ic Mall Madness

[KnightDisciple]

The boy's words only made Nevermore more cautious. Someone who had encountered the first Raven, but was still hale and hearty enough to run about and mind-control people? And was obsessed with the Headmaster to boot? This was very much not a good situation. He spoke softly to Ami in French.

"<I must make a call. I may know someone who can give us more information about this Samantha Cline.>"

He turned and walked to the far side of the office, pulling out a very high-end-looking device that looked vaguely like a large smartphone...except for the floating holograph. He plugged it into a slot on his gauntlet that he had just pulled a small panel away from, then put a hand to his ear. Ami could hear that he was talking but not make out the words, and the hologram seemed undecipherable from her position. The young crime-fighter spoke a few words, then seemed to listen. About halfway through said listening, she saw him go just a bit straighter and stiffer, standing up just a bit more. Finally the conversation wrapped up, he stowed the "smartphone", and he walked back over. His face (what she could see of it) was sent in a grim, angry frown.

"<He has been controlled. Samantha Cline is Luna Moth. An old villain, a foe of the Raven from the days of old, who once used technology. But recently was mutated. She was, is, fixated on the original Raven. Likely delusional, from what this kid is saying. Unfortunately, Raven is unavailable at this time to assist in tracking her down and stopping her. I will go speak with Endeavor in a moment to determine if she is available. I may have to ply other resources to find others able and willing to assist on short notice. But I do not believe someone as wily, crazy, and powerful as Luna Moth can be left unchecked.>"

Of course, Nevermore likely didn't know Ami, or at least not enough to connect her to Claremont or what her powers were. It sounded like he could use some backup, though!

[Raveled]

Ami watched Nevermore have his conversation with... whoever it was. She didn't try to eavesdrop, instead choosing to watch the crime-fighter's posture and body language. And it wasn't just because that let her stare at his body for a few seconds.

"<She certainly sounds like the sort of woman that shouldn't be left around impressionable young men! While you go talk to Endeavor, I will sit and talk with the young man.>" She paused, and smiled sunnily at Nevermore. "<I would not worry too much about more help coming. These sort of situations tend to accumulate superheroes, yes?>"

She turned back to the thief, smoothing out her skirt. "Samantha sounds like an amazing person," she said to him. "But can we talk about you? What is your name? And is that your brother that you were with?"

[KnightDisciple]

Sadly for Ami he had kept his cape draped about his person. But he's certainly not an ugly man, that's for certain. Unless the mask hides burns...

"<She is likely using his father for his money as much as anything. She may continue trying to gather more bamboozled men to her flock. See what you can find out.>"

At her comment of heroes "accumulating", he tilted his head just a bit.

"<...Indeed.>"

Ami probably missed the split-second where his cheeks had a bit of color flood into them at her smile. He was swooshing and gone from the room in a few moments. It didn't take him long to find and enter the room with the other thief and the other two girls. He spoke softly, keeping one eye turned toward the young man.

"Endeavor, when you have a moment, I'd like to speak with you, if you could please."

Edited April 20, 2015 by KnightDisciple

[The Sailor]

Endeavor turned to Nevermore. Whispering. "Let me guess... girl with Pheremones and Flying Powers? I remember seeing something on Luna Moth over at the academy." She said with a whisper, closing up the helmet on her suit. "I really should have a portable database on active and less-than-active supervillains that can be kept as a App for a tablet. Would be a nice programming experiment. Call it the "Villaindex". Heh..."

"Anyways, stepping out... right..."

Endeavor turned to Casey. Speaking normally. "Hey... come along, I think this'll concern you too."

Turning back to Nevermore she smiled. "I think we'll need to get Casey on the case too." She whispered.

Purple is whispering, Pink is normal dialog.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Osprey

[Heritage]

Okay, so this was all getting pretty weird; she picked up that this Sam's powers might be limited to men, which explained the 'no girls allowed rule'. It also sounded like she might not look normal; maybe her powers came at a price? A mutation might explain the references to wings and apparently non-standard arms- wait,  a female who guys bring things to, with wings and weird arms? Could it be...like a bee thing? Eww! 

