[hr][i][h1][color=Blueviolet]Malik Jakane[/color].[/h1][/i][hr]
[i][u]Fallbridge Square, Hedgemount.[/u][/i]


Rhea had gone out on business, and Malik was all on his lonesome finding all of Marcelle's logs.

Seriously. The first thing Malik did when he woke up was do his morning stretches... then, go out to get all of Marcelle's logs that he could. Only [i]problem[/i] was that they were[i] all over[/i] the place. Like, in literally every corner of Baybridge (Including the spooky woods that Malik needed help going into). Well, that wasn't the [i]only[/i] problem (the other problem being that most of them are gone! [i]Poof![/i]), but that was the main problem that Malik saw. Even though he wasn't the world's greatest tactician, he had enough knowledge of movies to know that the farther he goes, the more likely this Family was to follow him back. 

And he was already asking a lot from Tanya. Good thing they're such good friends!

He traveled far and wide, and it was a fun way to explore Baybridge, but eventually he made it to Fallbridge Square. In about four hours, he managed to find... one log? That was discouraging given all the places he searched. But, if he found one, then hell he's going to find another! Though, he found it weird that the very first log they managed to find was the very first log Marcelle recorded.

Weird, huh? 

Either way, Malik had to be fast. He had that sinking feeling that this Graham guy was taking the other logs- Oh, yeah. That reminds him, he's got to track that guy down so they can have a nice long chat. Hopefully he's one of those nice MISW-types, but not one of those borderline-Nazi types. That would suuuuuuuck. 

He came up to the building where the other log was located... to be honest, he was getting tired of all the parkour, and just turned into a storm. In the alleyway, of course. He didn't want to scare anyone! Though, they were probably caught off guard by the sudden crash of thunder as Malik was quick to fly up before anyone could notice him. [i]Pretty sneaky if you ask me.[/i] Malik thought to himself as he appeared on top of the building, still in his storm form.

Okay. Look for any look rocks that look even the slightest bit out of place- Aw, screw it. Malik was tired of searching around uselessly only for it to appear in the [i]last[/i] place he would look. He did the same trick he did when he found Marcelle's first log... He focused, and channeled raging winds around himself in a near tornado. The winds were strong enough to stir up quite a scene! That was the last thing Malik wanted to do, actually.

When he stopped, the dust had settled, and he had knocked some stones hastily off. Good! Malik ran over to it, and pulled another dead drop spike out of the wall. He was quick to turn it, and pull the USB drive out.

[i]Yes! Yes! Yes[/i]

The third Marcelle's log he found.

"... Hey, who's up there?!" Someone shouted as they came up the fire escape, and told Malik that it was best if he just doesn't answer. Malik was quick to dart off through the skies.

[i]Back to Price-Edfield, I guess...[/i]

[hr][i][u]Courtbridge, Prince Edfield.[/u][/i]

Tanya was less than pleased to lend Malik her laptop on the grounds of "his James Bond-level bullshit," but he reminded her that he was paying the rent. That bribe was enough to get her to loan him his laptop. Tanya was undergoing band practice, so Malik decided to just, uh, find a nice rooftop! He was on the roof of the opposite apartment complex (That Tanya said was "full of bumbaclots"). He sat with his legs folded, and the laptop, well, on his lap.

Okay, he had two logs to go through today, so it's best that he gets started!

[quote][i]"Marcelle's Log Nine: It's been a few days since my encounter with the Blessed Three, and I managed to get some more information about them. Only from long time members that were kind enough to share this information with a newcomer... probably because it was all rumor and speculation, but it's stated that each of the Blessed Three survived some sort of experiment - or "ritual" would be a better term - that only someone with "perfect genes" can survive. I think that's Hitler-level foolishness... I'm not sure, but there's more to it."

"Now, in my last log, I said that the Blessed Three have supreme control over the Family - but, they have a council of advisers. No one has ever seen them in person, because they are only allowed to be seen by the Three. From what I've been told, they groom the Blessed Three into the egomaniacs they are today. Training them how to fight, giving them knowledge that even Ivy League scientists would kill for, and once they are ready, they give them advice from the sidelines. They're basically the elders of the Family, but I don't know how that selection process goes, to tell you the truth."

