Collateral ( A Super Hero RP with Consequences) IC

[Gands]

Emerald Dream

Sitting down in the Bar, Nessa played it very low key. She noticed a man look over his back at her, giving her a sign. She thought for a moment, identifying the sign as one the Specter had used. She pulled down her sunglasses and gave him a nod hoping that would be enough.

Meanwhile, she waited for bar staff to come by and get their order.

 

[Michale CS]

Emerald Dream

Sitting down in the Bar, Nessa played it very low key. She noticed a man look over his back at her, giving her a sign. She thought for a moment, identifying the sign as one the Specter had used. She pulled down her sunglasses and gave him a nod hoping that would be enough.

Meanwhile, she waited for bar staff to come by and get their order.

Amiee noticed the interplay, and narrowed her eyes. Either she was flirting or that was someone from the crime scene. To be honest she'd been paying more attention to the crime-related stuff, not who was also there, so it could have been that. For now, she just waited.

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Angelo Rose, John Clark, Dean Chambers, Layla Jones and Logan Campbell/ Warren Tanner

April 2nd: NYC, Nook, 9:25 PM

Angelo rolled his eyes and didn't even bother to look at the notepad. He was taking stock of the crime scene for later to think about.

" I imagine that is useful. Well, it's good to know that everything on you is 100% real. Nothing is worse than someone who does a ton of surgery on themselves to make themselves look better. As for me, I'm heading to the Nook to get the drinks, you are more than willing to join me. I expect now that everyone is leaving the crime scene, everything is going to become a media circus regardless," he replied, running his hand through his hair and offering a smile to her. He slid into a booth when he arrived at the bar and waited to see if Cyndee would join him. He noticed Carter and gave him a wave to acknowledge he saw him in case he wanted to help him with the article.

Dean rolled his eyes as he took the card and headed off to the bar. He needed a drink after all of this mess as he headed to the Nook. " Of course, it's already on the news. Doesn't take long for the media to gobble up a murder like it's Sunday brunch. I'll take a beer when you get a chance," he said, looking over at the waitress. Dean stared at the counter and then over at the guy. He knew him. Not only did he know him, he had helped his father build a case against him before he had disappeared from jail. He watched the shapeshifter and seeing what he was going to do.

After as much sweeping as John and Layla could manage, the two also headed to the nook and slide into the booth. " So, do you have any theories on who did it?" He asked.

Layla rolled her eyes at John. Sometimes the man could be so dense. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the burn and cold marks that looked liked they matched the ones found on the corpses. Some closer examinations would be needed. " John, turn around and look around the bar. What do you see?" She asked.

John looked over and around the bar. He noticed Angelo at a booth, probably going to be joined by the blonde from the crime scene, the two bartenders, the two girls and the three guys at the bar. He looked some more and then noticed the strange marking on the table. " I see it, but we can't know who caused it. It could be the guy sitting by the drink, but it also could be someone who had came and done it earlier. If he starts panicking by the crowd and the cops and news, then we get him. Let's order something."

Layla nodded and awkwardly sat down and stared at him. You could cut the sexual tension she was giving to John with a knife, but he was oblivious to her feelings, even if it had made a child. Maybe one day he would notice it or remember, but until then, she would just let each day pass.

Logan stared at the TV and was fine with everything that was happening, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He looked over and noticed that a reporter and more people had entered. He gulped down his drink and slammed the drink price down. When he noticed the detective, he caught his breath and started to formulate a plan.... expect at that moment, he felt it. He wasn't going to be able to hold this form for long. He never could. If he reverted back to Warner or Mike was all random chance and there was no telling. It was problematic to say the least. To make matters worse, he recognized the brother of his victim. He was fucked..... unless..... maybe he could use the shift to his advantage.

"Yeah, really crazy. A murder most foul as some would say. I honestly don't know, but the drink got to me.... so excuse me.... I have to use the bathroom," he said, rushing to the bathroom. Once he made it to the bathroom, he took a deep breath and locked himself in a stall. He knew his time was up and he closed his eyes.

If anyone followed him, Logan would not be the one to exit the bathroom. Neither would Michael Chambers though. Warren Tanner stepped out of the bathroom, a sort of different stride to him. It was one that wasn't afraid to stop a fight. He would walk out and take a seat back at the bar.

Dean turned over to Warren. " Nice parlor trick, but....you're not getting away from me," he said, looking at him. He glared and Warren provoked..... threw his stool at him that Dean barely dodged out of the way as it headed towards Carter and John.

" We should really do something," John said. Layla, ignoring John and taking the opportunity to examine the burns to confirm them. " Or we can do that," he added, following closely to help Layla and defend her if it went.

Warren stared at Dean. " If you want to fight, then I'm not afraid...." he replied, charging at Dean. Dean casually stepped out of the way. Being a black belt in Martials Arts, he knew how to remain calm in a fight. Warren took the calm to grab a second stool, and Dean barely dodged, this one heading towards Aimmee and Vanessa. When the third stool was thrown, it was also dodged and aided behind the bar towards the bartenders.

So, it seems that there were three options. Help break up or worsen the fight between Dean and Warren, help John and Layla examine the strange marking or you know, just ignore the fight and continue watching the tv.

@Huntress @vantas @Astroblaze @Gands @Michale CS @Nook

 

[Gands]

Nessa O'Toole Aka Emerald Dream

As the stool came flying in their direction Vanessa simply caught it and set it down.

" Something about this isn't right, doesn't fit. "

She gets up, moving over towards John, whispering to him.

" Perhaps you should check the bathroom really quick hmmn? Just to double check what we both suspect"

Then she walks over to the two men fighting.

" Perhaps gentlemen, with all these people watching, you really shouldn't be fighting I think !?

