ic [IC] Fantastic Bloggers and Where to Find Them

[Blarghy]

"If they did, then please don't do whatever you did before; I don't want them coming here."  Even turning the machine on made Leviathan nervous; what if the criminals were already on their way?  Or outside at this very moment, surveying the property?  His only points of relief were that he still felt sure that his real identity wasn't compromised, and furthermore, that whoever wanted Bonfire presumably didn't also want him.  Unless these mysterious enemies were monitoring Bonfire's electronic messages--a sure possibility, given that they knew how to find him and what weapon to use--they might not even be aware of who Bonfire came to meet with today.  Leviathan hoped to keep it that way, until he went scaly and started knocking out teeth. 

 

"Here; let's hook your computer up through my network and see if we can access it cleanly.  We'll assume it has the worst viruses and spyware imaginable and treat it accordingly.  Let's see if we can find the bug that's responsible."

[olopi]

GM

 

“Good point, let’s do that. No idea how I’d even gotten any ‘ware, I specifically don’t install anything on here anymore. “Bonfire followed the instructions to hook up his laptop, and then the two heroes could begin scanning it for anything out of the ordinary. With both the Hideout’s hardware, and Leviathan’s technical knowledge, everything on the PC was easily accessible.

 

Some time later

 

Thanks to some specialized software, scanning for any malware went quickly. The first scan revealed nothing. A second, more thorough one had the same result. At this point, the two just went through files manually, and, perhaps fortunately, perhaps worryingly, came to the same result. Nothing on the PC was dangerous, everything was as it was supposed to be. The laptop wasn’t very well organized, but rather empty. Most of the software on it was specialized, even professional image editing software. A few folders with images, probably photos took up large amounts of storage space. The rest were logs of everything Bonfire had written on his blog, and quite a few unpublished entries (“too dangerous at the time”, “didn’t like it”, “nothing new” and so on). One single videogame and a messenger tool rounded up most occupied data.

 

The only other program was Bonfire’s web browser. It had quite a few add-ons, but a quick search revealed that they all were legit, and even digging into the files, nothing strange was there. It had been accessed a whole lot, presumably wherever he went and opened the laptop.

 

Bonfire, at this point quite frustrated, sighed. Then, at seeing just how often he had opened his web-browser, he went quiet. “Wait a second.” He sounded like he had just had a relevation. “We know it’s not in the files. But, what if it’s somehow tied to the internet? I’m generally connected to local wi-fi whenever I stay somewhere. And, usually I check my inboxes for new messages. “As he spoke, the pauses between words became longer. “Think that could be it? Any way to check?”

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

"Hmmm...I'll see what I can do," Leviathan agreed.  His fingers, thicker than he was accustomed to, nonetheless typed quickly.  Their failures thus far left him annoyed and impatient, much like Bonfire, but perhaps this lead would pan out. 

 

"You said that something odd happened before the attack.  What was it?  Back when you were starting to set up the new blog.  Maybe your computer isn't bugged, but your website is."

 

In light of that possibility, when Leviathan tried accessing the page and logging in, he kept his eyes open and exercised care.

[olopi]

PC

 

“There was something on there. As I was saving the changes, I saw that something in the options was off. One of the sections of the non-public parts of it. Something was off, but I only saw a glance.“ Bonfire stopped for a second, then thought on the idea of it being related to the website. “Could be, actually. Especially with that. Let’s check, I can call up the site’s owner if I really need to, anything not accessible by us should be accessible to him. “

 

Logging into the website was no easy task by itself. While Bonfire’s security over-all was not massive, he had a two factor authentication set up, requiring a code sent by E-Mail first. Bonfire was quick about it, had the code, and the two were able to log in. At first, everything looked alright. The blog set up for Leviathan was there for some part, the few things the two had set up had been saved. It was still unpublished, but at least the effort had not been wasted.

