4403/Rat Catchers

Rat Catchers
Date of Scene:	08 August 2016
Location:	Techno Urbania
Synopsis:	Shinki and friends perform an extermination service on a run-down piece of property.
Cast of Characters:	276, 930, 399, Mortimer Balman

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Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    "This is Harry Jones for WTNU. It's a beautiful day here in Techno Urbania! The sun is shining with scattered clouds, the temperature is a breezy 24C. A great day for the ongoing Onion Festival in the Oakenridge district. And now for the news..." The radio blares from the golf-cart like car that one Cassius Kupier, developer at large and genuine lizard person from some planet or another, is driving out to his fixer-upper property in the less thickly inhabited areas of Urbania. The car screeches to a halt on the sidewalk in front of the property.
    Kari and Harriet are already there, checking over their equipment and weapons. Kari has painted herself in red war stripes for one reason or another. They're there with some other people they'd managed to convince to help them with the extermination job.
    The property is a small set of condos that have seen better days. The stucco is peeling, the weeds overgrowing the greenery patches. A broken window or two is evidence from the boards. It looks like it should be just one of those things where you sweep the place with bug-bombs and be done.
    "Bug bombs?"
    "Check."
    "Wasp spray?"
    "Double check."
    "Hotel Californias?"
    "Triple check!" The girls are making sure they have the bug-killing equipment all laid out.

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden was joining them for the task, or at least, staying nearby in case something happened, which, while unlikely, was never impossible in the multiverse. Next to him, a certain feline Shinki was doing her best rambo impression, tying a red headband on her forehead, getting her paw glove in one hand, and placing a large bug swatter in the other in a holster attached to one leg, and a small can of bug spray held like a gun. As the pair list the items, she suddenly gets closer, "Cat, check!" she meows, tail sweeping happily. "Thanks for inviting me over to help!" she says happily. Alden just chuckles a bit, "Just be careful, I don't think you are under warranty anymore." he teases.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Standing head and shoulders above anyone is not something Taro often enjoys. Here in the company of shinki, he stands head, shoulders, and knees above the others.
     Obviously the android is not a direct participant. Even if he had brought proper vermin-killing equipment, he couldn't hope to fit where Kari, Harriet, and the others are going. Instead, he's over at the small pop-up First Aid tent, just in case of injury. One of 'his' cyber-elves, the nurse cap-wearing Myrrh, flits around the other participants, gossiping and wearbling 'Does anyone need any last-minute touchups or system checks?' The vaguely foxlike Isten has reshaped his digital apperance a bit, wearing a tiny skull-and-crossbones bauble in his tiny ponytail and carrying what looks like battery packs(??) on his waist. He drops down next to the other shinki, all devil-may-care. 'This is going to be fun! Hi!'

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Professional alien lizard-person Cassius waddles up to the motley bunch, puffing away at a cigar and glancing at the robots and digimon from behind fancy sunglasses. "Hey, I'm only paying the little robots." He looks at Harriet. "I'm not even sure if that's one of those shinki... What's with the short guy and horny lizard?"
    Kari and Harriet welcome Katze and the cyberelves Myrrh and Isten. "Yeah, Mr. Kupier says he needs some help exterminating bugs in these condos!" says Kari. She might be envisioning things similar to an alien action movie she saw once...

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     "Ah hell, we're gonna be late. Damn traffic!" Mort grumbled as the rideshare car sat in traffic, slowly inching through Urbania. "Might be faster walkin' at this point, Mr. Balman." "...Y'know yer right. End the ride here, we're gonna hoof it." "Have a good day sir." Mort grabbed his jacket and hopped out of the car in the middle of traffic, bounding across car roofs to get to the sidewalks, until he could race toward where these exterminator people were supposed to be.

     He wasn't entirely sure why he was being contracted to help a bunch of tiny robot people do extermination of pests, but he figured it must be a hell of a problem for them to want Pokemon to be included in the hunting group. Granted he only had /one/ that could be of much help, but Nettle was curious enough to see how this would play out, and had agreed to do the job.

