ic Shark Week: Flying Sharks? (IC)

[Ari]

It had suddenly dawned on Subito's mind that this Mr. Hayden, so specific about the positioning and hanging of the replica, might be a little on the possessive side. Musing over this as he and the other two made their way back to the bus, he nodded at both Luke and Kristin's words on the subject. They couldn't do what Morgan could do, but they could fill in some of the blanks for him.

Chiming in after Kristin he offered "This Hayden guy was real serious about what was done with the shark replica, someone that concerned with its handling would probably know the names of everyone who so much as breathed on it. If we ask him, he could probably give us leads on anyone who touched the thing, then we could look them up and find out if they noticed anything weird about the teeth, or if someone not on the usual crew helped out one day and spent a lot of time around the jaw, or something"

[Raveled]

GM

Hawke shook his head. "I'll cover to Summers for you," he said, "for now at least. Just make sure you get back in good time. And try to keep any of your team from getting killed, or kidnapped, or abducted by faeries or whatever this time?"

Perry stroked his beard. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to follow up on any lead you can find," he said. "Sometimes investigation is just a matter of turning over every rock in the forest until you come on the right one." He nodded. "You should definitely follow up on this Mr. Hayden, as soon as you can."

[Quinn]

Morgan gave the professor a flat expression, and held up a single finger. "Once. That happened once." His expression softened, and he looked at the other teens, shaking his head. "And they...aren't my team." ...yeah, I haven't earned the right to lead these three. After that mess in Avalon, and in Tian...there's a reason Myrmidon's the planner now. Morgan's demeanor was a tad dour after that, but he tossed a light salute the teacher's way, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked over towards the other students.

The teen shook his head as he approached, and caught the tail end of the professor's advice. A few thoughts ran through his head, mostly ideas. Though he did give Subito an approving nod (and promptly gave himself a mental whack). "Nice catch, man; how do you want to play it with Hayden?"

[Ari]

"Huh? Oh, thanks Morgan" the stocky teen adjusted his cap with a deft hand, staring at the reflective surface of the bus like it held a baffling riddle. After roughly twenty seconds of thought he said contemplatively "I bet he'd have lots of close-up pictures of what the skeleton looked like, and at least be aware of who took care of and made the thing before it was shown. If he's as into paleontology as I bet he is, we'll have to bring up the subject pretty delicately. That replica probably wasn't too cheap or easy to make. not to mention a bunch of kids showing up saying "Hi! That megaladon replica you were so hyped about broke into a zillion pieces! Wanna help us find out who made it turn into a crazy monster?" pro'lly won't go over too well" he frowned and considered the situation "How about this: me and Luke and Kris go to this guy to find out about the replica, with Luke doing most of the talking, we'll ask if anything weird happened while it was being made or somethin'. I dunno if you've already figured out what it was that made the thing go mad like that, but maybe you could do that and make up some kind of plan for dealing with it if it comes back, Morgan?" he felt more than a little out of his depth with drawing up investigation plans, and wished his cousin was there to help out.

[Airon]

“Whoa, whoa…†Luke put his hand on Subito’s shoulder after hearing the classmate’s plan “I’m touched by the trust you have in my… interrogation abilities, but I’m really no expert on the subject… I’ll try and do my best, of course, but be ready to bail me out if I put a gigantic foot in my mouth.â€

“Anyway, I kind of like the idea of being far away from the magical part of this investigation†he tried to hide an uncomfortable shiver and then shrugged, a bit apologetic, at Morgan “and that Hayden could tell us some important stuff, so he should definitely be questioned. So… back into costume, I guess? I bet that he won’t be too glad to see us again!â€

[Scuffles]

Kristin didn't even really try to hide her amusement as Subito volunteered Luke for the talking duties. "Hey don't worry, you did fine with the reporters. Whoever Hayden is he probably isn't going to stick a microphone in your face, you'll be fine. Speaking of which, does anyone actually know who Hayden is or where we can find him? I guess if not we should try talking to Ms. Burke again. She should be able to point us in the right direction?"

The young telekinetic glanced at Morgan. "Did you find something of your own to look into?" she asked.

