Log:Hope Against Fear, Scene 2

Hope Against Fear 2014/01/23 	 Liam Pleiades Sasha Cerana

2

Champions Mush - Thursday, January 23, 2014, 9:01 AM

Locke Industrial Park

''Once this was a site of heavy industry, when the nearby shoreline was endless wharves; then it was all but abandoned when that industry failed and the industrialist Locke was all but forgotten. Now Locke Business Park has come to be known as the technology center of town. With its manufacturing companies, as well as retail businesses, it draws people from all over Colonial Bay to purchase the latest in high tech. And unlike in the old days, the streets are clean and bright.''

''The main road is Locke Circle, which sweeps in a crescent to meet Golden Sands Road in both the north and the east. ''

During the day, Locke Industrial Park is a beehive of activity and today even more so do to a bit of unseasonable warmth and sunshine. People are shopping for the latest gadgets. All that pleasant activity is suddenly interrupted by a loud *whump* of an explosion and screams of panic.

Pleiades, who had been on patrol; heads toward the explosion!

Arriving on the correct street, Pleiades sees a small in internet security and comuter cleaning service in the distance has caught fire. The strip mall containing the store is on fire and from the collapsed roof it looks like a bomb has gone off in the back room. The explosion is recent enough that people mill around in confusion or pull out cell phones to make videos.

Pleiades heads over the crowd, "EVERYONE! PLEASE LISTEN! There may still be danger. Please leave the area in an orderly manner. If you see people that need help evacuating, help them. DO NOT RUN."

As Pleiades arrives close to the building, a man stumbles out, covered in oxygen absorbing foam. He falls, with his chest pumping uselessly, as he hits the open sunshine.

Pleiades lands by him, tears the foam away from his mouth, checks to see if its gotten into his lungs, and starts trying to get him breathing again.

Pleiades initial attempt is unsuccessful and the man begins to trash as oxygen deprivation starts drowning reflexes.

Pleiades swears under her breath. "Panzerfaust! Load Zaubermunition!" Her gauntlet racks and ejects a smoking brass shell. A circle of runes appears beneath her and the man as she punchs the ground next to them, "RESTORAL WAVE!"

A wave of blue-white light washes over them and anyone within 8m.

At the burst of magic the man's eyes fly open with renewed energy and he starts to claw at his face, hampering Pleiades' attempts to help him as much as he is helping.

Pleiades straddles the man and uses her cyborg strength to hold him down as she performs CPR, sighing relief when he starts breathing on his own again.

Once the man's airways are clear, he stops struggling after a couple deep breaths but is still in a bit of a panic, seeing the fire behind Pleiades. "We've got to get out of here!" he gasps. "It's the honeypot gremlin."

Pleiades gets off the man and helps him up, if he can stand. "You have to get out of here. It's my job to go where the fire is hottest. Brief me quickly on the situation. And, um, sorry about the cracked ribs."

The man stumbles to his feet. "My honeypot ... honeypot computer exploded. It is the third time this has happened here in town. The other two guys died. My fire suppression system should have taken care of the fire, but I think the explosion blew part of it out. I don't know how long the firewalls between the stores will last. The landlord likes to take construction shortcuts."

Pleiades nods, "OK. I'll take care of it. Get out of here." She guides the man to a safe distance, then heads back into the fire.

Pleiades stops just out side and raises her left hand. "Magic Skill: Yggdrasil Scan." A runic circle appears beneath her skates. Nine small portals appear in front of her as she scans for life signs inside the building.

The fire is burning strongly in several places, but is not a raging inferno. One life is detected lying inside in the front of the store. The foam-covered shop owner had to have run right past him.

Pleiades goes to help the person.

Pleiades has to search a bit once smoke begins to obscure her detect spell, but the rigors of space are far more hazardous than a simple fire and she wades through the blaze without harm to find a teen unconscious and trapped beneath some fallen rubble.

Pleiades checks to see if she can move the rubble without injuring the teen. The teen is alive and buried, but not punctured.

Pleiades hmmms. "Panzerfaust, let's make sure of this. Cyber Overcharge!" A jagged buzzsaw of runes appears beneath her and her eyes glow red. She tries to shift the rubble.

