Murder on the Victorian Express (IC)

[Aoiroo]

Carrie managed to get herself upright recovering from the machines effect on her just a little bit, and the trains not as much. Moving over to the door of the storage car she glanced over her shoulder,

"Right, sounds like a mystery alright, but first things first, we probably shouldn't risk you too being seen and since this trip lacks someone who can just make stuff out of thin air, we should probably grab some clothing."

She looked over and motioned for Ms. Wells to come with before looking at Fenris and Jubatus,

"We're not in Freedom anymore, so it's probably safe to assume the two of you won't have nearly as easy of a time fitting in here. Fenris, you're probably gonna have to take off the suit, but if you want to stay annoynamias I'll bring you a hat and a scarf to obscure your face and we'll say you have a cold and don't want to spread it to any other passengers."

She glanced at Jubatus,

"Not exactly sure what to say about you, in fact, why don't you try and think about what story you'd like to bring up, but a long jacket and a hat should keep you looking normal enough at a glance."

[KnightDisciple]

Fenris turned and regarded Carrie for several long moments.

"And what if I don't agree about the need to take off my armor? After all, we're looking for one or more persons willing to kill, and I rather like the extra security my armor gives me."

[Aoiroo]

Carrie thought about it for a few seconds,

"Well, for matters of dealing with a potiential murderer, you looking like a metal wolf might intimidate them into not taking any further actions, which while beneficial makes it hard to catch it in the act. Also, you'll pretty much attract a lot of attention. But, I can't make you take it off if you don't want too, so we could just say that your armor is prototype for similiar things being made by the academy Miss Wells represents and that you wearing it now would be to test it's manueverability in a smaller space like a train. We can probably fudge over any weaponized application your suit has, and say that the look was more an eccentric preference of the maker since for all intents purposes the costumed heroes we have in our universe don't exist in this universe."

She waited paused and turned to Miss Wells,

"By the way, what exactly is my position in this universe, I know I got a metal, do I have a title now?"

[Supercape]

"You do indeed" replied Ms. Wells. "Lady of the realm. Awarded with the Order of the Greater Garter, thanks to your efforts. Of course, it is up to you if you wish to use the title. It may be of some value in the right circumstance".

"As for the magnificent suit of armour" continued the scientist. "I understand your concern. However, it leaves you, or us, with a dilemma. I have no doubt of its robust qualities, but on the other hand I am no sure how helfpul it will be to the investigation itself. Other than scaring off the weak-willed. The choice is yours, of course. Safety and caution may be the most prudent option. "

[KnightDisciple]

All present could hear the man's sigh through the suit's speakers.

"You're lucky I've made sure I'm the only one with access to the suit. Get me some stuff to disguise myself with, and I'll get changed."

Fenris stood there, accepting the logic the others are presenting, but obviously waiting to actually have disguise material before hopping out.

[Aoiroo]

She nodded with Fenris's compliance to the the situation,

"Right than, since the deceased will not be using it, perhaps we can get some clothing from his luggage to faciliate these two. If I need some myself, I can probably borrow one of your outfits if you don't mind."

She glanced over at Miss Wells with a light smile.

[Cubist]

Jubatus upshifted -- in a fairly literal sense, he made himself some extra time to consider this new information, and what he ought to do now.

Obvious fact: He needed to stay on Miss Steampunk's (he'd have to remember to call her 'Wells' when speaking normally) good side. If the culture/society of this version of Earth really was a near-equivalent to that of the British Empire during Victoria's reign, Jube strongly doubted he'd enjoy living here, so there was no upside to pissing off the one person who owned his ticket home. His personality being what it was, he'd probably annoy her regardless... but at least he could try to keep a lid on his more-abrasive qualities.

The corpse being 'one of the finest engineers in England': This suggested that the perp was an agent of some other nation than the Empire. After all, who was more likely to benefit from such a death than one of the Empire's competitors on the world stage? Great: Worst case, Jube had gotten dragged into an international incident on a world about whose geopolitics he knew absolutely nothing. Such fun.

Miss Steampunk's doubts about the local constabulary were not happy-making. At best, those doubts signified nothing more than an aristocrat's genteel contempt for what she regarded as second-class citizens of the Empire; at worst, Miss Steampunk correctly feared that the local coppers were actively in league with the perp, or at least with whoever the perp had been working for when he made the hit.

"We are, I regret to say," she explained with precision, "in the middle of the Indian colonies, in rather perilous mountain region..."

After Wells finished her own summary of the situation, Jubatus nodded. "Makes sense. Also, while I got no clue what this world's geopolitical realities are like, I'd be willing to bet that if your Empire has any serious rivals, one of those rivals is responsible for this murder. You'd know better than me who the likely candidates are, of course."

