[sup][h1][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/6fc4471f-b789-4b07-9d44-fadf23b8ef50.jpg[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] K E N  S H I M A Z U[/color]
[color=yellow]K E N  S H I M A Z U[/color][/center]
[/b][/h1][/sup]
[center][i]Lucky Noodle, Little Asia[/i][/center]

[indent]Shimazu listened intently to what Julia had to say. As he did, the wheels in his mind began turning as he resumed an effort to recall where and when he had seen her before; this stayed more to the back of his mind, as he kept most of his focus on the information she provided. He placed a hand upon his chin, falling into a brief yet deep state of contemplation. [color=yellow] “Mhmmmm… The Melting Pot… that’s out in the Delgato’s part of the city, isn’t it? But I don’t see someone like that working for the Delgato Family; Anthony prefers to operate with… a bit more subtlety, at least for abductions. And I can’t imagine Ms. Crane being on the bad side of the Delgato’s.”[/color] 

He thought a minute longer and realized they had yet to offer a description of the abductor. [color=yellow]“He was a large person; the one that took our friend. Tall, and broadly built. Pale skin, stretch marks or scars on the cheeks. Fiery yellow-orange eyes, and pointed ears. He looked much like something out of an old Tolkien novel. He seemed to have some tattooed markings on his face, something like cult imagery.”[/color]

He surveyed Julia, and offered agreement with the officer’s suggestion. [color=yellow]“You might do well to accept the medical attention.”[/color][/indent]

[sup][h1][center][img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/82fa3fb006e4a85a60530826f3e0fbe1/5ba732607eca068a-39/s400x600/d4a9d9d820de7c97233fbf8c007097f3049db381.gifv[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] S A R A H  M A R I E  K I N G[/color]
[color=orange]S A R A H  M A R I E  K I N G[/color][/center]
[/b][/h1][/sup]
[center][i]Lucky Noodle, Little Asia[/i][/center]

[indent]While Shimazu and Julia brought the police officer up to speed, Sarah barely moved an inch. She stayed knelt down where she had been. She strained her eyes over and over again, focusing in and out on the amulet in hyperfixation. She dilated her pupils until she [swore she] felt her retinas cramp. At the peak of her discomfort she broke, ceding to the artifact in their staring contest. No matter how she tried, she had never been successful visualizing the things she sensed. The amulet, as with most things, remained no more than an experience of feeling. It was as a brush of air against her face, or a tickling or prickling that crawled over her and under her skin. Yet all her eyes could perceive was a piece of metal sitting on the floor, giving her a weird vibe. 

She pulled her eyes away from it and rubbed the aching out of her forehead. Another deep breath in and out flowed through her before her resolve allowed her to look back to the scene. 

Her sore eyes darted to her sensei and then back to the amulet, thinking of what she would give to actually [b]see[/b] the world as her sensei did, or could see it. She had always imagined it as being like when the halos appeared around the street lights, or when the heat rippled off of the blacktop on a summer day. How much more could she do if she could see the energies the way Shimazu did? If she had more than just the awkward sensations that rippled to and from her core? Was she even capable of learning the way he had? She heaved out a breath that she hadn’t realized she had taken in, and left her questions for another time. 

If she was going to find and help Maddie, she had to do it with what she could already do. She reached out, and picked up the amulet, and examined it more closely, hoping, perhaps, that having a hand on it would stir up something else in her senses. But Kenzo spoke, practically right into her ear, breaking her concentration slightly. She pursed her lips, holding back a rebuke. She bobbed her head up and down twice; a silent “yes,” to answer his question. 

As if in response, the amulet reacted in an unexpected way. It began to glow in her hand. Through the light came a symbol that seemed to point like an arrow, or a needle on a compass. It pointed behind her, an eastward direction; she assumed it was directing her towards something more than a few feet away though. 

She looked up and checked the group, particularly the officer, Shimazu, and Julia. All three seemed busy dealing with the police report; enough so that they didn’t seem to be paying her much, if any attention. Swiftly and subtly, she slipped the amulet into her pocket, and stood up, stretching her arms, back, and chest. She turned towards Kenzo, throwing him a stern glare, and placing her index finger on her lips, signing for him to not say anything. She nodded toward the kitchen beckoning him to follow her. 

