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Mitchell's Guide to Villains entry 2: The Catastrofiend
🕑 Added 2022-02-05 21:49:28 +0000 UTCMitchell's Guide to Villains entry 2.
Subject: The Catastrofiend.
Civilian identity: Unknown.
Birthdate: Unknown. First sighting 2006, El Paso.
Birthplace: Unknown.
Height: Estimated 7 feet/213 cm (possibly taller if standing up straight)
Weight: Unknown.
Classification: Type A Mod. Massive structural reinforcements as well as additional limbs and integral blades. Alpha level boost, affecting regeneration, durability, strength and speed. Reports of psychic sensitivity, or other sensory augmentation. Possible multiple boosting occasions?
Status: Unknown. Last sighting Christmas 2016 in Phoenix.
Notes: Too many unknowns, especially when it comes to powers and mods. It's impossible that everything can be true, too many of the tales surrounding it reads like urban legends rather than hard facts. What I have included is backed by evidence, not hearsay. If the rumors of a "psychic aura" is true, that would explain some of the more esoteric reports.
Update: I don't trust the reports of it's "death", as long as there's no corpse, I won't close the file.
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Commentary: The enclosed tapes contain the best footage of the Catastrofiend available, together with my comments and conclusions.
Video 1
Yeah, I got the full run of the Charge fight back in 2010. From what I can see it looks legit, spliced together footage of three security cameras, and what looks like surveillance mods belonging to the security guard eviscerated at the start. Don't think he survived, but it ran on internal batteries rather than pizoelectric implants, so we've still got footage.
1:20 - Not sure how it popped into view that fast, the last scan was clear. Possibly from the ceiling? It's been known to climb. I don't trust the rumors it can teleport, that's too rare a boost to happen twice. I've run the audio through Verity, we still can't catch what it's saying to the guard. Nothing good, judging from what happens next.
5:45 - Not sure what it's doing here. The guard is clearly dead, so why is it circling him? Around, and around. I counted 11 laps. surprisingly soft footsteps. This thing is quiet. The body moved twice, perhaps it was doing something to the corpse. Wet sounds. Audio is breaking up worse and worse. Sounds like static. Could it be malfunctioning audio implants? I'm not sure what damage was done to the head.
12:15 - It's back, if you watch the upper corner of the screen you can see it perched on one of the boxes. Waiting? The timing coincides with the arrival of Charge and Sidestep as per the security camera. Is it listening? Sensing? It seems to be aware of them, even though there are no windows, and I doubt they were making much noise. It stands to reason that it has some form of audiovisual enhancements. I've heard the theory that it's originally military, if that's true we can assume a standard sensory web. For me, it makes more sense than the psychic theory.
12:30 - The security feed outside the warehouse. I've still not been able to find out what was stored there, or why Charge and Sidestep was at the scene. A careful approach, I'm betting they know the Catastrofiend is there. It sounds just like Charge to rush in rather than call for the full team.
14:50 - The feed from the guard shows Sidestep entering about a minute after the Catastrofiend disappeared from view. Hard to tell with the full-face mask, but there's shock there. That half step back as the dead guard is noticed. I think the Catastrofiend did something to the body, most likely to draw the attention of whoever came first. That's why this thing can't be underestimated, it's not a berserker, it thinks and hunts and lays traps. It understands patience.
15:20 - The angle is bad, but you can see that the Catastrofiend tries a similar ambush as it did with the guard. Sidestep dodges, It's a stupid power, but it comes in handy. Couldn't see if it dropped down or hid behind something.
15:45 - The following minutes are hard to parse. They move in and out of camera, but as far as I can see, Sidestep is unhurt at the time they exit the building. Impressive. Note the full range of motion of the scythe arms, it has no dead angles. Does it have some sort of rear vision? Or is it just fighting instinct? It doesn't need eye contact to strike, which I presume takes many off guard. It's almost as if every limb moves independently.
20:05 - Back to the security camera feed. Sidestep escapes the building at a run, the Catastrofiend right behind. Charge drops down on its back. From the roof? Most likely. Ballsy ambush. Ballsy of Sidestep to taunt it enough to follow recklessly.
