New Harbour Needs Heroes! (IC)

[Quellian-dyrae]

Now that he was (trying to be) a paladin, it might have occurred to Kevin that, you know, maybe sending random Chat alerts at all hours of the day to someone solely on the basis of him having been the first cop he had met on arriving at the city had not been appropriate. It was too late to correct the mistake, of course; Clement now had an official title and was an established part of the system and all that, but it was at least possible to apologize for whatever chaos Kevin had undoubtedly added to the officer's life with his poorly-conceived actions.

...Yep, that sure definitely might have occurred to him. Didn't, in this particular timeline, but definitely might have!

"Hey Clement, yeah," Kevin greeted and answered him, because not calling a named NPC by their name was rude, and Kevin wasn't actually sure if failure to do so might diminish any plot armor having a name afforded them. He didn't actually comment on the odds of the police being the ones who would eventually get to the bottom of this now that not only the main hero party, but also a group of rival heroes were on the case. Thereby proving he was not in fact completely devoid of diplomatic instincts!

Kevin of course immediately stopped walking when the lady started ranting and turned to face her. It wasn't just that an NPC was speaking unprompted as he walked by; that did in fact happen in the real world (and was seeming to become more of a thing in recent games for that matter; the first FF7 remake had done it well enough that even Kevin had noticed). But in KevinVision^TM when she spoke his camera actually zoomed around to focus on her, clearly distinguishing it as something worth paying attention to.

"What bones, now?" Kevin asked her. After all he had experience with people not being able to make sense of what he was saying so maybe he'd have better luck.

[Dodgeson]

The Necromancer really wished that he'd stayed home today, or at least waited for whatever artifact his master was waiting for had showed its face, but no he'd just had to go out and stretch his legs. Still at least the drinks were still flowing and he took another glass the second RT returned to the table, best just let the staff do the talking.

"If its location was known do you think I would lower myself to skulking in a tavern with lowlifes and vagabonds? The world would tremble before me with with it in our grasp!"

----

Back with Platformer, now that he'd engaged with the woman (it was pretty good engagement for him anyway), words just couldn't stop rushing from her mouth in a torrent of wild babbling "A MONSTER! It tore my home apart and it TOOK MY BUSTER! It was the government they're working with the bones to try and get rid of us all! I saw it in a newspaper! And those aliens dressed like an angel they want to take our brains and all our CALCIUM!"

And on and on she went, seemingly not needing to stop for breath or blink at any point as she clung tight to the bars of her cell and ranted on, Clement just rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Does any of that mean anything to you?" He asked apologetically.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin listened attentively, tanking the full force of the rant without so much of a flicker of annoyance or confusion on his face. When she finally started winding down and/or had to pause out of physiological need to breathe, he replied, "Last I heard Trinity was in Tomorrow City, and they're not aliens dressed as angels they're humans who look like angels due to being possessed by an angel. Although I've heard speculation that maybe Trinity isn't an angel at all and is some sort of alien, in which case I guess he'd be an alien dressed as an angel at least by applying the transitive property to 'alien dressed as humans dressed as angels'. Assuming we're rounding 'possessed by' and 'transformed into' down to 'dressed as'. Which seems fair enough, it's all just palette swaps in the end. Anyway they don't want our brains, one of them was a substitute teacher at St. Ambrose so if anything they have a net positive disposition for our brains. I can't think of anything they'd want our calcium for either, although I have heard rumors of untoward things being done to crabs so maybe it could have something to do with that."

"Or was it the moving bones that want our brains and calcium? Traditionally it's zombies who eat brains, not skeletons. Skeletons are pretty big on the whole 'no fleshy bits, only bony bits' schtick. Although skeletons and zombies are both common low-level undead monsters, so it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see them together. I haven't seen any explicit references to animated skeletons wanting to eat calcium but lots of undead have some sort of hunger for some physical or metaphysical part of living people, calcium for skeletons probably makes as much sense as anything. Probably from bone marrow, that seems on-theme for undead hungers."

"You shouldn't believe anything you read in a newspaper that you wouldn't believe if you had read it on the internet."

