ic The First Lesson

[EternalPhoenix]

November 3, 2021. Claremont Academy. Midday. David Sloane Library.

 

Terrifica

 

Terrifica had never actually been inside of Claremont Academy. Strange, yes? Considering her endlessly curious and suspicious nature? But indeed, she had not. Until today. But the Raven-the new one, not the woman; she was retired-had contacted her and asked for a small favor. Well, not in such words. The former Nevermore (who she’d worked with before) said that there was only but so much he could teach the second to bear the name. Terrifica, for her part, agreed. And not out of any ego on her part, surprisingly. The current Raven was a more than competent detective, but he was a fighter first. While Terrifica could, of course, fight and fight well; she was a thinker first. It made perfect sense to have someone with the opposite style mentor the young man.

 

And so here she was, in the library waiting for Nevermore II. She was, naturally, in full costume. When he entered he’d find her seated, reading an old novel rather rapidly for someone who didn’t publically claim to have superpowers.

[RocketLord]

Nevermore II

 

Terrifica.

 

Alek had pulled some strings, and now Charlie had a mentor-day appointment with Terrifica.

 

Genius super hero detective with all the tools, skills and knowledge that came with that? Yeah. This was... this was just terrific. The Ravens? They had always been Charlie's favorite super heroes. Terrifica? She was second. Sure, Charlie had done plenty of hero worship with Alek, Callie and Duncan in the past, but this was something new and different. 

 

He kind of wondered if she already knew about the cover identity that Alek had helped Charlie set up for Claremont, but it didn't really matter.

 

Charlie moved into the library with some confidence, wearing grey jeans, a white t-shirt with a big black exclamation mark on the front and an open dark grey jacket, a backpack with his costume and utility belt worn over his right shoulder.

 

"Terrifica!" He couldn't help himself. "It's terrific to meet you! I'm Nevermore. The newer one, I guess!"

[EternalPhoenix]

Terrifica

 

Terrifica turned her head and looked at Nevermore. Her gaze was clearly appraising, and when she turned back to her book he was left feeling as if he’d somehow been found wanting. She flipped a few pages, getting to the end of the book, and stood up. She walked over to a shelf, replaced the book, and promptly disappeared. The wall next to the library’s entrance shimmered, and Terrifica (re?) appeared. “Making assumptions, are we? You’ve lost points before we’ve even started.” She was smirking, but her voice held a teasing lilt, not malice. She slid the holographic device back into her utility belt. “Since when do we sneaky types ever sit in the middle of a room, waiting?” She took a breath and let it out. “But to business. A crime has been committed, and only the brave Nevermore can solve it.” She reached into a different pouch of her utility belt, and pulled out a series of curiously undated photographs and documents. Official police letterhead and styling, otherwise.

 

Once reviewed, they would show a locked room theft. No way in. No way out. Ten thousand dollars in diamonds missing. The security guard and cameras had seen nothing. The police had done a canvass of the neighborhood, but even that was mostly useless. A known jewel thief had been seen observing the store, but had been tracked down to the city morgue thanks to a heart attack. He had been there at the time of the thefts, and all his known associates were either out of state or in prison. “Finished reading? What do you think? What is the first step towards solving this dastardly crime?” Was Terrifica hamming it up? Perhaps a little.

[RocketLord]

Nevermore II

 

"When we got a meeting and don't feel like showing off?" Charlie quipped back at Terrifica's statement about making assumptions, a small smile playing over his lips. Holograms? He might be able to use that idea for something down the line.

 

He approached the the documents with the small smile still on his lips as Terrifica presented them, his eyes darting over the contents, reading them, taking it all in. The pictures, the description. 

 

"Sure. I'm a quick reader." So, locked room mystery. Obvious guy was dead, lots of diamonds missing. "Well, can't base things off just what's in the reports. Gotta actually look at the scene first. Maybe it was an inside job, maybe there's a hidden room. Maybe somebody with powers. Locked room doesn't matter much if you can teleport, y'know. Or maybe that heart attack's faked and it's not really the thief that's in the morgue. Can't attack it from just one angle."

[EternalPhoenix]

Terrifica

 

Terrifica smiled. He didn’t make assumptions. Good. “Clever boy.” She returned the photographs and documents to her belt, and pulled out a slip of paper. She handed it to Nevermore. “Get changed and meet me at this address.” She walked out of the library, but turned for a moment in the doorway. “You do have your own transport, yes? I have something to attend to.” It was a question she already knew the answer too, if her smirk was any indication. “You did say you wanted to look at the scene, didn’t you?”