Pleiades gets the teen to safety, using another zubermuntion powered Restoral Wave to treat his injuries before heading back into the fire.

Pleiades raises her hands as runic triangle forms beneath her. "Panzerfaust, Armor Barrier." She gestures at one wall, and then the other. Panels of blue-white energy appear, each with a slowing spinning runic triangle on it, reinforcing the dividing walls.

Several minutes later, fire trucks arrive and douse the adjoining stores with fire-supressing foam before working on the explosion site. Pleiades smells of smoke and is sweating heavily with the effort of maintaining multiple barriers to cover that much square footage but is otherwise unharmed. Several other heroes arrive too in response to the fire alarm, but there is not much for hem to do. Pleiades has already saved everybody who needed saving.

Pleiades falls to her knees and gasps as she rests.

Liam arrives via a portal in response to the police scanner. He is dressed for action, but switches to a plain black suit (with a wave of his hand and a few words that can be heard but not remembered) when he sees that his aide is not needed. Only then does he spot Pleiades on her knees and rush over to help.

Pleiades looks up and smiles, "H-hi. Just a little tired. Used a lot of magic energy."

Liam nods sympathetically. "Happens to me all the time. The more magic you can use, the more it costs." He looks over the fire site, "Do you know what caused this?"

Pleiades shakes her head, "An exploding computer bank. But the shop owner said something about a 'Honeypot Gremlin' that had struck two other similar businesses, causing their computers to explode, with lethal results in those cases."

Liam smirks, "A gremlin? I haven't seen an honest to goodness gremlin in years. Do you think he was speaking metiphorically or literally?"

Pleiades spreads her hands, "I don't know. It could be something that's just called a gremlin?"

Pleiades gets back up to her feet, somewhat unsteadily.

Liam offers Pleiades a hand to help her steady herself as she rises.

Pleiades smiles, "Thanks."

Liam steps into the soaked and ruined shop, carefully trying to keep from getting his expensive shoes dirty. A bright light shines briefly from the back of the shop and when Liam returns he is frowning. "Well, real gremlin or not, magic was used."

Pleiades hmmms, "I used a lot of magic energy here. Were you able to filter out my signature?"

Liam scoffs, "Of course. I know a simple barrier spell when I see it and your spells do not 'leak' all over the place. In the center of the back room, under a table, was a low power transformation spell, the kind of thing you would use to transform a hammer into a screwdriver - but slow and exceptionally low power. I'm guessing whoever cast it would have had to concentrate for a full day to complete the transformation with so little energy... not difficult for somebody like me and, perhaps, even you, but not a novice's stumblings.

Pleiades nods, "Oh. I see. So it was like a magic time bomb."

Liam shakes his head. "No, not quite. More like a ritual than something somebody set up and left."

Pleiades says, "Do you think the person had to be present for the ritual, or could they have delivered it remotely through the network?"

Liam says, "I have no idea. Technomagic is a bit outside my expertise."

Pleiades hmms, "It's closer to my style of magic, but I'm pretty weak on theory."

Liam says, "I'll see what I can find out. What I can't figure out is why. This isn't a bank vault."

Pleiades nods slowly, "What is... it was a test. To see it was possible. This company specialized in computer security, as did the others, so they might have been good test subjects before the rogue mage went after their real target."

Liam nods, "And a honeypot?"

Pleiades shrugs, "I have no idea. I speak the same language you do, but there are some concepts that I've just never heard of."

Liam says, "I'll see what I can find out, but I doubt the infinite library will have much on that one. *I* lack the necessary basics."

Pleiades nods, "Maybe if we found places similar to the targets that have been hit, you could detect the ritual as it's building power?"

Liam nods doubtfully. "Perhaps. But I make a poor bloodhound. The Eye requires too much energy for that. Do you know anyone that is naturally sensitive to magic?"

Pleiades hmmms, "Um... Ghost maybe? I think she also uses a techno-magic system, and can detect magic?"

Liam nods. "Very well. It sounds like you have a course of action. I'll leave you to it."