[Quinn]

Morgan fingered the teeth in his pockets, but didn't bring them out right there in front of the crowd - if a security guard spotted he'd pinched a souvenir from the shark display, that'd open up some trouble he really didn't wanna deal with.

"Yeah, but it can wait; I'd also need my workshop and I can't just jump there right now anyway (dunno if anyone's there at the moment, I'll have to send a note) - I like Sube's idea, tho'. Hayden's our best lead at the moment; let's chase that and see how far the rabbit hole goes."

Ugh. Quoting Lewis Carroll, Crow? Nice.

He shook his head and idly took out a small notebook, scrawling a quick note on it. He then tore the page out and lightly folded it, and gave a wry smile to the others. "Well, nothing up my sleeves." He held up the folded page, made a few passes, then ran his hand over the paper; when it would have come back into view, it had simply vanished without a trace.

"Let's get to work."

[Ari]

..Speaking of which, does anyone actually know who Hayden is or where we can find him? I guess if not we should try talking to Ms. Burke again. She should be able to point us in the right direction?"

The stocky teen frowned at the sky, mind abuzz trying to find if he had ever heard of a 'Mr. Hayden'. After several seconds inspecting the sky he began hesitantly

"I've heard a little about him on the Discovery Channel, some kind of..archaeologist? He sticks to water digs, wrecked ships and stuff mostly, from what I can remember. Atlanteans don't like him too much, they narrator mentioned that they see him as acting like a grave robber, and that a lot of what he digs up shouldn't be brought back up. people in his line of work seem to like him, though."

He rubbed his chin and glanced apologetically at Kristin "Sorry Kris, I have no idea where he'd live, Ms. Burke would be a better source for that than me. And I am so going to be doing the talking! If Sai-if Luke wants to talk with the dude, I've no objection, thought it would be better than him going with Morgan or hanging around" he rolled his eyes and turned to Morgan

"That's a cool trick! Guess we should find out where the guy lives first" he walked quickly over to Ms. Burke to ask about that vital subject.

[Raveled]

GM

Finding where Todd Hayden was laying his head wasn't a problem at all. It seems that his family was old money in Freedom City; the sort that was so old, it didn't matter that the current generation didn't have so much money because they had inherited enough property to live comfortably. The Hayden residence was a Gothic mansion in Port Regal, in fact just across the water from the Aquarium. A short hop, skip and flight over the water brought them to Hayden's doorstep, and when they knocked the door was promptly answered by a tall, balding man with an aristocratic bearing. He looked the colorful heroes over closely before speaking. "I can assure you," he said, "there has been no criminal activity in this house recently. We are not in need of a... heroic presence."

[Scuffles]

Kristin, once more dressed in the yellow and blue jumpsuit and simple mask that made up her costume, folded her arms across her chest as the tall dignified gentleman made it clear that their presence wasn't exactly appreciated or wanted.

"We're glad to hear that there hasn't been any problems here sir," she said as respectfully as she could manage. "But it's problems somewhere else that bring us here. There was a bit of an incident at the Aquarium this morning and an exhibit that Mister Hayden funded was destroyed. We were hoping that he could help us with some information about where it was built and who transferred it to the aquarium and installed it. Is he available for a few questions?"

[Quinn]

Crow wasn't idle en-route, despite the somewhat awkward positioning; his short-range teleports were useful, but for a cross-city trip...he had to be carried. Fortunately, he took it with aplomb, merely asking only once for the flier to dive low when they passed the park - the cowl snapped up a small rock before they went back up again. After that, it was just a bit of arm movement obscured by the large coat and hunched shoulders. When they finally arrived, Crow stumbled slightly, bumping into Kristin for a moment as he got his bearings.

The teen hero looked up at the gothic mansion with a curious demeanor, and simply shrugged. "You guys play it how you want - I'll keep overwatch. Make sure you don't get bushwhacked. No worries, you guys'll do fine." A cheshire grin was the last thing they saw of Crow before just poof.

He loved that trick. So very much.

