Only Superhuman [Inactive]

[Pattycakes]

John was disappointed that the Random Stranger would not accompany them back to the base. It would have made everything much more easier. But like all things in life, nothing seemed to come easy, except maybe physics.


"I don't think you can except us to believe this whole tip of the iceberg thing. If there was a real archvillan and masterminds conspiracy, they wouldn't be a secret to everyone but you. Do you have any evidence that this Muerte is involved in something larger? Files? Video? Hard evidence?


"As for my work, I haven't taught Physics in roughly six months or so. I've been working as a researcher and sometimes team member for the Institute."





With that, Mark looked towards Amber and vanish from his current position, instantly appearing behind Amber. A second later, he was gone. This time, he waited for the Random Stranger to turn around behind her. He was now one the far side of the office. He smirked as she turned towards him, taking a bow. "That's my show.


"Now, your power is more odd than I thought. You would be the first metahuman I know that can tape into the ESP. I guess the codename they have for you, "Random Stranger" really does fit. Speaking of which, is there something else I can call you? I feel so inhospitable not knowing your name yet."

 

[sharlene79]

Random Stranger’s arms unfolded and went down to her sides. She almost made fists when questioned about evidence. “Yes, I have evidence. Lots of it. But it is raw data mostly with too many holes in it. Muerte is not the top of the food chain. He answers to others. The organization his team works for has origins that date back before World War II known as Hydra And yes, I mean like in the comic books.


“The disappearances? Those are Muerte and his team. I would guess some personal project. The various teams work independently. Professor Muerte is after technology, mainly cybernetic and communications. Lord Cobra is interested in genetics and biowarfare, especially regarding reptiles. Armor Inc is mainly a mercenary group made of powered armor personnel. I have heard of a newer team known as Deathstroke. And there was a Nazi team known as Fourth Reich. There are a couple others as well. Tip of the iceberg.


“What I have been tracking is the money. I think Dark Knight is after the same thing. He just doesn’t realize what he is up against. The money trail he is pursuing has connections overseas. He’s been looking into the death of a cop, Shawn Brady, who was accused of taking hush money. The evidence says he was. But other evidence says he wasn’t. I just can’t prove it. I don’t think he was shot by accident. I think he was assassinated. and more to the point, I think the cop’s partner, Ryan Kelly, set him up. Kelly has mafia connections. And I have placed him at the same boxing gyms where the boxers have been disappearing. The man has a membership to a private mafia club that he couldn’t possibly afford on a cop’s salary.


“I have all the data at my .. apartment. Uhm .. but … I’m not used to having visitors, especially oddly dressed ones.” She looked uneasy. She had been reading the expressions of the two heroes and had finally come to a decision. “You can fly, right?” she asked Amber. “If so, I need you to carry him. Just levitate. I’ll drag you two. It isn’t that far. I don’t suppose I could talk you into wearing blindfolds?”


Amber shrugged. “Sure.”


+++++++++++++


The man stood there staring at the short columns of buttons with illegible script beside them. The smell of delicious Chinese food filled his nostrils and his stomach rumbled. He reached up and for the 127th time rang the buzzer. Like the previous 126 times ... there was no response.


He was dressed in multiple layers of clothes, all a little too large. Atop his head was a bicycle crash helmet layered amply with aluminum foil as if he was expecting the possibility of an alien abduction. Over the helmet an oversized hood helped hold it on - and atop that a four foot long toboggan. He reeked of not having bathed in a week or more, plus the stench of what smelled like he had shared a stall with pigs - literally.


A small group of young men saw him standing there as he had been standing there all night. One of them grinned and started to lead the rest over to have a little fun. When they got there he picked up a small rock and bounced it off his helmet. "Hey there, you lost?"


The man never looked at the man. Instead he rocked a little agitated and stared off into infinity. "No."


"Well, you gots a name?" the loud man asked.


The man became a little more agitated. But he did respond. "Have a name. So do you." He reached up and pressed the buzzer again. Again no response. "Have to go now." He started to walk down the steps but found his progress impeded.


"You too good to look me in the eyes?" The thug raised his voice.





"Have to go now," the raggedy man repeated himself. But the only acknowledgment he received was being shoved. When he bounced against another of the thugs they shoved him back to thug number one. And that got him shoved back again like a pinball stuck between a few bumpers.


And it was for this that Random Stranger arrived on the scene with her superheroes on hand. “Uhm, maybe you should take the blindfolds off.”

 

[Valor Green]

A small smirk played on Valerie's lips, as it was clear she had Jason's attention. The light faded from her faux wings, and they folded back down behind her. Once Orville was also in observance, she began with small changes in the hue of her suit, running through the gamut of color. "This suit is designed for easy alterations in appearance. The black exterior reflects little to no light on its own, and the tight fit cuts down on loose extras, leaving fewer pieces for me to be concerned with, when trying to camouflage." The suit returned to black, and her skin began to darken as well - followed by her hair. Within a only a minute, her entire visage was engulfed in a deep, dark black.


Her arms stretched outward at her sides, and from her open palms the absorbed light was released in two simultaneous flashes. The black began to fade, returning the normal colors of of light, somewhat reddened skin and medium brown hair. "I can take on other colors as well, but naturally, the more complex backgrounds are troublesome, to say the least."


"Most of my abilities as best suited to disguise and distraction," she mused while sending off mild flashes from her hands in an alternating sequence, "and unfortunately, I haven't much by way of offensive capacity. I have, however, been developing a new tactic that may help a bit in subduing opponents." She held one hand forward with a sustained bright light projected outward. "If you wouldn't mind me giving it a test." The light begins to change color and intensity at a mild pace. Cycling through the seemingly random sequence, the rate accelerates, acting almost as a strobe light on the eyes. Before it could become truly disorienting, however, the light faded, and Valerie's hand lowered. "Ah, it's difficult to make all the changes quickly enough. It takes a lot of concentration." She pulled her hand it, stretching her fingers by curling them in and out. "Any questions?"

 

[sharlene79]

Amber reached up and pulled the blindfold off. It only took her a moment to get a read of the situation below. Four bullies picking on a man who was clearly mentally handicapped. Of course, had they been close enough to get a good look at the face, she and John might have recognized the man as a rather troublesome member of the Amazing Five. He had an annoying tendency to wander off.





“Stranger, drop John off on the roof above them. I’ll see if I can diffuse this.” Amber activated her ring and her street clothes vanished to be replaced by her jumpsuit and helmet. She suddenly shot straight down under a 4 G force which reversed itself almost as fast to keep her from slamming into the pavement. She landed only a few feet away.


For a few seconds everyone just stood there in silence.


The raggedy man was at least glad he wasn’t being pushed around anymore. Finally he interrupted the silence by saying, “I have to go now.”


Amber wished she knew gang colors better - or if these even were gang bangers. “Don’t you guys have something better to do?"


Random Stranger dropped John off on the roof some 30 feet or so up above the scene. Then she vanished through the roof of the building.


