Bronwyn can't help but glance at Shayera. Hmmp. Good Shakespeare.
Kaoru sets up Alexis' email address as "amkoliver@gmail.com" ("'aoliver@gmail.com' was already taken, so I used your pseudonym's initials as well.") and taps a finger thoughtfully against her chin before writing something quickly on a post-it note. She goes ahead and signs into gmail on the phone, pulling up the automated google email about a new shared document. From there she proceeds to pull up the images in a chrome tab and open the map in google maps for Alexis. She then hands the phone over to Alexis with the post-it note. "That's your password. Don't tell other people what it is. Feel free to change it to something that's easier for you to remember. If you don't like my method of generating passwords, another method is to come up with 3 random words that you'll remember and just string them all together. But for the love of God, do not make your password 'password'."
[u]H[/u]ow [u]d[/u]oes [u]h[/u]e [u]<3 m[/u]? [u]W/ a[/u]doration[u], w/ f[/u]ertile [u]t[/u]ears[u], W/ g[/u]roans [u]t[/u]hat [u]t[/u]hunder [u]<3, w/ s[/u]ighs [u]o[/u]f [u]f[/u]ire[u].[/u]
Kaoru then shrugs, but does her best to whip up some kind of instrument recognition program to run on the video.
Alexandra rolls her eyes a little. No leads, no suspects, basically no motive...
So, we stick a tracker on Alexis, and hope they aren't kidnapping specific people? sounds like a plan. Kay and I will go over the previous vic's, try to find the pattern
Alexandra starts going through what Wingblade gave them. So, taking bets. brainwashing, horrific breeches of scientific ethics, or just grabbing people they think won't be missed to feed to something?
Bronwyn almost smiles at Alexandra, but her eyes are a little too hard, "Don't be so gloomy. We haven't even started, and we've got plenty of leads to follow to get more information.
"The victim selection is too specific. Foreigners, none of them immigrants, but people who actually don't live here, all of them people of color? There are way better picks for anything that isn't ritual, and there's almost no way that you could get that selection by chance."
Shayera chews her lip in thought for a bit, then finally hops off the desk where she'd been sitting.
"Okay, I think based on everything we've heard, none of us is likely to get nabbed, but on the safe side let's keep our earbuds active at all times. Our best bet is to check out the park. Me, Bronwyn, Alexandra, and Cassie will go to the scene and investigate. Kaoru, you dig through the data and the video and do... computer stuff. You can do that remotely, right? So you can stay close? Alexis and Shaun, do you want to go see about talking with the girl, or at least listen in on her interview? I don't speak Portuguese; do either of you?"
"If you speak Spanish and she talks slowly you should be able to get most of it. It'll be easier for her than you though."
<(I've got enough knowledge to know not to mess around with the rest.)
(...ok)>
(thats ok)>
The phone shows Shaun starting and stopping typing a number of times.
(i just thought u were like me)>
(just normal)>
(but hey magic is cool 2)>
(im guessing u can put magic in things?)>
(like all that armor on Bran?)>
(did u make that?)>
- - -
Shaun gives Kaoru a concerned look when he asks for his e-mail. ”Um...uh...just uh, just gimme ta’ phone n’ I’ll punch it in...” PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T MAKE ME SAY IT OUT LOUD...
He shoots Alexandra an angry glare. ”No. No way in hell we’re puttin’ anybody else in this a$+@&!*’s sights. An’ they are alive. We just have ta’ find’em.” They have to be alive, for Angelina’s sake...
Shaun shrugs when asked about what languages he speaks. ”Sorry, but that’s a hard no from me. I’m fluent in Gaelic, a little French if ya’ really need it, but not Portuguese. Though...” He pauses and chews a bit on his lip. ”I still wanna go down there. I can...I dunno, maybe if she knows we’re gonna find her mom, it might make her feel better, help her open up?”
Shayera shrugs. "I speak Spanish, but I want to sniff around the park. It's been a day, which is an awful long time for scents in an open area, but you never know. And any additional delay is just not good.
"Okay, Shaun. I'm sure you can help Angelina feel better. You too, Alexis. Since there's an abductor we're trying to catch, no one goes off alone. So Shaun and Alexis, you're going to see the girl. The rest of us, we'll hit the park. Okay?"
Kaoru lets Shaun enter the email address on her computer for the files to be shared (but totally later checks what it is since he was all cagey about it).
She raises an eyebrow at the "computer stuff" comment but doesn't otherwise comment on it. "Yeah, I can bring my laptop with me. I won't be able to do much while walking around, but if I need to do more, I can find a spot to sit down and work."
"The musical instrument search is turning out to be a no-go. There are too many potential matches. If we get more data to narrow the search, I can try again." She closes her laptop and then taps a few things into her watch to temporarily re-activate location pinging on her own earbud. She could turn it off later, but given the situation, security was a bit higher priority than privacy right now. She places her laptop back in her bag and gets ready to head out.
Alexandra takes a seat beside Kaoru, going to pet the cat, and being quickly reminded of its temperament. I... it hasn't been a great day. Alexandra admits Villain got away. another c-lister... though that one was legit crazy, thought he could see and eat sins... she grumbles Targets me, naturally.
Her arm goes around Kaoru's shoulders, but then she stops Probably something Jack did... and instead cuddles into him with her shoulder. Just wanted to talk with someone who isn't family, before I get chewed out for missing another of the villains.
The ambassador being alive, hopeful... the ones caught first... King said it best, sometimes dead is better. Alexandra says. They're kidnapping people, most of the reasons for that end in death, or being rendered inhuman. She says to Shaun. And I don't relish the idea of putting one of us in danger, though I doubt Alexis is ever especially unarmed. but it might work if we don't have any other plan...
she nods to wingblades plan [b]Sounds good, boss.
On the other side of the phone Bronwyn grinned in a slightly suppressed flash of pride.
Shaun (New Boy): i just thought u were like me
Shaun (New Boy): just normal
Shaun (New Boy): but hey magic is cool 2
Shaun (New Boy): im guessing u can put magic in things?
Shaun (New Boy): like all that armor on Bran?
Shaun (New Boy): did u make that?
Bronwyn: Shaun! You're not hearing me! >:-|
Bronwyn: I DO NOT CAST SPELLS
Bronwyn: I know some of how that stuff works, so I'm good at getting things ready for OTHER people to cast spells
Bronwyn: I did make Brans armor tho
Bronwyn: It's not magic btw, just well made
Bronwyn: ::midtone flex emoji::
***
Bronwyn goes a little quiet at the 'dead is better' line. [b]"There are other reasons. No reason to write them off already." Not wanting to debate that any more, she grabbed up her kit to go.
She'd finally been able to make it over to her junkyard base and restocked a little for super-stuff, even if that had left her a day behind in laundry, and the cab back to avoid carrying everything through the streets had brought her down to $71.25, after the tip.
