Double Features (IC)

[Carces]

"Me?" Vance turned away from the video to address Silhouette. He looked down introspectively, spending a little time to gather up his thoughts before responding.

"Well... these SHADOW... nazi... guys, whatever are pretty serious business. But it doesn't sound like they're the new kids on the block, y'know? I figure I might be able to, well, ask other heroes around about 'em. Figure out where they might be hiding. That sorta thing."

Vance scratched his head as he thought on the topic longer.

"To do that, I gotta meet heroes. Maybe at scenes of disasters or somethin'. I need to get in some fightin' practice anywho so the real bad guys don't cream me or nothin'." Vance nodded to himself as he continued. "And before that, I need to get some sorta costume thing goin'. I'm doin' real terrible in the public relations department, you know? It's kinda tough to do something with all the shapechangin' and stuff, but it'll beat gettin' beat up by those heroes I'm tryin' to meet."

Vance looked back at Silhouette, pointing at her mask. "Say, where'd you get your costume, Sil? Ninja masks are pretty cool!"

[Aoiroo]

Sounded somewhat reasonable, though that's not exactly what she was asking. When it came to the costume she let out a light sigh,

"It's not a ninja mask, it's a balaclava or a ski mask. The eyes are only blacked out because I sewed in some semitransparent materials to hide my eyes. My costume is actually a standard one piece leather biker suit, and it used to be white. I removed most of the logos, as well as some of the padding and painted it black to better fit my powers."

She had really lucked out getting it, usually biker suits run several hundred dollars but this one she had snagged second hand for eighty.

"Anyway, it'll be hard getting you a costume, if only because you might need forms that well outgrow it. Even if we could get you a costume that changes with you it would be incredibly expensive. What you need is a logo, something that quickly identifies you from the other monsters on the street. You have complete control over your transformations even with the prompt, maybe you could conciously alter your froms so you have it somewhere."

[Carces]

"A logo-type thing?" Creature Feature whistled. "Y'know, I tried a sticker once. I had one of those big 'Movie Mania Fan Club' stickers that the theater was givin' away. But the problem was that it... uh..."

Vance grimaced as he thought back. There was something he hadn't told Silhouette, out of embarrassment more than anything. While assuming the form of guitar guy had gotten him a laid-back set of clothing and a confiscated baseball cap, occasionally the opposite occurred while changing, and he absorbed inanimate clothing or material too close to his body. It didn't happen all the time, although most forms would simply tear through the clothing he would forget to discard anyway. However it was particularly disconcerting, as he never did figure out how to get those absorbed objects back.

Vance swallowed hard. A super-expensive costume would be a terrible thing to absorb, never to be seen again. With all of the trouble he had creating objects that should exist, Vance needed all the practice in shapeshifting he could get.

"I'll, uh, work on it, Sil."

[Fox]

Dragonfly stretched, unfolding her legs and hopping down off the table. "A unique logo, certainly." a sticker? - could do better than that - not my place - wonder if there are superhero fashion designers - probably

"So," she started, rubbing her neck, "good news, bad news. Good news: narrowed it down to the west side of Freedom. Too much SHADOW activity for coincidence. Bad news: don't know WHERE on the west side. West End, Greenbank...Lantern Hill, maybe. Not sure...too hard to pin down. SHADOW lives up to the name." She frowned, apparently not very happy with that. if they're in my part of town violence will happen

She brushed an invisible thought away with one hand, turning back to the screen and bringing up some files - pictures of both Ms. Lights and some very old newspaper clippings. "Fortunately, can do better than that. Lindsy Lights - given technology, era, phenomenon from kidnapping scene reports...probably Lady Tesla. Unsure why she stockpiled SHADOW technology. Safekeeping, analysis, future destruction....mm. Speculation. Further speculation: unlikely to hurt her. Reports...SHADOW M.O. for subjects that old is less rough. Mental, manipulative. Good and bad...good if she won't break. Very bad if she does. Don't know what they want."

