Cassie wandered around for a while, she was just considering calling Alexis to see where she was, when the other girl's voice intruded over her ear piece. She'd heard the sry a few moments ago and had begun heading in its direction. At the alert, however, she picked up her pace, ducking quickly behind a bush to pull the charm from her neck.
Moments later she saw what was happening. The three a@$#&#~s were under attack by an old guy with a beard who exuded some sort of power and,.. demons?
Alexandra hears Alexis's call on the comms, and immediately makes excuses, and slips away to her costume stash.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She is on the scene less that 2 minutes later, Coat billowing behind her crossbow already in hand. She looks over the scene. Weirdo with a forked tongue. 4 demon things... master 4 minimum, maybe 6.
Hey, Mercy. who's this loon? Why is he attacking those poor defenseless a@&$*+!s? She asks.
"We're not a$&!*&%s, you pricks! Save us, that's what heroes do!" Todd shouted from his tree, trying to pull himself up higher as a couple of the devils advanced up the trunk. Sineater glanced over at Alexandra, red eyes gleaming at the hero.
"My, my, my! Such Pride and Envy! It's certainly marinaded for a while. Perhaps I should have just a taste of one or the other," He says to her, before Alexis is on him again. He backhands her and causes the armored hero to fly off into the grass. "That one is also interesting. Needs more time to accumulate better flavor in their sins."
He wipes the drool from his lips with a handkerchief, turning to face Alexandra. "I'll make you a deal. Give your sins to me, and I'll let those boys go. At least, I promise I won't hunt them down, though if we cross paths by chance, I can't guarantee I won't be famished then." He holds out his hand. What does Alexandra and Cassie do?
Alexandra rolls her eyes as the boys yell from the tree. Manners. The word prick, and pleas for help don't often share a sentence for a reason, she says. Mercy, woudl you kindly go deal with the demons in the tree. and if you've the time, deal with the little red guys as well.
feels like the devil's in the details here? what exactly is eating someones sins? Also, you know this is, like, about as close to the DSM5 "Gifted Delusional" diagnosis as we've had since that healer thought he was Jesus a while back? Have you considered that you might be a normal person, with a power your subconscios is shaping to look like demons... and that you're assaulting people randomly? She asks him
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Shaun blinks. ”Waitamin’, other acolytes!? How many people does that goliath have workin’ f’him!?” He shakes his head. ”No, wait, doesn’t matter right now...”
”I mean...okay. Sure, yes, y’can tell ta’ others workin’ f’him. But, use an alias r’somethin’ f’me. An’ f’f++*’s sake, don’t tell the Tin Can. He’ll probably stick me in his mammoth-skin phanny-pack r’some s!$! f’safe-keepin’.” By this point, Shaun’s voice and posture have relaxed significantly, just in time for the bell to ring. ”Oh right. Normal life is still a thin’...” As students flood into the hall, he stands. ”Well, uh...yea’. So...I got class, an’ye’ve got my number if ya’ need it. An’ Bron...thanks. If ye’ need anythin’ from me, just ask anytime.”
- - -
”I’ll be there ASAHP Lex!” the comm squaks our in Shaun’s voice. ”Just-uh, just gimme five here!”
In the background, a man’s voice shouts loud enough to be heard over the earpiece. ”GO BACK TO GLASGOW YOU F$+%ING A%#+@+*! *sounds of gunfire*”
”Sssshhhhhit! Make that 10!”
”I’M A GENOME YOU F#++ING A#~@&$$! WHAT THE F&*+ DO YOU THINK-?! AAAAAAAH! M++!+@ F$$@#*!”
”CAN IT TRICLOPS I’M TAKIN’ A CALL!”
”MY F@!*ING HAND! YOU BROKE MY HAND!”
”WELL MAYBE IF YA’ DIDN’T GO MUGGIN’ PEOPLE I WOULDN’T HAVE TA’ RUIN YOUR *grunt of exertion* PIANO CAREER!”
”I WILL F#+!ING END YOU! *laser sound*”
”...HA! YA’ MISSED! *sound of creaking metal* Oh...f#%*. Gotta go!” With a crashing sound the line goes quiet.
Cassie stooped and quickly rummaged in her bag. I really need to finish the coat as soon as I can! This takes too long!. After a few moments she finds what she's after and pulls out a small blue glass disk with an eye symbol, attached to a length of leather.
Standing, she swings the charm around her head intoning a short banishment charm.
"Η αδελφή Σωτηρία με ακούει.
Επιστρέψτε αυτό το πλάσμα στον αιθέρα.
Η αδελφή Σωτηρία με ακούει. "
As she speaks, the object seems to glow and, as she launches it towards one of the creatures, it trails a glow of mystic energy. As it strikes the creature the glow expands as tendrils of energy reach out from the point of impact.
Bronwyn looks frustrated but nods. "Fine. But this is To Be Continued! Keep the crucifix too, just in case."
***
"Okay. So we can definitely change it if you don't like it. Actually, that's much easier than with any other armor I've built, so... thanks, fun new material.
But... here you go." She gave a quick grin then leaned back to see if Alexis liked it.
The armor was heavier than it was bulky, luckily it only weighed a couple hundred pounds, and had already been at Shayera's, so it was at least believable that Bronwyn'd be able to maneuver it without super-strength while she was working on it.
With the super dense material she hadn't bothered with any kind of mesh or chain in the construction - nothing that cared about solid objects was going to have an easy time slicing through it anyways, so instead she'd focused much more on microplates and scales where flexibility was needed, and big thick plates over vital spots. A quick reprogramming had set the whole suit to a heroic red trimmed with gold, then after a quick squint, had dulled most of the underarmor to a matte black to break up the rather gaudy first draft.
