POV: Y/N Stark,
Wanda jumps down the concrete platform, onto the floor below. I grab the ring binder and follow close behind her. Walking past the desks, I place it down on one of them, "Let's go to the panopticon, and then to the P6 CELL. Perhaps we can find any clues as to what was locked up there."
I walk over to Wanda and place my hand on her shoulder. She twists around, looks at me, and softly nods. I grab her hand and nudge her along with me back over to the door. She doesn't move and is looking down at our hands. I carefully lift her chin so she looks into my eyes, "What's wrong baby?"
"Something is wrong. I- I don't know how to explain it. I just feel it." she whispers so softly I would have been unable to understand it without my sensitive ears. I release her hand and cup her cheeks,
"I know what you mean, but we have to get moving. The team will be here soon, and they are probably unaware of where we are and the fact that there is a containment breach." I softly kiss her on her forehead.
She averts her gaze, "I just… Why are we here? Edon is dead. We suspected him to have killed random mundanes on the street. We don't even know why, but he's dead now. Right in front of our eyes; tortured, then killed. Then to find his killer, we go into this bunker that is practically haunted. I just feel like something is wrong. I just can't pinpoint what exactly-" she rambles, looking into my eyes again.
"Hey, hey, calm down. Let's just take it one thing at a time alright." She was right. We have to get our priorities in order right now. We went in here to find a killer, but right now we have to switch. That guy is probably long gone by now. We have been here for a while now, and with the amount of noise we made in the Executive Sector must have warned him of our presence.
But why even kill Edon? Even if he did kill those mundanes in the alley, which we don't even know for sure. Why torture him for information, and then kill him? Assuming Edon gave him the information; what could he have known? Edon was the Alpha of a pack named the Primal Nightwalkers. They are a pretty small and low-life pack, so he wouldn't have been that important I think? How is his death or information connected to this bunker? Are both cases even connected?
Let's change priorities for now. Find out what this bunker is. What are these objects of power in the case files? Why are they here? Why is the bunker deserted? If we can find that out, then we can figure out how it is connected to the killer and Edon's death.
"Y/N. Are you okay?" I snap out of my thoughts. "Hm? Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts for a second. Did you say something?"
"No, you were mumbling something, but I couldn't make out what exactly."
"Sorry sweetheart. Let's just go to the panopticon. Forget about Edon's killer for a second and focus on the bunker. Once we figure out what it is, we can figure out how the two are related." She nods and squeezes my hand.
Both of us quietly leave the control room. The dead bodies still floating above us, seemingly not reacting to our movement. We sneak down the stairs again and take a right, into the hallway. A large arrow with the text, "panopticon" is painted on the wall.
Passing through the hallway with our back to the wall, we approach a large bunker door that is wide open. Next to the door is the slumped body of a fully armored guard. I carefully approach them and check for a pulse. None. They're dead. Their body is still warm to the touch so he must have died recently, "Wands, did you see him when you ran past here?" I assumed it was deserted, are there still more people in this bunker?
When I get no reaction, I look over my shoulder to look at Wanda, who has her focus on something else entirely. She's looking through the bunker door, into the panopticon.
I check the guards' tactical vest for anything that can help us. In the front of it is a logo of what looks like a black octopus surrounded by a red circle. It might be the logo of the organization here, although the logo we found earlier for the FBC was different. The same logo is on a red armband around the guard's arm.
I notice that there is a handgun still holstered on their belt. I take it out and check the magazine. It's still full. I put the gun on safety and tuck it in the back of my pants. The rest of the guards' pockets are empty. No keycards, no keys, or anything else of interest. Someone must have already cleaned them out.
"Wands, what are you looking at?" I stand up from my crouched position and walk over to Wanda who is looking at something in the panopticon. Her eyes are a scarlet red color. "Wands?"
I place my hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She flinches and her head snaps towards me. Red crimson swirling in her eyes, "Hey hey, it's just me." I squeeze her shoulder a little tighter. Grounding her.
