Toronto’s SCARE offices are located on the west side of University avenue, not too far north of College street. They are housed in a nondescript building marked only with a Government of Canada sign. The building is home to several other government offices as well, including ones for the ministry of health, ministry of foreign affairs, and even the ministry of culture and heritage. The building blends in well with the area, as University street runs past the provincial parliament buildings, and has a number of government related offices on it, as well as several hospitals and buildings belonging to the University of Toronto. There is little in the way of shopping to be had on this downtown street, so it tends to be fairly free of tourists and shoppers.
The SCARE offices occupy the 11th, 12th and 14th floors of the building. A private elevator accessible only from the 14th floor can take one directly to three subbasement levels that also are used by SCARE. The subbasement levels require much higher security clearance to access, as they house more secretive and sensitive facilities than what can be found on the upper floors, which are largely administrative in nature.
It is a cold March morning in the year 2008, and you find yourselves sitting in one of the conference rooms on the 11th floor. Water and a platter with muffins and doughnuts sits on the long rectangular table. You know that you have been called in for mission briefing, and from the looks of it you might be here a while.
Your boss walks into the room. He’s a norm, and his name is Justin Crawford. He’s the director of operations for the Toronto branch of SCARE. He’s a well dressed man in his late thirties, and he has a military physique.
He has a dark expression on his face, and from the looks of things his mood is all business.
“Good afternoon gentlemen,” he says as he looks you over.
Manny looks up from his notepad computer, with which he seems to have been aimlessly surfing newsfeeds. "Good morning, boss." he says with an easy grin that looks out of place on his face, body shifting from the perfect posture of his surfing to an overly casual slouch, as he leans back in his chair and puts his arms behind his head.
He's in his usual 'casual dressy' clothes, a grey suit today, with a pink shirt that he probably couldn't get away with if his skin was lighter. His jacket is off and draped very precisely over the chair, to avoid wrinkling, and his notebook is similarly precisely angled. Everything about his appearance, from his scrubbed skin to his close shave to his meticulous hair screams of anal-retentive levels of efficiency and control, at complete odds with his laid-back posture and friendly expression.
Manny is recent transfer to SCARE and already a few rumours have been circulating regarding his supposed alien abduction.
Crawford looks at him, not really sure yet what to make of him. You get the sense from his look that he doesn't trust you nor does he particularly like you.
At one end of the conference table, a young boy can be seen fiddling with a mechanical ball, its electronic nature betrayed by the mess of wires currently spilling out of the device. A look of intense concentration is fixed on his face, and faint strains of music can be heard from the chunky headphones resting over the boy's ears, as he pays the others in the room little mind.
At first glance, one would wonder what a boy his age is doing in a place like this, with his scruffy black hair, faded blue jeans, black Halo 3 t-shirt, and old red and white Converse sneakers. That is, until one notes the ID badge prominently displayed on a lanyard around his neck, proclaiming him to be an agent and technical specialist for SCARE.
When Crawford walks in, the boy looks up, his hands still working on the device before him. "Hey boss. How did the boys over in R&D like my new toy?" He asks, a smile on his face. His voice seems oddly out of place, sounding far too intelligent for a boy his age. As he speaks, he rests his headphones around his neck, revealing a set of pointed ears - marking him as a Joker to some degree.
PHD:
For argument's sake, just pretend it was some kind of cloaking device.
Sitting across from Manny, Pixie stretches her arms above her head and settles back into a perfect posture. She is dressed in her standard briefing fare, a form fitting black leather jumpsuit zipped down the front to reveal a pristine white tank top. Her long black hair drapes down over her shoulders and spills out onto the tank top. Her movements are subtle and fluid as she casually leans back in her chair with a coolness of a cat settling into it's place for an afternoon nap. She glances quizzically for a moment at Manny wondering what he is doing with all those papers and then slowly scans down the table purposely ignoring the donuts and muffins. Her gaze settles in on then kid at the end of the conference table, he seems to adsorbed with some toy that he is playing with. Who is this kid? She wonders. Is he Manny's son or something? She didn't think so because she hadn't heard that Manny had any kids, plus she has never seen anyone bring family to the office before. She guesses that he must have some part in the next mission or at least the briefing. With a casual aloofness, as if none of this should really concern her, she centers her vision into empty space and clears all her thoughts. She reaches down to the floor and grabs a water bottle that she had placed by her chair, takes a sip and then puts it on the table to her right.
