Perchance to Scheme (IC)

[Godiva]

June 17, 2011, 10:34PM

Eve was getting ready for her nightly 'run'. Just getting out of the shower, she dried off and fixed her hair back. After a good stretching to limber up, she reached for her costume. The green morphic molecule costume slowly covered her form. Sixty something years, she thought with a sigh, and this thing can't go any faster. She shook her head and reached for her mask. Donning the mask, she became the persona of the Jade Dragon. Jade Dragon needed her magical focus. She chanted an arcane invocation and it appeared in her hands. A mighty bow from which her elemental spells would fly from! And now she was ready to go out into the night.

Port Regal was a nice enough place. It was quaint, Eve liked it. Unlike North Bay, where her parents lived, it wasn't filled with 'money' people. Sure some of them were good, but the ones that stood out to her were the stuffy old money snobs. Eve wanted a change of scenery, so she bought the Port Regal home. People were much more sociable. And at night, there was a calmness. Jade Dragon was the unofficial protector of the area. She hadn't seen anyone else there. Maybe she was wrong, it was a big place.

[quotemyname]

The engine of his gray 250cc HS150-11 hummed contentedly as Jin pulled to a stop near the dock markets in Port Regal. It had been a good ride across the bridge from where his foster family lived near Hanover. Jin swung a leg off the bike, and pulled the helmet off his head. Extracting his keys, he dumped them into one of the pockets of his single strap backpack.

He hung the helmet from the handlebars of the bike and made his way closer to the docs. As he walked, the metal chain necklaces around his neck jangled and his baggy black riveted pants swooshed against each other. The night air was warm, and especially with the humidity generated by the ocean. Jin was glad he didn't wear anything heavier than the wife beater undershirt. In his current dress, the tattoos on his forearms and chest were all visible.

He stopped once he got to the row of shops selling fish by the docks. They'd be closing soon, and trying to sell off what was left of the day's fresh catch. He pulled a few small bills from one of his pockets and counted them quickly. Good thing the fish mongers would be looking to get rid of their merchandise. He'd be glad to be able to make a deal.

Stuffing the money back into a pocket, Jin made his way to the nearest stall selling tuna.

[Godiva]

Though Port Regal was a nice place, it was in Freedom City. Freedom City was a place where the strange happened every minute of every day. Night did not stop anything from happening. In fact, sometimes it encouraged it. Unknown to most of the world, the Silent Wolves were a malicious gang of cutthroats and bandits. Bygone artifacts of an era long past, in more ways than one. They preyed upon weaker individuals during the full moon when it was at it's peak. They had done so for ages. Well, ages for them was short. A family of wolves they were, blending into the sheep. Tonight was their time to shine. Port Regal was their hit tonight.It being summer there were wealthy revelers out tonight. The Silent Wolves looked to make a pretty penny without disruption. And boy did they know how to deal with disruption.

A couple of stray wolves is all Ferros saw. They weren't dog, they were wolves. They were headed towards the docks area like it was no one's business but their own. Could they be dangerous? There were still people out and about at this late hour. a few bars and trinket places were located there. What could those two be up to?

[quotemyname]

Jin sighed when he saw the wolves heading toward the slightly more populated section of the docks. He looked back at the old Chinese man he was talking to, and placed the Tuna he had been holding on the display shelf, "我買了。總çµèµ·ä¾†ã€‚兩磅。二å五美元。"

"你瘋了嗎？這是åŠåƒ¹ã€‚我們是å°é–‰çš„。" the man looked annoyed.

"來å§ã€‚我在趕時間。三雄鹿。" Jin began digging a few more bills out of his pocket.

"ä¸ï¼åƒ¹æ ¼æ˜¯äº”å元。" The stubborn old man folded his arms.

Jin was growing annoyed. He couldn't let himself do that. Especially not if he was about to get into a fight. He took a deep breath and unfolded the bills he was holding to show the man. "好的。三å八個。這是高é”我走了。"

The old man smiled. From out of nowhere, he brought a cleaver down on the head of a fish in front of him. He brought it down once more on the tail, and then another section midway up the fish. Transporting the fish to a paper wrapper, and folding it up, he wrapped it once more in plastic. The man traded the fish to Jin for the money he held, "在這裡你走ï¼"

Quick as a flash, Jin stuffed the fish in his backpack and ran off around the side of the shop. Only a few seconds after Jin had ducked into the alley away from prying eyes, Ferros zipped back out, flying on his metal Yin-Yang disc after the wolves. "Well, now, let's see what they're up to."

