In Dreams to Come

[GenericMook]

Erin nods, and takes another step into the office. "We got Brace, ma'am. He's being held by the members of my task force as we speak, and ordered the other mercenaries to stand down. SIDE should be on scene within a minute, but the fighting is done. All that's left now is to account for the hostages and for SIDE to handle the processing and clean-up. Is there anything you need, now that this situation is over?"

[DukeGod]

"Wait, Brace? What was the ritual you were planning on?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Mayor Hawkens nodded, putting away her gun. "No. The people he took hostage, were they harmed?" she asked, walking briskly from the office and heading for the stairs.

--

"It was designed to-" he began to explain, but halted himself. "Hmm. No. If you want to interrogate me, I do believe it will be on the record and with my attorney present, thank you."

[Dorni]

Simon

"Suit yourself, but you might want to consider making friends. Its half after noon and there's no way you had time to close a contract with the Breaker Initiative this morning. So either you had some other op in mind and changed it at the last second, or you had prior warning of the disappearances. Either way blows a hole in your defense as a distraught father. Refusing to cooperate is only going to make it worse." Disinterest in his tone didn't keep him from watching Brace like a hawk, hoping the warlock would give something away.

His tone softened. "That, and we're already on a mission to find your daughter and the rest who vanished. Sharing anything you know will only help us find her sooner."

Spoiler: OOC

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If relevant, Insight (1d20+12)[20] to read Brace's reaction. Persuasion (1d20+10)[22] to appeal to his self interest & love for his daughter to convince him to share anything he knows about the disappearances.

Also want to see if I can determine whether he reacts more strongly to keeping his own hide out of jail or appealing through his daughter.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Whatever he might have been feeling, Brace kept a studious poker face, and spoke as if they were discussing the weather. "Oh I will be quite happy to talk with you - once I have received legal counsel."

Rylan's voice manifested in Simon's head. ~Based on the guy I read, Brace hired these guys two weeks ago, and apparently has been in negotiations with them for a month. I just tried to get a read on Brace, but the guy's disciplined. I can't get through.~

[GenericMook]

"Actually, ma'am, we haven't. The rest of my team is watching over Brace as we speak, and I'm the only one away from the scene. The first person my second-in-command and I agreed to check up on was you. Or rather, we agreed to check on your office. Before I do a sweep of the building, do you have any idea where the others might be held?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I wasn't aware he had hostages until you mentioned them," she answered, although it became a moot point as they reached the lobby, where they could see the Harems escorting the last ones outside.

[Dorni]

Simon

The soldier grunted. Brace had a good poker face and if he wasn't going to talk without a lawyer, then that was that. Happened all the time. "Alright, if that's how you want it."

[Quellian-dyrae]

The sirens were plain to hear now, as SIDE arrived. It was the first Combat Unit; eight agents and two power-armored captains, each group of five in an ACV - an Aerial Combat Vehicle, basically a flying van that forgot it wasn't a tank. One ACV landed out front on the street, the other in the rear parking lot.

Since Erin had already informed them that the enemies had been neutralized, they simply landed and got out. Four of the agents headed into the building to clear it, going about the process with professional efficiency and not saying anything to the heroes aside from maybe a quick identity check. The other four went to get statements from and assist those former hostages that hadn't already left the scene. The captains, on the other hand, made their way to Simon and Erin respectively, the former securing Brace with power-dampening cuffs, while the latter's first move was to confirm that the mayor was alright. The warlock didn't resist, and the mayor assured the captain that no effort needed to be spent on her account.

The captain near Erin asked, "Anything you can tell us?" with the usual professional courtesy she got from SIDE.

The one by Simon asked, "Are there any other suspects?" She was clearly looking over the discarded suits of powered armor, although her expression was hidden behind her own armor's full helmet.

[Dorni]

Simon

"Affirmative. Brace contracted approximately 50 soldiers from the Breaker Initiative. About 30 of them participated and the remainder were somewhere off-site. The mercs that participated in the attack have withdrawn - Brace here surrendered and released his hostages on the condition that we allow his men to go. The powered armors were theirs. They left their suits behind as part of their surrender. We're turning them over to you for processing."

[GenericMook]

"There are actually several oddities that have showed up. First is how Brace managed to get mercenaries here in such short notice, especially with the chaos caused by the Disappearance. Second is the fact that he took one of the most fortified civilian complexes in Adaros with surprising speed. It doesn't add up. There's way more to this than just the hostage situation, but what, I'm not sure. Aside from that, well, you'll probably want to get someone to clean up the roof."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Alright then, we'll get to the processing. If there's anything else, let us know," the captain near Simon said, before taking Brace to one of the ACVs.

