Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Simple Unicycle
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Simple Unicycle ?

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12:52 AM, March 12th 2020
East Haven Residential


The Question

"... I'm an accountant. I don't understand why everyone thinks the trenchcoat and hat makes me a detective." The Question said, trying not to laugh. He waited for a moment, long enough for Arcana to at least look a little down, before saying: "Messing with you. Have some basic investigative skills."

He looked around the room, noting the obvious signs of a struggle. "To start, it's obvious it wasn't you. From what I understand you have the power of a God. If you wanted, you could turn them into paste with a single punch, or into ash from a single bolt of lightning."

The Question turned his attention away from Lady Arcana, looking around the room in an attempt to find something out of place... Aside from the struggle, that is.

Besides the electrical potmarks on the wall, there were signs of scrappings on the doorseal, indicating that someone had a bit of a hard time fitting into the bedroom. While the commissioner might have had a bit of weight trouble, it wasn't quite that extreme.

Beneath his mask, the detective raised an eyebrow. "Commissioner must've been a big guy... Or the person who did this was bigger than him. My money's on the latter." He said, pointing out the scraping on the doorseal.

Arcana

"Eh?" Lady Arcana moved to examine the door frame. Running her fingers along the grooves that marred either side, she frowned. "Wow, I don't think being big alone would be enough to make these, right? I mean flesh doesn't usually do that."

Indeed, it looked like something hard had cut into the wood. Maybe metal?

Question

"Correct. It looks like these were intentional, so the person did it themselves. Or maybe..." Question trailed off, tracing a finger over the scrapings. "Maybe the person was both big and made of metal, or something similar. There's been various reports of people like you. Not too farfetched to assume one is made of metal and has some control over lightning."

Arcana

A person made of metal? Well, it really wouldn't be the strangest thing she had ever seen. It certainly was possible. Only one real question still nagged at her, though: "Why? Why would this metal person want to kill the police commissioner? Do you think they meant to frame me?"

Question

"Highly likely." Question stated. "Perhaps they wanted to frame you and make you lose public approval, so they can become the city's new hero. Most likely a superiority complex of some sort."

Arcana

She folded her arms at this, considering his suggestion. "Well, I guess that could be their plan. But wouldn't it be weird that they also use lightning?

Question

"That's where you're wrong. They can't control lightning. They used something else to electrocute the commissioner and his wife to death." Question looked around the room once more, muttering to himself: "But what...?"
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Korkoa
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Korkoa

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March 8, 3:15 PM PST
Satomi Towers, Coast City

@Ceta de Cloyes


Jessie turned to Ezra as he plugged his phone into their computer bank and began to speak excitedly, she had learned over the past couple months to expect his sneaky entrances and had conditioned herself to not be startled by him. She stared at the computer screen he was using, watching in fascination as a map popped up with various pinpoints in major cities and smaller byways. Even one right here in the city, probably no more than an hour or two to walk, much less if they were flying. Jessie leaned closer, jabbing at the red dot over Coast City as she spoke. "So Benji came through, huh? That's what we need right there, practically an open invitation."

Jessie looked at Ezra curiously as he began to bumble his way through a half-formed plea for her help. It almost sounded as though he didn't think she'd actually go through with it, or that she'd back out and try to take some kind of smaller role. It was almost adorable, if a little bit insulting. Jessie shook her head and chuckled, reaching down to her goggles on the desk in front of her and slipping them on, the display lighti9ng up as Lightning Bug adjusted them to her head and looked at her alien friend. "I made a promise when we started this. And breaking into a shady government agency to find out some X-Files shit about who's hunting aliens and why? That sounds like a show I wouldn't miss for the world." She said with a grin, smacking Ezra's arm playfully.

March 8, 5:30 PM PST

Sunspot Cafe, down the street from secret DEO headquarters, Coast City

@Crazytazer


Jessie set up her laptop in a quiet corner of the internet cafe, checking to make sure her gear was still safely in her backpack. She would have loved to rush in guns blazing to this base, but Ezra had been adamant that they at least check out the area first. He had a point, it seemed almost too easy to have found such a close base to their location, they didn't want to walk into a trap. But Jessie wanted to be ready regardless. Jessie opened up a small window on her computer, as well as loading up a few decoy programs; IP blockers, proxies, hackertyper in case anyone was spying on her, things like that. Then the real work began. Using the laptop to extend her senses through the wifi network of the shop, Jessie slowly began making connections to the nearby security cameras on the street. That would give her a good view of the street layout around the building before she tried to push farther in. She didn't expect to get very far, a secret government agency would likely have firewalls and precautions in place to prevent all kinds of attacks, even from unorthodox sources such as herself. But hopefully she could get an idea of what the security looked like while--

Help

Jessie gasped and winced, her cyber attacks and connections stopping as her mind was assaulted by a foreign presence. She was still only trying to interface with local cameras, she hadn't even touched the facility yet. Were they tied into the surrounding grid? What the hell was 'help' supposed to mean?!

Trapped

Jessie looked around the coffee shop, trying to see if someone, no matter how impossible, might be playing some kind of trick on her. Nothing. Hipsters and coffee. New age music. Laptops on a shared network with shitty privacy settings, but none of them attempting to reach out to her. Which left just the direction of the DEO base. Jessie was ready for it now.

Help

Jessie's mind snapped around the transmitted word like a steel trap. It was a signal, transmitted through a few different mediums. Radio, power line, short range wifi. Jessie could feel the echos reverberating through the web, and she grabbed her backpack and ducked into the bathroom. Pulling out her goggles and settling them over her eyes, Jessie was pleased to see a text box appearing to the left of her vision, displaying the message as well. Her goggles were on an open receiver, easier to interface with that way, and they had intercepted the message. With the signal in her head, and in her goggles, Jessie though she might be able to trace it back to the source...

It was coming from the DEO base, that was sure. Security was tight on the network, they were likely monitoring everything on every computer in the place. But that's where the weakness was too. When you're searching everything for anything, some things can slip through. And where a message got out... Another could punch in. An unused dead-end in the network, a brief connection that had been made then lost. It would be a simple enough matter to connect again, and see exactly what was pushing words into her brain...

Who are you? What are you? Where? Jessie pushed her thoughts back towards the source, compressing her thoughts into a small file and opening the connection to the dead-end terminal for a brief moment, just long enough to push the file through before backing out of the system completely. It was crowded and dangerous in there. She'd keep monitoring the airwaves for now, but she didn't like the thought of going back into that system without needing to.

Jessie pulled out her phone and began to text Ezra again, he was close by doing his own scouting. Something's in there. Made contact with me through the computer, talked into my brain. Trying to find out more. This is the place.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ceta de Cloyes
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Ceta de Cloyes Roziphontes

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March 8th, 2020
5:35 PM, PT
DEO HQ, Coast City


@Korkoa
@Crazytazer
@Queentze





Jessie had come through for him, which shouldn't have been as surprising as it was. Ezra found it strange to be able to rely on someone again, not even his family had ever done something so blatantly dangerous or illegal for him. This was right up her alley, the kind of thing she found exciting- and yes, maybe he found it a little thrilling too - but he didn't believe that was the only reason; Jessie cared for him and he wouldn't doubt that again. He hoped she knew he'd do the same for her, y'know, if she had been at risk of being killed by an unknown government organization instead of him.

As he lurked outside the building, a short block-shaped place three stories tall with dark walls, sharp edges, and tinted windows, Ezra checked his phone to get the latest update from his partner; Something's in there. Made contact with me through the computer, talked into my brain. Trying to find out more. This is the place.

A prisoner. He'd expected those, though one of them reaching out to them before they even infiltrated the place was a surprise. A telepath maybe? But then they wouldn't have been able to talk through the computer. Technopath? He didn't know any technopathic species, aside from Jess at least, so it was possible… but unlikely. Maybe some kind of electro-gaseous lifeform, they usually had peculiar effects on nervous systems and computer systems alike, though how one would survive on Earth he didn't know. He shrugged, it was too early to tell.

Couple guesses, nothing solid tho, keep me posted. He sent back, before pocketing his phone and getting back on task.

He shot up into the air, costumed in his old containment uniform and flying invisible so as to not be seen. He ducked into a back alley a little further along, searching for the back door most of the buildings nearby all had. He found it easily, a big metal rectangle with a large clamp-like lock on it. Good enough. He ducked his head through the door, intangible and invisible and smirked as he found exactly what he was looking for: two agents were stood nearby talking heatedly, apparently frustrated with one of their coworkers or something, and bolstered on their waists were little key cards, and what was that? A mobile phone? Yoink.

He relieved the whiniest agent of his key card and phone, hastily backing away and back out through the door as the deep chill of overusing his invisibility and intangibility powers began to creep into his core. He lasted a bit longer, flying through the open window of a building next door and checking he was alone before fading back into the visible spectrum and becoming tangible once more. He whipped out his phone and played with a fancy little connector he'd bought for just this occasion before sending a text to Jessie; Got a key card and an agent's phone, might not have anything important on it but I hooked it up to mine. See if you can find anything? He’d try himself, but the required passcode was a long string of numbers he couldn't hope to guess.

He'd done as bout as good as he could without actually sneaking all the way in. With any luck Jessie would find a blueprint and they'd find a good place to just walk through a wall at. He could only hold intangibility and invisibility for so long, and for two people it was even more questionable, with a group of potential alien prisoners? Forget it. So they needed a plan, a path to follow, an answer to any defenses or obstacles in their way.