“Nah lady, we just having fun with our friend here, aren’t we?” One of the gang grabbed the raggedy man by the shoulder and shook it.





“No,” the raggedy man responded. “You’re in trouble.”


Amber was sweating inside her suit. She really hated this. Fact was, she was terrified. Oh she was probably stronger than any of the men by far. And they probably couldn’t actually hurt her. But none of that helped. This was an irrational fear that went back to her childhood.


Amber looked at the raggedy man. She finally recognized the man. It was Clarence Jones of the Amazing Five. Here … in New York City … alone. Well, she knew better than to use the man’s name. He would have freaked out. But she could force the situation. “Sir, would you like to come with me?”


Clarence nodded vigorously. “I have to go now.”


Amber reached out and took hold of Clarence’s arm. The moment she did that, the two nearest thugs reacted by grabbing her arm. Her helmet tilted down. “Boys, that is assault. Eek, help.” Her voice, though strained, was bland.





“Told ya,” said Clarence.


Clarence suddenly flew into the air along with Amber. As soon as she made it to the roof she dropped him off and fell three stories back down. She hit a little hard. As she stood back up, thug number one took a swing at her. She tucked her head down and he very nearly broke his hand on her helmet. That’s when the pepper spray came out. “And that’s battery." Thug number two got a face full of the vile spray and started screaming.


Thug three thought he was smarter. He pulled a knife. Amber spotted it and LET the man stab her. He nearly twisted his wrist as the knife failed to penetrate her jumpsuit. She grabbed the knife from him with a gloved hand.


Thug four was waiting with a gun. Amber turned toward him and stepped forward, not even trying to dodge. “Go ahead if you think it will do any good.” When the thug hesitated she continued. “Pick your friends up and leave.”


+++++++++++


Once the thugs were gone Amber flew up to bring John and Clarence back down. John could have gotten them down, but porting Clarence might have destabilized him and Clarence wasn’t very stable at the best of times.


Clarence tried to wrest his way free to hit the buzzer again. Amber didn't try to hold him. Rather she let him go and nodded at John.


Random Stranger was torn between revealing her identity and leaving the man stranded on the front porch. In the end the fears of the scene drawing attention forced her to make her choice. A few moments later her voice came from the speaker. "Hello?"


"Hi Lori!" Clarence smiled angelically. "I'm here!"


Lori hit the security code to let the man in. "Come on in. All of you." While she wasn't thrilled with this - and had no idea who the guy was or how he knew her name, she didn't want to leave him on the streets. By the time everyone made it up, she had transformed back into Lori Stevens - bound again to her wheelchair. She met the group at the door to her apartment. There were the sounds of several chains and bars being removed.

Lori’s apartment was a cluttered mess. There were stacks of magazines, newspapers, books, CD's. There were over a dozen widescreen LCD computer screens daisy chained around the room. It was like a miniature NASA Control center. Her tastes in reading material ranged from fact to classic literature. There was also a weight set and exercise machines. It looked as though she hardly ever left her apartment.


In the more confined space of the apartment everyone's eyes started to tear up. The man reeked of not having bathed. No, it was worse than that. He smelled like a cattle hauler and other foul smells. "I have to go," he repeated himself.


Lori almost gagged. The man positively reeked, but she politely responded. "You're safe now. Are you lost?"


"No, I have to go now." This time the man actually looked directly at Lori. Then he smiled uncomfortably. "Really bad."


Amber did a double take. "Oh crap! You mean you have to GO!"


Lori tried not to laugh. “That way,” she pointed toward the bathroom.


At least Clarence didn't mess his britches. He must have been holding it quite a while though. While he was busy Lori asked him if he would like some Chinese food. That elicited an audible rumble from his stomach she could hear through the door. She took that as a yes and asked him what he liked to eat. The funny thing was that he ordered by item number. He already knew the menu. Oddly that didn't seem so surprising.


Lori asked the rest what they would like to eat - if anything - her treat. She clearly wasn't used to having company. “The restaurant downstairs delivers. I’m a regular. "Uhm . is there anyone we should call to let them know you are alright?" Lori asked the man.


The man froze at the question. His eyes immediately strained to avoid everyone else's.


Again she took that as a yes. "Who's your best friend?"


This time the man grinned foolishly. "I don't know." Lori was about to try again, but he continued. "Jake always has my six. Sybil's nice - 'cept when she's mad at me for borrowing things. Simon is okay. Janice tries to make me take too much medicine. I don't like medicine."


Lori nodded. She was getting somewhere at least. "Did they give you a number to call in case you got lost or ran into trouble?"


"Oh, I never get lost." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rolled up wad of toilet paper. "See?" Everyone saw that it was covered with scribbled mathematical symbols. It says I am right here."


Lori held it up. She had never seen math like this. It looked like something taught at levels far beyond anything she had ever studied. For that matter, no one really quite knew the math, except to say it looked like it could be genuine - some sort of advanced physics.





“Simon can understand it - kinda. Sybill really understands it."


"So . who would you call?" Lori had almost forgot to ask again.





"Jake. He's cool. He has a pickup. He lets me drive sometimes. But I'm not supposed to tell anyone - especially Janice."


"And his phone number is?" Lori hinted strongly, half doubting that would be enough.


But the man reached into another pocket and pulled out a laminated business card. It read: "My name is ########## #####. If I am lost or in trouble please call and ask for Jake Iverson. Thank you." The part that had the man's name was blacked out. Below it was written John Smith.

 

[Pattycakes]

John could feel his heart rate increase, pounding in his chest. He could feel the sweat begin to drop down his face. He was nervous, and rightly so, he thought. Amber had just dropped down into a potentially dangerous situation to save the man. What if they were metahumans? Would John have to fight them? Could he fight them?


John waited with baited breath as the conversation unfolded. When she jumped down, John was relieved that the conflict seemed to be over. Of course, Amber had other ideas. When she jumped down again, John's heart-rate went through the roof. That only increased when Amber pulled out the pepper spray. That in turn was magnified when the man pulled out a knife. “HES GOT A KNIFE!” he hollered at the top of his lungs, pointing at the thug with the drawn blade. When he went in for the stab, John winced and made to look away, but found himself unable to avert his eyes from the scene.


By the time Amber had brought him and the man back down, John was a sweating and nervous wreck. He eyed the man, they...no Amber had rescued. The person seemed familiar, but John couldn't put his finger on it. However, that didn't stop him smiling when he finally learned Lori's name.


He couldn't say he was surprised when Lori was bound to wheelchair. Putting two and two together, he had guessed she likely would have had some kind of debilitating physical problem. Still, he wished he had been wrong. He would have liked to been wrong about it.


Her apartment was a pigsty. That was putting it almost too mildly, John thought. It was atrociously unkempt. How could anyone function in this sort of environment, even more so in a wheelchair? Then there was the smell that came from room. At first, John thought it was some obscure object buried under a pile somewhere but the odor seemed to be immanent from the man Amber had rescued. He was extremely relived when he left for the bathroom temporarily.