Alexis nodded, figuring she would suit up after the meeting. The girl would respect her more if she saw her as a hero. And her armor was also cool, so she had that going for her. She also had her new e-mail thanks to Kaoru.
While waiting on Shaun she elected to compose a letter to him. She thought about it, and decided that it would be best to show understanding through her learning. Kaoru didn't love her, and she understood that.
I understand this now. I am sorry for making you feel bad. I want to be your friend.
"Shadow's asleep, so it'd probably be ok if you petted him. I doubt your petting would feel much different from mine. Just, maybe pull away if he wakes up."
Kaoru watched Alexandra as she talked about her day, raising an eyebrow before asking, "Feeling especially sinful lately then?" Her slight smirk is replaced by a more serious expression as she continued, "He was probably just projecting. This was Alexis' call about helping innocents or something, right? Sounds like he's not exactly the best judge of these things if he's going around attacking people. He probably just sees heroes and wants to claim their full of sin to try to bring them down to his level. That way he doesn't feel as bad about himself." She smiled slightly as she lightly bumped Alexandra's shoulder with her own. "Maybe the reason he targetted you was because you were the most heroic and therefore the most threatening to him."
She wasn't really sure what to make of the almost hug turned leaning into her, so she tentatively moved to wrap her arm lightly around Alexandra. There's a slight moment of hesitation where she's uncertain if the move should be angled lower to be around the girl's waist or higher to be around her shoulders. She quickly decides on just imitating Alexandra's aborted move and going for around her shoulders. It would (hopefully) serve as an act of comfort if nothing else. "Do you need to tell your family? I mean, even if they could spot an outright lie, there are always just omissions or evasions. Like, 'How was your day?' 'Eh, could have been worse.' Though that works better if you have other things you can talk about to draw attention away from what you don't want to talk about." Her thumb absently stroked Alexandra's arm as she stared into space thinking. "Besides, you weren't the only one there, right? Why is it on just you to catch the villain?"
Kaoru pulled out her phone as it buzzed with a new notification. She blinked. It was an email from Alexis. Who was sitting across the room from her. A little odd, but if she were being honest, it's not like she hadn't done basically the exact same thing before. While waiting for their half of the group to depart, she opened it.
Why was Alexis quoting...Shakespeare? Give her obsession with the dude, it was probably Shakespeare. She worried her lower lip before typing up a response.
As I said before, I'm fine being friends and just getting to know each other. Though you never did tell me what it is you like so much about Shakespeare. :P
<(::midtone flex emoji::)
(::sigh emoji::)>
(ok then)>
(so is that charm a gift from the tin can then?)>
(its magic right?)>
- - -
Shaun scowls at the heroine. ”Well then come up w’another f&~&in’ plan. Ye’re ta’ smart one, aren’t ya’?”
He nods at Shayera. ”Understood boss. I’ll comm ya’ if we get anythin’ useful, an’ if ye’ need us do ta’ same.”
- - -
Shaun took Alexis’s cue and suited up before going to the station. Thankfully, that turned out to be a good move, as it got the front desk to fast track them past security to the interrogation rooms. As the duo is escorted into the observation room, they see two men and a woman waiting for them. The first man is dressed in a suit, his tie in the distinctive yellow and green pattern of the Brazilian flag. The other man and the woman are each dressed somewhat nicely, with HPD badges hanging from their pockets. Past the glass, a young man with coffee-colored skin sits with a familiar little girl.
The male officer steps forward and offers his hand to Kilt. ”Afternoon. I’m Detective Hall, this is Detective Walters, and-“
The darkly-skinned man wearing the Brazilian tie rudely inserts himself between Kilt and the detective. ”Ident cards first.”
Detective Walters rolls her eyes. ”Mr. Sousa please...!”
Mr. Sousa ignores her as he forcefully extends a hand. ”Cards. Now.”
Kilt shoots a “is this guy serious?” look at Mercy before crossing his arms defiantly. ”An’ why should I give ya’ mine? I dunno who ta’ hell y’think ye’ are, but I’m not gonna follow just anybody’s orders.”
- - -
In some sick twist of irony, it’s a perfect day to go to the park.
The sky is clear and bright, with a water-scented breeze blowing just fast enough to keep the temperature nearly perfect. All around the young ladies who disembark from the taxi, people of all kinds flock to the lightly-forested Waterfront Park. Near the entrance, kids too young to go to school wait in line with their parents to buy snow cones. On a street corner a clown juggles bowling pins for a politely clapping crowd. Further inside, tourists snap photos next to a bronze statue depicting Depth Charge in a heroic stance. If it hadn’t been for the briefing earlier, none of you would have ever even guessed that this place was the site of serial abductions.
Well, with the exceptions of Bronwyn and Cassie. The park is practically radioactive with magic energy, which might make detecting any concentrations of it inside hard to do. Wingblade, you notice immediately that the waterside smells and sounds are interfering with your long-range perception, but it seems like you can filter them out at closer distances. Kaoru, you immediately note a smattering of radio-controlled cameras freshly bolted onto various structures and the occasional tree. Alexandra, you almost immediately pick out six plain clothes security monitoring the front archway, plus a white van parked just around the corner on the opposite side of the street.
Mercy takes out her ident card and presents it, before elbowing Kilt in the arm. "Follow protocol." After all, Whippoorwill had given her a set of rules to follow. She'd memorized them. One of which was that you always showed your ident card to prove your status when prompted.
"I am Mercy. This is Kilt. We're part of the team assigned to search for the ambassador." She said, each word careful and weighted as she said it, making sure to strike the right tone between respect and authority. "We believe that she may be able to give us clues as to the identity of the kidnapper. Please allow us to speak with her alone. Time is of the essence."
She stands like a soldier at ease, waiting for them to work out the details on their own.
Kaoru also disembarked from the taxi to join the rest of the team. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, sighing softly as she enjoyed the smell of water and the breeze ruffling her hair. She smiled slightly as she enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her face. She would definitely need to come back here. After the whole kidnapping thing was resolved anyway.
Opening her eyes, she put her game face one. "I at least would like to check out the boardwalk. I think getting access to one of the vendor's camera footage would be useful in determining what happened." She looked to Wingblade to see if they were all going to wander around in a group of 5 or split into two smaller groups. Or if she was just going to be ordered to go somewhere else entirely.
While she waited, she tried to plan out her approach. What would be a good way to convince the owner to give the footage to them? Or at least to let them see it. They obviously couldn't mention the kidnapping as that was meant to be hush-hush. A missing person would likely be a no for similar reasons. A mugging perhaps? No, that likely would have drawn more attention. Maybe say they were trying to find a pick-pocket. That was low-key enough not start a panic while being a completely reasonable thing to investigate. Or maybe they already had the pick-pocket and were looking for evidence in the case against him or her? But then why wouldn't the police just be doing that? Maybe stick to trying to find the thief.