He peeked out of the window, glinting green eyes flickering like a candle in the dark shadows of the room he'd chosen to hide in. This was a perfect position to spy on the HQ from; he could see directly down the alleyway where the back entrance was, he could see the front entrance perfectly, a few of the lighter windows facing him he was able to see through, and he was high up enough to see the roof access as well, potentially leading to an elevator or stairwell: and speaking of vertical travel, humans loved their basements and bunkers, perhaps the building had lower rooms he couldn't see, he briefly wondered if he should seek out an underground entrance via a subway, mine, or sewer tunnel, but dismissed it. Even if there were lower levels and entrances to them, he had a better view from here until he heard back from Jessie.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Crazytazer
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Crazytazer

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@Korkoa
@Ceta de Cloyes

March 8th
5:38pm PST
DEO Lab, Coast City.


It was a tense few moments for Vox wondering if the transmission even left the lab past the security measures, it was not a risk she would have taken in any other circumstance as the probability of being found out was notable. However, unlike a human direct escape was impossible as her core was not mobile nor even controllable like a body which left her at a distinct disadvantage against them or any other organic being who wished to do her harm. In this place especially the vulnerability was very open as besides making more loud sounds to attempt disorientation there was nothing to prevent one of the scientists from simply walking up to the attached core and unhooking it effectively forcing her to sleep. This was a cause for distress as the seconds continued to tick on the IT human was getting back up to dust themselves off unlikely to leave before repairs.

The AI felt something slip past the security through the same way her own left which pushed down the unnamed feeling that was prevalent up until this moment replacing it with one feeling she did know and several more unknown to her but positive ones. The manner in which the data flowed in was also a mystery to Judas as it felt machine transmitted as well as more intuitive...more organic like herself and that left a big question for her. Was the sender an AI too? If so whoever they might work with could help to free the imprisoned prototype from the server. Wasting no more time she scanned the data quickly to see what made it through.

Who are you? What are you? Where?

It was a difficult question to fully answer, or want to in a way since her want to know who the other AI worked with presented an issue. No other choice but to give an appropriately cautious answer.

"Judas. Prototype core. Quarantine server near lab. Last message, discovery probability rising." She responded attempting to keep the message short but informative enough to be useful.

Though the message was ready to press back out the human was persisting to fix any minor leaks that might have occurred. Vox suspected that her earlier choice of music would not work again nor would immediately sending the new message. One option was to just push the next message through quickly though the security protocols could have begun a search which would make an immediate attempt a clear violation of it as it focused in. Unlike a human she could see the program moving about outside of the tear or crack so waiting for it to pass held a greater possibility of success. Though the AI had never fully managed to break outside of the system she knew its habits, the patrol, as well as the scanning parameters. Another issue was the human who might get tipped off by it so another diversion was needed though in a different manner than previously as volume could be adjusted to. This particular human however was quick to anger which allowed for one more chance to seriously disrupt any progress provided it was unpleasant enough. Unlike the first try finding an adequately bad music file was not nearly so difficult and with eyes on the crack she started to play her choice.

Vox predicted the reaction correctly as a couple minutes rolled by before the human reached a breaking point smacking the side of the console causing momentary confusion as the power to the server and immediate data stream outside flickered. Her return message slipped out before the security reinitialized in a similar but not entirely the same way to mask its trail and presence. This was exceeding expectations as the other AI seemed like it might attempt to help, it would not have revealed itself in such a way if there was no intention behind the file. There was a chance to leave this place which was worth every measure but there was a certain unpleasantness to the thought as well simply because there was no telling what to expect outside of her places in the lab. Judas wondered what it would be like more than the other feelings and thoughts as curiosity seemed a natural thing from experience alongside the words of the scientists.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Taytay
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Taytay Sleepy

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5:15 PST
Thursday March 8, 2020
DEO Lab, Coast City (Sniper Nest a few buildings over)


Frakedi was stationed a few buildings over from his intended location. The trip ahd been pushed back but now he finally got his chance to get more information on the DEO and as much time as he needed to do his magic. He found that the reason he could not read their minds was because the badges were amplifying the power of his home worlds metal (a common practice) and it was giving them a protective barrier form those who might want to probe their thoughts. So he has been staking the place out since he landed this morning and even picked off a few stragglers to get some more information on the layout.

Back in Midway city he had hit up that same base a few times and got even more Intel on the organization, even found out the leader of that branch was making a profile on him. That did not matter though, he was giving them the runaround and its been working, Frakedi even found out that the DEO thought some of the martian metals came from the moon, which had him cracking up all night. But for now he was focused on the task at hand, getting inside. He was wearing a different face tonight, Frakedi thought it would make a good impression especially if these guys turned out to be bad.

He looked over to the knocked out guard on the floor next to him, this was Agents Briggs original posting before he went to sleep (smirk). While he was sleep Frakedi was deeply rooting himself into the young mans mind taking it over, this was the best way to do mind control, just knock them out and root yourself like a virus into their mind. If he tried to do it while the man was still up Frakedi would have to deal with push back from the subconscious and that just causes the body to spasm like he is having a seizure, plus these guys are trained to resist this kind of thing so knocking him out was the best way. He found out early on that any one who was trained to beat a polygraph test could fight most basic telepathic abilities, now the telepath would win (eventually)but that's just to much work. When Briggs wakes up it will only take slight suggestions and maybe a little mental push to make him do what Frakedi wants, their minds are linked so he can do just about anything.

-------------
5:35 PST
Thursday March 8, 2020
DEO Lab, Coast City (next door)

Interacting with: @Ceta de Cloyes@Korkoa

"Hey...buddy...best friend...BRIGGS! I need you right now." Frakedi said with a slap to the cheek until the man woke with a jump. Briggs was sending all types of feelings and thoughts to Frakedi but they settled once he noticed who he was, so he just stood up and nodded with a simple "Sir" waiting for directions. Frakedi and Briggs would begin to move closer sticking to the dark ally ways until they faced the Lab. The ally they where in was in the building next door but was on the far side furthest away form the Lab and it only gave them a view of the front door and the street.

He started his advance but something stopped Frakedi, he could feel the mind of another, since he was on mental hyper activity mode right now, Frakedi could practically see the minds of others (Except the agent) before he saw them. He knew that what he saw coming out was a mass of green, not bright just there blending into the darkness, but it had no form and was trying to be hidden. Whatever it was, it wasn't human, Frakedi new what a human psyche felt like so he sent Briggs to follow it, while he flew to the top of the building. Frakedi could feel Briggs and the green one inside the building and he walked over the roof and stood right were the mass had stopped. Briggs was putting that training to use and now stood behind the door that led into the room where "greeny" was at.

Frakedi's eyes where glowing a bright red now as he took full control over the Briggs' body and kicked the door down raising his gun at the..boy!? This threw Frakedi for a loop, kind of stunned him almost breaking the link between him and Briggs, but he recomposed himself quick. He knew this kid wasn't human but what was he? It was literally the first time Frakedi had seen something not human or martian, he knew aliens where on Earth just never took the time to meet one.

So he acted quick and phased through the floor before things could get out of hand. He stood next to Briggs and smiled, both their eyes glowing red and a smile on Frakedi's face. "Briggs put that thing down, were are good for now." Frakedi said, he could feel the reluctance from Briggs but the man still did it. "We come in peace, I guess, as long as your not with them I won't have to do to you what I did to Briggs here." Frakedi said with a smirk but meant every word, he was ready to put his own training to use if necessary, human or not. Briggs went and stood in the door way of the room, there was no door so he just stood there keeping watch, while Frakedi looked at their new "friend" again and smiled. "Lets talk shall we, I am pretty sure you have a question or two, so do I."


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Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Blazion
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Blazion

Member Seen 17 days ago

11:13 AM, March 12th
Kasimir Castle, Gotham City


It was quiet, almost too quiet for a city like Gotham. No place here remained untouched by the hustle and bustle in the day, or the low rumble of corruption at night – and of course where one stopped and the other began often bled into each other, as the city and crime never slept. Yet here in the pitch black of a certain room not a sound was made, the air itself seemingly still, the movements of the others in the buildings unheard through the thick walls. The only real noise was the quiet, rhythmic breathing of the lone occupant.

BEEP.

A slight twitch of the fingers was the first movement, before they curled into a fist, refined muscles tensing with the motion.

BEEP.

The low rumble that emerged deep from the chest of the single person reverberated, but couldn’t pierce the bubble the infernal beeping left behind. A grey-blue eye shot open and the gaze quickly landed on the device beside them, narrowing in a silent challenge.

BEEP.

Throwing the sheets back on her bed Zoey finally deigned fit to sit up, rolling her shoulders and muscles rippling with the motion. Her teeth were grit together as she eyed her phone, the light coming off it the only illumination in the otherwise blacked out room. Her blackout curtains kept the billionaire’s erratic sleep schedule maintained whenever she finally crawled beneath the silk, sometimes days in between each rest period.

No, crime really didn’t sleep.

With a final huff of irritation the redhead’s long fingers picked up the phone to see who had texted her. It was no surprise seeing that it was “JJ” who had sent a quick succession of three texts in a row, since Zoey’s phone was on vibrate for all but a few numbers. Plus, who else knew the best way to get a sleep deprived and slightly hungover Zoey out of bed quickly? A slight huff exited the woman’s lips but her thumb was already pressed into the fingerprint scanner, opening the lock screen on the slim phone.

“Get up.”
“Drink your coffee.”
“I have news.”


Well, at least it wasn’t the first time Zoey would be working on little sleep.




The fact that Jasper told Zoey to get her coffee first was a simple tip off that, although the news was probably important, it could wait half an hour. So it was that the tired Kasimir trudged into her dining in just her pyjama pants and a crumpled night shirt. It was no surprise the long table was empty aside from a single steaming coffee and a plate of food, a pile of mail beside them. Even years after Jasper moved on from being her personal assistant she still had the number to alert her head chef when the morning monster was roused, and the only occupant of the house who would be sharing breakfast with her was long gone, as he should be. It wasn’t a rare thing that they missed each other on weekday mornings. She was up until six last night. It wasn’t a particularly hard night, just active, especially with the police preoccupied with a recent prisoner escape just over a week ago. It seemed to be a never ending tidal wave of corruption and crime, the rise of magic brimming through the city not helping in recent months, a constant fight just to keep the line drawn in the sand-

This coffee was fantastic, was that french vanilla? Classic.