"Which, has happened before, since apparently, there was a schism in the Family decades ago that left all but one of the Blessed Three dead. This one man had absolute control over the Family, but he did [/i]something[i]. He made some kind of discovery that would change the world should it get out."

"... And it has me terrified. Marcelle out."[/i][/quote] 

Hmmmm... This was interesting. He made sure to remember everything Marcelle said. [i]Blessed Three, perfect genes, elders - Got it.[/i] Malik thought to himself. However, it doesn't tell Malik where Marcelle is. However, he was going to keep this information just in case. Who knows, maybe it'll be useful to the feds! 

Malik quickly turned on the other log.


[quote][i]"Marcelle's Log Seventeen: It's been a few months since I've arrived here, and I know so much about the Family. I've killed... so many people - had sex with so many people - just to earn their trust. Oh my God. It's getting tougher and tougher to keep this going. I'm... just a low level Agent. I joined the DGMHS to help people, not be the Family's toy. I just... I just want to stop, but I have to keep going. I'm in too deep to just give up... and... they know my own family in Europe. They'll kill them, and all my friends. So, I must fight until the Family is destroyed."


"But, I've made major progress in my case with the Beast of Prague... apparently, the Family has such a control over the Czech Republic that they just needed the President to play along. The Family are an arrogant lot. Instead of just assassinating him and replacing him, they attempted to intimidate him into submission. When he refused, they threatened his cities. They told him something "awful" will happen if he continues to refuse... he continued to refuse, then the Family dropped the Beast onto Prague."

"What's worse is that... they have the ability to turn any Metahuman into this superpowered giant. A literal WMD at their fingertips should they want to employ it. I don't know what it is... but, they said something about creating some of it in one of their labs in Asia."

"Marcelle out."[/i][/quote]

Jesus... Prague was a disaster, but know it turns out the Family was behind it? They created the Beast who destroyed Prague? The same Beast that killed over a thousand people, and left many more displaced with his terrakinetic and pyromancery abilities. Malik's heart was out to the people of Prague, but what he was really concerned about was the suggestion that they could create [i]more.[/i] 

Hopefully, RAVEN will get to the bottom of this before that happens - but it's becoming more and more apparent that they're clueless.

Malik sighed. He would do his best to find Marcelle, but the odds were just not in his favor. Okay, time to analyze things. If there this is log seventeen, there are at least thirteen logs that Malik hasn't found yet. And he searched at least five places that were empty. So, there's eight logs that could be out there. And obviously the implication that Marcelle could have recorded more logs.

He had to sigh again.

All this secret agent nonsense was going to drive him crazy!


[hr][hr][i][h1][color=aqua]Jennifer Marissa Caspin[/color].[/h1][/i][hr]
[i][u]Lower-South Royer Town, Prince Edfield.[/u][/i]


Argh! The smell!

What the hell did Cindy even eat last night? Whatever the hell it was, it sure as hell didn't mix with alcohol. It was so bad that Jennifer had to run to the supermarket and grab a Rug-Doctor™ because nothing else got it out. She got the puke itself out, but it festered on the carpet and seemingly seeped through it into the wood paneling. The smell was so awful that the landlord considered the CDC, but the only option they had was to set the damn building ablaze.

Fortunately, the Rug-Doctor, and some cleaning solutions, were doing a good job of getting this atrocious smell out of the room. She was simply moving the Rug-Doctor back and fourth over the vomit stains until they were all gone. She sighed in relief, but there was till a little bit more she...

Suddenly, her head felt like someone dropped an anvil on it. She loudly groaned as it took all of her willpower to stop from dropping on her knees. She threw the damn rug doctor aside as she clenched her head with both hands. Her vision began to distort as static overcame her eyes, and everything began to distort and warp in a purple color. This time the antagonizing pain was more intense than ever before. She fell down as she felt [i]blood[/i] drip down from her ears.

