Engine Room: The Jellyfish Man (Escape from Club Apophis, 39)

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STORYLINE:    This was a heist. 

Which meant, statistically speaking, Plague was either about to become a legend, or a cautionary tale with excellent hair.

Finally, he was inside MasterGin’s clinic, the Fort Knox of DNA rewrite voodoo, and he, the Biohacker of Jae Won University, was about to steal it. 

In and out. Cure Jihoon. Fix himself. Save the world. In that order. …More or less. 

And if history wanted to throw in fame and glory, he wasn’t going to argue.

He came prepared. His parents thought that six-thousand-credit charge was for lab equipment. Please. Six thousand credits didn’t buy microscopes. It bought bad decisions with excellent specs.

In this case: a nanotech cloak blanket. Perfect for black ops. Terrible for subtle life choices. The enforcers hadn’t seen him at all. They were too busy chasing Kyle, Minjo, Echo, and Lisa.

Unlike them, he actually knew what to look for. Infrastructure. More specifically, signs of a negative pressure room.

He darted down another hallway, deeper into the labyrinth. 

The Plastic Surgery Clinic wasn’t a clinic at all. More like a villain origin story with a lobby. Polished floors, museum lighting, the kind of place where ethics go to get redesigned. He had no time to marvel at billion-dollar artwork, which genuinely pained him. The clock was ticking.

He took a stairwell downwards. Posh tunnels gave way to older tunnels, gleaming marble replaced by cement with all the charm of a decaying bomb shelter.

His foot hit water. The splash cracked through the hallway like a jump scare with no soundtrack to soften it.

Shit. He glanced around.

The corridor held its breath. So did he.

The pool of water he was standing in had a faint bioluminescence glow. It had leaked from under a sealed door with lots of unfriendly symbols that all translated, across every language known to man, into one simple message: ‘Do not be the idiot who opens this door.’

Jackpot.

He licked his lips. He could almost taste that Nobel Prize.

He produced a bypass kit, popped in a cursed energy battery courtesy of Sophia, and went to work on the door panel. The lock mechanism, however, was old. Older than he expected. Not smart-lock. Analog. Physical tumblers.

He switched tools. His hands steady, remembering things his formal education hadn't taught him, like how to pick a school locker.

Click.

The door swung open as if moved by an unseen hand.

Very Haunted House. Three stars. Too cliché.

The dark laboratory was state-of-the-art… if the state in question was 1960s and deeply unethical. The air around him felt damp, like breathing through someone else’s lungs. The smell hit next. Formaldehyde. And something that had been alive too long. The equipment bore the heavy scars of relentless use. His fingers touched a keyboard with the characters of “A” and “S” completely worn down.

From tanks holding something segmented and glowing, a sickening green light cast shadows on the walls as it writhed.

Not touching that. Not even academically.

He pulled off the cloak and paused at an old-school computer. The black DOS screen, with a single lime green blinking box, waited for him to type code.

…Right. He wasn’t that kind of nerd. Filing cabinet it was.

Drawers. Stacks. Paper everywhere. Useless. Too slow. He suddenly missed computers.

Something moved behind him. Not a step. Not a breath. …a slosh.

Shit. Please don’t be something glowing and legally classified as ‘should not have legs.’

He turned, looking for anything slithering.

Two transparent feet, outlined in a faint glow, stood directly behind him. A trail of wet footsteps led back to a massive, bubbling tank.

His heart stopped. Fantastic. Cardiac arrest in a haunted aquarium.

His gaze tracked slowly up.

A translucent man, built of something like jellyfish flesh, stared right at him. “Who are you?” he asked in a gurgling human voice.

Not a hologram. Not a projection. The nightmare was… wet.

Plague stared at his transparent body as if hypnotized. He could see liquids moving through his veins. Faint electrical sparks across the transparent mass of his brain.

“Forgive me,” the Jellyfish Man said. He put on a white lab coat, gloves, and sprinkled white powder over his head, until it resembled a sculpture. “I get so few visitors here. I forgot my manners.”

Of course he had a lab coat. Of course the nightmare had dress code compliance.

“I’ve seen this movie before.” Plague willed his voice to sound steady. “The Invisible Man, 1933. Overrated.”

The Jellyfish Man extended a gloved hand, “I’m Dr. Hoshu Tanaka.”

Plague shook his head in disbelief. Dr. Hoshu Tanaka. Founding father of DNA rewrite research. The man who wrote the rules, and then vanished from the game entirely.

“No, you’re not.” He switched to Japanese. “Dr. Tanaka died a long time ago.”

The Jellyfish Man nodded his head and sat down on a stool. “I see. You know who I am. You are sneaking around. You have a kit for breaking into secure places. That means you’re here for only one thing, …to steal my research.”

Plague took two steps back, subtly checking the seals of the bio-containment suit. The air felt wrong. Too thick. Like he’d already been breathing it too long.

“No, I’m just…” he gestured vaguely “… a low-paid, highly under-appreciated intern. You’d be amazed what HR lets through.”

“You are a terrible liar,” Dr. Tanaka chuckled. “You are aware,” he said gently, pointing to the open door, “That warning was mine. I put it there. It was not a decoration.”

Plague continued to back away. “If you touch me, I get infected right? Be honest. Are you venomous, contagious, or… both?”

“Contact transmission. Airborne spores require a 10-minute exposure.” Dr. Tanaka nodded and began to text on a halo pad, “I am writing Nurse Paine to let her know I am not to be disturbed for the rest of the evening.” He touched a button on an old control panel. The door closed and sealed back into place. “…at least from threats outside.”

Sweat dripped down Plague’s back.

Dr. Tanaka set the pad down and focused on him. Not like a person. Like data.

“Now,” he said, folding his hands, “Let us begin a fair trade of information. Tell me who you are and how you know my name. Then I might tell you where the decontamination unit is.”

Plague's eyes swept the room for another exit. Condensation dripped down the glass of a nearby pod. When he neared it, a pale worm, thick as his wrist, struck the glass with a sound like a wet slap. It gave him flashbacks to things he would absolutely deny ever reading.

