Voice; A Murder Most Multitudinous

[notsheepish]

[Sensational but so far unverified rumors have been circulating since dawn about the body of an imPort being found in Heropa early this morning, but it's from somewhere much further north that this particular transmission arrives. A transmission that remains mostly silent for several seconds after the audio kicks in, with only the sound of Maurtia Falls' afternoon traffic and the low murmur of distant conversation to be heard, in addition to a brief burst from a nearby police siren at one point.

Then a drained-sounding, slightly shaky voice finally speaks up and, gee... she almost sounds like she's seen a ghost or something.]

...Sarah, Cosima, it's Ruby. If you or any of your sisters hear this, can you please answer me as soon as possible? Something happened and I... I didn't know how else to reach you all. I don't even have all your numbers but I need to talk to you. Or. At least hear you check in, say hi, whatever.

[She takes a long, shuddering breath.]

I found-- Oh, God... Please just respond quickly. It's important.

Comments

[notsheepish]

[Reluctantly, Ruby nods.]

Yes. That's right.

[coppelganger]

I have to.

[doubleblind]

Where are you?

[There's something about the way she asks the question that hints at the question she's really asking: Where is the body?]

[notsheepish]

Look, there's more to this, okay?! There's something really strange going on here!

[notsheepish]

[Well, this is familiar.]

...I'm downtown, in Maurtia Falls. I can send you the address, but I don't know that you should come.

[coppelganger]

So tell me about it while I'm on the way.

[ She says, already heading out the door. Oh well. Ruby tried. ]

[doubleblind]

I'm coming.

[notsheepish]

[Fine. She pinches the bridge of her nose and tries to gather her thoughts.]

Okay, to begin with, you, Cosima, and... [She actually didn't get Alison's name and has to check the ID real quick.] Alison have already checked in. But I overheard the cops saying two other bodies that look like this one were found this morning.

So unless another sister showed up that I don't know about, something's already really off here.

[notsheepish]

Look, Cosima, it isn't pretty. If the police even let you close enough to look, you're not going to like what you see. And besides...

[She looks away, unsure if she should even say it. If she's just giving false hope or something.]

Honestly, I'm not convinced this is one of your sisters.

[doubleblind]

If there's even a chance that it is... Or one of my copies gone rogue. I need to see it, Ruby.

[notsheepish]

...fine. But please listen to me.

There is something wrong with the body. Not- Not physically. [Well, okay, that's not completely true, but it's not the point she's getting at and she hesitates a moment.] But it smells wrong.

I know that sounds really strange, but smell is one of my powers, so I tried to pick up the trail of whoever did this and something was off about her scent. It's not how a person is supposed to smell.

[coppelganger]

[ Unfortunately, that. Doesn't really make Sarah feel better about this whole situation. Three bodies could mean Sarissa. Could mean Rachel. The third could be any of them. God, what if clones are being Ported in directly after being killed by Helena, or while they're still in the process of dying? Or— ]

Jesus. [ Her voice is shaky now. Maybe Ruby will think it's because she's moving. ] Not as strange as you might think. There are two more of us— [ Much as she doesn't like including Rachel in their group, it has to be said. ] I can explain, just... not like this.

[ Who knows who else is watching this feed right now. ]

[doubleblind]

... What do you mean? Does it smell organic?

[notsheepish]

[Oh, she's spoken to Rachel actually. That much she's aware of.]

Fine. Explain later, listen now. Because there's more. The body doesn't... smell like it should.

That's one of my powers. Super-smell. And it's telling me that this person didn't eat anything today. Maybe not in the last week. She also hasn't used perfume or soap or shampoo in days, if she ever has. She didn't have to, because as far as I can tell, she doesn't sweat.

I'm not saying I'm perfect at this or sure of anything really, but there's definitely something off about this whole situation.

[notsheepish]

I mean, yes, it smells like a body... mostly.

[She's not as certain about this part, but something about the smell of death on it even seems a little off somehow.]

But it doesn't smell like a person who's done anything other than sit in a hypoallergenic room for weeks. No food smells, no soap smells, no smoke or sweat or anything like that, as far as I can tell.

[It's obscured by the smells of... well, garbage where she was found, but Ruby's pretty sure about this.]

[coppelganger]

[ Sarah bites her lip, thinking. It's definitely weird, but it doesn't mean this isn't a clone thing. She doesn't put it past DYAD, or neolution, or whoever the hell is in charge of the project this week, to keep a clone without food for a while, or without perfume or soap or shampoo. The sweat thing... well, Ruby's not perfect, she just said it herself. ]

Anything else?

[notsheepish]

...just that you should be prepared when you see her.

[Jesus, does she really have to say this out loud? It sounds like she's pulling teeth to get the words out.]

Her eyes are missing.

[coppelganger]

Shit.

[ She puts a hand over her own eyes, just for a second, and then looks down at the comm again. ]

I'm heading for the Porter now. Text me the cross street you're closest to, yeah? I'll be there soon.

[notsheepish]

Yeah. I'll... I don't know. I'll try again to pick up the scent of whoever left her there. I might be able to follow it or something.

[coppelganger]

Right. Okay. I'll... talk to you soon.

[ With that, she hangs up. ]

voice;

[subourbon]

[Ten minutes later, Ruby's phone is ringing.]

... this is Alison, Cosima and Sarah's sister from earlier. I'm in Maurtia Falls and... [she coughs a little awkwardly] I'm not sure where to go to find you.

[voice]

[oddbod]

[Eyes wide with panic, Clara responds without even checking the broadcast's replies. If she had a working heart, it would have stopped in her chest.]

What happened? Who did you find?

voice

[notsheepish]

[She blinks in surprise. Oh, right. Open network post. Other people are definitely going to be curious.]

I, uh... I don't know. There was a body. The police are investigating right now.

[oddbod]

[She's silent for a short moment, sucking in a breath she doesn't need.]

Tell me what its hair looked like.

[notsheepish]

[...oh. Right. A friend then.]

I've already talked to Sarah, Cosima, and Alison. They're fine.