 

But, without even having to access the code itself, the problem became apparent as the two scrolled down the page. There was nothing that stood out, but as some of Bonfire’s many unpublished entries came into view, he pointed at the screen. “That Number’s off. I’ve only ever opened that entry 5 times, but the number shows 7. Let’s check some of the other numbers.” Scrolling down revealed the same picture. A few of the entries, most of them with views below 10, had been accessed. Their thumbnails did not show any picture, and their names were unspecific, but Bonfire was sure that they were wrong.

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

Leviathan slowly worried more and more as he watched Bonfire work.  The fiery hero had a spy rooting through his files; were there any about him in there?  Had Bonfire composed an unposted article about their time with Edge and Punchline, possibly even written down the detail that his lizard ally wasn't always so scaly?  Whoever hacked the site, did they think it curious that Bonfire was creating a Leviathan blog at that time, and then did their hit squad notice who else sat at the table?  How much could they piece together?  How much danger was he in?

 

A small part of his brain told him this was selfish, as usual, and that larger things were likely at stake, but the panic still bubbled.

 

"...We need to find this person," he said, his voice soft and insistent.  "If they could locate you when you accessed the site, then surely we can do the same in reverse."  He didn't wait for permission before reaching for the keyboard. 

[olopi]

GM

 

“Let’s do this. I’m curious now. “

This was the sort of information one could not find on the site very easily. As the blog itself was running on the HeroHouse code, security behind the scenes was rather tight. After a scandal last year, the site had massively upped their security, with many things only being accessible through long and tedious forms nowadays. The security certainly was top-notch, with parts of the code being encrypted multiple times, a structure that made very little sense until one took a close look, and a variety of misleading segments.

 

While Leviathan’s proficiency was a lot of help here, the site would probably end up proving stronger, unless he would be able to really take his time. Seeing the code segments was what prompted Bonfire to speak up once more. “Wait, right. BB’s sent me this thing one time” Hidden in a folder, protected with a variety of conventional (and unconventional) means, was a simple text file. One which described the site’s code to some extent. Anybody who had a good idea of what they were doing was able to work with this.

 

With the newfound information, getting through the code was much quicker. It was no easy task by any means, but now it would not take an endless amount of time. Soon, Leviathan found himself in the hidden part of HeroHouse, the sort of information that was not revealed just to protect security. And in there, access to all connections made with the account. “No, they look right. All of that’s my stuff.” But then, something stood out to the experienced eyes of Tristan. A few bits, hardly noticeable, in a place they should not be at. Usually a trace of high-level file editing, something that took a lot of time, a lot of attention, and usually was difficult to trace backwards. Somebody had edited the connection logs, and done so almost perfectly. No easy task at all, just attempting to recreate it showed that it would take far more time than the two heroes had at the moment.

“Whaddya think, can you re-create whatever was deleted?”

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

"...I...maybe, but it would take too long."  Leviathan frowned, downcast.  "Whoever did this is good.  Much better than me, and I'm not bad myself.  I would need substantial time to pick through the clues left behind.  This other hacker acted much faster; we weren't in the cafe for very long, and on top of that, that team in the sedan must've had to travel, after being contacted in the first place.  We're dealing with a real professional.  Supernaturally good, I'd say.  Maybe even...a sentient program, or something of that nature."

 

The thought scared him.  How could they find someone who might not actually take physical form? 

 

"Just whose bad side did you get on?" he asked accusingly.  "You're not an internet troll or something like that, are you?"

[olopi]

PC

 

“Well, I’m politically active, but I’m hardly a troll there. Nor do I troll otherwise, not really my waay of dealing with people. But, enemies I’ve made is a good thing to start on, let’s see…” Bonfire began to count, absentmindedly, while trying to figure out just who he had already antagonized in his short career. After a few seconds, he returned his focus, and looked back at Leviathan. “Uh, a whole lot of people. Like, a whole lot.”