"Could I get your address? And permission to enter and search your home? If the moving bone dudes tore it up they might have left some clues."

"I'll do my best to rescue Buster."

Then he looked to Clement. "It means we have a lead."

[Ridai]

"But, the exposition..." RT is a bit sad, but at least he has a direction. "Ah well, you guys continue with important staff business!" And it looks like he is slowly hovering towards the exit, as the staff evidently doesn't know anything.

[Dodgeson]

When Platformer essentially no-sold the brunt of her mad rantings the woman (and Clement) just stopped for a moment and blinked a few times at the hero in front of her, there was a lot of things she had been expecting to happen, up to and including alien abduction, but his reasoned reply certainly wasn't one of them. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before eventually replying in a much smaller and quieter voice.

Despite the array of menus at his disposal the woman simply wasn't noteable enough for him to know anything else about her from any other random stranger on the streets of New Harbour, which was unfortunate because even her directions to her home was kind of unfocused and rambling, but with some probing and nudging he would be able to work out that she was talking about a spot towards the dingier end of town off the beaten track by a storm drain.

"You need anything on are end?" The Liaison asked, it wasn't that he didn't think Kevin couldn't handle it but darn it he'd gotten that pay rise when he became a 'Metahuman Liaison' and he was going to earn it!

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Thanks," Kevin told the woman.

"Not at the moment, I think," he answered Clement. "Unless there was anything else SO had?"

If there was Kevin would keep following Clement. Otherwise, it was off to the dingy house by the storm drain!

[Zelphas]

Indelible occasionally finds it useful that her instinctive responses have been somewhat divorced from her physical form. She's pretty sure that she doesn't roll her eyes in annoyed disappointment at the staff's mixture of uselessness and superiority. For a moment, she considers saying something to end the conversation, but decides that the 'cover' she's using right now fits better if she doesn't say a word. Turning just as abruptly as before, Indelible floats out of the bar.

"I believe the Protectorate may have 'stolen' themselves," Indelible states bluntly to RT after they are a fair distance away. "Or perhaps it is better to say that they were stolen by an animating force--this artifact that is coming--rather than a person or persons. That may make things complicated, in the future."

[Llyarden]

Jake hadn't followed Platformer into the prison.

He...actually hadn't told any of the others where he was going, or why he was going there. The truth was that he'd gone back home - or more specifically, gone to the Protectorate computer he had in his kitchen. The Protectorate, like other super-teams sometimes did, had had distress beacons inserted into their uniforms. If activated, those beacons would have broadcast their current location to the Protectorate network - which of course Jake now had control of.

Unfortunately, having control of the network didn't mean he had control of the beacons, which had been secured by far more technologically-minded heroes than him to prevent people doing...well, doing basically exactly what Jake had tried to do and remotely activate the beacon to track down one of the Protectorate.

He was...more than a little bewildered by the Chat he received from Platformer while he was on his way back. Still, it had a location, which was good enough for him.

"So, uh...how much of all that textwall do I need to read?" he asked, when he caught up with Platformer.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Eh, it's probably fine. I admit I kinda started mashing A after she got to the angels who were after our calcium."

[Ridai]

Once outside, RT releases a muffled belch into the inside of his elbow, shaking his head, and appearing startlingly sober compared to a moment ago. He nods to what Indelible says.

"True, true. That sounds suitably crafty. Also, you did a great job in there."

RT engages the mysterious Chat, typing up a message to Platformer and Wildcard.

Reality Technician #NH0000: Hey guys, nothing concrete.
Reality Technician #NH0000: Some evil artifact allegedly is coming to town.
Reality Technician #NH0000: And the necromancers are probably somewhere in the Undercity.
Reality Technician #NH0000: Most necros apparently have fled the city because of the big bad evil thing coming.
Reality Technician #NH0000: At least that is what the necrostaff said.
Reality Technician #NH0000: How are things on your end?
Reality Technician #NH0000: ...Do you think the DEMON WITCH wanted to get to the Dungeon because of this artifact?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Kevin Chatted back:

Platformer: Huh. Maybe.
Platformer: Got a possible lead here, woman who said some 'moving bones' ransacked her place and took her dog.
Platformer: If necromancers are involved, that's more evidence it might be connected.
Platformer: Going to check it out. Location is {image map of the city with location pin}.