Then... everything changed as she was sent into her mind.

It was a brief image of what appeared to be her in some kind of pod as two tall people - shrouded in shadow - stood in front of it. Clearly talking. She couldn't make out anything in her vision. Everything was distorted by that purple color that she could only make out vague shapes.

Afterwards, it all ended, and Jennifer was looking around doe-eyed as she tried to make sense of it all. While the headaches and [i]hallucinations[/i] were happening since she ran into Hailey again, this was different. She never [i]seen[/i] anything before. What's more... she had an odd feeling. Something that was very strange. She had the feeling as if she had learned something important - but having no idea what that was. And she was innately questioning her first encounter with Megan all of the sudden.

The putrid smell of her apartment was immediately put low on her priority list as possible as she reached into her back pocket, and grabbed her cellphone. She still had Megan's number, and owed the woman quite a lot.

She could say the same about a lot of people. 

Punching in her number, Jennifer put the phone up to her ear as she leaned up against the nearest wall. She heard that dialing sound, hoping that Megan wasn't busy. Then she answered.

The very first thing at Jennifer heard was the sound of a loud crash, followed by a scream.

"O-oh! Miss- Jenny! Hi, love!" Megan tried to say. "What can I do for you?!"

There was a barrage of bullets going on in the background.

"Focus on the big one!" Someone shouted, before they yelled in pain a few moments later. Then there was the sound of what had to be a swarm of [i]bees[/i].

"Oh. Jesus. [i]Christ![/i] Where did all these fucking [i]bees[/i] come from!?"

"... You sound busy, I'll-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Megan cut her off. "I'm just getting wrapped up! I always have time for you!"

"Megan, get from underneath that damn desk and help me!" A gruff man shouted, strained by [i]something.[/i]

"Well..." Jennifer trailed off. "... Remember how we met? Like, the first time?"

"'Course, love, I remember it like it was yesterday!" Megan cheerfully said. "... This is where the [i]flaaaaashback[/i] starts!" 

And Jennifer could just [i]picture[/i] the Jazz hands Megan was doing on the other end.


[hr][i][h1]Several Years Ago...[/h1][/i][hr]
[i][u]San-Diego, California.[/u][/i]


... The piercing bone blade impaled the man in the chest from behind. While Missy Baroness, Jennifer Caspin at the time, kept her hand over his mouth as she sprayed crimson all over his nice living room. It was an awkward position because the man was much taller than her. However, he was finally ended. She retracted the blade, and let the oozing wound bleed out, until the man fell forward. His body was unable to take the stress of the wounds, and just fell to the ground.

That was another member of the Hands of Science down.

It was despicable. How they were able commit crimes against humanity, and just go home and act like it never happened. [i]Hell,[/i] some of them even profited from it. Well, they're going to be getting their comeuppance in hell. Without the Changeling Unit for her to take her anger out on, all that was left was the Hands. She doesn't have a penny to her name, but with good genes, it was easy to sway the criminal underworld... or put herself to use in the White Spider Society for a quick buck. Whatever it took.

Missy rolled the medical mask her mouth, and turned away... she should leave here before someone finds his body...

"... Oh, splendid! Good show!" The dead body suddenly started speaking, and Missy almost pissed herself... Well, it wouldn't be the [i]weirdest[/i] thing that she encountered. The body got back up off the ground - as the blood that was "splattered" returned to it. "You are just what I'm looking for!"

Another bonespear burst out of Jennifer's knuckles, and she pointed it at the walking corpse. "... I don't know what the hell you are, but dead bodies don't get up and start talking."

"... And who said I was a dead body, love?" The "corpse" said, as it slowly shifted into a different form. Body molding into a tall, redhaired woman with freckles, wearing a modest tan skirt, and a red sweater. "So, you're the one going around killing former members of the Hands? The serial killer that got them clenching their blankets!"

Jennifer lowered her bone spear. "... Who are you?"