"I left the helmet pretty neutral for now, just a visor and an exposed jaw, but if you want, I've been doing some reading on facemasks that could be interesting. It's a little more than the armor's set up to easily make, but I'd be happy to take a whack at it if there's something you'd like."
Mercy grunts, before grabbing a park bench and tearing it out from its anchors, before going at the little demons using it to swat them off of the tree. Despite Hex's charm hitting one of their number and that demon disappearing in a black cloud of smoke, they seem more interested now in Mercy, piling on her in her armor, futilely trying to claw at vulnerable spots. The trio in the trees are too scared to move at the moment.
The Sineater's eyes meet Alexandra's as he smirks at her. "I'll take that as a no, then. Well, I'm not opposed to simply taking rather than making deals," He said, before he's right up at her, hand grabbing her by the shoulder as he inhales, something trying to well up out of Alexandra into him!
Bronwyn, you've just caught up to Alexis after she ran off in the park while trying on the armor, finding this scene with devils fighting Mercy and Cassie, and some evil looking gentleman demon seemingly trying to eat the Silve Shadow's soul! What does everyone do?
Sighing, Kaoru texted Alexandra back.
> Managed to get some footage, but it's a lot of data. It'll take me a while to go through it all. I'll get back to you when I have something.
Kaoru paused in putting her shirt back on (she hadn't gotten very far anyway). Firmly affixing a neutral mask she turned enough that she could at least see if Shayera indicated she wanted it back.
"I got myself into this mess, I could have gotten myself out of it. Bruises and scrapes heal. And a beating is a better outcome than being-" She flushed slightly, vaguely waving in general direction of Shayera. "- forcibly undressed. Especially since she wasn't involved to begin with and didn't do anything wrong. And not 'out' as in being together. 'Out' as in about one of you being a guy so people like that wouldn't say those sorts of things or-" She clenched her jaw, distaste dripping from her voice as she forced herself to continue, "- fetishize it."
She really wanted to go sit down. Her ankle was throbbing painfully and the nausea hadn't completely passed. But she couldn't until Shayera decided if she was going with the skirt or the shirt. Frustrated, she pulled it back off and held it in the girl's general direction. "Well, do you want the shirt or not?"
Shayera bends down to pick up her soiled skirt. After a quick inspection, she holds it up over her waist rather than stepping into it. "Keep your shirt," she tells Kaoru. "And you of all people should know that just being a guy isn't going to stop bullies from targeting you. One of us pretending to be a boy is not going to fix anything. If anything, it'll cause more questions and then more problems."
She starts to shoo Bronwyn back to the track field. "Go back to practice. I'm fine." Then she pauses and then stands on her toes to give her a kiss. "But thank you for being a girl and not needing to assert your masculinity by fighting them." She gives Bron an appreciative smile as they separate.
She then turns to Kaoru. "Let me break it down for you: One, you're a teammate -- willing or not -- so I'm going to keep you from getting beaten. If you want, I could give you some hand-to-hand fighting lessons. Two, Bron and me and going to be lesbians, and neither one of us is going to pretend to be a boy. And three... umm, I'm going to go get some pants."
Cassie realised with shock, that the old man is a demon himself, and now he was doing,... something to Alexandra! Stepping forward and holding her arm outstretched she began muttering a ward that would, hopefully, protect the other girl from the demon's attack.
"It's not as bad." Kaoru muttered just loud enough for Shayera to hear. Then, only slightly louder, "Whatever. Get yourselves picked on. See if I care. I'm going to go sit down." She pulled the shirt on over her head and headed towards the corner of the bleachers to sit down, doing her best not to limp. Once there, she hurriedly finished buttoning the shirt before propping her elbows against her knees and leaning her head against her steepled fingers. She took slow, steady breaths, trying to focus on that and pushing the sick feeling in her stomach away rather than more unpleasant memories or terrifying 'what ifs'.
The guy wasn't just strong and nuts, he was freakishly fast too. Low mover, low brute, moderate master... f*!+, it isn't fair to have this many powers! she things as he grabs her.
Great. crazy f+@+er thinks he sees sins zeros in on me. of course he does. she says. Get a psychiatrist, f#$$er!
Alexandra's eyes dart. fast, strong, likely low grade invulnerable. bodyshots useless. vulnerable spots. eyes, knees, ankles, crotch she thinks, eyes darting Left handed, lead a little, not favouring either side...
Alexandra's knee found the last vulnerable point she had come up with, and she felt him begin to double over. [i]doesn't matter how tough you are, pain is pain. she danced away, considering sticking around to take advantage of his vulnerability, but he would probably recover fast, and retreating seemed wisest
Shayera retrieves her gym shorts and watches Bronwyn and the rest of the track team practice until it's over. She sits with plenty of room next to her, in case Kaoru wishes to move to sit next to her, but decides to let her decide who she wants to sit with.
Once practice is over, she spends a little quality time with Bronwyn before letting her know she had to patrol with Whippoorwill that evening. She then finds a private spot to reveal her wings and takes flight.
Mercy threw off the pile up of demons on her, all of them flying off. To everyone's surprise, when they slammed hard enough into the trees, they erupted into flames that raced up the trunks - including the tree the trio of bullies had climbed up! They started to panic, shouting for help from the assembled heroes.
The Sineater chuckles as he stands up after Silver Shadow's low blow. He glanced at Cassie's slow attempts to cast her spell, he smirked and gestured with his hands, as Cassie is suddenly trapped in the memory of her last sinful moment!
"It's become too much of a hassle to pursue this prey - you should decide if you'd rather chase me or save those fools from roasting alive. That's what heroes do best, save lives? Not you, though. I look forward to dining on you..." He tells Alexandra, moving into the smoke and disappearing.
Mercy looks panicked at the trees, trying to figure out how she was going to put out the fire! She can't figure out what to do though, standing dumbly as the flames race higher!