 

He stopped for a second, finding a sheet of paper and pulling out a pen. Writing down, he began to count through them. “Okay. Let’s assume it’s people that could have the capabilities to hack like that. So I’ll ignore all the ones that Weren’t very smart. Can always come back to them, but that’d make the list very long. Okay, let’s go. There was …”

 

Either way, the list of technologically capable people and groups Bonfire had antagonized was quite lengthy. As he finished off the list, he took a second list through them, and looked surprised. “Whoa. It actually was that many. And I don’t even focus on these guys. Okay… I think the best first target is the V-Arr. They’re a group-slash-gang of hackers and internet pirates. Tracked them down a while ago, ended up fighting them during a raid on an electronics store. No idea if I ever got all of them, so perhaps one of them has a grudge against me now. They have or had a dark-net network according to a source of mine, probably a good place to start. You got any way to access that shady place in here?”

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

Leviathan stared at him with a mix of jealousy and horror.  He'd cast in his lot with a dangerous partner, here; if he'd known just how much trouble Bonfire carried along with him, he might never have tried to make contact in the first place.

 

That is the least heroic thing you've ever thought, coward.  And it's a long, long list already.

 

Shame now added to his whirlwind of emotions, he swallowed and turned back to the computer.  If only he could transform--then he'd feel safe and strong. 

 

"I...will try," he said.  "Let's hope that it isn't being monitored by any government agencies like a lot of the dark net, on top of the hackers who'll probably see me when I try to sneak in."  On that downer note, he nonetheless began to type. 

[olopi]

GM

 

Accessing the dark net itself obviously was easy enough. Once inside, the actual challenge started. There was so much stuff, finding the right network was the actually difficult part. Anybody unskilled in the arts of hacking would have no chance whatsoever. Even with Tristan’s expertise, it took a while. But then, as the mood started to fall due to the lack of progress, he found it. It wasn’t much better hidden than most things on the net, and getting access wasn’t much of a challenge either.

 

As the site opened up, the two were greeted by what looked like a fairly professional website. It detailed who the V-Arr were, a group of hackers on the pursuit of technology hidden from the average person, what their goal was, and some general information about them. The website also featured a “congratulations for finding us” segment, which both praised and mocked whoever was looking on. As Leviathan hit the return button, the screen didn’t show the page that had previously been open. Instead, the page was all in blue, with only a white text taking up most of the screen.

 

Hello.

 

Bonfire took a step backwards, and Leviathan could feel the air surrounding him heat up slightly. At the same time, the red-haired hero whispered a few words. “Oh-oh. “

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

"Don't panic," Leviathan told his companion automatically.  He couldn't honestly follow his own advice; sure, he'd expected to be found, and sure, the web-pirates probably couldn't do them any direct harm without some kind of supernatural electronics-based abilities--he wished he'd asked Bonfire about that a little earlier--but nonetheless, their attackers at the cafe found Bonfire with a less direct connection than this.  He wasn't accessing some independent site that V-Arr members had hacked; he was invading their own territory, and being familiar with such tactics as they surely were, he assumed they had precautions. 

 

"...At least don't set anything on fire," he amended. 

 

Leviathan took a moment to decide what to reply with, if the webpage had a text box.  He thought about trying to bolster his confidence with something clever, perhaps chiding the hackers for their failed assault, but decided that he shouldn't give away more information than he had to.  Better to see what they knew first.  If the pirates were already aware of who their intruders were--Bonfire, at least--then he could truly worry.

 

Hello, he typed simply.  Maybe they'll mistake me for a bot.  That'd be nice. 

[olopi]

GM

 

The heat remained high, but did not raise further, instead settling at that of a warm summer day. As Bonfire looked back at the screen, it refreshed in real-time, responding to Leviathan’s message.“Okay. Let’s do this. “Bonfire inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself. He walked around for a few seconds, then sat back down onto his chair, looking anxious still.

. 

 

 

 

Y-Arr you here?

 

 

Instead, Bonfire looked at his list again, writing something down next to a few names. He scratched a few things, then added some notes next to the V-Arr, then began to draw a few rough lines at the edge of the paper, which looked like head and shoulders, even at the early state looking quite acceptable. “Gotta give ‘em that much, they know their stuff. I’ll leave the response up to you, the less I’m involved the better probably. “That message managed to elicit a chuckle from Bonfire, before making him groan.