Plague’s shoulders sagged. He turned back to the aquarium's sole resident, “The name’s Plague.” He gave a small shrug. “Marketing.”

“That’s not a name. Your only way out is a fair trade of information.”

Plague paused for a long while, studying the powder-covered face. He resembled Dr. Tanaka. Or something that used to be him.

Plague kept a safe distance from everything that glowed.

“All right then," he said, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his bio-containment suit. “We may or may not have a few things in common. But that depends on how you became transparent. You did a bio-hack on yourself?”

Dr. Tanaka’s eyebrow raised. He looked at the suit for a long moment. “I see. You are a DNA Hacker.” He pointed to Plague’s chest. “Experimenting on yourself was foolish. And now you are here to steal my technology to save yourself. Am I right?”

Plague chuckled and buttoned up. “Righteous indignation. So then. Your transparent-hood was an accident. Spores or contact?” His eyes swept the lab. All those glowing things. All of them eager to be near him.

“Worse,” Dr. Tanaka’s voice dropped. His gaze lowered.

A chill raced across Plague.

The lab hummed around them. Neither moved.

Dr. Tanaka then stood and glanced at the largest tank. “I live mostly in that tank now. I killed the parasite. Eventually. Before it could finish rewriting my DNA… before my mind was lost. But I exist like this now. Something inhuman. I can never go home. I can never see my wife and child. It’s better they believe what the world believes.”

Plague’s heart quivered. His hands went still. He looked at the large tank. Then at his own chest where the bio-containment suit pressed against his ribs.

“My work is what remains of me now,” the Doctor continued. “I chose to give my tragedy meaning by understanding how the creature rewrites its host’s DNA without rejection.”

“How long ago?” Plague's voice cracked on the question. He cleared his throat. “How long ago did you solve it?”

The lab answered for him. Nothing.

Plague studied the tanks. The Doctor. The powdered coat. The worn-down keyboard keys. Years of research, typed by hands that were no longer hands.

"That's how MasterGin's plastic surgery works, isn't it? MasterGin isn't reshaping people's bodies with surgery, drugs, or augments. He's infecting them with these... things, then altering them while their bodies are malleable. Your research is the off switch, stopping the process before they turn into monsters.”

Dr. Tanaka pointed to the far corner. “The decontamination unit is over there. You have about 5 minutes left before infection.”

Plague bolted towards the unit, then turned back to look at the Doctor. “I could get your life’s work out there, in the real world. Full credit for your discovery. I swear it. Your sacrifice…” His throat became tight. “I mean, your work should be out there helping people. Not locked in here being used by monsters.” He only noticed the tears when they hit his chin.

Dr. Tanaka’s expression was unreadable. “Three minutes. Or this conversation was meaningless.”

“I’ll come back for you.” Plague turned and ran.

He hit the decon unit at full speed.

An automated voice chimed overhead, “Decontamination Process initiated.”

The doors air-locked around him as he quickly stripped down to bare skin.

Through the glass, the Doctor studied what the suit had been hiding, his grotesque deformities. He didn't look away as a cloud of formaldehyde and chemicals enveloped Plague.

When the cycle had finally ended, Plague quickly pulled on his sterilized bio-containment suit and glanced outside. The Doctor had already submerged in his tank.

A green light pulsed through the dissipating haze. He stepped closer and saw a small decontamination transfer unit mounted on the wall, designed to safely move items from the lab to the outside. The case was bathed in just as many chemicals as he was, traces of haze still swirled around it.

He opened the hatch. Inside were several items. A gold VIP serpent brooch. He’d seen that on Nurse Paine’s collar. VIP clearance. A way out. And that wasn’t the only surprising thing. There was a meticulously pre-packed decontamination travel kit. Absurdly so, given the lab had just let him walk in with a school locker pick. Was this meant for Tanaka? An escape that never happened? He didn't have time to understand all of it. More items in the case were a data chip and an ornate gilded crystal bottle labeled GIN AESTHETICA™. The Doctor's formula. Someone else's logo. Inside, a soft blue glowing lotion simmered, smelling faintly of antiseptic and something he couldn't classify.

There was a note in precise handwriting: ‘For the one who returns.’

Plague stared at it.

He quickly pocketed the brooch, sealed the case, and darted for the VIP tunnels without looking back.


This post was inspired by my ongoing series, and super cool mad lab themed items at The Engine Room.   From Somnium is the Scientist's Coat. The Fatpack has a hud to change textures for the coat, shirt, and tie. All textures are PBR with a latex look, handy for dealing with messy creatures. lol.  ...From DeadBoy is 8 fingered stabby gloves, -- the Toxic Touch Gloves, for men and women. It comes with a hud to change the latex glove color, straps, and suspicious liquids in the syringe.   ...From NI.JI are the Rimless Glasses.  These are PBR glasses with many texture options for the lens and frame. It's mod, so you can scale and position for the perfect fit.   ...From Waffle Science Lab is the Artificial Mastermind consoles. I love these things. It has that retro NASA vibe to me. Just touch the consoles to change the metal color, panel, and base colors. They are mod, so you can move and scale how you like.   ... From Dirty Rat is the Manipulator sculpture, perfect for the desk of any serious mad scientist.   ...From ND Design is build from the recent Cyber Fair. It's two stories with stacks of mainframes, tanks with aliens, and a hatch that opens. It comes with a Rez box. The set is mod so you can move things around or tint. I created a bit more of a military lab look with tints, and a metal PBR floor.

On him, Plague:

Outfit:  SOMNIUM - Scientist's Coat - Fat Pack - Legacy M/A PBR [mesh](Engine Room)(2500L)

Glasses: NI.JU - Rimless Glasses [mesh](Engine Room)(325L)

Gloves: The DeadBoy - Toxic Touch Gloves (Legacy M) [mesh](Engine Room)(699L)

Scar: Cubic Cherry - Decay [BOM, Materials]

Makeup: maledictus - Lacrimosa, red [BOM]

Tattoo: Vae Victis Pillar of Inun EvoX [BOM]

Hair: Dura - U122 -A: Men's [mesh]

Head: LeLUTKA - Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)

Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)

Setting:

Control room panels: Waffle Science Lab - Artificial Mastermind [mesh](Engine Room)(750L)

Sculpture: Dirty Rat - Manipulator [mesh](Engine Room)(385L)

Set: NSDesign - NS Exolab [mesh]

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shot, hi-res, midday sky.