Conversation with Chinese man

"I'll take it. Wrap it up. Two pounds. Twenty Five dollars."

"You crazy? That's half price. We're closed."

"Come on. I'm in a hurry. Thirty bucks."

"No! The price is fifty dollars."

"Fine. Thirty eight. That's as high as I go."

"Here you go!"

[Godiva]

As Ferros followed the wolves into the dock, another set of wolves were near that exact same location. These wolves were being tailed by another hero, Jade Dragon. She had been following them for a while now, about an hour. Either they were oblivious of her or they didn't care. It seemed like they were tracking something. They too were heading towards the docks. Jade Dragon aimed to find out why two wolves were just hanging around.

When they reached the dock, they saw the two that had gone ahead. Jade Dragon could swear they were... happy? One of the wolves from where Jade Dragon was standing howled into the night. The two already on the dock stopped in their tracks and rushed back to the others, ignoring the man on the flying disk. Even though Jade Dragon was a ways away, they turned to face her, watching her. One of them though was seemingly looking out for the flying man.

[quotemyname]

"Well," Ferros folded his arms across his chest as he floated above the docks. "Can't have wild wolves wandering the streets of freedom, ya know?"

Ferros reached out with his right hand. A nearby street lamp suddenly became as water. The steel flowed through the air, split into pieces, and took the shape of multiple little cages above the heads of the wolves. With a second motion, Ferros dropped the cages over the wolves, attempting to kennel them before they could cause trouble.

"Good doggies. Get in the cage!"

[Godiva]

The wolves who didn't see it coming all struggled against their new accommodations. The one who was looking at the metal hero was sort of ready for it. It was not happy. Barking at his trapped companions the free wolf hurried off into the night as fast as his lupine speed would let him. It seemed almost unnaturally fast though. Ferros couldn't tell as the beast made haste into the night. The three other wolves were not happy with their new homes. The growled and looked at both of the heroes what they could in the cages.

[Godiva]

Jade Dragon stepped out from the shadows she was standing in so that if Ferros couldn't see her before, she was definitely visible now. She smiled and waved to Ferros, beckoning him over. "Aren't you the cutest little puppies? Yes, you are, yes you are," she said looking at the wolves with a smirk. She looked to Ferros again, "Thanks for the assist. I've been tracking these animals almost all night. I do wonder what they're doing out tonight." She looked up into the sky and then back to Ferros, "It'd be my luck that I was following a bunch of werewolves."

[quotemyname]

"Not a problem." The metal on Ferros' mask cracked into a smile, seemingly of it's own accord as he descended to the ground. He stepped off the platform and approached the newcomer. With a wave of his hand, the metal in the cages reformed, and stretched, becoming one solid cage for the animals. He brought his other hand up, and pressed the two together. The metal of the cages had been compressed, forcing all three wolves into an enclosure no larger than ten feet by ten feet. "I apologize for letting one of them escape."

"It'd be my luck that I was following a bunch of werewolves."

"Hmm, Werewolves are dangerous, ya know?" Ferros regarded the new girl a little warily, "Who are you? Most people don't spend their nights hunting werewolves, hey?"

[Godiva]

The talking mask was a bit weird, at least in Jade Dragon's mind. Though the wearer didn't seem creepy at all. It was Uncanny Valley with a soul. She chuckled at the thought, "You talk like werewolves are a real thing. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they were." She reached out a hand of greeting, "My name is Jade Dragon. I run through these parts and try to keep them clean." She looked down to the trapped bests, "At least from roving packs of wolves." She looked up to Ferros again, "Might I ask your name? For the time I've been in Port Regal, I haven't seen another metahuman. Then again you might just be passing through."

[quotemyname]

"Ferros," He responded kindly, and shook her hand. "As it happens, yes, I was passing through. Doing some grocery shopping, ya know?" Ferros patted the back pack he still wore. His mask now blank and expressionless save for the two eye shapes.

"Now as for werewolves? I can't say whether or not I believe they're real, ya know? But the fact remains, there's certainly enough stories about them, hey?" The mask smiled once more, "And what's the one thing all the stories have in common, hey? Silver. So this should be an easy way to figure out whether they're werewolves or not." Ferros turned toward the cage and extended his hand again. This time, instead of the metal being moved or shaped, he simply turned it into something different entirely. What was previously the wrought iron of the lamp post he'd used for the cages now shone brightly like silver. It was silver. Ferros watched closely for any reactions the wolves in the cages might have.

