[ School has just let out, and we find Our Heroes walking away from the classroom. ] [ The day was informative - you managed to learn a thing or two about the school's kids without being, say, conspicuous. ] [ A few kids in particular stand out, of course, which means you're either doing good at this or the mutant is really inconspicuous and you're missing them entirely. ] [ The first stands out because, frankly, he seems to be the most popular guy in school. He's a junior, captain of the school basketball team, tall, handsome, good grades, slick clothes, lots of friends and hangers-on, the works. His name is Jeremy Franks, which is the one chink in his armor; he doesn't have some badass name to go by. ] [ The next person is a noteable geek by the name of Todd Denton. An apparent prodigy, Todd is a senior in the school despite being Miya's age. Girls seem to think he's cute in a puppy-dog sort of way, and he is often teased by, well, everybody. ] [ Another geek on the list is less remarkable in grades and such, but he stands out in another way. Despite having thick, coke-bottle glasses, posture-correcting shoes, a nasaly, irritating voice, and a wardrobe that even Urkel would point and laugh at, nobody makes fun of him. At all. In fact, nobody seems to notice he even exists, except when it'd convenient. ] [ This, despite an apprent propensity for wearing shirts in neon shades. ] ( My hero.) ( ... he's Rei? ) ( Nope. Rei's cool, this guy's not. ) ( He's a cross between Mei-Yin and Rei. :P ) ( My eyes! They burn!) [ Another odd individual that stood out is one Daphne McAlpin. Her first two years in the school, she was quite lively, and a reliabe fixture at every party that ever happened within ten blocks of the school. Then one day she just up and became an introvert and lost touch with her usual friends. Shortly after that she gained a rather different reputation when she beat the crap out of a street gang by herself. ] [ People don't bother her much, either. ] ( *blinkblink* ) ( :P ) ( I am SO not going to any pep rally here. ) ( Oooh, street brawler. My kinda gal. ) [ Last, as well as least, is the one who's pretty much the school's forerunner on troublemaking, is one Calvin Carter. He's been known to use everything from pinhole cameras to light explosives in his pranks, and seems to get off the hook by some trick every time. He *says* he has psychic powers that he uses to get himself out of trouble, but everyone in the school doubts that; they just assume his dad's really rich, or something. ] [ And... I think that's about it. Although I'd like you all to make Mind rolls. ] [ Er, and the second geek's name is Gary Noonan. My bad for not mentioning it sooner. ] [ So, you're piling out the door and towards the parking lot with the rest of the school's students, and by now you're coming up on your car. Time to put your heads together! ] * Miya scratches at the back of her head, looking around. "School here's so different." [ No, not literally. That could hurt. ] So this is what school is like. No, not really. They still try to pick on the smaller people, that's for sure. *brushes some dust off his shoulder.* Mmm... school in Japan's really strict'n stuff, right? Lotsa bowing, no talkin' back to the teacher... * Miya blinks. "They tried to pick on you? Who?" * Daegal grins at Eric. "Not in my school they don't." Don't worry about it. I already took care of it, if ya know what I mean. * Bob nods. Do you have any prospects? My bet's on that girl, whatser name... Daphne. Party girl suddenly goes all hermity, kicks the crap outta a street gang... Um... not... I mean, there's, um, that Gary person. He's kind of like me, but... uh... * Miya tries to figure out the word for it. * Bob looks around for Gary. That one is probably watching us right now, actually. Doofier? * Eric scratches his head. "There's a bunch of people it could be..." * Miya blinks and looks around. You might not have noticed, but he seems to have noticed us. Not individually, but 'us' the group. The prankster kid woulda been my bet, but... eh. Just doesn't fit the type. He's too open about it. A good cover, though. He bears watching. Ta be honest, they all bear watchin'. What do bears have to do with anything? ( Da