Her eyes return to their normal green color, and she looks at me fazed, "Wands, please answer me." Suddenly she jumps in my arms and hugs me, placing her head in the crook of my neck. "You're scaring me.. Wands-" I hug her back and with my hand rub her back, calming her down. I look around us making sure no one is here. Over her shoulder I look into the panopticon as well, trying to figure out what she was looking at.
She pulls back from the hug, "Hm. I'm- I'm okay. The P6 CELL is over there." She nods towards the opposite side of the giant hall, where I notice a large sign one level above us. "What's wrong? Talk to me please." I grab her hands. "I- uhm. I saw a vision again." Tears well up in her eyes. "Alright, do you want to talk about it?"
"You were there. Uhm- strapped to some kind of metal chair. You were injured. Bleeding. I couldn't do anything, I wasn't there." her breathing starts to speed up. I engulf her back into a hug and squeeze her tight. "I'm here. I'm okay."
She had a vision again. The last time this happened she was pretty out of it for days, remaining in her bed for most of it. It tired her out pretty badly. The vision ended up saving Bucky's life. It didn't exactly match what ended up happening, but it was a good thing that we took it seriously.
In the crook of my neck, she murmurs, "There was a man there. He was talking to you, but I couldn't make out the words. He had a gun in his hands, swinging it around while yelling something at you."
"Let's make sure it doesn't happen, alright? We go to the P6 CELL. We figure out who did this, and we meet up with the rest of the team." She isn't calming down, "Wands?"
"I'm okay. Just- tired, I guess. Can we just wait a minute?" I look around the vicinity once more. We're really not at a good spot right now. Do we turn back to the control room, or is it safe to wait here for a short time?
"Yeah we can wait here for a second, what do you need?"
"I just need you for now." She hugs me close. The vision must have really shaken her up. I continue to rub her back while I remain alert to our surroundings. No sound is coming from the panopticon, which could be either a good thing or a bad thing. No sounds means no one is trying to break out aggressively. However, it could also mean that someone or something has already escaped their cell.
After about a minute, Wanda retreats back from the hug and with one hand grabs her head. "Headache?"
"Yeah, it's not too bad though. Last time felt worse."
"Alright, let's get it over with then."
I step forward, but red tendrils wrap around my wrist and hold me back. "What's wrong?"
"I love you," her magic releases my wrist. She grabs my hand and pulls me in for a kiss. "I love you too? Are you sure you're okay?" I kiss her forehead and notice that she's warm. Too warm. With my hand, I check if she has a fever. We have to hurry up.
I step inside the panopticon and look around. The room is basically just several layers of small-ish cells, arranged in a circular motion. I walk over to the first cell on my left.
The cell has a little area in front of it, with a camera set up to observe, control hardware, and one of those antennas we saw once earlier. A semi-transparent glass panel separates the object from the observer area. Next to the entrance, is a small display with a card reader underneath it.
I walk over to the glass and tap the LCD display. It flickers on, "Floor 04 Unit 15; AI10-KE: Arctic Queen." I try the keycard that we used earlier in the archives, but a red light and no seemingly reaction tells us we don't have the proper authorization level to open stuff in the containment sector. Wanda hands me the blue keycard from the medical bay and I try again.
The glass fades from opaque to translucent in an instant, and the first thing I notice is a refrigerator on top of some kind of industrial pedestal. The front of the fridge is covered in papers, drawings, and magnets. Some bumps and scratches can be made out on the red paint.
I walk back out of the little observation area and walk over to the next cell. It has the exact same setup: opaque glass, a scanner, and an LCD display, "Floor 04, Unit 16; AI49-KE: Red Light"
"It looks like these are all containment cells for the objects of power." I walk up to the edge of the walkway. The middle of the panopticon has a large pillar leading all the way down to the lowest layer. Above are two more layers, but I notice that on the 6th floor the path from the middle pillar to the edge is collapsed.
"Everything seems to be secure. I'll check the rest of the cells. Can you check how to get to the P6 CELL?" Wanda says. I hand her the blue keycard and walk over the walkway on our level and step on the wanky constructed bridge.
A large sign with white letters, P6 CELL hangs on the wall off the 5th level. I walk to the center of the bridge where I see a construction elevator. When I walk into it, the floor sinks underneath my feet for a little bit, but the cable that carries the lift holds. The control panel inside the elevator holds a handle to control the motor, but it is completely taped off with black and yellow tape.