[Ari]

El Heraldo was a trifle miffed at the reception. He didn't show let it show, however. "I have no doubt about that, Mr. Hayden" the dazzlingly-dressed young paragon acknowledged solemnly "But as my comrade Glow said" he made gesture with his hand in her direction "We need your help figuring out who is responisble for a crime at the Aquarium." he gave a quick explanation of what they knew so far, adding that "I think it might have been one of the men who helped make the replica, could you tell us who they were, please? Perhaps one of them noticed something unusual with the cast before it was sent for display?"

He hadn't payed much attention to Morgan while flying him over to Hayden's house, he'd been too busy keeping his flying from being nausea-inducing for passengers, a complaint he had been getting for a while now.

[Raveled]

GM

The formally-dressed man sniffed harshly at El Heraldo. "I am not the current Master Hayden," he said. "I am merely his manservant. And as I said before, we hardly have any need of ones such as --"

A voice rang out from within the house, a much younger and stronger one. "Ernest? Who's at the door?"

The butler -- Ernest -- stiffened even further and turned towards the interior of the house. "A gaggle of young superheroes, Master Hayden. They pretend that they have reason to speak to you."

"Well, bring them in!" Ernest bowed stiffly to the interior of the grand home and stepped back from the doorway, leading them into the building. The inside of Hayden House was as grand as the outside, with marble floors and dark wood finishings and furniture. The moldings were done in the shape of waves and undersea creatures. The main hall was dominated by a huge, sweeping staircase that fell from the second floor down to the first, the bannister carved in the shape of foaming sea-waves. For all the grandeur, though, there was an air of neglect to the surroundings; a thick layer of dust was on the bannisters and stairs, and cobwebs gathered in the corners of the high ceiling.

Ernest took the group into a study done in shades of dark red and warm brown. A man sat at a huge, roll-top desk covered in papers and old books; he was barely into his thirties, with narrow-shoulders, sandy-blond hair that fell to his collarline, and a permanent tan to his skin. He dressed in dark trousers and a denim shirt. He glanced up from the books as the young heroes filed in and flashed them a bright smile. "Hello," he said, standing and walking around the desk. "I'm Todd Hayden." He offered his hand to the group. "Do you have something to ask me?"

[Ari]

Bowing with a flourish to Todd Hayden, the patriotic powerhouse shook the man's hand firmly. "Mr. Hayden, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I and my comrades" he holstered the Banner of Victory so he could gesture to the other heroes "have come to ask your help in finding out how some kind of magical spirit was bound to a replica of the Megalodon you had displayed at the Freedom Aquarium" he explained to the best of his understanding what had happened to the replica, apologizing profusely for his failure to keep the thing from being damaged by the fall "...and for that, as well as your pardon, I ask your assistance in finding out who was responsible for thus endangering visitors to the Aquarium. Will you help?" he asked hopefully.

[Scuffles]

Glow shook hands with Hayden as well, then watched the man closely as Heraldo explained the situation.

"Right," she added. "We were hoping you might be able to help us out with some information on where the skeleton was made, how it was transported to the aquarium and who was responsible for the installation. Somewhere along the lines it was tampered with so if you could point us in the right direction we might be able to get to the bottom of things and stop it from happening again. And sort out whoever wrecked your awesome exhibit!"

Well, we wrecked the exhibit, but it started it.

[Raveled]

GM

Hayden stepped back from the group and walked over to a high-backed leather chair. He settled himself in the chair and gestured to several other standing nearby. "You said there was an attack? At the Aquarium? Well, most of the skeleton was fake -- was plaster. There's only a few complete megalodon skeletons that have been retrieved, and most of them are being studied by paleontologists. I just donated a few fossilized teeth." He paused and opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a cleared throat from the door.

"Will there be anything else, Master Hayden?" Ernest leaned in slightly, eyes flicking from one hero to another suspiciously.

Hayden shook his head slightly. "That will be all for now, Ernest." He waited for the butler to withdraw before he asked the heroes, "Was anyone hurt?"