Once Kaoru had settled her stomach, she pulled off her shoe and sock to examine her ankle. It hurt, but it didn't seem to be bruising or swelling. She probably just needed to rest it for a while. Which meant probably sticking around for the rest of track practice. She slowly replaced the sock and shoe. She looked around and frowned. Why was Shayera sitting all by herself? Were the others avoiding her? Her jaw clenched.
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.
Scowling, she slowly made her way over. She sat far enough away that they weren't next to each other but close enough that her point was made. She continued to darkly watch everyone around them and glare at anybody who dared to make any untoward comments. She would show those a+@+@%~s their behavior was completely unacceptable.
As she rested her leg and continued to silently challenge basically everybody around her, she briefly considered asking the team leader what her intentions were but decided against it. She was not about to beg. Wingblade could do whatever the hell she wanted with her information. When practice was over, she quietly slipped away to head home and give the couple some privacy.
Kaoru had already returned home and had been poking about a government website when Alexis' message came through the earbud. She ignored it; there had been neither details about which park they were in or where in the park they were. With her ankle, the fight would likely be over before she got there anyway, and she'd only manage to aggravate the injury more. And knowing her, she'd only make the situation worse. Besides, Alexis had superpowers. She was probably just overreacting and didn't really need help.
Shaking her head, she returned to the task at hand. She had already found several security vulnerabilities in the site and had her entry plan all mapped out. The only question left was what kind of pervert to make Todd out to be. Maybe something involving children since they seememd to be especially hated (according to tv, anyway).
She was just about to save the newest entry in the sex offender registry when she abruptly got kicked out of the system. She hissed in anger, and she quickly started trying to get back in. A terminal window popped up with the text
< Why are you trying to turn your classmate into a sex offender, Apocalypse?
Her face twisted in anger as she quickly made sure the webcam was blocked.
> Because he is!
< Breaking up with you isn't a good enough of a reason to ruin someone's life, no matter how much it hurts.
Her eye twitched.
> He and two cronies cornered a girl and forcibly removed her skirt.
> And it's not the first time!
> Who the hell knows what else he was going to try!
< I see.
< Did she report it to the authorities?
< Did you acquire evidence to support her case?
Kaoru was silent. Or, rather, digitally silent since she hadn't been talking to begin with. It was long enough to give Delphi their answer.
< You can't just take justice into your own hands.
< Something like this would open a door for every sex offender claiming they'd been wrongfully set up.
< You could call into question thousands of convictions. Endanger still more people if those criminals were to be set free.
> You don't understand!
Her finger typed and then retyped her next message as she tried to figure out how to explain how wrong Todd had been and how much he needed to be stopped. Statistics? Pleas on the behalf of his future victims? But nothing felt right. She slammed her fist into her desk. Why couldn't she find the words to explain this? It was important. Finally, her fingers fell still. It didn't matter. Delphi would never understand. What did they care about some faceless future girl? What did they care how alone and weak Todd made his next victim feel?
< Your heart is in the right place, Apocalypse.
< You just need to work on your execution.
< Next time run your plan by Wingblade.
< She's has a good mentor and would be able to guide you to an appropriate course of action.
The terminal window closed itself, and Kaoru shoved herself away from her desk. She flopped onto her bed and pulled a sleepy Shadow to her chest, drying her face with his soft fur and taking comfort in his deep, rumbling purr.
"Mercy, is there a hydrant nearby? You're strong enough to crack one of those open and that'll give you all some water to work with."
***
"Hey Shayera, I don't want Todd and everyone to get away with what they did to you. I'd like to take you and Kaoru to the principal, this isn't just a he-said she-said. Are you okay coming forward?"
***
Bronwyn: Hey
Bronwyn: I didn't bring it up at the time, but I saw the bruises
Bronwyn: Todd?
"Hey Shayera, I don't want Todd and everyone to get away with what they did to you. I'd like to take you and Kaoru to the principal, this isn't just a he-said she-said. Are you okay coming forward?"
Shayera looks at Bronwyn with a confused expression. "What do you mean? I already let them. I could have stopped it at any time, so I practically gave them permission. I don't want another Jeremy."
Kaoru looked at her texts. She should probably invest in some long-sleeved undershirts. But she hadn't exactly been expecting to have to take off her outerwear in the first place. Uggg, trying to account for all these other people made things so much more complicated. It's not even like she was that bruised. Though she did have one rather impressively purple monstrosity on the right side of her ribs. Probably better no one saw that. But it wasn't like they could have really done that much damage in the 3 seconds before the teacher showed up.
> It was a calculated risk. Don't worry about it. I've got it handled.
> Glad to see the program is working though.
"You let them do what they did because you couldn't stop them without hurting them or exposing your... training. Sorry, bad turn of phrase. But just because you didn't stop them doesn't mean they should get away with it. Will you come with me to tell the principal?"
***
Kaoru (New Boy): Glad to see the program is working though
Bronwyn: Yeah, thanks. 0:-)
Bronwyn: But seriously, Todd's a psycho.
Bronwyn: A few years ago he and some other goons beat up a friend of mine. They cracked two ribs, broke a third, gave him a concussion, and they were still hitting him when I got there.
Bronwyn: Make sure that's in your calculations.
.
.
.
Bronwyn: scooter?
Bronwyn: unicycle?
Bronwyn: hot air balloon?
Bronwyn: segue!
Bronwyn: :-p
Bronwyn: So... why did you think that I would need to be a guy to date Shayera? I mean, I'm not saying that straight relationships aren't a lot easier, but how would pretending to be something I'm not Not be worst?
Bronwyn: scooter?
Bronwyn: unicycle?
Bronwyn: hot air balloon?
Bronwyn: segue!
Kaoru raised an eyebrow at this new information. Apparently she hadn't gone back far enough into his school records.