She doesn't exact get between them, but seems to be in a position to interfere.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Michale CS @Astroblaze @Huntress @vantas @nook

 

[Huntress]

April 2nd, 2018- 9:19 PM - The Nook, NYC

Meg chuckled a little awkwardly to the comment the man across from her made. Watching him spread the bills evenly across the bar she nodded slowly and glanced towards him as he found himself pulled into the news, like many others sitting around the bar. Making a simple rum and coke for him she placed it in front of him. "If that's not sweet enough we'll try something else for the next one." She smiled softly as she wiped her hands and took one of the bills he had laid out. Returning his change to him Meghan squeezed passed Ana who was pouring a glass of Pepsi for the man who apparently liked to stare. It had been enough to make the brunette uncomfortable, but she hadn't backed down as she had found herself staring right back at the odd man. He was quick to pay for his drink and turn around to a new set of customers stepping in.

"Is there some sort of party going on? Did these people not find any other places of interest? Was everything else booked up? I don't understand where they're all coming from." Ana commented and glanced towards Meg who was washing her hands."I welcome the business, but it's just weird, it feels weird." She explained and moved towards the blonde. Placing a hand on the woman's lower back, Ana shimmied her way out of the bar.

9:25 PM​

Meghan's cloudy green eyes watched the running water, the bar was just high enough to hide reddened cheeks as she turned off the faucet and stood up while clearing her throat. 'Physical contact between friends means nothing, stop overreacting Meg. She just needed to get passed you.' Her thoughts echoed in her mind as she found herself catching Anastasia's figure out of the corner of her eye, standing at the edge of the bar. Turning her head to look at her she followed the amber gaze towards the door. A couple men and a woman walked in. One man was being tailed by the single woman, he had dirty blonde hair and shot a wave towards the man sitting at the corner of the bar by himself. The other dark haired and scruffy gentleman made his way straight to the bar and took a seat.

"Of course, it's already on the news. Doesn't take long for the media to gobble up a murder like it's Sunday brunch. I'll take a beer when you get a chance."

Ana looked towards the man from where she stood, watching Meg get ready to serve him. She stopped her and pulled her back. "Handle the floor I'll get the drinks for you. There's a couple more coming in." Ana pointed towards the entrance.

Meghan glanced at her friend in confusion for just a moment and nodded slightly. It seemed that Anastasia was on edge. The woman had always been a little rough around the outside but this wasn't her normal self. She was extremely serious, constantly watching and analyzing everything. Was she feeling that something was off somehow? Choosing not to linger on the thought Meg grabbed a bunch of menu's and moved towards the booths that had filled up with people.

"They're not really saying much about any of it." Ana spoke casually as she glanced towards the most recent customer to sit at the bar. "In my opinion, they're just giving it unnecessary attention. As if they've got nothing better to do than blame the mutants for everything that goes wrong in this city." She topped up the glass and placed it in front of the dark haired man who seemed intrigued by the blond who liked to talk to himself.

As a bill was slammed on the bar Anastasia glared at the man responsible for the unnecessary startle. Taking hold of the money she watched closely as he spoke in his odd manner and excused himself. Returning the change back to where the man had been sitting. Another man appeared and took a seat where the blond had been. Clenching her jaw as amber irises flicked between them she went to speak but was unable to as someone else decided to step up on that matter.

"Nice parlor trick, but....you're not getting away from me."

These were the types of situations that Ana preferred to avoid. Their reason for fighting was unknown to her, but it was something that did not need to be dealt with inside. The two men could take it elsewhere. The words had been loud enough to catch Meghan's attention as she was jotting down orders from customers. Looking towards the bar in worry she watched Anastasia specifically as the blonde swallowed back.

Ana's arm shot out to grab a hold of the first stool that flew through the air towards the dark haired man that had stared for a little too long and the man at the corner of the bar. It's trajectory halted and held steady as she exhaled heavily before putting it down. Most eyes were on the two men that seemed ready to fight. Barely catching a glimpse of the two figures that rushed towards the bar. It wasn't important at this time.

"If you want to fight, then I'm not afraid...."

Growling at the sound of the word fight Anastasia went to step out of the bar as she saw another stool fly towards her former position. Picking up the pace she came around the bar and stood in front of the two that were hunched over and looking at something on the bar itself it seemed. Choosing to ignore whatever it was they were doing Ana brought her arm up and moved her head to the right slightly as the third stool streamlined towards her. She reached up and stopped it as well, her irritated and tightening grip bending the metal. Clenching her jaw she flared her nostrils and brought the seat down slowly to place it aside. Moving towards the arguing men as a customer stepped in Ana was stopped. Looking down she met Meghan's cloudy green eyes, ambers were vicious as the brunette noticed the worry across the blondes features. "Ana please. It's okay. We just have to get them out of here and it'll be fine, don't worry. Please, don't start anything that you're going to regret."

Exhaling sharply through her nose Anastasia looked at Meg and gritted her teeth. Stepping around her she continued towards the two men.

"Ana, please." Meg called out as she stood and watched. It was all she could do. In reality, the blonde was terrified of the woman. She was aware that Anastasia would never intentionally harm her or anyone that didn't deserve it but having witnessed even just a fraction of what she could do was enough to make her cautious.

Folding her arms across her chest Ana looked between the two. "I don't know what your issues may be gentlemen but I would greatly appreciate it if you took this outside and away from my bar." Her eyes flicked to the dirty blonde woman that stood just a little further back. "I've had more than enough problems and damages done here that I really do not want to go through that process again. So I will kindly ask you to leave and take your issues outside and ideally, far away from this place." She huffed and watched, waiting and hoping that nothing stupid would happen.