[Aoiroo]

"I could make a logo just fine, I may not do it for a living but I am a fully qualified Graphic Designer. Actually if I could probably overlay the logo onto the forms of the monsters in the videos."

Sitting she pondered on possible designs for a few seconds before Dragonfly brought up the info she had found on Ms. Lights. It was interesting, though she had never heard of Lady Tesla it sounded like a superhero name. The information about the equipment and their purpose also brought about some thought,

"Well it's hard to say whether or not she'd of been brainwashed by now, but it's more likely that she'll need some serious therapy even if she staved off it two months is a long time to be put under that type of mental pressure. The closeness is simply a relief since as big as that area of Freedom is, it's a lot easier to systematically search then let's say Chicago perhaps plus it makes it easier to see what other heroes we might be able to ask for an assist on the project. There are several heroes I could ask about it that might want to help. Creature, what other heroes have you met so far?"

[Carces]

"Well..." Creature Feature thought back as he talked to Silhouette. "The, uh, 'Monster Trainyard Incident', I met a guy named Nick and another monster kinda guy named Kid Cthulhu. They were on the west side too... We also met that Momentum guy together. I don't think he was from the West side, but I'll betcha he runs all over the city. I dunno if any of them have met SHADOW guys though."

Vance shook his head, as he scratched his hair. "Either than that, not too many other people. Between fighting crime and school, there sure isn't much time for a social life!"

[Fox]

Dragonfly frowned up at the screen, tapping her arm. "Hopefully you have time for an investigation. Scattered reports - 'word on the street', possibly unreliable, had to call in a favor - that SHADOW is looking for...mm. Leverage. Putting out feelers for an old employee....haven't found a picture yet. Fairly young, few records."

On the screen she pulled up what little she'd found - basically just a birth certificate and a couple police records detailing people involved in Video Head's troubles. "Vance Malloy. Know very little about him. Would suggest him as bait if he was older and willing. May be worth tracking down and watching anyway."

[Aoiroo]

Sil looked at Vance and let out a sigh,

"It'd probably be easier if you told your parents, though it's rather likely they wouldn't allow you to do superheroing at all if they found out. It's hard to tell, at least with out precognative abilities or mind reading. As for the two heroes you met, did you exchange information with them or at the very least gained a contact number? Superheroing is like a lot of careers in the respect that networking is vital to survival."

She glanced at Dragonfly and didn't miss a beat when she heard the words Vance Malloy,

"It's true he was the only person Ms. Lights has had any real connection to in a while, but it'd be hard to monitor him simply because his father's a cop. Not that that would probably stop them if they really want something. We'll be sure to tip the Malloy family, though keeping ourselves unknown would probably be best."

[Carces]

"Uh..."

Vance Malloy looked back and forth between Dragonfly, who apparently had discovered his presence through careful investigation and deductive reasoning, and Silhouette, who looked like she was keeping Vance's identity a secret for the time being, and doing a much better job than Vance did, who had almost given away when he introduced himself at secret security system gun-point.

Vance knew he had very little in terms of a poker face. Fortunately, the scientist lady appeared to be absorbed by the screens of flickering data. Looking about for a better means to mask his face and emotions, Vance's eyes fell on the familiar image of Wolfguy chasing down a woman. With a few seconds of concentration, his form and size matched the large werewolf of the silver screen- a figure who's odd expressions would presumably be more difficult to read.

"S-sorry..." Creature Feature's voice took the gruff, low tones befitting the wolf monster. "Just, uh, wanted to get a head start for tonight. But, yeah, I did get some numbers from the two guys I met. I, uh, didn't bring them with me or anything. They're still at home."

[Fox]

"Mm. Parents." That, apparently, was all Dragonfly had to say on the matter.