< I wasn't relying on their sense of decency for my calculations.
< But good to know.
She paused. There was probably something more she was supposed to say to that.
< I hope your friend is/was ok.
That was probably sufficent.
She was briefly baffled by the string of random vehicles but smiled at the transition attempt.
< Never said it had to be you.
< Just, y'know, whichever one of you is actually the guy.
< Assumed it was kids WB at first, but she seemed pretty convinced she wasn't. But also that you're not?
< She wasn't really making a whole lot of sense.
< And apparently was unfamiliar with the couples I tried to use to explain. :/
"You let them do what they did because you couldn't stop them without hurting them or exposing your... training. Sorry, bad turn of phrase. But just because you didn't stop them doesn't mean they should get away with it. Will you come with me to tell the principal?"
She shakes her head. "Why? Do you want me to lie to her? To say that I was powerless? I wasn't. And as soon as that gets out, then the whole thing gets flipped."
She reaches up and caresses Bronwyn's cheek. "You don't need to be upset. I'm sorry you had to see that, but I'm all right. Seriously. I don't need to get back at them."
Bronwyn almost smiled, but her eyes were serious. "I don't want you to lie, but Shayera, they will do this again. Not just to you or Kaoru, but eventually to someone else. We don't need to hurt them, but we need to stop them, for everyone's sake. I'm not trying to protect you."
***
Kaoru (New Boy): And apparently was unfamiliar with the couples I tried to use to explain. :/
Bronwyn:Well... I mean... you get the whole point of lesbians, right? It's that we like other girls. Having one of us be the guy would be no fun for either of us.
Safely behind a screen she suddenly blushed.
Bronwyn: Wait do you mean...
Rather than actually type any of the words she sent over a produce section's worth of emojis.
Bronwyn: Cause we're not doing any of that!
Kaoru (New Boy): I hope your friend is/was ok.
Bronwyn: He's fine now.
Bronwyn: I mean, it was back in middle school
Bronwyn: but yeah, everyone went to the hospital, everyone got suspended for fighting, and now in highschool the administration doesn't think about it.
Bronwyn: Maybe if they know you're my friend they'll leave you alone though.
He looked Smug, like he was so clever, he had found the loophole. except, that tree wasn't terribly high. They might break an ankle escaping the blaze, but they weren't in any mortal peril...and he was a dangerous villain. she steps through the smoke as well, trusting Mercy and Sabrina to save the day.
Big mistake. she snarls as she takes her time, lining up her shot against his running silhouette.
Mercy jolts as Bronwyn's voice gives her an opportunity, and she searches. It's the middle of the park, so no hydrants...but grass sprinklers mean water pipes!
Alexis' efforts to quench the fire by yanking water piping out of the ground and dousing the trees bears fruit. But she's mad, looking around for the source of the conflict. Alexandra also finds that as she steps through the smoke to chase after him, she's completely lost sight of him. The only thing she sees are two footprints, spaced evenly with the grass turned black and withered underneath them. The Sineater has vanished from sight.
The three teens are quick to hop out of their tree now the danger is over, and scared of the heroes, take off as quickly as they can for safer places. Mercy pinches the dug up pipe shut with her grip, turning in concern to the others.
"Anyone hurt? That man was scary...thank you both for coming to help," She tells them happily, showing off her armor. "Do you like it? It works well."
< Maybe if they know you're my friend they'll leave you alone though.
Or alternatively, that'll make it worse or they'll just target you as well. And I knew what I was getting into when I approached them.
> Well, I'm pretty sure Todd's been suspended for a week or two, and since he's the leader, it probably won't be an issue for a while.
> I'll manage regardless.
> Just think of it as less dangerous practice that'll Whip Poor me in shape for extracurriculars whether I Will it or not. :-P
< Cause we're not doing any of that!
Kaoru was confused by the sudden onslaught of emojis. It looked almost like Bronwyn had just button-mashed her screen. Either that or there was some kind of very complicated message hidden in it. Covert to unicode, take the value mod 26, convert that to the alphabet? Seemed...unlikely. Maybe she had pocket texted?
> Yes, but sex is different from gender. All the couples I tried to point out were biologically female as well but there was always a guy between the two.
> Though sometimes it was more subtle and you had to pay attention to what pronouns they were using to gender themselves, which may have been lost if you didn't know the language since there's no English equivalent.
> And...what aren't you doing? I don't really feel like writing a program to go through possible different ways of decoding the emojis to try to come up with a message.
> If that's what the emojis were supposed to be?
Alexandra doesn't feel victorious... she had a scowl on her face as she met up with the others.
Good work neutralizing the minions, Sabrina. yes, your armour is very nice. do lets try to actually catch the bad guy though. focus on the mastermind, not the minions.
She is quick to walk off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
she walks into Kaoru's house , telling some lie to her mother if necessary, and takes a seat next to Kaoru in his room.
Any luck? You're bruised, what happened? she asks
Kaoru looked up, blinking owlishly at Alexandra's sudden arrival. She was still reclining on her bed, one hand holding her phone and the other absently stroking Shadow, who was happily napping on her stomach. "What? Oh. It's nothing. Just the downside to a scheme I had." She quickly rolls the sleeves of her shirt back down to hide the bruises once more. "And, uhhh, not yet for the video? I got a bit...distracted." She glanced at the cat pinning her down. There was absolutely no way she was going to be able to grab her computer without disturbing him. "Ummm, if you want to hand me my computer, I can get back to that though?" She points to the desk close to the foot of her bed where dual monitors are set up and a weird, split keyboard sits.
