[The Human Element] Delta Division HQ

Stefan's typical detachment held firm, and the news of the death didn't seriously affect him. It wasn't that he didn't care, it's that everyone Stefan knows will either be dead or unborn the next time he jumps. Nicky was saddened, but that never lasts long for him. He does reach out to hug Girl Prodigy following Stefan back to their room.
 
The living quarters in the Delta HQ were built into several long hallways that led away from the area's common room. To get to his quarters, Stefan could ride the elevator into the spacious area furnished with several tables and chairs, as well as comfortable recliners centered around a large screen television. It had a satellite uplink, and several video games and feature films stored in its memory banks. There was a bar in the back of the room, serving a wide variety of food and drink free of charge as part of one of the provisions that Delta made for its people. It was managed by a large man with dark skin who stood an easy six and a half feet tall with biceps the size of most men's heads. He had the ability to shift his body into an organic carbon form, making him nearly impervious to damage and hit harder than a freight train.


The entire room seemed to be focused on Lindsey White, who was throwing a royal fit at the moment, yelling at the top of her lungs at a kid who had recently joined Delta. "He was your teacher for three days. He was my mentor for three fucking years! You have no right to be upset!"


Marcus tried to calm his girlfriend down, which had little effect.


The boy looked troubled. "You're right. If I'd have joined earlier, I would have gotten to know everyone sooner. Before it was too late. But I promise you, I will find the bastard who did this, and you can be dammed sure that we're going to give him hell!"


The rest of the room was abuzz with conversation involving Stryker's assassination, most of it useless drivel.
 
"No right to be upset, you say? Didn't a hero just suddenly die? Maybe you were closer to the deceased, but that doesn't make the fact that this kid has probably looked up to him for years any less valid. To be honest, you knew him as a person, and the boy only knew him as a hero... There's a chance he's hurting worse than you are. People can die... heroes never do. All we can do now is set it as right as we can... since I'm a damned half-hour too late to save him, that just means bringing his killer to justice..." Stefan trails off for a moment, then picks back up with a new train of thought. "You know, I didn't hear who killed him, or how. Do you know? I might be able to help any investigation that's been started up, and I imagine you'd rather be seeking justice, or vengeance, than screaming at people who aren't at fault. I wasn't going to get involved - or as uninvolved as the brass would let me be, anyway - because I figured with all of Delta stirred up about it, they wouldn't need my help; but if it helps you at all, I will."


Nicky just takes on his "little brother" appearance - now incorporating elements of a particular Russian genius mixed into his usual Aryan perfection - and walks around Stefan to pat the boy on the receiving end of the screaming on the back and try be supportive without actually opening his mouth. He knows there's no joke he could tell or antic he could pull to make the situation better at the moment, so silence is the best way to avoid causing a scene. And he's a little scared of getting too close to the really angry one.
 
Lindsey wasn't much taller than Nicky, though she had a presence that seemed to fill the room, and was indeed more than a little intimidating, especially since she floated a good foot and a half off the ground. She deflated though, at Stefan's words, and her feet went back on the ground. "I-I don't know," she said. "I just don't know. He was supposed to be impervious to everything, even the shit Solstice could feed us to knock out our powers. I don't know how..."


"Hey, hey, come here," Marcus said to her, and pulled his girlfriend into a hug.


She pushed away. "I-I can't. I-I gotta go..." And with that, she opened a window that let out into the night air and flew off.


Marcus made a face. "At least she managed to open it instead of smashing through this time." He looked at the other boy. "Sorry about that. She gets a little...worked up." Then he turned to Stefan. "Thanks, by the way. I think we needed to hear that. That somebody else is going to keep fighting, and not give up, you know?" He stuck out his hand. "I'm Marcus London, by the way."


The other boy (who seemed absurdly pleased that he was being given a pat on the back by what appeared to be a small human-esque robot) also held out a hand to shake. "Allen Timothy Gray. Spirit."
 