Salvage Station, Camp Syndicate: The Hunting Ground (Escape from Club Apophis, 26)

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STORYLINE: The plan was in ashes. 

Minjo’s hand trembled with the cold fury of an intellectual whose entire framework had just been shattered. Her weapon stayed leveled at Hwan’s chest.

“You destroyed it,” she spat, the words tight. “Our plan. Our tech. Our only way to reach Kyra. You just... ended it.”

“I destroyed a beacon,” Hwan replied, his amber eyes flat and unfeeling. “You weren’t contacting your friend. You were ringing a dinner bell. Patrols will be here in minutes. You can stay...”

He turned his back on them, a profound act of dismissal, and stepped through the shimmering boundary of the Forbidden Zone.

“...or you can follow me to your friends.”

“Wait!” Echo cried.

Then came the sound. It began in the distance, a high-pitched, metallic shriek threading through the forest, - a choir of knives being sharpened in the dark. It was getting closer.

Minjo lowered her weapon, rage cooling to pure survival logic. “Everyone... pack light. Now.”

Ghost, the silent protector, was already moving. He grabbed a small Prepper’s wind-up generator, and shoved a knife in his belt. As he crossed the veil, the faint blue light of his halo-gloves glitched, fizzled, and died. His digital voice went with it. Now he truly was mute.

The world turned gray. The air thickened instantly, pressing in with a physical weight, saturated with the smell of dust, rust, and long-dead carcasses.

“We don’t go over. We go under,” Hwan commanded, his voice a low gravel in the dead air. He motioned to the skeletal city ahead. “The Sisters patrol the streets. We take the tunnels.”

Hwan strode toward a wide service entrance. A quick, open route.

Ghost froze. He grabbed Minjo’s arm, his grip like a steel clamp. 

He knew the main tunnels were patrolled, often flooded, thanks to the Smart Chip map. And Hwan himself, was a creature of the Zone, an eater of souls. He was leading them too calmly, too openly. Ghost trusted his own instincts more.

Fifty yards away lay a forgotten manhole, rimmed with rust. Smaller. Deeper. Safer.

He shook his head at Hwan’s silhouette. Then, with the tip of his knife, he scratched two words in the dirt: Separate. Follow.

Minjo’s eyes flashed with understanding. This was one of Ghost's insights, another of his "mic drops" delivered in steel and dirt. He was betting their lives on the Underground Catacomb Map burned into his memory.

He wrenched the manhole cover aside. The metal screamed in the silence. He gestured, "Down. Now."

One by one, they slipped into the pitch-black. The cover sealed above them with a dull, final thud.

They vanished.

For five agonizing minutes, they moved cautiously in blind, suffocating silence. The only sound was the rhythmic drip... drip... drip... of water, echoing in the vast dark. Ghost felt his way along the cold stone walls, while his other hand held a lifeline to Echo. Every breath was a risk. Every step was calculated.

Then he stopped.

The tunnel was wrong. There was a sheer wall where a fork should be. The map in his head dissolved. The subtle turns, the new forks. The data was bad. He was lost.

He froze, one arm raised in warning. Doubt, a feeling he despised, flickered in his mind like static. He had failed them.

He had no choice. He pulled the generator from his belt and began to crank. The grinding noise was obscenely loud. The halo-gloves flared a weak, ghostly blue, casting their terrified faces in eerie light as he frantically tried to access the map file.

“Lost already, Ghost?”

The voice sliced through the dark, not twenty feet away.

Hwan stepped from a side tunnel, his amber eyes like twin suns in the void. He’d been waiting.

"Your choice was clever, Little Shinobi,” Hwan said evenly. “But this is my home. I carved these holes. I know where they all bleed. You should have known a map on a decades old smart chip was out of date."

He tilted his head toward the damning blue glow. “Now snuff that light. You’re ringing the bell again.”

Ghost obeyed, his jaw tight. The light died, plunging them back into a darkness that felt heavier, more hostile. His gamble had failed. His insight was wrong.

They moved on. They had little choice. Hwan was now in the lead.

The tunnels grew narrower, the air moldy and old. A soft vibration hummed through the ground, a low-frequency thrum that they felt in their teeth, like the Zone itself was breathing.

Hwan stopped suddenly. He didn't lift a hand. He simply ceased. “Hold,” he breathed, the sound barely a whisper.

A stillness fell, heavier than the darkness.

“They’re close,” Hwan whispered. “The Sisters see like snakes, they hunt heat and motion. They smell power. And they feed on sight. Do not move. Do not bleed. And do not look, no matter what you hear.”

Above them, a wide sewer grate. Beyond it, gray daylight filtered through dead leaves.

A shadow moved across it. Something gliding, jointed and wrong. The rustle of heavy fabrics.

A procession.

Plague made a strangled sound, half-gasp, half-prayer. Ghost pressed a heavy hand to his shoulder: Silence.

One of the Sisters paused directly above them.

Her habit, stiff with dried blood, brushed the grate. She sniffed the air, neck twitching like a bird. She could smell them. She could smell the residue of the generator, the faint, delicious trace of power from the device they’d just shut down.

Echo clenched her fists until her nails drew blood. Her need to do things right screamed inside her skull. Don’t look up. Don’t look up. Don’t....

The Sister lingered above, the click of rosary beads too close, too hungry.

Then, a metallic creak. The grate above them shifted.

A second later, something dark and slender slipped through the bars.

Metal scraped on stone, -- slow, deliberate.

The Nun was descending into the tunnel.

No one moved.

Echo bit her lip until she tasted blood. Minjo’s fingers hovered over her weapon. Plague was trembling, his breath a ragged, silent scream.

Ghost didn’t look. He couldn't.

He drew his knife by feel alone, holding it low, angled for silence. The sharp steel of the blade caught the Nun's swirling light, reflecting it as a single, dull-red glint.