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

"Funny.  I was thinking that about myself, too.  But we're already both involved."  Still, Leviathan continued on.  What should he say, now that the site's guardian was just as wary and unwilling to give up anything useful as he was?  Their goal hadn't changed; he needed to find the person or people behind the attack on the cafe, and Bonfire's website, assuming they were one and the same.  He could try to draw their enemies out; they probably wouldn't deliberately identify themselves.  Maybe the traditional scary and mysterious Cowl approach...  It was definitely easier to pull off via text than when he had to lug around his inexperienced dead weight in person. 

 

Someone has been bad today.  Throwing bombs in my city.  Not even good bombs; should try harder next time.  You hacked HeroHouse too.  Bad pirate; now I have to punish you.

 

I've got to clean this place out as soon as I can, he thought.  But in the mean time, they'll have trouble finding me.  More trouble finding who "me" actually is.  I pay the rent in cash, through the mail, and I've left no fingerprints here.  Even if they can locate this lab, I should be safe.  Should be.  Should be.

[olopi]

GM

 

Almost immediately, the text refreshed.

?          ?           ?

 

 

Clearly, the person on the other side of the network had not expected that. Bonfire looked quite amused, even chuckling again. “Clearly you’ve got the being scary thing down. Nice one, maybe we’ll figure out someth-“ Just then, the page refreshed again. This time, showing text, being typed in real time.

?!? I have no idea what you are talking about. We are not involved in bombings. We may be against rules and regulations, but we do not go around throwing bombs. ... ... ... There has been a single report of something like that happening. But we are not involved. And while we do take pride in that last statement, no. We have tried. We have failed. We are not involved in anything you accuse us of. What is your deal? What do you want? Why us of all people? We haven’t been active in months. Why would we do it?             

 

Bonfire followed the words popping up on the screen, his eyes glued to the screen. Judging by the speed they showed up at, whoever was on the other side was quite fast at typing. He decided to remain quiet for now, maybe Leviathan had an idea how to respond. Bonfire did not believe in backseat-talking, after all.

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

"...Hmm."  Although certainly satisfied with the respect he received, Leviathan felt unsure too.  The hacker on the other end seemed genuine enough, but how could he be certain?  Hard to judge someone with only a screen to watch.  Which, he decided, made for a good response.

 

Liar.  You fit the profile.  Have to look you in the eye to be sure; then you can try to convince me of your innocence.  Won't be long now.  Are you dressed for company?

 

He let that sit for a moment, hoping to strike more fear into their sole suspect's heart, before adding another line.  This was his and Bonfire's only lead so far; if he just gave up, then they'd have nothing at all.

 

...Unless you want to point me in another direction.  Who else would have the means and motive to attack HeroHouse and Bonfire on the same day?

[olopi]

GM

 

Once more the two heroes did not have to wait for a response, getting it almost immediately. The typing was a lot slower than before, each letter taking some time to appear.

 

... ... ... ... No. It’s too dangerous. Not here. I do not want to get into any more trouble. ...

And there, the text just stopped. Over the next few seconds, every once in a while, a single letter appeared, being deleted almost immediately however. And then, the letters just stopped coming completely, with only the sentences that had been already written showing up.

 

Bonfire followed the happenings closely. As the single letters began to appear, he leaned backwards. “Either our opposite doesn’t know what to say, or something shady’s going on here. Shadier than it already is. Whadd’ya think, can you track this to a physical location?” With that, Bonfire leaned back forwards, this time with a pen in hand, writing down everything that had shown up on the screen onto another piece of paper.  

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

Your call, Leviathan typed back.  But if you didn't want trouble, then you should've told me what I needed to know.  See you soon.

 

He waited a little longer, hoping that this final bit of bullying would get him what he wanted, but the scientist suspected that Bonfire was right.  "I think we'll have to," he agreed.  "I get the feeling that this person may be telling the truth, but they still sound like they know who's really responsible.  We don't have any other options, if we want to get to the bottom of this."