"I see. We'll have Brace processed by tomorrow morning. If you and your team want to be there when we interrogate him, you're welcome to." On the whole, SIDE was savvy enough to know that "There's way more to this..." meant keeping the Heroes in the loop was an Almost Certainly Good Idea.

Spoiler

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And I'm pretty much out of plot for this scene. If you guys want to discuss matters among yourselves or talk more with Brace or the SIDE agents or the mayor or whoever, feel free. Let me know if/when you're good and I'll move things forward.

[Born]

With everything wrapping up around City Hall, Eric decided to tie up a loose end that had been bugging him during the operation. He carefully made his way past the investigators and SIDE agents toward Treetop, intent on balancing some of the pain from earlier with a little joy to tilt the Heart a little more toward its good side. As soon as Treetop finished giving statements to the investigators and was far enough away that not everyone could hear, Eric approached the young heroine.

"Uh, Treetop. About the stuff I said before we started the operation about your tree... I'm sorry about that. Sometimes when I get into the mindset I need to use my powers, it sort of... takes over. Can you forgive me?" Eric reaches out his right arm, transforming it from vine into regular appendage as he does so, and offers it to Treetop.

[Dorni]

Simon

"Of course." Simon watched as SIDE took Brace away. If he was going to try anything it would have been before now, but there was no reason not to be careful. "There is one more lead to follow up on. Brace mentioned something about a ritual and I need to talk with the Captain about it. I'm going to find her now, come with and we can wrap this up."

At the officer's reply, Simon headed back into the building to find Phoenix. It didn't take long to find the Captain in the lobby along with the mayor and another SIDE officer. "Captain!" he called as he approached.

He must have looked odd, surrounded by SIDE officers, the mayor, and the brightly costumed Phoenix wearing his now torn button-up. The soldier chuckled at the idea. "I apologize for interrupting, but before SIDE arrived Brace mentioned a setting up a ritual in the mayor's office. He didn't say much else, but he implied that he believed it could bring back his daughter. Did he have anything set up when you arrived? And Mayor Hawkins, did Brace say anything about his plans before we arrived?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Treetop gave a casual laugh, shaking Eric's hand. "Hey, no worries man. I was a bit more defensive than I needed to be myself. We're cool." She thought for a moment, and added, "Although if you think your powers are affecting your personality, you might want to talk with someone about it. That kinda stuff can be pretty serious."

"I have to keep an eye on the suspect. Captain Waller should be inside though, you can talk to him about it," the outside captain replied.

The mayor blinked once at the sudden question, but schooled herself quickly. "To be honest, it's all kinda hazy. I remember hearing the gunfire and the explosion, two of the guards coming to escort me out...he came flying up the stairs. I remember his eyes...I got a good look at his eyes and then..." she trailed off with a shrug. "All I can really remember after that are the orders he gave me. Those are vivid. Stand here. Sit down. Be quiet. Don't move. The rest is a blur."

[GenericMook]

Erin waits for the Mayor to finish before giving a somewhat professional shrug.

"I'm not too sure, honestly. There were books, papers, some plastic bags and a few bottles. If they didn't look out of place, I might have confused them with the mayor's property. That, and there was a knife on the table. I'm not really equipped to tell you what exactly the materials would do, but we could look through the Regional Commander's notes and puzzle out what they do."

[Born]

Eric was glad Treetop was taking this well, but he felt the need to got just a bit futher for the sake of the Heart. "Maybe I should talk to someone about it. But first, let me just do one thing for you."

With a little bit of concentration and effort, Eric was able to call on the effect he needed from his plant side. He wrapped his vines gently around Treetop's favored weapon, and gave it a little bit of life. Enough for the wood to start looking healthy, and even leaves to sprout from its renewed branches. Though somewhat fatigued from his efforts, Eric couldn't help but admire his work.

"It won't live very long out of the ground, but this should make the wood a little more resistant to warping for a little while and also reverse some of the damage it has taken from bashing villains' faces. It should allow you to use it for a little while longer, at least."

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Using a little bit of Extra Effort to breathe some life into Treetop's tree as a Power Stunt. Let me know if I have to actually define the specifics, but I was thinking something like an plants-only resurrection Healing or some such.