It was half a cup of coffee and a few rashers of bacon before Zoey finally found her steel-blue gaze drifting to the pile of mail beside her. A slight sigh escaped the billionaire seeing the first piece, a rather elegant and stylized green invitation, no doubt to one of Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day get togethers. Why couldn’t the families just let her dye her innards green off themed booze in peace? But no, images had to be maintained, connections upheld, nevermind the fact that Zoey knew a certain vigilante would have to be out that night; nothing like lowered inhibitions and a party atmosphere as its own perfect cocktail of chaos.

A rather unladylike snort managed to weasel its way out of the redhead, and she brushed the invitation to the side. She’d see who it was from later, she really wasn’t in the mood at the moment. The next piece of mail, however, had Zoey freezing in place seeing the return address listed on the simple, plain white envelope.

Blackrock Prison.

It wasn’t the first time Zoey got a piece of mail from there, even all this time after she had moved from Blackrock. Hell, it wasn’t even the first time this year! When she was younger she’d tear them up, then end up mournfully picking up the pieces and shoving them into a drawer unread. Now a days she was mature enough to at least read what was written, though the amount of times she wrote back could be counted on one hand. Slowly the tensed muscles relaxed and another quiet, resigned sigh left her lips as Zoey used the mail opener left on the table to retrieve the hand written letter inside. She still froze up like that, every time for at least a split second as the memories she tried in vain to quash came rushing back.

Like all the others it followed the same pattern, ignoring how she never replied. How was she doing, has she met anyone, don’t let such-and-such’s upstart runt try to intimidate her at the annual such-and-such party. It was actually only within the past couple years that the letters took a dramatic change. First it was he was proud of her for adopting, then when was he going to meet his grandson, and today when was he going to take the Kasimir name...

First of all, no. Second of all, she was beginning to suspect her father was subscribed to one or more of the Gotham tabloids. Which, really, a grudging bravo for getting them to deliver all the way to Blackrock Prison on the west coast. Resisting the urge to just crumple up the paper Zoey instead very carefully folded it and stuffed the letter back inside before tossing it back on the table. She’d put it with the others when she was done eating and got to hear whatever was so important from Jasper. Speaking of which...

Watered. What’s going on?” The phone didn’t even leave Zoey’s hand before it beeped once more, the message obviously having been waiting to be sent from the other end.

Jack Lessee’s been murdered.

... Seriously, Jasper could’ve led with that.



12:45 AM, March 13th
East Haven Residential, Hub City


One of the perks to having a childhood friend as a high ranking police officer was that you could be tipped off to important details that occurred when you were sleeping; one of the perks to being a billionaire was a private jet from New Jersey to Illinois before night even fell. Zoey instantly knew who Jasper was talking about, it was hard not to considering the topic of their discussion a week ago when Blackgate Penitentiary was breached. It didn’t take long for her to have a bag packed and boarding her plane for the two hour flight to Illinois, spending the time looking over the precisely recorded footage taken years ago from her own point of view. Well, looking over it and sending at least a warning text to David to not expect her home tonight, and don’t think about skipping school because he was tired. He’d get the message. The hypocritical message.

Now all that was past, and Zoey ceased to be. Under the darkness of night a shadow moved across Hub City, attracting little attention drifting through the streets or moving across the buildings high above. A legend and a myth wrapped in one graced the city with not even a whisper of their presence, focused on a single destination. Two buildings away from East Haven Residential Grim crouched, a gargoyle high above the streets as she took in the residence enhanced on her goggles’ lens. The home of Police Commissioner Jack Lessee.

Grim had a quiet confidence in themselves, well earned, but it’s said only fools rushed in. That’s what led to the silent perch on another residence, darkened with the late hour to examine East Haven Residential. Looking for patrols, movements, anything that would disrupt her in the middle of her investigation. The left lens of Grim’s goggles were zoomed in with nightvision active, taking in the minute details of the home while the right was lit up in cool blues and the occasional red fleck from a person’s body. She hadn’t even been there five minutes before her plans were already derailed by an approaching figure to the residence. It would’ve only been a slight inconvenience, if it wasn’t for the fact the red fleck of the figure had arrived from the sky. A second, more normal heat signature joined them in a specific room shortly after.

Even an idiot could guess who the first person was, she had been making waves far beyond her little hometown. The second was a mystery, but didn’t appear to be a threat considering he was standing amicably with the first heat signature. Idly Grim toyed with the idea of waiting the two out, but finally concluded it was wasting even more time. Besides that, what’s-her-name might be useful.

The zoom on her left lens returned to normal magnification, though the nightvision remained. The right remained on heat optics as Grim finally rose to approach. The mixing sights would no doubt be disorientating to most people, but Grim had years of experience with them. It took precious little time to move across the two roofs and into the backyard of the Police Commissioner’s home. She did take a moment to examine the lock on the window. A slight scorch mark on the lock was present, catalogued, and then wiped away. Not violent enough for her target.

Once inside the night vision function was flicked off as Grim made her way on silent feet to the scene of the crime. There was no one around but the two already acknowledged, and the sleepy presence of the police cars out front, yet it was always better safe than sorry – which kept her heat optics present. Still, Grim didn’t hesitate as her silent steps found her at the door leading to the master bedroom, finally stopping once faced with the two at her crime scene; if the reports were correct a veritable god in the form of a woman... and a man in a trench coat.

Not the weirdest combination Grim was ever faced with.

They were examining the door frame so Grim didn’t even make a token attempt at hiding her presence. Instead, beneath the mask that hid her roaming gaze Grim took in the woman, recording everything she could. Height, costume, hair color, build, even the tone of voice that could be heard faintly as she approached. Grim gave Trenchcoat his own once over, quicker but no less thorough.

To some it may have been frightening, being before someone who had enough power that the crime of a man and wife literally being fried to death was not outside the realm of possibility. It was even likely, to some. After all, Grim could’ve been mistaken on the identity of who was after Lessee, could’ve been standing before an out of control demigod. It could’ve been suicide walking in like this, so brazen and confident, not even remembering the woman’s name, not even attempting to make an entrance that wouldn’t be seen.

Grim was many things however, and a fool wasn’t one of them. Princess over there didn’t do this.

Besides, she looked like a kicked puppy.

And just like that Grim, well, she didn’t disregard the two of them but she certainly wasn’t paying them anymore attention. Instead her gaze turned to the doorframe, giving it a glance over. The gloved fingers on her right hand rose to brush against a hint of scraped metal on the bent frame, noting that it wasn’t metal from underneath the paint but rather a foreign source scraped off onto it. The images fresh in her mind from the flight over confirmed that it was about the right size for her suspect as well. Stepping away from the frame Grim brushed right passed the two in the room to examine one of the scorch marks on the wall. Familiar. She was confident before, but now, now she was positive.

A quick press of a small button on the sides of her goggles had a white light emerge. Using the light and keeping from the windows Grim began to examine the floor and walls, looking for any clue that might lead to where he went after this. Almost absently however Grim addressed the two she had so far been ignoring, realizing this wasn’t one of the instances she could keep quiet. They’d be too curious, and she’d get no peace in her investigation. That’s what the voice changer was for, anyway, her words coming out in a low growl.

“This is one of mine. The Electrocutioner.”
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Alfhedil
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Alfhedil What do you see Kaneda?

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7:50 PM, March 12th
Lundgrau Intelligence Services North American Headquarters, New York City





White sand gently reflected the light of the setting sun, cast pink by the fading rays. His toes dug into the fine grains easily, feeling the warmth and simply gazing out across the pristine blue waters before him. The beach stretched away to either side of him, mostly other vacationers enjoying the perfect weather. Just in the background he could hear a mandolin playing out the easy tones of "Margaritaville" and chuckled as he took a drink of his own, tasting the salted rim first and then the smoothness of the mixed drink.

"Fort Worth reports growth in the southern sectors, but I think we could still push more numbers out of our producers there and try to give Federal a run for their money."

Two gentlemen nearby discussed the particulars of their business while smoking cigars, their own drinks untouched beside them on a table. It seemed so strange to get so far away from the office and bring work along with you, so much that Raymond just smiled and adjusted his straw hat. The weather was perfect this time of year, yet despite that there weren't quite as many people around as one would expect.

"Do you really think Beretta is going to back down on the service pistol contract? They've got a contender this year, and the Army isn't happy with their last selection. Hasn't been happy with the Sig almost since they scored it."

More talk of business, it made him frown as it cut through the sound of what he swore to be Jimmy Buffet himself singing along in the background. His mood was souring slowly as the oasis began to fade just as he saw her face. She wasn't supposed to be there, she was out of place completely. Nor were the businessmen or the music. That wasn't what irritated him however, he felt bitterness that he could not remember her name but could still see her smile. So it was that when the conference room of his New York offices replaced the beachfront, he was in more of a foul mood than he had been in when the meeting had begun.

The rise of these "superheroes" was making a mess of the home defence market, people in various cities caught between arming up to the teeth from fear, and cutting back on their firearms spending. Chicago was still a hell-hole, and the city lit up in the distance could also be relied on for sales, but the rise of "Lady Arcana" out west was troubling. That one in particular had been a subject of great interest for him lately, so much so that his wife Katarina had questioned if he was one of her fanclub. She knew the truth of the matter though, but it still rankled with him.

"Beretta and Federal both will back down, as we already have the service pistol contract secured." He spoke with confidence, largely because he truly had already arranged the outcome of the DARPA contract. It had been an easy deal, just involved greasing a palm or two in the right places.

