Proper Observation (Open)

[Gleam]

Jacob frowned as he inspected the exterior of the water plant. It was entirely underwhelming, and he was in fact relatively certain that no one had bothered with upkeep for something approaching at least a decade. The dripping of water was audible from outside, and rust crept everywhere over the metal.

He had a sudden urge to conduct a ghost hunt here at some point.

Jacob shook the thought loose and sighed, then booted open the front door with a clang and poked his head into the main building, a great, wide open warehouse with unnameable machinery littered throughout it. "Greetings and salutations to anything present uninterested in eating me." he called whismically, and then started to pick his way through the rubble.

[Mike]

"Shit, shit, shit"
Clank
"Ah damn."
A odd looking wrench fell to the ground. Its owner repelled down a wall on a steel cable to follow. Mike was wearing his goggles, though the tint was far lighter than normal, and a piece of head gear with a soft green glow for illumination. "I should really attach this thing," He whispered to himself before taking the care to look at Jacob.
"You scared me half to death. It was so quiet a second ago." A mechanical arm reached from his backpack and took the wrench from his hand. The arm and the wrench melded and assimilated into the backpack which in the light of his head lamp reflected as a metal. The steel cable withdrew back into the pack, with a winding noise.
Mike shook his hair out and wrung out the end of his shirt, both were soaked. "I'm Mike, not really interested in cannibalism, just concerned about fixing this damned refinery. Tap water has been a bit salty lately." He did not offer a welcoming hand to Jacob, he was more interested in making his clothing a little less soaked that it had been. Also, he was not in the biggest mood for socialization, but figured anything was better than coming off as rude here. You could never know who would turn out to be an eventual ally or nightmare.

[Gleam]

Jacob's eyebrows raised. "Quite." He replied. "I was attempting to figure out why the desalinization plant is so neglected. I realized that the Academy is largely devoid of janitorial and support staff, but I did not comprehend that their distaste for extra personnel extended this far."

He inclined his head. "Jacob Khorwah." he introduced briefly. "I am . . . curious, as to how this island functions. The ecology is unstable, the food chain unreasonable, and the species unlikely. And I am gaining a suspicion that the framework of the island is just as mismatched."

He circled around the other man and stared at the machinery present. "One desalinates water through reverse osmosis, yes? Where are the membranes used for that process? How does this plant even work if they are not replaced regularly?"

[Mike]

Mike moved his goggles to the top of his head and gawked as well at this. "Dunno," He shrugged, "I make machines like these operate....usually. These are completely mechanical, no programming. So I have to resort to ol' elbow grease to fix them. But even still they make no sense. I'm really not making too much heads of tails out of these things."
He leaned up against a tank, it seemed to purr the most smoothly out of all of them. "But think about it this way: How are you, me, and anyone else here any different? People that control the elements, people that can vanish, creatures of the night, transmorphing, controlling electronics," Mike pointed to himself at that moment, "And all others. We are living marvels in the same way that these are mechanical marvels. I mean without magics how can you explain your own power?"
This was really one of Mike's goals in life. He wanted to know what it was that caused this rare ability within his kind. Where they from somewhere else? Higher beings? Lower beings? Surely this wasn't an adaptation. Evolution couldn't be the cause otherwise this would have had to have manifested in earlier species.
"But besides the philosophy of these machines, I still don't know how they work. I can't imagine who designed them. They take no electricity. None. Maybe, it was designed by people who are so advanced in technology they bypassed the microchip. Or, just someone's powers. Which that would more than explain the entire island's flora and fauna."
He caught a drip of water that came out from the tank he leaned on with his finger. He put on his goggles again. "Whatever their taste though, I just hope they can get this handled soon. Its not exactly sea water, but its not as clear as it should be. Its my first time saying I really don't think I can fix this."

[Gleam]

"I am very, very interested in discovering the reasons and methods behind the powers, yes." Jacob admits. "I am perhaps more concerned about those behind whoever created and funded this academy. And this is not indicative of a healthy outlook on their part."

He turned and studied the color-coded map painted onto the wall opposite him, noticed the blue that represented administrative areas, and searched about until he found a blue line that lead into a closed-off hallway.