[Dorni]

Simon

"And if the Regional Commander's notes aren't enough, I'm sure SIDE or the Assembly can put us in contact with someone who can make sense of the ritual. I'm concerned about Brace saying we'd managed to blow holes in both his plans."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Treetop looked at the revitalized tree with some shock. "That is...really cool," she said with a bright smile. "Thank you, Eric."

[Quellian-dyrae]

SIDE finishes securing and processing the scene in good time. They collect all the evidence - including the powered armor and the components on the mayor's desk - for processing. Officially, the job of Heroes is done - but some words to the effect that SIDE wouldn't particularly mind if any Heroes elected to investigate the matter further were said in conveniently close proximity.

City Hall was officially closed for the rest of the day, although as she and the few staff members who were still on scene left, there was a bit of talk about a ceremony for their rescuers.

There were no further incidents that day, giving the Heroes time to attend to their own tasks, conduct their own investigations, or take some time for themselves or with those close to them - or those that remain, in any event.

The next morning, around 8:00 AM, formal invitations are extended to any heroes who wish to be present for Brace's interrogation.

Spoiler

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You all have some time to do whatever - plot stuff resumes at eight the next morning. If you all want to post generally what you're doing and where you end up at that time in a single post, that's fine and I'll resolve anything you do as part of my next post. Alternately, if you have more elaborate things you want to do, we can do some individual back-and-forth scenes and once they're all largely resolved timeskip whatever time remains. Either way works for me, but I'd prefer to go with a majority decision.

[DukeGod]

It had been a busy day. After the rescue, Gestalt went on the television to do his part on talking about the disappearances. There were of course a number of Reclaimer on scene, something that left Gestalt rather annoyed and only by sheer luck didn't the whole thing devolve into an all-around brawl.

Still, the next day, he showed up for Brace's interrogation, without any disasters having been caused

[Born]

Following the events at the City Hall, Eric needed some respite. When he was done answering questions for the SIDE agents, he headed off to find an unobserved place to change back into his human form before walking to the local Deionist temple. He wasn't surprised by how many of the parishioners who were praying there today. Silently, he found a place to takes some time off for prayer. For the first time in a while in his otherwise-uneventful life, Eric prayed for Balance rather than Chaos in the Nature. The last thing Adaros needed right now was more craziness.

Before he would go back to his own home at the end of the day, Eric decided to pay his mother another visit. On the way, he pondered the possibility of joining the Hero Corps. The taste of action he'd had today reminded him how capable he was in actual combat. In addition, with much of Adaros's Hero Corps missing, they would need some new members to keep up with the inevitable tide of problems that would arise in the wake of the Disappearance. Eric would put that off for now, however, as he focused on comforting his family. He realized he hadn't even thought to check in on his friends during the day, either.

Eric was not interested in attending Brace's interrogation. Nonetheless, he endeavored to meet up with the others who had been involved to see if there was any more he could help with.

[GenericMook]

The rest of Erin's day was, simply put, hectic.

She returned back to the Hero Corps HQ, and spent the rest of the day in Arcanis' study, comparing the Regional Commander's notes with various case files and communicating with SIDE about the materials found in the office. All of that was between answering calls from various Assembly agents filing their own reports on the incident at City Hall.

What she finally pieced together was surprisingly disturbing, but Erin compiled all of her notes into a single folder, setting it aside to bring along for the interrogation. The Captain of the now-defunct Vanguard Five left Arcanis' study just past midnight, and didn't bother leaving the Hero Corps HQ to return back to her apartment.

The next morning, Erin was present at the SIDE facility, ready to witness Brace's interrogation with the research that she'd compiled.

[Dorni]

Simon

As night fell, Simon was doing housework.

After the mission, SIDE had granted Simon access to the database of the missing that the agency was compiling. He'd spent the rest of the day investigating – analyzing the data, checking with his contacts in SIDE and OUT-SIDE and keeping close to Hero Corps HQ in case there was another attack. He'd come up with nothing in the end – there had been no more alerts and none of his contacts had any leads.

As evening came, he drove back to Burke's house and let himself in. He busied his hands by cleaning the house and preparing it for the absence of its owner. Whatever had happened to the vanished, they weren't going to be back any time soon. The most Simon could do for his friend now was to make sure his home was clean when he returned.

The home was also catalog of memories. Sports games, parties, work, awards, mementos that reminded Simon of years gone by. Simon picked up each memory, examined it, and then put it away in his head. A thought occurred to Simon that perhaps this trip was less about doing something for his friend and more about grieving, saying goodbye to the one true friend he'd had for many years.