"I'm Fenris. Now, as for you giving her the nth degree about this: back off."

Jubatus gave the tin can a sardonic smile. "One question is 'the Nth degree'? I do not think that phrase means what you think it means."

It's obvious we're in a non-standard situation. So her bringing us here isn't so shocking. I'm a bit flattered she trusts me on this, myself. Besides, sounds like we've got industrial espionage going on.

"Industrial? Pfft! Try 'international', is my guess."

When Miss Steampunk mentioned that the victim was a high-grade weapons designer -- effectively an Imperial resource -- Jube suppressed the urge to tell Fenris, 'told you so'. There's a killer in the vicinity. Powers or no powers, it's just stupid to irritate someone who's supposed to watch your back.

"Not exactly sure what to say about you, in fact, why don't you try and think about what story you'd like to bring up, but a long jacket and a hat should keep you looking normal enough at a glance."

Frowning and nodding, Jube growled under his breath, acknowledging the younger woman's wisdom. Considering how the Elephant Man had been treated by the Victorian Empire on his world, he wasn't at all keen to discover how this world's Empire would react to a Cheetah Man. After spending a clock-second thinking it over for a minute or so, he replied: "How about this: I'm a biologist. I was working with extracts from exotic plants in the Americas, looking for a way to accelerate the human body in a controlled manner. My financial backers got cold feet, and in hopes of retaining their support, I tried my formula's latest, untested, version on myself... with the results you see, which drove away all my then-existing backers. But I do know the formula works now, so I'm trying to eliminate the unfortunate side-effects, and seeking out funds for that is why I'm here in the Empire.." Jube looked at Miss Steampunk: "How's that cover story sound to you, Miss Wells?"

"...perhaps we can get some clothing from his luggage..."

"Fine -- but first, how about if I see what scents I can pick up from the corpse and near vicinity?" To Miss Steampunk: "Yes, I do have a nose not unlike that of a bloodhound. Do I have your permission to go sniffing around?"

[KnightDisciple]

Jubatus gave the tin can a sardonic smile. "One question is 'the Nth degree'? I do not think that phrase means what you think it means."

"In the context of my usage, it could imply either the degree of a polynomial, where n represents a natural number, or saying meaning that something is raised to a very high level. In this case, my intended meaning was the second; my concern was less with the number of questions, and more with the tone of the questions."

Fenris's tone was calm and collected. Almost like he was a teacher giving a lecture. It was clear Jubatus didn't really intimidate him or impress him.

"Industrial? Pfft! Try 'international', is my guess."

When Miss Steampunk mentioned that the victim was a high-grade weapons designer -- effectively an Imperial resource -- Jube suppressed the urge to tell Fenris, 'told you so'. There's a killer in the vicinity. Powers or no powers, it's just stupid to irritate someone who's supposed to watch your back.

"It's possible it's a plot from another country. Equally possible is a rival designer who wanted this person out of the way. If they can pin the blame on a foreign country, thus ultimately giving themselves even more business and prestige, all the better for them. We can't stick too closely to one idea or the other. Honestly, it'll be hard to say much more until we see the scene."

[Supercape]

"How's that cover story sound to you, Miss Wells?"

"Well, say it with enough conviction, and it may work. The American idea is good. Lot of very silly people there. "

She paused briefly. "But perhaps before we enter the passenger cabins, the scene of the crime might come first?" she opened the door to the next carriage, which appeared to be full of various scientific equipment, half of which was in storage.

"The body is in here... and please feel free to use that nose".

Ms. Wells did not lie, for in the middle of the carriage, in a large pool of blood, lay the body of an elderly, white haired man, in crumpled and bloody evening attire.

[Cubist]

"...please feel free to use that nose".

Jubatus nodded his acknowledgement. After Miss Steampunk gave her approval/assessment of his proposed cover story, he got to work. The feline didn't want to disturb the body, or anything around the body, if he could help it... okay, he had a plan.

Jubatus leapt across the compartment on a low trajectory -- but he upshifted almost instantly after his feet left the ground, thus giving himself tens of seconds of his own personal fast-time to sniff at the body while he drifted over it. With no physical contact between himself and the corpse or anything in the corpse's immediate vicinity, he could be confident that he hadn't affected the evidence to any significant degree. The feline did this again and again, calculating his leaps to ensure that he'd gotten a good, thorough sniff at every part of the corpse, and everything within a one-meter radius of the corpse. If there were any 'foreign' scents on the body, Jube had no doubt that he'd detect them now, and be able to identify them if he smelled them at a later time.