"It's true he was the only person Ms. Lights has had any real connection to in a while, but it'd be hard to monitor him simply because his father's a cop. Not that that would probably stop them if they really want something. We'll be sure to tip the Malloy family, though keeping ourselves unknown would probably be best."

She made a face. "Police. Great respect, but they do complicate things. Still...could follow him when he's out of the house or comes near western Freedom. Father isn't likely to monitor him all the time...probably. Poor level of experience there. Hard to judge." She shrugged, tilting her head at the screens. "Possible to make it unnecessary? Just a suggestion, but if you narrow down the area...mm. Creature Feature could turn into this Vance and become bait. Less risky. Keeps Vance himself out of trouble. A little young to be running around as bait anyway." hypocrisy? - apples and oranges

[Aoiroo]

Looking over at Creature Feature she had a smirk over Dragonfly's suggestion she wouldn't of been able to hide without her mask on.

"Well, using him as bait would be a good idea except I've seen Vance before and he's all skin and bone, and probably very easily over powered. If we stuck a tracker on Creature Feature and let him get captured in that form, he wouldn't be able to do much if the tracker was found or disabled for one reason or another and we'd have two missing persons instead of one."

She started to lean back a little in her chair,

"Bugging him might be a good option, but it'd have to be something that can't be easily removed or tampered. Also, of course he can't transform when he has it on because it'll change with the rest of him."

[Carces]

"All skin and bone?" The wolfguy form of Creature Feature frowned a bit as he looked down at his arms. He had been trying to bulk up a bit with exercises and diet, so he could help Silhouette fight crime a little more effectively. It only struck him now that the version of Vance Malloy from the summer vacation video will always be that skinny and weak.

Of course, the arms he was sporting now were large, monstrous things ending with claws, making his introspective comparison rather pointless.

Creature Feature shook his head as he stood up tall, towering over many things in the warehouse. "Weak or not, I'd rather be convincing bait than let any of those ninja-SHADOW-freaks near m-... Vance's house. I don't wanna think about what they could do to the neighborhood, y'know?"

[Fox]

Dragonfly shrugged. "Up to you, really. Not my call - I'm not bait. Admirable decision. Possibly dangerous? Mm. Have a television or portable dvd player on hand for a quick change, maybe. Getting very small these days. Could be smaller, cost/profit concerns...durability problems. Could always make them out of..."

She trailed off, staring at nothing as she - apparently - did some design work in her head. One finger idly traced numbers in the air, chalk on an invisible chalk board as she ground through the math. It took almost half a minute for her to realize what she was doing, and she froze, then coughed. "...yes, well. Few electronics companies with that level of metallurgy facilities anyway."

[Aoiroo]

Watching Dragonfly continue she just waited a few seconds then looked at her as she froze,

"That would be immensely useful if you could make it on something small. Maybe not two small, something that might look like a bulky plastic watch maybe a two inch screen would have plenty of space for an standard SD memory card. Plus he doesn't need much video to change, maybe a few seconds or so and it can only be used for some of the smaller forms like Wolfman. Of course he'd have to remember to take it off before using it."

She started to lean back in her chair again,

"Though I'd feel bad if you worked hard on something like that for nothing, and anything you make I could never afford cash wise."

She let her chair fall for a second before balancing it upward and glancing around the place,

"I could probably make you some things myself, nothing really technological, custom clothing maybe, posters, flower arrangements, jewellery, maybe nice loamed blanket it is getting colder lately."

[Carces]

"Uh..."

The conversation had taken an uncomfortable, if optimistic turn. On one hand, the very idea that a brilliant technologist would make him anything, let alone a super-cool TV, felt like something out of a movie. On the other hand, the conversation had turned to a discussion of money - something Vance never had a lot of, even while he was working. Normal portable video devices were fairly costly devices, and the hazards Creature Feature came across made borrowing such a device out of the question. Whatever it was that Silhouette's friend was thinking about, it certainly didn't sound like a "run of the mill" model.