She also tries to surreptitiously look around her room to make sure everything was presentable. Which it seemed to be. She kept her room pretty tidy. It probably helped that she didn't have a whole lot in it. Her bed was made, minus the slight crinkles that came from her lying on it. A small projector sat on her headboard, aimed up at the ceiling so she could watch movies while lying down in bed. Next to it was some kind of weird controller. A neatly stacked set of shelves by her desk contained a variety of video game consoles all hooked up to her monitors with their wires bundled together by zip ties to avoid them getting tangled with each other. On the other side of the room were a couple of bookshelves that looked a little empty. What books were there seemed to be largely a combination of shounen manga and sci-fi/fantasy novels, all arranged by author and series. On top of the bookshelves were a series of small, plastic mecha models. Also on that side of the room were a closed door and the slightly ajar door to the adjoining bathroom. Perhaps the messiest thing in the room was the chair situated in front of the window outside, which had a pillow and a cat bed on it. Both seemed to have a layer of black fur coating them. I should probably wash those...
"Did you...just want an update on that? I said I'd text you when I got something. Not that you can't, like, just come hang out or whatever if that's what you wanted."
Shaun mumbles something about bad cliffhangers as he stuffs the cross into his pocket and marches off. This. Is. Insane. I had that damn dog buried for years, then I get to this city, and it’s like the f!!&ing thing never left. And now the old man’s digging things up too... He rubs a finger over his pocket, feeling the shape of the balisong next to the rosary. ”It’s okay”...I don’t know what the hell you think you’re playing at you a@##&~@, but nothing about that night was okay. You, of all f$+@ing people, should know that...
- - -
”’Ew f#*$ah...m’boss gon’ killyah...”
Kilt gave the rope another tug as the goon started drooling blood onto his lap. ”Sure, lad. Keep tellin’ y’self that. An’ be sure ta’ tell ta’ nice Blues when they get here that too. I’m sure they’d love t’heat all ‘bout y’boss.”
”A’course they’ll...boss’es th’besht...!”
They’re so cute when they’re concussed. Suppressing a laugh, Kilt gives him a playful shove over the edge of the scaffolding, leaving the would-be mugger to dangle on the rope wound around his chest as the hero started towards the park. ”Lex? Y’still on here? I’m on my way now. Took a bit, but my guy’s all wrapped up f’ta’ police box. How’re thin’s on your end?”
- - -
”Are you sure?”
The helot smooths her suit nervously. ”Positive sir. It’s the same victim pattern he had in Peru and Florida.”
Salamander turns the page on the report, his other hand idyll tapping a steady beat. ”...how did we get this so fast?”
”My Lady thought it wise to put some of Us in key positions in the city.”
He nods. ”That’s new...”
She swallows with some difficulty. ”You’ve been gone for a long time sir. And My Lady does not wait on her laurels for anyone.”
Salamander was almost impressed that the helot’s nerves weren’t effecting her speech. A rarity amongst their kind. ”Well...time to finish this mission then. Summon a team, have them ready to convene on the location in...” He takes a moment to check his watch. ”...eh, 10 hours?”
”They’ll be ready in 8 sir.”
”Fine. Dismissed.” As the helot departed with quick, sharp steps, Salamander picked up a glossy photograph from the table depicting a chocolate-skinned man in a straw fedora. ”Alright you slippery bastard...” Heat flowed from his fingers, charing the image into ash. ”Time to crash your party...”
Shayera doesn't look especially enthusiastic, but relents. "All right. I'll go with you.
Whippoorwill's dressing-down had been brutal. She'd been on the receiving end of her mentor's disapproval several times before, but usually those were tempered because Wingblade knew she had screwed up. This time, her disobedience was deliberate. Her dishonesty calculated. She had good intentions. Very good intentions, and she pointed that out. It didn't matter.
Circumstances, however, stymied Whippoorwill's intended punishments. She clearly wanted to cut off contact between Shayera and Alexis, but that wasn't going to do anything but drive a wedge between Whip and the runaway experiment. She wanted to ground her, but she'd been made team leader and as of yet there were no other likely candidates. She wanted to move her out of that opulent apartment, but at least two other people were staying there (including Alexis) and she couldn't afford to let them have free run of the place.
"All right," Whippoorwill said after a period of thought and fuming. "I'm going to give the team a mission tomorrow. It's important, and I'm going to expect results. You'll be in charge, and it'll be your responsibility to keep the team on task and focused. This won't be just me you're trying to impress. It'll be the whole SCA and SIDEKICK Committee that'll be watching you work."
She softens her tone. "Shayera. Maybe I've... adjusted my approach to your training. Maybe I've been more cautious lately. I'll reevaluate. I promise. But I need you to keep me advised about what's going on with you. Now's no time for secrets."
Wingblade nods in agreement. "Okay. Um, I got bullied after school today. I'm going to see the principal about it with Bronwyn tomorrow."
"All right. That's too bad. Kids can be cruel, but thankfully with intervention, they'll grow out of it. You okay?"
With a flap of her wings, Wingblade grins. "Of course. I could have stopped it at any time. So it's almost like I let them pull my skirt off."
Whippoorwill's face twists. "That's a bit more serious than I thought. Did you want them to do it?" Shayera shakes her head vehemently. "Then it wasn't okay for them to do it, even if you could have stopped them. Keep that in mind when you talk to the principal."
"Sure."
"And no more secrets?"
"No more secrets."
"Right. Go home and get some rest. You've got a busy day tomorrow."
Wingblade watches Whippoorwill fly off, then she takes flight herself. Though she doesn't head back to her apartment right away. Instead, she flies to a deserted rooftop and lands hard. She says, "陰影," and her wings and outfit fade, replaced by the all-black bodysuit.
Before long, three similarly black-clad girls in masks appear around her.
========================
Shayera arrives at school with those who stayed at her apartment that night, but she immediately peels off and joins the three Chinese students who are standing outside the school. They chat briefly before they all enter together.