9:32 PM​

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

INTERACTIONS:

ANASTASIA
- Astroblaze - John Reidenbach
- LuckycoolHawk9 (Dean Chambers, Logan Campbell / Warren Tanner)
- Gands - Vanessa O'Toole

MEGHAN
- vantas - Carter Quimora


MENTIONS:

LuckycoolHawk9 - Angelo Rose, John Clark, and Layla Jones
Michale CS - Aimee Maria Reed and Cyndee Climbon

 

[Michale CS]

" I imagine that is useful. Well, it's good to know that everything on you is 100% real. Nothing is worse than someone who does a ton of surgery on themselves to make themselves look better. As for me, I'm heading to the Nook to get the drinks, you are more than welcome to join me. I expect now that everyone is leaving the crime scene, everything is going to become a media circus regardless," he replied, running his hand through his hair and offering a smile to her. He slid into a booth when he arrived at the bar and waited to see if Cyndee would join him. He noticed Carter and gave him a wave to acknowledge he saw him in case he wanted to help him with the article.

CynDee: "Sure. I'll tag along." She followed him, and sat across from him when they arrived. "I think I'll start off with a Piña Colada, if you don't mind." She smiled over at Angelo, leaning forward and putting her elbows on the table. May as well show the girls off a little. She thought as she revealed a healthy amount of cleavage thanks to her scoop-neck blouse.

​

Amiee, now in her civilian ID, didn't want to reveal a lot about herself, so, when the fighting started, she ducked underneath the table.
From there, she got a good view of... well feet and shins. But she figured out quickly which ones belonged to the people fighting and used a targeted narrow blast of heat on one of them, the intent being to melt the sole of the shoes so the next step would have the effect of that guy effectively walking out of his shoes, hopefully tripping him up. The thing is, she didn't really know which of the two combatants' shoes she targeted. So, everyone else would have to step in and clear this up.

She thought about shrinking and getting into action again but decided against that for now.

@Astroblaze @Gands @LuckycoolHawk9 @Huntress @vantas

 

[Astroblaze]

JohnR

John Reidenbach/Spectre
April 2, 2018 | night | NYC—The Nook

---

Warren (@LuckycoolHawk9), Vanessa/Emerald Dream (@Gands)
Dean (@LuckycoolHawk9), Firefly (@Michale CS)

Oh great, the rest of the people from the crime scene just showed up. Why did they all decide to come here, now? It was as though they had followed him. Worse, the short-tempered brother of the murdered girl apparently had beef with this third form that the shapeshifter had taken—of course he was still the shifter: using a bathroom to change forms was a total cliche even if he hadn't already given himself away with his haste—and the shifter was perfectly happy to respond in kind. Damnit, he should've known subtle coercing wouldn't work. It was always inefficient: too much human factor to work around.

Feeling his heart beginning to race, John quickly turned away, leaning on the counter and squeezing his eyes shut as he willed himself to remain calm. Adrenaline always made the glow in his eyes strengthen when it didn't take over the natural hazel altogether, and this was hardly the time or place to let the fight-or-flight response blow his cover.

When he opened his eyes again, he found his gaze directed straight at slight but telltale scorch marks right where the shifter's mug had been. Why he had been using his powers was beyond John, but those were clearly the marks left by pyrokinesis and cryokinesis. This had to be their guy.

Fortunately for him, the brawl in the middle of the bar had practically everyone's attention, and those who weren't watching the fight were caught up in their own matters. Snatching a notepad and pen from where a waitress had left it and ducking under the counter, in an instant the young man had switched back into his ghostly alias and immediately activated invisibility, vanishing cleanly from sight. He hastily scrawled a short note for the two heroines in the room—finding removed location, would appreciate help –S—and left it on his stool, returning the pad and pen to where he had found them, then stole toward the shapeshifter, approaching him from behind.

When the civilian tripped with a startled cry due to the effects of Firefly's attack, the invisible mutant whipped an arm around the shifter's neck and hauled him backward, superhuman strength overpowering his resistance as Spectre made sure he couldn't regain his footing. To avoid the mental strain, he dropped invisibility an instant before switching on intangibility, visible just long enough to lock eyes with Dream before he and his captive phased through the door.

Beyond the door, he dropped intangibility and lifted to a weightless hover as he found himself in a darkened stairwell. Shifting his arms under the shifter's shoulders to avoid choking him, he swooped down the stairs and around the corner at the bottom in a single, rapid motion to find what appeared to be a storage area of some sort. He set the shifter on his feet in roughly the middle of the room and glided back to turn on the light, glowing green eyes quickly adjusting to the change as he returned to stand a few feet across from the other.

"Okay, before you panic, I mean you no harm," he addressed the other meta, his quiet, calm voice probably a surprise after the force with which he had dragged the other man here. "I have reason to suspect that you are the one who killed the girl and the other meta at the crime scene that the both of us just came from. However, I completely understand that accidents happen and killing is sometimes a necessary evil in our line of work, so I will suspend judgment for the time being. I just want to talk—try and get some answers about all this mess." To emphasize that he was not hostile, he spread his hands, open with palms facing upward, to show that he was not armed in any way, shape, or form. "Are you willing to do that?"

 

[erudere]

A.N: Apologies for the light downgrade of the post format. It was the best I could do under the connection I have.

CARTER​

As the drink was placed in front of him, Carter nodded to the bartender attending to him as thanks, pocketing the rest of the bills as well as the change that was given to him onto his wallet. He idly sat by watching the news as he took a tentative sip of his glass, while various customers both oddly familiar and not alike slowly trickled in to The Nook. The air growing ever so thicker, he noticed that he wasn't the only person in the bar that was progressively getting more uncomfortable by the sudden shift of population in the establishment.

Luckily for Carter, he already mastered the arts of a stoic face and reaped its advantages.

He took another sip, feeling the familiar sense of warmth and sweet from the alcohol, a sense that he was sure that he's gonna definitely lose his sober streak this time.