Bronwyn bit the inside of her cheek in concern at the surges of energy. It's gonna be hard to get **anything** in there.
Glancing over at Kaoru she raised her eyebrows in a moment of surprise before suppressing it. I think that's the most excited I've heard him about this hero stuff. I guess puzzles are a way he's comfortable with helping.
"Hey Cassie, would you mind if we hit the unmonitored locations together? That's probably where people were grabbed, and they probably did it with something on the witchy end of the spectrum."
Cassie nodded at Bron. [b]"I'm not sure what we'll be able to sense. The energy here is,... overwhelming, but maybe we'll find something.
Shayera looks around the park after Cassie's comment. "Huh." She starts to ask potentially dumb questions about the magic around the park, but decides to stay quiet on that subject.
"All right, Alexandra, you go with Bron and Cassie. Wait. We should have a magic person paired up with someone good at spotting things. Ah, Cassie, why don't you come with me and Kaoru to the boardwalk? Bron and Alexandra goes to check out the unmonitored locations. Stay in touch. Use cell phones unless we're in an emergency, since that won't look unusual."
==============
"Vendor camera footage. Right," Shayera says as they reach the Boardwalk. She keeps her senses sharp as she studies the vendor.
Shayera glances around the park briefly, taking in the joggers, picnickers, dog-walkers, kite-flyers, and tourists. She arches an eyebrow as she nears the vendor and notices a dog leashed to the food stand. He's a dog lover, evidently.
Approaching him, Shayera puts on a worried face. "Oh, sir! Our dog got away from our dog-walker yesterday, and we're trying to figure out which park he was in when he got loose! She didn't even realize he was gone until she got to Ditko Square! She said she walked along the Boardwalk, so she would have gone right past your camera! Can we take a look at the footage from yesterday, see if Coco was still on his leash when they went by? Oh, please? We're so worried!"
Kilt’s face is a mix of anger and confusion as he looks at Alexis. ”Since when do ye’ care ‘bout protocol?” He sighs and begrudgingly fishes his card out.
Mr. Sousa inspects each card careful before waving a hand dismissively. ”Fine. You’re heroes, but not the ones I asked for.”
Detective Hall rolls his eyes. ”Mr. Sousa-“
”I am not going to be settled by these children detective! I want heroes, real heroes, on this case.”
Detective Walters sighs in frustration. ”As we said sir, the Defenders only-“
”What you have said is irrelevant. What you have done is deny me the ability to speak with my own niece, kept this disaster hidden from the public, and now, now you have the audacity to put these...!” He gestures at Kilt and Mercy. ”What are you two even supposed to be?!”
Kilt huffs out of his nose in frustration. ”I’m ta’ guy who’s got more authority in this situation than ya’. I’m also ta’ guy tryin’ta’ help your niece n’ your sister. Ye’, meanwhile, are ta’ asshat gettin’ in ta’ way of honest-ta’-God heroes. So once ye’re done b@+%@in’bout ta’ people tryin’ta’ help your ungrateful ass, feel free ta’ apologoze.”
Mr. Sousa turns red with rage, but the detectives intervine before he goes off. Walters quickly escorts the duo out of the room while Hall pre-empts the man’s outburst.
Walters shakes her head as she leads the heroes around to the interrogation room entryway. ”You’ve got some mouth on you kid...”
Kilt shrugs. ”Eh. That was light f’me. He wasn’t worth any more then that honestly. Probably just ventin’ his worry, tryin’ta’ make himself feel better.”
The detective gives a Kilt a frown. ”You might wanna have some sympathy then. Or at least some decorum like your friend here.” She gives Mercy a small smile. ”You’re right by the way. Clock’s ticking. First 48 hours are the most important in cases like this. If we can’t get a strong lead by then, trail’s gonna go cold.”
She finally stops in front of the door. ”Okay, is there anything you two need to know before going in? I assume you know her name already, and you know the situation...oh, right. The man in there with her is Miguel Collins, Language expert from Halcyon University. He can translate for you and her, but she hasn’t opened up any more with him than with me or Hall. You two got a plan for getting through to her?”
- - -
The operator of the stand, a bored looking young man with heavy acne scars, blinks out of a daze when Shayera speaks with him. ”Er-ah, w-welcome to Samurai Sushi Dojo, where the fish and the-...wait, what about a dog?”
After listen to the heroine’s story, he gives her a sympathetic look. ”Oh jeez, I’m so sorry. Yeah, here, gimme a minute to just...get this thing to work...” He takes a positively ancient looking laptop out from under the counter and begins to boot it up. ”Corporate cost cutting,” he says in reference to the computer. ”They’ve got the best camera hardware, then run it on this piece of junk. Unbelievable...”
After a long few minutes of loading and waiting (and some belly rubs requested by the clerk’s dopey golden retriever), he finally turns the laptop to face the trio. ”Okay, here we go. Now, what’s your dog look like? And when was your walker, uh, walking by the shop?”
- - -
"Yes. We do not need the translator." Mercy said as she reached into a small shopping bag she'd brought with her. She'd gotten the idea while suiting up, and had made a quick pit stop before coming there to get the items.
A large box of crayons, colored pencils, and large sheets of paper. One of which she'd already sketched out a rough representation of the park where the ambassador had gone missing, leaving her child.
She stepped inside of the room, taking a seat quietly at the table. She waved gently to the girl, before setting out the crayons and colored pencils and paper, leaving the rough sketch of the park alone for the moment.
Instead, she just drew, using pencils as her preferred medium to make images. Starting with Mercy and Kilt, as they struck heroic poses. Then of her mother, carried away by a shadowy figure with a question mark in the middle of him.
She sketched the outline of a person, with another question mark on him, with arrows pointing at its head, before sliding the paper over to the girl and sat back waiting on her. When Kilt started to speak, she gave him a cutting motion across her throat, telling him to be quiet.
And when he opened his mouth again, as he always did, she stood up, grabbed him by the arm, and shoved him out the door, shutting him out of the process entirely.
----
I believe that I like you still. But I also think that I cannot understand if it might grow into love unless I can spend time with you alone to have conversations. That is what a date is supposed to be for as I understand it.
I do know that it hurts to see you so close with Alexandra. I do not understand why, other than Alexandra also likes you. I thought that having a rival would feel good.
Shaun (New Boy): ok then
Shaun (New Boy): so is that charm a gift from the tin can then?
Shaun (New Boy): its magic right?
Bronwyn: Yeah. That one's magic.
***
Bronwyn smiled at Shayera's suggestion, on the outside, Guess I'm a magic person now "Okay. If either of us spot something that looks suspicious, I'll get Bran, or we'll get Cassie over."
A bit down the pathway she asked Alexandra, "...So, how did you know I wasn't living at home? It's fine that you know I'm just... curious."
Kaoru hid a grimace as she walks up to the food vendor. A dog wasn't exactly what she wanted to see in a place where food was served. Note to self: Don't eat here. Though if I really wanted fish and rice, I could just make it myself.
