Thevshi

Ms. Klaus spirits seemed to lift slightly as Harry offered encouraging words about the pair's ability to help clear her husband's name. But as the subject of the payment of fees came up, her expression became somewhat worried. "I..we do not have a lot of money. Most everything was in our store, and that is gone. The insurance company is refusing to pay, claiming it was insurance fraud." "I used to do work as a house cleaner, and can try to return to that. And if you can clear my husband's name, we should be able to recover on our insurance policy. It may take us some time, but we will do what we can to pay you."

Okay, from where he is, Kyle is able to see one of the side exits from the exhibit hall. There are two more rough looking "wizards" standing near that exit.

The woman followed Harry over to one of the desks, taking her seat and accepting the offer of some tea. As Harry tried to calm her, she took a deep sigh and began to speak. "Thank you Mr. Hound. My name is Eliska Klaus. My husband and I own, or I guess owned, a small convince store in the West End. Almost two weeks ago, there was a fire that destroyed everything. The police determined it had been arson, and my husband became a suspect." She paused a moment, seemingly about to start crying, but managed to maintain a relative calm before continuing. "My husband has had trouble with the law before, but that was a long time ago. He is a very different man now. I know he had nothing to do with the fire." "The police arrested him last night and charged him with both the arson of our store, and the more recent one here in the Fens. I need your help to prove my husband is innocent."

Once the group had given their various oaths, they were off once again. Giang followed after the Jungle Lord as he lead them down into the vast jungle below. She was slightly surprised when he led the group up into onto rope bridges that carried them high above the jungle floor. But, she realized it made sense for there to be such a means of providing safe passage above the jungle floor and the creatures that roamed it. During the times when Lord Zandar signaled for them to lie down, Giang did so quickly, lying still as she watched the large carnivores pass beneath through the spaces between the wood slats of the rope bridge. She did her best to remain relaxed, but ready to use her powers if necessary. Thankfully, each time the threats passed and the group was soon able to resume their journey. When they came within sight of the massive city built in a large clearing in the middle of the jungle, the Asian teen looked on with wonder. The village she had grown up in had been relatively primitive compared to much of the world, but this was something completely different. The incredible scale of the city, and the balance it seemed to have with its surroundings, was truly impressive. And then, the Lord Zandar instructed them to follow him, before he grabbed a vine and swung out into the clearing towards the massive stockade which surrounded the city. Giang watched his descent and then turned to regard the others for a moment, before stepping forward to take another of the vines nearby. Gripping tightly, she stepped off the walkway, swinging out into the open space beyond. She felt a slight rush of adrenaline as she went, watching for the right moment to release and drop down towards where the Jungle Lord was waiting. At the proper moment, she let go of the vine, beginning to fall towards the ground below. As she fell, she executed a perfect piked front flip, opening back out in time to land lightly on her feet and ending in a deep back stance, her left leg straight in front of her and her right leg underneath. Her right arm was extended out behind her, her hand open with the palm facing outward, while her left arm was bent across her chest. She held the stance for a brief moment, before standing smoothly back upright and walking over to stand near Lord Zandar.

Tsunami's Acrobatics roll vs DC 15 (per Ari in chat) for swinging down from the walkway is a ... 31.

A few moments later, there was a faint knock at the door to the pair's office. A moment later, a middle aged woman stepped in, looking around nervously and quickly focusing on Fred and Harry. Her eyes look slightly red, as if she had been crying somewhat recently. "Excuse me," she said in heavily accented English. Fred was not sure, but she sounded like she might be Czech. "I am looking for a Mr. Furlong and a Mr. Hound? Sam Gannon told me that they might be able to help me." Fred and Harry both recognized the name, Sam Gannon worked in the public defenders' office. He had hired them a couple of times in the past to help investigate high profile cases he was working on.

Megan's mind was working on overtime at this point, the entire room seeming to be moving in extremely slow motion as she continued to spin and glide across the dance floor with Lord Lockwood. She had let herself be led right down into this discussion about masked crimefighting, and he had already managed to trip her up slightly with some questions. He probably suspected something, and was indeed very clever. A part of her wanted to get away from all this questioning. One thought that popped into her mind was to slap him, cause a small scene and storm off. Yeah, that would be great, cause a inter-dimensional diplomatic incident just to maybe protect my secret identity. She thought. Besides, he is rather cute. And a good dancer. All her consideration took a mere fraction of a second. At his suggestion that she might be Conundrum, Megan let out a small laugh. "Conundrum? Me? No, I am no where near smart enough to be some criminal mastermind. I mean, how good would I be if you teased me out so easily?" "But, I can understand why superheroes would want to keep their identities secret." She continued. "I am sure most of them have some family or friends that they do not want to unnecessarily put in danger by allowing the criminals they fight to know who they are." She then gave a small shrug. "And if their identity was known to the public, it would be harder to just be able to have time to just relax when they wanted, and you know, take a spin or two around a ballroom dance floor."