As John listened to the conversation between Lori and the man, he looked around the apartment. His primary interest was any files she had lying around. Yet, everything was so cluttered it made locating anything nigh impossible.


When the man mentioned some names, John looked back at the man to do a double take. Those names were the names of the Amazing Five, the first metahumans brought to the Institute. He had met them all once or twice individually and as a group. Thinking about the Amazing Five while looking at the man, John had a sudden epiphany of who the man was.


“Cla-” John cut himself off, suddenly remembering that the man freaked out when called by his name. It was one of the first mistakes John had made when they first met. He quickly learned to call him CJ. “-CJ, what are you doing here?”

 

[sharlene79]

“Cla-” John cut himself off, suddenly remembering that the man freaked out when called by his name. It was one of the first mistakes John had made when they first met. He quickly learned to call him CJ. “-CJ, what are you doing here?”


Lori thought to ask something similar at almost the exact same moment. "Excuse me... John? Did you come here specifically to talk to me? And if so, what about?" Then she caught the use of the name CJ and looked in shock at John. “CJ?!” Her attention riveted on Clarence. “YOU’RE CJ?”


Clarence looked at Lori confused. Then he looked behind him and then back at Lori. Almost comically he reached out and grabbed the her gently. “You should see a doctor. I don’t see anyone behind me. Who’s John? Oh wait. He’s John; I’m … You Know Who.” He looked back at John. “I’m here to see Lori. Here,” he handed her a flash drive that looked like it had been cobbled together. His eyes started to dart around. He was clearly mentally counting things. he began mumbling numbers. He was starting to overload with information. Too many people asking him too many things in too short a time. He needed familiarity.


Whether she realized it was the right things to do, Lori turned aside and picked up her Secured Sat phone and started to call the number on the card. After a few rings there was a bleary response.





“Hello?” It was a man’s voice. Jake looked at his alarm clock and groaned. _Damn! Do they realize what time it is?_


As if Lori could read the man’s mind she said, “I’m sorry about the time, but I thought this call couldn’t wait. Is this Jake? I got this number off of a business card of a John Smith.”


THAT woke him up! “Where is he? What’s he done now?” Jake’s voice was urgent and concerned, but also slightly annoyed. At least it was loud enough for John to hear.


Lori was shaking her head. “Oh he’s fine. Uhm, this is Brooklyn … New York.”


There was silence on the other end of the line, then a low delirious laughter. _I’m gonna kill him._ Finally Jake sighed. “I see. Has he been any trouble.?”


“Oh not at all. Just a very big surprise. Uhm, is John his real name?”


“Nnnoo. And he terrified of any connection to the internet, mirrors, crowds, being alone, alien abductions, hospitals, needles, police, military, open spaces. No serious allergies, but he should not be allowed caffeine. He’s manic-depressive and a conspiracy nut. He’d also freak if you say his name anywhere near a microphone. Ask him to write it down for you. He’ll eat the paper after he does. He’s been off meds for three days. Personally I don’t think he needs them as much as his doctor thinks, but it does make him more manageable. Now not to be indelicate, but does he reek?”


Lori chuckled at the last question. “Well, we aren’t crying for no reason?”


“Why are you sad?” Clarence asked innocently.


Jake and Lori exchanged laughs. Jake continued. “I’m sorry about that. Can you put me on a speaker phone?” He waited while Lori made his voice audible throughout the room. “Hey Buddy! You gave us a bit of a scare taking off like that.”


“Hey Jake!”


“Put the Dr Pepper down NOW or I am telling Sybill!” Jake’s voice was stern. Clarence’s eyes widened and he put the soda pop down instantly a guilty look on his face. “You know you made Sybill cry?”


“I-I’m sorry.” Clarence responded.





“Bud, you can’t just say sorry every time and everything is just okay. She’s also mad. You … borrowed something from her lab again. And, what the hell did you do with 6 rolls of aluminum foil?”


“I didn’t want to be alone. So I protected my friends.” Clarence said this so matter of fact.


Jake suddenly busted up laughing. “Oh god. The bag of feed. Cows?” He laughed again. “Well, that was very generous of you. I bet the aliens will never even find them. Caps for all of them?” Jake didn’t have the heart to break it to his friend that the cattle were probably on their way to the slaughterhouse.





“Okay Buddy, time to go strip and go get a shower. Pronto. And you will wear whatever they give you to wear – no complaints. Behave … and you can have half a cup of that Dr Pepper. And I won’t tell Sybill. Move it!”


Clarence did not look happy. He refused to remove the helmet at first to wash his long shaggy hair. But Amber came up with a quick answer for that. She asked Lori if she had any aluminum foil and tacks. Then she went in and lined the shower stall with the foil making an “alien proof” shower. Clarence grinned and walked right in. She told Clarence to tie the helmet off through its strap with a towel.


As soon as the man got busy with the shower, Amber started emptying the man’s clothes into discrete bundles of knick knacks so he could take them and wash them.


Jake asked how he could reach them, explaining that he would make the drive to come pick the man up. Lori wasn’t too thrilled at putting out her address and phone number for a stranger to use. She decided it would be best for her to call him each day, and make arrangements when he got closer.


+++++++++++++++


Lori ordered the sushi for all who wanted it. never mind how she paid for it. She pulled a stack of 100’s and a stack of 20’s from a drawer and pulled out what she needed - plus the tip. Her room wasn’t so much filthy as it was cluttered. She never built in much dishes as she ordered out all the time. And that became very obvious when she ordered in fluent Mandarin.


Lori had one of those accents that was hard to place. Odds were that she had lived in the USA so long her accent was barely noticeable. But it was there when she got emotional. It sounded like a cross between Australian and German with a little Slavic - South African perhaps?


Once she had ordered the food she began turning on the displays. “Let’s see what Clarence wanted me to see.” She checked her last backup and once satisfied she wasn’t going to lose data she plugged the flash drive in. Almost instantly the files reopened fast. Then thousands of blanks started to fill up, links were created between entities. Her eyes began to widen. “This …” her voice trailed off as she paled.


When it was done she searched briefly, and pulled up Muerte. “Professor Muerte an alias for a man named Hernan Cortez. He used to be a drug enforcer for the cartels in South America. Today he is one of the seven heads of Hydra. Hydra predates World War II. It was supposedly crushed not long after that war. But that is simply not true and it was naive to believe they couldn’t rebuild. Or maybe noone ever thought that they wouldn’t. Maybe people just forgot.


“The current Heads of Hydra are:


Lord Cobra (Ozzymandias) - Viper


Professor Muerte - Terror Inc


Ankylosaur - Armor Inc.


