[center][b][u]12:55 AM, March 13th East Haven Residential, Hub City[/u][/b] "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, [i]maybe?"[/i] 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 [i]did[/i] matter was that she was in the presence of someone who, in the recent months, had literally diverted [i]natural disasters[/i] ... 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 [i]something[/i] 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 [i]she[/i] 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 [i]that[/i] 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 [i]really[/i] 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 [i]seen[/i] 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? [i]That's[/i] 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."[/center]