At first she though she was being ridiculous, but then Endeavor suggested she might not be far off. Nervously looking back towards the boy, Casey followed the other two young heroes outside.

"He mentioned Sam didn't like it when women come over; do her powers only work on men, because that would make sense. Or maybe she's just jealous. Or both."

Edited April 21, 2015 by Heritage

[KnightDisciple]

Nevermore was silent while Endeavor talked, only nodding at a couple of points. When she gestured for Casey to come over, he actually saw and recognized her as a fellow Claremonter. He nodded at the request to bring her in, and gestured for the two girls to follow him a bit away. Once they were in more "privacy", he began speaking in low tones that only had slightly less menace than the nor

"Basically. Used to use scientific devices, more recently mutated and de-aged. Was mentally unwell before. Hasn't been helped by mutation. Was, is, obsessed with Raven. The first one. Boss Lady has tried to keep an eye on her but she hasn't done much. Other things took priority. She isn't available right now. But I think if we have a group we can take her. Need to move quickly before she amasses more followers. Mental instability means she's not predictable."

He thought for a moment then nodded.

"Let me talk to authorities for a few moments. Let's meet in about 10 minutes across street on top of that building with the ridiculous billboard. If you think any other allies can be called in in that time, do so. But we can't take long."

With a respectful node he took his leave, moving back to the other room. There he quickly found Ami and spoke quietly and in French.

"<Myself and perhaps others will be taking the fight to Luna Moth soon. If you happen to have... contact information... for a hero or two who you think might be willing to contribute to the fight and can be on top of the building across the street, the one with the ridiculous billboard, in 10 minutes, see if you can contact them and let them know.>"

After that he moved on to speak to the security guards, explaining that while the boys had performed theft they were likely mind-controlled. But with the controller still loose, better to keep them in custody until the whole thing could be sorted out. He confirmed the contact information of a few police officers who dealt with such cases and situations, then politely excused himself.

Eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, he was on the roof of the building he had indicated to the others.

[The Sailor]

Endeavor nodded. She turned to Casey picking up her bag. "You did remember to pack your pajamas and blanket for this right?" Endeavor said to Miracle Girl. She leaned over and whispered. "Preston Insurance Building, Connie's superhero Hot Dogs, 10 Minutes."

Casey and Sakurako talked about the gaudy ad sign outside the mall on top of the building Nevermore pointed out earlier in the day, It made a logical landmark. "There's a women's rest room 5 shops down..." she continued whispering... "Or there is the space behind the landmark."

One of the security guards walked in. "Okay, your paperwork checked out, you two. And while you showed restraint, Miss Hino, and your parents are pillars of the community here, could you please keep the taser at home?"

Sakurako stammered. "A... Alright, sir. I usually keep it for my self defense."

"Then keep it at a secure locker at one of the customer desks. They do have a lockup for super gadgets. We put them in recently with Daedalus and what-not visiting to sign autographs on their latest books and what-not."

Endeavor nodded, resisting bowing. "Thank you. I'll show better prudence next time, sir."

She looked over to Casey. "Is she free to go?"

"Well, she's signed her statements so... until the police talk to her she can head home or wherever you two planned to go. Rare for a girl to have a supergenius for a friend."

Sakurako could have said something in response, but instead looks to Casey. "Let's go, we've lost time on our schedule."

Endeavor kept up with Casey, in full costume, but decided discretion might be the better part of value while waiting near, but not obviously near the rest rooms, once she was changed she accompanied her friend and roommate to Nevermore's waypoint. She was going to let Casey speak first as she needed to get clued into the plan that one of the experienced costumed crimefighters of Claremont had in store.