The thing crawled closer, its joints cracking, its robes whispering against the wet floor. Its breath, if it could be called that, came in ragged pulls, tasting for life.

Hwan’s rule, a memory in their heads: They see through motion. They feed through eyes.

A drop of something, not water, fell onto Ghost’s shoulder.

It hissed.

He froze, holding his breath.

On Him, Ghost:

Cowl: SOMNIUM - Outlander [mesh](Salvage Station)(350L)

Coat: SOMNIUM - Outlander [mesh](Salvage Station)(350L)

Knife: FOE - Tsarkknife [mesh](Salvage Station)(699L)

Pants: Rebis - Werk Trousers [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(350L)

Mask: Pucca Firecaster Creations - PFC Ninja (Male) [mesh]

Headband: :::Last Ride::: 47 Samurai/Headband back [mesh]

Gloves: Archivefaction - Penumbra Gloves_Legacy M_Slim Fingers [mesh]

Setting:

Cursed Nun: Orphic - Dreadveil + Male (Full-body cloak)[mesh](Camp Syndicate)(599L)

Setting: Dreadmorne - Dungeon/Catacombs Building kit [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(1500L)

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shot, hi-res, midday sky. 

Camp Syndicate: The Ice Cream Man (Escape from Club Apophis, 24)

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STORYLINE: Jingle. Jingle. Jingle.

The sound wandered through the dark forest like a lost child,  an ice-cream cart’s bells ringing a melody of fossilized joy.

He let it play. Even monsters could be nostalgic; childhood memories were the last to die.

The porcelain mask pressed cool against his face, its smile painted on. Beneath it, his breath smelled of wet earth, rust and sugar.

He pushed the cart through a carpet of needles and broken glass, the wheels whispering over bones of old roads and people.

He stopped to wipe a dark stain from his crisp white jacket,  an old spill that would never come out. A reminder of the last mess he’d cleaned.

He listened. No wind. No insects. The forest here had forgotten how to live. Only the fading echo of tiny bells.

Then a click.
A whisper not his own.

Through the twin holes of the mask, he saw them: four intruders, half-hidden by ferns and moonlight, crouched near the shimmer of the Forbidden Zone’s boundary.

Children.

Their lights blinked; their voices were too loud, their hearts too bright. Fumbling with toys. Breaking the silence. They didn’t see the slithering shadows moving in the trees.

He tilted his head, listening.

The air vibrated with a sound he couldn’t hear but felt in his teeth.

One of them, the girl with violet stripes on her sleeves, was kneeling beside a box. Not a toy. A thing armored in scales so black it swallowed the moonlight. Even from here, he could feel it humming in his skull, a low-frequency scream, the psychic howl of something that did not belong in this world.

He flinched. They didn’t know what they’d touched. They didn’t know the rules.

He parked the cart. The jingle stuttered, then died with a final, off-key plink. He lifted the lid. The cheerful logo inside peeling and slashed with dried blood. His arsenal waited in neat rows: Raspberry. Chocolate. Strawberry Swirl.

His hand hesitated. Then: Vanilla.

The hammer was heavy, worn, reliable. Vanilla never let him down.

He moved through the trees without a sound, the damp trunks closing around him like a whisper. 

Every step erased a sound. The crickets stopped. The wind forgot itself.

The intruders were right ahead, still arguing.
The shimmer pulsed against their faces, painting them ghost-pale.
They made the bad box glow. They made it talk.

He watched with amber eyes as the girl’s hands trembled over the bad box. He could smell her fear.

Closer now.

Close enough she could see the reflection of his porcelain smile in dark glass of her device.

She looked up, sensing it. Her breath caught.

He raised the hammer. The jingle echoed once in his mind like a heartbeat.

And he brought it down.

This post was inspired by the outfit and theme of Camp Syndicate, the Slasher Movie genre.

On Him, the Ice Cream Man:

Outfit, mask, Hat: SOMNIUM - Mr. Sundae Set Bloody Legacy M/A [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(2250L)

Weapon: Krova - CLAW Hammer [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(350L)

Hands: Aii - Demonic Touch, bom/fingers, Legacy M [mesh]

Tattoo: HISS - PATTERNS BODY 2 - FADING TINT [BOM]

Shoes: L&B - LEGACYfit* Swear Old School Low Tops - Noir [mesh]

Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)

Setting:

Lantern: Oblivis - The Last Light STEEL [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(285L)

Gun: FOE x Nidhogg - Carbine Ax [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(499L)

Body parts: Whats Lost Spirits - Walk it off Body parts Pack [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(600L)

Hatchet, Hammer: Arts&Gear - *AG *CampingTools [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(300L)

Axe, Baseball bat, Boat oar: Puddles - Camp Weapons  [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(200L)

Knife, Blood: Evil Baby - Killer's Tattoo [BOM](Camp Syndicate)(350L)

Cart: BONDI - Ice Cream Small Cart, 12 Pink-Silver COMMON [mesh]

Location:

Camp Syndicate

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shot, hi-res, midday sky. 

Engine Room, Androgyny Event, Camp Syndicate: Plague (Escape from Club Apophis, 22)

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STORYLINE:  “So they’re vampires,” Plague said flatly, breaking the silence before anyone could romanticize it. “Ancient, ridiculously dramatic vampires who decided to cosplay as mob bosses. Great story pitch. It’s like 'The Godfather' meets 'Interview with the Vampire.' Coppola would weep. Can we get back to the part where we save our friend?”

The hologram of the speakeasy collapsed in a shower of static, leaving behind the coppery whiff of spilled blood and the phantom scent of gunsmoke in the air. The workshop fell silent again, the gentle ticking of Minjo’s brass contraptions marking time while everyone ignored him.

Ghost’s hands were a blur, cross-referencing Prohibition-era mob hierarchies with everything he could scrape from the net about Monstrum. Minjo, her back to everyone, was already sketching a rescue plan on a nearby whiteboard. Echo sat cross-legged on the floor beside the Black Snakeskin Box, a tangle of wires and circuit boards spread around her as she coaxed its strange power core to life.