She was distracted by another notification on her phone indicating a response from Alexis. She quickly read it. It...was really not the sort of thing she could just type up a quick, off-the-cuff response to. But Alexis knew she was also in the middle of something, so she'd understand that a response wasn't going to be instantaneous. She could reply to it later.
By the time she had read it, Wingblade was already talking to the vendor with a completely different story from what she had mentally planned. Nevertheless, she went along with it. She directed a grateful smile at the vendor, perfected with years of practice from what felt like a lifetime ago. She had to modify her tone and diction slightly from what she was used to though, to avoid sounding too feminine. "Thank you so much. This really means a lot to us. I promise we'll be quick. But since we're taking up some of your valuable time anyway, it's only fair we buy something. I'm pretty handy with computers, so I should be able to pull up the footage easily enough. I'll take a green tea and an umeboshi onigiri." She looks at her companions. "Do you guys want anything?" She slides $20 over to the man before attempting to reach over to the computer and begin pulling up footage from the correct day.
- You get an opportunity
- You expose a weakness or flaw
- You confuse them for some time
- You avoid further entanglement
On a miss, you're hopelessly embroiled in it and under pressure; mark a condition.
Angelina watches Mercy and Kilt enter with wide, fearful eyes, her legs clutched to her chest as she sits in an old office chair. Mr. Collins nods to each of the teens, then turns to Angelina a puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ”Vejo? Essas pessoas são os heróis que vão ajudar a encontrar sua mãe. Tudo ficará bem.”
Any anger Kilt has on his face melts away as he enters the interrogation room and sees the dark-haired girl. God, she can’t be any older than five! She must be so scared... A sad, friendly smile crosses his face as he kneels down next to her. ”Hi there lass. Don’t worry, we’re gonna-“ He cuts himself off when he notices Mercy’s motion.
He stay kneeling as his partner lays out the art supplies and starts her sketches. (...damn. That’s a good idea. I should’ve thought of that.) He turns and smiles encouragingly at Angelina when Mercy slides the empty outline over to the girl.
She stares at the page for a moment, then pulls her legs closer to her chest, hiding her face entirely.
Kilt gingerly puts his hand over hers. ”It’s a’ight lass, take your time.”
- - -
The clerk smiles politely as he takes the bill. ”Oh no man, take all the time you need! If I ever lost Missy here, I don’t know what I’d do.”
As he turns to collect the ordered dish(es), the brick-like computer slowly begins to display a folder packed full of footage. It takes a minute for Kaoru to find the correct file, a recording made almost exactly at 12am on New Years...
The vendor cameras watch vigilantly as a New Year’s concert lights up the Boardwalk with neon colors. The sound is not functioning on the laptop, but the vibrations in the footage suggest a very loud bass at the very least. The walkway is packed with partiers, who have diligently ignored the crowd barriers around the sushi stand and begun raiding it for food.
Thankfully, the missing person in question is not hard to find. Shortly into the footage a woman with coffee-colored skin and a wild mane of hair rises from beneath the camera and flashes double-middle-fingers at the security device while sticking out her tongue. According to the files, this is Amahle Buys, South African native with quite the long list of international misdemeanors.
As Ms. Buys rips open a package of sushi and recklessly scarfs it down, the crowd suddenly calms as they all turn to look at something out of frame. Judging from their anticipation and hand motions, the New Years Ball is counting down.
Ms. Buys, however, freezes in place.
As the crowd looks off elsewhere, a new figure enters the frame. A man (judging by his stature) enters with his back to the camera and an acoustic guitar in his hands. He is dressed in a light-blue snowsuit, with a long pink-and-black stripped scarf and matching fingered mittens. Strangely, he is not wearing a normal winter weather cap. Instead, a simple straw fedora is perched lopsidedly upon his dome. Combined with the scarf, it quite completely obscured his face.
Despite his odd appearance, no-one in the crowd pays the man any mind. Except for Ms. Buys, who seems transfixed upon him. With strange effortlessness the man weaves his way through the crowd, and Ms. Buys is quick to follow him through the mass of people and off into the night...
As Kaoru pauses the recording, the clerk comes back with a handful of sushi boxes. ”Here you are. Any luck with finding him?”
- - -
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Shayera nods and says, "I'll have whatever you're having." She turns splits her attention between the screen and the vendor. "Coco's a mix. Part lab and part sneaky neighbor dog. But we love him even though he doesn't have a pedigree."
When the event occurs on screen, her attention focuses on all the possible clues that she could observe and deduce. She didn't have Alexandra's near superhuman powers of deduction, but she'd been trained to spot clues and take nite of relevant details. To be on the safe side, she also takes a photo of the man in the straw hat with her Abacus handheld. She exchanges a look with Kaoru and Cassie. "I think that might be him, don't you?"
yeah... well, by most standards, I'm not exactly virtuous. but you're probably right. just projecting. she says, letting Kaoru hold her I'm not. Alexis probably takes the prize for most heroic. Or wing, but she wasn't there. Alexandra says
She thinks for a moment, letting Kaoru's words hang in the air. because, I've been training for this. and he was... nobody. If I don't have the skills to take Him down... what's the point. Dad kinda has a complex about not having powers, really. I think he thinks it makes us better, more stable, even if we overindulge, because we don't have weapons strapped to us at all times. I kinda... let that get to me too, sometimes. she says
Alexandra's eyes don't go to Bronwyn as she replies, instead darting around, taking in the details of the surroundings.
You are cycling between a few outfits, likely what you were able to pack quickly, or had stashed elsewhere. you are arriving at school from a different direction than normal now. and I was stalking you for a little while, so I noticed a few changes in your schedule, consistent with you no longer religiously attending family dinners. She says
Speaking of... why aren't you stayign at HQ, with Wing... I mean, gods know I would be playing house with my beau till this all blew over if I were in your shoes. She says, smiling at the idea of having a few days with the house just her and... she didn't need to finish that thought. Not like we would judge. Cassie's got the whole dark mistress look going on, I'm not moralizing, Alexis is... if bunking means what I think it does... and Kay... well, I would talk to Him, if she started getting... yeah. she says, extending the olive branch
Kaoru felt her chest tighten uncomfortably as she quickly wrapped Alexandra in a fierce, if slightly awkward due to the cat in her lap, embrace. Why hadn't she gone when Alexis had called? Injured foot be damned! If she had been there, maybe they would have caught this a@&#@!~, and Alexandra wouldn't be feeling bad about it. Or if she were more like Chloe, she would know the exact right words to say to make her feel better. Why was she so terrible at this? Don't make this about you and your issues. You're supporting *her*. You're beyond the worst if you wind up making her make *you* feel better.
