. to stop sending Tony information about her vitals. From the data P.H.I.L. had sent, it wasn't clear what was wrong with Guin. However, there was a match on the photograph. It identified the man as Zebediah Kilgrave, known on the streets as the Purple Man. He was a dangerous criminal, just released from the Raft, who had the ability to control minds.

"For once, I agree with the Hulk - punching a wall would be nice about now..." Banner muttered, as he started getting blood samples and the likes from Lance and running tests. He then went to get some from Guin and noticed her restraints were damaged. "Tony, she's your problem..." Banner mumbled. He was still convinced Guin had done this to Lance.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

Guin didn't protest when Tony put her in a bed, but she noticed the restraints. If she was kept in there overnight, that'd be no good. She began to fiddle with the restraints quietly, attempting to damage them without Tony noticing so she could make an escape if she needed to, create the prototype, and return to medical before anyone came to check on her in the morning. P.H.I.L. was still sending Tony a constant stream of data on her whereabouts and vitals. However, P.H.I.L. also started sending Tony the photos that the A.I. had captured during the event - the one Guin had taken of Kilgrave to run the database search.

"NO! BAD SON!" Hulk scolded Lance for still struggling to get free. He comically ducked his head in order to fit under the door of medical and took Lance over to a bed, holding him down in it with just one hand. The Hulk stared at Tony for a moment, letting out a roar before he shifted back into Banner. Banner wasn't even done turning back before he put the restraints on the bed on Lance to keep him from getting loose. Banner wiped off a bead of sweat, grabbing one of the spare shirts they kept in the lab. "Guin definitely gave him something," Banner mumbled.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

"Whatever..." Guin grumbled, uncharacteristically not reacting to the Hulk. She hadn't seen the Hulk in person very often, but she wasn't yet at the point where she could completely ignore the green rage monster - and that was exactly what she was doing. She let Tony drag her to medical. The portion of her brain that was free was doing a happy dance - her father was brilliant. He had to be able to figure it out. The controlled part of her mind was currently going through every possible test Tony could run and the ways to ensure the results came out in a certain fashion.

"NOOOOO!" the Hulk roared as Lance requested to be released. And as if to make a point about smashing things, the Hulk punched the wall, creating a gigantic fist sized hole in it. Lance's glowing hardly seemed to bother him, as if Hulk and Banner were both in control and both enacting on their paternal instincts. He took his other hand and carried Lance practically like a baby to medical, letting out the occasional impatient roar. Something had clearly messed with his kid and Hulk wanted to smash whatever it was. Banner had his suspicions that it had been the Stark girl, but Hulk wasn't too sure yet. He was showing surprising restraint.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

"I'm fine, honest..." Guin mumbled, not moving from where she was. She knew from experience that if she shoved past Tony right now to get to the lab, he'd only become more suspicious of her. The easiest thing to do would be to let him tire himself out with tests, until he admitted there was nothing wrong with her, and then she could complete the task. It would allow her to complete both sets of instructions from Kilgrave.

Banner looked livid as Lance pushed past him and in an instant, he turned to grab his son, only to shift into the Hulk. "Son!" the Hulk roared, grabbing Lance securely before looking at Tony for direction. The Hulk hadn't come out to smash or fight or destroy or any of his usual activities. Instead, he seemed to be there out of concern for Lance, wanting to make sure that his son (as in his mind, Lance was his and not Banner's) was okay. "Son hurt! Hulk angry!" he then shouted at Tony, clearly impatient.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

No matter what she did, those words wouldn't stop echoing in her head. It was as if her brain had dedicated two frequencies for thought. The lower frequency was the commands of Kilgrave - to create a working prototype of Project Ultron and deliver it to him, without being caught. Yet the higher frequency - or perhaps higher speed would be more apt - those thoughts were her own. Throughout all of her drug abuse, she had wanted to slow her thoughts down to match the rate of the world. And now, it seemed that speed was the only thing allowing her some independent thought. But it was not without great cost, as while she could still think, she couldn't control her own actions.

"I've got something I need to work on - mind moving out of the way, Dad?" Guin asked, crossing her arms.

Banner frowned, looking at Lance and Guin again before looking at Tony. Guin definitely was on something. She wasn't fidgeting like she had been lately anyways. As for Lance...Tony's description of his behavior seemed off. He didn't look high, but he could have just been hiding it. He sighed and pinched his nose. "Maybe she slipped him something, would explain his behavior...You gotta get your kid under control, Tony..."

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

Guin saw double as she looked at Tony for a moment, before the world slid back into focus as she heard Lance explain why they had returned early. Kilgrave had been clear in his instructions - she was supposed to do whatever it took to not be caught. Part of her was glad that was the stipulation - it meant that she wouldn't hurt her father. That course of action, by definition, would mean that she'd be caught by the authorities or would have been caught by her father. "Yeah, it was kinda a lame place to have a date anyways," Guin lied.

Banner saw the alert from Tony and he put down his notepad. He had been sketching out a potential reaction mechanism for a peptide synthesis. Leaving the lab, he went a flight of stairs down to enter the hallway Tony, Guin, and Lance were in. He sighed a bit - Guin looked a bit high to him. Lance looked fine. "You guys are home early..." Banner said softly, walking over to stand next to Tony. "What'd she use?" he whispered to him.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Guin let Lance lead her out of the event, not exactly sure how she felt about the implication Kilgrave and Hammer gave that they were on a date. Sure, that had been the lie they more or less had given to their parents - but having this Derren Brown Asshole and Justin Douchebag talking about it like it was real made her feel a little more than uncomfortable. She would've taken her arm away from Lance if she could, but her body and her mind had other ideas.

Peace in our time...Peace in our time...Peace in our time...

It wouldn't stop echoing in her head. As she kept on thinking through Project Ultron the entire car ride back to Stark Towers, that same sentence was sticking with her. She hadn't even seen Tony say it - she just overheard it one day when she was walking down the hallway to the lab. P.H.I.L. was continuing to broadcast a distress signal to Tony that Guin was completely unaware of, having believed that she shut it down per Kilgrave's instructions. She got into the elevator with Lance quietly, needing to get to one of the labs as well to get to work.