bears. ) I like bears. Big, cuddly, and deadly. Kinda like me. *biggrin* * Miya blinks a couple times. "But they have fur." Not the same bear. Oh. I'm not certain what makes you cuddly. ... me neither, now thatcha mention it. * Eric mocks Sherloc Holmes. "Ah ha! Brilliant deduction!" ... lemme rephrase. I like bears. Big, deadly, and fond of picnic baskets. Kinda like me. * Miya scratches at the back of her head. ( How can you not loves these kids? ) * Eric folds his arms and nods sagely. "Yeah, but are you smarter than the average bear?" Me? Nah. I ain't all that smart... just 'nuff ta get by. So bears are smarter than you? * Miya clearly doesn't get the reference. * Daegal notices Miya confusion. "Yogi Bear, Miya. American cartoon." Yeah, and a great one at that. * Bob looks confused. Why are we discussing american cartoons? ( Actually, Yogi should be on the list, too. He is smarter than the av- er-age bear, avter all. ) ( Clearly, another mutie freak. ) ( That's Bob's new nickname! Booboo! ) Don't stop the train of thought. Oh. Oh! Cartoon, okay. Anyway... how you guys wanna do this? Follow one of 'em, talk to 'em, see if they start movin' things with their minds? The last one sounds the best, but least likely. I find the best prospect to be Gary. * Eric hmmms... "Daphne could be it too, however. She did get all introverted suddenly, and kicked an entire gangs ass all by herself. Something definetly happened with her." * Daegal nods at Eric. Well, um, it's possible that Gary just does that. You know, nobody noticing him... thing. Um. Person's only supposed ta be teleki- whatever the word is. Movin' things with his brain. Not invisible. I think the term you're looking for is telekinetic. Yeah. That. * Miya shrugs. "Could have more than one power. But... it doesn't have to be a power, I mean." * Daegal nods at Miya. "Yeah. Kids like him just kinda... dunno, fly under the radar." * Miya nodnods before realizing what she's doing and blushing. (I was like that at one point. Then I kicked some kid's ass... and I never went under the radar again. ^_^) (Pfft.) ( You tell 'im, Ard. ) So you still think Gary's behind it? I really have a strong hunch about Daphne, ya know... I bow to your superior understanding of american teenagers. Even with the screwy clothes. Maybe he snapped on someone, now nobody bothers 'em. Dunno. Umm. So, we have two people, probably. What do we do now? [ You have, by now, reached the car. Duh. ] Split up? ( Torture the GM! ) * Eric smirks. "I know how that is. Once ya bust a few heads, no one wants to mess with ya. As for now, though, I need to get some food besides that cafeteria crap that they usually have." And as amazing as it might seem, Bob, I *can* taste the food that I eat. * Miya stares at Eric. "But- but you still bought all the fries they had." Eh, splittin' up never works in the movies... just gets everyone killed by the guy with the chainsaw. * Eric says "But they were cafeteria fries." as if it explained everything. ...should I be insulted that you think a chainsaw could kill me? Don't diss the chainsaw. ( It could be, uh, a cosmically powered chainsaw? Galactus picked Jason as his next herald. There we go. ) ( First Terrax, now this? Really, Galactus... ... I'm hungry. Me too! Brother! ) ( *snrk* ) * Eric pulls the keys out of his pockets and looks around the car to make sure there aren't any dings in the body. Eric finds no dings. * Miya blinks, realizes where they are, and yells, "Shotgun!" She's by the passanger door realquick. I say we pick one and follow 'em. If we're lookin', the Oreos might be too. * Daegal blinks, shakes his fist at Miya, then hops in the back. * Eric unlocks the car and hops in. * Miya sticks her tongue out at Daegal, then climbs in. Ah, the joys of knowing how to drive. So, where to? * Daegal looks around. Daphne is sight, by any chance? [ Miya has the roomy passenger seat all to her widdle self. In the meanwhile, Daegal takes up about two-thirds of the back seat on his own. ] (Why are the two smallest people in front? :P) ( Hell if I know. ) * Bob shrugs and fits himself in the last third of the back seat. (Because we rule.) [ Daphne was in sight - she left a minute or so ago in a sky-blue GTO; it's prolly too late to