KnightDisciple

Gabriel frowned a bit. This didn't seem like the sort of situation where another teenager performed the killing. Sad to say, but it didn't quite seem vicious enough. It was like it had been planned...He shook his head, and thanked Claire, noting her face. He might need to ask questions later. His next goal was the Simmons household. Perhaps this Jolene girl could offer some fresh perspective? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He rang the doorbell on the quaint home and waited patiently for it to be answered. Whenever someone did answer, he offered a smile and some gentle words of introduction. "Yes, you may call me Gabriel. I'm working closely with Sheriff Durand on the Harris case. I realize I'm a bit of a shocking figure, but I'm here to help. If I could have a few minutes of Jolene's time, I just want to get a little better understanding of the last few days. She's not at all in trouble."

Going to the Simmons house, more questions to ask. Diplomacy to get in and start asking questions.

Corbin blinked at the sudden presence of a clearly evil clown. 'Ugh. Never liked clowns...' Then the clown charged them, his weapon drawn. "Warlock! Break right!" Templar himself blazed left, his right hand whipping up to point at Tricky Mickey, even as a battered blaster pistol materialized out of blue flame. He took a moment to sight the shot, then pulled the trigger. "You should take a class on getting a better name. You don't look anything like a "Mickey"! Where are your ears and tail?"

Right then, Blast against the clown. 12? That one physically hurts. Hero Point reroll. That leaves 1 HP. Rolled a 7,, but with that 10 added on due to the HP, that brings the total to 25. DC 22 Toughness save.

Gabriel nodded to the sheriff with a gentle smile. "Trust me, I won't say anything to freak them out." With that, he gives a nod to the others and heads out the door. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was funny, really. Here he was, an Irish boy from a mid-sized town in a small town in Pennsylvania, USA, and yet he felt almost at home. Scared or no, old-fashioned or no, these were, by and large, good people. Men and women, working, loving, living, and laughing. So that's why it grieved him to see the horrible wound this death had caused the town. So many people talking about the boy, saying how they were praying for the parents, how it was so horrible... He made sure to gently encourage people to not jump to assumptions, as well as assure them that he and several others were working hard with the Sheriff to solve the case. The whole time, he was trying to get a feel for what had happened that fateful day. Where had the boy been? Who had he been near? What had he been doing? And, somewhat more complicated...What strangers had rolled into town on that day, or in the last week or two? Especially ones that either stood out too much...or not enough.

TT: Very well then. Gabriel will take 20 minutes to take 20 on Gather information, via using Contacts. Dok suggested at least part of it is people wanting to talk to him, and in turn saying "go talk to so and so!" and such. At any rate, that gives me a grand total of 40 on my Gather Information check. :D

Gabriel just chuckled. "Yes, well, it's not so bad to shake things up a little now and again, is it? At any rate, I'm going to go briefly speak with the cops. But if you two don't want to stick on-scene any more, could you wait on a nearby rooftop? I'd like to chat for a couple minutes, compare hero notes and all." Suddenly, he turns and flashes a grin at Jill, turning his hand so she can see the sheet of paper with numbers scrawled on it. "Maybe tease Jack a bit." With that, he walked towards the police, giving Jack a firm pat on the shoulder as he passed the swordsman. "Good game." Man, he's in a good mood.

Question to trollthumper: Would you feel I could use Contacts in this situation? I'm torn on whether it fits, myself.

Gabriel, who had been silent up until this point, allowing those who actually knew what all these symbols meant, spoke up. "Please don't worry, Sheriff. I myself have encountered demons multiple times. I am obviously still alive. Furthermore, at worst, each of those encounters ended with the demon fleeing the scene, its goals unmet. Best case, it was banished back to the place where they await Final Judgment. There are several of us here; I have full confidence we could handle such an event if it occurred." His words were calm, soothing even. They sang with confidence, with assurance of ability. Gabriel uncrossed his arms and stepped to the side a bit, to better allow others to move around. "Would it be possible for me to perhaps ask some questions around town, instead? All of you seem to be getting along fairly well, and I readily admit my own inadequacy when it comes to interpreting crime scenes in general, and ones of this nature in particular. I hope to rectify that with what I learn here and elsewhere, but sadly not fast enough for today. Who knows? Perhaps I can find out some small detail that will help us discern the truth."

