M&M Learning Game [IC]

[WindStruck]

Well, whatever Sorsiel had originally thought was completely wrong, that was for sure. She has trouble processing what Dento is saying.

"So.. they make gadgets and viruses? How did they get rich from that??" Sorsiel asks.

"Whatever that thing was that came out of Grop, I don't think that was a virus. But you mentioned warping bodies? Do you think the Umbrella Corporation did that?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

If they did, I doubt that they would admit to it, Cici says over telepathy after slipping back into the car. Proof or no, to use someone like this is unforgivable. And Elaine was likely given a similar treatment.

He stares fidgeting for a few seconds.

My first thought is that they were taken opportunistically. They would not be the only victims, we only noticed because Elaine was wrapped up in it. I think we need to go back to where you were doing that job. Look up any other missing peoples cases. Especially ones where the victim randomly turned back up.

...

Unless she or Grop specifically had their attention for some other reason? Maybe they were close to something Umbrella needed to keep hidden. It sounds like Wesker is an arms dealer who thinks he's a doctor, so we might try the local... drug lords, I think they're called?

[JNAProductions]

Dento visibly flinches when Cici mentions Elaine being treated like Grop just was. But he soldiers on. "Maybe. Maybe. We've got a lead, at least. We just need to figure out how best to follow it. But I don't think this was happenstance, Cici-Elaine and I are well known enough to people like Wesker that grabbing her wouldn't've been a simple coincidence. Not unless he's stupid-and given his continued existence, he's not stupid."

"Jackson, you've got money-I don't want to dig too deeply into your coffers, but maybe look at some of your investments? See if you've got anything related to Umbrella, or any way to exert influence on them?"

[WindStruck]

"Do you know what Grop was doing before you had tried to capture him that one time?" Sorsiel asks.

"Maybe he got involved with the Umbrella Corporation somehow!"

[JNAProductions]

"That's something to look into-he worked in similar circles. Arms dealer, though his munitions were less extraordinary," Dento responds to Sorsiel. "It would explain why they used him."

As you talk, Dento pulls into the airport's parking lot. He gets out, and heads for the small side area you landed in the first time. "I'll call my last employer on the plane ride back. See what more he knows about who Grop was working with."

Spoiler: OOC

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So, I'm debating about asking for a check from Gac using Jackson's wealth, to see how much pull he has with Umbrella.

That being said, Wealth 5 is a flip-flapping BILLIONAIRE, so I don't think just rolling at +5 makes sense. I'll talk to y'all on the Discord about how we want to handle this.

[gac3]

Jackson nods. "I made money to help people and this one hits kind of close to home. Let me make some calls."

Spoiler: ooc

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Wealth check?

(1d20+5)[11]

[JNAProductions]

Jackson makes some calls and sends some emails on the flight back. He doesn't get nearly as much as he had hoped, but he does get something.

Apparently, in addition to having a few stocks in Umbrella (nothing substantial-not even a hundred thousand dollars of shares) his various companies have also sometimes found themselves competing for the same contracts as Umbrella.

It's enough information for the fact-finders to get more, but not in any reasonable timeframe. Especially given that Jackson, wisely, didn't place urgency on this-not to his people, anyway. Didn't want to alert Umbrella or get anyone killed.

Spoiler: OOC

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So, I'll let you retake the check by spending some extra time and money. It won't dent your finances, but it does come with a risk. You'll be rolling 2d20 for this, and the bigger the difference between the high roll (which is what will be used to see how much info you gain) and the low roll, the more bad things will happen.

[WindStruck]

Welp. Another boring plane ride back.

"So what did your employers say?" she asked Dento.

"Maybe we could look around the old place he used to live at, too, but.. it's been so long, there's probably someone else living there, right?"

[JNAProductions]

Dento looks frustrated. "Not nearly as much as I hoped. But... Maybe enough? Apparently, Grop got tanked at some bar, and let loose that he was going to start selling super powers. He was smart enough to avoid saying how he was gonna do that, but given the connections we've already established, I think we know how. Which seems really bad-Grop was no stranger to taking his own stash, so anyone who bought from him might be a time bomb just waiting to turn tentacular. I've asked them to find who he was selling to, or at least what areas, but no word back yet."

[WindStruck]

"That totally makes sense!" Sorsiel says.

"But.. turning into a tentacle monster isn't really a super power. You remember that block he had on his mind, right? I think.. I think the tentacle thing killed him and came out when he started to remember something? Maybe that was the Umbrella Corporation, implanting something in him to make sure he stayed quiet..."

"And speaking of making people supers, that would also explain how he just disappeared. If Umbrella Corporation has super powered people at their disposal, then..."