Finally the door opens and the Boss walks in. She sits up straight into that perfect attentive posture again and looks for eye contact with a smile. This is it, she can feel excitement welling up. She is anxious for her next mission and eager to hear the details in the briefing. This is a new start for what she really lives for. Everything else she call the 'recharge', and she is charged and ready to be set loose.
It is common knowledge among the agents of SCARE that SCARE's main R&D department is in Ottawa, and it's rise to prominence didn't occur until prodigy was recruited to the organization a year or two ago. Prodigy was only transferred to Toronto a few months ago, and this is his first field mission. This is also Manny's first field mission with SCARE. Pixie you and the other two (that haven't posted yet) have been with SCARE for a little while now and have completed at least a mission or two.
Spoiler for prodigy
After a year or two of them pouring money into the R&D department and keeping you in the lab, you started to get frustrated. When would this field work come along that they were promising? You were basically ready to walk out on them and take your brilliant mind elsewhere, when they finally agreed to give you a shot in the field. You have recently been transferred out of the labs in Ottawa and sent to Toronto. Toronto has some facilities for you to tinker in, but they are limited compared to those in Ottawa, though it isn't hard for you to go back and forth a little to use the Ottawa labs if you need them. This job is your first field operation.
Hope that works okay for you.
It is common knowledge among the agents of SCARE that SCARE's main R&D department is in Ottawa, and it's rise to prominence didn't occur until prodigy was recruited to the organization a year or two ago. Prodigy was only transferred to Toronto a few months ago, and this is his first field mission.
Spoiler for prodigy
** spoiler omitted **
PHD:
I also like the idea that Prodigy pretty much is the R&D department - it gives him the ability to make demands on SCARE.
One idea that was mentioned earlier was that he has a agency-supplied handler who can smooth over various issues to do with his (apparent) age and so on. Can it be a woman? Mainly because it would be fun to have Prodigy try to chat her up.
prodigy
PHD:** spoiler omitted **It is common knowledge among the agents of SCARE that SCARE's main R&D department is in Ottawa, and it's rise to prominence didn't occur until prodigy was recruited to the organization a year or two ago. Prodigy was only transferred to Toronto a few months ago, and this is his first field mission.
Spoiler for prodigy
** spoiler omitted **
I'll wait until the players have all introduced their characters and then I'll get this thing moving.
OOC: I apologize for the delay.
Joseph Charme is an attractive man in his mid to late 20's. He has warm, inviting, light-green eyes and a broad smile. He is dressed in a grey, two-button, single breasted Ralph Lauren. His hair appears to have taken him and hour to get the perfect, just out of bed look.
He introduces himself to everyone in the room and offers a firm handshake attempting to evaluate his fellow agents. He tries to make small talk before Mr. Crawford arrives.
Joseph, you already know Pixie and Kronos. You've heard that there has been a new transfer to SCARE- this Manny Marquez fellow, and you've heard some odd rumours about him to do with him being abducted by swarm aliens and experimented on. Prodigy is also new to Toronto, though you've heard that he's been the heart of the R&D department in Ottawa for a couple of years now. Strangely enough he looks to be like a 14 year old kid.
Crawford you know quite well, and he's always seemed to like you, as most people do. He smiles at you when he enters, though he doesn't give the same look to the others. He seems to have a certain amount of disdain/distrust for the other agents. Pixie is certainly odd looking, what with the faerie wings and the stinger tail. Manny looks pretty normal, but there seems to be something a little off about him (you know how it is after aliens supposably operate on you). Is playing with some gizmo that seems to keep making odd noises and you can hear the sound of muffled music coming from his headphones. At least Kronos looks pretty normal and Crawford doesn't seem to mind him.
“Well I know you aren’t here to eat doughnuts and drink coffee and water, so let’s get down to business. There has been an incident at the Maniwaki Ridge penitentiary in Quebec. As you probably know Maniwaki Ridge is a prison specifically designed to incarcerate wildcarders, particularly aces with dangerous powers. Last night there was a riot and a breakout. Only a single prisoner escaped, his name is Gregor Kazinski, but he is better known as the Cannibal. He’s a joker/ace of significant power. He is known to be capable of taking the forms of other people, but in order to do so he must first devour a portion of the body of the person he wishes to mimic. It is believed that this ingestation of genetic material somehow allows him to replicate or mimic aspects of their DNA, and thus take on a victim’s appearance- hence, the name “The Cannibal”. It is also suspected that he can absorb the memories of his victims if he consumes their brain tissue.