Plague stretched, cracked his neck, and muttered, "Okay, I'll just be over here in my corner. Quietly creating a miracle cure for a biological horror, like I’m Alexander Fleming. No biggie. Don't mind me."

No one did.

He snatched the vial of claws, and the tube containing strands of Jihoon’s old hair from the workbench. “I’m starting the analysis. Yell if the time machine spits out Al Capone’s ghost.”

His corner of the workshop looked like a cybernetic parasite grafted onto an antique heart: chrome instruments threaded through brass skeletons, his bioreactors blinking among Minjo’s clockwork arms. His parents paid her obscene rent for the privilege, -- hoping her discipline might rub off on their prodigal heir. They saw Minjo as a future leader, a sound investment. Plague just saw her as the only person unimpressed by how big his inheritance would be.

He laid out the samples. The first: a few black strands from the paper crane —Jihoon before Lathandro. The control. The second: an obsidian claw clipped from a bandaged hand in the hospital—the mutation. He whistled softly. “From origami to armageddon. Let’s see what you’re made of, buddy.”

A flicker of memory cut the grin short. Guilt churned in his stomach. He remembered leaning against the lockers, voice dripping with practiced disdain as the new, beautiful Jihoon walked by. "Stupid femboy," he’d said, too loud, too easy. "Bet he hacked his DNA."

The words tasted like poison now, because they were a lie meant to hide a truth. The real criminal biohacker of Jae Won University was him. He was the one obsessed with gene-hacking. For months he’d been running back-alley CRISPR protocols on himself, trying to code sharper cheekbones, a clearer complexion, anything for an edge in the cutthroat world of biotech grants. But his body had fought back, rejecting it all: rashes, migraines, a week shaking with fever. He had failed. He built a containment suit to keep the evidence and the shame sealed away.

So when Jihoon emerged from Club Apophis remade, and radiant, Plague’s envy had been swift and vicious. He’d projected his own failure onto Jihoon, painting him as a cheater. He’d pushed his friend away right when Jihoon needed him most, and that path ended at the stadium with Jihoon screaming, engulfed in fire.

This was penance. 

He would find a cure. A cure for Jihoon first, but maybe a cure for himself, too. He’d save his friend, fix his own flawed biohack, and be hailed as the man who finally conquered DNA-rewrite rejection. He allowed the daydream to flicker, his speech accepting the Nobel Prize as cameras flashed. He grinned at the thought.

“Science first. Glory later,” he told the sequencer. “You and me, let’s make history."

The sequencer hummed to life, running a full genomic sequence. The results for the control sample were clean. Unremarkable. Perfectly boringly human. He saved the file, fed a sliver of the obsidian claw into the machine, and waited. Then repeated the process.

Hours bled into a blur. The distant chatter about safe zones and infiltration routes faded into white noise. By the time the first hints of dawn stained the workshop’s high windows, he was staring at the screen, rubbing his eyes, his mind refusing to process what the data said.

Finally, he pushed back from his station, his chair groaning in the quiet. “Uh, guys?”

His voice was strained. Minjo turned from the whiteboard, her marker frozen mid-sentence.

“I’ve got the results,” Plague said, running a hand through his hair. “There’s no difference.”

“What do you mean, no difference?” Minjo demanded, marching over.

“I mean before and after—identical. No viral markers, no synthetic code, no biohack signature. Either the universe is pranking me, or Jihoon’s DNA is the same old boring model.” He held up a finger. “And before you say contamination, I ran it six times.”

Minjo crossed her arms. “That’s illogical. We saw the claws. Your process is flawed. Do it again.”

“Six times, Minjo. Seven if you count the one where I forgot to breathe.” He sighed, dramatic. “My methodology is sound. The equipment is calibrated perfectly. The data is the data. Maybe you should accept that instead of assuming I’m an idiot!”

“I’m not calling you an idiot! I’m saying the result is impossible. There must be an error in the process.”

Before the argument could catch fire, a soft chime interrupted. Ghost lifted his gloved hands, holographic text drifting in a calm blue light above them. A simple question floated in the air: "Did you test the mitochondrial DNA?"

Plague froze.

Mitochondrial DNA, -- the power source of every living cell. He hadn’t even considered it.

He shot Ghost a grudging look. “Oh sure, Hologram Hands gets the win." He shook his head and muttered, "Sheeze, why is he always like that?"

He turned back to his console, frustration replaced by focus. An hour later, as the new analysis populated the screen, his jaw went slack. Half of Jihoon’s cells looked normal—powered by the same messy mitochondria as everyone else’s. The rest were something else entirely. His scanners couldn’t classify the energy source; the instruments simply read it as undefined.

The data made his blood run cold. “What the hell are you, Jihoon?”

The others gathered around as he stumbled back, his heart hammering against the metal ribs of his suit.

“What? What is it?” Minjo asked, her voice sharp with alarm.

“I found something alright. This isn't a bio-hack,” Plague breathed, his voice trembling with awe and terror. He pointed a shaking finger at the cellular map. “Jihoon isn’t being rewritten or infected. He’s a chimera. Half human… half something that doesn’t match any known terrestrial bio-signature. Two systems running in one body, and it looks like one of them wants the stage all to itself.”

A heavy silence settled over the workshop, the machines ticking like distant clocks.

Echo’s voice, quiet but certain, broke it. “Then we’d better hurry.”

Plague looked back at the screen, the dueling biological signals flickering like rival heartbeats. His voice came out soft, almost a joke. “Well,” he said, “guess we finally proved 'Meteor Strike' really is out of this world.”

No one laughed. 

The glow from the data deepened, and for a breath, it felt as though the thing inside Jihoon was staring back.