Dr Draconis - Deathstroke


Red Mist - CRIME


Fear - Seven Horsemen


Fourth Reich - Fourth Reich (group named after him)


“This is not the top of rung of Hydra. There are 5 enforcers they keep the seven teams in line. Above these are the Brain Trust and finally the Inner Circle. I have met one of what I believe was a member of the Brain Trust - the Phantom. He asked me to call him Erik. Noone else was ever allowed to do so. He was kind to me, but very cold towards my parents. You ask how I know about Muerte and his involvement with Hydra? Muerte reports to Captain Nemo, another member of the Brain Trust. My parents reported to both Nemo and Phantom.


“They were engineers working for Hydra - not one of the smaller teams - Hydra. They tried to escape Hydra and ended up being killed for their attempt. That is how this happened,” she gestured to her wheelchair. But all this is hearsay. Let’s pick a place and start following the money.


“There is a money drop in a couple days. Dark Knight will be going after it I am almost certain. This would be a money chain I have been watching. I have also been following his research. Why don’t we start with his research. His father was supposedly on the take.” She clicked on an icon and zoomed in. She frowned. “This is new.” She turned to look toward the sound of running water. It was shutting off.


Amber raised her voice. “Did you scrub behind your ears? There better not be so much as a speck of black stuff on her towels when you dry off!” The water turned back on.


Lori pointed at the data she had uncovered. It was a small network of accounts - off books like a Black Ops account. Only it was associated with Interpol. Det Shawn Brady had been taking his payoffs from Interpol. And that was a very interesting fact. Only Clarence had gone further than that. He identified the Interpol contact. The agent’s last name was Cantrell. And he had had a lot of contact with a Detective Mitchell Cantrell of the NYPD - his brother. Mitchell was THE lead detective in cases involving metahumans.


Both Lori and Clarence had been detailed, tracking not just facts and people, but times and locations. Lori spotted another link to a private Sicilian nightclub. She looked for any ties to his partner Ryan Kelly. Ryan Kelly had a membership that no cop could afford.





“I’ll explain what I am looking at here. I see a payment to a contract killer named Pale Rider, a newer member of Terror Inc. The payment came in two installments - before and after completion. They sync up with the death of Shawn Brady. I think this is evidence that Brady was working undercover for Interpol, possibly even with IA. But the timing of his death makes it hard to prove.


“Hmm …” she almost grunted. “This is … oh god.”


Cantrell had gone to his brother’s funeral. It had been a triple burial, for his sister in law and niece had been among the deceased. Lori had opened up the file on the criminal investigation of Mitchell’s brother. The image of the crime scene was frightening, for the man’s car had been ripped apart – literally torn in half, and partly melted. The man himself was scorched, his body ripped into a dozen pieces and his skull crushed. According to the report he had managed to empty his gun. But there had been very little trace of residue.


Then she clicked on the related bombing of the man’s home. The revenge had been terrible. The image was of the corpse of a girl. There was literally a charred 2 x 4 sticking through her, her body blackened by the bomb blast that had blown her out onto the front yard from the front door. She must have been standing in front of it when it blew. The girl was of course, Mitchell Cantrell’s niece. The girl had likely been around 10 years old. Clutched in her hand were the remnants of a practice bow.


Lori had to look away. “That … was the work of Muerte over in France. Now he’s here.”

 

[Mitheral]

Heather Daniels stood staring out at the Da Vinci, the Umbral Explorer vessel of the Amazing Five, over the shoulders of Jeanine Brumby. The incredible vessel just hung there in mid air in the sports dome, nothing evident to hold it up. The space surrounding it was not fragile, unstable. She was not at all amused.


They had taken on a mission well beyond their means, risked the vessel - a prototype - falling into the hands of DARPA on the half baked ramblings of one of their members, Clarence Jones. The man was unstable himself at the best of times. His theories batted 50/50 at best. At the same time the Amazing Five had attacked the base, a metahuman group known as Terror Inc had attacked. Somehow the Amazing Five had survived Of course, they had had the advantage of their ship.


To top all that off they had arrived with an android advanced beyond any normal Terran technology, incorporating a dozen stolen technologies, many of which she had invented herself. The very fact that the technology had been reverse engineered as well as it had been spoke highly of the lead scientist.





“Looking at it hard isn’t going to make it go away. They made a call. Right or wrong they are here now.” Jeanine spoke to her mentor. Her days of idol worship were long gone.





“Right call. But it wasn’t their gamble to make. They brought the problem here and we have enough of our own. The whole mission should have been reviewed first.” Heather didn’t sound angry, merely critical.





“Or maybe WE should have realized there was a mission to consider first?” Jeanine probed.


Heather was silent. Not responding she turned to go back to the labs where the android was recovering. It had suffered critical damage from a fight with Muerte and Iron Man. Both opponents had been physically superior in strength. Muerte had evidenced superior technology. The only thing that had saved her from being pounded into scrap metal was speed - and the fact that Muerte’s main weapon had been gummed up by Simon Iverson.


The Amazing Five had all been wounded save for Clarence, who somehow walked through the base unscathed. And in the end it had been Clarence who had saved Cybera by dragging her damaged body to the Da Vinci as the base began to collapse in on itself.


Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of Dr Whiter had been the development of a quantum brain. Such computer technology was known to only a handful of scientists on Earth. Of course hacking it had been child’s play for Heather - well, maybe not that easy.. She had first developed the technology decades ago. And by now she had a vastly more advanced computer to assist. By the time she, and several other senior members of the base had completed the repairs, Heather was more than satisfied that Cybera wasn’t a Trojan Horse. The others were disturbed about their own inventions being exploited without their knowledge. Heather was surprised it had taken so long.


Cybera had been manually kept in her Sleep mode during the exhaustive repairs and scans. Now Heather activated the sequence to awaken her and restore her to autonomy. It didn’t take the android long to awaken. The room they were in was a blank holodeck, in truth part of a World Room, its own dimension. Here there was no internet. GPS couldn’t have been used to locate her. It had been the safest place to undertake the modifications to prevent her recapture.





“Welcome back to the world of the living Dr Whiter - so to speak.” Heather spoke calmly.

 

[Pattycakes]

John had a good chuckle over CJ's antics. To say the man was slightly insane would not be doing him the justice he deserved. Although, it was odd that Lori seemed to know CJ already. She didn't recognize him when they first arrived...


When Lori ordered sushi, John gladly eat his fill of the sushi. It wasn't his favorite food in the world, but he was in no position to turn down food when hungry. “Thanks for this Lori. Just what I needed.”


As Lori began to look through the files, John walked up behind and looked over her right shoulder to read the files himself. These names were some serious bad guys. People that would likely do whatever they thought was necessary to accomplish their goals. They were the kind of people John did not want to get to know.


He took out a notepad, making of note of the important information in the files. Hydra. Levels of leadership: Hydra Heads < Brain Trust < Inner Circle... continued to scribble his notes while reading the file. However, he still noticed when Lori stated Nemo and Phantom.


John paid less attention to the information, focusing more on Lori. Who was she? Her parents apparently then had connections at Hydra? High level connections from what she said. What was to say this was not an elaborate plan to draw the Institute into the open?