"I really don't need anything expensive or nothin'. I can figure somethin' out. SHADOW nazi guys have to have videos of some sort too, right?"

[Fox]

Dragonfly snorted. "Pay me? Pay me. For--" She rolled her eyes, waving a hand at the screen...which was already featuring a sort of virtual blueprint, already filling out with complex designs and schematics. After just a handful of minutes it held two designs, both of them small, wrist-mounted screens. She shrugged, leaning back against her workbench and gesturing.

"Not rocket science, brain surgery. One," she pointed it out on the screen, rotating the design, "very simple. Could be programmed with a single short video clip to play...power source likely unstable. Unfortunate power concerns on a design that small. Wouldn't give it more than a day or two without charging. Would take maybe an hour to throw together."

"Two," she pointed out the other, giving it the same treatment - it seemed a little more complex, containing a great deal of what looked like custom circuitry work. "Somewhat more involved...more flexible. Reads off a memory card. Better power source, higher drain...evens out. Would want to know how easy you want it to be to take off. Still easy, more time-intensive to build...maybe two, three days." She shrugged. "Custom circuits, many small soldering jobs. Not that long. Have a platform I've been building off and on for months. Wrist-mounted video player isn't much of a challenge."

[Aoiroo]

Sil blinked a bit as she watched the blueprint come to life and glanced over at the screen. She got half of what she was saying, and half went straight over her head. However, the secondary seemed more ideal, though the way she was disregarding payment seemed a bit off.

"It's got nothing to do with complexity, it has everything to do with time. Why shouldn't I pay you for the time you're willing to donate for a project you wouldn't otherwise undertake?"

She glanced at the designs for a few more seconds,

"Also, it should be easy to remove because he should remove before he transforms, in fact I'll probably make the first few seconds of any video on there just the flashing words, Take Off The Watch."

[Carces]

Creature Feature nodded as he smiled.

"You'd do...? Uh, thanks! I was thinkin' the small one would be best. I kinda prefer to have something as hard to see as possible, so I can hide it and stuff. Out in the open, I can probably find another video, y'know?

Even if its just a one-shot video, in case of emergencies, I'd be okay with that. And a faster build would be better too. The sooner I can find these guys and get 'em away from m... the houses, the better."

Creature Feature's eyes glowed as his imagination went to work in all the ways he could hide a tiny video screen and what sorts of films he could put on it.

[Fox]

Dragonfly grumped, already digging around on her shelves for bits and parts. "Let me know if you want the better one some day. More reliable. Could probably build it a worthy battery...mm." fine - take the easy way - less fun - maybe make the other one for him anyway - later - too many projects

Behind her back the computer brought Wolfguy back up onto the main screen - apparently she'd either found a digital copy or recorded the whole thing off the VCR before shutting it down. Most of the screens spread out around the warehouse, in fact, had lit up with the movie, complete with a scattering of speakers for something approaching surround-sound. If that had taken any effort or attention to set up it didn't show: Dragonfly was in full-on inventor mode, muttering to herself and dragging a marker board over by her workbench, sketching out circuit diagrams with one hand and laying parts out on the table with the other. cell phone - missing the speaker will have to do - pda camera memory center usb salvageable - battery battery too small even for entropy drive not enough vertical space lithium? should have something appropriate won't hold much charge when activated but should last to maintain flash memory - remember to provide cables sure he has a computer should ask probably have a spare one around here somewhere on his own for converting tape to digital

[Aoiroo]

Watching her question be dropped as Dragonfly quickly went to work on the project leaving her with Vance,

"Well I guess that's taken care of. Right, how are your folks anyway? I mean do they honestly believe that you're in your room by yourself for hours on end at night? It might benefit for us to set up a better cover story."

[Carces]

Creature Feature let the inventor work as he turned to address Silhouette. He rubbed the back of his head as he got as he looked to the side sheepishly.

