Mutants & Masterminds: Lake City Universe - M&M 3E - LCU: The Home of Heroes (IC)

[Superball]

"With me, I'm still all theory and no practice. My suit hasn't even needed a patch job or scratch fixing yet... I'm too green. Hopefully we can work the kinks out."

She straightens her suit out a little. "We should have some patience with this whole process."

She smiles and leans back.

[quotemyname]

"Being as how I'm not usually one for words, or analogies for that matter, I'll just add this:" Russell paused to clear his throat, looking straight at Lisowski, he spoke, "You shouldn't automatically dismiss us like that. Young as we are, the things we've been through..." He paused for a second at that, "Our experience and expertise could be vital to you."

Russell frowned, "You think that Gary here is the only one that can do your investigations some good. Well, what about Naomi, here? She's practically a child prodigy. Younger than Gary, sure, but her skills are just as valuable. Or Blitz, with eyes as fast as hers, I'd be willing to be she could examine every fine detail of every case file in that magic bag of yours faster than you can dig them out. I'm not as sure of what Volt's capable of, but I'm sure it's equally valuable. And me. I may not be a sound intellectual boon to the team, but you never know. I might end up taking a bullet for you one of these days, so you sure as hell want me on your side."

"So, seeing as you two know best," Russell soldiered on, "You should decide right now whether or not your willing to support us, or support Mike's judgement, or however you want to think of it so you can sleep better tonight. If you're on board with this, then get going. Tell us what we have to do." He reached down, picked up his coat and slung it over his shoulder like he was ready to walk out, "But if you're not, then just tell us. Stop wasting our time and tell us so we can go home. I didn't sign up for this to have you two hamstringing everything I or my team try to do along the way. I signed up so I can do some good. If you wont let that happen, then I'll find someone who will."

[Superball]

"Calm down... we're not even established yet and you're bristling at the Police for their oversight. They deal with a different world, have different issues, and have ways of dealing with them."

She looks over the two Detectives again, analyzing them carefully.

Request

I'm going to need to make a roll to start doing some deduction of my own, Sherlock Holmes style. What do I need to roll? Perhaps showing my character isn't your typical senior cheerleader in high school will need something... elementary.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Volt thought to himself 'This is going to take a while. I've made my intentions clear and asked for guidance. Better get comfortable'

Volt took a seat, coming to the same eye level as the two EC officers ... his posture visibly pitched forward in an attentive 'I am here to listen and learn' fashion.

[Heritage]

Colby suddenly looked very pissed at Russ as she held up both her hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's stop with the 'you two' stuff right there, okay? I have been *nothing* but supportive of this group, so please don't lump us together like Linus and I are joined at the hip; we have very different opinions on a wide variety of subjects." The older detective gave her a devilish grin. "What, you don't want to be in my lump?" She punched him hard on the shoulder, grimacing with a mixture of frustration and amusement as her partner clutched his arm. "Ow, that was hard!"

The younger officer took a deep breath to compose herself. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you; you've got an uphill battle with my partner here, but that's just the way he is." She gave him a somewhat affectionate look. "Yes, he's a douchebag, but he's a douchebag who cares about his job; he's never going to stop testing you, or me for that matter, and we've been partners for what, six years?" Lisowski shook his head. "Seven." Colby looked shocked. "Seven? Seriously?" She tugged at a forelock that had a touch of silver in it. "No wonder I'm turning gray. Anyways, the day he *stops* testing you, stops pushing your buttons, is the day you should be worried...because it would mean he'd been body-snatched by a Nameless."

Lisowski chuckled and shook his head.

[z-Blitz]

"Perfect." Blitz sounded far too pleased at the news that Lisowski has a permanent case of asshole-itis. As the others looked at her, she folded one leg under herself with easy grace and replied, "I just want to know where I stand with people. It's been made clear where everyone in the room stands.

"As of right now, I'd like to second Gary and say it's probably time for us to learn of the specifics of operations and the six cases you want our help with," she continued. Blithely ignoring that they'd - or at least Lisowski - only really seemed to want Gary's help, she pressed onward. "So, we've all had some training in police work, some more than others," she added with a smile at Gary, "and we have some idea how to conduct ourselves. If I remember my coursework right, Team Stalwart would apprehend and allow you guys to observe and investigate him and his actions as needed for prosecution. Sometimes, Stalwart had to appear in court to testify. I assume that we'll continue to operate the same way - doing the 'heavy lifting' that surpasses what the non-xp police can handle and otherwise staying out of police business. And if that's the case... how about laying those cases on us, huh? I wanna get to work." The teen girl held out her hands, making a 'bring it on' motion while flashing a grin of challenge at Lisowski.

Now that she knew where the cop stood, it was time to find out where his limits were...

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Gary had been quiet, as typical for him this afternoon, mentally reviewing what he knew of the newcomers. Of Volt he knew little, he was young, and apparently a gifted researcher with Orthi Corp specialized in energy manipulation. Not terribly useful information at this stage. The woman detective, Colby, was from a long line of policemen, and women, with a masters in anthropology of all things. Gary leaned over and said to her quietly, "Anthropology right? Is this kind of head butting normal? I must admit I haven't been a special agent for long and I have never had to work directly with local law enforcement. Hopefully this won't continue after today." He offered a smile, trying to forge a link between the two groups.

Gary glanced at the older detective. He'd read up on Linus Lisowski when he got this assignment. The man was somewhat of a local legend, a long term detective with a reputation for being clean and incorruptible, which was good news as far as Gary was concerned. He'd taken his share of lumps over the years in the force as well, two marriages, one divorce, and three bullets in the line of duty ... among other things. It was no small wonder that he had an attitude, and less so that he had a reputation for it. There was more, but for now Gary felt he had enough to work with, at least enough to try and intercede between the man and the rest of the ECs.

