The Beasts Below

Newport Rhode Island is an old county, well-known for the many manors and mansions built upon the land. Many are old and filled with history, you can even tour some, others have been refurbished, restored, and are lived in by the rich, and, of course, there are those few manors and mansions that are claimed to be haunted. Most people would agree that the claims are false, but....there are those who doubt it.

Among these many houses that are claimed to be haunted there is one that few people dare tread.  Mariner's Port Manor. It had been built in the mid-1700s by the owner of a trading company. It originally stood a good distance from a cliff that overlooked the ocean, but over the years, thanks to the erosion, the cliff had crept closer. The manor was in no danger of falling into the water, rather, this improved th view. The manor house was something to be admired, at least back in the day. The owner had several parties, inviting all to come, from the common to the rich. He never wanted to exclude his workers.

Nowadays the manor has lost all ability to gain admiration. The wood, after years of water damage, was warped and soggy, the bright white and blue color that it had faded to a grayish shade, nearly all the windows had been smashed and boarded up, and any metal that had once been an addition to house had rusted. The inside of the house still had touches of life. It was still got furnished, however most of it was rotted and molded over, the place was still sturdy somehow, and some even say that there is power theye, occasionally seeing a light in a window. The house itself was like  a two story Labyrinth, who's halls twisted and turned in such a way that one could easily get lost.  And there were rooms, so many rooms, more rooms than anyone really knew. Guest rooms and dining rooms and lounges and living rooms and bathrooms and trophy rooms and waiting rooms and closets and, of course, secret rooms.

As of a week ago the current owner of the house, a family member who had inherited it from a distant relative plans to revive the house and bring it back up! However, rumors of disappearing teens who broke in, cops who had gone missing as they looked for said kids, strange sounds and lights from the house has all made the current owner hesitant to start the rebuilding process. They have put out a large reward to anyone who can solve the mystery if any and to anyone who can spend more than three days inside that damn house. The locals have also wanted this mystery solved for sometime and anyone who can solve would take a lathe burden off their shoulders...

"Rhode Island. What the hell is even in Rhode Island?" Andre Spade muttered under his breathe. The display on his glasses sprang to life, as hundreds of facts about Rhode Island filled his field of view.

"Sarcasm." Andre sighed, "That was sarcasm.". He simultaneously began running through the details of why he was going to Rhode Island, while also rereading everything he had just been shown, using his photographic memory.

Andre was bored. This was no secret. He was one of the richest men alive at 18, an unparalleled genius, and a freaking super-hero. All of this was cool, but for someone who loved to learn, loved mystery, knowing as much as he does about, well, everything, became tiring. Andre's superhuman intelligence made it hard to ever find excitement in things. He'd be able to predict the end of a movie within a few seconds of it's opening scene, he could give you an entire synopsis of a novel just by reading its first paragraph, and at this point even crime-fighting was losing it's charm.

I mean, sure, there's still the rush of taking down the bad guy, and of course he still loves helping people, but it's grown tiresome. Often times he'd find himself interrupting the villainous monologue, and finishing it for them before incapacitating them. He had to admit though, the looks of defeat, disappointment, or almost childish anger they'd get when he interrupted them at the peak of their evil monologue was still pretty funny. Andre chuckled, mentally rewatching some of his favorite reactions while he finished compiling his list of "things to do" in Rhode Island, and going over the details of why he was there. Earlier that day, he had found something. A story about an evil house.
.............................................................................
He loved a good mystery, and while scouring the internet, police radios, and every other form of electronic signal he could find, he began to hear whispers of some cursed house. Comparing it with other hoaxes, this clearly stood out, mainly due to the disappearance of law enforcement officers who had been sent inside. Magic, curses, voodoo, and the like all annoyed Andre. He believed they were archaic ways of thinking that we simply used to explain the things our science, at the time, couldn't. That didn't stop him from taking interest though, if for not other reason than to find a logical explanation to the disappearances, and hopefully prevent any more from taking place. Not wanting to waste a moment of time he activated the Spade v1 and took flight from the top of Spade Tower.
.............................................................................
Andre landed on the street just in front of the house, and shivered. He wouldn't admit it, but there was certainly an eerie feeling to the place. "Send notice to the local authorities of my presence...let them know I'll have their "Ghost House" problem fixed soon." He spoke out loud, knowing that the small crowd of people who had left their houses to gather around him would hear, knowing full well that he could've mentally made the same request. He wanted to put them at ease, and he could tell by the decreased levels of adrenaline and slowing heart rates that he had.