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The announcement across the school informs all the students that there will be a school-wide assembly in the auditorium. As the students file through the hallways towards the assembly, everyone on the team gets a ping on their communicators and a message on their ident cards. ROOM 187
So while the rest of the school gets to hear a droning lecture against bullying, Shayera, Bronwyn, Shaun, Alexis, Alexandra, and Kaoru all arrive in Room 187 where an attractive brunette in sharp business attire and thick-frame glasses is waiting for them.
"When did you start wearing the harness?" Shayera immediately asks when she sees the woman.
The woman folds her arms and regards Shayera testily. "It has its uses, when giant feathered wings draw too much attention. I thought you'd appreciate that."
Whippoorwill takes off her glasses as she sets a briefcase on the table in front of her. "Hello, class. I'm Ms. Ravencrest when I look like this. I'd appreciate a little more discretion than demonstrated by my protege should we meet in public." She gives her a quick glare, then opens the briefcase. A three-dimensional image of the Halcyon Waterfront Park appears. It's marked with several red dots.
"I'm giving you all a mission. Since most of you are new, and have some gifts that we would like to make use of, we're tasking your team to find a missing person. Several missing persons, actually."
She taps a button on the briefcase and another image appears, this one of a young, dark-haired girl. "Yesterday afternoon, at approximately 16:15, a young girl was discovered sleeping on a bench near Halcyon Waterfront Park by a passing jogger. The girl was awoken and surprised to learn that her mother had not returned from buying ice cream. The girl subsequently became distressed and the jogger called 911.
"The girl is Angelina Barbosa, daughter of Ambassador Esmerelda Barbosa. The mother and daughter pair were in Halcyon on vacation from their home country of Brazil, though Ambasador Barbosa has visited the city many times in the past on political business. The park was immediately canvassed by police who realized this was a matter to bring to the Defenders.
"Ambassador Barbosa is not the only person missing. Within the past year, seventeen disappearances have been reported or discovered within or near Halcyon Waterfront Park, and when analyzed as a whole a disturbing pattern has emerged. Each abductee was either separated from or momentarily left a larger gathering, only to vanish. Each abductee was a mature adult, ages ranging from 24 to 47. Eleven women and six men were taken. Notably, each abductee was non-caucasian, and all were tourists or visitors from other countries -- something the Halcyon Tourists Bureau has been taking great strides in keeping quiet," she says with distaste. "But considering the ethnic nature of the disappearances, this case may be a hate crime.
"Para-human analysis of the park has revealed no technological tampering (cameras, motion sensors, etc.), but mystical heroes have detected a lingering enchantment over the area. The Defenders, however, are considered too high-profile. This is where the team comes in.
"Your mission is to find Ambassador Barbosa, as well as the other missing people if possible. The ambassador is highest priority. The park has already been prepared for a sting operation to catch the person(s) responsible for this. Cameras, plainclothes officers, near-by emergency backup, the works.
"Note that this is a non-public operation. Only don uniforms and engage if you have eyes on the abductor or any of the abductees. Do not openly speak with anyone outside of the HPD or SCA about this mission.
"Any questions?"
Alexis raises her hand. "Last night I found someone calling himself the Sineater attacking three boys from the school. He summoned these short red humanoids with horns that exploded into flames when they were hit hard enough. It was also in a park. Maybe he took the ambassador?"
Kaoru resisted the urge to answer Alexis' question. All of the abductees had thus far been adults, so it seemed pretty unlikely that the kidnapper (or possibly murderer since it's not like they actually knew the fate of those taken) would suddenly switch his or her MO. Not to mention it seemed pretty unlikely that they'd be given a mission only to have one of them coincidentally face the instigator the night before. Plus people that exploded into flames hardly seemed subtle. At least, not subtle enough for this to have been going on a year already. Unless the police just didn't care because no one actually important had been abducted until now.
She was pretty sure she had seen something about this in the SCA files. She would have to check more closely once their chaperone had left.
No doubt if they had already checked for video tampering, that meant they had already checked the footage for any leads. So the fact that Whippoorwill hadn't mentioned anything about it meant there was nothing to see. That also meant that the people taken hadn't left via any path that would cross a camera's line of sight. If there hadn't been yelling or other reported disturbances, then either the abductees had been blitzed and knocked out (in which case they would have had to be careful not to be seen by anybody while carrying the body) or somehow convinced to go along 'willingly'. Or if there was magic involved, possibly straight up teleported. Her guess was on teleportation or coercion. Teleportation would be safer unless they had some foolproof way to guarantee their coercion would work.
While the racial angle was interesting, a hate crime honestly seemed a little unlikely. It was both too careful and the numbers were too low. A hate crime would likely have been either spur of the moment, which went against the careful planning, or would have been more far-reaching to have a larger effect, which went against the low numbers. It was also a little odd the gender ratio was almost exactly 2 to 1. Did that mean the next target would be a woman? Though it might also literally be weeks before the next strike. And given how selective the attacker had been, luring him or her into taking one specific person (or one of a specific set of people) seemed unlikely. All this indicated that it was doubtful the sting operation would work. Which meant it was really more to save face than anything else.
"Would it be possible for us to receive a copy of the map with marked locations? It would also be most helpful if we could be given a map indicating which areas the cameras cover with any of the newer additions to security specifically highlighted, if you believe such would be appropriate to give to us." She resisted the urge to ask in Japanese, if only because she didn't want to encourage other people to pointlessly make the exact same requests. It was still a hard balance between trying to be polite and trying to say as few words as possible.
Should she ask about details about the abductees? If there were any obvious patterns about them, Whippoorwill probably would have brought them up. So they would be from a variety of different countries and a variety of non-white ethnicities.