[quotemyname]

Russell's face softened as he nodded in approval. Colby had given him exactly the answer he'd wanted to hear. Before he could open his mouth, Blitz's quick tongue beat him to it. He could agree with what she said, knowing where he stood was indeed a bonus.

"Test all you want, detectives. I know I'll pass. As long as your testing doesn't impede progress. That doesn't help anyone." Russ shook his head. "But otherwise, as Blitz says, let's get to work."

[Heritage]

In response to Samson's question, the young detective merely shrugged and whispered,"It's not uncommon, actually; law enforcement is pretty damn tribal, when you get right down to it."

Then the two detectives locked eyes with each other, Lisowski with his arms folded tightly across his chest, Colby hunched slightly forward in her chair. For a second it looked like they were having a staredown, or perhaps even communicating telepathically, but it was in fact the type of silent conversation only two people who know each other very well can have. At last, Colby raised a single eyebrow, prompting her partner to sigh and throw up his hands in defeat.

"Alright, fine, you win! Teen Girl Squad rides again. Hand me the files, 'Reena" His junior partner fetched her magic bag, reached in and first pulled out a full silver tea set, complete with steaming teapot, pitcher of cream, bowl of sugar cubes and six teacups, and set it on the desk with a smile. "Don't worry, it's just coffee; help yourselves." Linus poured himself a cup and took two sugars while Morena returned to pulling out the three fat file folders, laying them one at a time on the desk in front of Lisowski. The older cop quickly scanned them and fished out the middle file. "Let's say we start with the horrifying and work our way down to the deeply troubling, hmm?" He flipped open the file and pulled out a pair of ancient half-moon reading glasses, which he peered over the top of at the rest of the team. "You say you're ready for it? Well here's your first test." He passed an autopsy photo to Gary, indicating with a nod and a wave he should share it with the rest of the team.

"The body of a Caucasian female, early twenties, found September 19th on Lower Parker Drive wearing nothing but a sort of rough white nightgown. Her throat had been slit and both hands removed; bruises on the wrists, face and neck indicate a struggle, as do several locks of hair torn out by the roots." His face was carefully impassive, but he swallowed a few times as he drew out another photo and passed it as well. "Caucasian female, early twenties, found in an alley near Aspen Street on September 22nd, wearing nothing but a white nightgown. Throat slit, hands removed, signs of struggle." At last, he pulled out a third photo. "Caucasian female, early twenties, found in a commercial driveway near the Dearborn Street bridge September 28th. Throat cut, hands gone, signs of a struggle. Noticing a pattern here?" The three photos were all extremely disturbing, but even more-so when you held them side by side; though the framing and backgrounds were clearly different, as were the exact markings on the bodies, all three photos appeared to be of the same exact woman. Same long brown hair, same round face, same rough nightgown.

Mike looked like he was about to throw up. "Jesus Christ."

[Superball]

Naomi adjusts her glasses. "Any evidence as to the impliment used in each of these murders?" She asks, clinically. "Bone nicks, blade fragments, telltale damage to the tissue... that's my first question."

"My second question is do we have a map where these bodies were found?"

"Third, was there anything left behind? Notes, telltale marks on the walls, strange coincidence of similar graffitti..."

She clears her throat. "I don't like sounding like that... defense mechanism really. I'm just as disturbed as anyone here. But I have been to colleges where they demonstrated surgical techniques on donated bodies. They lie when they say they get used to it."

Some in the room could almost see her eyes water slightly.

[quotemyname]

Russell gritted his teeth. The images of the victims called up memories that he'd rather bury. Pictures of his sister dead in his arms swam through his head. Unconsciously, a low growl escaped his throat.

"Pattern? Sure..." Russell managed to stifle a few choice personal shots he'd loved to have directed at Lisowski. He managed to settle with, "If you're going for shock and awe, congratulations," though it was still clear that their presentation had struck a nerve. "In addition to Naomi's questions, I'd like to see the actual crime scenes. Perhaps one of us can pick up something your cameras missed."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Volt just tried to absorb as much as he could, and on seeing the photos had to suppress his own gag reflex - fortunately since his body had transformed he had a pretty iron constitution so this was in his head. Still, that thought didn't dull the reaction as much as he wanted. It really wouldn't do if he threw up right now ...

... and the pictures, were plain horror. "Are they clones or, or identical triplets, or something? I mean, they are the same ... even the night gown. Did someone run ... tests on them for that? I don't know if I have ever heard of identical triplets come to think of it ... and the hands gone ..."

I wonder if they are from other timelines? Like Uri said I open portals to ... thought Volt.

Unconsciously, when he had come over to look at the pictures Volt had hovered out of his seat instead of standing up, he 'stood' three inches off the floor after looking at the crime photos presented.

"I don't know much about forensics, but if you cut off someone's hands there is going to be huge amounts of blood. Can't tell from these pictures, but was there enough blood at the crime scenes? Or if not were they cut off in a ... don't know ... a special way that might explain. Makes me wonder how fast it was done, because a normal person is going to have trouble doing that."

....

He added later "I wonder about the night gowns too. Are they exactly identical?"

[Superball]

"Actually, Volt, that is a keen observation. There is a major artery that runs along the arm... there would indeed be a lot of blood. These pictures... they are only of the victims and I don't see any crime scene photos... would be a clue as to the manner of these people's deaths and give us something to work with... well those of us not Assistant Special Deputies."

