Log:We Can't Have Poachers

2020/10/22 	 Radical|Connor Mari

1

For the past two weeks, there's been a rash of flu cases on campus. Not strange for the start of flu season, but the sick students have noticed to be suffering from anemia, which is unusual. Two of Connor's students have missed the last two classes.

Tonight, Connor's been stuck late on campus. There were some committee meetings that Connor had to attend with the department, a town hall for staff and faculty only about the flu and precautions, plus some student meetings, tutoring, or grading. The science building is empty, as are most of the offices in Connor's section. Just as he finishes grading, there's a knock on his office door.

Connor looks up, expecting to see the cleaning crew. "Yes?"

The doorknob turns and the door opens with a creek. The woman standing there is familiar and not. Mari has trimmed her hair and straightened it, the length stopping just past her jawline. She's dressed more upscale than usual, wearing a short black dress that's cinched at the waist with a belt. She's looking up at the office signage before looking beyond and within to Connor. "Hello, stranger," she smiles.

Connor smiles and stands up, "You're lucky you caught me here, given how things have been going today. C'mon in."

"It was part guess, part tracking," Mari smiles and steps in, closing the door behind her. "I was actually here on business when I caught your scent. I thought I'd see if you were still around."

Connor raises a brow. "On...business?" He smiles and comes around the desk to lean back against it on her side of the desk.

Mari smiles at him. She holds out her hand, palm down and wrist angled down in an old-fashioned, elegant greeting. "Yes. But first...Justine Warren. A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Duran. I've heard such good things about you," she says with some cheekiness as she introduces her new identity.

Connor smiles and takes her hand. He leans down to kiss the back of her hand. "Mmm. It's nice to meet you, Miss Warren."

Mari smiles as he kisses the back of her hand. "Mmm. And a gentleman, too." She gently withdraws her hand. "I wish this could be more of a social call. I'd love a change to catch up and read with you. But unfortunately, there's a suspected poacher on campus, and I've been asked to investigate. Has there been any oddities on campus that you've noticed? If anyone would be aware of such things, I know it would be you."

Connor furrows his brow. "Poacher?" He blinks. "Oh! Oh. Well...yes, actually. There is something odd. So...we're in flu season. We've had some sick students. That's the normal part. But...the sick students seem to also be anemic. That's the odd part."

Mari nods as he catches on. "Yes. We can't have poachers. Word of anemic students dropping caught the attention of my...boss. And he wants me to make sure we don't have a problem. Was there anything the students had in common? Anything that could help me investigate?"

Connor thinks about it. "Let me check. We had a meeting about it, so we might have some contact tracing that was going on. One moment." He walks back around to the other side of his desk to check the notes from the earlier meeting. "Two of the students are in my classes."

"Really?" Mari asks in surprise. Checking his notes, there's been about two dozen students who were affected. Most were taken care of at the health office on campus. They're students from all over. Liberal arts, sciences, business, etc. The only thing in common was the students either worked on campus at night, or live in the dorms. The Dean has had their roommates alerted, but there's no sign of infectious spread among close contacts.

Connor relates that information for Justine. "A cross section. So...either late night folks or living in the dorms. It's not department specific. So, likely based on living quarters? Or just your poacher hangs around campus late?"

It all seems random. Although the students were fine the day before, then very sick the next day. One each day, every day.

Connor points at the list. "One person a day. And no commonality on the dorms they live in. I'm guessing this isn't the flu, is it?"

Mari frowns faintly as she looks over the list. "Hmm. I wasn't sure at first. Now I'm leaning toward no."

Connor nods. "Are these people going go recover? Or are they going to need help in recovering?" He wiggles his fingers.

Mari looks at his fingers and wiggles her fingers back. "What does -this- mean?" she comments as she keeps wiggling, smiling faintly, but he can see concern based on the faint wrinkle between her brows.

Connor takes a deep breath, considering how to answer that. He says quietly, "I was a mage of Order at one point. One of the spells I learned...can undo transformations, if that transformation is restoring someone to their 'true form'. It's effectively healing, restoring a person's pattern. Once someone has been changed for long enough, that spell will not work. The pattern is changed entirely to a new 'baseline'."

Connor says, "So...my question was...does their recovery need...a push?"

Connor tries to keep the implication vague in case there is a janitor nearby, "I'm concerned that whoever this is, might be...changing people. Altering them. And I suspect you wouldn't want...your...population to be suddenly much larger?"

"Oh!" Mari says in quiet surprise as her fingers stop wiggling. "That...might be very, very useful. I'd have to see the students to be sure. If they were just fed upon, they should recover in time. If they were turned into ghouls, or something more...ghouls can become normal again with time. I wasn't aware there was a cure for my kind." The door is still closed, but Mari does keep her voice down. "And no, a population explosion risks us all. If someone -is- doing that, they're doing it without permission."

Connor nods. "I'm pretty sure the spell wouldn't work on say...you. Like I said. Only a change that's pretty recent. So...it's not exactly something that can completely stop the condition. There are limits."

Connor nods. "Would you like help finding the culprit? Like...more active help?"

Mari nods. She doesn't seem too disappointed when he says it wouldn't work on her. Or she's hiding her disappointment. "Since I don't know if I'm dealing with one or more, I wouldn't mind some help, if you're suggesting...what I think you are. One whole person a night is a lot. If it really is one of my kind, they're either a glutton, or there's more than one."

Connor nods. "But...it's been explicitly one person a night. If it was a group with a lack of control, I'd have expected more than one." He smiles. "And yeah, I'm suggesting what you think."

"I'd expect some deaths at that point," Mari says after some thought. "You have a point. If they were that starving and stupid enough to hunt in the Baron's city, I'd expect accidents." She smiles back. "Well, then, if you really are offering, I would very much enjoy the company."

Connor smiles. "Of course. Should I avoid the uh...costume, to help you with your identity issues? Or is that not a problem? It is kevlar, which helps quite a bit."