     So about five minutes late, Mort comes running up and skidding to a halt, sparks flying as the metal bands around the fronts of his boots scraped loudly against concrete. "Sorry we're late! Traffic in this place is /murder/ somedays, I swears. Nettle! Pop yerself out, work t'be done!" The wraithly sock-puppet-like body of a Shuppet phased into view from the back of Mort's head. "<Hello dears~ are we all ready, now?~>"

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden waves to the Lizard person, "Don't mind me, I am just here in case something happens." he offers, tail twitching as he tries to pacify the person. "I promise not to get in the way or demand any payment." he adds. Katze meanwhile, seems to be picturing the situation just like Kari, given her ramboesque outfit, feline tail twitching, "This is going to be fun!".

     Alden's attention is torn from the Shinkies, when someone arrives, and he tilts his head a bit, curious to see more non humans!. He waves happily to Mort, tail twitching a few more times, "Hello!" he says happily. Katze's attention goes to the puppet pokemon, blinking a few times and giggling, "Hi!".

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Harriet is a new version shinki." Taro couldn't help but overhear the remark, and he answers it with that polite yet do-not-argue-with-him tone of his. He turns away from where he'd been fiddling with a portable tool kit to face the man - lizardman - to give a polite nod. "As for me, I'm a certified machine medic, here to serve in case anyone is injured."
     'Like insect-bugs, is what Em Taro told us. Not code-bugs, right?' Isten warbles, grinning. 'I'm here to zap bugs, either way!' Enthusiastic? Yes.
    Myrrh gives a little electronic warble-sigh. Obviously used to this. 'Just no running over any cliffs on the way.'
    'We have wings, what's the worry?' Isten shoots back.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kupier licks his lizard lips. "Fine fine. Just make sure the place is thoroughly cleaned ouf of rodents, insects, and spiders. And anything else that's weird or out of place." He puffs on his cigar a few times, eying the pokemorph that comes skidding to a halt. He looks at Kari. "Another friend of yours, kiddo?"
    "Yep! That's Mister Balman." Kari says cheerfully in spite of her sister Harriet giving Cassius a dirty look for implying she wasn't a shinki. Kari puts a small screwdriver into her belt thing. "Okay! Let's go kill some bugs!" And she scampers off towards the condos.
    Harriet is less speedy, just walking along. "Don't we need the keys?" She calls after Kari.
    Kupier mutters and fishes the keys out of his pockets, tossing them towards Mortimer, since it seems like the fire badger is most likely to accompany the shinki into the building. "Lock up when you're done." And the lizard-person ambles back to his golf car.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Mort exhales some smoke- natural smoke, the kind he normally produces and clears his throat. "And yer little Kari, as I recall!" Keys caught, he looks up at the building and rubs his jaw for a minute. "I'd say the best way t'do this ought t'be goin' from top t'bottom. Clear each floor, leave'em nowhere to run. Nettle here'll herd them towards ye that way yah don't hafta spend hours 'n hours huntin'em down t'the last." Nettle floats down and around, studying her contractual allies for a moment. "<Curious little creatures~ but this should be a delight to see you at work~>" and then starts hovering toward the condos. Bugs don't really provide much of a meal, but fear is fear, and in droves it should still suffice. Perhaps the little robots will fear too, and she can see how theirs tastes..

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro's eyes follow Cassius as the lizardian returns to his car. Not exactly a pleasant fellow. Rather rude, actually. His eyes narrow a bit as he watches a few moments longer, then turns back to getting the first aid tent in order.
    'If anyone gets hurt or stuck, just radio! We'll come get you!' Myrrh warbles, waving. Though since the others have all generally turned away, they may not have noticed that gesture.
    Isten for his part flitters along, skimming the ground to stay on level with the shinki participants. 'This place looks terrible. I bet it's crawling with all kinds of things!' Said with snthusiasm, not disgust. Both Mort and his pokemon give him a bit of a pause, though it doesn't stop him from chattering. 'Wow, I haven't met anyone like you before. You're not a machine, are you? I'm Isten! Pleased to meetcha.'

Alden (930) has posed:
The gabumon is a tiny bit curious about the smoke, but he seems more intrigued by the fact this person seemed to be familiar with Kari and the rest, so he chooses to introduce himself, "I'm Alden." he tells the fire pokemon, reaching around with one of his hands, at least wanting to say hi before they go to the building. He is a bit curious about the Nettle, "Is that a pokemon?" he asks softly.