"Stefan, and this is Nicholas. I fear I might have been a little harsh, I'm more accustomed to soldiers... but then, if they're freezing up on the battlefield, they're usually just kids in their first ever firefight, and if I don't get their heads back in the game, they'll lose them, so perhaps my experience worked." Stefan shakes his head. "Now I've promised to check things out, haven't I? If I've worked out the pecking order around here, I think you technically outrank me, Marcus, so forgive me for this one, if you please... but if the two of you want to come with me while I visit the scene of the incident, I'd welcome the extra eyes, if you can follow orders should a combat situation arise. And so there's no surprises, let me be clear: that includes orders like 'Run while I hold them off' or 'Leave me, save yourselves'. Marcus, Allen, what do you say?"
 
"Yes, Sir," they chorused.


"Naw, my sister would beat my ass if I thought I'd be getting any special treatment," Marcus said with a grin. "She might be smothering and patronizing, but she wouldn't let me walk out the door if I didn't know a thing about respect. And you probably know already, but I'm an electricity controller, in case that needs to be worked out."


"I have my strength, speed, I don't get hurt much, and I fly," Allen said.


"And throw things." Marcus quirked a smile at Allen. It was rumored he joined after a school lunchroom fight with a bully. The other kid had happened to be a meta too, with the ability to absorb and nullify powers at a touch. Allen had quickly found he couldn't punch him without losing his strength, so he grabbed something to throw at the kid. He intended to toss a lunch tray, but in the excitement, he'd grabbed a table instead. The whole thing was caught on YouTube, and promptly vaulted him into a sensation--despite the fact that the poor kid clearly didn't want attention.


Allen blushed. "I'm...never going to live that down, am I?"


"Not even a little." He looked at Stefan. "I know Blink and Stryker's patrol route. They usually hit up Radio Live Cafe on Lower McNab and East Seventieth Street. That's...that's where it happened."
 
Desmond walked in frowning, his usual glow dimmer than normal. He ignored Stefan's group and wandered over to the nearest group of chattering people.


"Scuse me mates. I just got back from a rather boring mission. Mind filling me in on what happened?" He asked, his accent slippping through in his confusion.
 
"Where was it, under a rock somewhere?" One of them joked, a young man about twenty-three, clearly an eager young-gun. He polished of the rest of his drink and kicked out a chair for Desmond to sit, indicating he should join him and his companions. There was a pretty girl with dark hair, also early twenties.


She smacked the first man on the arm. "Be nice, jackass."


The second young man there was of dark hair and a more somber face. "Sorry about that. He's a bit drunk. I think we're all a little shook up." He swallowed and said the words in a whisper, as if speaking out loud would make the truth all too real. "Stryker was assassinated."


The first shook his head. "Bullet to the head, I heard. Thought those things were supposed to bounce offa him."


"Think it was Solstice?" the woman said.


"Naw. The Big Guy's immune to everything they throw at him."


She raised an eyebrow at him. "You realize he's barely five an a half feet."


"Still the Big Guy," the second man said.


"Still dead," the first man continued. "His sister--that lady shrink? She identified him. Course, Blink was there when it happened. Pretty tough to mistake him for someone else when blood and brain matter is sprayed across your face."


The woman made a face. "You're awful, you know that?"
 
"No chance this was a random street thug getting lucky. But is that all that's known? He got shot when he was on patrol.?" Desmond shook his head.


"Name's Desmond by the way. And if it was Solstice it was serendipitous timing to the extreme, seeing as we just got back from raiding one of their bases."
 
"Josh," said the first speaker, the one nearly beyond sloshed by now.


"Matt," said the second.


"Katie." She flashed him a smile. "Seriously? Solstice? Like, half the Division's terrified of them."


"Well yeah, they take away your powers and then kill you," Matt said. "People here tend to think of their power as part of them. That'd be like cutting off their right arm."


"I could take 'em," Josh boasted. Katie rolled her eyes.