Mari thinks on that. "I'd rather you be safe and in costume. I can change identities again. You can't be replaced."

Connor smiles broadly at that. "Tell that to the Lords of Order. But your point is well taken."

Mari smirks in amusement at that. "Their loss. Your gain. I'd be happy to tell your old lords that, but then they may want to take you back."

Connor laughs. "No. No they won't. That's the result of refusing a direct order."

Mari chuckles at that. "And look at you. You're still alive. They must've seen something special in you. It's not that hard to see it," she smiles. "I don't know exactly who the Lords of Order are, but they sound important."

Connor nods and smiles. "Cosmic entities. They are the embodiment of the concept of Order. They have a representative on this plane: The Cartesian. They're in a constant war with the Lords of Chaos, and their agent on this plane known as The Anarch. It's more complicated than that, but that's the short version."

Mari doesn't know anything beyond what Connor tells her, but her brows rise up at the explanation. "I think I vaaastly misjudged what you meant by a mage of order. Here I was hoping I could ask you to cast a little spell to help me unpack and organized. Maybe with a twitch of your nose or somesuch," she smiles playfully, keeping her voice low just to be safe.

Connor smiles. "If you asked me a few years ago, I could have done just that. I knew a spell to tidy things up and organize. But...I haven't relearned it since I lost the gig, I'm afraid."

Mari exaggerates a sigh. "I suppose I'm on my own then," she bemoans. The grieving is brief. "I'd love to hear more about it, but it'll have to wait until the situation with the students has been resolved. I worry what'll happen if I can't solve this by dawn."

Connor furrows his brow, "Why? What do you think might happen? Probably one more student attacked, I bet, but I'm not sure what else."

Mari looks a little unsettled and reluctant to say something at first. She takes a moment to look towards the window and out at the quad. She looks back to him. "I suppose the students will be fine in time, if your spell really will work. I worry about the other possibilities. And someone will be unhappy it I don't return with some answers."

Connor nods. "Well...let's see if we can help you get some answers, then. I just finished what I needed to here, so we can head out. I do have my gear with me, as long as you don't mind being seen with me in the other getup."

"I mean, I'm totally into that look," Mari purrs playfully. "The question is do you want to go on campus with it. I'm still not sure where to start, and I don't have the familiarity to the campus that I imagine you do. And on a more serious note...thank you for offering your help," she says sincerely. It sounds like his help means a lot to her.

Connor smiles and nods. "I've done that before. So, not a concern. We won't walk out of here, though." He grabs his gear from a bag and starts to get changed, staying well away from the window. He pulls his jacket on and smiles. "I'll teleport us outside. At least the security guard downstairs won't be able to put two and two together, then."

Mari smiles and steps back to give him room, not shying away from watching him change. "Clever. So what do I call you again when you're dressed like that? And remember, it's 'Justine' while we're out in public."

Connor smiles. "Radical works. I'll also accept, 'Hey, you'. I get that a lot from students, after all." He chuckles and pulls on his mask. "And Justine it is." He thinks about it. "What was your original name? Mari? Or something else entirely?"

Mari laughs. "Alright then, 'Hey, you'," she says in amusement. "My real name is Marie, but when I was hitting the clubs, I went by Mari." The pronunciation difference is subtle. Ma-REE, versus Mah-re. "It'd been so long, it was safe to finally put back into rotation, which I've done a few times. But I guess I'll have to wait a while before I can go back to it."

Radical nods. "Too bad. Maybe you can go back to it sooner rather than later." He walks over to her, "So, this will be like when I moved us around in from place to place in my sanctum. Not like when we crossed dimensions. I just wanted to warn you before I teleported us outside."

Mari smiles. "I hope so. I guess we'll see. You can keep calling me that if it's safe and not too out in the open. It's nice to hear my own name." She listens as he briefs her on what's going to happen. "Oh yeah, that weird...take a step and suddenly whoosh, you're where you need to be. I better hold on, then."

Radical nods and takes her hand. "On three. 1...2...3..." And then they've stepped forward and they're in the quad outside.

Mari grasps his hand firmly. She purses her lips tight like she would if she were holding her breath, and then...step. New location. Her lips finally unpurse. "That is fun. And a bit disorienting." She's not sure where she's facing. "Now, where to start..."

Radical nods. "Well, our predator is someplace on campus, right. If I were to guess, in the academic quad. There's no commonality on the dorms in question. But we can start patrolling a little bit, and keep an eye out."

Mari looks about. "It's a bit too open. But not a bad place to start stalking someone," Mari agrees. She keeps speaking quietly. "Maybe I'll pick up a scent or something."

Radical nods. "The quad is pretty open, yeah." He looks around, "Might be in one of the buildings. Or someone working as a janitor?" He thinks about it. "Give me a second. I might be able to give us a clue. I'll need to cast a quick spell. While I do it, I can't see or hear anything around me, though. So...keep watch for a second."

Mari nods slowly. "Alright. I'm right here. I'll keep watch."

Radical takes a deep breath...and tries to look into their futures. Things like this tend to be vague, but he might get a clue where they end up running into this potential poaching later that evening...

There's some flashes of their future. It really is vague. There's the Underground, busy with students. Mari leans in and whispers, "There." The future flashes forward a bit. They're following a pair of students back to the dorms along a less traveled section of the campus. It's quiet. Then Radical sees more isolated things in darkness as the future is perhaps uncertain so close with their interference. A spray of blood in the dark. A female shriek. It could be Mari's, but it's hard to be certain. The rest...strange. He doesn't anything beyond that point.

Radical blinks. "Okay...so, to explain what I did, I looked into our futures. The future is...not static. It can change. And it's often vague." He points over toward the Underground. "I think that's our starting point, though. I suspect you'll get a scent or something over there."

Radical does keep his voice down as he says it.