Halloween Season is upon us. But as you know, dear readers, Halloween is everyday on BishieStyleSL. lol.  I was so lucky to have items from three events perfectly suited for our handsome but flawed boy Plague.   ...From the brand new event Camp Syndicate, (which inspired by cabin-in-the-woods slasher horror movies), is the coolest icky scar wound material effect I have ever seen in SL, -- Decay by Cubic Cherry. It's a BOM tattoo layer with 3 layers of bom plus materials effect for EVO X mesh heads. You can adjust the layers to best suit your skintone for max effect. Using well positioned face lights can enhance the effect, I used red and cyan.   ...From the Engine Room is the gorgeous SOMNIUM Automaton MK2 mesh body, with a, outer frame and skeletal inner frame. The PBR materials are excellent and it poses well. It comes in 6 different texture styles. I used the black and red Enforcers for this image. Just wonderful.  ... From the Androgyny Event is the Maledictus Lacrimosa BOM makeup style that worked great on my male EvoX mesh head! I love the shadow below the eye, and upper lid with a metallic loud color.  Also at AE is the fun Prismo Aura attachment doubling as DNA molecules in my image. The hovering rocks move, some float, some spin in place. It comes with a texture hud for 8 colors and 7 glow colors.   ...In the background, I used the Ambice Cyber "Nova'' Station, but in my final image, you can barely tell it's still. Still, I wanted to include it and show you what it looks like below in the raw shots. The set is mod, so you can move pieces around or scale it up or down.=.

On him, Plague:

Scar: Cubic Cherry Decay [BOM, Materials](Camp Syndicate)(275L)

Body: SOMNIUM Automaton, Enforcer [mesh](Engine Room)(950L)

Makeup: {maledictus} Lacrimosa, red [BOM] (Androgyny Event)(199L)

Aura: TERIYAKI Prismo [mesh] (Androgyny Event)(499L)

Hair: Dura U122 -A: Men's [mesh]

Head: LeLUTKA Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)

Setting:

Set: Ambice Cyber "Nova'' Station [mesh]

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shot, hi-res, midday sky. Scar shown at midnight with local lights for materials effect.

Engine Room: Murder at the Cabaret

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STORYLINE: The velvet curtains of Le Rouge Noir rippled in a wind that did not belong. Giselle blinked, her vision sharpening against the haze of cigar smoke and dim crimson lights. The club still pulsed with jazz, but the laughter, the music, the warmth of bodies.... None of it touched her.

Then she saw, *him.*

The Master of Ceremony stood before her, his grin too wide, his haunted eyes gleamed like a cat’s in the dark. She saw now, for the first time, he was merely a puppet to a terrifying creature hovering behind him. Beneath the sheen of his silk suit, his skin cracked like old leather, shifting as if something monstrous animated him.

“Darling,” he purred, voice like velvet and decay, “I’m afraid you’re quite dead.”

Giselle staggered back. Her mind screamed that it couldn’t be true, she had just been dancing, drinking, alive.

“But,” the Master continued, stepping closer, the scent of brimstone curling from his lips, “I do love a good game. Solve your murder in three nights, and you may yet waltz out of here breathing.”

His grin widened, revealing teeth too sharp, too many.

“Fail…” He chuckled, low and terrible. “And you’ll dance for me forever.” 

It's time to go back to the past that never was, Engine Room has returned! This post was inspired by a story I wrote while on hiatus, and the awesome cabaret and burlesque themed items this round.   ...The spooky monster head Arges is by Lightwood. The eye is animated, and comes in several colors. It's meant to replace your normal head. However for my image idea, I combined it with the bento animated Ride of Delusion by Contraption, so its looks like a shadow spirit possession.  ...Talk about spooky, I felt like a ventriloquist doll in this amazing Caberet style makeup for men by Somnium. It has an old feel with parts of the makeup cracked. Comes with brow and mustache and without. This rare gem of a retro male makeup is a free gift at the Engine Room too! The beautiful and versatile tuxedo set by Somnium is great for many occasions. It includes bowtie, shirt, vest, tailcoat, pants and the hud includes 7 textures options for each area of the suit so you can mix and match colors, (including dusty and bloodsplatter).   ... The Hunter's Handbook by Static is very fun. It's wearable as a necklace, and then you can trigger a pose for it to be worn in your hand as if reading it. Its has fits for men and women, and an unrigged version. It comes in 3 colors.   The prosthetic hand is by Cabalpier. In PBR and nonPBR versions, with both style and texture options. It's unrigged so you can display it too!  ...I used the handy Contraption Dapper gloves which include an alpha to hide one hand's glove. ...The spooky haunted eyes are by Hallbourne. I love black sclera eyes for that extra spooky look.   ...The Burlesque club setting is by Paparazzi. (Thanks for your help on the set, Akira!)

On Him:
Monster head: Lightwood Arges Head Inferno Black Chains [mesh](Engine Room)(399L)

Makeup: SOMNIUM Maestro Makeup - Brows/Mustache, ears  [mesh](Engine Room)(gift)
Outfit: SOMNIUM Maestro's Aria set, Legacy (PBR)[mesh](Engine Room)(850L)

Eyes: Hellbourne :H: Thaumaturgy Eyes, White [mesh](Engine Room)(275L)
Book: Static Hunter's Handbook [Bento][mesh](Engine Room)(325L)
Hand: CABALPIER Dead Hand M6, Male (PBR)[mesh](Engine Room)(425L)

Pet: Contraption Ride of Delusion *rdeath [Bento](500L)
Gloves: Contraption Dapper Dandy's Gloves Legacy M [mesh](350L)

Shoes: Muho Zas Shoes, black, LegacyM [mesh](90L)
Hair: Volkstone Ryot ll Hairbase / Black [BOM](199L)
Head: LeLUTKA Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)
Pose: Puppets World trust me m k f (35L)

Setting:
Set: Paparazzi BACKDROP - Burlesque [mesh](350L)

BONUS IMAGE: inworld raw shot, midday sky

Engine Room : The Celestial Mafia, part 4

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STORYLINE: Just as J and Guryong rounded the corner, they saw a woman racing towards them with dark tear stained cheeks. "Run! The Gears have gone haywire!" Behind her was a horde of Automatons and a rampaging Quad car smashing them under foot. They were chasing her. What in the Cogs was going on? Had all the machines of New London gone mad?