Pleiades blinks, "OK? I'll try to contact Ghost. Maybe a message on HeroNET can reach her."

When Pleiades pulls out her phone, a message says, "You have a free app available. Do you want to download it?"

Pleiades checks to see where the app is from and what it is

The app is called 'technology opteomiser', doesn't have a source listed, suspiciously looks like spam and probably wouldn't work on Pleiades' magic-powered phone anyway.

Pleiades takes a screen cap of the information, and then rejects the app. "Huh. Hey Mage, could you check your phone."

Liam pulls out his phone and looks it over. "What about it?"

Pleiades says, "Do you have a 'free app' message?"

Liam shakes his head, "I wouldn't. I had a tech friend set this up so it automatically rejects those things. I have to go see him every time somebody wants to send me something legitimate to temporarily turn it off." He holds out the phone to Pleiades, "You are welcome to check the log or whatever it is."

Pleiades checks to see if Liam's phone had blocked the same message.

Liam looks around at all the bystanders filming the firemen working while Pleiades plays with his phone.

Pleiades frowns and hands the phone back. She goes over to a bystander. "Excuse me, did any of you get a message about a free app download?"

The bystander checks his phone, "Huh. I did. Was it from you?"

Pleiades shakes her head. "No. I think it might be dangerous, so please reject it." She raises her voice, "Everyone! If you have a free app download message on your phone please reject it! We think the explosion may have been due to a computer program!"

The bystander scoffs. "C'mon. It is 2064. Do you think we don't know how to deal with spam? How many people would fall for something like that in this day and age?"

Pleiades grins, "Not many, but it only takes one person in a crowd if it turns their phone into a bomb."

The bystander's grin drops, he throws his phone to the ground and stomps on it.

Somebody else asks, "I deleted it? Am I safe? How do I know it won't come back?"

Pleiades says, "Er... you said you didn't accept it right? Um, you're probably safe, but I don't know for sure." She looks over at Mage, "Um, Mage, can you check their phones for a magic signature?""

Another bystander grins evilly and does a lot of typing. So does another.

Pleiades looks confused.

Pleiades says, "Umm... Excuse me, um, what are you doing?"

The man Pleiades approaches says, "Texting in the story to the news service. This is much juicier than some little fire."

Liam casts a spell and glowing bands of energy wrap around the second man. He picks up the man's dropped phone and says to Pleiades, "The screen says 'forward this message' okay or cancel. I hit cancel, right?"

Pleiades shakes her head, "I don't have any authority to stop you, and it's not like rumors aren't going to spread anyway."

Pleiades nods to Mage, "Yes, cancel the forward. And we'll turn him over to the police for trying that."

The captured man objects, "We don't *know* it would have done anything. I'm innocent."

Liam says scornfully, "That is why it is called 'attempted' murder. You are going to jail."

Pleiades shakes her head, "Anyone have a cheap phone they don't care about? The SDPA will reimburse you if something happens."

The app itself doesn't register as magical, but the heroes do manage to find one phone that automatically accepted the app, and it *does* register as conducting a faint spell.

Pleiades hmmms, "It looks like it is doing something. I'll have to hold on to this to see what happens."

The app is one of those that runs totally in the background: not even an icon to show it is operating if somebody isn't looking for it.

Pleiades walks away from the crowd (and everyone else) in case it does explode.

It doesn't ... today.

Pleiades is still on the scene of the explosion, carefully taking pictures and notes.

Sasha glides along the sidewalk on skateboard taking in the clean lines of high tech Locke. He thinks. o O (Odd place for magic. Even technomagick. So sterile.)

Pleiades goes over to warn Sasha off, "Excuse me, but this is still a crime scene and potentially dangerous, so please keep your distance."

Sasha smiles warmly at Pleiades as he says in his thick Russian accent, "Really? What has happened? Was anyone hurt? You were not injured were you? Were metas involved?"

Pleiades gives Sasha the run down on what happened.

Sasha oohs and ahhs at appropriate times during the recitation of the facts from Pleiades. The youth then asks, "But are you certain it is magic? Maybe this honeypot gremlin is just some sort of program, no?"