20:20 - Charge tries to fry the Catastrofiend and the electrical discharge destroys the security camera. A fair tactic, it doesn't look insulated, but the results must have been disappointing.
21:50 - Another, more distant security feed spots Charge running. Then the Catastrofiend. If you pause you can see that it runs on all fours, with the knuckles on it's scythe-arms. I don't know what to make of that. I know there are theories that it might be a boosted and modded simian of some sort, and this could be a point in that theory's favor. I know some speculate it's a Bigfoot, but it's weird enough without adding cryptids to the mix.
24:15 - A new security feed, this time with a better angle. Not sure why Charge thinks fighting it is a good idea, but it's possible that the dark splotch on the suit is a leg wound. Hard to tell in this light. This is the part that ran on the news, and I can see why they released it. This is the kind of fight that gets ratings. Charge must be running low, either that, or the electricity doesn't affect it much. It might just be me, but I get the feeling that it's playing with it's prey. Not like with the guard, he went down immediately. Charge wouldn't have been able to keep up for that long if it wasn't having fun. Non-vital wounds.
25:30 - Look at the small auxiliary hands. Human looking. What are they doing? Grabbing for something? Gesturing? Creepy fuck.
27:15 - We're now in the parts they didn't release. The Catastrofiend stabs, too quick to be avoided. Went straight though Charge's gut. Not a quick kill. Doesn't pull put. There's no audio on this feed, but if I zoom I think Charge's mouth is moving. Talking? Begging? Can't see if the Catastrofiend talks back. Not sure how that mouth works. Not human, that's for sure.
27:45 - This is fascinating. Charge is still impaled, but what is the Catastrofiend doing? It looks like it froze. Charge is grabbing it's hand. A final electric surge? Or did it connect with something inside Charge? I doubt that massive battery damage would be survivable, but I am running out of theories. Something happened, that's for sure. Look at the tremble of the auxiliary hands. The way the head twitches.
28:00 - Sidesteps enters and shoots the Catastrofiend in the head. Repeatedly. Not a bullet, but what? EMP? Laser? Plasma? Bad angle for it. The Catastrofiend collapses. Charge is pulled free. Even with a skinsuit, that must be massive damage. Think they downplayed it afterwards, that hospital interview was clearly staged. Charge wasn't back in action for six months. Sidestep drags the Marshal away.
29:30 - The Catastrofiend's arm twitches.
31:45 - Movement of it's legs.
35:00 - This is legitimately creepy shit. Look how it moves. The angles are all wrong. The head is just lolling there. No control. Makes me wonder if that report that it still continued to function after decapitation might not have been an exaggeration. It looks half reflexive, but it is moving out of there. On all fours. Note that the auxiliary arms are as limp as the head. Could it be a programmed response from the mods? Possibly.
Video 2
I wasn't sure if I should include this, since it's not a positive ID. But the movement matches. I got this from Belvedere, he didn't want to name his source, so it's probably military. No date. No recognizable faces. You can tell me I'm jumping to conclusions, but this gave me nightmares.
5:25 - Might as well fast-forward, nothing happens early on. Just the padded cell. Note the blurriness of the picture, I think the camera is set outside a porthole window. It looks like thick glass distortion.
8:00 - Check out the thickness of that door when it's opened. It's not just armored, look at the seals. It reads pressure chamber to me. Is this underwater? Is there another reason for that construction?
8:30 - I'm not sure if this is a prisoner or a patient. It could be a prison jumpsuit, but what is that thing on their head? It looks like a helmet, but without eye holes. Connection ports everywhere. Something down their throat. Hard to guess gender with the straitjacket on. The way they bang their head on the floor is probably why the cell is padded. Dark stains already there. It's hard to know what they are in black and white.
15:25 - Is there a rhythm to the banging? I keep nodding my head to it.
20:00 - I am theorizing now, but they might be gradually increasing the pressure. It looks like the prisoner is reacting to something. Pain? Probably.
25:00 - No more chest expansions visible. Still moving.
34:00 - I think they might be cycling the pressure. A stronger reaction, then relaxation and relief. Is this punishment? Something else?