"That does sound rather interesting." Megan replied as Lord Lockwood described one of his adventures. She kept a smile on her face as he continued, though she was not sure she would call Dr. Sin or Conundrum "fascinating." As Lord Lockwood asked her a question about her level of interest in crime fighting, Megan found herself trying to think of how best to answer. Of course, it helped that her abilities allowed her to think far faster than most, but in this case she was not entirely ready for such a question, though she probably should have been. "Lover of crime fighting? Me?" She began, trying to sound as dismissive as possible. "No, no. But this is Freedom City, so it is somewhat hard to avoid reading about it." But Lord Lockwood could detect a hesitancy in her response, and an indication that there was more that the young blonde was not saying.

For when its needed, the OOC for this thread.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013 9:12 AM To many, the Fens was viewed as a blight on the generally clean imaged of downtown Freedom City. With its sleazy porn theaters, adult bookstores, large number of waterfront dive bars and relatively cheap housing, it was a place plagued with a variety of crime. Some of it spilling over from neighboring Greenbank and some of the worst parts of the West End. But there were those who found opportunity in the Fens, and not of an illicit nature. With the variety of crime and corruption present in the neighborhood, it seemed an excellent place for a pair of private investigators, such as Fred Furlong and Harry Hound of the Bloodhound detective agency. Of course, ensuring that they work they got was always of the paying sort was another matter altogether…

Giang turned to look in the direction of the voice when Lord Zandar spoke up, appearing out of the jungle. As he came towards her to offer a handshake, the Asian teen first placed her palms together in front of her as she gave a slight bow. "It is an honor Lord Zandar. I am Giang Trang." She then shook his offered hand. When the introductions were finished, the group was quickly on its way, Giang falling into place among her fellow students as they followed their guide. While in relatively good shape, she was not accustomed to climbing. Thankfully it was not a completely vertical climb, and the Asian teen did her best not to slow the rest of the group down too much. But the effort required for the climb was quickly forgotten as they reached the summit and came out on a hillside overlooking the vast, vast jungle that was the heart of the Lost World. As she looked out over the impressive sight, a slight smile came to the corners of Giang's mouth. Somehow managing to take her eyes off the awe inspiring sight, she took a moment to glance over at the others with her. Her attention was quickly focused back on Lord Zandar as he extended the haft of his spear towards them, explaining the pledge he required from each of them before they truly entered his realm. The Asian teen's face became serious once again as she did not hesitate in reaching one hand forward to grab the haft the spear. "I swear upon my ancestors that I will abide by your instructions."

Az, just wanted to clarify something from my post introducing the three rough looking guys. Only one of them is exceptionally big. The other two look like they can handle themselves, but are not massive linemen types You can make another Notice check.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Dave replied, a bit thrown off by the sudden change of plan. He snapped one last picture of the group gathering near the main stage and set off with Kyle in the direction the trio of rough looking men were headed. As Kyle talked to keep Dave distracted, he kept an eye on the three men. When he had tried to determine whether they might be carrying any guns, he had noted one appeared to have one of those prop wands, and that the robes they were dressed were associated with the evil wizards in the series. The out of place trio made their way back towards the front of the exhibition hall, moving off to one side of the main entrance to stand at the edge of the crowds coming in. One glanced at his watch a moment before looking back up, almost appearing to be waiting for something to happen.

Well, Kyle notices that one of the three appears to be carrying a wand :)

Megan chuckled slightly as Lord Lockwood stated the tea was better in his dimension. The pair continued to glide gracefully around the ballroom, weaving among the other pairs of dancers out on the dance floor as they went. "I can imagine that official diplomatic duties could be somewhat tedious." The attractive blonde stated. "Sadly this dimension does seem have more than its fair share of dangerous criminals. And I am sure quite a few master criminals." She then added. "Have you had any particularly interesting confrontations since coming here? Or are they something you’re unable to talk about?"

As Giang had watched the scene unfolding on the monitor she took measured, slow breaths, trying to keep herself from tensing and remain calm. She had not bothered to change and was still wearing what she had on when she had first reported to Summers' office. When the image when fuzzy, she took a deep breath, her jaw clenching slightly as she tried to retain her composure. When the scene came back, the worst scenario appeared to have unfolded. As Crow barked out his order to remain in place, the Asian teen glanced over with a slightly cross look. But it quickly passed, and she said nothing, understanding it would not do to have any of them rush heedlessly into things and throw off Crow's carefully planned trap. While she had not known Headmaster Summers for any real length of time, the likelihood that he was dead still affected her. But for now, she could not afford to allow emotions to cloud her thinking, they faced long enough odds as it was. Nodding slightly as Crow reiterated the plan to try to keep the members of Young Freedom off balance, the Asian teen drew on her powers and a shimmering sheen of water began swirling around her body. "I am ready." She stated as she moved over towards the door.