"Right away, Mr. Spade." a female voice spoke from within his suit. Spade had been scanning the building both with his suit and his own mind. No heat signatures or electronics could be found within, and attempts at using sonar to listen in failed, as all that returned was a loud buzzing. He squinted, at first with a look of annoyance, which was quickly replaced by a look of excitement. He...didn't know what was going on. Finally.

"Thank Jobs. Let's do this. Spade said excitedly, before giving the growing crowd a little wave, and heading into the house as they cheered and clapped for him. As he entered, he flicked on his suits external lights, and continued to scan the house(which was much larger than it initially appeared) for any sounds, heat signatures, electricity, etc. Other than the sound of waves crashing against the cliff below, there was nothing.

"Hmm." Spade hums curiously. Despite being completely enveloped in a thick, metal, armor that completely regulated temperature to a comfortable level, Spade felt a chill, and when he checked, he noticed that the temperature indoors was considerably lower than out. He retracted his helmet back into the bod of the suit in order to feel it for himself, and when he did, he could see his own breath. He quickly called the helmet back on, and began to walk up the stairs, a curious mix of excitement, elation..., and fear building in his heart.

Samuel Grayson was a very simple hero. Still rather young, twenty-one or was it twenty, he couldn't remember, and still pretty new to being a hero. He didn't come to the manor in Newport for the glory or the mystery. Truth be told, he never understood the appeal of glory, it seemed like a hassle, and with mysteries...he just wasn't good at them. He was never the brightest bulb, but it never did stopped him from trying.

He had arrived art the manor earlier that day, he figured bright and early was a good time to try and set up shop, and, while he didn't believe on ghosts and spirits, there was something off about this house. It wasn't just the rumors or the appearance. There had been a...strange presence he couldn't explain. A vibe that rung off every piece of rotted wood here. He didn't like it.

He also didn't like the smell. Or the chill. In his own personal, professional opinion...this place should just be torn down. To rebuild this place seemed stupid. Earlier when he tried to wander around and see what he could find he had to zip up his jacket avid watch where he stepped, there had been a few places where his feet nearly broke through the floorboards. He had also gotten lost a good deal of time. The winding halls, the seemingly amount of endless doors, and the strange cross-hallways made this place annoying to travel around in. It was just luck that he managed to get back to the entrance hall and back to where he had set up his temporary base (About ten minutes before Spade had arrived).

At the top of the staircase right there in the entrance hall there was a room directly straight ahead from the stairs. It had two large double doors that were still in relatively good shape. Behind them lay the master bedroom, a large room with a kind sized bed, a walk-in closet where Sam had set up his bedroll (the closet smelled the least like mold and the bed had turned black from all the water and mold), a fire place and a small bookshelf.

Sam, using of his own supplies, everything here was too wet to use, started a fire in the hearth. The room glowed with orange heat that was a relief in the cold dampness of the house. He had taken out a small can of soup and started making the preparations for coffee. There was something about this house that made him...not want to sleep, not yet.

With a heavy breath, he sighed. "It's for the money..." He quietly reminded himself. "Just gotta put up with the creepy house until I figure out what the he'll is going on..." His head slumped to one side and let out a heavier sigh. "I'm gonna be here all-" He stopped.

Across the way the closet...no, coming from slightly below the closet he heard something scraping, crawling across the floor. Something was downstairs. He bit his lower lip and stood up as images horrific monsters and terrors entered his head. It was like when you were a kid and heard a random bump in the night. That bump was every monster you could think of combined into one.

"Damnit..." He chuckled. He smiled brightly and sat back down. "I'm letting my imagination get the better of me. Probably just a rat or something. Maybe a fish with all this water damage." He chuckled again. "I'll check it after I eat..." He blinked. "Why am I talking to myself?" He chuckled again brightly, continuing to cook his simple meal.

Spade was startled by the sudden alert that popped onto his display. "Two distinct heat signature have been located sir." the robotic voice spoke to him. Spade sighed, mentally chastising himself for being so jumpy, before requesting a sonar signal.
................................................
"Damnit... I'm letting my imagination get the better of me. Probably just a rat or something. Maybe a fish with all this water damage." "I'll check it after I eat..."  "Why am I talking to myself?"
................................................