Mari stares at Radical in amazement. "Wow. Remind me to have you look into lottery tickets. You're like a walking almanac. Though that may bring about a twisted, dark future if we're not careful," she jokes quietly, laughing before the laugh suddenly dies. "Oh, you're too young for that reference probably," she says in disappointment.

Radical thinks about it. "I...think I don't know that one." He smiles, though it's barely visible under the mask. "Tell me about it the next time we get together, though. I'd like to know what you were referring to."

Mari looks aghast. "I can't just...-tell- you. You need to be shown. It's a movie reference. Oh, nevermind. Besides, I doubt Old Biff is about to steal you anytime soon," she muses. "Let's go check our starting point." As they start to walk, she does fall silent in thought, and then asks, "Or is it our starting point because you saw it was, and we're just...fulfilling the prophecy?"

Radical chuckles. "Okay...so it's a movie reference. We'll need to watch the movie." He shrugs, "As for the starting point, it's a chicken and egg thing. Yes, it's much like fulfilling a prophecy. But, as I said, the future is vague. So, we could have chosen to do something else. We're not required to go over here, or something."

"Not required. But we have to to find the person behind this, right?" Mari counters with a smile.

Mari also adds, "And yes, we will most definitely need to watch the movie. Your education is sorely lacking."

Radical nods. "That's true. We do. It's a starting point." He chuckles at the mention of the movie. "Fair enough. I'm always keen to learn new things."

Mari smiles at that and begins to walk towards the Underground. "And you're still dressed like that when we go inside and it's no issue?" she asks over her shoulder, keeping her voice down.

Radical shrugs, "I usually feel a lot more confident dressed like this. So, we'll be fine. We probably dont' need to go inside, though. Just near it."

The Underground

Outside the block of on-campus shops, close to the MagLev station, stairs lead down to below the main building. The sign, "the Underground", is small and not easily seen, but most nights the place looks popular with students and at the end of the week, or when there's a good band, the line to get it can back up half a block.

Mari smiles a bit more. "I can see. And here I thought you were confident before," she says flatteringly. She turns and keeps walking, down the steps that lead below the main building. Music can be heard by the time they're at the door. She pushes the door open to the Underground and steps beyond the threshold.

The Underground

This is The Underground, the university's on campus night club. It has just about everything any other club would have, minus the alcohol. During the day it serves as a simple grill, a place to get decent food at semi decent prices. But at night, it really comes alive. There's a large dance floor in back complete with flashing lights and loud music. Local bands often supply live entertainment. The bar is near the front. Around it are several small tables. In the left corner is a huge big screen television that is almost always tuned in to some sporting event, and therefore almost always surrounded by large groups of men. The club is almost always packed with students. It's a great place to unwind with your friends after a long day of classes and studying.

Radical follows into the Underground. There's no need to show ID, since no alcohol is being served.

They enter the bar area first, which really just serves soda, smoothies, and lemonade, plus bar food. There's a few tables about with groups eating and enjoying themselves. The dance floor is moderately full, but it only really comes alive on the weekends.

Radical looks around slowly, seeing if he can sense anything odd in the room. He can't sense the Supernatural automatically like others, but perhaps there's a tell. Or perhaps they're using magic?

Looking around keenly, there's no hint of magic here currently active. Mari is sniffing discretely as she moves towards the start of the dance section near the back. It's darker back there, but the flash of lights help reveal students dancing, and some hiding away in darker corners to make out.

Radical follows Mari, keeping an eye out, not immediately spotting anything odd.

It takes a bit of roaming before Mari stops and leans over to whisper to Radical, "There." Deja vu, it's just like what happened in the vision. She's looking over to a dark rear corner where a male student has a female one pressed against the wall. It looks like making out, but his head is starting to dip towards her neck. The dance floor is still full, making a fight risky.

Radical walks closer to the would be attacker...and reaches through a small portal to tap the man on the shoulder. From across the room.

That surprises the man. He looks to be a senior based on age. Maybe just a little older. He suddenly pulls back from the girl before he can reach her neck and looks over his shoulder.

Radical's hand is there, reaching through a golden circle in space. For about a half a second. He pulls his hand back through, and sidesteps, crossing the room in the blink of an eye to look closely at the attacker.

The man startles at the disembodied hand. And then the man that follows to rejoin his hand. The girl looks dazed and out of it, not even reacting to it. "Hey-Hey, let's go back to your dorm," he says quickly and tries to urge her through the nearby rear door exit.

Mari is a little surprised, even though she's seen Radical in action. She has to make her way through the crowd the old fashioned away.

Radical puts his hand up. "No. You and I have to have a talk, 'young' man. Outside."

The man scowls a little and straightens up from the dazed student. Mari finally catches up to Radical, a little faster than might be expected. She looks to the girl out of concern and checks her over, paying attention to her neck in particular.

"You want to talk? Fine," the young man says before backing up and into the crash bar of the rear exit, stepping outside.

Radical can't really purge any drugs from her system. Or break any kind of control. But perhaps Mari can. Instead, he follows the guy, keeping his eyes on him.

Mari stays with the girl, trying to snap her out of it as Radical goes to pursue the man. Already, he's potentially broken from his vision. The young man is scruffy looking, a bit unshaven and medium brown hair on the long side with some waves in it. Olive green tee, black jacket and jeans, biker boots.

Radical takes a deep breath, and tries to make sure the conversation is dragged out a little bit, to give Mari time to catch up. "You...have a problem on your hands. You're sloppy."

"You have no idea what you're stepping into," the man smirks. His mouth starts to open, but no fangs are flashed yet as Mari follows through the door. Behind her, the dazed girl's friends are checking on her and helping her to a seat.

Radical tilts his head, "Don't I? I think we all know what we're stepping into here. We are not college students that would be easily swayed or controlled." He then goes with a quote to emphasize what he is, "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."

"Wizards? Haven't tried wizards before," he grins. Radical catches his eyes flit up and behind Radical.

Radical gets the sudden realization that there might be more than one of them. He steps forward, teleporting himself behind the quarry, facing the other direction so he can see what was being looked at.