This was all stupid powered people's fault anyway. If they weren't around, Alexandra's dad wouldn't have issues and maybe he'd put less g*ddamn pressure on her. She wanted to punch all of them in their stupid faces. To wildly swing a battleaxe around and scream primally in challenge as she cut down any who dared even think about making Alexandra feel bad. Alexandra didn't deserve that. She deserved to know what an amazing person she was and to be told that. Not to be...judged by these a~!~*~$s.
She loosened her grip slightly. "Well, I think you're heroic. And amazing. And fk people who say otherwise." She sighed softly, "I wish you weren't so hard on yourself. It sounds like your dad already does that plenty for you. You don't need to double down on it. I...don't want you to feel bad. You don't deserve it." She paused, chewing on her lip as she tried to figure out how to express what she wanted to. "I'm not...good at knowing what to do or say in these kind of situations. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to...I dunno, I guess help. So if there's some way I can help, you should just tell me or whatever. Because otherwise I might just not figure it out." She looked away, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.
Kaoru was about to take a picture when Wingblade does it for her. When the vendor returns, she gave him a bright smile as she backed out of the camera feed to one that might be expected of them. Ok, he cares about his dog, so clearly he's a decent enough person. Connect to that to sell the story. Think about how you'd feel if Shadow went missing. Her throat closed up as suddenly her eyes started to sting. Sh*t, too much. Pull back! She took a deep breath to regain some sense of control. There was still an appropriate amount of emotion in her voice as she once again thanked the man. "Thank you so much. That's definitely him. That means there's not nearly as many places he could have gotten loose!" She turned to look at her companions once more, smile still plastered on her face. "Let's go see if we can't find our boy." Her hand raised to pat Wingblade on the shoulder, but she hesistated, an uncertain look flickering across her eyes. She quickly tried to cover the slip in her mask by using her other hand to offer Wingblade her ordered food as the offending hand quickly retreated to her pocket. She let the vendor keep any change as tip as she took her own order and walked outside.
Once away, she quickly droped her facade, replacing it with her normal, neutral mask. The bottle of green tea was probably safe enough to drink but she placed the rice ball conspicuously untouched not far from where a homeless man was eyeing her. Just because she was concerned about the place's hygiene standards didn't mean there weren't hungry people who were less picky. She took a sip from her tea.
"So boss, what's next? Should we update the others on what we've found? Not sure if they've managed to find anything interesting yet. Or using this new data, I could try to refine the earlier instrument search if Cassie thinks it'd be useful. We could also try to follow Ms Buys' trail along one of the unmonitored routes, but since it was several months ago, there may not be much left to find."
Cassie looked over at Kaoru. "Well, it can't hurt? From what I saw his charm is more potent than mine. Those people didn't notice him at all.... I think we probably wouldn't notice if he was walking past right now. I might be able to do something though, if we can find somewhere a bit private?"
Kilt is so surprised when Mercy hauls him to his feet and shoves him out the door, it takes him a solid minute to realize what just happened. In the hall, his face is dyed crimson as he boils with shocked rage. He lifts his fist to pound on the door, but stops himself mere millimeters from its surface. I can’t just get mad here! Well, okay, I’m pissed as all hell, but if I go off now I’m gonna scare Angelina! Then we might never find her mom and then she’ll be just like...!
He slowly lowers his fist, crosses his arms, and leans against the wall next to a surprised Detective Walters. ”...so...I’m guessing you did something to make your partner mad?”
Kilt’s brow furrows deeply. ”No. But she sure as f@$$ just pissed me off...”
Inside the interrogation room, Mr. Collins looks at Mercy with concern and confusion, but the commotion has managed to get Angelina to look up, tears leaking from her eyes. Slowly, they look away from Mercy to the drawings.
She thinks for a moment, purses her lips, then slowly reaches for a colored pencil.
Over the course of about an hour Angelina slowly fills in Mercy’s mysterious figure outline, stopping every now and then to quietly think or silently steel herself. The image she crafts is...not exactly what one would have expected.
The first thing she draws is a bright pink shirt with little white and green flowers on it. Next is a tan-colored hat, which she keeps uncolored long enough to erase a semi-circular divot into the figure’s head. Finally, she colors the figure a medium chocolate color, and puts an unnerving grin on his eyeless face.
When she finishes, her hands shaking, she slowly sets down the pencils and curls back into the chair. Under her breath, she mutters one word: ”Encantado...”
Mr. Collin’s eyes widen as he looks at the girl. ”Você disse Encantado?”
She nods. ”O Encantado levou mamãe...”
Mr. Collins slowly leans down and hugs her. ”...não se preocupe, pequenino. Nós vamos pegá-la de volta. Eu prometo.”
- - -
The clerk waves goodbye at the trio as they depart. ”Happy I could help! And good luck finding him!”
- - -
Alexandra and Bronwyn have not had much luck so far. The first two locations, a storage shed with many unmentionable magazines stashed inside and a patch of beach next to a sewer pipe respectively, proved to each be unpleasant in their own right, but not what the duo are looking for.
Pushing through the underbrush they enter the last location, a small clearing near the heart of the park that is almost completely hidden from the outside by a series of overgrown hedges. Trash, lost toys, and the odd empty beer bottle litter the ground, forming a veritable minefield of possible evidence. Alexandra finds herself compulsively looking over each and every bit, looking for any sign of the abductees or the kidnapper, but does not have much success.
Bronwyn, however, happens to glance upward into the boughs of a tree overhanging the clearing. Hanging from a low branch is a felt doll, a small bandana colored like the flag of Brazil tied around its neck like a cape.
Alexis takes a good look at the picture that Angelina has drawn for her, taking it from her and using her phone to take a picture. She then sends it via e-mail to Kaoru, thankful to know how to attach pictures into the digital letters. Angelina drew her mother's kidnapper for us. I hope this helps.
"She can keep the crayons and pencils," Mercy says to the translator, exiting the room and finding Shaun.
"We have a description of the kidnapper from Angelina. I e-mailed it to the group." She bluntly states. Something about wearing the armor, even altered, seems to change her personality. Like she's more of a soldier than a scared young girl.
She takes the picture and shows it to Kilt. "Memorize the details. We should go meet with the rest of the group," She tells him. Practically ordering him around.
Bronwyn can't help but smile faintly at the idea of 'playing house'
"I'm not really worried about what you guys would think, also, just 'cause Cassie wears short skirts doesn't mean she sleeps around either, but... honestly... I mean I know you wouldn't get it, but- Well no, I saw that smile when you thought about Kaoru.
How would you expect me to be good knowing she was Right There? God... I'd love to be there all the time. But, that's not where it would end, you know? And we're just too young to... to make the kinds of decisions we'd have to make."
Her embarrassed smile slowly fades until only an uncharacteristically hard look is left on her face. "And I'm not going to rely on her 'father' for anything. Look, I'm only telling you this because you actually can be patient, and you can keep a secret, but you know that her 'father' is from Reaver Technologies, right? Well, all Shayera's happy memories of him are fakes he implanted in her so he could use her as a human shield against Bran and Whippoorwill. They're far from flawless, but they're implanted deep. Whip thinks we need to let her undo them herself, and Bran and I have gone along with that so far.