Matt shook his head. "Whoever it was wanted to make a point. He wasn't defeated in some great battle. He was shot in a crowd of people. Whoever did this showed him to be powerless."
 
Desmonds shrugs and grins.


"We caught them by surprise and bailed before they could really react. I honestly did nothing, as glowing makes for shitty stealth. Still, I'd be kind of impressed if they turned my powers off. Since that would involve stopping this glowy magical bullshit that no one seems to understand..." Desmond trailed off, frowning and thinking.


"Then again, if they had some sort of magical general power prevention device... Wasn't he an alien anyway?" Desmond asked


"Maybe they got something from his home world or something."
 
Stefan smiles at the enthusiastic pair and turns to lead the way. "Nicky, keep a human appearance while we're on the streets, please. And Marcus, be careful with your friendly fire if something does happen, Nicky doesn't play well with electric attacks." He looks to make sure Nicky is still human looking, and calls up an area map on his tether to make sure he's headed the right way. After a short internal debate about showing off and the likelihood of a combat situation, he also draws AMMO off his back, gives it the command to switch to SLEEP configuration (where the boys can see it do its stuff), and moves it to a fore holster. (In RIOT configuration, it doesn't look like a firearm, but it's also too big to carry anywhere but slung on his back. In SLEEP mode, it's nearer an SMG size.)
 
Marcus nodded to Stefan. "Yes, Sir. I'll be careful."


The three of them had little trouble crossing the ferry and finding their way with the help of Stefan's map to the scene of what would undoubtedly be a historic moment.


---->To: Alliance City Streets


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


"'S'what I heard," Josh said. "Nobody on Earth has that color of eyes, 'least not naturally."


"An extradimensional alien," said Matt. "So it's not like this is even his home universe."


Katie shook her head. "He was our hero. This is his home, born here or not. Was."


"Higher-ups were explicitly clear that Stryker's powers were innate," Matt said. "Almost like they were trying to hide his weakness. Because obviously he has one, or...you know..."


"Wouldn't be dead," Josh finished.
 
Desmond nodded. "Clearly he had some sort of kryptonite factor that we knew nothing about. I can't really say whether we should have been told about it before, but they really should now. Even if it is just to prevent panic."
 
Matt glanced out the window where Lindsay had gone. "A little late for that, I think."


"Here I thought it was just us non-field operators that didn't get told nothing," Josh said. "But whadda I know. I'm just an ancountant." For an accountant, he seemed to have lost count of how many beers he'd had.


There was a blur in the common room. A chair rattled, and somebody's stack of papers fluttered to the floor. The blur stopped in front of a lady sitting in the back of the room looking over some documents and took the form of a man Desmond would recognize as Sam's personal assistant. He spoke some words into the woman's ear, and she stood up immidiately. The man picked her up delicately, and the two blurred out of the room.


Katie frowned. "What would Mr. Davis want with Dr. Franks?"


"Some doctor stuff emergency, I'm sure," Josh said.


"Dr. Forrest is on call right now," Matt reminded him. He thought a moment. "She's a chemical manipulator, right? There must have been something that required her abilities."


"Had to have been really something to make Mr. Davis book like that. God, that guy can move."


"Maybe there was a chemical explosion, and she had to go turn it off."


"Yes, Josh, because that's exactly the way that works." Katie rolled her eyes in Desmond's direction with a shake of her head and a smile.
 
The next two days didn't provide any clearer answers. There was a fringe terrorist group or two that claimed responsibility for Stryker's death, but a quick investigation proved those claims to be false. Even chatter within Solstice cells didn't reveal much. It seemed that they were just as puzzled as Delta, despite the fact that power nullification and death was their MO.


Jay Allison returned and informed them that there hadn't been any cross-dimensional activity between the Earth Dimension and Arlethae, though he didn't go into detail on how he knew that. That didn't entirely rule out an Old Order assassin bent on wiping out a Gifted like Stryker, but it cast significant doubt on the idea.