"Either way I do not think we will find answers here." Jacob called, as he headed towards the door. The handle proved worthless, but the hinges were as rusted as anything else in the base; a bit of quick searching provided him with a suitable crowbar, and he just prised the heavy steel door right out of the wall. The clatter it made when it fell to the ground was tremendous. "Into the depths I shall go."

[Mike]

Zeuto raised his eyebrow. This guy was a bit more investigative than he was. A trait he was growing to admire a bit. "Well, considering no one has been there in....probably years, I will go with you. Its dangerous to go alone."
Zeuto's backpack started making whirring noises. He reached back and retrieved what seemed to be some sort of assault rifle and a flash light. "Take this," He said and then tossed Jacob the light. The backpack started to from a exosuit around his body. Two beam lights formed on the top of his shoulders. The left arm seemed significantly more bulky than the right.
"I'm ready as soon as you are." He cocked the gun and walked right into the doorway. The one wearing armor seemed to be the right one to go first. He held the gun pointed forward with his right hand on grip. "If you see my lights go off, I'll be switching to night vision because I saw something, so stay close."

[Gleam]

Jacob's eyebrows raise significantly. "That is a mightily useful power." he admitted, and caught the flashlight, flicking it on. "I will follow your advice, as it is, in this scenario, rather sensible."

With the flashlight held up, daggerlike, and his crowbar held at his side, he followed Mike into the gloom of the abandoned plant. The blue line led them through a pair of long, featureless hallways, then to an empty chamber that resembled a decontamination unit. Jacob poked at the glass with a frown. "Well, either they had a reason for a sterilized area, or someone here was playing games that are not suited to desalination."

He prodded at the door handle, then paused when a long, drawn out clicking echoed through the hallway, like the sound of dominoes steadily falling. It did not have a clear source - rents in the walls and ceilings left the harmonics of the building unreliable.

"That is not the sound of metal stress." Jacob observed.

[Mike]

Mike turned off his light, infared took over. He grabbed Jacob's flashlight and it melded to his suit. He took Jacobs hand with his left. "I know this is weird," He whispered, "But I can't let us get separated, I caught something on a life scan and an energy scan. After we make two more left turns we will find something alive. Something with powers. They have a light source which means they might be intelligent."
Mike lead Jacob by the hand. The first turn. Up ahead, there was a definite light source coming from around the corner. "Okay, my scanners only tell me that your powers affect specific targets and is non-elemental." He shone a small light on his gun, "Do you need this? If you do I have plenty other weapons I can work with. Its non-lethal charge rounds. They can stun the average person for a few seconds, a few rounds makes anything rather turn tail and run."

[Gleam]

Jacob twitched. Not at the hand-holding, but at the scanners automatically telling what his power was. That was remarkably invasive. "I believe I will be fine." Jacob demurred with a flat smile. "Your concern is appreciated."

Disconnecting his hand from the other man's, Jacob stepped around the corner and peered down at the other end of the next hallway. The light source was indeed growing stronger, and in response Jacob's footsteps faded in noise until they were utterly silent - he rolled from the edge of his foot inward on every step, which left it a muted process.

When he reached the next corner, he crouched and gestured Mike up beside him, hoping the other man had some kind of telescopic gadget that would describe what was around the corner without getting them discovered.

[Mike]

Mike hovered over slowly and quietly. His feet literally did not touch the floor. Slow moving silent boosters, powered by magnetics instead of fire. He wasn't sure how it worked but as long as it did he cared less than a honey badger.
He landed just as softly and slowed his breathing to be as quiet as possible. A third eye formed off his helmet and snaked off against the wall. It looked around the corner and met completely eye to eye with a face. Not Jacobs. And it knew.
Mike yelped. And jumped back, the eye withdrew to his helmet. It scared him. He didn't expect to be seen. He jumped backwards, this time using rockets in his boots. He shot a cable with a small hook out of his wrist to the back of Jacob's belt to yank him back with him. He caught Jacob before he landed to keep him from falling. He put him on his feet. "It knows." He said somewhat frightened, not whispering anymore. The cover was blown now.
Mike readied his gun, but he was not steady. He had never fought a monster before. It was something straight out of his childhood nightmares.