[Ari]

El Heraldo smiled and began "Thankfully, no visitors were hurt, and..." he looked in bafflement at Todd as he realized how laid-back the man was being about his prized replica being dashed to pieces. From what Mz. Burke had said, he had assumed the man would be at least a little upset about something he'd cared so deeply for the very placement of being broken. Quickly resuming the vivid paragon said "...neither were any of my comrades!" glancing at Saiph and Glow he said "You donated the teeth for the replica? I am no expert of magical matters Mr. Hayden, but from what I have seen and been told those teeth might help a great deal in figuring out how this happened. May we know who took care of them? Who worked with, took casts of and so on?" he asked politely.

[Scuffles]

Glow folded her arms across her chest as Hayden answered.

Well at least he's nice enough to be concerned about people getting hurt. Didn't really answer the question though..

"Absolutely," she chimed in after Heraldo pressed further on the issue of the teeth. "We really need to know anything you know about the exhibit as a whole. Someone along the line tampered with it to create a very dangerous situation. We got lucky this time and nobody really got hurt, but it could have been a lot worse."

[Raveled]

GM

"It, it, it... It was a private company," Hayden said, sitting back deeply in his chair and crossing his legs. "They do castings and moldings of all sorts of things. Only the teeth were real, like I said, so they had to construct the rest out of paleontological records. Which they did."

"May I offer a drink to your guests, Mr. Hayden?" Ernest's voice rang out in the study again and Hayden started in his chair.

"Um, no, Ernest. I think we're all good here. Yes?" He glanced between the heroes, and something in his expression seemed very desperate.

[Scuffles]

Well that was weird.. does he not know where the thing came from? He's supposed to be the patron who donated the thing? He's jumpy too...

"So can you give us the details of the company please?" Krisin asked to press the issue a little bit. "It's really important that we track down whoever tampered with the skeleton and the company that made it is the best place to start. Well after here that is."

She looked over her shoulder towards the door as the Butler called out again.

Wow that guy is pretty full-on for a manservant..

[Quinn]

A voice could be heard in Kristin's head - the same calm voice she'd heard Crow speak in earlier; and she felt a slight warmth come from one of her pockets. Very slight, as the rune activated. Morgan grinned from his position atop one of the house's statues, perched like his namesake and overlooking the building's grounds. He held another stone in front of his mouth and whispered into it.

"Nicely done - don't make any signs you can hear me. Keep pressing him on those teeth; you're all doing brilliantly. But watch that manservant - I reckon something's fishy about him. Big-time fishy...the guy's voice is sayin' he's scared stiff of the guy."

[Ari]

A sudden thought crossed his mind, and El Heraldo asked curiously "I ask your pardon, but if you had so little to do with the assembly and casting of the replica, why were you so concerned with its placement? From what I have heard you requested it be hung above the entrance to the Aquarium, is this the case? And if you don't have much personal knowledge about the thing, that is no bar to us, could you tell us any company names?" he asked, realizing the man in front of him seemed to have had had surpassing little to do with the reason they'd come there.

[Raveled]

"Well. The thing is." Hayden glanced up at the ceiling, running a hand through his hair. "The company that did this... They're very, um, how do you say it..." He leaned forward suddenly and fixed his eyes on the two heroes before him. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Listen, they said no one would get hurt, okay? They said the skeleton would just fly around for a bit, scare folks off, and not hurt anyone! No one was supposed to get hurt!"

[Ari]

El Heraldo's incredible hearing meant he heard every whispered syllable as clearly as when Todd hayden had been speaking normally, so it took him a second to register the change in volume. Dropping his own voice to a similar level he murmured "Who's behind this? You can tell us, we'll gladly help you deal with them, but we need to know who they are first!" Subito glanced furtively at the doorway, hoping not to see a hint of Ernest there.

[Scuffles]

Glow's eyes widened slightly when she heard Crow's voice in her head, and her hand instinctively patted at her pocket as the pebble there warmed up slightly.

What the heck? Did you plant that on me? Can you hear me back? I'm going to... Never mind. He's scared of the butler? That's a little weird.

As Heraldo grilled Hayden further Kristin glanced towards the door to check if Ernest was still standing there, then back at the frightened businessman.

"Mister Hayden we can make sure nobody gets hurt," she said pointedly. "But we need your help. If you don't tell us what's going on then whoever is really behind this will be able to hurt whoever they want."