This, I can help with. But no bravado here, just honest experience. Diplomacy: 42. It's the answer, yo! EDIT: And basically, Gabriel's asking to be let loose on the town to perform Gather Information. 8-)

Earth-Prime Cobalt Templar is bordering on starstruck as he ventures into Freedom Hall. 'Wow! I'm here, I'm really here! This is awesome! I can't wait to tell Quo....No. Focus, Corbin,focus!' Shaking all thoughts of his exotic girlfriend aside, CT focused on the task at hand. He nodded as Dr. Atom spoke, and patiently waited for Sage to describe her impressions of the rift. When she was done, he stepped forward. "The rift seemed to be remaining stationary relative to its original point of origin; during the time I was there, it did not seem to vary in size at all. It's putting off some sort of energies; from 500 feet out, I was experiencing moderate synesthesia, as well as..." He pauses here. "I heard what almost sounded like something moving in the rift. A "skittering" or some such. However, that data is unreliable, as I was already going through altered senses. There was no notable gravitational pull to the rift. Any water that encountered it seemed to just go away; no audible or visible reaction occurred." CT would continue to describe the rift as best he could until Dr. Atom was satisfied. Then, he asked his own questions. "Sage, you mean you felt another you in that rift, or through it? What, like...another dimension?" He knew they existed, but still. His next question may have been born from his inexperience being a hero in a crisis like this. "So, do we try to track down where they're making this rift come from? Or do we try sending a probe or something into the rift?" "Probe or something"; perhaps he watches too much television. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earth-Paragon Cobalt Templar had actually just landed when Wander mentioned him as a source on the rift. He nervously glanced at the others, then stepped forward. "I approached within about 200 feet of the rift before stopping to observe. Right away I could tell it was emitting something; I begain experiencing what amounts to...synesthesia, I think it's called. It affected nearly all of my senses. Perhaps more alarming was the fact that it seemed to react with my powers. In retrospect, the feeling was rather unsettling, but at the time, it was almost euphoric. It was like the rift and my powers were harmonizing or something. I could feel my power having increased, manifesting in the increased glow about my person. I couldn't really see into the rift itself, not beyond what anyone can observe. Sage might be able to give more insight when she arrives." He frowned slightly at the thought. "I hope they get here soon; that rain's not letting up, and it seemed like there were a couple of disgruntled groups down on the streets on my way in."

Gabriel watched the exchange between Eric and Vigourie with slightly narrowed eyes. When the sheriff broke it up, he shook his head. "You're right, Sheriff. The victim is what's important right now. That, and finding justice." At her expression of hope, Gabriel just gave her a solemn nod. "We will do everything in our power not to let you down." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gabriel frowned at Equinox's increasingly heated words. "Please calm down. I understand all too well how important faith is to someone, but you're not helping matters. If you really feel like yelling at someone, we can go debate theology later or something." There was just the tiniest hint of humor in his voice, and a bit of a sparkle in his eye. At Push's exclamation of "Christ on a crutch", Gabriel turned to look sharply at him. "Don't take His name in vain like that, at least not when I'm around." Chalk it up to already-induced irritability, but he clearly didn't appreciate that figure of speech. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The hero in white almost stayed to try helping Equinox calm down, but thought better of it. Instead, he followed the others into the room. He allowed Eric to help clarify things for Durand, simply nodding his agreement where appropriate. Then, they were shown the body. Intellectually, Gabriel had known the victim was young. But he hadn't committed the facts to memory, and the last few minutes had wiped all but the most basic of details away. But now, it was shoved in his face. "So young?" There was deep sadness in his voice as he stepped forward, standing to one side of the slab. A single tear leaked out as he viewed a life cut short. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, his lips moving but inaudible until the last few sentences, which were still barely above a whisper. "may they rejoice in Your kingdom, where all our tears are wiped away. Unite us together again in one family, to sing Your praise forever and ever. Amen." At some point, he'd extracted a rosary from his shirt, one he now tucked back away. He stepped back, letting the others get a closer look. This was one area he was sorely lacking in, truth be told. Perhaps he could make an effort to change that soon...