Knowing where to look, Radical's relocation lets him see a figure that has dropped down from the roof to where Radical was. This is a more feral looking looking than the scruffy one, with fangs bared and long, sharp nails. He lands from his pounce, surprised his quarry is gone. Mari takes a step back in surprise. "Two of you? Do you know whose territory you're poaching on?" she warns.

Radical shakes his head, "Given that he was just thinking about trying to take me down, I suspect they don't care about the answer to that question."

"Awww, does the Baron's lapdog think we're scared?" the pouncer laughs as he looks over his shoulder to Mari. Mari takes a step back, looking alarmed.

"Forget her. The wizard's trouble. Scrap him first, then we hide the bodies," his companion orders as he flashes his fangs and claws as well with a growl.

The two rogue vampires turn from Mari and face off with Radical. They look much more feral than Mari, and accustomed to fighting. Mari could barely stand against one human vampire hunter. They leap at Radical, trying to slash him with unnaturally long and sharp nails.

Radical is a bit quicker than he looks. "Do you think I actually need magic to beat you?" He moves precisely, blocking the claw attacks with his forearm against first one wrist, and then the other in rapid succession.

The vampires are overconfident, and have that confidence shook by Radical's blocks and his taunting reply.

Mari looks around the back of the building for something to help fight with. There's not much, as it's fairly clean. She's definitely alarmed, her fangs starting to show as she gets frustrated at the lack of weapons.

Radical tries something new...Chaos magic in an attack form. He raises both hands...and unleashes the magic toward the two vampires, in the form of a blast of sunlight.

Radical says as the magical sunlight strikes both vampires, "Sure, I might have beaten you without magic, but why drag this out? You might want to surrender. Now."

Sunlight washes over the two vampires, causing them to make unholy screeching noises. Their skin immediately starts burning and smoking, catching on fire in places along hair, clothing, and skin. They try to pat themselves out, but are also too busy writhing in pain. Even Mari flinches and turns away from the burning light in fear, though she's unhurt by the sunlight, having not been caught up in its direct rays.

Mari decides it may be safer to run and hide so Radical can unleash sunlight without worrying about her. There's also the beast within her that fears the light, and he can see it in her eyes. She runs towards a dumpster not far from the door and steps behind it to escape the light.

The two rogue vampires manage to regain enough sense to pat themselves out, hissing in pain and in anger. "It buuuurns! ****!" howls one, blinding by pain. He keeps his rage in check.

The second manages to suppress his beastial nature. "S-stop! No more!" he raises his hands to shield himself.

Radical's mind races as he realizes that was...probably more force than might have been warranted. HE doesn't continue the assault. Instead, he holds his fire. But he talks faster. "You made the right choice there guys. You're going to want to talk to your local rep right here, who can come out now because it's completely safe - I won't unleash the sun again yet, because I can call it down ANY TIME I WANT. I'm a WIZARD."

Mari manages to overcome her fear. She steps out and walks back to the toasty burnt vampires. "This would've been easier if you obeyed the Laws," she informs them. "If you beg the Baron for mercy, he may even grant it after seeing what you two went through.

Radical has a confession to make to Mari later. He wasn't quite sure what that would do to them in a burst like that. Clearly they wouldn't last long outside. Not even to run across an open courtyard.

The rogue vampires wince and each starts to heal. Mari adds with a grin, "And maybe you learned a lesson about messing with wizards."

One vampire says, "The Baron'll stake us out for the sun for sure."

Mari looks...uncomfortable. "You don't know that," she says, but she doesn't sound like she believes her own line.

Radical thinks about it, "I could make it another blast of lotion or something like that, if you like. Might not be very pleasant, though. Chaos magic is notoriously hard to control after all. I might drown you in it or something by accident. But at least it might be soothing, right, like getting dipped in yogurt. Cool and sticky all over. Yeah, like yogurt."

Radical takes several deep breaths as the magic slowly dissipates. There are students to heal soon, but we need answers. "Why would he destroy you both?"

Mari gives a subtle doubletake at Radical and grins a bit. The rebel vampires look unnerved and disturbed by Radical's suggestion. Mari notices that and shrugs in agreement. "I like yogurt," she confirms with a smile, then looks back to the vampires. "You're lucky we stopped you tonight before you went any further. The Baron will most likely just ban you from his city. If you had killed us like you planned, there'd be no mercy." She straightens up to look more official. "The Baron has issued a summons to you." She pulls out a card with an address on it and holds it out to the singed vampires. "Go there now and don't delay. If you don't answer his summons, he'll send his justicars for you."

The vampires accept the card and still look like they've been given a notice of execution. They hesitate.

Radical looks to Mari. He takes a moment to compose what he's going to say, so he sounds more careful. "Are they likely to be executed? I figure they threaten you all by being too obvious, right?"

Clearly the Chaos magic has already dissipated from him. It was a pretty brief exposure.

Mari looks to Radical. "I can't say for sure," she says honestly. "If they mouth off to the Baron, or do anything disrespectful, it's a possibility," she says, looking to the other vampires as if giving them advice while also answering him.

It's readable on Mari. She doesn't seem happy to have to perform this duty. And it's evident that even she fears the Baron, and is uncertain of the fate of the two vampires.

Radical finds himself wondering about what to do, but figures...she might be right. Maybe the two will live. Better than letting them go and letting them do this elsewhere.

Radical nods, "Do you need help getting them both someplace?"

The vampires seem resigned now. Mari looks to Radical and smiles faintly. "You've helped more than I could ask. Though if you're willing, dropping them off in Colonial Heights will shorten their trip."

Radical nods. "I can do that, as long as you all don't mind being teleported."

"Do we have a choice?" asks one of the rebel vampires.

Mari says, "I'd recommend you accept his offer." She pauses and thinks on something. "If you're smart, you won't tell the Baron you attacked his messenger. And you won't mention the wizard at all. Then your only offense is reckless poaching. That doesn't carry a severe penalty."