She adjusts her glasses. Perhaps the first thing towards getting some order is a recognition of rank among the members. "Special Agent Samson... anything you can make of this further than what we have? Or questions?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Gary swallowed, Serial killer, what a way to start a new job. Taking a deep breath he looked at the photos and started to scan the cover pages on the report portfolios. After a moment he said, "Taking the identical, or near identical, appearance of the victims aside, its clear that the killer is disturbed. The hands have been removed on all the victims, yet the head has not, so for whatever reason the dismemberment has nothing to do with hiding or disguising the identity of the victims." He looked up, "Barring of course, the idea that they were identical triplets, and the hands were removed in order to remove the fingerprints for proper ID between them. Even genetically identical twins have differences in finger print patterns that are readily discernible by proper examination." He shook his head, "No, the hands were likely removed for more significant reason to the killer; as trophies, or as a ritualistic act." Gary started to read into the first file, almost absently he added, "I'll know more, and be able to give a better profile, after I've had some time with these files."

[Superball]

Naomi nods. "Perhaps I and Special Agent Samson then should see the ME or the CSIs heading the evidence analysis in this matter. Getting more information from them would help us as much as help you as we move forward together." She says to the Detectives. "Blitz, if you are willing to watch Samson and I do our work and not touch anything that looks like evidence unless we show you how to handle it, think you might be up for some on-the-job?"

"I don't mean it as an insult. Just that I am unaware of what sort of training you received in regards to evidence handling or collection."

[quotemyname]

"Hmm." Russell mused, "From what I've read, ritualistic practices deal more with outright sacrifice rather than amputation. Even mutilation is more common, but that wouldn't cover the full removal of the hands. I'm no expert though,"

Barghest: Sounds close enough to me.

"I think Gary's right. They're trophies for my money. There's a lot of sick people out there. Throw XPs in the mix, and things just get worse."

"I don't mean it as an insult. Just that I am unaware of what sort of training you received in regards to evidence handling or collection."

"Actually," Russell looked between the two girls, "I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to attack this problem from more than just one angle?" He knew his idea might not go over so well, but he felt he had to mention it in the interests of moving forward, "Blitz might serve us better as a decoy." Russell winced. "A little hair dye? A night gown? Volt and I nearby to--" Russell cleared his throat, eying the detectives, "--To make a citizen's arrest if any disreputable people show up."

Finally, he shrugged and added, "I just prefer a more direct approach to my problems."

[Superball]

Naomi would say something but bites her tongue.

She continues to look over the pictures, and imagining Blitz in that same position was a bit more than she could stand. "Excuse me..." She holds her mouth as she runs to the nearby bathroom to take care of a all-too-human reflex.

[Heritage]

Lisowski acknowledged Russell's request with a sharp nod. "Sure, no problem; we can take you to the sites whenever you want." He flashed a fairly unpleasant grin Val's direction. "Heck, Little Miss Speedy here could probably solve the case in five minutes if we just show here were we found the bodies."

Colby pinched the bridge of her nose, then drew out the forensics reports. "We know a lot about how our three Jane Does died; all three were-" She gave her partner an apologetic look. "Can you, um...I *always* play the victim." Lisowski sighed as he got up out of his chair. "Yeah, yeah, but you owe me big time; it'll kill my knees, you know." He fished another glossy out of the big file. "Oh, here's the map you were asking about." He handed Naomi a blown-up image of the city's business district with three X's marked in red. "All three victims were found at the north end of Downtown, and all three were at the lowest street level." He held his hand out flat as he got down on his knees with great difficulty. "The city's infrastructure is built in levels - damn, this hurts!" He then indicated additional levels with jerks of his hand. "The original street level at the north end of the Isle is down here, running along the river, and it's mostly used by delivery drivers, Streets and San, etcetera; the police impound yard is down there, too" He grimaced as he finally succeeded in getting into a crouch. "Oof! It's also used by the homeless, a handful of drug dealers, hookers; real nice folks." He pointed at the map in Naomi's hands. "All three of our Janes were down there."

Meanwhile Colby pulled an umbrella out of her carpet bag, took a position behind her partner, and grabbed a handful of Lisowski's thinning hair, pulling his head back. "As far as we can tell, in all three cases the perpetrator got the victim into this position-" Then she held the umbrella across the older detective's throat. "We know the blade was long, non-serrated and fairly straight-" She rapidly pulled it across, the fabric making an eerie whistling sound as it rushed over his gray beard stubble, Colby mimed tossing her partner forward, and he obliged by slowly going down to the floor, his hands thrown out to catch himself. "In all three cases, the cut goes right down to the bone, severing the trachea and both major blood vessels, and leaving deep scoring on the C5 or C6 vertebrae. Death by massive blood loss would have occurred in a matter of seconds."

She offered a hand to the older detective and helped him up as she continued. "Physically the three women are completely identical, right down to moles, freckles and even some minor recent cuts that are scabbed over. All three were also suffering from chronic malnutrition, poor dental hygene, tuberculosis and yes, syphilis. The nightgowns are made of a rough wool-and-linen fabric known as 'linsey-woolsey'; no one's made it for well over a hundred years, outside of places like Colonial Williamsburg. We sent a sample of all three gowns to a fabric specialist; she said based on the 'warp and weft', they were all hand-woven by the same person."

Lisowski dropped back into his seat with a groan as his partner started to pass out some gruesome crime scene photos. "Oh man, am I gonna be feeling that tomorrow. "As you can see, there's plenty of blood soaked into the gowns consistent with the type of trauma; the hands were clearly severed post-mortem, with one or two whacks by the same weapon. We're looking at swords, machetes, certain type of heavy cleavers used in meat packing, stuff like that." He mimed revving a motorcycle engine. "The downward angle of the cuts suggests it might have had a hilt or special handle, requiring him to turn his wrist." He turned to look at his partner, now back in her seat as well. "You want to tell them the bad news or should I?"