After several long moments, Gabriel was able to take a breath. He looked a bit dazed. "Uh...you're welcome?" But before he can get more words in, the young lady has moved on. She gives a quick hug to Jill, whispering "Thank you, too!" in her ear, before moving on to Jack. A devilish smile and she was giving the dashing swordsman his own personal kiss! Gabriel tilted his head a bit to the side. "She's...friendly. And forgive me if the sound of my voice distracted you. I try to keep that sort of thing under control. But I was kind of pre-occupied." Man, this lady can sure hold her breath!

Gabriel was going to have to talk to Equinox about how to be diplomatic in this situation. She wasn't helping. Then Vigourie made his not-so-subtle insinuations. Gabriel barely kept control. He narrowed his eyes. His coat started flapping a little in an entirely non-existent breeze. And when he spoke, his voice had the undercurrent of ageless authority. "If a religious leaning disqualifies her, we are all disqualified, Mr. Vigourie. Everyone has some worldview or another. Or are you implying because she's not a Christian, or something similar, she shouldn't be part of this? Were my earlier words not enough for your taste? Do you know how I came upon the name I go by in costume, Mr. Vigourie? I was visited by the Archangel Gavriel himself! I have been tasked by the powers of Heaven to keep watch over the flock! And you dare try to suggest someone I have vouched for would taint this investigation with prejudice? The only prejudice I see here is you." The various subtle effects stop as if a switch was turned off. Gabriel's tone still carries gravity. "However, I realize this is perhaps a tense time. If possible, I request we be allowed to collect ourselves elsewhere. You may well be able to aid us, Mr. Vigourie. But to do so, you will need to wait until you see actual evidence before making judgments." He turned to Durand, a suddenly weary look on his face. "I apologize for my outburst, but Mr. Vigourie's assertions were uncalled for. If you can't tell, our little group here has a variety of philosophies at work. I think this may benefit us, as we will have multiple perspectives when looking at evidence. However, you are, ultimately, the authority in this town. I will defer to your decisions and judgments on matters. I simply ask we be allowed a chance to help, with no unfounded accusations directed at our group."

Right, Gabriel is officially angry. First, Intimidate on Vigourie. 27; pretty effective...But not effective enough. Hero Point to re-roll. 33 is more like it. Ladies and gentleman, he may not be an Archangel, but he did get some tips from one. Next, we have Diplomacy on the Sheriff to further smooth things over. 32: It's pretty effective!

Earth-Prime Cobalt Templar nodded at the words and plans of the others. In this case, he would defer to their greater experience in such matters. "So, the three of us just need to teleport there, I guess?" He turned to Sage, a curious look on his face. "Did you get any sense of what that "other mind" was like?" Earth-Paragon Cobalt Templar seemed to finally have his powers tightly locked down, as the sound of sizzling rain had stopped. Edge was right; this could turn ugly, quick. CT snapped a salute to Wander after she handed out their marching orders. He stood, his eyes evaluating the surrounding area. "Roger that, Wander. I'll be along as soon as I can." With that, he flew into the sky, flying up and down the levee area. When needed, he pulled a civilian out of danger, or perhaps did a quick fix-job on really weak areas. Perhaps 10 minutes passed before he deemed the area truly clear enough. With that, he turned and poured on the speed, intent on catching his fellows.