We’re still trying to piece together the details of the breakout. We know that one of the guards, a man by the name of Alain LaPointe, was responsible for releasing several prisoners from their cells, including Kazinski. This initiated the riot. When the riot was brought back under control LaPointe’s naked body was found on the floor of Kazinski’s cell. Security tapes have shown that Kazinski ate part of LaPointe’s arm, took LaPointe’s form, put on his uniform and left. We assume that he managed to escape in the chaos of the riot. He has not been seen since.
The RCMP and the penitentiary are in the midst of an investigation of the incident and are trying to piece together exactly what happened. We’ve been called in to help. Our primary objective is to retrieve Kazinski. We’re currently trying to compile as much data on him as we can to aid in the investigation.
Here’s what we know about Kazinski…”
At this point Crawford goes to his laptop, which he has put on the table, and he activates the data projector, which projects onto a screen at the end of the room. He calls up mug shots of Gregor Kazinski- aka “The Cannibal.”
The man is in prison garb. He has a strange looking face. His head is shaven; he has a protruding brow that vaguely reminds you of Christopher Lambert. His eyes are gray, and he has an abnormally large chin and jaw. His skin has a strange necrotic complexion.
According to the records on the screen, Gregor weighs 295 lbs and stands 7’10” tall when he is in his true form. He has been labeled a Joker/Ace.
In addition to being able to assume the forms of others, he is known to be able to manipulate his molecular structure to some extent. This allows him to change the texture and density of his flesh and bones to make them highly malleable or incredibly dense and strong. He has used this ability to strengthen his nails and teeth to make them very strong, and they can essentially serve as fangs and claws as needed. He is known to be exceptionally strong, but the extent of his strength is unknown. It is also suspected that he may be able to use his ability to manipulate his molecular structure to heal himself at rate significantly faster than an average human.
All this is presented in a slick Powerpoint slide show by Crawford.
Crawford continues:
“Kazinski is has been incarcerated since 2001. In 1998 he was arrested for the murder of a man named Dexter Kean. Dexter Kean was a wealthy Toronto resident, and media baron. He was on the board of directors of several television networks. He was known to be very much opposed to the free existence and rights of Wildcarders, and through the late 80’s and 90’s he used to his influence in the media to ensure that wildcarders were portrayed in a negative light as often as possible. I’m sure you’ve heard of Kean and all this business. It was all big NEWS back then. Kazinski killed Kean in 1996 and assumed his identity for two years before it all broke open and he was arrested. During that time Kazinski/Kean ended his anti wildcarder fear mongering and began channeling much of his wealth into various Joker and Wild Carder rights organizations. This aroused suspicion among some of Kean’s fellow rich anti wild carder friends, and eventually resulted in Kazinski’s deception being discovered.
Kazinski is suspected to have contacts with several organizations such as, Joker Amnesty International, The Joker Anti-Defamation League, and the Twisted Fists. It is known that these are among the organizations that he contributed money to when posing as Dexter Kean.
We aren’t sure what Gregor’s plans are now that he is out of prison. However, given the nature of his powers he could be very difficult to track down. Still, we need to try and find him fast. He has the potential and the will to cause all manner of trouble.
I think it might be best if you begin your investigation at the crime scene and head to Maniwaki.
Any questions?”
Joseph raises his hand to indicate he has a question.
Assuming Mr. Crawford acknowledges. “I am assuming Mr. Kazinski can mimic other individual's voices as well as take their form. Can he mimic their scent? Is the agency aware of any means of telling the difference between Mr. Kazinski and one of his victims?”
“May we have a list of the names and addresses of the contacts Mr. Kazinski made while posing as Dexter Kean?”
Joseph then turns to look at his fellow agents. “I also suggest we come up with a code word to verify we are who we appear to be. If Mr. Kazinski is able to absorb memories, it will not matter much. However, if he does not have the opportunity to get a brain, a code word may be quite valuable.”
Crawford nods to Charm
"Good questions Charm. I like a man who uses his head.