Shaun's head had been buried in his phone all day. Bert had linked him to the local cape-watcher rumor forum, and there was quite the buzz of activity today. A whole lot of conjecture, speculation, and a smattering of facts all pointing to one thing: Seems like the Defenders are getting ready to induct a new member! Wonder if Matrix finally got that USB stick out of his butt and decided to let Superiority join?
Of course, the unexpected briefing by an actual Defender pushed that out of his mind for now. He'd been expecting a proper mission from Whippoorwill, and had had the foresight to actually bring his autograph book, but it was hard to stay enthusiastic when the Defender explained the situation. "Jesus. That poor kid..."
"Last night I found someone calling himself the Sineater attacking three boys from the school. He summoned these short red humanoids with horns that exploded into flames when they were hit hard enough. It was also in a park. Maybe he took the ambassador?"
Whippoorwill shakes her head, "Not a bad guess, but unlikely. As I mentioned, there's an echantment blanketing the park. According to Dr. Arkane, it's a very sophisticated and nuanced spell, designed to do perform multiple tasks and last for an extended period of time. Sineater is magic-based yes, but he has never show this level of magical skill. Furthermore, he's never shown a preference for victims in the way this case does."
"Would it be possible for us to receive a copy of the map with marked locations? It would also be most helpful if we could be given a map indicating which areas the cameras cover with any of the newer additions to security specifically highlighted, if you believe such would be appropriate to give to us."
She smiles slyly and pushes another button on the briefcase, causing a simple, black USB to slowly eject from the device. "This contains every piece of data we have on the park, including camera positions (both old and new) and the locations where each abductee was last seen. I've already sent the same data to Abacus, and the on-site SCA monitoring van, both of which are currently being patched into the security feeds."
Shaun clears his throat. "What 'bout ta' little girl? Where's she gone?"
"Angelina is currently at HPD Headquarters being interviewed. We believe she may know something about the Ambassador's disappearance, but she's been...reluctant to share, due partially to her limited knowledge of English, largely to shock. If she reveals anything crucial, you will all be notified immediately." Noticing Shaun's look of concern, she adds "She's in good hands, you don't need to concern yourselves."
"Right..." Shaun shakes his head in an attempt to clear it. "How did nobody notice this before now? Tourist r'not, seventeen people don't just vanish w'nobody carin'. Somebody must've given a s$%!!"
Whippoorwill pulls up another display on the briefcase, a dizzying web of mystical symbols and phrases laid over the park map like a mesh net. "Indeed they might have, but the enchantment seems to have been designed to counteract this. As I said, this is a very nuanced piece of spellcraft. Part of its function is to obscure the minds of anyone looking for other people, make them less interested in finding the person they are looking for. Practically, this means that any search would have been rapidly undermined by a magic-induced ambivalence. Search for long enough, and you stop caring all-together. That is until Dr. Arkane...adjusted the spell. Technically speaking it now only effects bears looking for honey, but give the lack of both bees and ursines in the vicinity, I think that component of the enchantment is now mute."
Cassie leaned forward, studying the symbols overlying the park and looking for a pattern, or to see whether they seemed familiar. Magic, disappearances, ambassadors... Cassie had a sick feeling that this might have something to do with her mother, but it was best to be sure before passing on her concerns.
As Cassie inspects the magic model, something clicks in her mind. Not from her magic lessons, but from music class. It’s obscured and very abstracted, but the way the runes are arrayed remind her very much of a piece of sheet music, with the park taking the place of the paper and the magic the notes.
Otherwise, it’s based in no system of spellcraft she is familiar with. None of the symbols or incantations seem directly or even remotely rooted in the magic she’s been taught. Nor indeed even any language she’s familiar with. The script is very alien, with curving lines and what appears to be the occasional pictograph mixed in. At the very least, she would need some kind of key to decipher the enchantments and plenty of time to look them over.
Kaoru was a little creeped out by Whippoorwill's 'sly smile' but nodded her thanks as she took the USB. Ok, definitely clearing my hard drive before plugging this in. I can restore it later after I wipe it again in case there's malware on this thing. Disconnecting from the network is *probably* overkill. Not wanting to be rude by pulling out her computer to immediately start work, she waited for the Q&A to finish before examining the data.
Cassie pursed her lips and sat back in her chair frowning. "That spellcarft is weird! Really weird. It's,... " she looks at the others, "Its almost like its musical but,.. its not like anything I've seen before."
Kaoru waited for Whippoorwill to leave before pulling out her computer. She quickly wiped any incriminating evidence and plugged in the USB. She quickly cross-referenced the data with the SCA files she temporarily put on her phone, making sure there weren't any details missing. She then began cross-referencing the disappearance sites with areas not covered by the camera.
"If they were all from other countries, it's probably more that they're foreign, than that they're of different ethnicities. It would be hard to just grab seventeen different people and have them all be from other countries by accident, and some magic-y things are about connections and sympathetic links. Something about otherness or distance could be what they're looking for."
Looking at pictures of the symbols wasn't giving her anything more than her best guess though. "Good thing Cassie's on the team. Bran might be able to figure out more about the enchantments if he's on the ground, but he's pretty far from subtle."
A thought struck her, "Wait, they all separated from large gatherings? Did they have family here, or were some of them here for work or..?"
***
Whippoorwill nods approvingly at Cassie. ”Good observation. Dr. Arkane said it was cast via a bardic method. I.e., someone “performed” this magic into existence, meaning the abductor likely has musical talent.”
”Their origin groups are varied. Three were from bus tour groups, two from family celebrations, five from popular tourist spots, three from music concerts, and three from the Boardwalk on the north side of the park. Most of them did not have family here, but those who did weren’t reported for days after they vanished. The contact information for victim families are on the drive, as is Arkane’s...diagram of the enchantment.”
Shaun (New Boy): also, alex thinks u r magical?
Shaun (New Boy): like cassie?
Shaun (New Boy): are u?