 

Riverside. Later.

 

The address was, naturally, the jewelry shop from the photographs. Terrifica’s motorcycle was outside. She could be seen in through the window, talking to an older Caucasian man. Even with the door closed, she still heard Nevermore pull up. Visibly so, as she turned and glanced at him, before resuming her conversation.

[RocketLord]

Nevermore II

 

The Feather was as silent as ever. The Raven's tech was, as ever, top of the line, but even if Terrifica couldn't hear Charlie pulling up. He was in full uniform now. Blacks, greys, some silver and the teal raven on his chest. A slight smile played over Nevermore's lips as he approached the door, gently opening it before stepping inside.

 

He looked young in the costume. Definitely still a teenager, but one that had some experience, at least.

 

"Hey, I'm Nevermore," he said, introducing himself to the older man. "Alright, then... what do we got? Locked room mystery with the most obvious perp in the morgue, but everything's still missing? Anything else you can tell us?"

[EternalPhoenix]

Terrifica

 

Terrifica backed away to lean against the side wall with her arms folded under her chest. “Indeed, Mister Rubenstein. Have you anything further to share?”

 

Rubenstein shrugged. He was a quick talker with an apparent permanent hoarseness to his voice. He came off like a Jewish grandfather instead of a wealthy jewelry store owner. “I wasn’t here. I own this jewelry store, along with a few others. It was the middle of the night, so the only person here was the security guard. He was in the back, watching the cameras. Somebody died over this?”
 

Terrifica cut in smoothly. “Natural causes, Mister Rubenstein. Prior to the robbery.”

 

Rubenstein sagged momentarily in relief. “Well, that’s good. It’s not good that he’s dead, but you know. They’re only diamonds.” He returned his attention to Nevermore. “Honestly, kid, I only came to open up the place so you could take a look. T here says you’re good at solving this kinda thing.” From her space on the wall Terrifica shrugged lightly, but didn’t speak. “The security tapes are still in the office, and I called the guard-his name’s Richardson-he can show ‘em to ya. But you know the deal. Richardson swears he was watching the cameras, but I dunno. He’s got a phone and a laptop to mess around with. Nothing on the tapes, but my diamonds were gone in the morning when my guy came to open up.”

[RocketLord]

Nevermore II

 

"The tapes sound like a good place to start."

 

Rubenstein didn't sound too sure about his guard actually doing his jobs. There might be something more there, but nothing he should dig into just yet. Terrifica might trust this guy, but that didn't mean that Charlie should right away.

 

"What's your security like? Just cameras, or something more?"

 

Just diamonds? Either Rubenstein really cared about people (which was good, of course), or he was absolutely loaded, if he could afford to lose diamonds like that.

 

"Reminds me, can I take a look at the cameras?"

 

Alek had taught him to look for tampering. Better safe than sorry, in case anyone had done something to them.

[EternalPhoenix]

Terrifica

 

Rubenstein was about to speak, but Terrifica beat him to it. “Standard alarm systems for a building of this type. High quality, but you or I could get through them if we had to. The aforementioned cameras, sensors on the windows and doors, a few motion detectors, etcetera. Nothing too special.” She waved at Rubenstein, indicating he could elaborate if he wished.

 

Rubenstein did. “I’ve been with BID for twenty years. Good company. I thought their tech was good, but T says it’s crackable so now I don’t know.”

 

“I wouldn’t worry about that, Mister Rubenstein. Nothing’s uncrackable to an elite professional. The average criminal doesn’t have the expertise or equipment to do this.”

 

“Eh, if you say so. The cameras themselves…” Rubenstein pointed up and around briefly. The ceiling had relatively inconspicuous plastic domes set into it. A section of each dome was clear. Obvious cameras to anyone looking, but not the casual viewer. “Have a look, there’s only the five. Store’s only but so big, you know.”

 

Terrifica had one thing to add. “I did check them myself and found no evidence of tampering with them specifically, though that doesn’t mean anything. There are other methods, as you know Nevermore. However, feel free to check them yourself if you like.”

[RocketLord]

Nevermore II

 

Terrica checking things didn't mean there was nothing there. Just meant she hadn't found anything. Might not be anything to find, but, y'know... She'd probably get on Charlie's case if he didn't check it out.

 

"Sure, I'll give them a look."

 

While he got to work, checking the cameras both physically and starting a program to check for tampering, he continued. "Sooo... did they catch anything exciting during the break in?"