follow her, for the day. ] Do ya seen Daphne anywhere? * Eric looks around for her. (Yes, but at night... I'm a wannabe ninja!) ( Wai! Wannabe ninja! Just like Psylocke2! ) Damn, missed her. Ya see Gary anywhere? * Miya peers out the window. Windows. Yeah. She also looks in the mirrors, 'cause mirrors are cool. [ Miya likes glass. ] * Eric starts up the car, which humms very nicely. "I gotta get me one of these." ... damn. If we can't find Gary... Bob, you think you'd be able to duck into an alley, get airborne, and try ta spot Daphne's car, if it comes to that? Yes. ( I could also use a phone booth, in a pinch. ) * Eric smiles as he expertly kicks the car into gear. "Did you get a sight of any of the two yet?" * Miya peers. "I'm looking. But, um, if we wanted to do the chase thing, we should have probably started a while ago." Saw the car Daphne drove off in... haven't seen Gary. Okay... Which way did Daphne go? And... um, wouldn't it be easier to find out where they live, and go from there? Okay... Does anyone know where either of them live? ... No? ...how would we know that? Just asking before we have to go searching through a database or something. We could call the mansion. The Prof has gotta have access to stuff like that. (Does the car have a car-phone? Or do we have to find a phone-booth?) ( The car has a car-phone, but it's kinda' clunky. I think. ) (Early '90's. Would be a little clunky.) So, who wants to dial the mansion? Um. I can't even remember the last names of the people we need to find. * Miya blushes. "So... maybe I'm not the best person to do that." McAlpin. s'not a common name. Why would the professor have access to the school records? He's got skeelz. Aren't those a candy? No, if you wanted candy it'd be skittles. Oh. So what are skeelz? * Bob makes his pronunciation identical to Daegal's. Skills. Slang Bob. Oh. He's rich as all hell. He's gotta have all sorts of connections. Yeah, and isn't he psychic or something too? * Miya sighs and just picks up the phone, dialing. * Eric shifts the car into park and turns off the Barracuda's massive engine. What's, um, Gary's family name? Gary, gary... Noonan? Yes. * Miya speaks into the phone. "Hi professor? We need some help, please?" * Miya smiles nervously. "Well, we don't want to be any trouble or anything, but we were wondering where two of the students live and if you could help us out with it. Gary Noonan and Daphne... McAlpin." * Miya blinks, then opens her schoolbag, reaching in for a notebook and pen as the phone nearly slips from her shoulder. "Can you repeat that?" she asks, jotting something down. Okay. Okay. Thanks! Not right now. We'll call you if we need anything. If that's okay, I mean. * Eric checks the seats for maps and starts unfolding one. "So where do we need to go?" * Miya hands the notebook over to Eric. There are (dun dun dun) address and phone numbers on it! ...that was very fast. I... um. Okay. I'll try. * Eric takes the addresses and starts writing down instructions. "You're good at reading English, right?" I- I can read it okay. I just have some trouble with words I don't know... yeah. * Miya hangs up and puts the phone away. Lemme check the addresses. I'll prolly know where they are. s'my hometown, after all. All of it? * Eric finishes writing. "Good enough for me." He folds the map and stows it where he found it. "You wanna navigate?" He throws Daegal the instructions. "Just tell me the instructions as we go." He starts up the engine. Can ya make it out? One sec... ... okay. Gary's in Flatbush. Just a bit northwest of here. Daphne's in Prospect Park, northeast of here. * Daegal points out the two areas to Eric on the map. * Eric peeks over at Daegal's map. "Okay. Just tell me when I need to turn." * Eric gets comfortable and starts driving north. You don't know if he should be going this fast, but he seems to do a really good job of avoiding stuff. * Daegal gives directions! Yay! * Eric drives some more and waits for the GM to slip-time. ^_^ (Unless you want to do a car chase scene. ~_^) * Miya is comfy in the passanger seat. Yay lots of room! (Suddenly, a pickup truck starts chasing after you! Except not really.) (Would a pickup truck be able to keep up? XD) ( Prolly not. ) ( Go Speed