He raised his voice a little to get Lori's attention. “That's all fascinating, Lori, really. Ace work. However, before we can act on the information, there's something much more important we need to address right now. You just said your parents worked for the Brain Trust? As in, the big bad Brain Trust we've just been talking about. And your parents reported to two of the members? What game are you playing?”

 

[sharlene79]

“Game? I’m not playing a game!” Lori sounded a little angry. “I was a kid back then, so I don’t know how they ended up with Hydra. I’m not even sure if they had a choice. And I didn’t say they worked for the Brain Trust. I said I met two of its members. My guess is that those two members had the greatest interest and understanding of my parent’s work. I am fairly certain Erik took a liking to me because I think he killed a Hydra agent that spoke harshly at me - threw the man off the ship - literally.


“No, I am not playing some game with you. I am trying to warn you of the dangers you are getting into if you keep looking. It is like the cat in the box. If you look, there is a very good chance you will find it dead. Don’t look an at least there’s a chance it will be alive.


“I have spent years living off the grid because Hydra wants me dead. They killed my parents and I am the only surviving witness. And no offense, I am not going into witless protection. The only reason you people are still alive is that you haven’t become a nuisance to them yet.”


Clarence looked from John to Lori and back. “Not a game.” Then he started babbling a series of numbers - four to be precise.


Amber’s eyes widened a little.


Lori’s eyes widened even more. “How did you get those numbers? Those are Sikorsky designators. Do you know where they are?”


Clarence had no answer to her question. Instead he asked. “Why kill someone you need?”

 

[Pattycakes]

Cybera slowly opened her eyes and sat up, letting out a groan. Her brain seemed foggy, as her programs came back online. Finally, the clouds seemed to part as a subroutine in her head informed her systems were operational. She looked at Heather, not acknowledging her as she looked around the room. The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer in her suit, wearing some sort of gown. Even though she had been testing the android for years, she was still amazed at the amount of information she was able to take in. To a human mind, it likely would have caused massive headaches and possibly lead to death. The quantum computing was able to process the data for her.


It was a surreal experience, being an android. She didn't have to physical focus on processing all the data so much as the data seemed to naturally come available to her. For example, by merely her intital look at the woman, she suddenly knew that this woman's heart was beating at a rate of eighty-two bpm. Based on the woman's breathing, bpm, sweat glands, and a variety of other factors she was able to tell that the woman was calm, just by looking at her. All this without physical thinking about those characteristics. Or maybe, there was a part of her subconscious subroutine that did all it for her.


Looking down at her right hand, she flexed her fingers. To her, it felt like a relatively normal human hand moving. Relatively, for her body did not feel temperature the same way that humans...no, not humans, she thought, for she still considered herself a member of the species, other people do. She could tell the temperature in the room, but the temperature did not make her feel cold or warm like others. Just one of the many benefits of the suit, she remarked to herself.


As she continued to flex her fingers, she thought about that underneath each of the fingers and her skin was a vanadium alloy and millions of circuits and mechanical parts that all operated together to move the simple five fingers. Perhaps she wasn't a member of the human species after all.


That thought alone raised thousands of physiological questions. She attempted to search for a psychiatrist that had done study in the area, only to find that there was no connection out there. No internet. No GPS. The information grid was impossibly silent. Where was she, then? Some simple white plastered room, it seemed. Underground in a bunker? Maybe. Had DARPA captured her?


Thinking of how to answer the question of DARPA, she turned towards the woman in the room. Had she spoken her name? The recording of the woman speaking replayed in her mind. Yes, she had.


Loosening her body, Cybera turned her head to look the woman straight in the eyes. “Are you DARPA?” Cybera made no visible motions, but she began to prepare for Flash Bang Protocol, spinning up the subroutine. If this woman was remotely related to the military, she was about have a very bad day. 
John wasn't surprised that Lori was angry. In truth, he was a little upset himself. It felt like he wasn't getting the full picture. This bothered him immensely.


"The term you're looking for is Schrodinger's cat. I familiar with the concept. And you're forgetting, the most I knew this morning about you was your alias. What did you parents research? It must have been something highly important and most likely dangerous, given the company.


"And as for Hydra, they're going to find you sooner or later. Personally, I'd rather have friends to have my back when that happens. Dying? Highly doubtful. I'm fairly certain that some of the big dogs are more than aware of these people. In fact, they likely sent us to you so we could find out what you know and enlist your help to stop Hydra.


"If this group is as strong as they look on paper, it will take every metahuman to come together and stop them. If we stay divided, hidden, out of fear of death, they'll pick us all of one by one. If death is unavoidable, better to do good work and as much damage now and face death with dignity than hiding and cowering for your life."

 

[sharlene79]

Heather Daniels gave no signs of a reaction to the question save for calm speech. “No. I am one of the people whose technology your design was reverse engineered from. DARPA stole a great many of my inventions back in the 70’s and 80’s. You are not on Earth, but rather a Danger Room simulator in a pocket universe of my creation. I felt it safer to awaken you here - should you be considering combat options. Let me guess, starting with the Flash Bangs? I replenished your supply. I even replaced the 4C ammunition. Overall you aren’t a bad design. Of course, you were working with older generation source technology. They only exception to this appears to have been the Living Metal fragment they obtained from Ripper. It was an old fragment.


“Now then, I am sure you have other questions. You have been non-operational for two weeks. It would have been less, but I brought in the experts - the people whose technology you absconded and reverse engineered. They were none too pleased. However I have it on a good authority that you weren’t doing so by choice.


“Perhaps I can answer a few more questions before you start asking others. The group that rescued you are alive and well. No, you won’t be able to connect with the internet until I have authorized protocols for a transdimensional link. Sorry, I have a lot of security measures. My name, Heather Daniels. Yes, THAT Heather Daniels, creator of the world’s first AI when I was 11. I am sure DARPA knew about it. They never got their hands on him though.


“In a way I was much like you. I have many military connections, but good ones. My connections kept me out of the hands of DARPA. I did a good bit of work for them. However they accepted what I offered and respected what I would not. That is the defining difference between how we were treated.


“I suppose I have some questions for you. What are your plans now? I know your quantum computer brain doesn’t need weeks to mull over a question to develop a response.”


++++++++++++++++


Amber could see John had a hell of a lot to learn about interrogation. Lori was shutting down. It was time to intercede. “John, that’s enough. Lori … is there any chance we could get a copy of all this? Maybe we could compare notes?”


Lori was still glaring at John. The subject of her parents was a sore one, an event that she relived every time she tried to sleep. But the larger than life Amber Volkova was hard to ignore. The question she had been asked finally filtered through. “Uhm, yes. That’s what I brought you here for.”


Amber nodded. “Well, I also happen to love sushi, so we can just call this two birds, one stone.” She offered a pleasant smile. She was rewarded with a hint of a smile back. So she chanced putting the conversation back on track - just a little less pushy. “We really could use your help. We’ll help look into these disappearances as best we can. But we really could use eyes and ears - something you are good at - in locating a few people: Dark Knight, Black Lightning, and some creature that has been spotted flying off the shore of Brooklyn.” She nodded her head subtlely.