Gabriel sat on the ground for several moments, catching his breath and letting his body calm down. The healing energies Jill was producing helped a great deal. "Tell Emeril over there he has my thanks, Miss Mini-Medic." There's a sarcastic grin on his face as he speaks. Clearly, he's getting into the spirit of joking around. "Seriously though, thank you both. I'd probably have survived that, but it would have hurt. Plus, Fleur de Joie would have given me an earful for getting badly injured again. I'm thinking of looking into some sort of super-kevlar or something. Anyways, looks like I'll just need to replace the shirt, and give the jacket an evening." He stands to his feet, but is promptly set upon by the young boy and the middle-aged woman. Closer inspection shows they seem to be parent and child. After a moment, they both release him. "Thank you so much! All of you!" "Just doing the right thing, ma'am. Head over to the authorities, they'll get you squared away." The elderly man walks over more slowly, holding out his hand to first Gabriel, then Jack, then Jill, a smile on his face. "Fine work, youngsters, fine work. You do this city proud! Just like the boys and girls from back in my younger days." After he'd shaken all their hands, he too headed to the police line. "Always nice to be apprec-" Gabriel's next words are cut off as the 20-something woman suddenly grabs the lapels of his jacked and pulls him down a touch to give him a very enthusiastic kiss. His wide eyes show he didn't expect this. He's not fighting tooth and nail against it, though.

The time for talk was over; Gabriel was deadly serious as he move along the deck, keeping his eyes on the Tyrant, positioning his hands to try battering his armored foe down. To Powerhouse, he merely gave a terse reply. "Take care of the thugs." Then a pair of sonic blasts ripped away from his hands. One went wide, making an impressive dent in the ceiling. But the other blast hit dead-center on Tyrant's chest. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards in satisfaction, but this battle wasn't over yet. He kept a close watch on the older man, hoping to have some insight to his intended actions.

Let's see. Should still be at 3 Hero Points. I'm going to use Surge. I will set aside an HP to avoid the fatigue. I will Move, then Attack, Attack. I think we'll go with 2 Blasts, see where that gets us. Attack Roll: 17. I know that's not good enough. Hm. 2 HP left, so I'll burn one to reroll this attack. Attack Roll: 27. Much better. That's a DC 26 Toughness Save. On to the 2nd attack: Attack Roll: 11. Ugh. I'll just eat that one, and save my last Hero Point.

Gabriel turned to face Push with an evaluating eye. Nonetheless, he offered the man a handshake. "Call me Gabriel. As for experience...we'll cover that later." Then Equinox stepped in, and marked herself as the only other superhero-ish person in the room. Gabriel offered her a shake and a smile as well. "A pleasure to meet you, Equinox." He recognized the name "Nick Cimitiere". He'd heard about him from Dead Head on one of the few occasions they'd crossed paths since. Necromancy. He couldn't keep the slight grimace off his face, but he forced it away with a solemn nod at Eric's words. Best to think of him as Eric. Just before the sheriff and "expert" walked in, Gabriel gave the 30-second version to the others. "I'm going to play Public Relations for the group, so that the rest of you can do what you do best, and we hopefully won't be fighting against the locals too hard. We can work out a game plan later." Just then, Sheriff Durand and Vigourie walked in. Push did his little introduction spiel right after Marcus kept things short and simple. Then, it was time for the master to get to work. Gabriel put on his best winning smile, and stepped forward to first shake Durand's hand. His next words were laced through and through with a combination of politeness, respect, seriousness, and even a hint of charm. "Sheriff Magaret Durand, it's an honor and a pleasure. I'm afraid I can't give my birth name, but you may call me Gabriel. I'm here on my own initiative, as I saw the situation and felt that a bit of heroic presence might help calm fears. I'm not quite the expert my fellows are here on the more obscure matters of the occult, but I have run into such things before. But I trust them to help us sort things out properly, so that we can see the true culprits brought to proper justice. In the end, I'm just here to help, ma'am." Then, he turns to Vigourie. His smile remains in place, but something shifts about it. There's a certain danger to his presence now, all focused on this one man, this "expert". He reaches to shake his hand, but "accidentally" applies just a bit more pressure to it. "Mr. Vigourie. I think I've heard of you. You're considered something of an expert, yes? Well, expert you might be, but we have a killer on the loose. Wouldn't you say it's better to let as many willing people aid this investigation as possible? Mr. Stone there has very qualified credentials; the others here are less "official", perhaps, but they're all clearly well-versed in the subject matter. As for myself, just consider me a concerned citizen. A lowly layman who feels it's my solemn, holy duty to make sure the pure, unvarnished truth is found out. If you're worried of my credentials, just call Freedom City, the Police Department, Southside district. They'll vouch for me, as will a few others. And really, "arrangement" or no, don't you want to find out the truth, Mr. Vigourie? It's so important to know the truth, Mr. Vigourie. Wouldn't everyone agree?" He finally releases the handshake and steps back. His attention returns to the Sheriff, and his smile is back up to about 1000 watts. "Now, Sheriff, I realize this might be imposing a bit, but I was hoping we could all get some space where we could sit down, look over information, toss ideas around, that sort of thing. A little bit of workspace, you know? We don't need anything fancy, though I'm sure all of us could do with some rooms at the local motel, for those of us who haven't arranged one already. And of course, if possible, we'd like one of us to be working with you and Mr. Vigourie as much as possible. I would so hate to cross wires, step on toes, and the like. Really, we're all after the same thing here, so I want to make sure we all are able to do the best job we can. Does that sound alright?"