So there was someone in the house. "How did we miss this before?" Spade whispers, agitation clear in his voice. "Unclear sir. Something seems to be interfering with the systems. Shall I run a full diagnostics check?" the voice in his suit buzzes. Spade mentally rejects, and begins to ascend the stairs, this time more quietly. He began running a voice check, and soon identified the voice as that of one Samuel Grayson, a young superhuman. In a split second, Andre memorized and analyze Samuel's abilities.

"Teleporter. Interesting." Spade muttered. Teleportation was something he'd been working on, but had so far proven too costly. He could do it, rather easily too. His plans for a functioning teleportation device were already complete, and he hoped he'd be able to utilize them in a future Spade suit, but it was still far too costly even for him. Perhaps Samuel could be of assistance to him, assuming he proves not to be responsible for the disappearances. It was certainly possible, after all making people suddenly disappear shouldn't be too difficult for someone with his abilities, but Spade had the distinct feeling it wasn't his doing.

"Abilities make him a flight risk, former performer so trust and general anxiety shouldn't be an issue. Direct contact seems to be the best approach." Andre muttered, planning how best to approach Samuel, while simultaneously planning his methods of apprehending the man, if it came to that.

He made his way into the room where the boy seemed to be preparing a meal. He made the mental command for his helmet to open just in front of his face, as a show of trust.

"Samuel Grayson. How ya doin? I'm Andre Spade, and I think we're here for the same reason. What do you know about this house?"

Sam jumped up with a start. He had nearly shouted out of fear, but instead just took in a quick, deep inhale. He had already been in high tensions due to the house itself and that sound he heard moments before, so when Spade walked in, well, Sam was startled to say the least.

After a few moments of keeping quiet Sam finally let out a sigh, a bright smile coming to his face. At first, Spade's appearance had really thrown Sam off, even with Spade's face showing. It's not everyday you see a suit like that, at least, for Sam. With the disappearances lately and this man being the only odd thing here...and he knew Sam's name. The entire situation was strange, but...he did introduce himself...and he didn't attack without warning. Those were good signs...so that left only one thing left to do.

"Hello there, Spade! It's great to meet ya!" Sam said brightly and extending his hand to the man, but before making his way over to Spade he looked down at his soup. He quickly picked it up with a mitt and held it out to Spade. "Want some soup, I don't got a lot, but meals always taste better with company! I also got some coffee brewing if you want some of that!" Sam motioned Spade to come over and join him by the fire. "I got some questions for you too. I want to know how ya know me and what that suit is. We can exchange info!" He nods once. "A fair trade!"

With that, Sam sat back down, smiling happily at Spade. He loved meeting new people, especially interesting people with powers and abilities. He had expected his teacher to come, but not anyone else. It was a surprise, but a pleasant one.

As Sam sat there, there was another scraping sound coming from the below the closets. It wasn't coming from beneath the floorboards, but from the floor below. It wasn't loud, but rather it sounded like it came from something small. This got Sam's attention briefly, just a brief glance over before looking back to Spade.

"I think that's just a rat or two, but we can check after we talk." He patted the floor, inviting Spade to sit with him. "Come on, buddy!"

Forever on the hunt for grand adventures, Siren flew over Rhode Island, having arrived in these parts after some searching on the internet had revealed something about a particular haunted house. On the surface, this didn't seem like anything special but Alan knew better than to judge a book by its cover, especially considering all the recent disappearances. The fact that those who entered seemingly just vanished off the face of the earth was all the more reason to be concerned.

Making sure there was nobody around, the alien descended from the sky down to the shade of some trees where they morphed their appearance back to just plain Alan. A part of him still being surprised even after all that had happened he was still able to maintain some semblance of a human identity.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, he crept closer to the house, while Aurora provided commentary in their shared mind, "So, what you think we're dealing with here? Some crazy axe-wielding psycho? Portal to the netherworld? Vengeful spirits that are a little too obsessed with their old stomping grounds?"

"You've been watching too many horror movies lately, Aurora," Alan lightly scolded her as he pushed open the door and slowly stepped inside, peeking around each corner. Hearing the crackling of fire though put him on alert as he kept on moving and peeked around only to see an old face, "Sam? Is that you? Who's your friend?"