     Katze meanwhile, seems rather enthusiastic, bouncing lightly as she clutches her 'weapon' in both hands, tail twitching softly, and offering a greeting to Isten and the others, "Wonder if we will see giant bugs!". "Katze has been watching some movies lately." Alden explains.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Mort looks down, realizing he has to watch his step for all these tiny things. He's huge, after all, and has big feet. "Aye, I'm not a machine- an' my name's Mort, nice to meetcha little fella! Anyway, Nettle's no machine either. I'm a Typhlosion-morph, and Nettle there is a Shuppet- a Ghost-type Pokemon." Answering both the Gabumon and whatever the deuce Isten is. "I've been led to understand that in some regions, Ghost-type Pokemon are not actual ghosts. In my world, they are: Nettle's very much a creature leading a post-mortem existence." He took note of the warbling thing that was waving at them, but there were too many tiny people and things for him to avoid stepping on to respond to it at the moment.

     WHAT IS THIS, AN OPERATION FOR ANTS?!

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    The condos have an air of being... haunted. Or otherwise inhabited by something beyond the pale. There are clearly signs that the roofs have leaked. There's mold, cobwebs, dust, mildew. Signs the place was abandoned suddenly, as there are furniture and personal effects still here.
    "Woooow... Somebody left in a hurry!" Kari says, keeping her wasp spray handy in the huge arms of her Dire Wolf armor. Harriet scans the rooms, the ears of her rabbit-themed armor twitching as she keeps a bug-bomb under each arm, the laser machine gun on her shoulder scanning for hostiles.
    Nettle finds the first bug nest, a horde of roaches, hidden inside one of the walls.

Alden (930) has posed:
The digimon stays behind, tilting his head at Mort's explanation of ghost pokemon, "So Nettle is... a real ghost?, awsome." he says, before blinking and adding, "Nice to meet you, Mort!". He decides to stay out of the building just to avoid causing trouble or getting in the way, especially since he was not hired to do this!. He does linger near the pokemon morph, because, why not?. Meanwhile, Katze clutches the bug spray in both hands, looking around as if ready to 'shoot' at something, listening for noises and flicking her tail. "I wonder what scared them away."

Taro (399) has posed:
    Isten doesn't seem to be all that bothered by the dirt and decay, though he does try to avoid any active drips or puddles left by the last rain. 'Maybe there was a big battle,' he ventures a guess, though he doesn't think much more deeply on it that that. He brings his tiny digital hands together, a spark of energy dancing between them.
    He'll put that to use once the roaches are startled towards him and the others. He'll zip upward to about the height of the top of a coffee table, and begins unleashing tiny electric sparks. They'd only be annoying to larger people, but to insects it ought to be like a bug zapper.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
Mort himself will not be going in, he'll listen in with radio of course but he's far too huge to be of any real aid unless the shinki and assembled whatsits are completely overrun by vermin. "Looks like a pretty nice place.. Sides from all the damage to the building.. Might be a pretty huge horde of vermin in there. You little folk be careful, now."

     Nettle snickers to herself a bit and.. Fades from view again, disappearing into the walls. Annnd then she regretted it, because the interior of these hidden spaces was /disgusting/. She was quite glad to be dead.

     The Shuppet's disembodied voice came creeping out through the walls, from a small ventilation duct. "<Over here, my little dears~ I hope you've got lots of ammunition and grit to spare, it's quite unpleasant down here~>"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    The roaches scurry away from the ghost pokemon, flooding out of the vents and little holes near the baseboards.
    "We got incoming!" Kari shouts. She opens up with the wasp spray, hosing them down as best as she can.
    Harriet's laser gun just starts firing automatically at the cockroaches, lighting the place up with stacatto bursts of crimson.