The vampires think on it. "Okay. We'll take the teleport."

Radical nods...and goes ahead to teleport the group. Rather than chancing making a mistake transporting people across dimensions to one that's in daylight, he does it in several longish teleports to Colonial Heights.

Colonial Heights is quiet, without much through traffic. The upperclass mansions line the street. Mari is a little disoriented, but the other two vampires more-so. Mari says, "This is as far as we take you. Your prompt arrival will really work in your favor. Remember...be respectful. Be penitent. Speak only when spoken to," she says as if this should bee common knowledge. The ragged vampires nod and look at the card given, and start walking away.

Once they turn a corner, Mari's shoulders sag and she relaxes a bit. She looks to Radical. "Yogurt? Are you okay...?"

Radical nods to Mari, "Umm...Chaos magic scrambles my brain a little bit when I use it. I'm okay. The effect is temporary. Mostly, I seem to talk quickly and spout whatever comes to mind in rapid succession." He pauses, "I'm sorry I scared you. I panicked a little bit when the fight started. I could have used raw force, but I guessed at what might work. I figured a quick blast of light wouldn't kill them outright, but it hurt them more than I expected."

Radical says, "It's part of the reason I rely on technology most of the time, honestly. Sooner or later, I'll be able to control the magic without that kind of effect. I'm just not sure how long that'll take."

Mari gently reaches out for his arm when he mentions it scrambles his brain, but hesitates and wonder if it's necessary once he says he's okay. When he apologizes, she smiles gently and continues on to gently touch the outside of his upper arm. "It's okay. You don't have to be sorry. That was just pure animal instinct. I had no idea you could do that." She gives his arm a gentle rub to reassure him. "They'll heal quickly from it with some rest if they can feed. And...I don't think you should be worried about your magic. You should embrace it. It's amazing. You'll never get used to it scrambling your mind if you shy away, right?" That just seems logical. She doesn't know anything about magic.

Radical nods. "You're probably right. We can talk about in in some more detail, but we should probably try to find the injured campus folks and see if we can cure them. If my demeanor changes again suddenly, you'll know why." He chuckles quietly.

Mari smiles a bit at that. "Sure, if you start acting a little more off the wall, I'll be prepared. It was pretty amusing. Getting dipped in yogurt sounds a bit like a treat," she winks before getting back to the matter at hand. "But students first. We have to make sure they didn't turn or ghoul any of them."

Radical chuckles, "This would be magic of Order. I'll seem...sterner. Less likely to joke about things?" He nods. "Students first."

Radical pulls out his PDA to check the list. "I guess we should head to speak to the first person on the list?"

Mari smiles a bit as she studies Radical a moment. "Hmmm. So Order spells will make you less fun? I'll keep that in mind." She nods at his suggestion. "Probably...hmmm. Should we look for the most recent, or the first victim? Time is important...and you said you weren't sure your spell could cure them if they were turned some time ago."

Radical nods. "That's true. It'd be nice to know if it'll work at all. Maybe pick someone pretty recent, and if it works, then we start at the first on the list?"

Mari nods. "Another reason I came to you. Being faculty, I figured you would not only know the campus, you'd be able to access the student records," Mari says in a low voice. Such information is protected, after all. Lacy McCarthy and Adam Capazzi are some of the more recent cases.

Radical nods. He picks Adam, and looks for the student's address. Or where he's currently staying.

Adam's address is listed at the Alpha Delta Psi frat house along the northern side of campus.

Radical sighs. "A frat house. Oh, good." He chuckles. "Well, let's see if he's there." Assuming she's willing, he'll transport them quickly over to the north side of campus.

Mari grins a little. "You sound overjoyed," she replies as she accepts his transportation. The address even tells which room he may be in. Once they're on the north side of campus, there's along Fraternity Row. Most have their lights on, some are having hangout parties, but not the full on frat parties one would expect.

Alpha Delta Psi is a white colonial style home with black window slats, several rooms, and a four-column entrance. It has a short green lawn surrounding the house on all sides, with a concrete walkway up to the stairs and front door.

Mari whispers, "I don't suppose you have a spell that'll let us...y'know...peek about or scry? If he's sick, maybe he's in his room resting."

Radical shakes his head, "I...haven't really learned how to do that, sadly. I know someone who can, but not me. I've been debating about learning that particular ability."

Radical says, "I could...move into another dimension and then peer across the dimensional barriers, though. It's kind of like doing htat."

Mari stares at him a moment. "So you can spy on people from another dimension? Without anyone knowing?"

Radical nods. "I could. Well, certain people or...dimensional beings might notice. But most people won't."

Radical fights the urge to randomly flip off the air, since Mari woouldn't understand.

Mari gives a sly smile. "You ever spy on me?"

Radical shakes his head, "Nope. Never."

Mari chuckles softly. "That's a shame." She looks back to the frat house. "Hmmm. So I guess I wait here while you do your wizard thing?"

Radical nods. "If you like. I'll go to the door. I mean...superhero, right? Might get me a way in. If that fails, I'll try the indirect route.

Radical heads up to the door to the frat house and knocks.

Mari's smile grows in earnest as he takes the bold direct route. She lets him take lead, staying at the bottom of the steps for now.

After a few minutes, a guy with blonde hair a bit on the longish side, jockish, and a bit inebriated opens the door. "About time! Pizza, Pizza, Pizz--whoa..." he stops cheering as he sees Radical. He looks him up and down and is speechless for a moment.

Radical nods to the guy, "My name is 'Radical'. I'm a superhero. And I'm looking to speak to one of the brothers here. Adam Capazzi."

Radical says, "Is he here?"

There's a telltale smell of weed from the opening of the door.

The jock stares a bit longer. "Yooo...a superhero? Yeah, he's upstairs. He ain't done nothing. He's been sick." He opens the door and waves a finger to the stairs. "Second door on the left."