Right! Time to work Gabriel's magic: The gift of Blarney! First, for his greeting with the Sheriff: Diplomacy with Attractive: 42. That shouldn't hurt our chances. Next, we have an intimidate for our "friendly expert": Intimidate: 27. Aw, only rolled a 7. Too bad. Finally, Diplomacy with the Sheriff again to get them some "working space", as well as access to the site, records, etc.: Diplomacy with Attractive: 44. We'd like air-conditioning in our trailer, please. :P

The hostages, all of them, were silently weeping as guns were held to their heads. Cold, cruel weapons, pressed to their temples. Gabriel's face was an impassive mask, hiding the anger, fear, and desperation. None of it showed. He took a couple steps forward, then stopped. He kept his hands hanging loosely at his side, and when he spoke, his voice was loud enough to be heard, but carried no harsh tones of anger or condemnation. Just gentle tones meant to sooth attitudes. "Right. I believe you, I really do. But...I kind of have to ask. Are you sure you want to do this?" "Of course! We want to go free!" "You're willing to kill that woman to do that? You, over there. You're willing to kill that little boy because you messed up? Do you have any siblings? Kids? Anything like that?" The leader and the one holding the old man shook their heads, confusion evident. The other two nodded nervously. "Well, how would you feel if you found out they'd been killed by guys like you? Angry, I bet. But more than that, terribly sad. Do you really want to do that? Besides, let's look at the facts. Right now, you're guilty of armed robbery. That means jail time, yes. That sucks. Jail sucks. We could spend hours talking about what got you here. But that's really not the important part. Right now, you go to jail for a few years. You play your cards right at your trial, you act nice, and you could be out sooner than you think. Then, you could actually do something with your life. I personally know of several companies that work with guys who made it out of jail legitimately. Jobs, housing, the works. Real, genuine, second chances." He pointed to the gun the leader had, slowly. "You pull that trigger? You'll be lucky to get out of jail ever. Now, Jersey doesn't have the death penalty. But 50 or more years in prison, what kind of life is that? Why not put the guns down, sit down, and we'll make sure you guys don't get hurt, and you can at least start working on making the best of things. Please. Don't...don't become killers. I've seen people like that. Don't do it." Slowly, three of the four gangsters lowered their weapons, dropping them to the ground. The boy, elderly man, and twenty something dashed for the police line. But the leader...there was something different in his eyes. An odd gleam. "They may not have the guts to do this, but I do!" He went to pull the trigger...and found he couldn't move! "Good thing you didn't notice the subsonic waves I was hitting your nervous system with, then. Come on, ma'am." He moves to help extricate the woman, the criminals eye's following them as he was reduced to silent rage! "Glad I could help you, ma'am. Now go over to the police, I'll handle-" "Look out!" she screamed all of the sudden. Gabriel turned, his eyes widening as he say the criminal coming out of his paralysis faster than expected. The gun tracked towards the hero in white. Gabriel shoved the middle-aged woman to the ground, trying to shelter her with his body even as he moved his hand to try and knock the man out. 'Too slow!' Indeed, it looked like he was going to take a nasty wound. Again. 'Stesha's going to kill me for this.'