Lori nodded as if her head was connected to Sharlene’s. Then her mind broke free as it connected facts. “Oh, I have a very good idea where Dark Knight will be tomorrow. I just don’t know the route he will be following. There’s a weekly money drop being made. He won’t know the route or the exact drop location. He just knows who is paying out. He’ll be trying to follow the courier to its destination. But it is a Hydra drop. And I have a bad feeling about it. I think the information was leaked. And that means a possible ambush. I’d have gone to you people, but you didn’t seem to be ready for anything yet - and these guys are probably going to have better than military spec gear.


“If you do intervene, Dark Knight is probably going to be angry. He seems to be obsessed with this part of Hydra.”

 

[Pattycakes]

Cybera felt guilty. She had always known that DARPA was giving her others' research for her own use in the design, but she never questioned the morality of it. It's not like she had much of a choice. Now, she was apparently face to face with one of those whose research was used. It made her feel guilty and perhaps a bit embarrassed. She spun down the flash bang subroutine.


As soon as she heard the woman's name, she was surprised. The Heater Daniels? There wasn't a woman in the field of cybernetics and robotics that didn't know of her work and contributions to the field. She had always been someone Cybera had looked up to, and now here she was before her. Although, Cybera would have preferred any different way to meet her but this way.


She kept a close eye on Heather's vitals while she was talking. There was no fluctuation in heart rate, breathing, eye movement or other actions to indicate she was trying to deceive. She was telling the truth.


That was an excellent question, Cybera thought. What did she want to do now that she was free of DARPA? In truth, she had been focused on getting free after so long that the thought of what she would do after she was free hadn't even crossed the realm of her thought. The only thing she knew for certain was that she wanted to stop DARPA from ever recovering.


“I don't know. I've been in that DARPA base for so long with never any chance of escaping. And now, I'm free of them for good. But what should I do with myself?” She asked out loud, rhetorically.Then, directly to Heather Daniels, “What do you think I should do?”

 

[Jays]

"Nice suit." Jason replied. "And don't worry about offense capability. I have enough for both of us." He stepped forward and started flexing his hands. He wished that his suit would be as fancy as Valerie, as it was still not finished being made, and he was in a pair of jeans and hoodie. He wasn't particularly worried though, as he had always been without one, and his force shield would work just fine. "My ability is quite simple in nature, and it's sole purpose is combat." Jason casually flicked his hand, and a blast of kinetic force slammed into some boxes left lying around in one corner, throwing them hard against the wall. "I blast stuff and they go flying. Or break. Also,..." He furrowed his brows in concentration, and the air in front of his face distorted, creating a semi-translucent barrier. "Voi'la. A shield. It stops knives, clubs, shotgun and low-caliber bullets. Or it does theorically. Never been stupid enough to get myself shot before." Even though he was really impressed with the power show Valerie did, it was not his thing. He prefered simple and to-the-point talks. Beside, Jason felt awkward enough talking to a girl, so showing-off was out of the equation. "That's it really. I blast people. It's what I do." He turned to Schuyler. "Now he stage is all yours. What can you do?"

 

[Valor Green]

Valerie returned to Mister Schuyler's side, deactivating her Ring and returning her street clothes in an instant. She watched the display with arms crossed and an almost scrutinizing gaze. "Just one moment." she interrupted. "I have a few questions for you." Her arm raised, and she placed a curled finger thoughtfully on her chin. "Surely, there are other applications to be explored - augmentation, for example. Have you ever tried adding this kinetic force to a swing or a stride or a bound?" She grinned, finally able to see what she'd been getting at. "Humor me, would you, and try to jump as high as you can with a force beneath your feet."

 

[Jays]

Jason was suprised when Valerie suggested him to jump. Then annoyed. Then a little nervous. He had always been able to exert kinetic boost to his blow when he wanted it, but jumping? He hadn't thought of that. Jason kicked himself mentally. Not only that he had failed to think of something so simple, but now he had to do it for the first time in front of a girl that probably would laugh at his face if he backed down. He cursed quietly under his breath. "Yeah well, here goes nothing."


Jason took a few steps back, readying himself, than rush forward with all the speed he could master. As he reached the middle of the room, he leaped, and as he did sending a blast of force through his feet. His shoes was blown off and he flew 12 feets into the air, arms waving wildly. He would have scremed if he had the mind to do so. Jason hovered in the air unnaturally for a few seconds, than the ground rushed up to meet him. His instinct took over and he blasted another burst of force underneath, slowing his fall. He would have looked totally cool if he timed the landing right. Instead, his feet tripped on the ground and Jason fell backward onto his ass with a yelp.

 

[Valor Green]

Valerie clapped her hands slowly more in the way of a smug satisfaction than a mocking jest. "See what can be discovered about ourselves, when we take the time to think?" A wide smile was plastered irremovably on her face as her arms crossed once more. "Keep working at it, and you might be able to follow a speeding car." she said in reference to one of her earlier statements with a wry wink. "After all, necessity is the mother of invention, isn't it?"





She beckoned for Jason to return and gave the man beside her a single pat on the back of his shoulder blade. "Mister Schuyler, you have the floor." Clearly, she had slipped into a good mood somewhere between being heard as an intellectual voice and watching it result in a flop at the subject's expense. Her expression had dulled only slightly, when she pulled out a compact mirror and once again fixed the natural brunette of her hair into a bright blonde. It took only a moment before the mirror clapped shut and slipped back into her hoodie's pocket, allowing her attention to return forward.


((@Mooalally ))

 

[Mooalally]

Orville fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, now that you've shown me your powers I feel kind of ... 'unsubstantial', let's call it." He paused in the middle of his sentence, trying to find a word that matched how he felt. "Really all I can do is freeze things." He held out his finger into the air, and let the feeling spread through his body to his hand, and then the air above it, creating a small snowflake that was resting, face down. "I can create things like snowflakes," he motioned his finger to add emphasis to the demonstration, "stairways, pointy icicles, a whole lot of stuff." He let out a small breath, ridding himself of the cold. "But the more I do it, the colder I get, which would be a problem if I tried to make something big. And that's really all for my powers. So you can see why I feel a little bit overwhelmed here."


"But we really should move on. We've spent too much time here, and I'm excited now that we've done this little showcase thing. What will be our first move? I believe there was something about visiting this auto shop and speaking with the owner? How are we going to do this? We're not supposed to go in and beat the truth out of him, which the cons thereof were helpfully pointed out, so we should probably talk to him and get some tangible evidence. And for that, we're either going to have to convince him to give us a confession or we're going to have to search his house, his shop, whatever. And then the final question is what exactly are we looking for? What could possibly convict him? I highly doubt that he keeps a journal detailing what he did that day, especially since they're supposedly crimes."