As far as we can tell, Kazinski's ability to mimic others is very accurate, as he essentially is altering aspects of his DNA to mimic their own.
However, I have some psych reports from the prison that I've glanced over, and it seems that due to absorbing the memories of victims he has been diagnosed with a form of disacociative identity disorder. Essentially he has started to loose his grasp on reality and who he really is. This may prove useful in helping to detect him if he has assumed a new identity.
I can acquire a list of names for you. In fact we have people working on that right now, but it's taking a little bit of time."
I think in this particular case you would essentially be using your powers to relive in your mind times that you had personally seen stories on the News or read stories in the paper about Kazinski. You would be reliving these events in your mind, so that they would once again become fresh in your memory.
Make a power check
The list compiled by the boss is actually being compiled by lackeys and is happening as you speak. It will be finished in the future, so you would need to use precognition to figure that one out.
Make a second powers check for that.
Kronos simply nods. He considers looking into the future to gain information. Kronos then closes his eyes and looks past the veil of time and looks at the list compiled by his boss, as well as pertinent news reports.
As far as we can tell, Kazinski's ability to mimic others is very accurate, as he essentially is altering aspects of his DNA to mimic their own.
Only one part of their quarry particularly stands out to the young man, and he turns of his music to take a bigger part in the meeting.
"If its only aspects, do we have a sample of his base DNA? Or, if it's total replication, do we have a sample of his latest known victim? I could probably throw something together that will help us track him down by targeting his DNA strand." He says, his voice sounding far more mature than he appeared. "It wouldn't work at great range, but it could give a positive ID in a crowded room maybe." He said, sounding excited about the prospect of going into the feild.
OK, I understand that his ability to mimic others is very accurate, and that he is altering his own DNA to mimic theirs. However, I assume that he never loses his power to mimic. I would further assume that this power must be one part of himself that is consistent from form to form. If we could identify where this power manifests in his physical body (or DNA) and I learn to recognize it, I could shrink to atomic size and attempt to detect him.
Crawford looks to prodigy
"We don't have any samples of his DNA unfortunately, nor that of his victim, but I believe that they might have samples at Maniwaki Ridge. Both yours and Pixie's ideas may work to help identify him."
Manny looks disturbed at first mention of an individual eating parts of other people, but visibly shakes that off and listens attentively, first to Crawford's presentation, and then to his new partners suggestions. Once they have offered their first impressions, he cuts in;
"From a less science-fiction sounding stance, his dissociative issues make it possible that he might be drawn to places, or individuals, that were familiar to Dexter Kean. He spent two years in that form, after all. Some old-fashioned detective work might be useful in isolating where to take this fancy DNA-detector or whatever."
"There is also a chance that he might feel drawn to surroundings familiar to Alain LaPointe, although this would be less likely, as he has good reason to 'ditch' this form as quickly as possible, and he didn't consume any brain tissue from LaPointe, which means he shouldn't have any special knowledge regarding LaPointes home or family." He pauses, having dismissed this notion in his mind, "No, I think places that he frequented as Dexter Kean, and, most particularly, anyone he lived with at the time, would be the first place he'd go to find someone familiar. Killers tend to prefer the familiar, and it sounds like he may suffer from some disorientation from his condition, and be in more need of 'familiar' than most."
Turning to Crawford, Manny asks, "Did Dexter Kean have a wife, or live-in family situation? It may be useful to discretely check out the property where he lived, as well, although I doubt we'd be so lucky as to find him there still in the guise of Alain LaPointe..."
“Agreed. Excellent points, Mr. Marquez.” Joseph allows a moment pause to disassociate his rebuttal from the praise.
“However, I do not think we can skip Maniwaki Ridge Penitentiary altogether. Considering it is a crime scene, any clues left will have a very short half-life. Also, it is possible Mr. Kazinski has developed a new agenda since living as Mr. Kean.”
“It is my opinion we should investigate Maniwaki Ridge first. Then, unless we find overwhelming evidence which leads us somewhere else, we follow up with Mr. Kean’s family and associates.”
Joseph returns his green eyes to Manny looking for buy in from his comrade.
“It is my opinion we should investigate Maniwaki Ridge first. Then, unless we find overwhelming evidence which leads us somewhere else, we follow up with Mr. Kean’s family and associates.”