Before he could answer the mans questions, the Knight's sensors picked something up. While everything outside of the house seemed to be in some sort of a dead zone that he couldn't reach, he picked it up the moment it entered. It seemed to be a cross between human and something else, but he knew it was coming. Within seconds, his suits wrist mounted machine gun deployed, and he spun around to aim it at the approaching being.

............................................................................................

"The question is...who and WHAT are you?" Andre asked. He didn't like the situation he was in, in this strange house with two beings he didn't know on either side of him, and the fact that they knew each other was even more upsetting. He knew they may not take too kindly to this, but he had to be prepared.

The suits facial recognition began to identify the being as "Siren", and while it wasn't exactly evil, it wasn't a hero either.

"You're...two beings?" he asked, slightly surprised. "Interesting..". He began running the logistics of that in the back of his mind, while also contemplating what to do if attacked. "What do you know about this house?" he asked Siren.

Sam raised his hand, not really sure if Spade's first question was directed at just Siren, or Siren and Sam. "My name is Sam! I'm here and I'm here for the reward. If you guys want to split it I guess that's fine." He smiled, though in all honesty he really didn't want to share. He could really use that money himself, it was the main reason he had come here. Hero work was good and all, he enjoyed it, but sometimes you just really need the money.

He looked to Siren and gave a small wave. "Hey teach!" He said brightly. "I think this guy's name is..." He blinked once. He had already forgotten. It was sounded like... "His name is Spayed!" He nodded once, confident in his answer. "He's a hero too."

Despite the situation, Alan actually let out a small chuckle at hearing the guy's name, "No offense, Sam, but...I'm pretty sure that's not the guy's name..." He then finally focused on the man in the suit, finally registering the gun being pointed at him, "Nice gun you got there by the way. As for what I am, that is...difficult to answer..." The lad scratched the back of his neck, unsure of himself, "And to properly explain would take far too long-"

Suddenly, his eyes turned green and a new voice spoke through him, "And for the record, it's none of your business!" Alan shook his head as he resumed control and turned away, "Aurora, I thought we agreed no possessing me in the middle of a conversation or without my permission!"

The other voice came back, "Oh, come on! I get wanting to know WHO we are, but asking WHAT is more than a little discriminatory if you ask me!!"

"Just...let me handle this.." Alan turned back to the two, "I'm really sorry about that. My partner gets a little testy when certain types of questions are asked in a particular manner. I'm Alan. The voice you just heard was my friend, Aurora. She's an alien that camps out in my head...that's the short version anyways..."

He took a seat by the fire, "And I'm here for the same reason you two likely are. To find out why people been going missing. Other than that, I know as much as you guys likely do."

Spade raised his eyebrows at the interactions. He figured he'd have no problem letting the boy take the reward, as he picked up a raise in heart rate when it was mentioned, and the boy seemed reluctant to offer to share. He'd mention this as soon as he had assessed the situation.

"So," he began, "You're two beings in one? What's that like?" he asked, feeling his curiosity take over.

Deciding that he was in no immediate danger from the two, he allowed his helmet to again retract, as well as lowering his guns.

"Well, the more the merrier." he chuckled, taking a seat by the boy.

"The name is Andre. Andre Spade, one of the three richest men alive..?" he said, trying to see if they recognized the name. No matter, he was noticing quite a few things he figured he'd need to point out to him, and he began to piece it together.

"I suppose I should point out that, as far as my sensors can tell, we're the only living beings here." he said, providing a holographic display to them of what his sensors were picking up. "So," he began, raising his helmet and standing up. "Who or what, is that?" he finished, ushering towards the stair well, where a furious scratching sound continued to grow.

Sam listened quietly at the spout between Spade, Alan, avid Aurora, smiling all the while. He hated doing jobs alone and at least Spade seemed cool and he knew Siren. He didn't know Spade by name, though, there was a tinge of jealousy when he heard that Spade was one of the three richest men in the world. It was no secret that Sam was low on money and he mainly did this hero job to acquire more funds, well for money and he actually did enjoy the work. He was happy helping people.


Sam held out his soup to the two (or three?) of them, offering it to any take, but stopped halfway through and blinked at the holographic image. "Well shoot...ain't that fancy?" He put the soup down and went to go touch. Right before his finger was about to touch it He heard the snarling and scratching which made him flinch back.

He looked to the sound, waiting to see what would happen. "Sounds a lot bigger than a rat this time...I did see some big scratch marks downstairs. Maybe that thing made it...?" Sam looked to others, seeing if they'd agree or disagree.