The family and close friends had a small, private service for Joleon 'John Smith' of Arlethae to commemorate the man. The rest of the Delta Division got ready to host the memorial service to celebrate the hero. This was intended to be open to the public, and obviously made Delta a bit vulnerable, so all hands were called to be at least present for the service. There would be thousands of people, heroes and civilians alike. Drake, unsurprisingly, took charge of security and tapped those involved in the investigation to assist. After all, if this was an attack on Delta itself, this could be the prime opportunity.


Well before the service, they were called to the courtyard in front of the Delta Headquarters to discuss assignments. The sun shone with an irritating cheeriness in the East, with sharp contrast to the grim reason for the planned gathering. Drake was waiting for them, wearing a standard security uniform, cap pulled low over his eyes.
 
Vlad crept up behind drake in Barghast form and shifted out of invisibility, this form was at a distinct disadvantage in the day time being that his shadow control was pretty much useless, but it did grant him access to a severe amount of heightened senses that could prove useful in weeding out those that might be trying to ambush them. He didnt particularly have any feelings for striker, its not that he didn't like the guy he just didn't know him, never had much of a reason to get to know him beyond the fact he was one of probably 3 people in delta that could really make his life miserable, but this gave him another opportunity to test out his forms, something hed spent most of his recent time doing trying to test their full capability's.


"So captain creepy where would you like me at?" he asked Drake as he circled around him.


Current super sences set up:

Accurate: 4


Acute: 2


Extended: 1


Radius: 5


Additional Senses:


Awareness 1


Blind Sight 4


Danger sense 1


Dark vision 2


Detect (sight) 2


Direction sense 1


Distance sense 1


Infra vision 1


Low Light Vision 1


Scent 1


Tremor sense 3


Tracking 1


Ultra hearing 1


Ultra Vision 1


Radio 1
.
 
Desmond came up behind Vlad, clad in a suit for the occasion, his glow as low as he can manage it.


"Orders, boss?" He asked, pulling out sunglasses and putting them on
 
Nicky in a subdued state for once, Stefan approaches Drake as well. Knowing full well he isn't given to repeating himself, Stefan just nods at him to show he's here and listening, and goes about evaluating the area, with special attention to potential sniper perches. His uniform has reconfigured itself as a military dress uniform, complete with beret, while Nicky is in an entirely human form that still looks suspiciously like the boy they recently rescued - although that feels like ages ago now.

I remember when spoilers DIDN'T take up a huge part of a post, maybe I should stop using them unless I'm writing a wall of text. Lady Jane, if you'd like, you can allow Perception checks for people to notice that despite his care to fill his medal bars with medals that mean nothing to any modern military and personally rework all of his medals that might be recognizable, Stefan has failed to replace his cufflinks, which remain tiny golden symbols of his political affiliation. Do note that if neither Nicky nor Stefan noticed, the DC should be high enough that most ordinary people shouldn't be able to easily pass it, though obviously his fellow heroes don't fall into that category.
 
Two days have gone by and Grace was spent. She was dreaming in orange and grey. Everything she was missing was in greys and all the distractions were in bright orange. In one dream she was simply walking across the street after fighting off a towering reptile and was hit by a car. She woke in a cold sweat, half screaming and unable to catch her breath.


She started sleeping right after school and waking around midnight to head out on the streets. Not as Girl Prodigy, member of Delta Division - but as Red Raven, the silent flier that took down the smaller thugs of city. She was new, not well known, and sporadic. But Red Raven at least noticed a trend that the smaller criminals in town felt like much of the hero community was in mourning, and were taking the chance to expand. She had a busy night and took a short nap before coming to the service.


Grace tried on her last black dress for the service, but it was too small. She really hadn't gone shopping since her parents disappeared. She was able to put on a black turtleneck and a gold lame skirt cut mid thigh. She wore a pair of knee high boots with brass buckles above the calf.