Shortly after putting the cellphone away, Kyle felt a slight vibration indicating there had been a response text. When he took a moment to look at it later, he saw Megan had responded. But in the meantime, he focused back on the task at hand, which was covering the convention for the Ledger. Dave had finished with his pictures, and the pair moved on once again through the convention hall. Kyle spoke with some of the representatives from various publishers, getting some great material that might make its way into the final piece. As the noon hour drew closer, the crowd inside the convention hall was getting larger and larger, the number of people dressed like wizards having noticeably grown. Kyle and Dave were not far from the main stage where the author would be appearing, which is where the majority of those dressed like wizards were now gathered. While Dave was taking some pictures, Kyle absently mindedly scanned the area. As he did he noted a trio of individuals dressed as wizards that drew his attention. For one thing, they were walking away from the stage, where most everyone else similarly dressed were gathering. But what stood out about the three even more was that they did not look at all like the types that would read a book, much less come to a book convention dressed as a wizard. Each of them looked like they would be more at home in some dive bar in the Fens, and one of the three was as large as any lineman Kyle had known while playing college football.

"Okay, sounds good." Dave replied as he started back towards the maze of booths beside Kyle. Time began to speed by as they got to work exploring the convention, stopping for interviews and otherwise observing what was going on. They briefly stopped by one of the writing and publishing seminars, talking with a couple of aspiring authors. Back in the main convention hall, it was beginning to get more and more crowded as the morning went by, as one would expect given the big name authors that were scheduled. During one point when Kyle was standing off to one side while Dave was taking pictures of a group of cos-players, the reporter heard a faint chime from his cellphone indicating a text message. Taking it out, he glanced quickly at the screen and saw it was from Megan.

Giang sat stoically as Headmaster Summers explained what he believed to be the situation, and the likely opposition they might face. It was not that she was not afraid, she had heard enough in her short time at Claremont to respect the threat the members of Young Freedom represented, and the reactions of her two classmates certainly reinforced the incredibly daunting task that faced them. It was more that she knew giving in to the fear would not accomplish anything positive in this situation. While she did not know a great deal about the capabilities of the members of Young Freedom, she did know that they outnumbered her and the others by at least two to one. Every ancient text on warfare she had studied growing up told her that was not the odds one wanted to face, at least, not without a means of weakening the opposition first and there seemed very little likelihood of that. The tactics of Genghis Khan involved mobility and maneuver, wearing an opponent down until they could be encircled and then decimated. Again, that did not seem likely in the present circumstances, if anything, the members of Young Freedom were by far the more mobile and maneuverable. But the worst case scenario primarily existed if all the members of Young Freedom had been replaced, something the Headmaster was not entirely sure of. If the imposters could be exposed, then it was likely that others would seek to stop them as well. Giang sat silent as she considered that possibility, and waited for Headmaster Summers to answer the similar questions posed by her two companions.

Giang had made her way to the Headmaster's office immediately after receiving the message from him. She had been attending some of the regular classes at the school, and was dressed as one would expect most any teenager at high school. Once in his office, she had regarded to two young men who had also been called for a brief moment before taking one of the seats in the office, sitting perfectly upright as she listened to the Headmaster explain why he had called them. It had been only a little over a week since she sat in this very office and first been told by Headmaster Summers of his concerns regarding a threat from the Terminus. After returning home from the trip to the Lost World with Cerys, John and Subito shortly after that meeting, the Asian teen had spent nearly all her free time in the school's library, researching all she could find about the Terminus, determined to know as much as possible should she be called on to help deal with the threat, as had been hinted during her first meeting with Headmaster Summers. Her fellow students both spoke up first, one seemingly a bit nervous about the idea, the other with a clear, focused determination to stop the agents of the Terminus plot. While Giang herself was nervous about the idea of facing agents of the Terminus, she kept those feeling in check, maintaining a calm and focused demeanor. For all the turmoil that surrounded her feelings regarding her true father and family, Kong Zi had at least insured that she had been well trained to attempt to deal with such a threat, or die trying. "Headmaster, do you have any clues at who these agents might be?" She asked, allowing the question itself to express her intentions.

Yay we're underway Below is a picture that I think generally reflects Tsumani's apperance.