[KnightDisciple]

It had taken a bit of time, but Fenris had found some clothing that would do for now. It helped that his armor's under-suit was made of morphic molecules; it rolled right up to the point you'd have get through everything else before you found it again.

He was wearing some black trousers that weren't quite casual but weren't quite fancy, going well with the rugged (but still stylish) boots he'd found. A white button-up shirt covered by a black vest that he kept open, a floppy cap that covered his hair, and a scarf wrapped loosely around his lower face continued the trend. Finally, a simple pair of dark goggles worn over his eyes completed the set.

"These things are pretty nice...I can't even tell I'm wearing them!"

He then stepped into the doorway of the cabin, right as Jubatus finished his rounds over the body. The disguised man cast his gaze here and there, but just didn't notice anything particularly useful. Instead, he moved himself to one corner, hoping to at least be useful once details had been found.

[Aoiroo]

Carrie gave Fenris his privacy as he changed, mostly because she was still looking over the clothing for Jubatus. She honestly didn't care about looking for her disguise at the moment as she started to look for a suitable coat. She found one in the form of a dark brown trench coat as well as a floppy hat which matched Fenris's except for it being slightly more worn. She didn't bother getting boots as it would of been impossible for the cheetah man to really wear them effectively. Following behind, she shut her eyes and said blindly into the room,

"Right, I'm not going to look over anything remotely gory for fear of losing my last meal, so,how's the scene evidence wise."

[Cubist]

When Jubatus finished leaping around/across/over the corpus delecti (it didn't take more than a minute or two of clock-time), he spoke to Miss Steampunk: "Lot of different scents on your boy; one's a lot stronger than any other, so I'll assume that scent is the man himself. There's a small number, hrrrm, maybe three to five? Anyway, a small number of other scents more-or-less tied for second place, intensity-wise, and my tentative assumption is that the murderer is among this group. If I run into a person whose scent matches any of the scents on the corpse, I'll recognize them, end of discussion." Now the feline held a envelope up at Miss Steampunk's eye-level, a transparent envelope which contained a tiny chunk of steel. That metal's sharp odor is what had initially drawn his attention, and 'one set of sterile tweezers from a vest-pocket' later, Jube had the steel flake in custody. "Found this bit of metal lodged within the wound; my guess is, it flaked off of the weapon which made that wound. Oh, and the corpse didn't fall where it's lying now. It hit the floor there," -- Jube indicated his best guess at the spot where the corpse had originally fallen -- "it got dragged a few feet, and it only started bleeding after it got dragged over to its present location. And given how the head is positioned relative to the body, I'm betting the killer broke the victim's neck first, and stabbed him a little later."

As the feline speedster spoke, Carrie approached him with what was presumably a set of clothes she thought he might wear; Jubatus acknowledged her with a quirk of one eye and a palmpads-forward hand gesture whose intended meaning was I'm busy right now, and will get to you ASAP.

[OOC]

[Supercape]

"Excellent work" acknowledged Ms Wells as she listened to Jubatus. "It is indeed most fortunate that you hitched a ride along with us"

She knelt down herself by the Corpse. "Someone wanted him dead... and is misleading us as to how..." she muttered.

Turning back to the three heroes from Earth Prime, she continued. "I am going to check on the Brit Machine, and the apparatus here. Firstly, I would like to make sure it can make another run, and secondly, I want to see if any of our equipment has been tampered with. "

She nodded towards the door at the end of the carriage.

"Through there are the passenger quarters, all three carriages. Followed by the lounge carriage, Then the scullery and kitchen, then the serving staff carriage. Finally, at the other end, we have the Engine and Driver carriage. No doubt the villain is somewhere in this very train... unless he has made off into the mountains. "

"The only other people on board is Seargant Singh, the local policeman. He is used to policing the local mountain village. Sadly out of his depth here, I am afraid. "

[Aoiroo]

"Alright than, so bunch of people, one cop who's used to a hometown advantage and a killer who wanted to make it look like a stabbing instead of a stranglation."

Carrie turned away quickly from the scene and opened her eyes with a sigh looking at the clothing,

"Well, the man is reasonably sized, so anyone who could manage a strangulation would probably have to be pretty strong themselves. If he put up a fight, they might have some signs of injury as usually you have to get dang close to someone to strangle and it wouldn't be unreasonable that the man put up a fight and got a few hits in. So, we're probably looking for a guy or girl who'd be strong enough to pull off a strangulation. Them putting the knife in probably is to divert attention from this, stabbing someone is something a bit easier for someone with less strengh, so maybe they were trying to broaden the suspect list. Still, what type of knife was used?"