The thought was ridiculous. Daimon had no friends. A close friend was a liability, a weakness for others to exploit. All that time 'hanging out' with Aaron had been a job, building credibility for his alias in case someone decided to go digging. Still, the thought wouldn't go away.

He was still pondering when he heard a quiet 'pop' and rustle of cloth behind him.

“About time you showed up,” he growled.

Even wearing a simple blouse and pair of jeans, the young woman behind him was beautiful. She had the supple build of an athlete and mischievous eyes. Daimon wasn't fooled though – he'd seen her kill while wearing that look. In fact, he'd helped train her before his current assignment. Despite her age, Spectre had already become a respected IN-SIDE agent.

The mischievous grin became a pout. “Darn it! One of these days I'm going to get the drop on you.”

Daimon stopped rearranging the fridge and turned to face her more fully. “You still have a long way to go. You need to compensate for the air you push aside you leave your ghost form. Shall we get down to business?”

“Alright. Intel says that IDEA is organizing a think tank to address the Disappearances. They don't have a final list yet, but they're inviting some of their big assets to it. There's chatter that Paradisia is dispatching a Protector group to Adaros -”

“Which unit?” Daimon cut in, clearly disturbed by the news. He'd gone up against several Protector groups over the years. He'd eliminated most of them, but they were never to be underestimated. The last group he'd gone up had included a Dreamer who could sense nearby people's presences and could recognize individuals once identified. Her group had proven frustratingly difficult to escape from, and the latest intel said she'd increased her range to a few hundred feet. Daimon had met her wearing a different face and name, but she'd be a major risk if she identified him in his role as Simon.

Specter held up a hand, “Hold on. Its just chatter that hasn't been confirmed yet. We'll keep you posted. Anyway, SIDE, the Assembly, and the Reclaimers aren't making any moves behind the scenes. Intel has been pouring over SIDE's database of the missing. They want your thoughts on the data before you hear their conclusions.”

“Its random,” he replied instantly. He'd been carrying out analysis of the database using his neural link all night. “Not just someone trying to make it look random, either. I couldn't find any patterns among the victims. At least, at first. There is only one anomaly. None of the victims were foreigners. Not a single non-citizen was reported as missing. From this I conclude that the Disappearances weren't caused by an unexplained phenomena of the Dream. It might be related to the goals of the perpetrators, an oversight, limitation of the weapon, or a red herring. I'm not sure which.”

Spectre chuckled. “You just won me a bet. One of the new recruits to Intel didn't think you'd catch that foreigners were missing from the victims. He'll learn.” She turned serious again. “That's about it. The Reclaimers are having a field day even despite the Assembly playing up your rescue operation. Intel thinks their public opinion is going to be up by double digits.” Spectre turned quiet for a moment. “Out of curiosity, why did you let Brace surrender, anyway?”

Daimon knew what she was asking. When Brace had attempted to surrender, Daimon could have remained silent. Phoenix's threats had backed Brace into a corner with no way out. If Daimon hadn't stepped in and Brace carried out his threat, there would have been an uproar over the team sacrificing innocent lives in order to cut down Brace. Phoenix would have taken the worst of it, and as the team member who voiced objections to the plan at the beginning, Simon would have looked great in the post incident report. The odds were decent that the the incident combined with Hero Corps loss of personnel would have landed Simon a promotion. One he needed so he could advance his investigation of the Assembly. It was the logical choice. Except for the hostages.

Daimon exhaled heavily. “I knew what was at stake, but Simon wouldn't have kept quiet. Hes too much the soldier who would never leave a man behind. Simon wouldn't have escaped blame either, and if his image took a hit it would cause problems with OUT-SIDE as their representative. The risks weren't worth the uncertainties. Are there any new orders from HQ?”

Spectre nodded along with his explanation. “Nope, no changes to the mission. HQ just wanted to establish contact in the wake of the incident.”

Spectre turned away. “Anyway, time for me to be off.” When Daimon didn't respond, she simply faded from view. Although the door didn't open, Daimon knew she was gone. Her ghost form let her fly though solid matter.

Daimon let out a quiet sigh as he bowed his head against the fridge. The truth was that despite the danger and difficulty of the mission, Daimon had been finding himself deeply content to play the role of Simon. Fighting the good fight in a worthy cause. Negotiating for the hostages' release had been the right thing to do. He'd meant it when he'd told Phoenix there had been enough lives lost today.

He shook his head. Those thoughts and ideals belonged with someone who had the luxury of ignorance.

Simon went back to cleaning his friend's apartment and analyzing data.