Giang Trang stood slightly off to one side from the others, looking out over the jungle below them. While she was not immune to the heat bearing down on them, as she was to cold temperatures, she was also accustomed to such conditions. Until a few months ago, she had lived her entire life in a small village in the northern part of Vietnam. The Asian teen was dressed in a black cami top, over which she wore a dark khaki long-sleeved shirt, which was currently unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up to just below her elbows. A pair of olive cargo pants and brand new hiking boots completed her outfit. On her back she had a backpack filled with the gear that had been provided for the trip. Unlike far too many American teenagers, Giang stood with perfect posture. Not in a ridged manner, but with a certain poise and grace. As calm and serene as she appeared on the outside, she was still trying to work though the rather chaotic events of the last few days, weeks and months. It had literally been only a few days since Raven had taken her to meet with Headmaster Summers for Giang to begin at Claremont Academy, after having spent about a week being debriefed by Raven and other members of the Freedom League after the older superheroine had found the teen on the streets of Singapore. Giang's meeting with Headmaster Summers had gone a bit differently than she had expected. The teen had fully expected to face suspicion and uncertainty based upon her family and their background, similar to what she had experienced with Raven. While Headmaster Summers had certainly been somewhat guarded, he had also been friendly and courteous. But even more surprising, was that during the meeting he had discussed with Giang concerns he had regarding an infiltration into Freedom City by the Terminus, and gone so far as to hint that he might soon need the assistance of someone he knew to be trustworthy. Then, almost explicably, she had been sent on this trip along with three other students. In the back of her mind, Giang wondered if there was some reason the Headmaster wanted to keep her from the Claremont campus for a little while longer. As if these recent events were not enough, Giang was still struggling some with her decision to leave the home of her "true" father, Kong Zi and turn her back on his plans to use her and her four half-siblings to help establish her family's dominance over the criminal underworld in the Eastern Hemisphere. While she knew that she had made the correct, moral choice, it still butted up against what she had been taught about loyalty and obedience to one's family, and respecting one's elders. If nothing else, this trip would serve to help put some "distance" between the Asian teen and these recent events. Perhaps she would be able to gain some better perspective on things before the group was due to return to Claremont. And of course, there was the report that would be due as well. Turning from the jungle below, the teen looked over to regard her three companions.

The room Kyle and Dave were in was a long, rectangular space, the several double doors Kyle had just come through being the main entrance, though there were a few other exits visible along the sides. Rows of booths and displays were set up around the conference hall, making it somewhat difficult to see what all was going on from were Kyle was standing. Most of the booths seemed to be manned, though a few were still in the process of setting up. After shaking hands, Dave looked back over the crowd with Kyle for a moment before the two began discussing their plan for covering the event. "Yeah, have one right here." The photographer replied, handing the schedule to Kyle. "Well, so far I have just been getting a lay of the land so to speak." He then continued. "Took a walk around and got a feel for where everything is, or will be once it's all set up. The publisher's booths and other related services are all in here, and where most of the book signings will be I believe. There are some smaller rooms off to the sides where there will be some seminars and writing workshops, primarily for those hoping to get published." "Like I said on the phone, the really big time authors won't be showing up till lunch or this afternoon." Dave stated. "And I believe here is one that we will want to be sure to be around for just before noon." He pointed at a section of the schedule, at which Kyle saw the name of the author for the wizarding school series that was so well represented among those dressed up for the convention.

"Yeah, I know waiting is part of the job." The yellow clad speedster replied. "It's just that the police are sooooo slooow." She added, rolling her head slightly as she spoke. The grin on her face was a pretty good indication that she was joking, at least in part. Velocity smiled slightly as Voltage seemed somewhat uneasy with small talk, the speedster had no such problem, probably being a little over talkative when there was no threat to deal with. "Well, we should probably check to make sure no one is seriously hurt." Velocity then stated. "You want to keep an eye on these two and I'll go around and check?"

Megan made the spin with ease, her heels not slowing her in the slightest. "Oh, are you sure? We attractive young women can be so devious." She replied with a mischievous grin. The blonde continued to listen as Lord Lockwood continued, talking about a multi-dimensional theory. While Megan was not familiar with the theory, she certainly knew that other dimensions existed. Of course, that was as Velocity, where she had faced off with Johnny Speed from Anti-Earth, and had learned more about other dimensions while a member of the Freedom League. But of course, that was not something she openly talked about as Megan Howell. Coming out of another spin to face Lord Lockwood once again, she gave him a smile. "Well, I am from Freedom City, and everyone here certainly knows about the Terminus." She paused a moment, and then continued. "But that is amazing. So in your dimension, the Colonies stayed part of the Empire? There must be some very interesting differences." "So what brings you to our dimension?" She then asked.