 

[sharlene79]

Heather just sort of shrugged. “You started your project with the goal of making the world safer for people to live in. When Det Mitchell Cantrell contacted you years ago about developing an android platform to assist NYPD in dealing with metahuman elements, as well as safer crisis handling you were all in. A lot of things have changed. But the need for your work hasn’t. I’ll admit, I was a little dubious about the idea using current technology as you were for NYPD. Your current design, however, is unique. You were born with humanity.


“There is a team of metahumans forming with the expressed goal of preserving the rights of both metahumans and humans alike. Superheroes. I trained a few of them myself. Now they aren’t law enforcement. Those I have trained have received a little training with law enforcement and emergency services. But they aren’t judge, jury and executioner.


“I have a few very basic rules that MUST be adhered to. Call them Heather’s Laws. First, collateral damage must be kept to a minimum - both people and property. If possible, we try to draw fights away from the civilian populace. That is the whole reason we built a base on a large tract of land large enough to contain most fights if the base was ever attacked. Second, we aren’t the Law, nor even an enforcement arm. We assist, or offer our assistance as appropriate when asked. many reasons for these policies - such as issues with undercover cops. Third, we use minimum necessary force. Just because you can punch through a concrete wall doesn’t mean you need to hit a typical criminal with that much force.


“Personally I think these laws are common sense, but you’d be surprised at the violence I see in new recruits.”


++++++++++++++


Amber waited patiently while Lori prepared her datafiles. Once the heroine had handed over the data Amber thanked her. She also got the expected possible routes for the courier run of the money laundering operation. With that done Amber gathered John and Clarence and headed out to return to base. She looked anything but happy despite the outcome.


Once she had dropped off Clarence and John, Amber paged Duncan to join her in a briefing room. A few minutes later Duncan arrived. Amber gave a brief rundown on the mission to which Duncan seemed moderately pleased.


Then Amber said a single world. “Three.”


Duncan stared, his left eyebrow shooting up Spock fashion. “Three? Why?”


Amber sounded highly irritated. “Combat - big fat zero. The guy won’t fight. I’ll give him a little credit for shouting a warning about a knife. These were simple thugs and just needed a show of force to get them to back off from bothering Clarence. Mission strategy - 4 or 5. He’s a glass is half empty sort of guy. He was ready to give up before we ever started. Duncan we seriously need some heroes.


“Okay - Interrogation - Two. I swear the guy has no tact. We had Random Stranger talking and he starts insulting her and trying to scare her when she is already spooked and ready to bolt.”


Duncan just nodded. “I’m not surprised to be honest. Well, good job anyways. Train him. Or I can. Come on. The guy’s a lab rat. He’s smart; he’ll learn. You were there; you know what happened. Tell him where he was screwing up. But avoid accusatory tones. Just make observations and ask him why he supposed Random Stranger reacted the way she did.


“Make sure he understands he is being evaluated. If he can’t do better we are going to cut him from the team. I won’t risk his life or anyone else’s on incompetence. He may be an excellent physicist, but that doesn’t make him a hero.

 

[Pattycakes]

Cybera peered out into the void, aimlessly staring at one of the walls of the room. She had heard Heather's speak, and was considering what she had said. It was true, she thought. She had accepted Mitch's offer without much of a thought. In fact,she had been so dedicated to the cause she had funded the research herself when the NYPD couldn't budget it. The circumstances may have changed, but now instead of being a scientist in a lab assisting in the battles, she had to a chance to be on the battlefield.


“I think you're right. I do want to still make a difference. I've forgotten about why I first started creating my body: to help others. I can now I can be both in the lab and in the field.”


There was one thing that Heather said, as Cybera continued to think on the matter, that she couldn't quite shake. Turning towards Heather she asked is in a confused tone, “You say this team perseveres the rights of all humans, but what does that mean? You say you're not the Law, but how can you persevere or uphold the rights of all if you are not enforcing the Law? Doesn't the Law persevere the rights of all? That's the only confusion I'm having. It seems incongruous.


Continuing, more clear and focused. “As for the other rules, if you've done your research on me, which all indications point to that you have, then I shouldn't have answer them.”

 

[sharlene79]

Heather nodded. “Agreed. The First Law is the most important one. I’m afraid that we do play vigilante a bit. But that is in the case of dealing with metahuman villains that no law enforcement could withstand. Stick around and you’ll see the sort I mean. I guess the simplest way to put it is that we are the stuff of comic books. I was once known as Lady Luck. My husband is Nick Danger. So as you can imagine the rumors of a romance were right on the money.”


What Heather did NOT explain is why Lady Luck suddenly vanished in the comics. Nor did it explain why there was a whole chain of Halfway Homes for children named after her. Nor did it explain why she left behind fame and fortune on the Formula One circuits. But if the comic books were true Lady Luck had been heavily involved with a paramilitary unit known as PRIMUS that answered to the President.


“Well, you may as well meet one of our other residents. She is one of the reasons I had to upgrade your security a bit. She one of the most dangerous hackers on the planet. She had the capability to hack even you. I placed some safeguards in place to make damned certain that doesn’t happen. I know only one person who might be able to hack you, maybe two. And neither of those would unless you became a threat.





“This particular woman is #2 on Interpol’s Most Wanted list. She turned herself in and has since been given a pardon by the President. The deal she made included turning State’s evidence against an organization known as Hydra and the removal of all of her cybernetic parts. She was almost your equivalent with everything replaced but her brain. At least that was what she was about to become.


“About 12 years ago she was caught in the blast of a bomb she herself set, killing 8 police officers. The bomb had gone off prematurely. The full truth is that she had been told the building was cleared. The bomb was set off remotely while she was still inside. It was a test run. She was a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Several months earlier she had been kidnapped in a bank robbery. The robbery itself was a sham. They were recruiting her.


“Somehow she survived the blast and made it back to her handler. They decided to make an experiment out of her. And that is where it gets strange. The technology used to create her is different from anything on Earth, but it has Terran roots.


“We have removed all but an AI implanted in her head. The AI is programmed with her own engrams. It is a perfect symbiosis. Her memories have been wiped countless times. Although she is supposed to be the world’s top assassin, those police officers are her only victims. Her real crimes have been sabotage, treason, theft of military secrets, and such. Make no mistake, she is trained as an assassin and is unmatched with a blade. She just refuses to kill.


“Her name is Karen Adams, codenamed Blade. Right now she is recovering from a long period of surgeries. She wears a bioplastic bodysuit to cover her skin which is still sensitive to temperatures. She has to wear dark sunglasses and ear protection. And she is quite bald. She is essentially like a brand new clone with no hair yet.


“I don’t know just how we will use her just yet - probably as a trainer. She is highly intelligent - to the point of arrogance. I don’t know if that will make her a poor trainer or what. We can’t release information on the fact she is alive. If even a rumor got started she has family that would be placed in jeopardy.”