-------------------------------

The next morning, Simon showed up at the SIDE facility early to the interrogation. He took a seat in the waiting room, browsing news sites on his active crystal.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: Gestalt

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That night, you are plagued by nightmares. First-person visions of death and destruction, you watch as people are cleaved in twain, as cars are shattered into ruin, as buildings burn down. Vision after vision of destruction and carnage throughout a long, restless night. The series of dreams end in blackness, and you hear a coarse, hissing voice say in an echoing whisper, "They were not ready...were not ready...not ready... Are you...are you...are you...?

Spoiler: Mandragora

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As you are on your way to the temple, you bump into a woman in her late thirties. She's moving along at a quick pace and not apparently watching where she's going and just kinda crashes into you as you're both turning a corner. But amidst the normal polite apologies and such for this kind of occasion, she looks you dead in the eyes and says, "Next time we meet, ask me how Carl is doing. It's important!" She then rushes off around the corner.

Spoiler: If Mandragora goes after her

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She couldn't have been out of your sight for more than a second or two. Nonetheless, there's no trace of her.

Spoiler: Annabelle

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Yesterday has been busy for you since early afternoon. After the attack on City Hall, SIDE agents brought forty suits of powered armor in for processing. As their main consultant in Dreamtech in general and robotics in particular, the job fell to you. You know that the official word is that SIDE is supposed to be focusing the majority of its resources on finding the people who have disappeared and keeping the peace among those who remain. Nonetheless, the attack on City Hall has sparked the anger of many in the organization. They don't plan to let the mercenaries that supported the attack get away with nothing more than a loss of gear, and you've been told in so many words that if you can find enough evidence, they want to prosecute the Breaker Initiative as an organization for this. It won't be easy; the Breaker Initiative has wealth, connections, an army of lawyers, and they're pretty thorough about insulating their leadership from the illegal activities of some of their members. But then, those illegal activities aren't usually a direct attack on a government building, and they don't usually leave forty suits of powered armor in the hands of the foremost robotics specialist that SIDE can field.

This morning, you've been requested to witness the interrogation of Harold Brace, the mastermind behind the attack. Word is that some of the heroes who neutralized his forces will be present, so you will also have the opportunity to speak with them about the attack to collect more information.

((Just with your first day of work, you're able to come up with a positive ID on twenty of the mercenaries whose suits you have. Your investigation also bears some additional information; go ahead and ask up to four questions OOC regarding the attack and I'll provide the answers if it's at all plausible you could have found them)).

Phoenix, Mandragora, Gestalt, Simon, Annabelle

You all arrive for the interrogation. The SIDE agents take you into a large room with several active crystal screens looking into various interrogation rooms. Brace is on one of the screens, sitting in the simple chair at the table, still manacled with power-dampeners. His attorney is also present. She's sitting beside him, though neither are speaking at the moment. Both of them have neutral looks on their faces.

There are a few technicians in the room with you, as well as a SIDE agent, who greets you and introduces himself as Captain Waller. (Introduces himself to Mandragora and Gestalt, anyway; it's the same guy Simon and Phoenix spoke to back at City Hall, and Annabelle knows him already. Technically Daimon does too, not that Waller knows that). "I'll be conducting the interview. If there's anything you think I should ask him, just speak into the screen. I'll do so as soon as I can work it in. If any of you know or notice anything I should be aware of, please let me know. Is there anything in particular you can think of before I go in?"

One of the technicians stands and heads for the door. "Anyone want a snack or something to drink or something?" he offers.

Doll

It's been a day since the Disappearance. You woke up the day before to find your daughter just...gone. No trace. Since then, you may or may not be aware, depending on if you've been following the news, of the attack on City Hall. Where are you now, and what are you doing?

You receive a Hero Point for the Complication of missing family.

[Inspector Valin]

"Why haven't I heard of him, Captain?"

Doctor Annabelle Colt kept her eyes focused on the crystal screen, and the face of Howard Brace. She took a few seconds before turning her chair towards Captain Waller, her ACC resting on her lap unused. "It's not urgent, but it's bugging me. He has the money to hire forty-odd Breaker Initiative goons on a moment's notice, the audacity to storm the mayor's office in the midst of the worst emergency situation we've ever seen, and he's a Dreamer with unknown personal powers and some kind of mysticism-based philosophy. He should be notorious; a key player in the Assembly, IDEAs Occult Research branch or whatever he's a part of. Why haven't we heard of him before?"