[Raveled]

Ami looked around when Nevermore talked to her. She was sitting next to the thief, holding his one hand in both of hers. "<All billboards are ridiculous,>" she said, "<but I know the one you mean. I might be able to talk to someone.>" She glanced at the man sitting next to her, squeezing his hand. "<I don't think I'm going to press charges against him, but it's probably better if both brothers stay here for the time being.>"

The young Frenchwoman expertly extracted herself from the conversation, leaving the young man alone and talking brightly and briefly with the mall officials. In a few minutes, she had stashed her purchases in her oversized SUV and had driven it across the road, stashing the large vehicle in a convenient alleyway. Ami preferred much smaller vehicles, ones that were peppy and powerful and responsive, rather than rugged or spacious, but the truck did have one big advantage. By pushing a button, Ami could retract the back row of seats into the floor, leaving the petite woman plenty of room to shimmy out of her walking-around clothes and pull on the formfitting bodysuit designed to focus her powers. She crawled out of the sunroof, dropped the car keys inside it, and stopped worrying about it.

The young heroine was careful to step off the vehicle before calling on her power. The tubes that connected her chakra points glowed yellow-orange as a fog the same color seemed to raise out of the concrete all around her. In less than a second, it had solidified into a vaguely human form easily three or four times Ami's size. She looked up, a visor shading her eyes as she considered the height of the building, bouncing on her heels with an idle air to her movements. Then, without warning, her bent her legs and pushed off, the energy around her mimicking the motions and propelling her several stories straight up in a single bound!

She landed with an impossible grace for the size of the suit, not even disturbing the gravel on the roof. The suit flashed red as she dismissed it, walking up to Nevermore. "Hi there, handsome," she said, her words heavily accented. "A little French birdie said you need help, keeping an old girlfriend from messing up your pretty face."

[Heritage]

Casey scoffed playfully. "Are you kidding me? I'm always ready for a sleepover!" Once they were outside the office, she leaned in to whisper, "I'll just be a millisecond."

- - -

A few minutes later, the two Claremonters alighted on the roof by the sign, joining their classmates who were already there; Miracle Girl's hair flowed freely in the breeze, and a soft golden glow surrounded her, fading slightly as she landed. "Hi Nevermore, and...friend! So, do we have any idea where do find our insectile menace?" She frowned. "Actually, I don't think that's a real word; anyway, what do we have to work with right now? Do we have an address for the two boys?"

[Raveled]

"'Allo," Brigandine called out, waving at the other heroines. "You can simply call me Brigandine. And I do have an address," she said. The short woman tapped at her forearm and a curving computer screen popped up, scrolling an address and GPS coordinates north of the river. The address scrolled past and was replaced by Google Earth satellite imagery, showing a large house with a fence, a tennis court, and a pool under construction. "I cannot say I have a good way for us to get up there," she said, "unless someone wants to ride on my shoulders." She gave Nevermore a sidelong look. "Does anyone up here have a jetplane?"

[The Sailor]

Endeavor was hovering in place. "Miracle Girl and I are fliers, I think MG can provide transport for Nevermore. I need to go to the Gym." She said, switching her suit and kit colors white with blue sections and collar, with her vest turning red. An oddly patriotic color choice. "I wish I had a jet... but I can keep up with any milspec aircraft except certain fast-attack bombers. Think I should scout ahead, looking for any anomalous activity? My suit is a fully sealed system so I shouldn't have trouble with any pheremones this 'Luna Moth' has in the area. And if something does knock me out while airborne..." She pats a pack on her mission vest that sat high on her back near her shoulders. "...this'll save me."

She looked over to the quickly formed team. "Just let me know what frequencies everyone uses for their personal communication devices and I should be A-okay for keeping in contact. I can scope out a landing position then we can investigate."

She smiled, cradling her hands behind her, the sailor collar on her outfit moving in the breeze. "So... can it work? The plan, that is..."

[KnightDisciple]

When Brigandine first made her entrance and made the remark about an "old girlfriend", Nevermore just tilted his head slightly. A moment of thoughtful study could conclude this was his equivalent of a raised eyebrow, since his armored cowl would disguise such subtle body language. 