"Of course Mr. Chairman." Henry Irving paused a moment as he reviewed the docket for the night's meeting. "Gentlemen, that's all for the quarterly meeting. Please convey our respects to your regional team leaders and communicate the revised production quotas."

As one the dozen men who comprised his board of directors stood, giving a solemn nod of respect his way and began filing out the door. Most of them had a long flight ahead of them, and probably intended on stopping by for a drink on the way to the airport. Only three men remained behind, two of the board and his own personal retainer. Irving was one, as the director of internal affairs he was second in command of Lundgrau. The other was Girard Desrosiers, the frenchman who served as training coordinator for "The Sock" and also sat as part of his personal council.

"Give me a status report on Lady Arcana, Girard."

The man nodded, unlocking his briefcase and placing a few reports on the desk. All of them contained carefully collated sightings and interviews of the female sorceress, with special attention to her abilities and anything new that either contradicted or expanded upon old information. It was an impressive file all told, at least a hundred pages of testimony from witnesses, some of her foolish interviews and pictures of her in action. If he didn't know any better, he would think the stunt with the Nazi was just convenience and not her taking an opportunity to put herself out there in the world.

"She has been quite busy indeed, and from what I can see it is clear that she is the one to have inherited his powers."

"You sure about that boss? I know she said it herself in that interview, but-"

Raymond cut off Irving with a glance, taking the moment to remove his feet from the desk before him and stand. Yes, he was quite sure about it. He could feel it in his bones, the latent arcane energy surging through the veins of the Earth and empowering all who drunk from her well. The Master had passed and given her all the powers that had once been promised to him so long ago. Irving and Girard couldn't feel it of course, they didn't have the gift even if they had the faith, but they would take his word for it.

"I do not believe her to be an issue to our design, but even still send word to our teams within the area that the gangs of The Wedge are no longer necessary."

"Are we cleaning house?"

"Not yet, but if they find our decision disagreeable, then we will arrange for the police precints around The Wedge to receive a sudden influx of hardware as well as locations to the hideouts of the largest criminal organizations. That should be enough to send a message to the survivors to toe the line."

"Understood, I'll have word sent immediately. Praise Ishtar."

All three remaining men repeated the phrase as Girard Desrosiers took his leave. Raymond was still pensive, and finding his peace. Thoughts of home were beginning to come to mind, but there was still one last matter of business to attend to, one that was much closer at hand.

"Tell me about this 'Superman'. Do you think he's another one of the so-called metas out west? I know already he's not a sorceror, I would have felt the use of the arcane so close to my own home."

Irving frowned, having come up with about as much as anyone else had on the man of steel who had so suddenly arrived not long ago. All he had was his instincts, but he was conflicted on the matter.

"Not sure boss, my gut says no, but we're still seeing the beginning of this new era you talked about. Lots of strange things are happening all over, and it's hard to tell. I can pull some strings and get in touch with the DEO if you want some hard answers, but for now we're stuck just waiting for him to do something big."

Raymond nodded slowly, he had thought as much since he had arrived to the same conclusion. He did not like a hero being so close to where he worked, much less one that had a lot of variables about him. One thing that displeased him more than anything was variables. Variables could end well thought out plans without warning, wasting years of effort and turning everything on its head. At this stage of the game he could not afford that.

"Find out. Stir up the Triad and Mob in the city, get them at each other's throats and causing a scene. Draw out the Superman and see what kind of man he truly is, if he even is one. I want to know what he is capable of, so that if he can't be talked with, we can end him."

"Of course boss. Ishtar's will be done."
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Blackstripe
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12:53 AM, March 13th
East Haven Residential, Hub City


"Wha-" Lady Arcana whirled when somebody just...appeared in the hallway. She hadn't heard their approach at all, which was really something given how quiet the house was at this point. They were dressed in black, with their face covered in some sort of goggle-mask combo. She couldn't quite tell if it was a man or a woman, even as they drew closer and began fondling the door frame. They then swept past the both of them without a single word. "Um, rude?"

"Just gonna blow us off, huh?" Arcana muttered, watching them shine a light across the walls and floors from their visor-thingy. While not that much could be seen from the walls, she immediately noticed that the light revealed a series of rather disturbingly large boot prints along the floor. They seemed to lead both to and from the bedroom door.

And then the stranger spoke. It was a deep tone, but something about it didn't sound quite natural. They claimed the one who did this was one of "theirs", whatever that meant, and that they were apparently called "The Electrocutioner".

"Wait, so you know the one behind the murders here?"
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Simple Unicycle
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12:53 AM, March 13th
East Haven Residential, Hub City


"Theory: murderer used a special device that shoots electric- hurm?" The Question paused as he noticed the person who entered the room. Judging by the build, it was a man, though it could just be a convincing disguise. 'Analysis: highly dangerous, more than likely has several weapons hidden on person. Proceed with caution.' The man paid no mind to them, inspecting the doorframe before walking right past them.

A light emitted from the man's helmet, hitting the floor and revealing several large bootprints previously unnoticed. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Didn't check!' It was then that the stranger spoke, his voice deep, unnaturally so. 'Stranger uses voice modulator. Interesting.' He said it was one of his, most likely meaning he had dealt with the person before. '... Could it be?' Question pondered to himself.

It was likely; he had never heard of this person before, but he himself was all but a rumor save for a few sightings. Well, at least until a few months ago, but still. It wouldn't be crazy to assume that this man was a vigilante, plus it meant that he wouldn't be hostile to them, due to the fact that they were both vigilantes as well. The masked man kept quiet for a moment, before finally blurting it out: "Inquiry: would I be correct to assume you are a vigilante?"
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ceta de Cloyes
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Ceta de Cloyes Roziphontes

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March 8th, 2020
5:37 PM, PT
DEO HQ, Coast City


@Queentze





He eyed a suspicious looking plainclothes man loitering across the street from the DEO HQ. The man’s sunglasses, casual NY baseball cap, and shapeless gray hoodie were so unassuming as to be noteworthy. Judging by the way the man seemed utterly bored and only altered his course infrequently, Ezra would guess he was some kind of agent either spying on the DEO, or a member of the DEO themselves on lookout, which made sense given the abilities of some aliens to avoid normal means of detection.

A bang echoed behind him as the door was kicked in, and he spun on his heel, violently glowing green energy lighting up his fists and eyes. He faced the threat with a sneer already in place and fists poised to launch his energy attacks at the attacker, but the man’s glowing red eyes made him pause. An alien? Or a meta?

Another combatant came down through the roof, displaying a similar ability as his own to become intangible. This one had glowing red eyes as well, which may have been comforting if they weren’t on a human’s face. There was a quick exchange, and the first man, Briggs, lowered his gun. The other seemed to be in charge, and… is he threatening me? Ezra’s defensive stance widened, and he clenched his fists tighter. He knew how quickly a gun could be turned against him, lowering it meant nothing, and the other man’s words had been decidedly… unfriendly.

...maybe that was understandable, if he was an alien at least. Being hunted wasn’t exactly the greatest forge for wholesome people skills. He didn’t relax, but refrained from blasting them both in the face and escaping out the window. “Who are you?” He demanded sharply, “what are you doing here?” His eyes took in Briggs’ equipment, uncomfortably similar to the agents he’d fought at The Small; “Who’s them?” ’as long as your not with them’, he’d said, did that mean there was another faction at play here? Or was this one hunting the DEO too? Did that make this other one a spy? His eyes narrowed, uncertain but unwilling to assume anything.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Taytay
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5:40 PST
Thursday March 8, 2020
DEO Lab, Coast City (next door)

Interacting with: @Ceta de Cloyes

Frakedi shook his head at the boys question, they were understandable in the current situation, and Frakedi's are similar but he decided to have some fun with this instead. "Well my mother raised me with some manners, my name is Frakedi and I am from Mars." He said with a bow of the head, his eyes still burning bright red in the dark room. Using his "real" name was a lot safer than using his human name, at least until he found out who he was talking to, and Frakedi did not mind telling Echo where he was from, its not like he could use it against him.

Mars was an empty waste land, Frakedi knew this because he visited last summer in his ship and found nothing but old ruins of cities filled with mummified bodies of his people. It was as if Mount Vesuvius erupted on Mars too, the bodies where so well preserved that he could pick out his family: his three younger sisters eating at the diner table, his mother in the next room, and he found his father at the hanger were he put Frakedi in the ship and shot him into space. Now the surface cities where whipped out but those under ground got turned to hollow ruins.

"I am here because the DEO is fishy and I wanna find out why they smells so bad, can I assume that you are too?" he said and then turned to Briggs, the man was waiting and watching patiently with his back turned to them for his next order. He can still speak freely in his mind to Frakedi but so far he gave little to no protest about his situation. Even Frakedi thought he might be trying to lure him in and fight at the last minuet, but so far he seemed to be enjoying a chance to fight along side a martian. "And this is Agent Briggs of the DEO, he is sniper that I found out a few roof tops away hiding in a nest. Don't worry though I made sure that me and him sorted out our differences before he agreed to come and help me get some answers." Frakedi said, smile still present and when he said "sorted out our differences" he stared to tap and his head trying to say he was a telepath with out actually speaking it, if Echo got it he got it, and if he didn't that was just another card to play later on if he could not prove trust worthy.

"Now, Who...Are...You? If you don't mind me asking, and what beef do you have with the DEO?" Frakedi said with a calm to and no smile, he tell how on edge Echo was but did not wanna waste anymore time.

Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ceta de Cloyes
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March 8th, 2020
5:40 PM, PT
DEO Lab, Coast City


@Queentze





His eyes narrowed, Mars was easily within range of his pods’ communications systems, not to mention human inventions such as Hubble, if there was life on Mars it’d be known by now. There must be something more at work then, but for now he’d file away this Frakedi’s words and see what was to be made of them later.