This was all definitely some sort of wrong coincidence. A telltale sense of being at the wrong place at the wrong time that he felt twice in his lifetime that he promised never to allow himself to feel ever again. Carter smirked in his thoughts, "Guess that's two promises down the gutter." he thought.

A fleeting urge to just immediately leave his rum and coke behind and walk towards the exit and never look back, but as he slowly surveyed his surroundings, he could identify the long worn looks of journalists, reporters, and investigators. That and the ever-present variable of some sort of supernatural power lodged somewhere in their guts. If he left now, that would be a surefire way of just getting dragged deeper onto this whole goose chase as a suspect instead of outright leaving. And so he waited and bide his time, taking progressively bigger drinks of his rum and coke as time passed on.

Carter glanced at the man he was eyeing on, the obvious nervous wreck in hiding. By the time most of the patrons fled in, the guy was getting a tick worse by the moment. Some sort of slight smoke emanated from his drink and he wasn't sure whether it was just the alcohol playing tricks or it was there. The man excused himself and went to the bathroom, it seems.

"Damn it, stop it Carter." he scolded himself. "You're supposed to get out of this mess, not bring yourself in." The photographer gazed outwards, willing away any urges to look at anybody in the eye waiting for the moment everything's going to go downhill.

Sure enough the telltale sense did its magic and Carter found himself just inches away from getting more than just splinters as one of the patrons suddenly flung a chair. Who did so and what were they reasons, Carter never really could bother to care anymore. A fight eventually broke out, with more than one person agitated and it was escalating, or rather, spiraling down into what Carter perceives as his own hell away from hell.

Paperwork.

Oh god, this is gonna eventually become a collateral case and like it or not, he's grasped the short end of the stick. Carter ducked for cover as another stool flew by him, trying to work his way from viable cover to cover to a corner in which he was sure no one would attempt to extend the fight towards. Something flashed by with a sizzle as it hit something and with one thought process he clearly understood what he was dredged in. Diplomacy was a tact that he was admittedly very good at, but with a scenario like this, unless he's signing his own death wish, it was best if he laid low and stayed away as far as possible.

But of course, there was always collateral to pay. And if Carter was gonna get dredged into this, he won't be the only one falling. Vindication was a powerful thing.

He took out his camera, and started taking pictures.​

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Angelo Rose, John Clark, Layla Jones, Dean Chambers and Warren Tanner/ Michael Chambers

It seemed that somehow all three stools had made it out of that brawl in tact.... somehow.

Layla was dusting for prints trying to figure out who had made the mark.

John looked over at her and nodded, understanding what she meant.

He checked the bathroom. It was empty, it seemed that at least the shapeshifter and the new comer were the same person or at least shared the same body. He had met someone like that before. Weird kid, but it couldn't be the same situation. Could it? He got out of the bathroom.

Warren turned back over to her when she spoke.

Dean stopped, wondering if it he was right. He wouldn't even call what was happening as a fight as an attack.

It only took a moment that Aimee took to attack him for him to stumble backwards.

Dean took a moment to use the bathroom and text his father to ask how long ago Michael got home. He replied that he hadn't come home and he thought he had been grieving with him. Collateral Case #100. This was why this seemed so damn familiar to him. A dead body of a meta-human and a family member from a well-known meta- hating family. The killer had gone to the crime scene in one form, wound up in the bar in the killer form and then turned into his second form. What made the case so memorable to him was the one crucial detail it hinged on. Only one knew the others existed. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. " Hello, this is Judge Dean Chambers. I need you to pull CC 100, tell me about the bar where the main case hinged on.."

Angelo smiled back as he watched the stools flied. It was funny but at one point, it seemed to have been headed towards him and Cyndee, before making itself scarce and going back in place. He wondered if based on the angle it was thrown at if it would have been enough to kill him. Whenever something could kill him, weird stuff like that would happen. It wasn't natural/

Layla had meanwhile finished examining the mark and seeing something weird. " This is strange. There seems to be three entangled DNAs in these markings."

From there, she got a good view of... well feet and shins. But she figured out quickly which ones belonged to the people fighting and used a targeted narrow blast of heat on one of them, the intent being to melt the sole of the shoes so the next step would have the effect of that guy effectively walking out of his shoes, hopefully tripping him up. The thing is, she didn't really know which of the two combatants' shoes she targeted. So, everyone else would have to step in and clear this up.

John who had emerged from the bathroom paused when Layla mentioned this. " That sounds very familiar. Sounds exactly like Collateral Case #100...does that mean we are dealing with a very ineffective copycat?" He asked, mostly aloud to himself. It would make sense, and it would also start to bring a lot of the strangeness, yet familiarity of the case into focus. Case 100 was one of the weirdest cases to date as the verdict was never given as the specifics made it impossible to let the guilty pay for his crime without letting the innocent pay the price.

Warren fought back a bit even when he grabbed him, but he stopped when he dropped him on the ground. " I have no clue what the fuck you are talking about in all honesty. I would help you if I could-," he would have continued more if he hadn't felt a sharp pain in his body and collapsed. Back and back to how to start. Michael was there and he had fallen unconscious for a moment before waking up. What the fuck was going on and why was a meta standing over him. He was visibly freaked out and that was saying much. He took a step back and stared back before he finally found the courage to finally speak up at the meta.

" What do you want from me? Did I do something wrong... did I- please, I don't want to get," he said, his hands freezing the ground under him. ... it was not helping his panicking.

Angelo called over to Carter. " I think it settled down and won't become a case unless something accidently broke, but it looks like everything is in tact."

It seemed that there were three options. Eavesdrop on Dean's phone call, ask John and Layla more about Collateral Case 100 or to follow Spectre down to the basement. There was option 4, do nothing.

@vantas @Gands @Michale CS @Astroblaze @Huntress

 

[Gands]

Vanessa O'Toole aka Emerald Dream

She watched Specter grab the suspect and take him into the basement. Someone had better get down there.