Radical nods. "Thanks. I know he hasn't done anything. I think I know why he's sick, though." He heads upstairs to the second door on the left and he knocks.

Mari follows in after Radical, smiling at the jock as she passes. The stairs creak as both walk up.

The Frat house has some cracks in the paint, and someone got rowdy and put a small hole in the drywall down the hall. This fine building is suffering from mismanagement. A young, tired male voice complains, "I'm trying to sleep, bro. I don't wanna party tonight."

Radical opens the door slowly. "Adam? My name is Radical. I'm a superhero, and I think I know why you're sick."

There's a dark haired senior, pale, and dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants tangled in sheets in his bed. The room is a single one, but is narrow. Adam lifts his head weakly. "What...? Why is a superhero here for a flu...?" he asks in confusion, his head wavering from the effort.

Radical nods. "It's not the flu." He steps in a bit further, and he then goes to try to head the kid, trying to revert the senior back to his prior pattern.

With some use of the spell, Adam blinks a few times. "Whoa...I do feel better," he says as some color returns to his cheeks. Mari watches and studies the kid.

Radical nods as he looks at his handiwork. "It was a...magical disease. You should feel better with a little rest now. Drink some water or something." He glances to Mari to see if she has anything to immediately add.

Mari looks to Radical and appears like she wants to say something for him alone. She looks back to the student. "Take some iron pills. And get something to eat," she smiles softly.

Radical nods to Mari, and stands up. "We will leave you to recover, Adam."

Adam nods and sits up, already feeling better.

Mari looks to Radical and smiles at his handiwork. It means something more to her.

Radical nods...and heads back outside with Mari, so they can talk a little more privately. "So, the proof of concept held up. So it will work on the condition, but we do not know how much of a time window we have before it will not work."

Mari nods. She notices the change in speech, becoming more formal. "You weren't kidding about the affects of your magic. Are you okay?" she keeps her voice quiet. She looks back to the room. "They made him a ghoul. He was going through withdrawals. Who was the next person you mentioned?"

Radical nods to Mari, "I am okay. I mean...I'm okay. The longer the exposure, the longer the effect on me." He looks up the other name. "Lacy McCarthy"

Radical says, "She's another recent one."

Mari looks relieved as he uses contractions again. "You're sounding a bit more like you already. Okay, let's go check on Lacy next."

Radical nods. "Alright, let's go see where she is." He checks her location...well, her home. "This is going to get tiring before the night is out. We'll see how this goes." He transports both of them closer to the address in question.

Mari nods in agreement. "The night's still young for me, but you already worked the whole day," she sympathizes. The next address is off-campus, but in the cheap part of the student quarter. Lacy is leaving in an old four story apartment building, apartment 203. It's pretty old constructions. Maybe pre-2000.

Mari looks up at the apartment building. "Do you regret me coming to you about this? This is my mess to clean up. You don't have to ferry me everywhere."

Radical shakes his head, "If I can help, staying up late is worth it." He smiles, though it's barely visible. "I don't regret you asking for help. I'm glad you did, actually."

"You are...?" Mari asks in surprise, smiling at him as she starts walking toward the apartment entrance. It has a glass door into a tiled lobby with a call box.

Radical nods. "Absolutely." He checks the apartment number and tries the call box first.

The call box starts ringing as it calls up to the apartment. Mari asks, "Why's that? I mean, I'm certainly glad. I'm not sure what those two would've done if I was alone."

The call box keeps ringing with no answer. Mari frowns a little.

Radical nods. "Let's go check it out."

Radical goes ahead and teleports both of them inside, so they can head to the door of the apartment.

Mari smiles as Radical bypasses the door for them. "That's a really handy trick of yours. That must make things pretty convenient," she comments as they head for the elevator. It's already on the ground floor, and takes them up to second quickly. The apartment is a few doors down the hall on the left.

Radical chuckles. "It can. But I need to be kind of careful about doing it. Missing where I'm tyring to go can be bad." He heads down to the door and knocks on it.

"Bad how...?" Mari asks quietly, not sure that she likes the sound of that. There's no answer to the knocking.

Radical chuckles. "Well, ending up int eh wrong apartment would be bad, for example. Let's check inside.

Radical teleports both of them inside the apartment.

"That's not -so- bad." Mari, however, makes sure to hold absolutely still just to be sure.

The apartment interior is mostly dark. There's a dim lamp on the living room near an Akea couch. The furniture is the typical flimsy college student style. The kitchen is small, as is the living room area, but it does have door to the right that's closed.

Radical looks around slowly, tyring to get a feel for how many people live here. "Lacy?"

With the dishes piled in the sink, it might make one think there's more than one person living here, but then looking at the other decor, and only one jacket, Radical is sure it's only one person. There are studio apartments that are bigger than this place. Beyond the door on the right, there's some faint groaning that Radical picks up.

Radical points to the door. "PRobably only one person living here." He heads ot the door to take a look inside.

The room is dark, the blinds closed. The dim light from the living room area casts a little bit of light. He can see movement in the small single bed, a figure curled up under the blankets. It shifts as that faint light spills into the room. "Huh..."

Radical turns on the light. "Lacy?"

A college girl, maybe a junior, flinches at the light and curls up a bit. She sniffs. "So...hungry!" The sheets go flying off of her as she lunges at Radical, fangs bared and claw-like nails. She's deathly pale and lets out an animalistic snarl.

Mari gasps behind him. "They didn't..."

Radical nods. "They turned her into a vampire, huh?"

Radical says, "If you can hold her, I can try healing her."

Mari nods rapidly. "Don't hurt her. She can't help it!"

Radical tries to sidestep and redirect her attack at him to the side, and simultaneously give Mari a chance to try to grab the young woman.

The girl's wild attempt is set aside from Radical's methodical movement. Mari steps in and tries to grab the young woman from behind. "Shhh, shhh, it's okay. It'll be okay," she tries to soothe the beast within.