Sadly, there were so many more images I wanted to do for this series, but it comes down to what you can get done in time. This image was inspired by all the items I used from the Engine Room. I just loved the Camo Jules Dreads and wanted to build a character on that, and thus Olivia, one of two survivors of New London, was born. She is wearing the Steam Eques outfit and boots by Silvery K, the pink is a texture option in the fatpack. The robot smashing attack comes from the wonderfully wacky AG Quad Walker car. (It just looks like it wants to smash things!) It is a wearable vehicle with wonderful animations for the car and rider, and you can customize its colors. And the poor Somnium Automation androids got underfoot. (To read about the other survivor of New London and the continuing story, go to Aarya Phantomhive's Dark Phantom blog.)

On her, Olivia, survivor of New London:
Outfit, boots: Silvery K Steam Eques, fatpack [mesh](Engine Room)(680L)
Hair: Camo Jules Dreads [mesh](Engine Room)(599L)
Eyepatch: Insomnia Angel Honoria mono-goggles [mesh](320L)
Collar: Artificial Hallucination  +AH+ Belt Collar male rig [mesh](249L)
Pose: FlashPhotography Terror Bento Pose pack (175L)

Setting: 

Robots: SOMNIUM AUTOMATON - Forgotten [mesh](Engine Room)(899L)

Car: Arts&Gear AG Quad Walker Type A [mesh](Engine Room)(1500L)

Set: VARONIS Dayport Backdrop Scene [mesh](499L)

Necrotize: Revenge of the Small Blue Planet

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STORYLINE: The Caretaker had been asleep at the spaceship controls, his hand still resting on a full belly. He had a satisfied smirk still on his face from eating the forbidden fruit from a quarantined planet.  Other than the small blue planet being infested with life, he saw no harm in stopping for a quick tasty organic meal. But as his eyes snapped open and stared in shock at the angrily blinking monitors of the colony ship, he knew he had made a grave mistake. The ship was making an eerie mechanical bleep in a repeating rhythm that seemed to be counting the passing of time. His monitor was glitching and forming a pattern. He couldn’t read the alien language that spelled out, “Welcome to Earth Asshole,” but he did recognize the skull pattern of the monkey creature he ate. It was laughing. Was it mocking him? More alarms began to blare. Lights flickered. He looked around in disbelief. No way did that primitive culture have a Planetary Defense. There was no armada. What was happening? A red alarm began to flash. Hull breach in Pod Bay 94. He grabbed a weapon and raced there. The doors were jammed. He forced it open, and was immediately struck with swirling wind and sparks. On top of a pod was some kind of alien technology bot destroying his precious cargo! And it was rapidly multiplying, building more copies of itself from parts of the ship! What was it? Malevolent Artificial Intelligence? Horrifying! He leapt inside to maelstrom to quickly do what must be done. If he survived, he would never again question the quarantine bans.

Necrotize's finale is tomorrow, don't miss all cool alien and cyber horror themed creations and gifts! This image was inspired by items at the event, and a twist on the classic War or the Worlds trope: "germs save the Earth!" But in my version, its our AI that mounts the attack. Our Cute Little Hero is a Classic Macintosh on spider legs by Shard. Its an Animesh pet you can wear with texture options to have him wear a ghost sheet, and of course there are blood spatter options. Love him! I'm wearing the Aliens Convent themed Observer outfit by Somnium. It's a complete outfit including hands, so you really only need to make sure the head fits for any style avatar to wear it. The Xenomorph-like  Helmet by Ivy includes tattoo layers for shading on the face, and texture change hud. The grey Fralin skin by Stringer Mausoleum is perfect for the Caretaker and its EvoX too. The Symbiote Scissor weapon by Artemisia has 2 huds for textures and attack animations. The Skybox and Pods are by Celeste. They are both mod which was super handy for me to change things up a bit to create the inside of large alien spaceship. Adding to the organic feel of the ship,  is What's Lost Spirit's Fear buildings that function as pillars lining the cargo bay and acting as the main pod pillar.

On him, The Caretaker:
Outfit: Somnium The Observer [mesh](Necrotize)(550L)
Helmet: IVY Lyrae Headpiece [mesh](Necrotize)(375L)
Weapon: Artemisia Symbiote Scissor [mesh](Necrotize)(600L)
Eyes: IKON Deadshine Eyes - Quicksilver [mesh](150L)
Skin: The Stringer Mausoleum Fralin Grey, ExoX  [BOM](Necrotize)(299L)
Head: LeLUTKA Kane Evolution .2.5 [mesh](3990L)
Pose: Del May DM - Twirl prep (50L)

Setting:
SpiderMac: Shard Makilltosh [mesh](Necrotize)(489L)
Vine Building: What's Lost Spirits WLS Fear [mesh](Necrotize)(388L)
Pods: Celeste The Pod [mesh](Necrotize)(262L)
Skybox: Celeste The Chamber [mesh](Necrotize)(187L)

Necrotize: Incubation

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STORYLINE: Crewmen Stephan couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. The cargo freighter USS Charon was dead in the water near the Scheol Nebula. Unless he could find the problem and make the necessary repairs, he was stuck until help arrived. And since that could take years, it was up to him to fix it, no matter how much his skin crawled as he ventured deeper and deeper into the heart of the dilapidated spaceship. His stomach growled angrily. He hadn't been feeling well since he ate that lousy dinner on a passing freighter a month ago. "Never Again," he swore under his breath. No sooner had he opened a hatch in the floor, then something flew out and attached itself to his face. He screamed and clawed at it, gagging and thrashing wildly. Something going down his throat! But it was too late, a paralytic venom was already slowing his movements. His vision was blurred as a dark shape loomed over him. It knelt beside him, saying “Shhh, shhh..." and stroking his hair. Tears rolled down his eyes. What was it? It looked alien, but human too. The creature’s sharp claws were caressing him like a pet. "I know it hurts, my poison will kill the foreign food-born egg growing inside you." His limp body was picked up like he weighed nothing. The alien carried him to a hole melted in the ship's hull, and judging from the leaking fuel lines, this was most likely the cause of the engine failure. Another ship was attached outside. It's black surface gleamed and seemed alive with pulsing green goo in its biomechanical veins. "We are going to a safe place," his capturer said, "Nothing will ever hurt you again as long as you are with me."