[Supercape]

"I don't know myself" answered Ms. Wells, "although I have heard rumours"

She sat down, somewhat deflated. The strain was getting to her, and her eyes were wet. She was clearly doing her best to keep herself together, but after all one of her friends had been brutally murdered. The stiff upper lip of the English gentleman (or gentlewoman) would only go so far.

"You remember the Luddites? fanatic uneducated rabble who think that smashing up all technology is good for the empire?" she clearly had contempt in her voice.

"Well they have their own little counterpart in India. A quasi mystical one, even more violent and dangerous. They don't just smash up machines, the smash up people. Hate the empire, well.. hate everything apparently. The thugee they call themselves. Nasty penchant for knives. And strangulation, for that matter. "

[Aoiroo]

Carrie looked at Miss Wells and crossed her arms,

"Well, it's a possibility, but it's likely someone could just be scapegoating them with this particular method. There's nothing really special about stabbing or strangling someone, so it can easily be a third party you are unaware of."

Letting out a sigh she glanced towards the hallway,

"I'm sorry, sorry for your loss, and sorry that you probably feel like crap because of this whole situation, but you have to keep an open mind. The convienent answers aren't always the right ones, we need to do some real investigation. Firstly, I have to ask, what all can you tell about your friend?"

[Supercape]

"His name was Sir Crane" she said in sad tones. "A rather elderly, yet still brilliant man. He has been magnificently inventive and industrious throughout his life. Earned the animosity of several Luddites. They tried to kill him last year on a Zepplin, he barely survived. "

She paused, and spoke in more hushed tones. "I understand he has been developing a lot of weaponry for the Empire. Steam powered Gatling Guns targetted with analytical difference engines. All cutting edge stuff. Even some work on directed electrical current..."

"As far as I know, he has no other enemies - from a personal perspective anyway. One wife, three children, on good terms with them all. They will be crushed..." she held her head in her hands.

[Aoiroo]

Carrie moved from her place instantly and slung an arm around the other woman,

"It's okay, it'll be okay, we're gonna nail this guy you'll see."

Letting out a sigh she went over the facts again,

"So smart guy, engineer, family man, luddites don't like him, though the luddites don't like anyone. So possility that this might be a target because of them. Well, there's a way to test that I suppose, I mean, we essentually have three unknown parties appearing on a train, one of us could happen to be an engineer for the empire that the luddites might hate,"

She glanced at Fenris,

"Or, actually, you could call us a special investigation team sent ahead running from order from an outside party. Which I have to say, is technically true, I wonder, if we pretend we know what's going on, who'll be the first to jump out of the rabbit hole. Worth a shot at least, but I have to ask, would a knighthood be enough of a symbol of status to justify such a thing?"

[Cubist]

In response to Carrie's question, Jubatus said, "No idea what sort of knife this bit of metal came from -- for that matter, I don't even know that it was a knife, rather than a sword or epee or whatever. But I'll bet that if we find the thing, I can match this little fragment to it." Then, to Miss Steampunk, "Hold on while I check something --" and the feline vanished in a blur.

Jubatus returned in a second or so, and said, "Okay, I just swept the train for anybody who smells like one of the scents on the corpse. I found five of 'em: Two in the second-class car just ahead of us, and the remaining three in the lounge car. The two in the second-class car look like --" here, Jubatus described the pair whose scents he'd recognized "-- and the triad in the lounge look like --" and the speedster described that trio.

[Supercape]

"Or, actually, you could call us a special investigation team sent ahead running from order from an outside party. Which I have to say, is technically true, I wonder, if we pretend we know what's going on, who'll be the first to jump out of the rabbit hole. Worth a shot at least, but I have to ask, would a knighthood be enough of a symbol of status to justify such a thing?"

"It sounds a splendid Idea" replied Ms. Wells, who was still rather dejected and emotional. Carrie's kind words had sparked her back to some kind of life, however, and she was no longer a slave to her despair.

She listened to Jubatus' description of the five scents.

The two in the second class carriage she didn't recognise. Sikh men, lower caste probably, with somewhat ill fitting poor quality clothes.

She recognised the description of the three in First Carriage.

"I can't say for sure, but from what your description, I'd say the first was Mr. Donald Drumbridge, a very wealthy businessman, produces a lot of the machines we develop. He decided to come along to our presentation. The second is Lord Willowbreak, elderly chap, reknowned as a hunter, probably here to shoot some elephants or something. The final man is Baron Ramstein, curious fellow, half German, half Englishman, sportsman and hit with the ladies - or so I hear on the grapevine. "

[KnightDisciple]

"Two hunters, and another inventor. Hm. Still leaves the two in the next carriage over. Would Sir Crane have met peacefully with any of those three? I mean, I'm not saying they're innocent. But we should examine every possible angle."