"Megan Jervious!" Megan said as she grabbed Jennifer's other hand, shaking it passionately. "Nice to meet you! You have nice eyes, by the way!" She giggled. "I've been tracking you down, and you've been cunning enough to fool the police, but [i]stupid[/i] enough to let anyone with two braincells rub together track you down. So, let me give you an offer!"

Missy raised an eyebrow, as Megan continued, "... We have similar goals! Join me! We have free ice cream, and health benefits!"

"And those similar goals [i]are?[/i]" Missy asked. 

"Well, you're a Hands of Science destroying [i]machine![/i] We could use someone like you on my team, and..." Megan put on a sly grin. "... You're not the brightest light if you let me track you down like this. Only a matter of time before an assassin finds you next, or the police - the police are bad, too! With my help, you'll kill the Hand efficiently!"

Missy rolled her eyes up into her head, putting her hands into the pockets of her white hoodie. She had no idea who this strange red-haired woman was, but, she might as well give her a chance. "... Alright, then, I'll join you-" Before she could even get the last word out, Megan had grabbed her by the wrist with a grip that no human being could break out of! 

"Excellent!" Megan said. "Let's go!"

[hr]

"... Ahhhh, good times, good times." Megan blissfully said.

Honestly, half the time, Jennifer wondered if Megan was just one big figment of her imagination (Other people seeing her disproves that unless she's a hallucination [i]everyone[/i] is having). But, she was one of the most useful people Jen had at her disposal; Megan knew [i]Missy[/i] but not Jennifer. Which means that she could confide her secrets into Megan.

"Megan, you know a lot about Metahumans, right?" 

"Nobody knows more about them than me, love!" Megan said. "What do you need to know?" 

"I... I've been having head aches ever since I met this person," Jennifer said. "Yesterday my hand just went mysteriously missing. And today, I had a [i]vision[/i]. And now I'm questioning [i]everything.[/i]"

"Well..." Megan trailed off, her tone going from chipper to a more somber tone. "Have you considered that someone is messin' with that head of yours? I mean, it only makes sense. There are some [i]straaaaaaange[/i] powers out there, with some dastardly people behind them. But, what I want to know is why?"

[i]Yeah, me too.[/i] Jennifer thought to herself.

"But, this person, do you think they could be messing with your brain?" Megan said. 

"No, but this person is a fri-" Suddenly, Jennifer considered the possibility. What if Hailey and Akane were lying to Jennifer? What if they just pulled the wool over her eyes and expected her to play along? That started making sense. "... I'm starting consider the possibility."

"Good!" Megan shouted. "Now, I assume you're going to confront this person?"

"Yeah..." Jennifer trailed off. "I got no choice if I'm getting to the bottom of this mystery of mine."

"... Just don't do it alone, love," Megan said. "You'll just dig yourself a hole! Who knows [i]what'll[/i] happen if they find out you're breaking their illusion!"

Nodding her head, Jennifer said, "Yeah, I'm getting some friends now."

"Good!" Megan said, "I got some business to sort out! But, remember, I'm always here for my loving, loyal, employee! Buh-bye!" 

"Bye." Jennifer said... now wondering how she was going to get to the bottom of this. If she thinks Hailey and Akane did something to her, then she has no choice but to find one of them for answers. She thought about who she could call for help. But, with Meifeng at the party, Cindy at the debate, Quentin out for the count, and... Well, honestly, not too many friends, her options were limited. She would rather not get Haruka in her business... he was too good for her, and he didn't deserve getting stuck "in a hole" with [i]her.[/i]

Jennifer was going to do this alone. She would forget the smell for now, but looked through her phone for Hailey's number, and called it. After a few minutes had passed, it had become apparent that she wasn't going to answer. Which meant she has to find Hailey the hard way.

The only place Jennifer knew off the top of her head was her workplace... yeah, she'll head there.

Getting dressed up, Jennifer walked out the door in a snow-white hoodie, long jeans, and her usual thin-framed glasses, as she went out searching for Hailey.

Searching for truth.