Not precisely what you would call funeral attire. She carried an oversized shoulderbag that she signaled to Drake held her bracers and circlet in them. She wasn't prepared for combat, but she would be able to participate if someone was stupid enough to attack at this point.
 
The Headquarters was a tall, single, free-standing building on a large island in the middle of the lake. There was a ferry dock just in front of an archway guarded by a man and a woman in security uniforms. The perimeter was surrounded by a chainlink fence that wouldn't stop a determined soul, but at least it would make egress annoying if done anywhere but the archway nearby the dock. Scattered bushes and trees could potentially provide cover for someone launching an attack, but it would be risky with most of the area a wide open space. The building itself could provide a vantage point, but considering the security system was designed by Drake himself, it was unlikely someone could get in that wasn't supposed to be there.


Of course, a Fae had already proved a loophole or two in that when poisoning Sam.


Drake gave Grace a subtle nod to let her know that he got her message about her gear. Not bothering with the 'hi, thanks for coming' pleasantries, he began to detail his plan. "Desmond, I want you to keep as much of the area blanketed in a low light, enough to defuse any potential shadows. On the chance the Fae show up, I want to make this a miserable target for them. Other than that, stay in the air and monitor for any possible incoming attacks that way. God knows the Fae's not the only enemy we've made.


"Grace, you're in the Maverick. Keep an eye out for any Fae that decide this is a fun place to wander to. Remember, we might not see them, so report anything out of the ordinary immediately. There's a function in the control panel that will teleport you to the surface if things go south and we need backup.


"Vlad, stay out of sight the best you can and monitor the situation with a full range of senses, including mental. If someone's even thinking of being a shit-disturber, I want to know about it.


"Stefan, you and I have the perimeter. Things are going to be a bit complicated with the anit-metahuman protesters that are evidently planning on camping the doorstep according to a few social media sites. Usually they stay on the other side of the lake, but there's supposed to be a few that cross with the ferry just to make us feel special on this occasion. Stick to crowd control, and only if they get out of hand. Unless they're an actual threat, of course. Then give 'em hell."


He pointed to the archway. "That's the only way people will be allowed in. Our visitors will be screened for any type of weapon. If anything metal exists on them, I'll know. I'm not sure anyone's going to be foolish enough to come through the front door, but we're not taking any chances. Questions, comments, anything related to the task ahead?"
 
Vlad nodded his head and activated his obfuscate and started walk threw the crowd trying to pick up anything he can.


[dice]1921[/dice]


[dice]1922[/dice]
 
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"Gotcha boss." Desmond said, taking to the air as he began to glow brighter.


Current Array:


Light Control 12 (24 points) : shedding daylight in a 5000ft radius


Flight 6 (12 points) : flying at 500mph


Blast 1 (2 points) : 1 damage
 
Stefan puts Nicky as near the... main location as possible, and instructs him to shuffle up his appearance first. A lost-looking little boy that stands as near as he's allowed to the coffin and just stays there the whole time, and sharing the deceased's skin and hair color and general build, might give people the wrong idea about the fallen. Stefan himself sticks to foot patrol so as not to call attention to himself, keeping an eye around the perimeter and double-checking possible points of entry. Nicky takes on a super-pale appearance with dark hair and glasses and moves to his assignment to be the last line of defense against any body snatchers or worse.
 
Grace was more than willing to help out, but when she was told she would be spending the Memorial Service in the Maverik on overwatch... again... she couldn't keep her face from turning incredulous. Stryker had been a hero for her since she could remember, and she was told she would have to sit out this. "WHAT?!?!?!?!"


In her head she knew that someone would have to be security at this event. She turned and stomped off toward the Maverick, the bag with all her parts dragging behind her. All the while she muttered, "stupid meat puppet, I have to sit on the Maverick again, just watch screens because the stupid bug-eyed shadow fae can't hide from me, play tiddly-winks until everything is over, then come out and expect to go home as if I just did as I was told, and be happy about it all."
 
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