"But... look. She loves buying me things, she loves spending that money to make her friends' lives easier, and I don't want to fight her over every dress and dinner. So I let her spend money on things I don't really need. But right now? I won't be dependent on That man, even if the money or clothes or a place to stay or whatever comes through someone I love. I won't let our first home be... I can't stay there."
***
"Mira-" she scrunched up her face at her slip, "Sorry, this whole thing has me thinking in Spanish, Look. Doll in a tree? I'm guessing there aren't any gangs who have switched off of shoes, right?"
She bends and casually knocks it free from the branch with a quick toss of a nearby stone. "Angelina's? Or something else?"
While she asked Alexandra, she tried to peer through the haze of enchantment that covered the park. "An item like this could be an anchor..."
Shayera nods to Kaoru and immediately sends out the image of the man in the straw hat to everyone's phone. She sends a text with it (since some people still have private accounts).
李秀英: OMG! Who'd wear a straw hat on New Years?
Tucking her phone away for the moment, she considers Kaoru's other suggestions. "If you think you've got more data to improve your search, I say go for it. If you want to keep that up every time someone finds something else, that'd be great, too. Oh, and good job with the video. I'm surprised at how fast you found that image."
Then she keeps a lookout as Cassie works her spell.
Kaoru took the image and forwarded to all the email addresses she had gotten, replying to Alexis' hand drawn image with it. She resisted the urge to make some comment about how theirs was probably more accurate.
She blinked as Wingblade essentially complimented her ability to navigate a file system. Is she being sarcastic or is she really that unaware of computers that she doesn't realize how easy that task was... The vision program had been several orders of magnitude harder. But then, it also hadn't turned up anything. Everything was always about results. And people assumed because they were good at interpreting visual data that computers should be as well. Which was why the entire field of Computer Vision had originally been given to one person to complete in a summer project.
Nevertheless, she narrowed her earlier search down to incorporate the new image of their target to try to reduce the amount of footage they had to look through.
As the program ran, she took the time to respond to Alexis' original email.
If expressing things is hard, not sure Shakespeare is the best example. I mean, people literally have to go to school to understand what the fk he's saying. But at least you haven't started emulating his old timey speech. :-P
Ok, so that responded to the one non-minefield paragraph. It was frustrating really. Every time it looked like she was getting through to Alexis, the other girl just turned around and increased the pressure. Again. Did she not realize that constantly reminding her of her romantic interest wasn't actually any better than constantly asking her out?
You realize there are multiple ways to like someone, right? You can like someone platonically or romantically. If you like someone romantically, you ask them out on a date to see if it turns into love. If you like someone platonically, you hang out as friends. You can't like someone romantically without knowing them, and it's wrong to date someone if you don't have that romantic interest for them. I don't know you, therefore I cannot date you. QED.
It was...probably rude to try to argue that since Alexis didn't know her, she couldn't actually be romantically interested in her and was therefore just confused in her feelings for her. Though that wouldn't really explain her feelings (jealousy?) about Alexandra. But, like, Alexis didn't know her. At all. So where was all this coming from anyway? It was confusing.
Kilt, his face still scrunched in anger, looks at the drawing, then into the room at the softly crying Angelina. He was happy to see the professor was being kind to her, but that was quickly overtaken by a different thought. "Did...did ye' make her cry?"
From down the hall, the sound of a door slamming into a wall can be heard. "WHERE IS SHE?!"
"Mr. Sousa please-!"
"DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO DEFEND THAT BRUTE! I WILL HAVE MY LAWYERS RIP THIS PLACE APART E PIN QUE CADELA DE UM HERÓI AO TELHADO DA CIDADE SALA COMO UMA BORBOLETA!"
Angelina's uncle's speech becomes unintelligible Protugese as Detective Walters quickly closes the door behind Mercy. "You two should get going. Now. Me and Hall will keep him busy and out of your way. Just...don't let today be in vain." With a grim look she rushes off to help her partner calm the ranting Brazillian.
- - -
Kilt is quiet. Quieter than Mercy has ever known him to be.
Throughout the time it takes the two of them to reach Waterfront Park, from changing into civilian clothes, to the Skyrail ride, to the walk to the park, Shaun is dead quiet, a look of cold fury on his face.
Two blocks away from the park, close enough to see kites flying above the treeline, he finally does something other than follow on autopilot. Without warning, he grabs Alexis's arm and pulls her towards a mostly abandoned café. His only explanation comes out as an angry growl: "We need ta' talk. Now."
- - -
Ducking behind a sunglasses stall for a moment, Cassie begins casting her spell as Shayera stands guard. Karou, meanwhile, takes the opportunity to plug in the new visual data. With a far more restrictive filter in place, the program both runs much faster and presents little risk of forcing a shutdown again. And after a few minutes of searching...
...there's a hit. And another. Another. Another one. And just a whole ton of hits.
As it turns out, fedora + guitar is a popular combination for street musicians in this park. Of those musicians, only about nineteen are dark in skin-tone. If the filter for pink shirts is applied, it narrows down the list to six, though it's dubious if the program's reading the colors correctly, as one of the found clips clearly has the performer in an orange shirt but he's standing next to a woman in pink. Furthermore, the program has no clue what to make of Angelina's clearly intentional head divot. Overall, it may not be a completely accurate suspect list, but it's a start.
- - -
Bronwyn focuses her senses in on the doll, but is having a pretty hard time getting past the magic haze. She tries to push through it, only for the magic to seemingly react against her and flare up!
Pulling back and blinking from the swell of magical energy, she does notice that the tag on the doll has been written on with sharpie: For my Angel, Love Momma
What must you know about a person to like them romantically? Height? Weight? Skills? Hair or eye color? What values must a romantic interest have for you to believe that you could date them? If it is a matter of time, how many hours are needed?
I am most confused by the idea that you must know a person first to date them. Why can't you date them in order to get to know them? Then decide afterwards whether you want to pursue them romantically and have further dates?
----
"No."
Mercy doesn't budge, and Kilt find himself attempting to try and wrest something far stronger than he is, staring up at his face without any amusement on it.
"We must locate the girl's mother and her kidnapper. We need to rendezvous with the group. We can speak afterwards, or on the way. We are on the job, and it is no time to stop and eat."
The girl blinks slowly as her stomach protests her decision. "...Some things are more important than food," She hesitantly says, slightly regretful. "Let's meet up with the others now."
Cassie looked around briefly, smiled, and then led Shayera and Kaoru down under the boardwalk. "This should do." she said, taking each of them by the hand and leading them towards a clean and dry section of sand. There, she walks in a small circle, using her heel to sketch a pattern in the sand. "OK," she said, taking a seat on the sand and indicating for the others to join her and link hands. [b]"I don't need you to do much. Just concentrate as hard as you can on that guy's hat. Sometimes these things work best if you don't try everything at once"
With that, Cassie closed her eyes and began breathing deeply letting the air in and out in slow controlled breaths and then breathing in and holding her breath.