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden nods to Mort's words, moving a bit closer, "Indeed, hope they get it fixed." he muses softly. The feline shinki lets out a gasp at the flood of bugs and begins spraying blindly at the approaching bugs, hosing as many as she can.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Zap Zap Zap! Isten's trying to not accidentally shoot any of his new friends-allies as he zips back and forth above them. He's mostly aiming for the strays scuttling away from the others' firing zone. With enthusiasm. 'You can't escape that way! Ha! Take that!'
    Taro, having run out of things to set up, leans gently against the table to wait.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Nettle giggles as the roaches scurry away, swiftly racing around through the walls and under the floors, trying to get them all pointed in one direction. But it wouldn't be Nettle at work if she didn't decide to have some.. ....Fun... At the expense of others. "<Teehee~>"

     While the assorted little digital people are dealing with the first wave, they will hear a horrid, wraithly wailing. It echoes through the walls and the floors and the roof, sounding as though it is moving around. It fades in a minute or so, but..

     The big people wouldn't notice it, they're far too large to feel such tiny tremors. But for the Shinki? For Isten? They'll feel the ground they're standing upon rumble and tremble, as though an earthquake was starting..

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    The shinki sisters pause for a moment at the quaking footfalls. Harriet points towards the bedroom, which is not where Nettle is. Kari points towards the wall, where Nettle is. The sisters are definitely confused. The roaches are manageable now though; many of them twitching and dying from the bug sprays. The ones Harriet has shot are fried roaches, sizzling nicely.
    "It's a biggun!" Kari says, her huge (for a shinki) gun materializing. She fires the slug-thrower gun a few times towards Nettle, putting bullet holes in the drywall.

Alden (930) has posed:
Katze eventually runs out of ammo, and drops the can, mumbling about not wanting to get bug on her weapons, but still, she summons the paw gloves!. She also calls the petit machines, the trio of tiny drones materializing around her, two flying, and one looking to be in a tiny tank of sorts, all of them shooting the bugs with lasers!. She aims in the direction away from the wall, clearly confused as well, "That way!"

Taro (399) has posed:
    Isten is still in the air, but the rattle-rumble is still noticed. 'Wh-ooah! Earthquake!' His arms flail almost comically, and that last electrical zap strays from his target to hit the top of the wall instead.
    The roach he missed makes a mad dash across the floor to escape the poisons, lasers, guns, and everything else to squeeze through a crack in the floorboards. 'Oh no you don't!' he shouts and zips after it...only he's forgotten he's physical, and faceplants instead. 'Ow!' A moment later, and and anyone looking that way will see him vanish in a shower of random pixels as he reverts to data to follow after it...

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Nettle blinks and immediately stops her wailing as the gunfire comes very close to hitting her! Well it probably wouldn't have done that much actual damage, but you never know with some dimensional variances. More holes, more gunfire! Forces her to go down low into the floors, but it doesn't matter too much.. Her little surprise has already been set up, and she's given the vermin only one place to go.

     Out. Hundreds of roaches and spiders and ants and earwigs and other common household pestiferous insects spill out from a few of the holes in the wall and floor, trying to escape from the horrifying otherworldly presence that they know, instinctively, Should Not Be.

     Nettle wonders how much the little robots enjoy a target rich environment..

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Harriet sees all the bugs that Nettle is herding towards the shinki and hurls one of the bug bombs towards them, setting it off. Moments later the thing goes off and sprays horrendously toxic smoke throughout this particular condo. She then turns towards the bedroom where the noise is getting louder and far more frequent.
    Kari sprays down the carpeted mass of bugs with her missiles, assisting Katze with the cleanup. She pause and turns towards the bedroom, finally hearing the noise over all the racket the shinki are causing.
    The door shatters and splinters, a giant thing resembling a bed crossed with a bug crossed with a shark's mouth bursting out of the room and trying to force its way towards the shinki.
    Kari says it first. "BED BUG!" And starts making for the main doorway.

Alden (930) has posed:
Katze covers her face as she sees the explosion of smoke, and the giant big appearing!. The giant bug gets a surprised stare from the cat shinky, then she yelps, following Kari away to the entrance, "Big bug, big bug!"

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Mort looks up from his position outside, ears flicking occasionally at the sound of gunfire and.. Huhn. "Sounds like they might be havin' trouble, in there. Big trouble. Odd. Shouldn't be /that/ many in there.. ...You made sure they had enough bullets an' spray cans, right?" He looks at Alden, asking this of him.