“If you want to speak with her, by all means. I also am thinking we may assign you to one of the squads. I’ll get you the dossiers and let you think about where you think you’d fit in best. The squads are going to get swapped around from time to time so it isn’t a permanent assignment. Right now, the final decision is that of Micronaut. He’s the team captain for now.”

 

[Pattycakes]

There was a lot of terms and people that Cybera didn't understand. Lady Luck and Nick Danger who? Cybera had never been a person to follow the comics or superheroes. It simply wasn't her area of interest. Thus, the blank look on her face as Heather mentioned her alter-ego. The names held no value to her.


What was of extreme interest to her was Karen Adams. For one, the cybernetics itself sounded promising. Different from anything on Earth? She would kill to get some lab time with those materials and study them. She assumed the Living Metal was alien, perhaps these parts were of the same race.


Then, there was the matter of Karen herself. She would likely, Cybera guessed, the closet person who understood what Cybera was going through. Even if they didn't see eye to eye, it would be very therapeutic to talk to someone who was in a similar place as her.


“I think I would like to speak to Karen Adams, or would you prefer I call her Blade?” She didn't know which was more common, codename or real name. “For that matter, my name is Cybera. I don't think I've stated that yet.”


“Before speaking with her, I'd like to take some time to look at her cybernetic parts that were removed or at least see the files on them. There could be something productive I could make out them. Besides, I have a...renewed interest in that field,” she said gesturing at her body.


“But before I look at the parts, I'd like to get those dossiers and figure out where I fit. I'm not sure how anyone will react to a genius 52 year old woman in the body of android that looks thirties and very sexy.” She let out a good laugh at that one, realizing the absurdness of the statement. Truly, the world was a full of freaks, and she was now one of them.


“But before all of that, I'd like to establish a baseline. I know you've already been operating with my internal programming. It's likely why I was out for two weeks. What I am concerned about is future tampering without explicit consent. I don't imagine that you go messing with the minds of your other agents, and as such I would like the same courtesy extended to me"

 

[sharlene79]

Amber left Duncan more than a little annoyed with her husband. He had been just a little patronizing. He might have been right, but that didn’t change the fact that he was going to have to make up for it later. He had, after all, dumped everything right back in her lap. (Never mind that Duncan had offered to handle it.)


Amber hopped in the PA. “Jinx, please page Dr Federson to Briefing Room B.” She waited to listen to the page, then began to pace. She was already starting to wish she had left this to Duncan. He was better about this sort of thing.

 

[Valor Green]

"What are the thief's usual haunts? Does he break into parked cars or jack them from drivers? If we can learn his habits, we might set a trap of some sort. Either a car in which I am stowed away or one which can otherwise be easily tracked." She began pacing around the others as she pontificated her thoughts aloud. "After all, who is to be certain that Mister Cascia is even involved with our quarry? Perhaps, the reason the police search came up empty is because the car thief simply used it as a decoy to throw the dogs off his scent."


"My theory," she began in a rising tone as she turned on her heel to face the others, "is that there may be another location to which these cars are taken. After all, if this man is the vigilante, and he is able to mold metal as the video would suggest, then what could he need from an auto shop? Depending on the extent and proficiency of these abilities, could he not simply perform any tampering by hand?"


"Now, the question that nags at my mind is why a vigilante such as Black Lightning would want to steal cars. Selling parts to offset the cost of living? Perhaps. Or, maybe these vehicles are going toward his own personal collection, or toward further augmenting his own vehicle."


"Or..." she began quietly before trailing off. She moved her eyes away into the distance, suddenly quiet but clearly lost in thought. Her attention turned back toward the more experience woman in the room. "What is known about the shop's business? Is it faring well?"

 

[sharlene79]

Amaretta nodded. Finally some useful questions. She had begun to despair of there being an whole brain among these three. Now, finally Morningstar was starting to ask some real questions. Better late than never.





“Jinx?” the Major prompted to thin air.





“Working on it. All .. originally parked. No jackings at all. Our car thief has never been seen - even on video - actually stealing the cars. Police get notified by 911 calls. Our thief has never had his face caught on video. He wears a mask to foil even traffic cams. However he is the right build to be Mr. Cascia.”


Amaretta nodded. “If our car thief CAN alter the cars, then the car he steals might not be the car they find at the shop. But if he can do that with cars, why steal them in the first place? He could raid a junk yard and make the cars.”


“Hold that thought please,” Jinx asked. After several minutes - an eternity that even prompted Amaretta to ask if everything was alright Jinx finally spoke up. “Sorry about that, but you two both said something I checked - and I think you hit the jackpot. The police DID find the cars they pursued. They just weren’t actually stolen.”


“Huh?” Amaretta was a little baffled.


Jinx explained patiently. “Morningstar asked why Black Lightning would want to steal cars. You pointed out that he could just MAKE the cars. I think he did. I think he bought real cars that just needed restoration - or junk heaps. ALL the cars were insured for theft by one of five companies. None is a major company. And none of those companies insures any other real cars I can track down. The insurance companies are fronts - with overseas backing via offshore accounts. I think Black Lightning is stealing from himself. And why would a car shop owner who is trying to get a customs inspection license and has been rubbing elbows with mafia steal from himself?”


Amaretta nodded. “Black ops. He’s infiltrating the mafia. Jinx, trace those accounts.”


“I don’t have to. I recognized one. It’s been cleaned out recently too. But it was the same account used to make payouts to a Detective Shawn Brady. IA was investigating him for being on the take. But the account is one we believe to be an Interpol account. No proof though. The man we believed to be handling that account was NYPD Detective Mitchell Cantrell’s brother - who was killed along with most of his family. The only suspect they have is Mitchell’s niece, Diana, and she has vanished.”


“How about the 911 calls? The people who placed them?” Amaretta has a suspicion what Jinx would respond with.





“Real enough. Paperwork was backdated. More payoffs - yes via the same five accounts. They are a front too. Oh wait … haha … there were a few real stolen cars - that were already stolen. They were cars that had been stolen long ago - or their parts from stolen cars. Those cars, once stolen by our thief have simply vanished.


“What our thief has been doing is buying cars the police eventually find, and transforming them into vehicles that match other cars. They are registered and ‘sold’ to his victims - backdated as needed - then stolen and transformed back.”


Amaretta nodded once more. “We have method and opportunity. Now we need motive. Why is he doing this - besides infiltration. Why does he want to infiltrate the mafia? Are we running afoul of an Interpol sting operation?”

 

[Jays]

Jason stood quietly, listening to Valarie. He had already decided to stay out of the planning progress. He could do strategic planning, but choosing different approaches like what Valerie was doing wasn't what he trusted himself enough to decide, especially in such a sensitive situation like this. He as raised in a rough neighborhood, and its way became the only way he knew. The strong triumph over the weak, and every problems was solved by violence alone. He always tried to be nice when he could, but being nice was understood as being weak. If it was up to him, he would just jump the guy behind his shop, drag him back to HQ and interriogate him. So he stayed out and kept quiet, listening to everything.