Colby shook her head as she leaned forward, eager to continue the narrative. "No, I've got it; the bad news is whoever this guy, and we're fairly sure our suspect is male, he left jack shit at any of the crime scenes: no tissue, no bodily fluids, no fibers, no metal fragments in the bone or concrete. Not one fucking print." She pulled out a wider crime scene photo of one of the victims, displaying the horrific dimensions of the blood spatter fanning away from the body. "How the hell does this guy not leave a single footprint?" She indicates the bottoms of Volt's boots, hovering some three inches above the floor. "Even if he was up in the air like you, some of that splatter would have hit him, and left a trail as he flew off. We've got bupkis." She angrily tossed the photo back onto the stack of folders.

Lisowski shook his head and held up a finger. "Not exactly bupkis; we have the marks he left on the body." He pointed at his own back. "A bruise between Jane Doe Number Three's shoulder blades, where he pulled her back against his knee, let's us know he's a least six feet tall. He's big and strong, our mystery perp."

Colby wearily rubbed her eyes. "All the details on the three Janes are in the files; the bodies are identical except for the specific injuries and stomach contents, which is a whole 'nother story." She let her hands drop into her lap. "We're not ruling anything out; time travel, cloning, parallel Earths, you name it. Have fun, and enjoy the nightmares."

When Russell suggests using Blitz as bait, the two detectives look very concerned, and Colby vigorously shakes her head. "I do *not* think that's a good idea, at least not at this point; we know so little about our perp, and he's extremely dangerous-" When Naomi runs off, the young detective stops and runs after her, while Lisowski shakes his head and snorts loudly. "Way to freak out the nerd chick, Dogboy."

[Heritage]

Colby gently knocked on the bathroom door. "You okay in there, honey? We can talk about the cases that *don't* involve horrible murders for a whole if you like. You know, give you all a bit of a break?"

[Superball]

Naomi opens the door. Her head clear.

"Okay... I'm good... I had my tablet over there transmitting to my receiver earpiece while I was... trying to get some self control. Managed to snap myself out of it before I ended up re-tasting my lunch.

There is another possibility... follow me."

She walks back to the room.

"Now, you said your perpetrator is in the 6 foot category due to the bruise you found. There is another possibility." She says, closing her helmet. "See, what if the perpetrator was smaller, but had some way to strike in that location with an amount of force to match the injury. Like a martial artist? It could also explain the power of the cut. Suggests a well crafted ceramic blade that is hard to damage. This guy is also a pro at what he does. With the precision of the killing blow; the throat slit, this suggests that the individual bled out, then had their limbs removed as some sort of message. An identifiable one that "this is me, you failed again". Since the only relation this has is the appearance of the victims and nothing more, this suggests a obsessive behavioral trait."

She adjusts her suit, downloading all the data she can get her hands on. "I am thinking this person may either be a former hitman that snapped, a warped martial artist corrupted by power, or a serial killer who has a game like no other in terms of physicality. I think the second might be the possibility. What do we know of the asian community here and any activities by the triads, yakuza, or other local asian gangs?"

[z-Blitz]

Blitz had been silent, pale and very serious as the detectives had laid out the information and her co-workers had talked through several ideas. She wanted very much to make a good impression, so she held her tongue, thinking. She politely waited until they had answered everyone else's questions before she added her own.

“The key is the victims,” she said softly, her voice hard. She was clearly shaken by entire situation and trying so hard to be calm and collected that she was coming off as cold and callous. Her green eyes were almost harsh as she glared at the images. “Look, we have three women suffering from conditions that you don’t normally find in North America anymore – Tuberculosis? Syphilis? These are things that you don’t really see anymore in the first world. So where did they come from? Backwoods survival nuts with a thing for drinking bad water and passing around STDs? What about the syphilis? Had it been treated recently? There’d be records in the hospitals if that was the case – how often do modern doctors see that anymore? Why are these gowns – practically antiques – getting used to dress these women? Is he making these gowns? And these women – the moles, freckles… are they related? Cousins? Same family line or something?

“Colby, what about magic? Could that have been used to scrub the scene clean? Otherwise, there should have been some DNA.” Blitz snorted with laughter. “Unless you want to theorize that a ghost killed them!” She giggled at the absurd idea, looking younger than her eighteen years for a second.

[Superball]

"Blitz, with the proper gear, anyone could reduce their evidence trail. For instance this suit I'm wearing... unless I was particularly stupid I would probably leave no traces behind. A simple motorcycle suit and helmet would contain most of any offending material from someone."

She quirks her head. "Wait... that's a detail I missed... the fabric and the dresses... hmm... this does change things... This is now moving towards my third possibility... a very physically skilled, masterful, and obsessed serial killer."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Volt adds "If they are from other timelines ... parallel universes ... or if they are somehow displaced in time I can sense that. My senses are still not refined enough to tell where or when they came from but do have a sense for the presence of anomalies relative to normal time and dimensional displacement."

"Also, with time travel ... one of the things I've been cautioned about is disease. I'm no doctor or biologist but the folks back at Orthi Corp. mentioned that diseases change over time - just like how different places can have diseases that you get shots for when you fly. Makes the diseases more dangerous because people might not be able to resist. If the victims have a bunch of time-traveling diseases someone should be able to test if they are modern versions or not."

"Given some time there I may be able to get some tests done, but not biology tests. I might be able to use my powers to find out more, maybe. As to whether its magic or not, I probably won't be able to tell. I don't use magic, not how my abilities work."

While looking through some more of the files, he adds "If we end up doing some kind of decoy plan, I can pick up some under cover clothes back at my place in town. My apartment is registered under Mr. Volta, by the way, so if anyone needs to drop by they can do so without compromising security. Its not under my real ID or anything."

[Superball]

Naomi looks over the situation. Something suddenly just doesn't seem right and finally spooks her.

"You know... I'm heading to my place. I'd... rather just go alone I think."

She grabs her gear, and slings it over her shoulder. "I think I've bitten off more than I can chew." She says. "I'll be handing my resignation in tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, everyone."