     Nettle, meanwhile, has been alerted to the presence of something genuinely dangerous to the little shinki and assorted inorganic lifeforms, and has rapidly rematerialized in the room. "<My my my, aren't you a /big/ one~! I always did like them big~>" Sinister laughter erupts as her head... Splits? Smiling isn't the right word for it, it's more like her body has /cracked/, almost all the way around, her mouth is suddenly a colossal gaping hole made out of /nothing/, and lined with enormous jagged, crooked, razor sharp teeth. "<Stay out of the way little dears~, I'll handle this one, you focus on the others..>"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    There's noxious smoke filling the condo, so Kari is guiding the other two shinki out with her infrared senses, grabbing their hands if necessary to help them. "BIG BUG!" She shouts along with Katze, afraid. Harriet mumbles something about how she could have thrown one of the bug bombs in its mouth like that one shark movie Kari likes, but stumbles along as she's led out by her smaller sister.
    The queen-sized bed bug opens its mouth in challenge to Nettle, revealing rows and rows and rows of shark-like teeth embedded inside the 'mattress'. And it tries to eat Nettle with a gaping lunge, smashing through a wall. Drywall and splintered lumber flies everywhere, and there's a horrible crash of metal and water as the refrigerator is crushed beneath the enormous pest.

Alden (930) has posed:
Alden seems to get nervous as he hears the voices from inside the building, grumbling and clutching the D-Arc, maybe he should get in there... "That does sound serious." he agrees, before turning to look at Mort, "Well, I gave Katze plenty of ammo and stuff... Kari and the otehrs tend to handle their own provisions themselves." he explains. "Is your friend going to be ok in there?" he asks. Katze keeps retreating, while the petit machines pepper the giant bug with little beams from the ship, and small energy bolts from the tank.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     The out and out crashing and sounds of thrashing, drywall being smashed, and so forth, make Mort look up again. His face is still only marginally concerned though. "Hn.. Well they'll radio us if they need help. Nettle's there too, she won't let them get too beat up if there's anything /really/ dangerous in there..." He trails off a bit at the end, perhaps not entirely sure of that sentence himself. But he does trust his evil little ghost, she is an obedient and loyal servant.

     Who has proceeded to lock jaws with the 'bed bug'. Mattress stuffing and wiring are shredded and flung to the side, along with bits of ghostly sock puppet fabric, as the two monsters begin tearing at each other. But Nettle has the advantage of speed and deathly strength, and her mouth is able to twist in ways that no living thing's can, so when she bites into the bed bug.. She rips much nastier, bloody chunks, and she can pass through solid objects if she thinks quickly enough. For a brief moment it looks like the monstrous vermin has the upper hand, mattress-mouth swallowing Nettle whole! But this is quickly revealed to be a ruse as she explodes out of its side in a grisly spray of gore and exoskeletal chunks, cackling with sadistic glee all the while.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari and Harriet haul Katze out of the apartment, running between Mort's legs. "BIG BUG! BIG BUG!" Kari shouts as they emerge.
    The bedbug thrashes as the shuppet guts it from the inside out, wrecking the condo even more as it dies.

Alden (930) has posed:
Katze can't quite see what is going on back there with the ghost, she just hopes no one gets hurt, even as she is carried out by Kari and the other shinki!. She huffs adn stands besides Alden, holding ontohis leg, "Scary bug." she says softly.

Mortimer Balman has posed:
     Well, someone's getting hurt. Quite a bit! It's just not Nettle, but rather the large horrible thing she was fighting. She lingers for a few more moments after it dies, uttering a profane incantation over the carcass- which immediately begins to burn, but with no visible flame. Not enough to be destroyed, but enough to ensure it stays dead.. "<Filthy creature. Hmph. No wonder the locals left.>" She takes a moment to smooth out her fabric, and then begins floating down, looking.. Well, she has a few scratches and tears, but doesn't look too bad, really. "<Hello, Master~>" A cheerful voice again.

     Mort looks at the shinki, and then up at Nettle. "So what happened?" "<Suffice to say, Master, there is a good reason the tenants fled this place. The owner should have warned us, I do believe that we'll be able to enjoy a reasonable hazard pay for our troubles~>" Giggling a bit, "<Are you alright, little dears?~ I hope I didn't scare you too much~>" That last sentence sounded wholly disingenuous.