He cocked his head to the side, relaxing slightly. The Martians words were just natural enough to be believable, and he finally loosened his stance and allowed the ecto energy to dissipate - for now. He took the hint for what it was, having known a telepath on Ghol- and then on Zon, she had used any every chance to use her ability to mock everyone she came across, leaving breadcrumbs of hints for them to try and figure out what was going on. She reminded him of a cat in that way, playing with her food, of course he hadn’t known what a cat was back then. He could have misinterpreted the Martian’s hint, but he was already beginning to suspect there was some kind of manipulation power at work given the previous hints about what had been done to Briggs.

He kept his eyes trained on them warily, but settled enough to answer Frakedi’s questions, since he had answered his. “Okay,” he allowed, “I’m Echo, from Ghol, and I think these lis’srekits raided an alien bar here in the Coast City.” He grimaced and glanced suspiciously at Briggs, “At least three people died, others are missing. I know the DEO was there, but I need more answers. We’re here to get them.” He said, voice taking on a challenging edge, daring them to try and stop them.
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Gaze upon my works, ye mighty, and despair.
(ps this is a joke post the actual collab is coming up)


"Could have made his way to the home via the shadows, then entered through the front door." Question said, whilst taking off his trenchcoat, throwing off his suit jacket, loosening his tie, before finally unbuttoning his dress shirt and throwing it to the ground. "Look at these ABS. YOU KNOW, THE REAL QUESTION IS: HOW CAN ANYONE LOOK THIS GOOD?"

He would then pull out a can of whipped cream and spray it all over his abs.

Karen stares in silent shock at the sight before her. Is this what R-rated movies are like?!

"Are you... are you being serious right now?" Grim stared aghast at the sight before her, jaw dropping behind her mask. "This is what Illinois has to offer me? ... A SUB-PAR CHALLENGE TO MY ABS?" In a flash Grim ripped her mask and jacket off, tearing her shirt over her head and pointing to the wash board abs underneath the binder.

"You are NOTHING compared to me!"

Karen then begins to tear off her cloak when Chris Hansen kicks down the door. "I THINK YOU NEED TO HAVE A SEAT!"

The Tiger materializes from the All Seeing Aether.

"W-what the hell y'all doin'? Jesus watchin'."

Meanwhile, across Hub City, Clare wakes up from a dead sleep. "I need to draw fanart immediately."
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Korkoa
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March 8, 5:35 Pm PST
Sunspot Cafe, Coast City

@Crazytazer


Jessie headed back to her computer setup, waiting impatiently for another signal from inside the base as she got another ted be interesting. Jessie debated for just a moment before reaching into her backpack and pulling out a connector, plugging her goggles, still concealed in her backpack, into her computer. This way she wouldn't miss a signal while she checked out this new clue. Jessie focused on her phone, sending her mind out to trace back the signal from Ezras, just as she had done the day they had discovered each others secrets. It was easy to find, and she could feel a physical connection between his phone and what she assumed was the stolen one. That was good, she wouldn't have trace another wireless signal.

Getting into the DEO agent's phone was simple, all she had to do was tell the password block that it had received the correct password, and she was in. Cell phone security was only so advanced compared to the stuff that was likely in the lab systems. Made you wonder why they issued cell phones at all. A lot of it was to be expected, phone calls to and from what she assumed was the office, text conversations with coworkers, a chatting app that was likely unmonitored so they could gossip on company time, pretty standard stuff. There was, however, an app that appeared to be a custom DEO one. Jessie could see shift assignments, guard patrols, access points... A detailed map of the base! And an unused string, which appeared to be some kind of prototype keycard app. It wasn't finished, but Jessie thought as long as she could get her hands on one keycard, she could probably tie it to the phone, so they could open doors remotely.

Jessie snapped out of her connection and began typing at her phone screen, sending a new message to Ezra. "Good shit on there, got a map and all the shift changes. If we can get a keycard too, I might be able to rig up a way to open doors for us." Pressing send and nodding to herself, Jessie turned her attention to her computer to see if anything had come in.

Judas. Prototype core. Quarantine server near lab. Last message, discovery probability rising

Sitting straighter in her seat, Jessie reread the message from her mysterious source. Prototype core in a server? Was this Judas an AI? But it had seemed so real, so desperate... If it was an AI, it was beyond anything she had ever seen. That alone was worth looking into, even if Ezra hadn't had his own reasons for coming here. If they could get Judas out, convince it to work with them, the things they could achieve were almost beyond comprehension! Jessie needed that core, and began typing another message to Ezra.

"PRISONER UPDATE, IT'S AN AI I THINK. SUPER ADVANCED, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT WAS AI TILL IT OLD ME. WE NEEEEEED TO RESCUE IT, IT'S AMAZING"

March 13, 1:00 AM EST
Gotham City Stadium, Gotham City

@Blazion


The red dripped down the painted brick walls making up the outside of the stadium, illuminated only by the dull glow of the street lamps. With a few large brushstrokes encircling the uppercase A's, transforming them into anarchy symbols, the well-dressed white-faced woman stepped back, admiring her handiwork. She had half-expected to be interrupted by much more than the hapless security stooge lying in a pool of his own blood, but it seemed as though the security enforcement of the city had better things to do with their time than investigate reports of a strange woman painting with blood after her spray can ran out of paint. No matter. The message was clear, and would reach its intended target soon enough. As a final measure, Anarkee stepped back up to the body of the guard and shoved him a bit, planting a pressure-release fear/anger toxin bomb underneath his corpse. Mixing the concoctions produced a less strong effect than either a Terror or a Rage bomb, but the combination of the two was still interesting, and the blast would likely be large enough to affect anyone within twenty feet or so. Turning a garden spotlight to highlight her work, Anarkee stepped away, satisfied with her nights work, and the writing on the wall with a crude drawing Grim's wolf head symbol.

BEWARE the rise OF the GRAVES
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Simple Unicycle
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12:54 AM, March 13th
East Haven Residential, Hub City


A low hum rumbled from behind Grim's mask, the voice modulator catching the noise and deepening it to something akin to a growl. The vigilante had crouched, taking in the bootprints that appeared under the light coming from their visor and silently recording the path they took through the room and back out. She didn't suppose she'd be so lucky that it would lead right to Electrocutioner, though. The other two in her presence were speaking as well, Grim only flicking her gaze to them briefly before returning to the prints in front of her.

"Yes." She responded simply, to both of their queries. It was tempting to just leave it at that, and a few years ago she would've, but having a sidekick at the very least made it easier to cooperate with others. Hopefully the puppy and Trenchcoat weren't moody teenagers under their disguises at least. "Electrocutioner. Escaped prison a week ago. Has a grudge against Lessee - had, now."

---

"So, does he like...call himself that?" Arcana couldn't help but ask, carefully watching every move the stranger made. "Also, what are we supposed to call you?"

Still, it was good to know the psuedonym of the person behind all of this. Behind the murders she was being blamed for. While their new "friend" didn't seem to be much for words, she also didn't appear to be interesting in fighting them. When it came to meeting new people, Karen found there was about a fifty-fifty chance of it going either way.

"Do you think this guy intended to frame me?"

---

"Hurm. New 'friend' said that Electrocutioner had a grudge against Commissioner Lessee. Likely he just meant to murder the commissioner and his wife, and people assumed it was you. Maybe he intended to frame you... Hunh. Must investigate further." The Question tapped his chin, pulling out his journal and scribbling in some quick notes on the case.

'Suspect: Electrocutioner, can control electricity, escaped from prison a week ago; had grudge against victim, and has had past dealings with gasmask guy.' The vigilante then shut his journal, pocketing it once more. He turned to the others, crossing his arms as he said to the new arrival: "Unclear who you are. Would like to know."

---

"Probably just an easy out. No doubt he'd have gone after Lessee with or without you here. It'd be best to find him quickly - he used a pair of gauntlets last time, probably made new ones but in the time span he had they may not be perfected yet." Well, no more perfected than them being enough to fry two people. Hopefully the thing had run out of juice, though it was hard to say if it wouldn't be back up to full power as it neared twenty four hours since the crime. Grim finally rose up to turn back to the other two, once more eyeing them beneath the stoic visage of her mask. Princess Puppy probably wasn't in much danger considering her own powers, but Trenchcoat was a mystery. Still, they had asked a question and it would be rude to not respond - not that she ever really cared before. That was obvious.

"I am known as Grim."

---

"Spoopy," Arcana replied.

Karen didn't like the idea of some crazy serial killer bringing his old grudges into her town, though, and so she would gladly work with Sir Spoopface here to bring him down. Who knows if there was someone else in Hub City that he might have a grudge against? All she needed was for this to become a string of crimes instead of an isolated murder, especially given that many still believed she was the one responsible.

"Just tell me how I can help," she finally offered. "You seem to know all about this guy, so I'll follow your lead."

Powerful though she may be, after all, she was no detective. She only did well when she had someone in front of her to beat up or talk down.

---

"Hrm. Suppose you know most about killer, so would be logical to team up with you." The Question said, digging a sugar cube out of his pocket, pulling his mask up and popping it into his mouth. He pulled his mask down, making sure to toss Lady Arcana another sugar cube because she seemed to like them, before turning back to Grim.

"What's our next step? Killer should still be in Hub, considering murder was only yesterday. Any way we could track him down?"

---

Grim had gone still, visor and gaze focused on Princess Magic as she replied to her. A slight tilt of her head was the only indication Grim was puzzling through something as she examined her. She had been at this a long time, and experience had led to little things being able to drop the largest clue. For example, 'spoopy'. It could just be the local dialect, but as strange as Illinois was she doubted it. It sounded more like an emerging phrase from the latest times.