ALIENS! HORROR! Necrotize is a unique event full of things to haunt your nightmares. This image was inspired by the tale of Hades and Persephone with an Aliens twist. On the Alien is the super cool Giger outfit by Somnium. It comes with an infection BOM tattoo which I combined with the Human Glitch Ncthr tattoo. The haunted Syrre Eyes are by Petrichor and have so many options, its great. Poor Stephan is wearing the Krova Animesh Facehugger, and Antaya Incubator attachment. I discovered it works on male and female avis that wear a layer alpha. His outfit is Orther by Asteroidbox. It has support for many mesh bodies, male, female, and the Mait flat like I used here. The gorgeous setting is Level 03 by Varonis. All these awesome items are at Necrotize, and there are gifts too in the Green Eggs.

On him, Crewman Stephan:

Outfit: AsteroidBox Orther Outfit - Mait Flat [mesh](Necrotize)(289L)

Facehugger: KROVA Fleshbug green [mesh](Necrotize)(350L)

Belly: ANTAYA Incubator [mesh](Necrotize)(299L)

Gloves: Contraption Dapper Dandy's Gloves [mesh](350L)

Hair: No_Match NO_TENDERNESS [mesh](group gift)

Tattoo: The White Crow [TWC]- Your tears -Black- 

Skin: Tableau Vivant Rays Skin - Tone 03 - natural [BOM]

Mesh head: Raven Bell  BJD Bento Head James // OMEGA-UV [mesh] (2000L)

Chest: [V-Tech] Boi Chest Mod - Maitreya [BOM](499L)
Body: Maitreya Mesh Body Lara  [BOM] [mesh](2750L)

On him, Xeno Hades:

Outfit: Somnium Giger - Black -  [mesh](Necrotize)(450L)

Tattoo: Human Glitch NCTHR tattoo white tintable [BOM](Necrotize)(399L)

Eyes: Petrichor :[P]:- Syrre Eye v.1.2  [mesh](Necrotize)(399L)

Claws: L'Emporio&PL Oblio Vampire Claws male [mesh](350L)

Tail: Aii Daemonium Tail [mesh](400L)

Underpants: BareRose ::: B@R ::: Cavalier Noir Optional Underpants [BOM](150L)

Skin: Tableau Vivant Ryan Sent to destroy 4 [BOM]

Mesh head: Raven Bell  BJD Bento Head James // OMEGA-UV [mesh] (2000L)

Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.0) [mesh](5000L)

Pose: F*cking Ninjas FN Hades and Persephone, edited (50L)

Setting:

Skybox: VARONIS "Level 03" Backdrop [mesh](Necrotize)(449L)

Thanks for your help, Aarya!

Engine Room: The Society for the Prevention of Aging

(click to enlarge)

STORYLINE: Like most bad ideas, “The Society for the Prevention of Aging” sounded like a noble cause at first. It began as a rich and powerful secret society's pet project. They threw an extravagant fund raiser. And not long after, a gifted inventor and powerful witch were commissioned. With the combined forces of science and magic, a time portal was created. However it could not stop aging, it could merely freeze time for anyone who dared to enter. Obviously, it was dangerous. A few limbs were lost before they realized they needed to bring their own oxygen supply, (frozen time has no chemical reactions). However with practice, they grew more bold. At first, it was innocent pranks like removing the chair from under a frozen person who was about to sit down. The prank played out flawlessly. The culprit never discovered. Since there was no law governing each and every moment in time, abuse of the society's newfound power escalated quickly to all manner of ghastly atrocities.  Is it any wonder, the sky itself cracked?

Aarya and I, (Team Blogger Bat!), joined forces once more for this image. We have been collaborating with Discord for awhile now; coming up with ideas, storylines, feedback on outfits, camera angles, lighting and EEPs. Its been wonderful. This image started as an idea for her dress, and quickly grew into Time Villains!   Many interactive scripted items on this one from the current round of The Engine Room. Ex Machina's Prof Baltazar's Astounding Portal is a site to site teleporter. It uses a cool special effect you can see in Advanced lighting. From Celeste is the Nixie clock that keeps SL time for you. From Whats Lost Spirits is a Steampunk greeter and Enforcer Orb. The lvl.9 Masks come with a hud that lets you retexture its many parts. (I loved the animated flames on the lenses.) I'm wearing the Tempus Shirt by AsteroidBox. It comes in male and female fits, and its mod. I opted to hide the corset part. On the shoulder is a fun SpiderBulb prop by White Crow. In set, you can see the fun Pipework Lamps by Dictatorshop. Touch them to turn on and off, and in distance is the underside of the D-Lab Capsule Sky Island. For more details on Aarya's Time Witch, head over to Dark Phantom Blog.

On him, Dark Inventor:
Top: AsteroidBox Tempus Shirt, Legacy [mesh](Engine Room)(289L)

Pants: Somnium Mage Trouser & Boot, Legacy [mesh](Engine Room)(450L)

Mask: lvl.9 Ninth Life Mask [mesh](Engine Room)(500L)

Pet: The White Crow Spiderbulb [mesh](Engine Room)(220L)

Arms: Contraption SP1NDL Prosthetic arm *AETH* [mesh](500L)

Cane: Deadwool Goat cane - v1 [mesh](group gift)
Hair: Wasabi Pills Hawk Male - Night shadow [mesh](250L)

Pose: pose maniacs {pm} Male & Female 27

On Her, Time Witch:

To see Aarya Phantomhive's complete stylecard and story, go to: Dark Phantom Blog

Collar: Silvery K Steam Libera [mesh](Engine Room)(280L)

Dress jewelry: Kosmii Bedelia Chatelaine, gold [mesh](Engine Room)(399L)

Hair: KMH F175 hair [mesh](Engine Room)(325L)

Setting:
Set: Ex Machina Prof Baltazar's Astounding Portal [mesh](Engine Room)(587L)

Clock: Celeste Steampunk Nixie [mesh](Engine Room)(187L)

Robot, orb: Whats Lost Spirits Steampunk Greeter [mesh](Engine Room)(888L)

Fans: D-Lab Capsule Sky Island [mesh](Engine Room)(150L)

Light: Dictatorshop Pipework Lamps Brass [mesh](Engine Room)(395L)

Thanks for your help, Aarya!