Something about this has suddenly unnerved her. She didn't sign up for this, and she felt completely outgunned.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Gary looked up as Naomi left, the door closing behind her, "That was abrupt." He chewed his cheek in thought for a moment and then shrugged, "These are human women right? We're not looking at those suits the bug boys wear are we? I mean, the level of similarity, well without looking at them myself I can only I say I doubt these are triplets. Even three genetically identical sisters will live different lives, and show variations in appearance to account for that. One had a sweet tooth and is a little heavier, one gets in an accident and has a scar. Even skin color would have some variation, if what you're telling us is accurate, and I'm not doubting that it is mind, but if it is, these can't possibly be explained by any kind of normal means."

[quotemyname]

When Russell suggests using Blitz as bait, the two detectives look very concerned, and Colby vigorously shakes her head. "I do *not* think that's a good idea, at least not at this point; we know so little about our perp, and he's extremely dangerous-" When Naomi runs off, the young detective stops and runs after her, while Lisowski shakes his head and snorts loudly. "Way to freak out the nerd chick, Dogboy."

"To be clear," Russell held up a hand apologetically, "I did not think it was a particularly good idea either. But it was an idea." He shrugged. He looked over at Blitz with no attempt to hide the glance. He was glad the suggestion didn't seem to have phased her. At least not outwardly. Although... She's being awfully quiet...

“Colby, what about magic? Could that have been used to scrub the scene clean? Otherwise, there should have been some DNA.” Blitz snorted with laughter. “Unless you want to theorize that a ghost killed them!” She giggled at the absurd idea, looking younger than her eighteen years for a second.

Ah... Back to normal...Good.

She grabs her gear, and slings it over her shoulder. "I think I've bitten off more than I can chew." She says. "I'll be handing my resignation in tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, everyone."

Russell's eyes followed Naomi out. He gave a small shake of his head. He was thankful that he had a good deal more constitution and conviction than some others. Even if he was lacking in the brainpower department.

Something had been bugging him ever since Gary had tapped into his thoughts. He hadn't dared mention it before, but this may be enough of a chance to cause at least some misdirection as to his intentions, "Gary, how good are you with memories? You can read peoples thoughts." He stated that fact rather than questioning his teammates abilities, "When you're accessing their thoughts, can you at least get a glimpse of things like memories as well?" He paused for a second, "Where am I going with this? Oh. Right. Any idea how long after someone dies their memories would be readable? Say, using the memories of a recent murder victim to identify their killer?" A sly smile played across his lips. Hopefully, depending upon Gary's answer, they'd move forward with the case and Russell could find out a little about Gary's ability to delve into his own mind.

"Another thing I've been thinking: Given Blitz's suggestions, and Gary's reactions to my own, I think we're dismissing things like the Arcane a little too easily. Magic exists. I've seen it. It's pretty important to how my own powers work, after all. What's to say that this killer is using spells as an easy button for covering his tracks? What's to say that our killer is even at the crime scenes in the first place? A blade made of magical power can be used to kill just as easily as a knife, and with that type of weapon, it's even more likely that the weapon's owner doesn't need to hold it in his hands."

"Colby," Russell addressed the female detective, "How much have you really considered the arcane in this case? Do you have any experts on staff at the Paranormal division of the LCPD? If not, do you know any books on the subject?" After shotgunning her with questions, he gave her his reasons, "I'm not much use in the science or thinking department, but I've been through college, and I can do research. Seeing as I'm more magically inclined than my teammates by at least a small margin, I could spearhead that effort. These guys can pour over case files and study DNA and disease markers. I'll read up on spells and magical rituals and such." He offered, "I can't say I'll actually find anything helpful, but when you don't even have a jumping off point it's best to attack a problem from many different angles until you can at least get a foot hold."

"That's my thinking anyway."

[Heritage]

Lisowski nodded as Naomi offered a few other options. "Well, we did say 'any possibility'." He pointed at a reporter's notebook his partner had pulled out of her jacket pocket. "Put 'ninja' down; I've heard stories of them running over snow and leaving no tracks. Plus they do use swords, right?"

Colby nodded as she wrote. "Yes they do...or did, whatever. Hopefully it's a bunch of ninjas; according to the Internet, they're much harder to take down solo." She chuckled mirthlessly at her little joke.

In response to Blitz, Lisowski shook his head. "According to the coroner's report, all three victims were in the advanced stages of both tuberculosis and syphilis, with no signs of any treatment; he said if the killer hadn't gotten them, they would have been dead in a week." He gave her an almost friendly wink. "And you're right about the whole 'First World illness' thing; in fact, it was the diseases, poor health and the old-fashioned clothing that got us onto the whole time travel angle in the first place. That or some kinda backwoods cult, like you said." He turned to the younger detective. "What was the name of that movie, from M. Night Shalamadama-ding-dong? I think Adrian Brody was in it."

"The Village, yeah; 'escaped inbred Amish cousins' was one of the first theories presented, before we got the identical DNA tests back. As far as ghosts go, uh..." She looked at Lisowski and shrugged.

"Put it down; didn't Casper fly and walk through walls?"

"Yeah, but is this his m.o.? I thought he just wanted to be friends? Maybe he-" Her playful smile died on her lips as Superball made her announcement and headed out the door; Colby started to get up from her chair, but her more experienced partner laid a hand on her arm and shook his head.

"Let her go; leave her a little dignity." He looked at the closed door, and spoke with surprising thoughtfulness. "This work isn't for everybody; sometimes I think there's something wrong with those of us who can hack it." Mike also started to get up, and Linus gave him a harsh look. "I know what your thinking, and this is not your fault, Guilt Boy; sometimes things happen to people that have nothing to do with you. Call her later in private, if you want, but right now we have to stay focused. Sit." The sensitive team leader gulped and resumed his seat.