Bronwyn: Wow, sorry for the late reply - but you could've mentioned you asked me this on Tuesday!
Bronwyn: Umm not really?
Bronwyn: I can't float things or make webs or any of that
Bronwyn: But like, I know some stuff about some stuff?
***
Bronwyn nodded, her eyes returning again to the pictures of the missing.
"Well, if we've got a starting point, let's go take a look. Oh, and Whippoorwill, about Angelina. You... HPD does have someone who speaks Portuguese talking to her, right? You mentioned that it was a problem that she didn't speak much English."
Whippoorwill nods. "They've called in someone who speaks Portuguese, yes. It'll be just a matter of time before they get something from her."
Wingblade smirks. "Unless she's mute? You know, like the point about the bears and the bees?"
The Defender narrows her eyes. "I said the point is 'moot.' I don't care what you thought you heard. Now, do you have anything important to ask?"
Shayera sighs. "Well, there's a few of us who aren't Caucasian. Should we wander around the park as bait?"
Whippoorwill's mouth twists. "That's a dangerous gambit, but it certainly has the potential of netting results as long as you maintain radio contact at all times. I'm not going to forbid it, but I'd also caution you."
Wingblade nods her head, looking serious. "All right, I can-- Dammit, I'm the leader. That means..." she trails off as she looks around at the other candidates, "I think we'll try something else."
A touch of a smile graces Whippoorwill's face as she regards her protege. "Right. Unless there's more questions, I'm going to leave you to it. Remember, this is big. We're talking about multiple lives that you can save, hopefully. Or at least bring closure if the worst is happening."
<(But like, I know some stuff about some stuff?)
(???)>
(the f&+~ does that mean?)>
(either u can cast magic or u cant)>
(look its fine if u can)>
(but ive been str8 w/u)>
(id hope ud b str8 w/me)>
There’s a pause in the texting.
(r u not telling me bcause of the bathroom slip-up?)>
(if thats why)>
(i get it)>
(but im sorry)>
(i promise i wont tell alex)>
(or kaoru)>
(or gill)>
- - -
Shaun’s lips press into a tense line. Don’t worry about the kid she says...what kind of hero can’t make a kid feel safe? He sighs. ”No further questions Ma’am.”
Kaoru quickly creates a few resources with her findings. "Give me all of your email addresses. I've created a shared folder with images of all the abductees. Also, an overlay that can be imported into your mapping app of choice. It marks abduction sites as well as nine possible locations they could have walked to without getting caught on camera. There's also a food stall that at least some of us should check out that might have film of one of the abductions. We probably don't need to all go, but we should stay in at least pairs given that whoever likes to pick off individuals."
Alexis looks at Wingblade, thinking, then nodding. "I can be bait," She says. "I can pretend to be a tourist. I think that it would be easy for me. But these people were always taken from groups...maybe we should pose as a whole tour group and see if someone takes the bait that way," She suggests.
"...I don't have an e-mail address," She tells Kaoru, shrugging her shoulders before pulling out her phone and standing next to him. "Can you show me how to make one?"
Cassie smiles at Whippoorwill's words. "If they 'performed' the magic into existence they'd probably have to be physically present." she turns to Kaoru. "Can you look through the videos for anyone with musical instruments or anything like that? Maybe buskers or something? Can you get audio? Maybe someone posted something online? If the ambivalence spell was musical, maybe that's how they abducted them too? Music's quite good for charm hexes and things like that."
Kaoru nods at Cassie's question. "I can check after the briefing." And hope there isn't a sh*t ton of data to sift through. Maybe I could train something to look for instruments. If that doesn't take too long.
"We're not in the perp's target age. Plus if they only kidnap someone once every 3 or so weeks, they may not be looking for a new victim just yet. Though they might make an exception if they learn that we're looking into them."
Assuming it'll be faster, Kaoru takes the phone and starts downloading the gmail app. She then starts setting up an account for Alexis on her own computer. "What's your last name and...your favorite Shakespeare quote, I guess."
Kaoru turns to look at Cassie. "Would you be able to recognize magic music from a video feed? My guess is there are multiple people playing instruments in the park, and I have no idea how to distinguish a magical performance from a simple street act. Alternatively, do you know if there are any locations where casting this spell would work better? The camera feeds from the earliest abduction only really cover high-traffic areas, and if they were smart enough to avoid the cameras for their abductions, they may have done likewise for their performance. Though if we're just looking for an image of the person, it might be better to check the food stall lead first. Or to get a picture of the person and run facial recognition on the rest of the video rather than homebrewing an instrument recognition program."
Shaun (New Boy): i promise i wont tell alex
Shaun (New Boy): or kaoru
Shaun (New Boy): or gill
Bronwyn: k, good to know
Bronwyn: but really
Bronwyn: yes I know some stuff, no I don't sling spells
Bronwyn: the biggest thing I've done was help someone who knows a lot more than me enchant a flower pot to make an orchid last longer x-)
Bronwyn: stuff like that takes knowledge and power sources
Bronwyn: I've got enough knowledge to know not to mess around with the rest.
***
"Great! Let's hit the bricks. We can figure out who's gonna be bait once we follow up on some leads and see if we even need to go that direction going to happen..." There's a reasonable chance I'll be able to fight free of some magic-y stuff... "Cassie, can you whip anything up that might keep us from getting all siren-songed?"
She poked the tip of her tongue up towards her nose in thought, "Good points, Kaoru. But maybe see if any of the street musicians look sketchy, I mean, particularly sketchy."
"Oliver...and, 'How does he love me? With adoration, with fertile tears, With groans that thunder love, with sighs of fire.'"
Alexis lets off a small content sigh after saying the quote, a smile curling over her lips.
She glances at Cassie, figuring that she was busy right now. Perhaps she'd talk to her later.