[Ridai]

Reality Technician #NH0000: Ooh, alright. Meet you there?

RT looks to Indelible, asking "Want to go there?" A beat. "And can you take me there as well, please?"

[Zelphas]

"Hmm?" Indelible tilts her head quizzically, her eyes going even more unfocused than usual. "Oh. There is a... text. Hm." After a few seconds of reading, Indelible nods. "It is better than anything else we have.

A moment later, Indelible picks up RT in one hand, balancing him easily as she shoots off to the posted location.

[Dodgeson]

Scattered across the city our heroes reconvened at the spot helpfully provided by Platformer's map and it quickly turned out that when he'd called the location a home he might have been speaking a little grandly as they were now standing in front of a large storm drain on the bad side of town at an intersection that overlooked a large swath of waste ground that had yet to be redeveloped.

Still Kevin's map wasn't wrong and it wasn't exactly uncommon for the homeless to seek shelter underground, especially in New Harbour, and it wouldn't be difficult to jimmy the grate free and descend in to the dark...

Below the heroes wouldn't find anything too out of the ordinary, the walls of the tunnel were covered in graffiti that ranged from the names of local gangs (crossed out and resprayed several times), childish doodles and messages telling you exactly who to call for a good time along with nonsense like 'UNKO', 'What're you looking at ⊙＿⊙' and 'ESCHATON LIVES'.

Slightly further down the tunnel was an enormous hole in the tunnel that stretched out even deeper underground, the remains of the woman's 'home' haphazardly thrown about, a few blankets, a large amount of cardboard, a few empty bottles and no sign of any Buster...

Spoiler: Perception (DC20)

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Somewhere deeper in to the hole was coming the thump of an upbeat tune.

[Zelphas]

Indelible blinks at the hole, vaguely nonplussed. "The Undercity awaits, I suppose. For some reason, I thought it would be more difficult to find an entrance--though time will tell if that is what this is..."

She spins slightly in midair, tilting her entire body until her left ear is pointed towards the hole. "I think someone down there may be having a party of some sort, though I can't quite place the tune from here," she comments neutrally, rotating back to an upright position.

Spoiler: OOC

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Indelible can't fail the Perception check.

[Ridai]

"Huh," RT comments Indelible's findings. "Secret undercity necromancer raves?" It sounds glib, but judging by the inquisitive look on RT's mask and him stroking his chin, it might be an actual thing they'll find down there, at least in his mind. He doesn't know what necromancers are like! Maybe really like to party!

He looks to his brave companions. "Want me to go check? Sneaky-like, I mean," he asks, his mask looking like a ninja's cowl (with metal bandana).

[Quellian-dyrae]

You know, as the woman had seemed to struggle to give Kevin a location rather than just, like, giving him her address, he had started wondering if maybe she had been being generous when describing her home as having been wrecked. When they came to the storm drain he was a bit disappointed, but not especially surprised.

No, the surprise came when they actually went down there, and the light from Kevin's smartphone flashlight fell upon the graffiti on the walls. One part in particular.

And Kevin...froze. Just standing stock still for several seconds as he stared at those two particular words written on that wall.

It wasn't...it wasn't that he thought they were necessarily indicative of anything meaningful, quite. A warning that somehow Big E had been able to project its will or its presence into their world or this city. It was, in all likelihood, just some random graffiti and he knew that but...

But it was random graffiti that was written by somebody who knew about Big E. That could mean...what? A Big E cultist was at large in the city? Or...might there be certain people who were just in some way sensitive to Big E's existence, or even its will? The mentally ill, or the despairing, or maybe users of particular drugs, all of whom might be disproportionately represented among a city's homeless population? He didn't think the graffiti looked like any particular gang-sign, though he could be wrong about that. A gang that was somehow tied to Big E would be a threat he had to stop as soon as possible...