"Indeed."

A real chatterbox, this one. He gave respectful nods as Endeavor and Miracle Girl showed up. 

"Good to have everyone on board."

He fell quiet as Brigandine brought up the map, his mask disguising the appreciation he had for her computer tech. He tapped his chin with his right hand's index finger, his left hand holding his right elbow up. He appeared to be considering options. At the remark about a jet plane, he spoke a casual reply. 

"Still working on my pilots license for tight geometry urban pacification aircraft."

It's hard to tell if he's joking. 

"I have a ride. Motorcycle. Can carry one passenger, but a bit uncomfortable for long trips. Fine for this. Brigandine could ride with me, if you can't fly and don't want to run or jump the whole way."

Well his tone is matter of fact so it's unlikely he's flirting. He presses on, all business. 

"All indications are that Samantha Cline is very unstable, mentally speaking. Should exploit that. I go in first, serve as a distraction. My costume isn't the same as the Raven's, but close enough for a minute or two with delusional person. You three work your way around to the back, come in for surprise attack. Can serve as backup if she has extra muscle there. Her mutation means I will probably need help when fight happens."

He clearly isn't trying to protect the girls really; just exploit weakness and excercise tactical judgement. Albeit with little apparent concern about mind controlling pheromones. 

[The Sailor]

Shot down again... but there was merits to moving as a team. She chuckled a little, whispering... "By Hawking's particles..."

She spoke up. A little disappointed but glad a plan was in place. "I'll fly overwatch then from above following the team, then. Got my back, Miracle Girl?" Endeavor said, hovering backward a little, about to hang in the air. She looked at Casey's day pack and she gestured to a spot behind the sign. She whispered. "You can hide your personal effects in there, Casey. This sign was put up three days ago. I know as this area is part of my test flying route. I don't think anyone will mess with your stuff up here. The lack of cigarette butts also suggests no one takes smoke breaks here."

Endeavor nodded to the team. "I think we have a course of action. Transform and roll out!"

[Raveled]

"I could never turn down such a gracious offer," Brigandine said. In moments she had grown to twice her normal size, encased in cherry-red energy, and dropped down to street level almost lightly. Her armor unfolded and by the time the Talon pulled around she was just herself again, bouncing on her heels. She hopped onto the motorcycle without a care, wrapping her arms around Nevermore's waist. "Now get us north, and don't spare the rubber." She was holding on perhaps a bit tighter than was necessary, but who cold say how many tights corners there would be on the way?

The pair roared north, crossing the bridge and continuing into the posher sections of the town. The ride was far too short for Brigandine's taste, but she climbed of and stared through the wrought iron bars of what she could only think to call a 'compound.' She glanced into the sky, but couldn't see either Endeavor or Miracle Girl. "Are you sure you'll be okay in there," she asked Nevermore. "I can be pretty sneaky when I'm not ten feet tall and glowing."

[The Sailor]

Endeavor flew in, moments after the others arrived. Keeping to the sky, she used the small comlink Claremont students have to call up Nevermore. "I'm not seeing anything right now out of the ordinary."

And it was easy for her to do that... she was some 500 feet above the scene, with Miracle Girl right behind her. "I got MG with me and we're gonna scope the place out."

"Miracle Girl, swing over to the back and see what's up. I'll keep to the front to watch Nevermore and the new Battlesuit."

She started analysing the potential points where a opponent could snipe or attack the group down below. "If something happens, fly in. I'll be right behind ya."

[Heritage]

Casey was used to leaving her clothes in weird places...which really didn't sound all that good when you put it that way. She was happy to follow Endeavor and the rest of the team, doing her best to keep out of view from the road. When it came time to swing around back, she did so gracefully, gliding in a long lazy loop and taking up a position in the tree tops where her amazing eyes could best be of use.

"I've got eyes on the back of the house," she said softly into her comlink. "Let me know when you're going to make your move."