[Godiva]

Jade Dragon watched as the black metal turned into pure silver with a bit of astonishment. It didn't seem to change the wolves' reaction much, they still looked angered for being caged. "Well," Jade Dragon nodded to the silver cages with a smirk, "I've seen a lot of super powers in my time and they continue to amaze me." She looked to Ferros, "You must make a killing in the silver market. Of course, if you or I paid attention in economics class, that'd be a very bad thing." She chuckled. "Nice to meet you Ferros. So we have angry wolves in silver cages. Any suggestions on what we do with them? There's not a forest anywhere near here."

[quotemyname]

"Well, at least we know the rumors of Lycanthropy are exaggerated." Ferros replied,

"Nice to meet you Ferros. So we have angry wolves in silver cages. Any suggestions on what we do with them? There's not a forest anywhere near here."

"You as well," The mask smiled again, "Fist things first, we maintain balance in the world's precious metals market." Ferros waved his hand once again, and the silver changed back to iron. "Now, as I see it, we have three options. We can release them in Wharton, which is the nearest forest. Or better yet, we can deliver them to a shelter. The forests on the east coast aren't natural wolf habitats. The shelter will be able to return them to their proper home. And last, we can use the one's we've caught as bait for the one that got away. What do you think?"

[Godiva]

"If I may offer a suggestion," a smug voice said, "you can let my wolves go." A large brown man, a full foot taller than both of them, had seemingly snuck up on them. He was musclebound to the hilt, a fact made obvious as he had no shirt on. He also was wearing what looked like official army sand fatigues and boots. He was bald and had bright silver eyes and smug look on his face. "My pets have been known to roam around these areas at night." He looked down to them with a scowl, "they may look scary, but they ain't nothing to be afraid of." The wolves calmed down and were happy to see the large man. The large man looked back up to the heroes with a smug smile again, "So, let's make this quick, shall we?"

[quotemyname]

"Ah, greetings! The owner, huh?" Ferros turned to Jade Dragon, "That's good, ya know?" Speaking to the man again, he explained, "My apologies, sir. I'll be happy to release your pets. But first I'll need to see your ID. I'll also need to ensure that you've got leashes for them. Whether or not their demeanor is threatening. They're appearance may cause discomfort among the other citizens."

It was apparent that Ferros had never done this before. Though, he still did his dollar best to make his requests sound official, and reasonable. "And just to satisfy my own curiosity, how does a man come to own three fine animals like these?" Ferros asked the man, pointedly. Jade knew he was up to something, but perhaps the man in the fatigues would be mislead.

[Godiva]

"Three," the man questioned with a scoff, "there should have been five!" The man pulled out his wallet and handed his registration over to Ferros. Apparently this man, Lon Talbot, had the right to keep wolves. He crossed his arms with a smirk as the two inspected the license. He reached for it back when they were done, "I'm sure you two fine, outstanding, law-abiding superheroes will let my wolves free. They're not used to being kept in cages. Else they would be in some circus or zoo." He emphasized the words 'circus' and 'zoo' with a raise in voice, even with a smug smile talking to the heroes, it seemed like he was talking at the wolves too. They did not like the sound of it, growling when he did say it.

[quotemyname]

Ferros hesitated, shooting a glance at Jade Dragon. Still, he thought it best that he soldier on, "Your license is in order, Mr. Talbot," He replied, ignoring the man's tone, "But given their present demeanor," He motioned to the wolves' reaction to the man's harsh words, "I am still hesitant to release them unless you have some sort of leash to keep them on. Regardless of how well trained they may be, it should provide better peace of mind to the citizens of this part of town. Please also note that the license to keep and train wolves, does not include express permission to let them parade around town. I'll look past it this time, but please do not set them loose again. Or, if they got out on their own, I would only ask that you keep a better eye on them."

Ferros waved a hand, the bottom of the cages bled together into a solid floor beneath the feet of the wolves. A small door with a lock on it also formed on one side and small metallic wheels formed below the base of the cage, "There you are, a way to transport them back home. Now, would you like to collect the other two wolves yourself, or will you be leaving that to myself and my associate?"