Mari manages to grab the wild girl from behind and hold her back, but just barely.

Radical goes ahead and starts the curing process, hoping htat it works. He reaches out to start applying the healing magic...

There's much growling and gnashing of teeth as the girl tries to get a bite of Radical or Mari's arms. Then a wave of weakness hits her and she sags down in Mari's grasp. Her fangs retract and warmth and color return to her skin.

Mari helps lower the girl to the ground. With her not struggling anymore, Mari's hold turns into an embrace as she strokes the girl's back. She looks up at Radical. "You...you did it. It worked still," she says in complete awe.

Radical nods. "She was a precent recent target, though. I'm not sure if it'll work on the initial people who were attacked."

Radical says, "We'll have to check on everyone on the list, and find out."

Mari nods gravely. "Sooner than later. It may be a long night." She sniffs delicately at the girl, trying to pick up on something.

The girl is disoriented and shaking a bit. "What...what happened to me?" she asks, appearing faint from the ordeal.

Radical nods. "Hi, Lacy. How are you feeling? My name is Radical, and I'm a local superhero."

"Tired. And I ache all over..." Lacy says as she looks at the pair. "What...what're you doing in my place?" She is confused.

Radical nods slowly, "You had been changed into a vampire. I just cured you of it. You're human again. Can you tell me anything about what happened to you before you got ill?"

Lacy looks to the floor in thought while Mari keeps trying to comfort her. Lacy looks up at Radical. "I...I brought a guy over after meeting up with him at the Underground. He started coming onto me pretty aggressively, but...he was hot in that artsy sort of way." She looks too embarrassed to continue.

Radical nods again. "Well...eat some food. Drink some liquids. And we can get out of your hair and let you rest." He glances to Mari, knowing that this is another piece of evidence that she's likely to have to report. If those two were creating vampires, that's a problem for the locals.

Mari looks back to Radical and wants to say something, but believes it can wait. "Here, dear, I'll help you to a chair and we'll go. She helps Lacy up to her feet and over to her couch.

Lacy needs to be led there. "Was I really a...a vampire? Immortal-creature-of-the-night vampire? So then he..." she starts to have questions.

Radical nods. "I...suspect he won't be a danger any longer. But if you see him again, give him a wide berth. And...give me a call." He produces a business card with just the name 'Radical' on it, and a phone number.

Lacy takes the card and looks at it, nodding numbly. "Okay. I'll keep a hold of this."

Mari smiles at the card, amused and impressed. "You got very lucky. Be careful in the future," she says as she straigthens up. She looks to Radical. "Shall we go?"

Lacy looks surprised that they're going to go already. "Thank you. Thank you so much," she says to Radical.

Radical nods to Lacy, "You're welcome, Lacy. Have a good night. And just a reminder...eat and drink something. It'll help." He gives her a wave...and then takes Mari's hand...and teleports the two of them to the hallway outside.

Mari takes his hand and smiles as they both vanish. The dramatic exit leaves Lacy gasping in awe at the wizard's disappearance with...his assistant? She really needs to get something to eat.

Now out in the hallway, Mari is grinning ear to ear in excitement. "You really did it! Your magic saved her!" she says in a rush, keeping her voice low.

Radical smiles and gives her a hug. As they walk toward the front door, he says..."I want to be clear, though. I don't necessarily feel like...curing it is needed, necessarily. I don't think everyone needs to be restored. But she had her humanity taken away forcefully."

Radical definitely sounds like he wants to make sure he doesn't think that Mari needs to be 'cured'.

Mari hugs him back tight in her excitement, then walks with him. She listen, appreciating his view on not everyone needing a cure. "It was definitely done forcefully. And carelessly. Leaving her to turn alone, hungry and confused is...cruel," she says. There's judgement in her voice. It's gone when she adds, "I didn't smell any blood on her except some of her own. She hadn't fed yet."

Radical nods. "That may not be true for the earlier people, if they turned any. Maybe that's the point where it's 'too late'?"

"It may be. I...I don't really know. I've never heard of anyone being cured, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. You've proved that," Mari says in praise. "I...hope you didn't think ill of her. When someone's first turned, they're blinded by their hunger. And when a vampire is starving, they...often can't control themselves," she admits with reluctance.

Radical shakes his head, "No...definitely not. I understand. She was...overwhelmed." When they get to the front door, he teleports them outside. "It's much like the feelings I get when I work magic. But I'm sure much stronger. At least I think I understand it."

Mari wasn't expecting it, but she's starting to get accustomed, because she grins and says, "I'm starting to like that. It also made for a very stylish exit." She considers Radical's comparison a moment. It didn't occur to her. "Hmm. I think it's quite a bit like that. Thankfully magic's affects on you seem to be mild. It would be like a more intense version of that. Like losing yourself."

Radical nods. "When I was the Cartesian, I was super...let's call it 'anal retentive' all the time. But it didn't impact my ability to live. It just made me...more insufferable?" He chuckles quietly.

Mari laughs lightly at that. "That sounds like an opposite side of the spectrum of being lost to the Hunger. You're not at all insufferable, so I should be glad you're not the Cartesian anymore."

Mari adds, "Because now you get to be yourself."

Radical chuckles and nods. "That's true." He takes a look at the list again, seeing how many there are. "This might take a bit. Those two were busy."

Mari frowns and nods. "And those were the most recent students. If that's what they were doing all along..." she trails off, then looks a bit solemn. "The Baron won't be happy about this."

Radical nods. "I figured. It's one thing to feed on people with abandon. It's another to be creating new vampires. They're likely to be killed, aren't they?"

Mari looks uncomfortably worried. "There's a strong chance of that. It's not fully guaranteed. The Baron would investigate them thoroughly into their activities and past, try to find their creator to get answers. But if the Baron decides they need to be punished, there's nothing I can do."

Radical nods. "And I'm guessing...if I were to speak on their behalf to get them spared, I'll just be a target, right? Since I know too much?"