Manny looks apolegetic at not having been clearer and hastily accedes, "Agreed. Obviously the DNA detector won't be useful if we don't have DNA to sample. My suggestion was for places to go *after* we get the necessary DNA."
Corrected for effect:
Joseph smiles warmly. “I think I just misunderstood you. We are of the same mind.”
Joseph looks at the rest of the team.
"Well, yeah, getting a sample is important - and hey, if you know where we can find this guy, all the better - I'll just make the thing to find him." Said the boy, his tone becoming more childlike in it's delivery.
"I hope he puts up a fight - I can't wait to try out my latest toy!" He said, snapping the cover closed on the metal orb he had been playing with the entire time, and several green display light flickered on.
"I'm gonna need a little time to get the detector happening, boss." He said, leaving his chair and wandering towards the door. "How long is the trip going to be? If we've got at least an hour or so, I could probably knock something together in transit, otherwise, I'm going to need some time here to get it done."
"Of course, once we've got the sample, I'm probably going to need some time to calibrate it for his unique DNA strand." He mused to himself, lost in an impossibly technical train of thought.
"Oh, and for those of you who don't know, the name's Michael. Most of the folks around here call me Prodigy - I'm sure you smart guys and doll can figure out why." He said, by way of introduction. "And if you're still lost, I'm real good with machines. They just sorta like me."
"And if you're still lost, I'm real good with machines. They just sorta like me."
Joseph smirks to himself.
After 'Prodigy' has left the room, Manny looks to Crawford with a raised eyebrow,
"That young man, Michael, will be going on a field mission? Isn't he support personnel, and aren't there some sort of child endangerment laws about that sort of thing?"
"Or are we simply expected to not let him get into trouble..." he asks warily, leaving the word 'babysitter' unspoken, but still hanging there.
Does Joseph know any more about Mr. Carter other than he has been the heart of R&D?
Well-Informed, Gather Information +15 I will take 10 if allowed. If not, please roll for me as I have no dice here at work and if I can not trust the GM, who can I trust?
Crawford listens to all the various discussions.
"There's a couple of other important questions we need to consider that I think haven't come up yet.
1. Why did this prison guard let these guys out in the first place? This riot was no accident. LaPointe intentionally instigated it.
2. Given that, was his goal then to use the riot as a cover to free Kazinski, and if it was, was he expecting Kazinski to suddenly turn on him?
There's quite a bit going on here guys, which is the reason I want you at Maniwaki ridge ASAP. However, I'll stand by what I said before- our main objective is to get Cannibal back into custody, but we need to know what else is going down as well."
"For those of you who aren't aware, Michael is in fact in his twenties. His wildcard physiology prevents him from aging the way most of us do. It's quite remarkable really, and yes he will be going into the field."
"We are currently compiling as much info on Dexter Keane and Kazinski as possible, expect e-mails over the next day or two. However we need the crime scene investigated before it gets cold."
Spoiler for Kronos
At the time when his identity as Keane was blown- Keane was 47. He had an ex-wife (who he'd been divorced from for 5 years- so they had more or less been out of touch). He had a 15 year old daughter from the marriage, who was in custody of the mom. He paid alamony to the mother. His own mother was dead, but he had a father who was 73 and lived on his own in Calgary- they didn't keep in touch. During his time as Keane, Kazinski also started dating a woman named Oliva Lee. Oliva was a staunch activist and supporter of Wild card rights, she worked as a nurse in the Wild card ward of the Princess Margarett hospital where she treated people who were dying from the virus. She was devastated when she found out that truth of Kazinski's deception.
Looking into the future many of these names will be provided, as the data jockey's collect info for you. It will also come to light that as Keane he wasn't known to have any real contacts with any of the organizations he was donating money to. He was basically a silent patron.
You also sense a news of a second murder victim in Maniwaki Ridge. The police are about to discover the body of blonde woman in her late 20s in the home of Alain LaPointe. The woman's identity is unknown and she is not a local.
Power Checks (1d20+8=17, 1d20+8=26)
"Maniwaki Ridge Penitentiary it is. Let us not keep the warden waiting."
"Be ready to leave in an hour. We'll shuttle you to the Toronto Island Airport. We have a private VTOL carrier being readied to take you to Quebec. They've been informed that you are on your way, and expect you early this afternoon."