He could Chat the lady and ask if she knew who had written the graffiti. But...no. No, that would putting Big E's name into her mind. He could take a picture on his smartphone, text it to Clement, and have him ask the lady about it and maybe run it by whoever dealt with gangs and such and...no, no, stupid, don't be an idiot, that would not only be exposing the police to it but it would mean that Clement would be carrying the name around in his pocket. How much did that matter? Kevin didn't know and didn't want to find out. All he knew for sure was that Big E could potentially be aware of its name, that speaking it aloud had been a concern even in a location shielded by the Hand of Glory. This graffiti was putting the entire city in danger just by existing and-

Okay, yes. Yes, it definitely was.

Destructible zone borders were literally Kevin's favorite part of living in the real world. Of course, to the rest of his team, it miiiiight come as a slight surprise when, after several seconds staring silent and immobile at the graffiti-covered wall, Kevin suddenly burst into action, hammering it with both fists one after another with his full superhuman strength and speed, crushing the part of the wall that name was written on, not to rubble, but to powder. And then blasting the powder with a concussive windburst that would scatter it basically as far as he possibly could on short notice.

Kevin Matthews might have had a slight tendency to overreact at the mention of Eschaton.

After a few more seconds of controlled breathing, he moved on after the others. He took a look around the place the lady presumably lived, and then answered RT, "Uh, yeah sure, that makes sense. Will give me a chance to search this place and see if there's any clues or anything." He hadn't actually noticed the sounds, just like he hadn't noticed that, you know, the noise he just made smashing a three-foot-square section of wall to powder miiiiight have been somewhat of a hindrance to RT's intention to do sneaky stuff or for that matter their overall ability to go unnoticed literally at all.

And then he started searching around the scene, his movements kinda mechanical, his mind far away from an investigation which no longer struck him as a particularly high priority.

Spoiler

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Investigation to search for clues about how the lady's house was wrecked, such as like indications of damage to various things, maybe things like blood or residue from some types of powers, etc. -5 for Attention Disabled, not Routining because he very much counts as distracted and Investigation is not one of his Skill Masteries: (1d20+15)[32]. Huh that's actually a shockingly impressive result given the circumstances. Well done Kev.

[Ridai]

RT watches Platformer watching the wall for a moment, with increasing confusion. "You, ah, you goo-" Aaand the wall is getting pulverized (a piece of debris "pocks" off RT's mask). Blinking once, then twice more, RT brushes dust off his mask and general front. He wanted to ask whether Platformer is not a fan of vandalism, but, well. Y'know.

Standing at the edge of the hole (with a bandaid where the debris hit his mask), RT says to Kevin "Aaalright then, you do that."

If no one else has any objections (or perhaps even better plans! Better plans are always welcome!), RT starts floating down the hole. Sneaky-like. Staying in the shadows. Somehow. Kind of.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'll just roll Stealth now, to be used when RT actually floats down that hole. (1d20+18)[23]

edit: I should note RT has Hide in Plain Sight, should it become relevant.

[Llyarden]

Jake...yeah, he kinda did a double-take at Platformer just, like, really hating one specific piece of wall for...some reason? But on the other hand Platformer was a guy with video game powers, maybe he was looking for a hidden collectible.

So, like RT, he elected to just gloss over what had just happened and instead looked over at Indelible. "A...party?" If the people down the storm drain actually did have any connection to the robbery of the bodies and had just, like, no professionalism whatsoever, maybe they were celebrating the theft before getting on with whatever their plan was.

Or maybe the entirety of the plan was stealing the bodies just to upset the people of New Harbour.

In either case, being surrounded by warbling, thrumming energy of like half a dozen different elements at once, Jake was not a particularly subtle person, so if RT was going to go investigate Jake was more than happy to let him. And he was apparently a ninja now? And ninjas were always sneaky.

...come to think of it, RT being a ninja kind of explained a lot.

[Zelphas]

The sound of breaking stone causes Indelible to tighten her perception, and she does a quick recount of the people in their party. Right, Platformer. She had known he was here... hadn't she? He was the one who made the text box, after all...

Now isn't the time to figure this out; there are more pressing matters, she thinks to herself, dismissing the strangeness for the moment. "I am decidedly not sneaky, so if you would," Indelible answers RT, content to wait for his return before moving forwards.