 

He turned his chair to the monitor next to the improvised chat window and began typing again.  Leviathan managed to catch the hacking signs at HeroHouse and find the pirates' website in the first place; hopefully his luck would hold for just a little longer so he could locate their new friend.

[olopi]

GM

 

There was no reply for some time. Then, just as Leviathan began to hack into the location (a feat which, judging by first glance, would’ve taken quite some time), the screen refreshed again, showing a number being typed. It changed a few times, then settled in, with the rest of the sentences written quite quickly.

 

 

20 ... 30 ... 20 minutes. Any well-crowded location in FC. Name it, I’ll be there. But I need protection afterwards. Then, you will know.                                                    

 

There, it stopped. A sudden stop, but one that made sense. The text remained, as Bonfire began to write down what had been written, at the same time speaking. He sounded contemplating, but he couldn’t hide a degree of excitement in his voice. “Sounds good enough. Ominous, but it’s a deal. Whadd’ya think, can we take the risk? Probably our best shot, seems like the information’s there. “

 

As he finished writing everything down, he leaned back in his chair, waiting for Leviathan to make his move.

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

"No other choice," Leviathan replied.  "This is our only lead; we can either follow it, or wait until someone else tries to kill you."

 

He thought of a good meeting site near their current location and typed back, Riverside Park.  We'll meet near the Sentry Statue.  I'm happy to give protection.  It's similar to what I was already going to do to whoever is responsible for these attacks, only with an extra step.  See you in half an hour, new friend. 

 

The shapeshifter stood up from his desk, but paused for a moment longer in case of any other response.  It occurred to him that their unknown contact might just want some extra time to flee, a head start while he and Bonfire waited uselessly.  By the time they returned to the lab and tried another tactic, this person could be long gone.  Unfortunately, Leviathan saw no help for it.  At least by meeting along the waterfront, he had easy access to the ocean.  If trouble arose, then he'd be able to--hopefully--escape to the water and return as something a lot more dangerous. 

[olopi]

GM

 

There was in fact another reply. The screen refreshed once more, showing more letters being typed in real-time.

 

Okay. Look for the

 

And right there, the website crashed. First it stopped replying, then it went off the grid completely. It did not appear to be a server error directly. Leviathan’s knowledge suggested that somebody had attacked the website directly, much like he had. But instead of just looking around, that person seemed to have taken it down completely, and with quite the speed.

 

As the website went down, Bonfire looked pretty uncertain. “So much for it being an easy meet-up. That protection suddenly became a lot more important I think. That crash wasn’t random, somebody was watching. It’d be far too convenient otherwise. “

 

Bonfire stood up, but didn’t move towards the exit just yet. “Think it’s still a good idea? This is screaming ambush, and I’ve already gotten ambushed once today. But I think we have to take the chance anways…”

Edited November 30, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

Leviathan's reply had to wait until he finished frantically cutting power to his array of computers.  Whether this was truly the work of a new enemy, or a track-covering tactic by whoever he'd been speaking to, the implication was still the same: someone knew about their conversation, someone good with electronics and motivated against him and Bonfire, and such a person would likely have both the skill and desire to track down their location. 

 

I can never come here again, Leviathan thought.  Even just reclaiming and moving all my gear might be too risky...

 

After he pulled the final plug and stood back to his feet, he agreed, "This is still the only thing we can do.  If, if that wasn't the work of our pirate friend just trying to throw us off, then our only hope is to get to the meeting site before whoever's after you can catch our contact.  We're looking for someone who is much better with a keyboard than I am; I seriously doubt I can find them before being found in return.  Our only hope is to take this gamble...and be ready if it turns poorly."

[olopi]

PC

 

 

 

Bonfire’s attention went to his laptop, or, more specifically, the laptop’s clock. He noted down the time on a sheet of paper, all the while also saying it out loud.