To Anna
" I don't think anything good is going to happen down there. Is there another way out ? :

Vanessa was in fact standing very close to Judge Chambers. She made a mental note, collateral case 100.

So now what. Reporter up here, so that's not good... Dangerous meta's downstairs, so that's not good. Common sense said go back to her table and shut the F up. However, once again she proved that intelligence had nothing to do with common sense.
Not waiting long, she made her way to the stairs down to the basement. Specter was on her side, she felt she had to back him up.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Michale CS @Astroblaze @Huntress @vantas

 

[Michale CS]

So now what. Reporter up here, so that's not good... Dangerous meta's downstairs, so that's not good. Common sense said go back to her table and shut the F up. However, once again she proved that intelligence had nothing to do with common sense.
Not waiting long, she made her way to the stairs down to the basement. Specter was on her side, she felt she had to back him up.

Amiee saw her new buddy take off downstairs, and well... she was still under the table so she went down to her smallest size, leaving her purse under the table. Probably a bad idea but she hadn't put anything really important in her purse - Amiee learned early on to never leave stuff just lying around. Usually she left things high up where you'd have to fly to get them but that wasn't an option. She zipped out from under the table and downstairs to join Vanessa.

Angelo smiled back as he watched the stools flied. It was funny but at one point, it seemed to have been headed towards him and Cyndee, before making itself scarce and going back in place. He wondered if based on the angle it was thrown at if it would have been enough to kill him. Whenever something could kill him, weird stuff like that would happen. It wasn't natura

​

"See? I told you. Whenever stuff happens, there I am. Pretty good for you if you're a reporter though, right? I can get you close to lots of stories." Cyndee was entirely unphased by all of this; sipping on her Pina Colada throughout the whole affair so far. However, she hadn't forgotten that she was playing her usual role to Amiee, so she decided to eavesdrop a bit while playing the bimbo. Okay, while being the bimbo.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Gands @Astroblaze @Huntress @vantas

 

[Astroblaze]

JohnR

John Reidenbach/Spectre
April 2, 2018 | night | NYC—the Nook

---

Mike (@LuckycoolHawk9), Vanessa (@Gands)
Logan (@LuckycoolHawk9), Warren (@LuckycoolHawk9), Dean (@LuckycoolHawk9)

Spectre's eyebrows shot up when the shifter suddenly crumpled mid-sentence, shifting into the same form first seen even as he hit the floor. His surprise turned to alarm when the new figure immediately panicked, frantically babbling a desperate plea for mercy as ice seeped along the floor from his hands and wide eyes filled with sincere confusion and terror stared into Spectre's own.

"Hey hey hey, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," the mutant quickly reassured him, moving to kneel beside the panicked young man as his strong but gentle arms encircled him comfortingly, a chilled hand rubbing calming circles into his back. This case just kept growing more complicated as more evidence arose: that had not been a controlled transformation.

Sharp ears detecting footsteps on the stairs, he looked up to watch the woman who he had determined to be Emerald Dream's civilian alias enter.

"This is much more convoluted than we thought," he addressed her, his voice grim. "I just watched him change from that other form into this one, and I don't think he was controlling it." His voice dropped a bit sympathetically as he added, "I don't think he even realizes he did."

In a more practical tone, he continued, "The form he was in when I brought him down here is totally clueless as well. It seems as though the form that entered the bar in the first place is the only one with any clue what's going on, given that he had enough awareness of the transformation to run to the bathroom before it occurred. We might need to stall until that form resurfaces, maybe bring the other two up to speed in the meantime."

Having brought her up to speed, he returned to Mike, speaking to him with a gentle voice but eyes carefully watching his face:

"Your name is Mike, right? You are at the Nook, a bar a couple blocks away from the crime scene we all came from. I watched you leave and followed, but at some point between leaving the crime scene and coming here, you changed into a taller blond man. Shortly after arriving, you changed into a different, dark-haired man, who got into a fight with the guy who I would presume is your brother? That was right before I grabbed you and pulled you here. Now you're... well," the mutant gestured to the young man with his free hand, "you again, I guess. Unfortunately, considering the evidence, the blond man is the most likely suspect for the double murder, so he's really the one I need to talk to, but I can tell that the shifting is not something you can control." He paused before adding thoughtfully, "Perhaps none of you can."

 

[erudere]

CARTER​

Carter must've gotten at least ten shots in when the fight seemed to dissipate.

Pictures of a man suddenly being whipped onto the ground and disappearing in thin air.
Pictures of a person examining what appears to be a mark.
Pictures of... well feet and shins.

Once he figured that he was safe and the rancorous outburst didn't seem to flair up anymore, only then did he slowly let up, the tight grip he never knew had on his camera slowly loosening. He took a look around his surroundings, still incredulous that this was the same tidy place he went in about nine minutes ago. The man with the black hair he sat beside with before was gone, the guy who got charged went to the bathroom, and for some reason things were quiet.

The change of pace was sudden, and Carter imagined what would've actually happened instead if metas didn't exist in the world. "I think it settled down" a voice called out to him. Carter took a look and saw a man looking at him, apparently Angelo. You almost thanked him for pointing out the obvious and for being ever the magnanimous font of wisdom but you bit your tongue fast enough.

"and won't become a case unless something accidentally broke, but it looks like everything is in tact."

Wait hold the phone, this won't become a case?

Carter heaved a sigh of relief, that eventually turned into a nervous chuckle, and then a soft laugh. He found himself looking at the bartender that attended to him, considering they both hadn't done much to alleviate the fight at all. "Oh hallelujah, thank the stars." he groaned, trying valiantly to wipe off the goofy grin he had on his face over the fact that he's not gonna waste a fraction of his life on something he never started in the first place.