"Τα νερά του Ληθή μέρος και εκθέτουν το άσχημο καπέλο"
The words spoken, her eyes open, glowing for a moment before fading back to normal. Looking up, she grinned. "OK, if that hat's around here I should be able to spot it I think."
Alexandra's eyes get a little misty, though she would never admit it. It's not that... I just... I should be... she stops as Kaoru keeps going, plowing through ehr objections... it was sweet. and then they get all quiet, and admit they don't know what they're doing. Not like any of us do. Sme smiles a little, lookign at him through blurry sight.
Just hug me, or kiss me, or whatever you're comfortable with... she offers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah... that's the bit I don't get. Me and Kay are... well, that's a whole 'nother thing. haven't done enough to make it real, barely even kissed, or had a real talk. but we keep winding up in each others arms... sorry, you don't need to... Sorry Alexandra says as she talks more than she should.
what is "good", in this context? They don't stone Fornicators anymore. Not like you two will get pregnant, and do you two really want to wait until "until death do you part" to find out about dysfunctions in that aspect? she asks
That bastard! Alexandra says as Bron tells her about Wing's "father". figured she was Vat grown. was real surprised when she started talking about a father. Should we have measures in place? something to use against him, if he ever chooses to push his control over Wing further? or if he crosses some other line? Something Wing doesn't know about.
Your "First House"... it it gonna be long enough to count as that... How big was this fracas? she asks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dunno, looks fairly abandoned She says But maybe Cassie could use it to she stops as Bron goes all funny, and Alexandra moves to catch her if she falls.
You okay, what happened?
Kaoru tightened her hug, attempting to both comfort Alexandra and hide her embarassment over the other option presented via the close proximity the action demanded.
If it would make her feel better, you should kiss her.
But...what if that just makes things worse? What if I don't end up liking her like that, and I just hurt her? I don't want to hurt her. I may not be able to protect her from other people, but shouldn't I be able to protect her from myself?
"You...probably don't want me trying to kiss you. I haven't...like...looked up how that works exactly if you're not...pulling away or whatever."
Wow, real smooth talker there, Casanova. Definitely see why the girls are all over you if that's how you respond to a pretty girl wanting to kiss you.
Shut uppppp.
*****
Kaoru sent out another email with the subject line "Possible culprits" to everyone with a link to the 19 possible street musicians as well as an updated map with the locations the images had been taken from.
She had just put her computer away when her phone buzzed once again. Things with the little girl must be slow if Alexis kept finding the time to email responses. That or for someone who really wants to be a hero, her priorities are seriously fked up. She was distracted by this long enough for Cassie to grab her hand. She immediately pulled free, scowling slightly. She could follow just fine without neading to be led, thank you very much. Though Alexis would have to once again wait for a response.
She had...mixed feelings about the fact that she was apparently expected to take part in this spell. She had really just expected Cassie to do her voodoo solo. She slowly kneeled (it would be easier to quickly get back up afterwards. In case that was needed for some reason). On the one hand, magic was cool. On the other hand, she wasn't sure how she felt about participating in something she knew so little about. Cassie could literally be casting a spell to do terrible things to her, and she would have no way of knowing it. Thoughts of how this could go terribly, terribly wrong kept popping into her head as she slowly extended her hands, allowing Cassie and Wingblade to hold them.
Despite her misgivings, she cleared her thoughts and focused hard on the hat. That dumb straw fedora. Really, why would you wear a straw fedora? It looked terrible and couldn't possibly be that comfortable. How silly would Silver Shadow look if she swapped out her hat for his?
As soon as the spell was over, Kaoru quickly pulled her hands back and stood up. "So I sent you all an email with the 19 possible hits for a dark skinned guy with a straw fedora and a guitar like we saw in the video footage. What did we want to do next?"
Alexandra accepts the hug gratefully.
You'll never get better if you- is as far as she gets before the second half of that sentence registers. me, or Jack?
What., Pulling away? what are you... oh... right. sorry about that whole "ambush kiss" think last week. she says, feigning innocent confusion.
Some rational part of Shaun was screaming to just listen to Alexis and keep walking. The part of him that was still cautious about the power she could bring to bear was also trying to nudge him in that direction, mostly by pointing out that he hadn’t even gotten her to even slightly move. But he stayed firm, and angry.
”Are ye’ serious?! I’m not talkin’bout f#%%in’ food!” He glances at the light foot traffic around them. ”I wanted ta’ take this conversation somewhere mo’ private, but since ye’ve decided ta’ be an a*#&!~# ‘bout thin’s...
”Ye’re outta line. Ye’ are not my boss, ya’ pushed Angelina too hard, an’ ya’ had no right ta’ shut me out, especially since I seem ta’ be ta’ only one of us who gives a shit as ta’ what happens ta’ her! Oh, that’s “the girl’s” name by-ta’-by. Angelina. I dunno if ya’ give a single f+++ ‘bout her, but I do, an’ if ye’ do anythin’ like that ta’ her again then ye’ won’t have a single f*&!in’ problem gettin’ some killer instinct outta me in trainin’!”
He huffs a frustrated sigh. ”I don’t get ye’. One minute ye’re a rage-machine, ta’ next some weird love-obsessed kid, ta’ next some heartless soldier! Pick a f%&@in’ personality! Ta’ worst part is that when ya’ actually act genuine ye’re not so bad, but ya’ just keep actin’ like 31 flavors of f*~#head! If ya’ want ta’ be a hero, then here’s rule number-f&@!in’-one: don’t scare ta’ victim of a villain! If we’re forcing people ta’ do what we want then we’re just as bad as the cunts we put away.”
He shakes his head. ”Do ya’ even know what ye’re doin’!? Do ya’ have any idea what she’s goin’ through?! She is scared, and confused, and just has ta’ hope that somebody will make this right f’her! Do ya’ have any idea what that feels like?!”
- - -
- - -
Looking around at the clearing, where the doll was found, as well as this location’s proximity to both an edge of the park and the shoreline, Alexandra determines that the doll was likely dumped here. The most likely cause is that the kidnapper used his mind manipulation to make the senator discard the doll, so she threw it and it became caught in the tree.
However, this leaves Alexandra with a curious question: why have your abductee throw away their child’s doll? And why did the senator throw it into a tree, as opposed to letting it get lost amongst the litter?