 

“4:24 PM. Twenty minutes, so the meet should be at about 4:44. Easy enough to remember. “

 

He reached for his laptop, closing it and storing it back in his bag. Then, he leafed through said bag, looking at its various sections, probably trying to find something. As Leviathan finished cutting all the power supplies, Bonfire went to address him. “Okay, I’m thinking we should look pretty inconspicuous. And well, look at me. “ pointing his fingers at his face, running down the side of it along his hair. “Do you have any kind of hat here? I’ve got a scarf, but a hat would probably help the look. “

 

With that, he pulled forth a massive infinity scarf, part black and blue. “Stands out, but there’s always people walking ‘round with these, so whatever, better than otherwise. “ He draped it over his head, pulling it down, over and through a few times, leading to a nice and firm placement, covering up mouth, but looking rather natural still.

 

“I guess I could also use this one as a headscarf of sorts, but at that point I can just as well just not wear any headgear, same effect.”

Edited November 25, 2016 by olopi

[Blarghy]

"I'll see what I can find," Leviathan promised once he stood up again.  His chubby face was flushed from excitement and fear, but he moved fairly well for his apparent weight.  Off he went, to the stairs, and vanished into the lab above, temporarily leaving Bonfire alone. 

 

He hadn't planned to show Bonfire this ability.  His scouting tactics at the cafe were designed to avoid it, in fact.  Now, though, he worried that the bombers who attacked them might've seen his current face.  He could try to get by with a traditional disguise like Bonfire, but why take the risk?  Between the choices of revealing something new to his ally, or fumbling their one chance to find their enemy, he supposed that it wasn't too difficult to decide.  If the fire-hero wasn't trustworthy, then Leviathan would have plenty of problems anyway.  So long as he just didn't learn the real secret and go looking for Tristan Delacroix...

 

Thus, when he returned to the ground floor, a very different person greeted Bonfire.  Now he had a much slimmer body, paler skin, and a military buzz-cut.  Leviathan didn't have the same extensive wardrobe here as he did back at his apartment in Midtown, but he made sure to keep a few outfits lying around, just in case.  He chose his figure to fit the jeans and T-shirt that he recovered in his lab.  He also had a cap in his hand--with the logo of the local Freedom City Comets--which he held out to Bonfire. 

 

"Tah-dah," he said simply. 

[olopi]

PC

 

 

 

Well, that explained some things. Cass wasn’t sure what exactly it explained, as he’d not really thought about it, but he was sure that if he ever was to think about something related to Leviathan and his more human form, this reveal would probably help. He imagined it was some kind of body-changing, which also explained Leviathan’s crime fighting look. Either way, it was interesting to know.

 

To the outside, Cass looked somewhat surprised. He raised his eyebrow, but accepted the cap nevertheless. He put it on, slightly adjusting it so it fit nicely and didn’t look off, then replied, nodding his head. “Not bad. Pretty good power, gotta say. “

 

He reached down to grab his bag, and quickly slung it over his shoulder rather gracefully. It came to a stop at his side, bouncing against his hip a few times before settling. Bonfire looked around, made sure he hadn’t missed anything, then walked towards the door.

 

“Well, let’s go and meet our … friend. Let’s see what information we get from this. “

Edited December 3, 2016 by olopi

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

Riverside streets were pleasant around this time of the year. The brickwork buildings were quite pleasant in the cold weather, and together with the various trees that were slowly losing their leaves, made for a nice autumn atmosphere. People of all ages and looks were walking down the streets, many holding a hot drink in their hands, all out enjoying the autumn weather.

 

The two heroes did not stand out at all in the crowd. Partially because in Riverside, standing out wasn’t easy, partially because their general appearances fit in rather well. The two arrived at the Sentry statue before the agreed upon time, but for the sake of keeping up the appearance, kept moving for some time, returning only slightly before the agreed upon time.

 

 

 

The two were casually observing the area around the statue. They stood some distance away, close enough to be there in a short walk, far enough to keep an overview. Bonfire looked down at his clock regularily, and as the minute passed, looked a bit upset. “Well, so much for that, 20 minute-“ just then, he stopped. A person, wearing a blue hoodie, walked by the statue, turning towards the side and leaning against it. They took a laptop out of their backpack, and began to type in something, leaning against the base of the statue all the same. “Perhaps? Let’s go for it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2016 by olopi