Racer! ) [ You soon arrive at the supposed location of Daphne's residence. The same area is inhabited by a coffee shop / jazz lounge / book store. Why Eric came this way, we probably have already figured out. ] [ Eric also manages to secure a parking place with his car ninja prowess. ] (ph33r my m4d P4rking sk33lz!) She lives here? Nice place... That's what the prof said. * Miya opens the door and hops out. She looks around. "Cool." ... okay, how's this sound. Unofficially, I've been deputized by the police over in Red Hook. Got my dad's badge... so we could use that to talk to her. Hey, nice. That might work. There's an old iron staircase leading up the side of the building to a door. * Eric opens his door and gets out as well. Isn't that against the law? Well, it's not like you'd be, um, ordering her to talk to us or anything. It is in Canada. Only kinda. Like I said, I'm a deputy of sorts. (But then again, what do those Kanadians know. XD) ( Silly Canadians. ) Okay, so you're gonna try and talk to her about this? Yeah. Prolly start with the gang thing, see what I can get outta her... then talk about the stuff at school. * Eric nods. "Does she know we're going to her school?" Dunno. If she does, we can just say we're undercover. And we wouldn't be lying. She'll know u s. * Eric smirks. "True. Let's get going then." * Daegal nods, and takes the badge out of his pocket and hangs it around his neck. (It's on a chain.) * Miya peers at the badge from where she is. * Daegal then heads for... the DOOR! * Eric follows Daegal to... THE FUT- err, THE DOOR! * Miya looks around, then follows. * Bob watches Daegal dubiously, but follows nontheless. The door hangs there on it's hinges, as you would expect a door to do. It is not clad in spandex, so it is likely not Superdoor. Just play it cool, guys. Chime in if ya have somethin' to say, but lemme handle most of the talkin'. It has a doorbell just to one side, and a flowery little welcome mat on the landing. * Eric nods, folds his arms, and stays behind Mr. 'Deputy.' Oh. Sure, you can talk all you want. * Daegal rings the doorbell. * Miya looks down at the welcome mat. Flowery- aww, Daegal stepped on it. (Miya's flakier than usual, but that's because I'm flakier than usual. ^^;) ( Flaky like a Pillsbury buttermilk biscuit? ) (Mmm.... biscuit.) (More or less. Well, more less than more.) (I'm not really biscuity. More waffley.) ( Waffles aren't flaky. ) ( How about pie crust? ) ( Waffles... Mmmm... biscuits... Hey guys? I'll be right back.) [ You hear someone say 'just a minute'. A moment later, the door is opened, and Daphne is standing there, looking just like she did at school, but without the shoes. She's tall and attractive and she's eyeing you all suspiciously and her hands are wrapped in cloth bandages. ] Daphne McAlpin? I'm Deputy Investigator Redd with the NYPD Anti-Gang Taskforce, working out of the 76th Precinct in Red Hook. We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you have a moment. * Miya hides behind the taller people. Which would be everybody. [ Daphne laughs for a bit, and then asks "About whay, exactly?" ] * Eric is hiding behind Daegel... it's kind of hard not to, really. A couple of things, but firstly about that gang you kicked the crap out of a while back. [ She shrugs. "They were more inna mood for fun than I was. Self- defense, an' they got what was comin' to 'em. Next?" ] * Miya peeks out from behind Daegal and Eric and Bob to look at Daphne. * Daegal grins. "Nice. Have to ask, though... how did you run into the gang? And how didja actually trash them?" [ Daphne glances at Miya, but seems to be giving Daegal more attention; probably because he's talking. "They were in the same place as me at the same time, for the first. And for the other, I hit them a lot. And really, if you're a cop, you should be able to find this out without asking me, hm? So again, what brings you here?" ] * Eric peeks his head around Daegel's shoulder. [ Daphne is still there, yes. ] Couple of things. First, the task force takes an interest in any gang activity, particularly when we see them getting the crap kicked outta them. Official policy don't look kindly on vigilantes, but us guys on the street appreciate the work they do. Just like to know a bit about them, though, if possible." s'how I got involved in the taskforce. Did some work around Red Hook, caught the eye of the cops on the beat. [ A mirthful smile starts growing across Daphne's face. "Oh, mercy. Tell me ye're nae here to recruit me?" ] Recruit? No. I joined up 'cause my dad was a cop. More like... well, the taskforce likes to be aware of people who can beat up gangs, so it can stay out of there way or offer assistance, as needed. [ Daphne sniffs. "Riiight." She looks at the bunch of you. "So what's with the entourage? Bring your buddies to work day?" ] * Daegal shrugs. "Nah. 