He took another look around and it was confirmed that nothing seemed to be broken. Carter contemplated on doing some sort of victory dance before spotting his lone rum and coke, toppled with the glass broken into pieces, inconspicuously hidden by the shadows. Carter glanced at everyone before slowly sweeping the shards with his shoes behind the counter and out of view from the reporters and investigators.

Yeah, Carter is not gonna have this bullshit.

If it does ever become a case, he could always rely on his photos as half-ass evidence. He took a look at the photos he snapped and he smirked, seeing he had a couple of good ones on the gallery. Apparently, the secret to taking good photos was to just snap them with abandon during a semi-panicked state.

Carter took a snide glance at the clock, the night growing old but not old enough for it to constitute the time to go home. And besides, he was bored.

Retrospecting, Carter wondered where the man disappeared, or how for the matter. The clear answer would be duh, metas, but he still couldn't wrap his head around it. Walking around, he saw a stray note with rushed handwriting. "S huh." Carter muttered to himself. Carter opened his camera's gallery again, and he noticed that the man beside him disappeared only a few seconds before the blonde man disappeared as well.

He racked his mind, thinking of any powers that might explain it and he only came up with invisibility and/or teleportation. Carter took one last look at the vicinity where the man disappeared before spotting a patron go down the basement. Figuring he had no other legitimate leads and that he still had a few more hours to burn, he slowly followed them down, a casual facade playing on his face to mask his curiosity.​

@Astroblaze @LuckycoolHawk9 @Gands @Huntress

 

[Huntress]

April 2nd, 2018- 9:32 PM - The Nook, NYC

Meghan could do nothing but sit and watch from a distance. She worried for Anastasia and what the brunette would decide to do. Cloudy green eyes scanned the people around. Some cowering, others standing tall, some even able to ignore the potential fight that could break loose at any moment and focusing on other things. It was a peculiar situation that confused the blonde just slightly. Perhaps not being used to such things happening all the time was the reason behind a raised brow and clenched jaw. She just didn't want anyone to get hurt and she didn't want to deal with any legal paperwork. The fighting men had stopped for a moment. Meghan wasn't sure if they had stopped due to Ana's request to do so or if they had realized themselves that whatever their reason for fighting had been, was stupid.

A sigh of relief escaped the blonde as she stepped behind the bar. Working on the orders she had received she kept her eyes on the scene to make sure everyone was okay.

9:36 PM​

Ana had kept her eyes on the people around her. Jaw clenched, arms still tightly folded across her chest. Catching a quick action from the corner of her eye she turned to look towards the swift action and watched one made disappear before her eyes. Her mouth fell agape, eyes wide, arms dropping as confusion came across her. What the fuck? She questioned internally and looked around. Turning to look towards the other man that had been involved in the fight Anastasia went to speak to him but was interrupted by the customer who had stepped in to diffuse the situation. She watched the woman and clenched her jaw, brow raised. "What? Is there another w—" She stopped talking as the woman walked away. Furrowing her brows and shaking her head in pure frustration she turned around and watched the woman walk towards the basement.

What in gods name did, apparently everyone else in this bar except for her and Meg, know? What was happening here? What was this whole goddamn situation about? And why the hell were people strutting around her establishment with no respect or care in the world for any rules or regulations that were put there by the goddamn government and labour board? Groaning with a growl at the tail of the sound Anastsia stormed towards the basement door that read 'EMPLOYEES ONLY.' Something that apparently meant nothing and was evidently a pointless sign to have posted.

Stomping down the stairs she caught words that she didn't care to pay attention to as she was evidently angry. "Can you people not read?" She called out before stepping down onto the floor. "Or is 'employees only' not a clear enough statement?" She looked towards the apparent gathering of patrons in the basement. "What the hell is going on here?" Amber eyes flicked from the familiar looking white-haired man, to the woman from upstairs that had just spoken to her and another man standing just a little further back from everyone. Walking further into the crowd she spotted someone on the floor, ice surrounding the concrete he sat upon. "Who the fuck is this guy and why is he freezing my floor?" Her voice may have been a little louder than intended but her blood was still boiling in annoyance.

9:40 PM​

Meghan started to worry even more as Anastasia disappeared into the basement while following a few others minutes ago. Clenching her jaw and swallowing back she kept her attention on the patrons, ignoring the talks about this situation potentially becoming a collateral case. She had no intentions of pressing any charges or filing any complaints, she simply just wanted all of this to be over with and as far away from her bar as it could be. Meghan had enough on her hands with running this place and handling Ana, she didn't need any more on her plate. A small sigh escaped her as she shook her head and looked towards the two patrons that were analyzing the bar and discussing some things about DNA, copycat's and a former collateral case. They definitely had more knowledge in this situation than she did, Meghan was completely lost. Consumed by some foreign event that seemed to tie all these people together, her only relation to the whole thing being her bar.

Leaning forward slightly towards the two she smiled briefly. "Excuse me." She started. "Um...I don't know what's going on here, all I know is that I have been unwillingly involved in this situation because it all happened to take place in my bar. Is there any chance I could get an explanation as to what this is all about?" Meg raised both brows as she looked towards the woman who had been extremely focused on some marking upon the bar

9:41 PM​

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

INTERACTIONS:

ANASTASIA
- Gands - Vanessa O'Toole
- Astroblaze - John Reidenbach
- LuckycoolHawk9 (Dean Chambers, Warren Tanner / Michael Chambers)
- vantas - Carter Quimora

MEGHAN
- \LuckycoolHawk9 - Layla Jones


MENTIONS:

LuckycoolHawk9 - Angelo Rose and John Clark
Michale CS - Aimee Maria Reed and Cyndee Climbon

 

[Astroblaze]

JohnR

John Reidenbach/Spectre
April 2, 2018 | night | NYC—the Nook

---

Vanessa/Emerald Dream (@Gands), Anastasia (@Huntress), Carter (@vantas)
Firefly (@Michale CS), John (@LuckycoolHawk9)

Spectre looked up at more footsteps on the stairs a moment before the young man from before entered, a poorly disguised look of eager intrigue on his face squashing any hope Spectre might have for him having any intent the mutant would even remotely appreciate. Barely had he entered the room when another woman stormed down the stairs.