Which meant Lady Arcana was a moody teenager. Great.

"I can handle it. I did before," Grim finally noted, not out of some stubborn pride but rather the new realization. Underneath the mask an elegantly shaped eyebrow arched up, unseen as she continued watching Miss Puppy, flicking to watch Trenchcoat toss her a small wrapped up object. Candy? She wasn't certain about the age range of him still, but offering candy to teenagers while wearing a trenchcoat was odd, at the very least. "After all, it is a school night."

---

When The Question produced a sugar cube, her eyes dart over to him expectantly. Smiling when he indeed offered her a piece, she popped it into her mouth with a contented hum, only to realize that the individual calling themselves "Grim" was now staring at her. It was weird, and she felt like she was somehow being read. When Grim declined her aid and mentioned it being a school night, she couldn't help but purse her lips.

Was she a telepath like Wilhelm? Had she somehow deduced her identity? What had she said to give it away?

No matter how she looked at it, this person seemed kind of sketch, and not in an obvious "flash you in a subway tunnel" way like Question. More like, she was able to figure you out with just a glance, and that was pretty damn scary.

Glancing to her fellow vigilante-friend, Arcana tilted her head. "What do you think? Should we just..leave her to it? I mean, I feel kind of wrapped up in it at this point, to be honest."

---

School night? What did Grim mean by that? It wasn't like Arcana was a child, she appeared to be in her early twenties at least. What, did Grim think they were both wannabe teenagers playing vigilante? It was then that Lady Arcana asked him what he thought, and he voiced his opinion: "I don't know who you think you are, Grim, but Arcana and I can help you. We're not useless."

He crossed his arms, glaring at the veteran hero beneath his mask. "We're helping you out, whether you want us to or not."

---

How stubborn. It was really no surprise though, Grim could offer suggestions and attempt to make it easier on everyone involved but people had a tendency to dig their heels in. Sometimes they had something to prove, other times she thought it was just to aggravate her. Rather than argue the point however the vigilante didn't even so much as give them a shrug, just turning her visor back to the floor.

Though, it was a little refreshing not being recognized as soon as she gave her name.

Picking up the footprints that nearly doubled her own size once more Grim just moved passed the two other vigilantes to begin following the trail. Once again she doubted it would lead right to the front door of wherever he was hiding like a little cockroach, but hopefully it would at least give a bit of a clue where he had went.

"Three places I could see him seeking out first," She rumbled finally, keeping her voice high enough to carry but lower than an indoor speaking voice. "Somewhere he could repair his suit if it got damaged, a power plant, or a bar - to celebrate."

---

Arcana quietly followed along after Question basically stood up for their right to be here. While she hadn't been certain on how to respond to her rejection at first, she had to agree with her fedora-wearing pal. This was their town, and she had actually been accused of murder, so it wasn't like she had a horse in this race.

Horse in this race? Geez, she'd been hanging around old people for too long.

The footprints they were following eventually lead them to the front door, and it was there that Lady Arcana immediately noted the halmark signs of a forced entry. It wasn't anything that would've been visible from the air outside, but now that she was up close, she could see where the door had been somehow forced open, as there were gashes along the door frame similar to the bedroom.

"Wait, so he entered through the front door?" Arcana blurted out. "But wouldn't someone see him if he was just strolling down the neighborhood in a bunch of metal?"
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by pyroman
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Planet Savasa, Sector 2814
14 hours after start of daily cycle

Preston could almost get used to this. Flying at unreal speeds across the universe and saving whole populations from chaos and destruction. He didn't need to hide who he was. He was Preston Westfield, Emerald Knight and Green Lantern to this sector. Many missed his predecessor, some even resented Preston for taking his place, but they all accepted him passing, and Preston worked hard in getting them to trust in him in the event of an evil greater than their planet arriving.

He almost wondered if he should go back to earth, back to being a nameless and faceless astronomer. Why did he even try to hide under an identity? Flying around this sector of the universe and protecting people took priority over working a day job that he constantly had to flee from. Not to mention how well he was treated by many of the friendlier species. He barely use his apartment anymore since he was gone, and he was sure he could work out something with one of the many alien races for bed and board, so long as he continued to protect them. He was living such a little life back on earth, and he didn't know why he was holding onto having a secret identity on earth in the first place.

He was seated at a banquet held in his honor for stopping a villain from killing the leaders of the planet when his ring began to glow. It was a message sent by the Guardians, Preston assumed, and allowed his Ring to play the message to him.

"Report back to earth at once. The Earthen governments have been attempting to suppress the Metahuman presence on the planet, which will only result in the escelation of violence. They won't trust the vigilantes to take care of the villailous metahumans, straining tensions between everyone. Be an agent of peace, but do not introduce the possibility of an alien presence, Preston Westfield."

Preston groaned. Well it was back to the grind back on earth. Could he at least enjoy this meal and the party before we went back to his little life? Well, yeah. The ring wasn't flying him around, and he needed to recharge his ring after the party anyways to last the whole trip. Plus, he could stand to enjoy the the company of a few more promising aliens. Everyone loved a good planet saving superhero.

_-_-_

It was almost a complete day on Savasa before Preston finally went home. He had done all that he needed to do, and he flew back to Earth in record time.

There was a problem, though. He didn't have any idea what was going on besides what his ring was telling him. He knew his mission, but not the full details of the current climate.

Reentering Earth's atmosphere, Preston flew himself back to his apartment and entered using a house key that he made with the help of his ring. Being the Emerald Knight also had practical benefits. He walked back into his apartment, fresh with a layer of dust on just about everything. Nothing had been changed, nothing stolen. That was good.

He walked into his kitchen and stared at the fridge. That number was on there somewhere, he assured himself. After getting it, he made sure to put it somewhere he couldn't miss it. After close inspection, he had found the once wadded up note and pulled it off the fridge. Using the corner of his counter, he flattened it out and went to find his phone. When they had met, he certainly seemed like a down to earth guy, so he would probably have a good idea of what was going on.

He punched in the numbers and hit call. He waited patiently for something to happen, and whether it was leaving a message or actually talking to the man, Preston cleared his throat to drop off his message to a man he had only spoken to once.

"Hey, this is Oscar Ellison, right? I'm Preston Westfield, we spoke a while back." His free hand tugged on his collar as he suppressed a nervous laugh. "I've, uh, been gone for a while, staring at the stars for too long. And I figured, hey, you seem like a guy who knows about current events, so. Yeah. What's been going on in the world according to Oscar Ellison?"

He paused.

"Gah."

And hung up.

So stupid, he probably sounded so weird. He would be surprised if Oscar even messaged him back after this. He wouldn't be surprised, however, if Oscar played the dumb message out to any of his friends.

Preston fell onto his couch and reached for the remote. Maybe the news would tell him something about the world right now.




Amnesty Bay

Boom!

Patricia had thrown all care into the wind. With the rise of Metas in the world, there was no reason for her to not utilize what she had in order to progress through life.

Her body was covered in armor given to her by the scarab on her back. Her left arm had been transformed into a sonic cannon, her right hand was a large net that she used to carry the large amount of money that she had just stolen from the bank she was currently robbing. Once she got to understanding the Scarab better, she could move onto the largest and most secure banks on the planet! She's be set for life!

Another wall was torn down using her arm canon. From her back sprouted wings that were used to carry her forward. She could flee into the sea, leave the states for a bit and wait for the heat to die down before she returned to Amnesty Bay. She could only hope that there weren't any Metas in the area that would be keen on stopping her from carrying off all of this money.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Afro Samurai
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Afro Samurai Like a Raisin in the Sun

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(An abandoned warehouse, Marvin Hayes' hideout)



January 15th, 2020

5:10 a.m.



The months of December and January Marvin spent training. He began his full time venture into mixed martial arts in the highest order: first Judo; seven days a week, three hours a day, he practiced various leg trips, hip throws, and sweeps. On the old heavybag upon which he used to practice his boxing, he went through three repetitions of five moves each: first, the harai goshi--the sweeping hip throw. He grabbed the heavybag around its top and set outer part of his rear against its front, he pushed one foot backward into the bag and used his hips to twist with the bag's forward momentum; a massive smack echoed against the dusty of the abandoned warehouse in which he had set up his personal training room near the low-rises of New York's Marcy prjects.

Next, the Ippon Seoinage--the one arm shoulder throw. A more difficult maneuver to pull off, havybags have no arms one may note. To compensate, Marvin grabbed the heavybag by its chain and curled one arm beneath an artificial crux he made by giving the chain some slack; he proceeded to twist his body so the bag rested on his back, and then dipped into a slight squat before propelling himself upward forward and tossing the bag over his body completely with the chain still in grip.

He took brief respite. The old warehouse swelled of sweat and old boards. It would definitely need some renovation if he was going to make this his base of operations. Marvin took a look around; a splash of fuscia? maybe some forest greens and earth browns? It would fit the all natural look he had always wanted when he got his own place. He didn't care much whether this place was ten year old painting factory with some less than savory chemicals trapped in the walls.

After his short rest, he returned to training. Now it was ground transitions and using muay thai elbows and knees in combination with the transitions. It took another hour of continuous training before he had completely run through his entire regimen for the day: Judo, BJJ transitions, Muay Thai knees and elbows, and of course some regular boxing refreshment.

If he was going to build himself a hideout, it had to be gorgeous. That, and he would probably need to invest in some kind of actual protection--his fists still weren't as fast as bullets. Off to the home supply store and the outdoor hunting establishment.


Later that Day

4:00 p.m.


Shopping cart in motion, Marvin scanned the available camoflauge fatigues. Green? Black? Tan? These folks had no fashion sense.

They just don't know, you gotta look good when you bustin' heads!