Colby pointed at the FBI man with her pen. "To answer your question, no, these girls aren't Nameless, though as all three are Jane Does, I could make a horrible joke here; we checked for giant centipedes, robotics and plastic surgery scars, and they all came up clean. These women are who they are, whoever that is." She then leveled her Bic at Volt. "And yes, we'd be happy for any or all of you to apply any unique senses or abilities you possess to the crime scenes and the bodies; clearly we're still missing a lot of info."

Lastly she smiled at Russell. "'Ruling out magic'? Buddy, magic is my go-to right out of the box! Linus here is always telling not to rule out scientific explanations, and most of the times, he's right, but not always." She turned her pen on herself. "I'm the department's expert on the occult; master's degree in anthropology, practicing vodun priestess, ritual space, the whole nine yards. Feel free to hit my library anytime; I'll make coffee and couscous. I did cast a few spells on all three victims and their clothing, and they all said the same thing: physically, it's the same woman." She hunkered forward as she warmed to her topic. "The one thing I've really wanted to do on this case is speak with the spirits of the victims, but Wisconsin state law requires a court order and written permission from the victim's family before I can do that." She shrugged. "I can call a judge right now and get the order, but with no known family to contact..." She held up her hands to show they were tied.

Lisowski cleared his throat politely. "On the other hand, the stomach contents of the three Janes are definitely not the same; Janes One and Two seem to have been dumpster divers, but Jane Number Three ate an Egg McMuffin, hash browns and coffee as her last meal. Also Jane Three put up a hell of a fight before she went down, unlike the other two." He tipped his hand from side to side. "So, same or not the same? That is the question."

[quotemyname]

Russell nodded at what Colby had said. It was good to know that the team had a magical resource such as her to go to. Knowing that his own experience with the subject was sub par, he had hoped that he wouldn't be the only one in the room that was, 'into that stuff'.

"All of these idea I like. We've got places to start. I say we get started. As far as enhanced senses go, mine is a great nose. I might be able to pick up some sort of scent at the scene that could lead us somewhere. But like any trail as I'm sure you know, being detectives, it'll grow cold. Faster than I like." Russell reached for his coat, and shrugged it over his shoulders. "So if you want any information out of me, we should leave immediately. I can get there myself, and I can get there quickly. But I'll need a map. I don't know where those intersections are. It's really the only reason I haven't left yet." He smiled at the two detectives, letting them know he was eager to get the ball rolling.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

"Eagerness is a boon, impatience a bane," Gary said quietly, still looking at the folio in his hands. "This isn't a sprint, it's a damned marathon. We need to set a sustainable pace, and be certain we don't miss things in haste to follow up on other leads." Gary gave a disgusted sound, a sour frown on his face, as he closed the folder. This damn thing doesn't make any sense. The timing is wrong for a serial killer, maybe, but then maybe not, its not like they follow rules from a playbook. The body dump traits are just plain contrary; a crime scene with no evidence but the corpse itself? It's ludicrous, even for an XP this is weird." He gestured at the photos of the victims, "And don't get me started on them." Shaking his head he laughed bitterly, "If another shows up looking the same, with the same DNA ... well, let's just say that the odds of identical triplets are pretty slim, and identical quads is even more so, eventually some kind of dimensional or temporal anomaly will be the other plausible explanation apart from clones, and I'm fucked if I know if this is even a case if they are clones. I mean, are clones even people?"

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Most of the science was over his head, but what Volt lacked in book smarts he made up for in general wisdom ... sure, it was wisdom gained through his powers ... but it told him that they needed to see the sites. Another question came to mind.

"Who discovered these bodies? Has anyone from outside the force been especially involved with the investigation so far?"

"My thought is, can we point to anyone who has anything to gain from these crimes? Or even has any connection to them at all - like discovering the bodies."

....

"A shame we couldn't see the scenes soon after - but I think the earlier suggestion of going to see them A.S.A.P. is a good one."

[Heritage]

Lisowski indicated Volt with a nod. "Homicide was all over this case, until the third body turned up; then they were *more* than happy to dump it into our laps. That's the way it always is with EC; once it gets too weird, they don't want to waste their time on 'cape crimes'." The older detective looked like he'd just taken a swig of a month-old cup of coffee. Suddenly both his and his partner's cellphones chimed with incoming texts; Colby rolled her eyes when she read it, but Linus grinned like a kid on Christmas morning as he snatched up the next folder in the stack.

"Hot damn, Case Number Two strikes again! Bank robbery in progress, suspected XPs on-site!" He leaped to his feet and clapped his hands together. "C'mon, Reena, this'll be fun! If you're really lucky, you'll get to wear the Monkey Suit!" Moving with a energy belying his age and normally dour demeanor, he clapped Mike on the back. "And you get to give the new kids the keys to the Beast!"

Kiki burst in, waving a fax in her hand. "Oh my God, Mike, we've got one! Here's the keys!" Without a thought, she tossed a rather heavy keychain right at Mike, who caught them without even looking.

[Heritage]

Lisowski shoved the new case file into Gary's hands as he and his partner headed for the door at full speed. "Our boys confirmed it's the same crew that hit the Midwest Federal branch in Downey last week. Today it's the Downtown branch, right in the middle of rush hour on a Friday night; these guys must be nuts!" Just as he was about to head out the door, he stuck his head back in. "Corner of Ogilvie and Franklin! See you there, kids!" With a slam, he was gone.

Mike quickly rose up from his seat and made a beeline for the elevator. "If you need a set of wheels, follow me! The Beast is in a hidden garage about a block away; there's a tunnel that goes right to it."

[quotemyname]

Hellhound was a little surprised at the sudden whirl of motion and excitement. The Demon inside him had been chomping at the bit for a little action for some time now. As always, he kept it in check, but with everyone rushing about he decided it would be a good time to let his own "Beast" have a chance to stretch its legs.