Gabriel's face was all-business. He kept his voice down where only Eric and Marcus could hear him. "The problem is worse than we feared. That "expert" they're bringing in, Vigourie? He's a real class act. A narrow-minded bigot who knows just enough to be dangerous, to whip crowds up into a frenzy over false pretenses. He creates connections where there are none, and frankly persecutes those who, at worst, are guilty of a different philosophy. Which, while potentially worthy of debate, doesn't make them criminals." He sighs, crossing his arms. "So we're basically going to have to be fighting this blighter constantly, at the same time we try to do actual work. Which is why I'm making myself Public Relations for our little temporary group here. You two will just stand back, smile, shake hands, and give polite greetings. Any press conferences, any meetings, anything dealing with the police, you let me handle it. It's not because I don't trust you. It's because, unless you have a majorly unrevealed talent, I am literally better at this than you ever will be. This is what I do, or at least part of it. So go out on a limb, trust me, and let's hope we do this right." Gabriel turned to face the two officers, a smile back on his face. "So, Officers. When did you say the Sheriff would be back? I only ask so we can get things squared away. Don't want to step on toes and such. Plus, like I said, I still need to go rent myself a room."

Earth Prime Cobalt Templar nodded at the advice of his fellow heroes. Poking the rift probably was a bad idea. Still, he thought it was better to speak an idea than just float there. He'd already started moving towards the group when the broadcast started. Narrowing his eyes, he rushed down to the others, watching in silence, with gritted teeth, as the two madmen proclaimed their rulership of the world. Once it was over, he slammed his right fist into his left palm. "I say Hell. No. We gotta get to the Freedom League, or somebody. Then, we gotta stop...wait. That was really him?" Suddenly, confusion reigned on his features. Overshadow was supposed to be dead! He shook his head. No time for such thoughts. His gaze followed Erin's, a worried expression plastered on his face. "Well, it was messing with my head from a few hundred feet out. And that's not really that big. What if they make one big enough to swallow the planet?" Now there was a sobering thought. Earth-Paragon Despite the warnings of the others, Cobalt Templar barely backed off from the oddly enticing rift. He wanted to keep studying it, keep learning, feeling, seeing- Then, true evil showed its face and made its demands. The stupor induced by the near-hypnotic effect the rift had on him vanished, burned away by hot fury at the words of this man, this monster! His blue aura went from "harmless blue glow" to "sizzling aura of psychic fire" in short order. Only at the end of the broadcast did he turn and notice Sage's condition. Worry crossed his features, and the flames died a little. He left a thin trail in the air as he rushed to the ground, crouching a few yards away from everyone else as he fought to regain total control. He looked at Wander with worried, inexperienced eyes. "But...the levee? We...no, you're right. Yeah. We need to tell someone about this. Maybe...I could carry you all? It wouldn't be super fast, but I could do it."

"Let's just say that so long as we're careful, and don't do anything stupid, I have a very good shot of keeping these people calm and somewhat friendly towards us." He turns as the other officer enters with Marcus. He quirks an eyebrow at Eric's display, but doesn't question it...for now. He frowns at the mention of the sheriff meeting someone at the airport. He pulled out his cell phone, and made a quick call to this one guy he knew. A minute's conversation narrowed down his options to two people. The first, a pundit, was highly unlikely. Which left the crackpot "expert" who would be looking for the first scapegoat possible. Gabriel closed his phone, his voice barely audible. "Blasted narrow-minded blighter. He's going to mess this whole thing up. Lord preserve me and keep me in this trial..." Ceasing his angry muttering, he quickly walked over to Eric. Glancing at the officers for just a moment, he looked back at the other man. "We need to talk a second. ASAP."