Pleiades shrugs, "I don't know. I can't sense magic, but Mage said it was magic, and he seems to know what he's doing."

Cerana is patrolling, sort of. Without the benefit of wings or swing lines, her 'patrolling' is more of a stroll down the sidewalk.

Cerana pops off her gas mask and lifts her goggles up onto her helmetted forehead. "Hey guys," Rashmika says, "what happened here?"

Pleiades gives Cerana the rundown as well.

Cerana gives Sasha a little peck on the cheek while her mask is off then looks around while Pleiades explains.

Cerana says, "Well, I don't know about magic, but everything I see here can be explained." She pulls several small bits of plastic out of the underside of a broken table. "If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say an incendiary bomb was placed under this table over there in the middle of the room and that the bomb was hidden inside a computer case. Nothing 'mystical' about it at all."

Sasha leans over and whispers something in Rashmika's ear. Probably something slightly naughty given the grin on his lips. In Russian, he murmurs, "There is the remains of a low powered transformation at the center of the back room, love."

Cerana looks a bit surprised as Sasha points out the exact same location as her ordinary bomb, and adds a bit hastily (in Engligh) "But my being unable to find something doesn't mean it didn't happen."

Pleiades hmms, "Maybe, but I trust Mage's senses. We'll see if that cell phone I confiscated explodes."

Sasha pipes up, "Cell phone?"

Pleiades says, "There was a spate of spam app download messages shortly after the explosion. Mage sensed magic in the phone of the person who accepted the download. We think it might be how the explosive ritual program spreads."

Cerana sighs and says in Russian, "This sounds more like your jurisdiction than mine."

Sasha looks at Rashmika for a moment then over to Pleiades. The youth smiles gently as he asks politely, "Do you think I might see the infected cellphone for a moment? I promise not to touch it. And it is not mere curiosity. I have the Sight and may be able to help you."

Pleiades hesitates, "We really don't know when it might have built up enough power to explode, but it's in that blast box over there that the police brought.

Cerana frowns, glances from the box to Sasha, but doesn't comment.

Sasha waves a hand in airy disregard. "I am certain it will not be so rude as to blow up in my face. Lead on, mam'selle."

Pleiades leads Sasha over, trusting the fey youth to know what he's doing.

Cerana thinks .oO (No wings and no force field belt. What are you going to do if this literally blows up in your boyfriend's face? Shoot it with a blaster?)

Sasha waits until Pleiades opens the blast box then leans down to look into the box, holding one hand out not so much to shield himself but as if feeling for heat.

When the box is opened, both Sasha and Rashmika's cell phone dings. The same message is on both phones: "Susan Smith (owner of the phone Pleia confiscated) wants to share an app with you. Download?"

Sasha murmurs, "The app when activated starts a ritual. The ritual builds power very slowly, low power. It takes more than 24 hours to complete but gets there with clock like precision. It is not like any magic commonly found on Earth."

Cerana cancels the app download on her phone. "Seems simple enough to stop."

(HeroNet)

Everyone,

''There was an explosion at a small computer security firm today in the Locke Industrial Park, apparently the third known to have happened. The store owner referred to it as the 'Honeypot Gremlin' since it seems to go after computer security. I was able to secure the and help everyone get out safely. Mage arrived shortly thereafter and sensed that magic was involved. Some sort of ritual magic that built power slowly until it exploded. ''

''As we were cleaning up, I, and everyone in the area, got a spam message on our phones saying that we had a free app waiting to download accept/reject. I realized that might be related to the explosive delivery method, since Mage thought it might have been technomagic in nature. Sure enough, one person had accepted the download. I confiscated the phone and after a while, it exploded! ''

''If anyone had experience with technomagic, or can detect magic, please contact Starguard. Ms. Ghost, I recall that you could do both, so if you could look into this, I'd appreciate it. ''

''I don't know if this has anything to do with the possible coming disaster, but since it targeted Locke Park, which we had already suspected, I'm inclined to assume that it might be. It may not be an extinction level disaster, but if every computer on Earth exploded, it would destroy human civilization. ''