[JNAProductions]

Jackson listens in to Dento and Sorsiel's conversation, and decides to make the matter a little more urgent. He's still careful to make sure no one gets hurt for this, but he makes clear he needs this info, and he needs it soon.

He keeps a close eye on his emails, and soon, the knowledge begins being sent. It looks like Umbrella has been on and off various government watchlists, though nothing was ever confirmed, far as your people can tell. They also find a few shell companies belonging to Umbrella and Wesker working with some known criminal organizations or individual criminals.

The three that have been found so far are:

Big Jim
8' of pure muscle, Big Jim has minor powers. Mostly brick stuff-durable and strong, but not much finesse. He is, despite his size, an expert smuggler, using his brute strength to access avenues unavailable to others without bulky machinery or similar.
Jackson's people say he hasn't been seen in about three weeks-no jobs taken, no goods delivered.

The Xeres Family
A European crime family noted for their drugs, the Xeres family is not known to have any powers-but they also hide a lot of themselves from prying eyes. They were in contact with Umbrella starting about three months back, and in their area of control, there has been a rash of disappearances and deaths. Sometimes, people go missing entirely. Other times, parts are found-a foot or an arm, alongside a lot of blood and ichor.

Ruel's Crew
Ruel is a pirate lord, who lives on a small fleet of fast boats that he uses to smuggle anything and everything to coastal hoarders. He's a hydrokinetic, and powerful enough that most people simply don't think he's worth the trouble to take down. Umbrella has been working with him for over a year, judging by some of the files found, and possibly longer.

[WindStruck]

After hearing about the leads Jackson found, Sorsiel says, "I think the Xeres Family is our best bet. Because Grop was found around there, too, right? And with all the disappearances.. that sounds a lot like what happened to Elaine..."

"The other two guys, Jim and Ruel, don't seem like we'd learn much from them."

[gac3]

Jackson shrugs. "It depends. Big Jim would be easy to take down but might be hard to find. Ruel has definitely been working for Umberella and is a known entity. Just a powerful one. The Xeres family is the one I have the least intel on but might be the easiest to strike against. I'll follow whatever you all decide."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"What Do You Mean By Ichor?" asks Cici. "Is It Just Another Word For Blood Like When People Say Blood And Gore?"

"Cultural Context Aside I Agree With Sorsiel. I Feel Like We Will Need To Do All Three At Some Point But If There Is A Chance Of Finding The Secret Lab On The First Try Xeres Is Most Likely To Have It I Think."

[WindStruck]

"Yeah, I guess you could call ichor a different kind of blood... usually not pleasant. Then again, blood isn't really pleasant either..."

"Like, I get the other guys might know something, but are they going to know what we already don't know or can guess? Are they going to know where Umbrella's secret lab is, or where Elaine is? Probably not. They're just smugglers after all. And what if a tentacle monster pops out of them before we get any answers too?"

"I think just the fact that Grop reappeared in France.. that really makes me think that whatever is going on with the disappearances, the Xeres family must know something."

[JNAProductions]

"Xeres it is. We'll drop off Sonia, and then head for Europe-they're based in the west side of Germany," Dento says by way of agreement. He makes another call, to get you flight to Germany.

The plane lands and Sonia hurries off. It starts refueling, while Dento heads for another plane. "Another long flight ahead of us-gives us time to prepare, at least. How do we want to approach them?"

[WindStruck]

"Oh my gosh, is this flight going to be longer than the last one?" Sorsiel complains. Someone probably needs to buy her a phone or something to occupy herself with.

"Uh, well I guess that's one problem. We don't really know anything about them.." Sorsiel says.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"That Is A Long Way For You Isn't It," Cici says, dreading the prospect of a day-long trans-continental flight. "I Should Probably Go Ahead And Scout While You Switch Planes. Is There Anything In Particular You Would Like Me To Do While You Are On Your Way?"

[JNAProductions]

Cici runs ahead, though before he does, Dento has enough wherewithal to let him know where the plane will be landing, and he scoots over the ocean at a breakneck speed. He arrives in Germany in about two hours, and spends another hour locating the general area where the Xeres operate. He dashes from person to person, asking seemingly random questions with no purpose, and studying the lay of the land. He causes enough of a ruckus that the authorities are called, and he has to spend a few minutes explaining that he's just an extraterrestrial tourist a few times. He's told to stop running about so much, or at least to do so in the countryside where there's less people.

He takes a jog to the countryside, and spends some time out and about, killing time before the others arrive. When they land, he's quite relieved-boredom had set in long ago. But he's got a decent amount of stuff to say.