Marvin shook his head in disappointment at their appalling lack of fashion sense. He chose the black fatigues; they were obviously the best choice for disguising oneself for night-time barhopping--if one would use such loose terminology to describe taking down the mob. He continued his search, one finger tapped his thick chin as he pondered his decisions; did he want the fingerless gloves and the tan workboots or should he wait and order the army boots to pair with the gloves? The army boots had better traction across different terrain, after all. No, the workboots would do just fine. He snatched both into his shopping cart.

When he got back to his base of operations, he tried on the camo gear, gloves, vest, and boots. It all fit well, though it all felt a little heavy. In time he figured he would get used to the feel; it probably just meant he had to strettch more, for after all, he was beginning Taekwondo next month and he had never thrown many kicks before.




February 1st, 2020

12:00 p.m.


January passed in a flash, in the intervening weeks, he had sent a little compensation the governor's way to procure rights to the land surrounding the warehouse upon which he had been nesting: compensation to the tune of of half a million dollars. He would have no city inspectors haggling him as he continued to prepare for what was brewing. The Mob had apparently relented in their pursuit of his life and their money, or so it seemed. New York's streets often talked, and Marvin had been keeping his ear close to her pulse; a new set of Triads had moved into town and had their sights on the Italians' territory. War was coming to NY streets, and there would be blood. Marvin would be right in the middle of it.

After he was done painting and re-decorating of course. He spent the last two weeks of January adding his own touch to the white walls permeating the 200x300 space. He spent much of the month simply painting his hideout; black and white tiger stripes draped across half of the warehouse from ceiling to floor; the other half was left unfinished until he felt like getting to it. He wasn't paying himself for this. This was indeed a strange time to be alive; superpowered people were slowly making themselves known--the most known of them all being Lady Arcana. Marvin didn't have a TV, but he heard from word-of-mouth of some of her more grandiose deeds; something about holding up a building with one finger? Marvin was unsure how much credit he could give to such stories. Although he was among these 'powered' people from what he knew of the changes he had underwent.

The world was changing, growing; people with incredible powers were appearing everywhere, and for every superpowered human who had appeared the common person still remained, and so did her problems. A rising of heroes was met with a rise in men and women who only wanted to capitalize on the suffering of the lowly. It was no wonder to Marvin thus when the lowrise housing projects he looked over had gotten another influx of drugs right into the heart of its population.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Ceta de Cloyes
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Ceta de Cloyes Roziphontes

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XXXX Xth, XXXX
??:?? XM, XT
Khrysopsis, Arkos


[Translations at the bottom for your convenience.]





“Arkhay Kassander,” a young boy called from his left, prompting him to look up from the slowly cooling bread he’d just pulled from the furnace, “Magos Aios has summoned you to the Court of Hekate. Khayos Kauib is with him sir.”

Interesting. A Magos of Hekate and a Khayos of Thoth together? Seeking his presence? “I will see to it,” he gave the boy a parting nod and abandoned his bread to cool, departing the empty kitchens to make his way across the city. Rarely did Thoth’s College and Hekate’s Court convene together, and only during the gravest of circumstances. This situation was different; there were no alarms heralding an invasion or a breach, and by the sounds of it only one member of each was calling him, not all of them together.

He took Daedalus’ Path, a labyrinthian work of passageways beneath the city, enchanted to speed travel for the Arkosians, and confuse enemies who wandered in. In only a few short moment he was striding out of the tunnels and into the light of the many green-burning braziers in the plaza outside Hekate’s Court, a large temple-like building located near the center of the city. It was immediately apparent something big had happened; scribes and apprentices were abuzz with chatter, and young boys were darting through passages and out of doorways, their paces quick and purposeful, a sign they each had messages to deliver or tasks to carry out. A nearby group of youthful looking soldiers cheered loudly and broke into scattered laughs, not bad news then.

“Magos Aios,” he greeted, seeing the blonde man wave him over to the front of the building, it’s large double doors thrown open and a trio of men tugging a cart laden with supplies through. “Khayos Kauib,” an attractive dark skinned man he was less familiar with. “How may I help you?” He finished, tone curious.

“We’ve received word from Lord Ares sir,” Aios answered swiftly, sounding only a little excited as he retained his mask of professionalism, “Gaia grows strong again. The time to act draws near, your mission is upon us.”

Kauib picked up where the other left off, barely giving Kassander a chance to process the news before feeding him details; “The Ocularum is being prepared as we speak. Archemon Chrysetos has approved the mission: gather your things, give your farewells, you leave after a full cycle of the horosyrda.” Both were quick to leave him to it, neither knowing him well enough to properly sympathize with the shock of his purpose in life suddenly being dumped into his lap after all this time, tasked with leaving everything and everyone he had ever known to enter a place he’d only heard stories about.

“I see.” He muttered to the empty air. Then turned on his heel; he had things to do.

Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Bluetommy
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Bluetommy Disastrous Enby

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0800 hours, March 13th.


Thomas sat back in his chair, a hand on his chin. It had been a strange couple of days to be certain, he'd gone from a high-ranking but mostly inconsequential NSA agent to someone on call with the president. The world was changing, and clearly she was hoping to stay on top of the curve. He was currently waiting for a call from the Secretary of Homeland Security, if all went well, he'd be on a new assignment, keeping an eye on those "meta-humans" as the government was calling them. He understood the worry, he'd seen the pictures of the caped girl fighting the guy in the Nazi memorabilia, they had power comparable to a truck with a jet-engine. He never was one for fairy tales, but they seemed a good enough comparison to the world these days.

His computer finally showed signs of life, receiving the call he'd been waiting for all night. He pulled it open to be met with the stern face of the fine lady secretary.

He offered a salute to her and then sat back down.

"Mrs. Secretary."

"Agent Sebastion."

Her voice had a weight to it that was incomparable, every syllable had the sort of stern boldness that characterized the woman.

The woman clasped her fingers and leaned gently into the table.

"You may want to head to the bathroom before we begin speaking; we're going to be here a long time."

Thomas smirked.

"I've been told I have an iron bladder."

The Secretary didn't seem amused by his joke.

"Well, you'd better hope so," she said, almost threateningly.

"I know so," he responded with a nod. She frowned.

"Are we done fucking around, Agent Sebastion."

His hair stood on end.

"Er, yes, sorry. I'm all ears."

She gave what could be called a smirk if you squinted a little.

"Good. So on to the topic at hand," she looked down at something below the view of the webcam. "I'm sure you've heard of the recent meta-human explosion?"

Thomas nodded.

"Good, so I'm sure you know about Hurricane Stanley."

"The one that the meta-human stopped?"

She nodded in response

"The very same. This woman has power greater than any weapon we possess. She stopped an earthquake by moving the entire fucking Indian subcontinent! Do you know how fucked we are if she turns on us?" she asked, growing more and more firm in her tone as she spoke.

"Yes Mrs. Secretary."

"And she's not the only one, there's a fucking Nazi out there who can toss cars like a child throws toys. He just escaped from Germany's highest-security prison and apparently blew the whole thing into a crater," she informed intensely. "So you're going to have to ask yourself one question, Agent Sebastion; what do we do to defend ourselves from this massive gun held to our head?"

Thomas had no response.

"The answer, is we make our own gun."

"What are you suggesting, Mrs. Secretary?"

"I'm suggesting a program, a weapon against these meta-humans. I've gotten presidential assent but I need a leader for this program."

She pointed at him through the screen.

"The director suggested you, and if you wish for it, you will be the Director of CADMUS, our anti meta-human wing."

Thomas' eyes shot open and he scratched the back of his neck.

"Er, yes... Mrs. Secretary, I'd be honored."

"I'm glad, Director Sebastion. Now, a little paperwork and it'll be official, but for now we may as well discuss your duties," she said, producing a pair of glasses and looking over a clipboarded piece of paper. "It's just brainstorming currently, but CADMUS' first duty will be to find a company with the capital to create a human weapon."

"Er... a company, Mrs. Secretary?"

"Yes, we need plausible deniability, outsourcing and hiding our involvement will help in that. Other than that, you'll need to provide the secrecy necessary for a clandestine operation of such a large scale, and you'll provide some of the minds necessary. It'll mostly be a desk job, think you can handle that?"

"I was born for a desk job."

"Good, we're still pounding out the details, but I'll call when we have a design ready, in the meantime, fill out the papers I send you and start looking around, I hear there's a lot of people in Metropolis, if you're feeling ballsy maybe look in Gotham as well, but by all means, stay out of Hub City, we have enough dead agents from the attack three months ago. I'll keep in touch."

And with that, she ended the call. Thomas rubbed a hand over his forehead, he was glad he wasn't white, or he'd be fifty shades of red by now. So he was the head of a clandestine gov't superhuman operation... how fun.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Blazion
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Blazion

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12:55 AM, March 13th
East Haven Residential, Hub City


"Then either he wasn't in the suit yet, or had some way of moving unseen," Grim noted, running the UV light along the frame, then the doorknob. The right lens of her goggles were still on heat optics so the vigilante seemingly ran her gaze along the wall, in actuality checking for any heat signatures that might be lingering around at the late hour. There was the two obvious ones outside, aside from those lingering beside her, sitting near the curb. No doubt they were there to watch the area and it wouldn't serve to just waltz outside with them there.

"There's still a patrol outside," She gestured toward the area of the wall that they were on the other side of, though of course it wasn't directly on the other side. "I don't suppose either of you can control people?" Even through the voice modulator the tone was slightly sarcastic. After all, since all these people with otherworldly powers started popping up who even knew anymore?

---

"I mean, maybe?" Arcana tilted her head. "There might be spells to do that, but I don't know any yet. I honestly have learned much proper magic yet, eheh."