"Our boys confirmed it's the same crew that hit the Midwest Federal branch in Downey last week. Today it's the Downtown branch, right in the middle of rush hour on a Friday night; these guys must be nuts!" Just as he was about to head out the door, he stuck his head back in. "Corner of Ogilvie and Franklin! See you there, kids!" With a slam, he was gone.

Russell's face fell as he realized he had absolutely no idea where that was. He couldn't even begin to tell you what direction the bank was in.

Mike quickly rose up from his seat and made a beeline for the elevator. "If you need a set of wheels, follow me! The Beast is in a hidden garage about a block away; there's a tunnel that goes right to it."

"No sense in getting ahead of ourselves, first day on the job..." He covered for his own unease, "I'll just follow you."

Russell tossed the coat he'd been holding over the back of one of the chairs. He began to roll up his sleeves even further than they already were. With his left hand, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. With his right hand, he drew a pair of fingerless leather gloves from the outside pocket of his coat.

As he pulled on the gloves and tightened them about his wrists, something about him changed. There were noticeable visual changes, but there were other differences too. Maybe his mood changed, or the feelings he was projecting were different. Some one more magically aware might say that his aura had been altered. Whatever the cause, Russell didn't feel like Russell anymore. His new teammates were about to see where he really got his code name from.

The air in the room grew hot. A black, lustrous coating began to crawl over the parts of his skin that were exposed. His arms, his face, and the parts of his neck and chest visible over the top of his shirt all seemed to be rapidly sprouting a sort of very short fur that shone like the coat of a some large dog, reminiscent of a doberman. The places on his skin that one might think of as 'outer' sections, like the backs of his forearms, the back of his neck, and his chest up to his neck sprouted what looked like a scaled armor plating that was a sharp black color much like obsidian. The ends of his hair began to fray slightly as if they were nearly smoldering. The bulk of his hair still held the wet look that he'd arrived with. It now seemed logical that it would have a sort of coating to keep the majority of the strands from igniting from whatever fire seemed to be burning within him.

Then his eyes changed. The dark brown of the iris and pupils were overtaken by a flood of red which filled the inner section, but left the whites of his eyes white. The stark contrast with his now black skin gave his piercing gaze an unnerving quality. There was no mistaking the fact that the team was now looking at what was for all intents and purposes, the man's "business side".

Hellhound took a deep breath. "Much better." His voice was different too. It didn't sound different, its pitch was no higher or lower, its tone was no deeper or darker, but it seemed to possess a gravity that completely dismissed the effect his previous light hearted demeanor had impressed upon them. "Lead the way," He gestured to the door with and open glove hand that crackled with miniature tongues of flame.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Gary grunted as the detective hurriedly shoved a file into his midsection and then bolted for the door. He looked at the folio, and then at the others, "I guess we had better get moving. Mike, I think if you are able, we'd all appreciate it if you could drive." Gary looked down at Blitz, "Though I suspect you'll find it faster on foot even if you don't know where you're going." He reached out to her mind, Blitz? Can you hear me? I'm sure you don't want to ride in the vehicle, so just keep in contact with us through me, I'll relay whatever you find when you get there to the others.

Gary took a breath, "I'm going to link with the rest of you as well, please do not be alarmed." The image of a smiley face an a thumbs up came to Russ and Volt as well as Mike and Blitz, Can you hear me now? Welcome to Gary Wireless. Somehow each of them got the impression of a sardonic smile on Gary's face thought outwardly it remained impassive. "Let's go."

[Heritage]

At Gary's suggestion of him driving, Mike blinked for a second, then looked down at his custom-made Italian clothes. "Uh, normally I work behind the scenes; the public doesn't know- whoa, that's your voice in my head!" He held a hand to his temple and offered the telepathic G-man a queasy smile. "Yeah, reading you loud and clear, Special Agent."

For her part, Kiki, realizing that the team was already up-to-speed on the bank robbery situation, quickly gave her boss a once over. No, Gary's right, you need to drive...ooh, I've got it! One second!" She ran out of the room, and returned breathlessly about a minute later with a sporty looking leather jacket and the incomplete mask and gauntlets off of the Gamma suit. "Here, put these on!" The multi-millionaire shrugged into the jacket and tugged on the gloves as his capable assistant fumbled with the mask. "I just hope the voice scrambler's working on this thing..."

"I dunno if this is such a good idea, Keek; I look like a Power Ranger in this get-up-" She got the mask up and over his head, and once it was snugly in place, Mike's voice came out raspy, metallic and distorted. "This is...oh wow, that's creepy." The exposed wiring and rough finish of the mask and gauntlets gave him a rather disturbing skeletal appearance, and combined with the jacket and eerie voice, the real estate magnate came off more like a cybernetic race car driver/ghoul. "Well, okay...uh, Gary, can you patch Kiki into your mental network? She can help with the police and fire department coordination that way."

AS the group headed for the elevator, Kiki gleefully called out to Mike. "If any one asks, just tell them you're 'the Mysterious Mister K'! Buckle up, guys!"

[quotemyname]

When Gary touch Russell's mind again, he noticed even more differences. The baying hound he'd encountered before held no candle to the chaos that raged in the man's mind now. If Gary were capable of perceiving Russell's mind with all his senses, it would seem as if his thoughts were hot, and tinged with red. The man's mind was a whirling torrent of desires and obsession. Gary felt a strong driving need for action and violence that left him in wonderment that Russell was even able to stand still with those thoughts inside him. But there was also fear. Every thought within the man's mind was gripped by a strange, paralyzing fear. As if acting on any of the impulses within his mind would cause him the greatest of terror and anguish. Though the source of the terror was hidden to him. Russell's own mind was no safe place, no refuge, even for his own mind. That much was for certain.