The Technician's words draw Doctor Colt's attention to the assemblage of Heroes who've entered the room. They have likely noticed the Doctor first: a somewhat irritated looking woman in a labcoat with gently tanned skin and light brown hair, resting within a black metallic chair: unlike the others within the room. The scientist nods to each of the heroes in turn, shakes her head at the technician, pausing for a few seconds to study him more closely before looking down to her ACC. Tapping it, Anna brought up the basics of her report, ready to share if need be, as she started to narrate the relevant part of her findings. "The suits were brought in via transporter. All forty, and within the day. They were brought online just before the attack started: one hour of time active, give or take. They weren't waiting around in the desert for an opportunity to present itself, or kept in a warehouse downtown. This was probably improvised to take advantage of today's events. If you can find out the location they were transported into, and a time, I can chase that up. That much energy consumption has to have left a trail.."

Spoiler: OOC

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Taking 10 on that Technology check to have run the trace through the suits. Won't access the files, if that's even possible, just want to know where they're located, so we can get a warrant.

Did I mention that Annabelle has Contacts? She's going to start making calls to any members of the judiciary interested in rushing a warrant through for SIDE. They've got the suits linked conclusively to a big noticeable crime, establishing who was in command seems like an important detail. Something worthy of a Warrant. (1d20+20)[24] Persuade.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"If you learn the answer to that, be sure to let me know," Waller responded dryly. "Only information we have on him in our system is basic civilian identification, and an anonymous power registration that we're pretty sure is him under the codename "Warlock". And even that just lists "magic" for his power. Whoever he is and whatever his deal is, he's gone through a lot of trouble to stay out of the public eye."

[Dorni]

Simon

That doesn't make any sense. People left trails behind. It was staggeringly hard for a person to hide their history in this world of Dreamtech. When Simon's own attempt to find out Brace's background had failed, he'd figured it was because he'd only had a few minutes to look. Hiding from SIDE was a different matter. Brace would have had to deliberately erase his trail, but if he'd had the skill for that then he should have been able to kick Simon out of the security feeds at City Hall.

A thought struck. If Brace were working for the right circles, it wouldn't be hard to have his history hidden. All spies did, and it would explain that nagging feeling that he recognized the man from somewhere. Trying to recall where he'd seen Brace before suddenly seemed much more important.

But he couldn't share any of that with the team without blowing his cover. Moreover, he reminded himself, Simon was a soldier, not a spy. He'd never had formal training in Intelligence work. But perhaps he could plant the idea in someone else?

"Look, even if we only have the PI's word for it, I've worked with Rylan before and his word is good. We know that Brace started negotiating with the Breakers a month ago. I agree that the op seemed improvised, but that doesn't answer what he was planning before."

"Captain, I don't understand. Are you saying that Brace managed to erase his history? How many groups are there that could pull that off?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"It's not that he erased his history, it's that nothing in his history is particularly noteworthy, at least not that I've seen," Waller clarified. "Sure, we have information on stuff like where he went to school, when he got divorced, that sort of stuff. But where he acquired the money to fund this sort of operation? Hard details on what his powers are capable of? Anything resembling a clue to the decision-making process that leads to attacking City Hall because his daughter was one of the millions of people who vanished yesterday? Nothing. He has no arrest records, we haven't found him showing up noticeably in the media, and he doesn't seem to have any connection to any major organization that we could find."

Spoiler

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Just to make sure I'm not giving the wrong impression here. Generally speaking, I assume Investigation, Expertise, and similar checks are looking for largely relevant information. I might slip some world-building and character development info in there too, don't get me wrong, but as a rule of thumb, assume any given Investigation, Expertise check, or so on probably reveals various miscellaneous details, but it's all stuff that, being a skilled investigator, you followed up on, found to be irrelevant, and summarily ignored.

[Inspector Valin]

"Someone this powerful, you'd expect to see in IDEA or the Assembly. Perhaps sunning himself as a Paradisian ambassador. Not living a life of quiet obscurity."

Doctor Colt has returned to her ACC, waving her existing report to one side and opening a new document. A profile of the mystery mage seems like something they could use during this interview. She looked up towards Simon, head tilted. "Did you get any sense of him from your confrontation? Something that could serve as a starting place for us to analyse him?" Her gaze lingered with the former agent, whilst her fingers twitched over the crystal board. There had to be something of note on this man. Somewhere.

Spoiler

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Quellian, if possible, I'd like the basics on Brace. You just shared the basics; divorced, with a daughter, but sometimes that info's useful.

(1d20+20)[29] Investigation roll, this time trying to actively find information on this guy.