38:00 - Here it is. You can spot it on the back first. Something moving under the straitjacket. Keep your eye on that rather than the banging.
39:15 - The ties snapped. The prisoner can move their arms now. Were they strong enough to tear loose? What was moving under the straitjacket? It's still there, if you watch closely. Doesn't move right.
42:45 - Look. Look at the way their hands move as they circle the cell. Can't see the fingers in the straightjacket, but the arms move in similar gestures to the Catastrofiend earlier. Round and round. I think they're still in the pressure cycle, you can see how their steps gets heavier, then lighter.
48:00 - Yeah, it attacked and cracked the glass. Safety glass. probably a few inches thick. Not too proud to admit I screamed. It's FAST. Might as well fast-forward to the end, it's an hour long. Can't see much through the cracked glass, just occasional shadows. Don't try to make out what happens, I got a headache even trying.
Did the military try to build their own super soldiers? Is this a volunteer? A prisoner? It's not inconceivable we watched a boost cycle. Or something else. I wish I knew, but it's all dead ends. At least to me, this settles it. The Catastrofiend is just a particularly nasty boost. No demon or zombie or whatever fucked up idea that's going around.
Video 3
The best footage of the Catastrofiend, from 2006, only a month or so after it's first sighting. We don't have sound, Corben's mods were visual only. But it's clear that the Catastrofiend is capable of having a conversation. It's less modded than than in its later outings. Still got a human mouth, and the head looks... I'd hesitate to say normal, but close enough. Those eye-mods though... nightmare fuel. Why do that to yourself?
3:45 - I've identified the meeting place, it used to be a bar down south. Hellwood. Burned down a decade or so ago. Looks like it's after hours.
5:15 - Corben had guts, rest his soul. Accepting a drink from the Catastrofiend. I wonder if it's the same arms as the shrunken appendages later. These look human. Strong.
7:45 - I've had Verity try to decipher what the Catastrofiend is saying. It's hard, apparently the lips move oddly. But it looks like they are talking about a deal. Something Corben is supposed to bring.
9:00 - I'm not sure, but I think it's boost drugs in the suitcase. It looks like "Milagre", I think they used the red and green casings back then.
12:00 - Yeah, watching the Catastrofiend hand over a suitcase full of money is weird to me too.
12:30 - If you pause right before Corben turns to leave, I can swear that it pops a vial in it's mouth before it closes the suitcase. Just like that. Bites down, glass and all. Yeah, I know that probably means it's not boost drugs, but some other substance. But, and bear with me here, what if it is? What if it keeps taking them?
There are several sightings that has been tied to boost manufacturers and drug runners. Is it possible the drug could be addictive? I've never heard of anybody surviving more than a second dose (and even that only three times), but considering it's regenerative capabilities, if anything could, this would be it.
Video 4
This is the only clear audio we have of the Catastrofiend. It's from the attack on the Duncan building from 2012. I do NOT recommend listening to this with the audio on. Or watching it at all. The words are almost impossible to make out, and the voice... does things to you. Thanks for helping Verity, she's my best transcriber, if she had quit because if this, it would be a setback for both of us. You know her skills, I trust this transcription to be as close to the audio as possible. The main voice is from the Catastrofiend. The source of the second voice is uncertain. The third voice might be the researcher its threatening, but neither of them were in the field of vision of the camera.
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Don't move. Don't breathe. The air is heavy.
(a second voice) heavy like clockwork
Need to talk talk talk tick tock tick tock unlock.
(a second voice) words are an avalanche
Come come come.
Come come down.
Come down.
See.
See!
SEE!
(a third voice?) drown. drowned out.
Open the door.
(a second voice) jaws
Good. Good. Breathe. Inside.
(a second voice) open wide
(garbled) did... said...
(distorted) pillar
(garbled screaming)
(a second voice starts humming)
Wakeful. Hateful.
(distorted) two(?) down
(distorted) shell(?)
Get the goddamn door open!
(a second voice starts screaming)
-audio cuts out-
(silence, for several minutes)
(a faint giggle, which continues until the tape ends, 79 minutes later)