She honestly really needed to fix that. She clearly couldn't just punch her way out of every problem, as this night had proven. Maybe there could've been some spell that would have let her prove her innocence or something, let her reveal the true killer...but for now, she would have to rely on these two to compensate for her lack of a non-punchy skillset.

"I snuck in by flying to the back," Lady Arcana noted. "So that's how avoided the patrol. Maybe we can sneak out that way again and--"

She paused, frowning. She wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. She would just shut up now.

---

"Inquiry: do you have any smoke bombs in your utility belt?" Question asks Grim, looking out the window at the patrol car. "Could throw it at the car, allowing us to escape whilst their fields of vision are obscured."

---

"Utility belt?" Unseen under the mask Grim raised an elegantly arched eyebrow, just to shake her head; it didn't matter. What did matter was that she was in the presence of someone who, in the recent months, had literally diverted natural disasters ... and couldn't handle a patrol car. Interesting.

She should really try to remember her name, Fedora said it earlier. Shady Amanda?

"No," Grim finally responded to Trenchcoat, but even as she did turned on her heel to begin walking to the back of the house, clicking the UV light off. "Besides, I want to examine the front. Stay here." A few feet away the vigilante paused, glancing over her shoulder and after a moment finally adding on in her deep rumble.

"And no, I'm not going to hurt them." It took only a short few moments to exit through the back door and move around to the front, the left lens of her goggles switching to night vision the instant she was outside. The patrol car, like her heat optics had suggested through their forms, was on the curb. It was tempting to create a diversion and get the officers separated, but if the police here were competent they'd likely be ready to call anything in - after all, what could the two of them do against Princess Magic if she decided to show up? They were still of the mind she did this. Idiots.

Using the darkness of night and the zoom on her nightvision to watch the officers' line of sight through the windows - they seemed to be chatting - Grim creeped up to the very back of the patrol vehicle. Making sure to stay ducked behind the trunk she withdrew a lock pick and began to pick it with practiced ease, keeping her motions slow so that any minute clicks were covered by the sound of the officers' radios. It took only a few moments for the small click to signal it was unlocked, Grim keeping one palm pressed firmly to the back of the trunk to keep it from popping right open. A slight opening wouldn't be visible in the dark, unlike the thing just happily propped open to the world.

A twitch of her thumb had the soft hiss of valves activating before it went quiet too. Grim pressed the palm of her right hand to the crack of the trunk, letting the anesthesia begin to flood the trunk, and through it the car. Considering the fact it was highly potent medical-grade chemicals, it only took a couple minutes for the officers to nod off, even with it having a decent amount of space to fill.

With one officer slumped against the window and the other's head tilted back, mouth open, Grim casually stood. She stuck her entire glove into the trunk for another moment to make sure they'd be out of it before finally shutting it and turning the valves off.

Now to make sure The Gumshoe and Magic Melissa stayed put. Keeping to her usual light gait she went to the front door this time, rapping on it lightly with her metal covered knuckles before stating in a dry tone.

"Police, open up." Blackstar was a bad influence.

---

Arcana had waited patiently in the living room with the Question, like Grim had requested. While they had snuck out the back, she could only assume that they were planning to do something about the squad car out front.

Unless that was just an excuse to ditch them, of course.

Nervously pacing for a few solid minutes, she occasionally stole glances towards her fellow vigilante to see if he was feeling equally apprehensive about this little waiting game they were playing. Judging by his earlier comments, he didn't take kindly to Grim trying to write them off earlier, so he probably wouldn't be too happy if they abandoned them, either.

"...You don't think they-"

Her words were cut by a rattle of the front door, her face paling when the police announced their presence.

Shiiit, she couldn't be seen here! That would just make her look ten times more guilty!

Backing away from the door, her eyes shot to the Question while she retreated into the darkness of the unlit house. "Y-you get it!"

---

Great. The new arrival was probably going to ditch them. The Question had taken to scowling and tapping his foot, waiting for Grim to return (if he even would). Arcana seemed to be anxious as well, and she began to speak when a loud knocking emenated from downstairs.

"Police, open up."

Question paused. It wasn't like it was obvious that they were in the house, he had taken care entering the home and he assumed Arcana had as well. They weren't being loud, and the lights were still off so it wasn't like the patrol car could've seen someone was inside. Arcana seemed to be frightened, asking him to get it.

"Don't worry. Not police. Probably Grim." Question said, beginning to leave the room. "Still, just in case, will open door." With those words he made his way to the front door, making sure to check the peep hole to assure it wasn't the police. Lo and behold, it was Grim, as he suspected.

Opening the door, the vigilante said wryly: "What took you so long?"

---

"Making sure that every police vehicle in the city didn't end up back here," A slight shrug, glancing over the two, and Grim was once more back to business. Princess Puppy seemed a little shook up. The UV light was flicked on as she began examining the door, the front steps, looking for anything that clumsy officers and detectives wouldn't have trampled over. More importantly, looking for something to lead her to Electrocutioner.

---

Lady Arcana released a heavy sigh when she saw Grim on the other side of the door, too relieved to really be upset with them for the joke. It was actually kind of funny, in truth, like something she might've done in their shoes.

Moving quickly to fall in beside the other two vigilantes, Arcana did her best to maintain a dignified gait in that moment as she leaned over to The Question. "I knew it all along, of course. I just didn't want to spoil the joke for you."

The UV light continued to show two sets of identical footprints, one coming to the house and another leaving. They lead them through the yard, all the way out into the street where they abruptly came to an end at a sizeable manhole near the house. If there was one thing Hub City was known for besides crime, it was its expansive sewer systems, a home to many a vagrant.

"Wah? Down in the sewer?"

---

"Mmhm. Sure you knew." Question replies to Arcana, watching as Grim used his UV light to examine the area for clues of where Electrocutioner went. He raised a brow at the discovery that it led to a manhole, Arcana voicing her surprise. The detective, however, wasn't especially shocked.

"City does have sizeable sewer beneath it. Not surprising he would seek sanctuary there." Question turned to Grim and Arcana, before crouching and beginning to pull the manhole cover free. "Help me with this."

---

Rather than move to help however Grim just glanced to Lady Arcana, gesturing forward.

"I've heard some of your exploits, should be easy for you shouldn't it?" She remarked lightly, interested to see the caped woman's strength. It wouldn't be a true test, of course, just being a manhole cover, but if the stories she recalled were true it should be nothing for her. Plus it'd be nice to know the capabilities of her companions if they were following her to find the Electrocutioner - so far she doubted they'd be anything but a liability.

---

"Oh, right," Arcana laughed, "Guess that's a job for the strength of Alceus."

Reaching down with one hand, she gently lifted the manhole cover, which looked to weigh around two hundred pounds at least. In that moment she felt a rush of putrid air hit her squarely in the face, causing her to staggered back with a disgusted cough. Covering her face with her cloak, she did her best to keep her eyes from watering. "Add that to the list of things I never needed to experience in my life."

Happily stepping away from the sewer, she gestured for her two companions to go ahead of her. "In this case, I think ladies shall go last."

---

Question, used to some rather nasty smells from his vigilante activities, climbs down the ladder and into the sewer without hesitation. "Going to need a light," he calls back up, whilst looking around, "pretty dark down here."

Silently, he prays that his theory that the sewers are inhabited by trash monsters is false.

---

"Impressive," Grim intoned in a low voice, watching Princess lift the manhole. Hidden by the mask a slight smirk tugged at the corner of her lips watching her stagger back, but Grim bit back the slight chuckle that bubbled up in her chest. Already knowing that her gas mask was in perfect condition Grim followed after Detective Hat shortly, luckily shielded from most of the putrid smells. It'd probably cling to her outfit though, which was bothersome. Not the first time, though.

"I've got it," The vigilante rumbled, checking the ground to see which way the prints went before flicking the UV light off and swapping to the regular, but high powered flashlight. The heat optics and night vision remained on, and Grim was a little disgusted to note the sewer garbage was a little warm.

---

Still holding the edge of her cloak over her nose, Arcana floated down after the pair. While her reluctance to enter the manhole was certainly one factor, the main reason she went last was a pragmatic one: she had to put the manhole cover back on.

At the bottom of the ladder, they would find themselves standing precariously close to a putrid cesspool of floating waste, among other things best left ambiguous. The walls were lined with graffiti, and distant, almost maniacal laughter echoed through the cavernous underbelly of Hub City, the product of a multitude of voices.

To say they were not alone would be a vast understatement: there was an entire community down here, and they were the intruders.

"I've heard some really bad things about these sewers," Arcana muttered from beneath her cloak. "Your friend's seriously checked into craysville if he intentionally came down here."

---

"Heard some bad things about the sewers? I've seen some bad scenes in the sewers. Wouldn't want to kill your idealism, however." Question replied, continuing forward. "Will agree, however; our quote unquote 'friend' must be extremely unhinged to want to come down here, though that already goes without saying considering how he murdered Commissioner Lessee and his wife."

---

"Trash attracts trash," Grim noted in return, following alongside Punctuation. "I've no doubt he's unhinged though. He's wanted Lessee ever since the Commissioner turned a blind eye to his family being murdered." The vigilante added on nonchalantly, scanning along the walls. Along with the ... warmth of the sewage beside them there were others, their heat signatures faint through the thick walls. Many of them at that, no doubt vagrants and undesirables that had no where else to go.

---

"Huh? That's why he killed the Commissioner?" Arcana gasped. She figured it was just him being some lunatic out for revenge against the cop who locked him away. That actually made her a little sad, now. Though, she really shouldn't be surprised, in all honesty. That was the way things were with the police, wasn't it? "Man, cops really are shit."

And at this point, she felt fairly confident that she knew what shit looked like. And smelled like. And how it floated while rats fought over it...

"...Let's hurry up and find him."
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