He thought over the situation for a bit.

"Miss Wells, would you perhaps require assistance with the equipment back here? I admit I'm not quite as good at spotting clues and the like, but I've got a head for machines. Jubatus, feel free to come get me if you feel you need my services."

He mulls it over for a moment.

"Then again, I might have a better shot talking to Mr. Donald Drumbridge. Perhaps I could focus on him? Whichever method everyone thinks might be most fruitful."

[Cubist]

Now Jubatus spoke to Carrie: "Lemme see what you found for me, hrrm?" and took the coat & hat off her hands. He'd learned very early on that most clothes that were cut for human-normal anatomy did not work well on his body. Apart from that, he'd already decided against even trying to disguise his inhuman physical nature. Being swaddled in all-concealing cloth like the Invisible Man wouldn't stop him from receiving unfavorable reactions from other people; rather, it would just change the reasons they were reacting unfavorably to him.

"Two hunters, and another inventor. Hm. Still leaves the two in the next carriage over. Would Sir Crane have met peacefully with any of those three? I mean, I'm not saying they're innocent. But we should examine every possible angle."

"For what it's worth, all five of these people have Crane's scent on them," Jube said as he tried on the coat and hat. "And all five look to be physically capable of breaking a neck -- even Willowbreak, which strikes me as odd, given his apparent age. As for the Sikhs, is it possible he might have wanted to hire them as bodyguards or assistants or something?"

As Jube had suspected, both the coat and the hat were unwearable; the hat was very uncomfortable on his ears, not to mention the bloody thing insisted on blocking his vision, and the heavy coat constricted his breathing even as it crushed his fur. "Hrrrm... thanks for the thought, but this won't work for me," the cheetah told Carrie. Since Miss Steampunk had previously granted the heroes permission to rifle through Crane's luggage for clothing, he upshifted and did that now. He found a white silk shirt and khaki-colored trousers (he wasn't entirely sure of the hues, thanks to his eyes' deficiencies vis-a-vis color-discrimination), both articles of clothing baggy enough on him that they didn't restrict his movements, and both feeling okay on his fur. The shirt was usable 'as is', modulo the overlarge cuffs; the trousers required a little alteration, mostly a fly in the rear to accomodate his tail. This wasn't the first time Jubatus had modified clothing to fit his current body, and he put that experience (and the basic sewing kit he carried in one vest-pocket) to good use now. In well under a minute of clock time, the deed was done.

When Jubatus returned to the normal tempo of 1, he was wearing the shirt under his 'vest of many things', and the trouser-legs were buckled just under his knees. The rear fly wasn't elegant, but it served Jube's needs.

"Then again, I might have a better shot talking to Mr. Donald Drumbridge. Perhaps I could focus on him? Whichever method everyone thinks might be most fruitful."

"Don't forget Ramstein and Willowbreak," Jubatus suggested to Fenris. "If you're as much of an aristocrat as you give the impression of being, you're probably our best bet for extracting information from the dudes in the lounge car. Why are they in India? Do any of them have dealings with Crane? And so on, and so forth..."

[Supercape]

"I didn't speak to them much. Talked to Drumbridge more" replied Ms. Wells. She was already impressed with the three hero's deductive powers and ingenuity.

"Ramstein - its anybodies guess. A bit of a traveller and very rich. I imagine Willowbreak is off hunting something or other, as usual. He said he had been to India before, and likes it, even lived here for a couple of years hunting this and that. Speaks fluent Punjabi, as far as I could tell, at least the Indian stewards of the train seemed to converse with him in that language without trouble. "

"The two Sikhs. Well its Indian and they are Indian, so I would daresay they don't need an awfully good reason. The only one without a solid motive is Ramstein, although there is nothing particularly suspicious about a wealthy aristocrat travelling the Empire. "

[Cubist]

Jubatus nodded at Miss Steampunk's comparative cluelessness; she was clearly part of the Empire's in-group, so it was hardly surprising that she didn't consider out-group members... such as the Sikhs, or Ramstein... to be worth sparing any attention for --

Attention! How obvious had the Brit Machine's departure/arrival been? "Miss Wells? How much of a bang did that thing make when it landed here?" the feline asked, gesturing at the Brit Machine. "Would the passengers, killer included, have noticed anything? And if so, would they have known what they were seeing and/or hearing?"