'cause of my age, my specialty is school gangs. Basically go from school to school, rooting out gang activity. They're assigned with me." * Miya blushes, and ponders hiding or going somewhere else or she just barely manages to keep herself from porting by accident. * Eric smirks. "Cute." [ "That so." Daphne looks at Miya. "She must be the muscle, then? Hey, gel, maybe you can tell me straight. What're you people here to talk to me about?" ] I... um. We were just wondering... * Miya looks at the others, then Daphne, and considers something. She manages to squeak out, "Um. Can I talk to her for a second? Please?" Like I was saying... *holds out a business card* This is the number for the task force HQ in Red Hook. If the gang ever decides it wants payback, give us a call. Tell 'em Deputy Redd gave you the number. * Daegal nods, and takes a step to the side to let Miya through. * Miya squeezes through. She closes her eyes, composes herself, and looks back at the others. "Alone. Please? Girl talk and... and stuff." [ Daphne shrugs and steps to the side, gesturing to the inside of the flat or whatever. The first room you see is mostly bare concrete, with one sofa, padding on the ground and some of the walls, and two punching bags wrapped in chains near the center of the room. ] * Miya blinks, then says almost too quickly, "That works!" She rushes in. [ Daphne grins. "Sure. G'wan, boys, scoot." ] * Daegal blinks, then nods. "Sure thing." * Bob shrugs. "Okay." * Eric smirks. "Just yell if ya need anything." * Bob walks away. (One step better. I'll be right next to you if I need something. :P) (Oh, I know. But Daphne doesn't.) * Daegal walks down the stairs and lingers near the base. * Eric walks down the stairs. Once he's sure Daphne's out of earshot range, he speaks. "So, do ya think this requires further investigation?" Maybe. She looks athletic, but I dunno if she can whup an entire gang by herself. Let's wait until Miya's done before we start plannin'... s'good to see the kid takin' the initiative like that. *grin* ( I'm so proud of her. ;_; ) It's possible she's a mutant and just not the one that we're looking for. Yeah, she needs to speak up some more. What if she doesn't have anything to say? Or she's got some kinda of mad phat wind ninja skills. ...she doesn't look fat to me. Not fat. Phat. P-h-a-t. Slang that means "really really good". You've gotta get out more. ...I see. ( I find your slang strange and disturbing. ) ( You don't know what disturbing is, man.) But yeah. If she don't say nothin', we check the other people an' keep our eyes open. * Daegal grins slightly. "Gotta admit, detective work ain't my strong point. Usually it was just 'find the bad guys, beat 'em up, leave 'em for the cops'." * Eric chuckles. * Eric looks off to the side. "Never had to do that..." Don't you mean "Find the bad guys, get beat up, beat them up, leave 'em for the cops?" s'in my blood. Like I said, pops was a cop. * Daegal raises an eyebrow at Bob. "Most of the mooks on the street I can take without getting hurt too bad. I *am* a good martial artist, y'know." Oh. I try to avoid getting hurt when I can. Can deal with pain pretty well, but gettin' shot still hurts like a bitch. * Eric nods. "Best not to get hit in the first place, eh?" Pretty much, yeah. If I can beat up whoever needs beating up without having to spend an hour or two waiting for the bullet holes to close up, that's a good thing. Good thing I've never been shot at. Let's hope it stays that way. *grin* ... hey, Bob. Question for ya. * Eric smiles slightly. When you went up to talk to Miya after she 'ported outta the