While walking back to the corridor that is connecting all the cells, I scan the area looking for Wanda. I spot her in one of the observation rooms and focus my efforts on the rest of the section, checking the rest of the panopticon for a way up to the 5th level, more specifically towards the P6 sign that hangs above me right now.
I make my way over to a double door on the other side of this floor. Next to the door, a little sign indicated that behind these doors is a firebreak. Right beside it, I notice a hanging platform, it kinda looks like one of those window cleaner platforms, but it is slightly bigger. We might be able to levitate up to that and then to the next level. I'm not sure if Wanda is able to lift us both up all the way in her current state.
I walk back towards Wanda. The moment I step inside the observation room I notice glass shards covering the floor. The glass wand separating the cell and the observation room is blasted to pieces. In the cell, a single pedestal with what looks like a rifle stand is left. Wanda notices my arrival and hands me a piece of paper;
SERVICE WEAPON (OOP1-KE)
CONTAINMENT PROCEDURE:
No unique procedures required.
DESCRIPTION/PARAUTILITY:
The object's form is variable.
When bound, the object allows parautilitarians to [REDACTED]. This object must only be bound by individuals seeking the role of [REDACTED]. The object will determine whether [REDACTED]. If rejected, the applicant is terminated. This process is dictated by the [REDACTED], though their criteria is unknown.
BACKGROUND:
The object was discovered inside the Oldest House, in the room that is now used as the Director's Office. The popular hypothesis [REDACTED] many forms throughout history, [REDACTED]. Mjolnir, Excalibur, Varunastra, all weapons that [REDACTED] of their wielders. If Objects of Power are the convergence of forces based on the collective subconscious, then this may be the original manifestation of that event. If this is the case, [REDACTED] (see Dr. Darling presentation 11.1 for more details).
I give her a worried look and take a look at what else is on the table. The table is covered in files. On top of them, I see an old-ish image of a modern-looking hand cannon.
"You're telling me someone stole this service weapon?" I walk over to the slightly elevated cell and climb in while carefully avoiding the glass fragments. The inside of the cell is completely clean, not a speck of filth in sight, nor any other evidence of someone being here. The gun stand in the middle of the room would indeed match one needed for the hand cannon I saw in the picture.
"Yes. According to the LCD, item OOP1-KE should be in here, but the screen is flickering red; the containment is breached. This is probably the source of the active lockdown." She walks over to the side of the cell before continuing, "What I understand from the files is that this is a shapeshifting weapon that reacts to the person it is in contact with. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but since no one lays dead here, I'm assuming the person it is in contact with right now is something called a parautilitarian."
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" I walk over to the edge of the cell and jump back down into the observation room.
"Individuals capable of wielding paranatural powers. I think they might be like us? I'm not quite sure what all this paranormal talk is, but perhaps they are like shadowhunters." While Wanda's talking I notice that a modern projector next to her is flickering on and off. I walk over to it and carefully give it a very educated and 'technical' slap. It flickers on, and a video starts playing.
A man in a lab coat, holding a cup of coffee walks into frame, "Objects of Power can cause, or be results of, AWEs - Altered World Events, intrusions upon the perceived reality."
Behind the man is a piece of white cardboard on top of an easel, used as a method of presentation. On it, in large capital letters "Service Weapon" is written. Underneath the title are several technical drawings of a hand cannon.
He turns around and starts talking to someone off-screen, "A side note: remember to cover their connection to the Astral Plane as well." He hands his coffee over to someone on his side and focuses back on the camera while putting on heavy-duty gloves that lead all the way up to his shoulder, "Now, the Service Weapon is, of course, a prime example of an O.o.P., a very powerful one."
The video flicks over to the man's hands, picking up some kind of black cube, "Ingrained in the Bureau's DNA, it is a key component in our Prime Candidate program ." The video flicks back to the man again, "Come out of that Russian roulette a winner, and you... you're it. Lose, and you're, well, fired. Thank you. I'm Doctor Darling, Head of Research, Federal Bureau of Control."