---

Unfortunately the two LCPD agents had beaten them there and it had already left. Hellhound folded his arms and stared impatiently as the display showed it had just reached the bottom floor. Hellhound stood behind the other two men and watched as Mike reached out to press the "Down" button for the elevator. Not one to stand and twiddle his thumbs, he opened his mouth instead, "Frankly, if we're going to stop a bank robbery in progress, this is taking entirely too long. Excuse me, gentlemen, but we're taking the stairs." Before Mike could press the button, Hellhound reached out, and grabbed the shirt collars of both men.

For the tiniest fraction of a second, both men could hear a strange, tortured scream which was suddenly cut short.

They stood in the entrance lobby of the building in front of the elevator, the area smelled of sulfur, and there were thin wisps of smoke trailing from the shoulders of their clothing. The elevator doors had only just begun to open, revealing the two detectives inside. Hellhound gestured to the now open elevator. "I'm not sure where the tunnel actually is, or I would have taken us straight there. This will at least save us a few seconds of waiting for this thing to come back up."

[z-Blitz]

Blitz stared at the transformed Hellhound. Her green eyes were wide with shock and fear. It was him. It was the monster from that terrible night. Val was caught in a mixture of pain and fear in the face of the demon from her past. Tensing, she waited for him to turn on her and attack her, or Gary, or any of them. But he didn't.

Gary’s voice in her mind shattered her fugue. “I can hear you,” she said, then realized she’d spoke aloud. Flushing a little, she added, I can hear you. Can you hear me?

At the affirmative from the telepath, Blitz added, “I’ll follow on foot. Just in case.” She didn’t elaborate on what she was invoking the ‘just in case’ for to the others. She didn’t think they needed to be concerned about car accidents. Plus she wasn’t getting in the car with that demon. “I’m faster and more maneuverable and more comfortable on my feet.”

Quietly, she watched Mike get dressed up. Privately, she wished they’d had a chance to work together as a team. Hellhound talking was another surprise; the last time they'd met - however briefly - he'd been more of the slaughter without honor or humanity. Chris had died horribly and now she was just supposed to work with the guy?!

You wanted to do more than work with him just a few minutes ago, she reminded herself, hating the heat that scored her cheeks. You could run away.​ The thought was abhorrent to the plucky young woman. She was tempted though. Physically, she could escape. But she knew that there wasn't really an escape. She wasn't fixing the problem or solving anything. All she was doing was putting off the issue, because the problem here wasn't really Hellhound. It was her past and ultimately, she really couldn't run from it. She wasn't being given much time to decide either - there was a crisis. I can run later, if I want.

A second and a puff of sulfur later, Blitz found herself alone with Volt. She looked at him and gave him a one-shouldered shrug. "Guess we're on our own." With a wicked grin, she added, "There's a song about this - I Think We're Alone Now." As she burst into motion, Volt heard a rapidly fading but decently sung, "Children behave! That's what they say..."

A sharp wind preceded her as she appeared next to the truck, slapping the hood like one would a sleepy horse. "Let's roll!" she said, stepping back with her legs blurring. She edged toward the exit, then back closer to the car, gyrating back and forth between the two points with the speed of a hummingbird.

This is the version of the song Blitz would listen to:

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Volt smiled at Blitz and said "Its a good song too. We should hang out later, listen to music." ...as she sped away he thought 'Heh ... have to watch out for that one'.

...

"I'll follow ... you lead. If I get there first, I'll stay high and scout." Volt said to the senior members of the team as they prepared to leave - then he was gone.

Volt still didn't know the city, and it had taken him an aerial teleport and a quick check of a map, spotting the team car - then another teleport to get on site. Thank you city information center ... free map, with landmarks ...that was a score.

Then Gary was touching his mind, but it really seemed to be him. Volt let him in, just enough to talk. He'd had limited experience with the Nameless back at the lab before ... telepathy was still a little weird though. "Hello Special Agent ... I'm trusting you not to reveal anything I let slip in here that shouldn't get out."

Hmmm ... there first, at least first in the air above. He'd have to wait out though, he just didn't have the training to take the lead on this ... and the others would arrive shortly.

In the mean time ... he scouted from the air. Observing as keenly as possible, ready to give a report for the team on arrival.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Folks, I think I need to explain, this link isn't deep, in fact it's limited not only to you very surface conscious thoughts, but only those that you intend to share. I can't read anything you don't allow, nor you anything I allow. If you need to send an image or a sound just think it, I'll get it and relay it accordingly. Unfortunately I need to act as a switchboard of a sorts, I can't make it so that you can communicate directly to each other.

Gary had little time to say more before Russ, now looking decidedly less than clean cut, grabbed his arm and shuttled him through hell. Or at least that was what it seemed for the briefest of instants that Gary was able to process incoming sensory data before they were in the garage. "What the hell?" Gary gagged on the stench of sulfur, "Ugh, stinks ..." Recovering quickly he made for the "Beast", "Uh, Mike, I think you better drive, I'm ... yeah, no, I'm not getting behind the wheel of that thing."

[quotemyname]

At Mike's direction, another teleport took them from the lobby of the building to the garage where the Beast was kept.

"What the hell?" Gary gagged on the stench of sulfur, "Ugh, stinks ..."

"Yea, nice place to visit. You wouldn't want to live there, though." Hellhound smiled as Gary waved the sulfur fumes away from his face. Hellhound followed Gary without a second's hesitation. Once at the vehicle itself, he climbed onto the rear of it, "With me in there, this thing wouldn't need a heater. Not even in this weather. I think You'll all be a little more comfortable if I just hang on back here. Besides" He cast a glance and smiled at the jittery Blitz, "Always loved having the wind in my hair." Hellhound braced his left foot at the center of the car's rear fender and his right foot just inside the right edge. He placed on hand on the support railing running down the side of the truck and another on the cage that was bolted to the roof. The way the muscles in his arms flexed, it didn't look like he'd have any trouble holding on even at top speed.