"What? Oh. Umm...that's...ok. I was just...surprised. But I meant...like...it's not..." Kaoru paused, trying to collect her thoughts and organize her rather frazzled brain. She cleared her throat to start again, carefully staring at nothing in particular. "It's...not like I haven't been kissed before. I have. I just...always pulled away. So I never really learned what you're supposed to do if you're, like, not immediately pulling away. Or I guess just standing there, which also seems like probably not what you're supposed to do. And it's not like books or whatever really explain any of that stuff when their characters kiss." ...sh*t, why did you just say that? "Y'know, like, between all the sword fighting and maiming and adventuring and all." Nice save.</sarcasm> "I should probably just...Google it...or whatever." Oh my god, please stop talking. Right now.
Alexis doesn't respond to Kilt as he blows up at her. He finds her standing there taking the brunt of his blowout, as pedestrians give them a wide berth while he shouts and hollers. Eventually when he finally stops, she speaks again quietly.
"Yes."
Her eyes brim with tears, but she wipes them clear for the moment, turning away from Shaun and heading into the park proper. Hoping to link up with some of the rest of the team, and not have to defend herself to Shaun for doing her best.
She taps into Shayera's comm, her breathing hitching a bit as she struggles to control her emotions. "W-We're here. Where s-should we start looking?" She asks, shaking a bit.
Bronwyn looks up at Alexandra, a very dry smile on her lips "I'm not gonna take advice on not getting stoned or lynched from the person who says that there's no threat in being outed as gay. But when did I say I was afraid of other people finding out if Shayera and I started getting... if I moved in with her?
"I don't want to because I think that making love to someone should be special. I'm not going to grab a cobblestone for what anyone else does with their life, but... I think this is one of the things marriage is for. It's for making a real promise that you're going to be with someone for the rest of your life, til death parts us, and all that." She gives a small smile to cover a real look of pain in her eyes. "Maybe even after death parts us. Don't you think a promise like that is worth waiting for?"
"But umm... just because we aren't doing stuff doesn't mean we are pretending it doesn't exist. We're in... kind of couples therapy. And yes, that means talking about... sex." At this point Bronwyn's face is almost glum. "She hasn't really had any good examples of good relationships growing up. And the problem with dating your best friend is that when you need to talk to someone about an issue in your relationship, you can't always go to her first."
"But... her 'father.' I guess it depends what kind of measures you're talking about. I still think Whip's right, this is going to be agony for her some day, but just forcing her to confront it... I tried that at first, a little. She can't hear it."
She really wanted to hit something, hard. But none of the trees nearby had done anything that deserved being turned into kindling. Also, you know, the whole secret identity thing.
"We'll see how long I need to couch surf, but it went pretty bad. They put bars over all the windows so that I couldn't see Shayera. That was before they knew we were girlfriends. I don't think I'd be standing if they'd kicked me out, so I told them I was going to stay with a friend until they were ready for me to come back, and ready to let me live the life I have, not the one they think I should.
"They haven't called. But then again, since they cancelled my phone service and my cards, maybe they have called, and I just haven't picked up." She said the last with a particularly bitter smile. "I'm not like, homeless though. If I really had to, I'm sure I could come back."
***
Bronwyn was on her way down, hard, when Alexandra caught her. What the hell was on that doll? "Whoa, thanks. I'm uh. Woof" She got her legs under her, stood up, and pitched right over again. "Okay. I'm just gonna sit for a while and... oh." She looked at the ripped knee in her leggings. One down, two to go? Damnit damnit damnit. What a stupid way to- Okay, no. There's a little girl who needs her mom. That's what matters.
"Yeah, sorry. Doll whammied me a bit. I'll be fine. Just need a second. It's Angelina's doll though. Can't have been put in the tree by mistake though. If it were just dropped it wouldn't..."
She shakes her head quickly to clear it. "She didn't just leave it. A mom wouldn't just abandon her daughter."
Shayera superimposes the three points onto her handheld Abacus device's map of Waterfront Park. As the information comes in from the other groups, she decides that they're already split into three groups, so they can cover ground the quickest that way.
"All right. Shaun, Alexis, good job. That picture tells us that we're on the right track. Kay's got us three locations of people wearing straw hats like the one in the picture I just sent out."
She checks everyone's location. "Alexandra and Bron, go to the first point, near Barkeley Fountain. Alexis and Shaun, there's a point close to the picnic grounds -- you're closest. Check it out. Kay, Cassie and me, we'll go to the one by the carousel. Keep in touch, we might need to move fast if we're right about this."
Shayera starts to hustle towards the large amusement ride near the boardwalk, expecting the others to follow her.
Shaun blanched as Alexis walked quickly away. ”...yes?” ...no. No. After the shitstorm she just whipped up I’m not gonna feel sorry for her! I’m not! She had that coming! I don’t care if she’s upset! I don’t! I don’t care. I don’t...
”...God damn it. Lex, wait!”
Pushing past pedestrians, he jogs to catch up with the girl. ”Lex, I, oh damn it, look I’m sorry just-...gah, f!$+ me. That came out worse than I meant it. I-I just, hey can ya’ please just stop f’a sec!” He hustles and puts himself in front of her path. ”Look, I...”
His mouth flaps, but no words come out. How the f@@* am I supposed to explain this without telling her about-? He swallows hard, trying his damnest to keep the worms under control. ”Lex, I’m sorry. I’ve...” Oh f!*~ it. ”I’ve been there too. I...I was there a long time ago but...it was bad. I just...I just don’t want Angelina ta’ end up where I was, okay? An’ I know ye’re kinda new ta’ just ‘bout everythin’ here, but if we can’t do this she’s gonna end up right where I was. An’, y’know, basically blow our chances w’ta’ Defenders...but that doesn’t really matter right now...” He clears his throat. ”Just...can we try ta’ keep ta’ merciless Mercy schtick aimed at ta’ a+%~@$&s please?” God I’m not good at this...
"I think I can keep track of the locations for a little bit." Cassie says over the comms, her eyes glowing with the power of her spell. "But it won't last forever. We need to move!"
Turning to Shayera she nods. "OK, but I'll need a bit of help. Whilst the spell's active I can't see all that much other than its target. You'll have to guide me a bit. OK?"
"...we're going to the picnic grounds," She tells Shaun as Alexis walks past him, glancing over her shoulder at the larger man.
"She will be okay. She has family that loves her. They will make her feel better," She tells Shaun, heading in the direction given and shutting out any errant thoughts for the moment.
She needed to focus entirely on the task at hand. The mission was important, not her little moments stolen in transport trying to figure Kaoru out and what he desired. Or how to make herself desirable to someone that she might like.
"...I am different in the armor. The armor numbs me. I am stronger in it. But it is only as strong as the wearer," She comments as she takes a look around the area. "I can't be the high school girl wearing it."
Kaoru rolls her eyes as talking starts coming in through the comms. "So much for looking normal with phones..." Nevertheless, she follows their stalwart leader towards the carousel.
Shayera takes Cassie's hand and guides her as they run-walk towards their designation.
She grins a bit as she sees Cassie's eyes glowing. "That's pretty neat, but it might be conspicuous. Would some sunglasses screw up your spell?"