Prof's office... she was upset about my superhero talk, right? Sorta. Crap. It's okay. We talked and straightened things out, I think. Good. She mad at me? I don't think so. I think if she was, she'd kick you in the head until she wasn't anymore. I don't think she thinks of herself as a superhero... Heck, I don't think I'm a superhero. Good... yeah, I went overboard on that, didn't I? A little. I suppose. I'm not really a good judge of these things. * Daegal shakes his head. "I mean, I'm a guy with powers who fights crime. Ain't that what a superhero is?" I don't know, really. I'm not sure superheroes kick people in the testicles. Nah, you're a demi-human vigulante, don't you know anything? *smirk* ... eh. Still, I shouldn'ta done the "we" thing with the superhero stuff. Shouldn't be speakin' for other people. * Daegal shrugs. "Dunno why I even went to the school." Because you got to meet Spiderman? Was cool, yeah... but I'm a street guy. We're livin' in a mansion, training with people who protect the world from major bad guys... just feel like I'm outta my element. I don't think that's what he had in mind, Bob. I'm thinking you wanted to learn how to better do what you do best. Do you object to living in a mansion? Heck, the reason *I* went was because they sent me an invitation. s'not that. Just not used to it. I grew up in a bad neighborhood... feel out of place in a ritzy place like that. It looked like a good idea, so I hopped aboard. So you don't want to save the world? You're down with it, ya just don't feel like it's 'right,' eh? I dunno... I just figured, at most, I'd end up like Spidey or the Punisher... a local hero, staying in one area. The idea of fighting the kinds of guys the freaking Avengers fight... I mean, geez. * Eric smirks. "At least you're not alone, right?" Yeah. I mean... I can handle fighting the mob and stuff. Supervillians like Docter Octopus, Electro, Mysterio, I think I can deal with. Fighting guys like the Hulk, though... At least Superman doesn't exist. I wouldn't be so sure. * Eric raises an eyebrow. I mean, I'm strong, but Mullet Man that broke into the mansion... with the way he healed, no way I coulda taken him myself. * Daegal shrugs. "Just not used to that." * Eric chuckles. "Well, next time I'll hurt him so bad that he can't heal back." (And I can, too! XD) * Daegal chuckles. "Guess it's just a big fish/little pond thing." Just wait. I bet you'll get stronger too. That's why we're really going to this school, right? Speaking of which... I'm going to have to call Eileen. And grab a snack. Eileen? My twin sister. Ah. Yeah. Just called my sensei a coupla days ago... hadn't talked to him since I came to the school. She's a lot like me, actually... Doesn't eat a single thing though. I wonder how she's doing. Doesn't eat. That's unamerican. * Daegal grins. (It's okay. She's Canadian.) * Eric smirks. "She's Canadian. Just like me." I know. Canada must be a strange place, then. Don't think of my sister or me as examples of what Canada's really like, though. We're a bit... extreme in our eating habits. Only a bit? What would you use as an example of "a lot extreme"? * Eric chuckles. "Funny. We went to different schools because we th- You don't want to know." (*grooves to Eat It*) ... Miya's sure taking her time. Yeah. * Eric taps his foot. "Think we should go up and see what's going on?" ...no. (And in all probability, Eat It is probably going thru Eric's head right now.) Nah. If anything was wrong, she'd have called for help. ... I think. * Eric shrugs. "Yeah, you're right." * Daegal paces. * Eric walks over to the car and pops the trunk. ( There's a corpse in there! Except not really. ) * Eric goes around back and pulls out a really big bag of tortia chips, a jar of salsa, and a six-pack of Sprite. "You guys want anything?" No thank you. I prefer food. Ha ha. Everyone's a critic. I'm okay. Suit yourself. * Daegal mutters. "What a time for the crime rate to go down..." * Eric closes the trunk and walks back to where the group is gathered. He starts munching on his 'snack.' You'd figure, as long as we're out here, someone would try to hold up a store or something... [ End Session! ...for now! MUAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! ]