She side stepped him, and began to the back of the dining space. In transit she slid a chair out of her way, a bit more forcefully than she intended, knocking it against the table…[/indent] 

[CENTER][sup][h1][center][img]https://c.tenor.com/_dREp7THfQIAAAAd/tenor.gif[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] Z H A N G, T A I W U[/color]
[color=6ecff6]Z H A N G, T A I W U[/color][/center]
[/b][/h1][/sup]
[color=lightgray][sup][i]Void Sanctum, Nighthaven[/i][/sup][/color][/CENTER]

[indent]Taiwu felt the wave of icy chill take him from behind. Even the branded heat of the tattoo upon the back of his neck was cooled by the cold. He shivered and channeled his pyromancy through his skin, shielding him against the drop in temperature; the heat coming off of him created a thin mist as the cold air brushed against him. Then he heard her voice, and turned to face her. He stood still while she circled him. [color=6ecff6]“I take it that you must be Amara.”[/color] He smirked; he was fortunate to meet her outside of her sanctum, rather than having to enter unannounced. [color=6ecff6]“And by the sound of it, my arrival isn’t unexpected.”[/color]

He began to relax. [color=6ecff6]“I come here seeking counsel, not conflict,”[/color] he explained. [color=6ecff6]“Earlier this morning my boss and I had an altercation, which put us at odds against magic and another force seemingly cut from the same fabric. I’m familiar enough with most magic, being so blessed in my own respect. But the other energy… I have my suspicions, so this may simply be me confirming what I already know. If you can entertain an inquiry.”[/color][/indent]

[center][h2][b][u]Horace J. Wolfe & Katherine Tran[/u][/b][/h2]
[i]Veridian Technologies, Secret Room[/i][/center]

[indent]Wolfe led KT down into the depths beneath the Veridian Tech building. Down a lengthy stairwell, the pair arrived outside of the Security HQ, where a heavy, windowless door would bring them into the then bustling Ops Room; within, would be at least a dozen Security Officers manning a multitude of screens sending feeds from all of the cameras hidden about the building. Wolfe, however, would not enter that room. Instead, he turned to his left, and around into space beneath the stairwell, and what seemed to be a solid wall. 

“Um…” KT raised an eyebrow, but Wolfe raised his hand. 

“You’ll see,” he explained. He turned to KT. “Whatever you do, I need you to say nothing of this room to or around anyone other than myself and Diana. So far, we’re the only two who are aware of its existence. It isn’t even on any floor plans or schematics for the facility.” 

“I promise,” KT said. 

Wolfe acknowledged her, satisfied that she would be true to her word. He placed his hand on what looked like a spot where a painter had simply missed a spot. A red light ran the outline of his palm three times, then turned a solid green. The wall next to the spot shifted back an inch, and then slid open; a hidden door. Wolfe ushered KT in first and then entered himself, closing the door behind them. 

The pair entered a room dominated by a large, multi-monitor computer with feeds to the security cameras around the building; at the moment, it was set up so that all of the monitors combined for a large frame of the atrium. On the desk sat what looked like a set of communication devices. “Here it is,” Wolfe said. The nerve center of Ms. Smith’s night work. Or, as she goes after hours: Artemis.”

“Wait…” KT’s eyes widened in awe. “You’re telling me that DIANA is the vigilante I’ve been hearing about?” 

“That is correct.” Wolfe seated himself at the desk, putting on a headset for himself and handing a second one to KT. “I’ll ask you to contain your excitement for now. Put this on. We’ll have to be in communication with Diana for this. Oh… She’s online.”

KT put the headset on in time to hear Diana speak. 

“Affirmative,” Wolfe said. “We’re in the Vault, we have eyes on the atrium. DSHA and PCPD are inbound. Don’t push it too hard; we just need to stall her until reinforcements arrive.”

KT watched in amazement as her friend performed well as a combatant, delivering a well-placed arrow to the woman. She quickly started to panic a bit when the woman responded, blasting Diana back with a bolt of lightning and knocking her against the wall. KT made to remove her headset and rush back up stairs to help her friend. But a firm hand grasped her wrist. She looked back at Wolfe, who shook his head quietly. 

“Don’t go rushing up there without a plan,” he told her. 

When Wolfe released her wrist, KT turned back to the monitors and placed the headset back on. “Are you ok, Artemis?”[/indent]

[center][@Nallore], [@Silver Carrot], [@McNephelim][/center]