[KnightDisciple]

Nevermore was stoic as he drove, though he never complained about Brigandine holding on too hard. Then again it hadn't been difficult for the girl to determine he was clad in a fair bit of body armor. Not quite a candlelight dinner. When the obviously custom bike stopped, he turned his head a bit and spoke over his shoulder. 

"Plenty of rubber left. Big tires."

He hides all that sass under his stoicism. Nevermore grew even more serious as the others "reported in".

"please try to keep low profiles, even if that means temporarily grounding yourselves. I should be fine long enough to misdirect her attention. Not planning to spend half an hour to distract her. Expecting you ladies to be able to hit hard and fast. I will keep a communication channel open. Everyone already has the frequency."

If for no other reason than that he is displaying it on his high-end palmtop for several moments. He then tucks it away and turns to the fence, beginning to climb it with ease. 

"Just give me a minute or two to get in place. Hopefully I won't have to brawl a middle aged financier."

[The Sailor]

Not that a girl whose suit is mostly white flying 500 feet in the air with clouds all about was sticking out... But before she could shoot off a retort she spotted some people on the grounds. "MG, Nevermore... there's some black suits in the compound. Prowling about. Also I don't know about hitting hard... I'm not a hard hitter close up... but at range I can give them something to worry about. Permission to begin an air strike? Once I unload MG and you guys'll have all the fun."

Endeavor sets her EM Wand to it's discharge mode. "They're rather spread out, so I'll try to herd them to one spot."

[Raveled]

Brigandine climbed off the motorcycle, wishing that the trip had taken longer, or at least that Nevermore had been a little bit less of a gargoyle. She thought of herself as a professional, though, and so she walked to the fence and peeked through it. Without either Nevermore’s tech or Endeavor and Miracle Girl’s height, though, she couldn’t make out much more than the front facade of the large home. “Seems like there’s more than a couple of brain-addled men in there,” she said. “I wonder if the security are bought and paid for, or if they’re under Samantha Cline’s influence as well?”

[KnightDisciple]

A brief transmission crackled across their shared radio bands. 

"Negative on preemptive air strike. That will leave target alert and on defensive, and draw her to open air. Need to keep her inside, box her in. Wait for my signal to strike anything or anyone."

Well he certainly gave orders like he had been learning from Raven. 

He was also completely gone from Brigandine's sight despite her turning away for just a moment. As if he was a ghost or living shadow. 

Which was how he moved across the grounds, his senses alert for trouble, danger, cameras, guards, and so on. He avoided all of the above with the fluid grace of a nocturnal predator, despite wearing an outfit that was predominantly black while moving about in broad daylight on the grounds of an upscale suburban home. Apparently to work with Raven you did indeed need at least a couple of skills. Which he had. Endeavor caught what almost maybe sort of kind of looked like a passing glimpse of him for one brief moment over near the house. 

Somehow he was casually loping along the stone wall surrounding the back yard. Despite starting out on the opposite side of the house. And barely any cover for a good stretch of the way. Then he was gone from sight again; she could be sure she only saw that glimpse due to her altitude, and the fact he didn't care if a teammate saw him. 

"Perimeter breached. I have seen children more alert than these so-called guards. Infiltrating to Cline's location now."

Not that anyone saw him. But within another minute, the dark-cloaked vigilante was almost improbably standing in the same room as Samantha Cline, behind her and out of her sight, silent and watchful. Then he spoke, his voice low and gravelly, and the three heroines working with him heard both his words and some measure of the room around him. 

"Samantha Cline, also known as Luna Moth. I understand you are seeking contact with the Raven."

Statement, not a question. But a pause was nonetheless given where Cline was able to speak.