"To be honest, I sorta told 'em that I've been doin' extracurricular stuff. Science projects and extra homework, y'know? They kinda eat that sort of thing up. My big brother is real freaky-smart, y'know? Not, like, talk to nanomachines and build tiny power supplies in a matter of minutes-smart, but Straight-A-in-everything smart. And they figure I should be doin' the same."

Vance shrugged as he remembered a few of the excuses he had already given when he was heading out. After a few trial-and-error excuses, he was careful to try and make up excuses that were more difficult to verify than others. At the beginning, his parents had given him a lot of leeway, chalking up odd behavior to grief at the sudden disappearance of Lindsey Lights, his employer and friend. That bit of grace would not last forever, however.

"It's not exactly a lie. Afterall, I'm learnin' a ton of stuff! I betcha I could learn more in an hour 'round a place like this than you could in a year of shop class! And fightin' crime is like... a community service, right? That's the kinda thing schools want you to do!"

Creature Feature beamed as he finished justifying himself, showing his unsettling array of newfound teeth.

[Aoiroo]

She leaned back,

"Well what are you going to do when they actually see your grades or ask your teachers about this stuff? Unless you have straight As by the end of the year it's doubtful they won't check up on you occasionally, they are your parents."

Standing up and stretching,

"That's the problem with starting so young, you time isn't exclusively yours. It won't matter terribly after you graduate, before then we'll need something a little more well thought out."

[Fox]

Dragonfly was assembling tools, now - one of them quite literally, piecing it together from a mish-mash of other lesser parts. She'd kept half an ear on the ongoing conversation, half out of curiosity and half out of habitual paranoia when other people were in her warehouse.

"Not sure I'd be a very good teacher," she admitted over her shoulder, wiping grease off some wire. "Social skills. Patience...mm. Little experience. Parents...."

She paused, looking up and nothing and tilting her head. "...little experience there, too." Her hands went back to work. "Suppose I'd recommend keeping lying to as little as possible. Silhouette seems wise on these things. Worth listening to. Suspect it's good advice."

[Carces]

Defeated, Creature Feature throw his hands up. "Alright! Alright. I get the hint. So I'm not so good at makin' up cover stories. What do you guys suggest?"

Vance paced to the side, letting his massive, be-clawed hands drop down, hanging noticeably lower than an average human person's arm would. He stared at a multitude of screens. The soft glow of the images flickered and reflected off of Creature Feature's eyes as they darted back and forth, trying to find anything familiar that wasn't the old horror show.

"It's not like I can tell them the truth. They're... not so good with things like this. They'd freak - I'm sure of it. And not just hysterical yellin' in the house kind of freakin' either. More like global news choppers, SWAT team, talk show 'My baby is a super-monster' kind of freakin'. They're not really good at... I mean, they're sort of... uh, "paranormally challenged"."

Vance swallowed hard. He never really understood why his parents moved to Freedom City, considering how they talk all the time about thee dangerous super-powered things that happened all the time. Deep down, he wasn't sure if he was more afraid of the public outing that he considered inevitable if his parents ever found out that he was a super hero, or the likely move away from Freedom City that would occur, snuffing out his ability to figure out the shape-shifting hero thing and destroying his chances of ever finding Ms. Lights.

[Aoiroo]

Sil actively got up and walked to Vance's side putting a hand on his shoulder,

"You never know, they might surprise you."

She let out a soft sigh, she knew all to well that her parents would accept her if she told them herself, the only thing that held her back is the lifetime of teasing that would insue about it.

"Anyway, a good way to make a cover story more fesible is to make it less of a lie. I might of told Momentum that I wouldn't, but I can tutor you. Though I'm not genius or prodegy level, I'm actually rather good at school stuff, well math and sciences anyway and I'm not just telling you this to remind you that I'm a normal person who went through the same primary education you did not some ninja that grew up being raised by a dark shadowy figure teaching me to take a path of vengence. If your grades actually do start improving they won't have any reason to doubt that studying is the only thing you're doing."