"What the hell is going on here?"

And now the possibly metahuman waitress had joined them as well. Well, this was just lovely.

Spectre let his head fall back, closing his eyes briefly with a heavy, frustrated sigh and muttering "Oh, for the love of-" before turning forcefully on the two civilians.

"Okay, no. You—" he looked to Dream as he spoke—"Firefly, maybe the CSI if he joins us, but—" he turned back to glare reproachfully at the other two—"not you two. I apologize for the intrusion, ma'am, but this is a level of important so high I can't tell you why it's important. I needed to find a quiet place to try and get to the bottom of this and this was the best option. As for the ice, it's a non-issue: it's a very thin layer and won't leave any lasting damage, especially not to concrete, and will be easy enough to clean up. In fact, I'd be happy to clean it up for you if you would like, but right now if the two of you could leave us be, I would be immensely grateful. Goodness sakes alive, why does it have to be so hard to find a quiet place to question a suspect?" he added in a hissed mutter to himself.

 

[Gands]

Vanessa O'Toole aka Emerald Dream

She watched John for a few moments until more footsteps came down the stairs. She pulled her hoody up. The Photographer, lovely. Then the bossy waitress. . . She turned to the waitress.

" Miss, forgive me, I was curious as to where the ruckus went. That being said, you'll find a police detective upstairs with a female crime scene analyst. You might want to go back upstairs and get him. I believe this has something to do with a nearby crime. "

Looking one last time at John / Specter

" You've got this ? "

{{ Assuming yes }} " Alright then, I'll head back upstairs. "

Turning to the photographer. . .

"As for you, I expect things to get dicey in another moment when that freezing stops. Don't say I didn't warn anyone. "

With that she starts going back up the stairs. If Anna hasn't herself gone upstairs yet, She assumes the waitress has no sense of these things and will go get the detective herself.
She is thinking if John hasn't figured out the action is in the basement, he probably never will.

@Michale CS @vantas @Huntress @Astroblaze @LuckycoolHawk9

 

[Huntress]

April 2nd, 2018- 9:43 PM - The Nook, NYC

Scoffing Ana looked to the side as the white-haired man had the audacity to show his irritation. Chuckling she shook her head and took a moment to inhale sharply before amber irises burned a glare into him. "You have quite the fucking nerve." she stepped closer to him and clenched her jaw as she raised her chin and took another deep breath, arms folding against her chest. "I don't give two shits about what level of importance this fucking bullshit is. Show me paperwork, show me a badge, prove to me that you have a right to be doing whatever the fuck it is you're doing in my fucking bar and then I'll back off." She spat. "As far as I'm concered all of you are breaking the law and trespassing, I have every right to call the police and get them in here to arrest all your superpowered vigilante asses." She bared her teeth. "I don't want you cleaning up his mess, he can do that. I want all of you out!" She almost yelled. Her attention turning to the man on the floor before the woman she had followed downstairs approached her, her hood raised and covering her face for whatever reason. Glaring at her as well Ana exhaled sharply. "I ain't going anywhere, I don't care who is upstairs. I want you all to leave. If you can't abide to that well then you're just going to have to deal with my ass staying put right here." She put a miniscule amount of pressure against the concrete, cracks forming out from beneath her foot and spreading across the floor. "Deal with it or leave." She growled.

If these two had the right to be here, doing what they were doing, then there shouldn't be a problem with them proving it. Assisting the police or not they had no paperwork and therefore legally had no right to be doing whatever the hell they were doing. Should this be part of some higher clearance agency, or government related; paperwork was still mandatory. If they were covert ops, well, they failed their mission the moment they allowed everyone else to witness the situation unfold. Ana knew all this, she had lived all this, she had been part of a world that none of these people probably knew about, because the people involved in her past had done their job right.

9:43 PM​

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

INTERACTIONS:

ANASTASIA
- Astroblaze - Spectre
- Gands - Vanessa O'Toole

MENTIONS:

LuckycoolHawk9 (Warren Tanner / Michael Chambers)

 

[Michale CS]

Replies

Stomping down the stairs she caught words that she didn't care to pay attention to as she was evidently angry. "Can you people not read?" She called out before stepping down onto the floor. "Or is 'employees only' not a clear enough statement?" She looked towards the apparent gathering of patrons in the basement. "What the hell is going on here?" Amber eyes flicked from the familiar looking white-haired man, to the woman from upstairs that had just spoken to her and another man standing just a little further back from everyone. Walking further into the crowd she spotted someone on the floor, ice surrounding the concrete he sat upon. "Who the fuck is this guy and why is he freezing my floor?" Her voice may have been a little louder than intended but her blood was still boiling in annoyance.

"Okay, no. You—" he looked to Dream as he spoke—"Firefly, maybe the CSI if he joins us, but—" he turned back to glare reproachfully at the other two—"not you two. I apologize for the intrusion, ma'am, but this is a level of important so high I can't tell you why it's important. I needed to find a quiet place to try and get to the bottom of this and this was the best option. As for the ice, it's a non-issue: it's a very thin layer and won't leave any lasting damage, especially not to concrete, and will be easy enough to clean up. In fact, I'd be happy to clean it up for you if you would like, but right now if the two of you could leave us be, I would be immensely grateful. Goodness sakes alive, why does it have to be so hard to find a quiet place to question a suspect?" he added in a hissed mutter to himself.