[Raveled]

GM

 

Samantha Cline, a supervillain with fifty years of experience in her, revitalized and returned to face a new generation of heroes, who had enthralled some of the richest men in the city and gathered a small army to her side, was sitting on a couch watching TMZ and spraying crumbs. The network was showing coverage of a score of celebrity parents; Samantha took vicious, ruthless glee in ripping into the women's appearance, pointing out stretch lines and sagging breasts. "That fat cow looks forty years older," she crowed. "She had better find a surgeon fast, and pay for his next yacht, before she can't even get sitcom work!" As she watched she was eating whole handfuls of popcorn out of a bowl sitting next to her. Sprawled out on the coffee table in front of her was stacks of bills and loose jewelry; the show had evidently interrupted the woman's literal counting of her wealth.

Of course, this new Luna Moth wouldn't be someone that celebrity fashion show would be covering anytime soon. Once she had been blonde, voluptuous, and beautiful. Time incarcerated at eaten away at her hair, leaving it stark white and hanging straight to her shoulders. Her heart-shaped face bulged now, with the many-faceted and iridescent eyes of a fly or beetle pushing out of her skull. Her arms and legs were jointed oddly and moved stiffly, and when Nevermore spoke she jumped to her feet, diaphanous wings folding out of flaps in the skin of her back.

"What! Who is there? Someone... Someone came here? Did the someone bring the Raven... bring my Raven to me?" Cline stalked around the room, peering questioningly behind couches and under tables, ineptly trying to find the source of the voice.

[KnightDisciple]

Nevermore just took two solid steps forward from his previous hiding spot. His boots, which until moments ago had made no more than the barest whisper of sound, thumped resolutely on the fine hardwood floor of the room. His cape, previously a silent shadow draped over his body, gave a subtle but dramatic "swoosh" as it glided over his armored form. He was hiding no longer, now revealed fully in the light. He stopped, letting the cape settle around his form again, obscuring it from sight. He spoke, his voice still that harsh sound that came naturally to these cowled champions of Justice. 

"What business have you with the Raven?"

[Raveled]

GM

 

Cline froze, staring at the suddenly-revealed Nevermore. After a minute she broke out in a sunny smile, her dragonfly wings buzzing as she alighted in front of the superhero. "Raven! My love! I knew you would find me here. Look at everything I've achieved!" She fluttered away, showing off the entire room; the large screen 4G TV, the high-fi speakers set into the wall, the leather couches and brushed-metal finishings. All sorts of things that spoke of money, and the power that came with it. "Look at it all, lover. And now, we can be together and have it all!" She landed in front of Nevermore, holding her arms out. It was obvious she was expecting him to rush toward her.

[The Sailor]

"She's obsessed... completely obsessed..." Sakurako said, switching on her internal life support systems and closing up her helmet at that point. If there were pheremones in play she didn't want none of them. "Be careful, Nevermore. She might dose you like those guys down below or the guys at the mall."

"Casey, regroup at Brigandine's location. We might be needed there."

Sakurako flew down as fast as she could without breaking the sound barrier, landing near Brigandine. "Okay... Miracle Girl should be inbound. Seems we got a real grade-A cult of personality forming in the compound." She said over the speaker on her helmet in whisper-mode. "Not making a move until there's some signal or sign of distress. It seems those guys in the compound are on the same... stuff... as the guys at the mall possibly."

"If only I had some time I could concoct an antidote that I could deliver... If it's Pheromones, I think that is a psychotropic response, leaving the person open to suggestion, I believe."

Edited May 15, 2015 by Osprey

[Heritage]

"Copy that." Casey started to fly towards towards Brigantine, but then remembered she had previous orders from Nevermore to keep an eye on the back of the house; as he was the senior, it was best for her to defer to him. She sighed as she toggled on her radio. "Negative on that, Endeavor; my orders were to monitor the back of the property. If need be, I can be at your position in a matter of seconds to provide support. Miracle Girl out."

She hoped her friend wouldn't be annoyed with her, but she also wanted to keep the chain of command intact; in a combat situation, it wouldn't do to try and follow contradictory sets of orders. If her father was to be believed, it happened far too often in the actual military.