Spoiler: DC 19 Investigation

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The Xeres family have nothing even approaching a stranglehold on the area. There are several families, all competing for control of contested turf. The Xeres family has, in fact, been a bit quiet as of late-they're still selling drugs, still raking in money, but they're not doing much other than treading water and defending their main territory. The matriarch-Minnet Xeres-hasn't been seen in almost a month.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

When the plane lands and the crew allows Dento to turn on his phone, he receives a series of rapid text messages that Cici had sent in the meantime. Several of them are morbid instructions in the template of, 'if something happens to me, the last thing I was doing was asking about X at coordinates Y,' followed quickly by retractions saying it turned out to just be another dead end and everything was fine.

As soon as someone sets foot outside the airport, Cici is on top of them, clearly eager to get to work but self-aware enough to ask if the team wants to check into their hotel first. He conveys the results of his scouting, spelling out the broad strokes in his usual manner and going into more detail over Jackson's telepathy.

"The Most High-Profile Disappearance Within What Remains Of Xeres' Territory Is Their Own Matriarch. I Have Not Gotten To Look Any Deeper Than That Unfortunately. I'm Not Sure If She Just Went Into Seclusion, Or If The Crime Family Is In The Same Position As We Are."

[WindStruck]

Sorsiel feel pretty tired after all these flights. Somewhat groggily in half a daze she says, "That's weird. I wonder if we'll end up teaming up to take down Umbrella."

[JNAProductions]

Dento frowns. "Unlikely-but possible, I suppose. Perhaps Umbrella is trying to tie up loose ends. For now, I think we've got a couple of options. We can see what's going on with their customer base. We can stake out their mansion and the surrounding area. Or perhaps we can try to find someone we can convince to go turncoat, or at least provide an in."

Spoiler: OOC

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This is not an exhaustive list of options-if y'all have any other ideas, go for it!

[WindStruck]

"Ugh, I feel like I need to do something. But I also need some real sleep..."

"If you really want to try doing something today, why don't we like, go to a restaurant they own and relax there.. It's not like we have to kick their butts then and there."

[gac3]

Jackson nods at Sorsiel. "Not a bad idea. If nothing else, we can see if we can overhear anything while we get a meal, if you know what I mean." Jackson taps his temple as he says this.

[JNAProductions]

Dento looks at Cici, then says to you all "I'll monitor, but from a distance. I don't think I've interacted with the Xeres much, but I'm more well-known than any of you. They might turtle up if they catch wind of me being on their tail, whereas you two... Not so conspicuous. Which does lead me to you, my extradimensional friend-you stick out. Germany doesn't have too many aliens, from other planets or anywhere else, so it might be best if you aren't actively part of their group."

"You two also need to figure out your cover story-Jackson can credibly claim to be on a vacation, but you need a relation to him, Sorsiel," Dento instructs. "Preferably something that doesn't require you to have intimate knowledge of one another. As an idea, Jackson, you're not married, right? It's certainly not impossible you had some trysts when you were younger-and you've recently discovered Sorsiel is a formerly unknown to you daughter you have. You're taking her on vacation to get to know her better, and make up for lost time."

[WindStruck]

"Hey, that's a great idea! You seem really good at this," Sorsiel compliments.

"Hmm. Are you sure you couldn't come along? Maybe if we got you a hat or a wig and a mustache.. You could be my foster parent! Or um no, too personal? An uncle? Jackson's friend? Parole Officer? Uh.. okay, maybe not that one..."

[JNAProductions]

Dento shrugs. "I don't want to take risks. Besides which, I should probably see what I can dig up on the Xeres from my contacts still."

You make your way to a hotel, where Dento pays a little extra to get you checked in immediately. Once you get your stuff packed away, Jackson and Sorsiel head for Gutes Essen, a small restaurant about three miles from the hotel. It's bustling as the sun wanes in the sky, and you have to wait for ten minutes before you get seated. There's a pleasant outdoor table, next to some potted plants. A waiter approaches, and asks in German "Good evening, folks! What can I get for you to drink?" After a brief moment of silence, since neither of you understand German at the moment, he chuckles, muttering "Tourists," under his breath, and switches to English. "Good night, people! What can I get for you to drink?"

[WindStruck]

Sorsiel is dressed in a yellow halter top, a cute pastel-green short skirt, and some flip flops. Also sporting some sunglasses, she probably already looked the part of a tourist.

Wielding a little pocket translator in her hands, she says, "Good day! I will, uh... to buying... um. How are you?" in very broken German.

She sighs with relief as the waiter actually speaks English. It was weird how she could come from another dimension and know some of these people's language, but not a lot of the others.

She knew better than to even ask if they had Mapleade, since that was something not particular to Earth, so she had to think of some other drink commonly available. "Um, how about, some iced tea?"

[JNAProductions]

"Of course, ma'am," he says, writing down on his notepad. "And you, sir?" he asks of Jackson.

[gac3]

Jackson smiles and slides over an amount of money far more than their orders. "Club soda for me." He will then begin to scan the area for any members of the family we seek.