Looking one last time at John / Specter

" You've got this ? "

{{ Assuming yes }} " Alright then, I'll head back upstairs. "

Turning to the photographer. . .

"As for you, I expect things to get dicey in another moment when that freezing stops. Don't say I didn't warn anyone. "

With that she starts going back up the stairs. If Anna hasn't herself gone upstairs yet, She assumes the waitress has no sense of these things and will go get the detective herself.
She is thinking if John hasn't figured out the action is in the basement, he probably never will.

"I ain't going anywhere, I don't care who is upstairs. I want you all to leave. If you can't abide to that well then you're just going to have to deal with my ass staying put right here." She put a miniscule amount of pressure against the concrete, cracks forming out from beneath her foot and spreading across the floor. "Deal with it or leave." She growled.

​

Amiee in her Firefly form was all of six inches tall. The yelling woman obviously was willing to damage her own place of employment to... keep people out of the employees only area? Firefly didn't say anything at all. She'd only come down here because Nessa had, and now she was leaving, so Amiee did too, without a word.

Some people were just jerks.

She flew up and whispered to Dream, asking her to get Amiee's purse from under the table, because it would be hard for Amiee to go back under there, change back and come out big again without entirely blowing her barely kept secret ID. She normally asked Cyndee for these kinds of things but she had her hooks into that reporter...

​

Cyndee had wandered over to the jukebox and she dropped in some quarters, firing up a couple of songs she liked. The first was Margaritaville, and the second...

@Gands @Huntress @vantas @LuckycoolHawk9 @Astroblaze @Huntress​

 

[Gands]

Vanessa O'Toole aka Emerald Dream

She turns on the stairway to talk to the angry waitress.

" Okay, so you want an explanation, This is what I know. ( she points at Michael Chambers ) I believe he is a major suspect in a double murder. Might have killed two meta's earlier today. Might be able to use Fire as well as the cold powers he is obviously using right this moment.
So, whoever that other guy is, ( points at Specter ) He seems to be trying to do something. Information ? keeping fire guy from blowing this stupid bar to hell ? I don't know. But ooh yes, I'll leave, I don't want to be burnt to a crisp. As for police... I believe I asked you to get the damned police detective... You don't want to, so as for collateral, I'll be happy to testify that you didn't want police interference in your precious basement. Oh, and you might want to know, one of the murdered bodies this morning was Judge Chambers sister.... and the guy freezing your damned floor is his younger brother. Judge Chambers himself is the one of the guys that was fighting, or trying to. So for gods sake, you handle all of this by yourself miss angry freaking waitress. Good luck ! "

Of a note, Vanessa's voice did not raise appreciably during her tirade. Her breathing was steady as was her heartbeat. After this, as before, she simply walks up the stairs, obeying angry waitress woman. Now though, getting a booth closer to the door than she was before, moving Firefly's civilian purse & gear and her own purse too. She does think to herself, that perhaps, this is cutting it close as far as civilian secret id was concerned.

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Huntress @vantas @Astroblaze @Michale CS

 

[erudere]

CARTER​

To be frank, Carter was aware of the whole situation. He perfectly understood that the woman had the right to be mad about their whole excursion, but as he simply stood there in nonchalance with only boredom as his incentive, he couldn't help but feel slightly incensed due to the fact that he was told off twice by firstly one that was obviously a meta that was playing interrogator and then another bartender pissed at the whole scenario who was probably a mutant too considering she has the nerve to talk back to someone who clearly had powers.

As he watched the woman go back upstairs, he noticed that the man in question was currently in a spot on the concrete with an accumulating ice spreading on where his fingertips were. After that it all made sense, the fact that the man left for the bathroom and suddenly disappeared, the fact that he saw slight burn marks on the beer and now the frost in the basement; all correlating to what has been relayed on the news as this blonde man suddenly appeared as the perfect suspect for the murder that was displayed.

Well of course, he only got that now, but that means that the person this man who identified himself as S was pinning down what might be the culprit of the crime. He wracked his mind, listing down the blonde's powers.

"Pyrokinesis and Cryokinesis as well as Mogrification." Carter muttered to himself. Of course the sets of powers were gonna be a pain in the ass to clean up, especially considering if his hypothesis holds true, then it means the bar itself is going to be a crime scene, adding more legitimate reason as to why the seething bartender has every right to get angry about this whole predicament to which was probably gonna get a criminal case under the status of locations. Collateral, criminal, they all mean the same and any paperwork is very bad paperwork.

But come on. This is stupid.

Carter exhaled, steadying his heart as he's still trying to grasp the fact that he's about to get involved in this. "Alright, I can understand why you'd be pissed about this," he reasoned out, "but currently there is a crime in pending investigation right now and the only perpetual lead we have is right there freezing both the floor and his ass off."

He slowly stepped out from where he was currently positioned and onto the light so they could see him better. He raised his hands, signifying that he means no harm. "Based on what I've seen and inferred, if we take this upstairs, there's gonna be a slightly higher risk of him getting away and no risk is always better than some." He pointed at the black haired man. "He mentioned Firefly, which means the woman up there must mean they are that person. Let them get the information you need. For now you have got to understand that it's imperative that the guy there needs to be questioned because if not, this whole thing is gonna be for nothing if they're not caught right now."

"I understand that this is all a shitshow and a half, but paperwork or not, in the end they're still doing this for the good of our city." Carter defended, "And if you're contending that the labor privacy and government code for employees is a higher priority than the majority of the citizens out there, then I'm sorry but you're backing the wrong fucking horse."

By all means, really. Carter could simply just do what the bartender was saying and leave. He had no business here in the first place, but if she was trying to prevent justice being done when that's the only reason left that Carter still has faith over metas entirely, then he'd rather be ground into malt.​

@Astroblaze @LuckycoolHawk9 @Huntress