There was loud bang from the closet, wood snapping and hitting the ground. It was followed by scraping claws pulling something big up onto the floor. Whatever was below was now up here and in the closet. The door was still shut and an ominous silence followed. (Not sure who wants dibs on describing the beast, I'm happy to, I had an idea for it, but would love to see what you guys had in mind!)

Sam looked back and forth between the two, smiling, but with less vigor. "Uhh....ah, uh, if you guys want me to open it...I can? I probably could get away the quickest."

Alan heard the scratching at the door and it became clear that they were not alone here. He swapped out to his alien form as he creeped over beside the door before glancing back to the others. With a nod, she threw it open and out from the darkness emerged something that was the stuff of nightmares.

Its form was mostly humanoid but it had many telltale signs of animals in its design, from the fact its whole body was covered in greasy black fur to the canine design of its face with yellow cat-like eyes. However, sticking out of the side of its head was another head only this one looked like it belonged to a rat. At least one of the creature's arms was over-developed and covered in warts with the talons of a bird for feet which scraped the floor it stood on.

The creature hissed at the group before charging towards Siren who booked it over some nearby furniture only for the creature's brute strength allowing it to smash through whatever got in its way. Siren readied a counter only for it to slam into her and shove her against the wall hard enough to leave an indent before dragging them along it.

"Ohholyfuck" is all Spade managed to utter before being slammed full-force into a wall. He groaned, shaking his head as all manner of alarms and sirens began to sound in his suit.

"Damage sustained. You are under attack." S.A.M. said in it's robotic, vaguely Australian voice.

"Is that so?" Spade asked sarcastically as he released his wrist machine gun, unloading round after round of ammo at the creature. "Scan the damn thing. I...I don't know what this is." he could feel that familiar tickle at the back of his mind, the desire to drop everything and research this creature. He fought it, but he knew he wouldn't be able to for much longer.

Seeing his new partner being dragged by the beast Spade lowers his head and powers up the rockets in his suit flying forward in an attempt to grab the beast, using his strength and speed to slam it into the wall behind it with great force.

Sam saw the entire scene play out. Siren going to the door and opening it, the beast coming out and attacking, and Spade speeding forward to save Siren. Sam had the highest dumbest grin on his face. This was all so cool. A strange alien being, a monster, and a guy in a mechanical suit all duking it out! It was likea movie! Or...at least, it seems like it could be in one...Sam had never seen one so he wasn't too sure. Either way, he just knew this was cool as heck! He really needed an upgrade on what he could do.

Though, after a moment he came snapping back to reality. His friend was in trouble and there was a monster, he really did have to do something. Whether the creature had been slammed against the wall or not, Sam would attempt to open a portal up on the midsection of the creature, the connecting point on the other side of the room. Before the creature could back through it or charge out of it, Sam would further attempt to shrink the diameter of the portal around the beast, trying to hold the beast where it was. If it worked they could at least try and study it. Well, at least Spade and Siren could study it. Sam knew next to nothing on biology or science or whatever was needed to understand that thing.

Panting, Sam looked to the other two. "You guys alright? No serious damage, right?" He looked each over, hoping there was no serious injuries. Sam could help with minor injuries, but anything major was way out of his league. Whether the beast was contained or not Sam would make his way over to Siren, trusting that Spade's suit was enough to stop any sort of assault that monster could pose. Sam smiled a bit. "I'm guessing that thing made those claw marks I saw downstairs." He'd then turn his attention to Spade. "What do we do about the monster Spayed?"

The beast's assault on Siren was brought to a sudden halt thanks to the intervention of her two allies. Spade's attack managed to break its grasp on her as it was sent into another wall. It tried to claw away only for Sam's portal to hold it in place even with its wild thrashing.

Siren pulled herself free of the wall and brushed herself off, "I'll be fine. Thanks for the save, you two," She put a hand up to her face and came away with a few droplets of green blood from the scratches on her face, "Huh, so it appears I can still be hurt after all..." Despite her words, an observant individual would notice the hint of a smile on her face, as if relieved for some reason.

Siren went over beside the creature to examine it further, "I'm no scientist so examining it is out of the question for me. That said, I could try and use Telepathy on it...but.." They suddenly scowled and shook their head, "I would very much like to avoid using that if I can. Delving into the minds of other creatures is...well, it's just one of those things I'm not comfortable with..."