"There's a couple of other important questions we need to consider that I think haven't come up yet.
1. Why did this prison guard let these guys out in the first place? This riot was no accident. LaPointe intentionally instigated it.
2. Given that, was his goal then to use the riot as a cover to free Kazinski, and if it was, was he expecting Kazinski to suddenly turn on him?"
Manny looks at Crawford sideways, as if just noticing him and finding him curious. "I assumed that was part of our mission, to find out who used Alain LaPointe to spring Cannibal. The man obviously didn't volunteer to get eaten."
"The only question in my mind is whether LaPointe was duped or coerced." he looks up for a second. "I got $5 says he was duped. By a woman whom he thought loved him." He smiles at that, eyes returning to Crawford. "No reason really, I just think that would be a good story."
Manny listens attentively to Agent Kronos' report.
"Good intel. After the prison, a chat with miss Oliva might be in order. If his dissociative issues rise to the fore, she may be in danger, either because he's having an episode, and believes that they are still together, or because he doesn't want to have any episodes and feels that he has to kill off any ties from the conflicting lives to keep things straight in his head..."
Prodigy pointedly ignores all of the comments about his age, but nods respectfully to Crawford when he steps in to defend the boy. "Well, we've got a plan of attack. I suggest we get moving, hey?" He says, still standing near the door.
"Boss, I'll need to grab some stuff from the lab, I'll meet you all at the craft shortly." He says, finally leaving the room.
PHD:
He'll meet up with the others at the VTOL craft.
Joseph heads to the VTOL hanger stopping by several of his friends in the office to see how they are doing.
Manny also gets up and heads to his desk to get his gear ready to go, including taking his handgun out of a locked drawer, where he keeps it when he isn't going out on a mission.
He then heads to the hangar, somewhat surprised to find that this unit has it's own air transport, and doesn't have to take a car to the airport helipad like the FBI unit to which he'd been previously attached.
I guess I better make sure; are S.C.A.R.E. agents authorized to carry concealed firearms? I assumed they are like the F.B.I. in the U.S. and armed while on duty.
Sitting down at the far end of the table; is a bigger than average man in loose fitting stretch knit casual clothes of black slacks and a white turtle neck shirt with M&M&M monogrammed on the left breast; he is wearing purple shades and appear to be uncomfortably squeezed into a chair that creaks when he leans forward. Only his heavy black size 20 hiking boots seem a little out of place with his otherwise business casual garb...guess they dont make to many dress shoes that size.
(sets an empty tray aside)
"Excuse me please, would you pass that other platter of muffins and some more drink down to this end of the table, thank you kindly"
"Prison break; bad guys; round em up; keep it low profile; got it"
gives a hearty thumbs up to the team and a nod to Joseph.
Pixie flies out of the room for the VTOL.
I suggest a team huddle; course that moth done flown the coop; be we all might aught come up with a watchword sentence type thing that only we know so ifn that shapeshifter tries to assume our identity; we have a code word; prolly aught change it each day; waddaya think?
Pixie and Prodigy easily have their own methods of getting to the air port, but as for the others...
Let me make it clear. SCARE isn't exactly SHIELD. They don't have near the funding or technology you might find in those other comic book espionage type organizations.
It is expected that SCARE agents carry a semi-automatic sidearm in the field- a 9mm Glock is standard issue.
SCARE has a access to 2 VTOL aircraft, and they own a private hanger at the Toronto Island airport where they normally have one of these vehicles. The other is usually stationed in Ottawa. Toronto island sits in Lake Ontario just a quick fairy ride from the harbor front. A driver takes the agents via car to the Queen's Quay dock (about a 10-20 minute drive depending on traffic) where a private boat meets the team and shuttles them across the bay (5 minute boat ride) to the airport. From there you can load into the VTOL and head to Quebec.
You will have some time in the plane for any last minute discussions/plans you wish to make.
Tomorrow when I post you will be landing in Quebec.
heights arent really my thing if one of youse guys wants a window seat; so, you guys been at this long; used to be a bouncer down at Shanty Hill's place; not a bad gig; but hours are late and the smell of beer and puke get tiresome; am new to this biz. I am not to familiar with firearms other than our basic training; figure I mostly will keep mine holstered so ifn youse guys needs me to carry some extra or need my loads; let me know.