Mari's eyes widen. "I...don't know. Humans aren't allowed in the Court. It'd be my neck if that happened."

Mari looks scared. "I try to stay as far away from Court affairs as I can. I don't even know why I was tapped for this. Why would the Baron bother with me...now..." she trails off in thought. "No, he couldn't...could he?"

Radical tilts his head, "Couldn't do what?"

Mari sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. She speaks quietly, looking around before the words finally come. "Couldn't know what you are, or that we know each other. I haven't told anyone you or how you know the truth about what I am. I...I wanted to keep you away from that. Who knows what the Baron would scheme if he thought he could have a Wizard at his disposal."

Radical shrugs, "He better be damn subtle about trying to manipulate me if he's going to try it. I can't travel through time, but I have friends who can."

Mari looks a little comforted by that. "I'm sure you'll be fine," she convinces herself.

Radical puts a hand on her shoulder. "If he does ask directly, let him know that I have no plans to interfere with them. As long...as I am left alone."

Mari nods softly and smiles to him. "I'll do that. I'll also do what I can to keep you out of it," she says sincerely. "Maybe I can convince the Baron to spare them, or choose a milder punishment. I still have to tell the Baron about the students."

Radical nods. "well, we need more information for you. So, clearly my spell can work to reverse the process. The proof of concept. Now we need to see if I can pull that off on everyone. Start at the earliest target? What do you think?"

Mari nods. "That'd be a good test. If it still works on that person, then you can save all the students," she says hopefully.

Radical looks up the earliest person on the list to see who it is, and where they might be.

Radical nods. "We'll have to figure out waht to do if it doesn't work. I'll have to defer to your expertise, most likely."

The first person on the list is Wesley Ravenwood. His address is in one of the co-ed dorms.

Mari nods at that prospect. "If it doesn't, I think I'd have to take them to the Baron. The Baron will assign someone to teach them the ways. What they are, how to survive, what the rules are, that sort of thing."

Radical nods. "Hmm. This one is in a dorm. Keep a close eye out." He gets them over to the building in question. "We probably will have to blip inside."

"I don't mind. It's starting to be fun," Mari smiles. She reflects for a moment. "It may be pretty busy. We'll have to be careful to not gain too much attention."

Radical pauses, "Should we get you a mask, too?" He chuckles.

Mari laughs at that idea. "Hmmm. Maybe. I already had to change my identity recently. Are there shops where you can go for them?" she asks, amused by the sudden idea.

Radical thinks about it. "Generally...no. I mean, you can go to a costume store to get something, but most people who wear masks make their own. Or use powers to create one. When I was the Cartesian, I used magic to disguise myself."

Radical shrugs, "I suspect I'll be the one to draw attention when we go in, at least intially. But they might take photos." He pauses, "Do you turn up in photos?"

"Oh wow. You made that mask yourself? And the outfit?" Mari gasps.

Mari nods. "I do."

Radical nods. "Well, with some help, but yeah."

Mari smiles and steps close, and leans in closer to inspect his handiwork. "Mm. Very impressive." Her smile grows. "If this started becoming a habit, maybe a mask for myself would be prudent."

Radical chuckles. "Or I'll need to learn some magic to help you with that."

Mari's eyes light up at that and she chuckles. "Now that sounds interesting. I'd be a willing test subject just to see what sort of magic you come up with for that."

Radical chuckles. "Are you willing to go in this time? Otherwise, I can go in solo. With a mask on, I don't have much of a concern about being seen."

"I may not be much help, but I'm not letting you go alone," Mari chuckles and holds out her and so he can teleport them. "You're so much more flashy and eyecatching. I'm sure they'll forget about me."

Radical laughs. "A college aged guy will remember you. I guarantee it." But he teleports them inside the building, aiming for the far side of the door.

The pair appear inside the entrance. This is the club room of the dorm area, and also the lobby. There's an air hockey table, ping pong, and a few other places for socializing and entertainment. Some students playing at the pool table look their way, and the one about to shoot messes up his shot from the surprise.

Radical gives the students a glance, and then starts to look for the dorm room numbers, heading down the hall.

The east hall is where rooms 11-20 are, and each room as an A an a B. It's a bit of a walk for the pair, with some room doors open and some not, with students socializing or netflixing and chilling. The door to 17-B is closed. As they draw close, there's muffled angry shouts from various voices.

Radical furrows his brow, and then knocks on the door.

The knocking almost isn't noticed. Someone is shouting, "What're you waiting for? Stake him, he's a monster!"

"Shhh, I think I heard someone knocking..."

"Guys! Guys, stop!"

Radical blinks and says to Mari, "They're going to try to stake the kid. Going in. Be on your toes."

Radical pauses and rethinks it. "Wait. They stopped. Let's not be that aggressive." He knocks again. Louder. "I need to talk to Wesley. Don't be staking anyone. And open this door."

Mari says, "I don't know, he sounds pretty scared."

"Hurry up!" the same voice that demanding staking says.

Radical teleports both Mari and himself beyond the door, "Stop!"

The room is chaos. It's a dorm with a small living room and kitchenette, and bedroom doors on the left and right of the entrance door. There's five students piling on to one student that's baring his fangs and struggling on the ground on his back. There's two students holding his arms, one holding his feet, one standing back to oversee, and another sitting on the victim's upper legs, holding up what looks like a wooden chair leg sharpened to a point.

They're also all armed with crucifixes, have small waterguns tucked into their pants, and are wearing braids of garlic. Mari hisses in pain instinctively and shrinks back, her fangs involuntarily showing themseelves.

The oveerseer who sounds like the ringleader says, "Holy shick, more vampires!"

Radical holds up his hands. "No. I can cure him. Without having to kill him."

Radical adds, "I'm not a vampire. I'm a superhero. I go by Radical. Wesley is a victim, changed by someone who has already been caught."

The ringleader points to Mari, who has curled up on the floor against the wall by the couch to try and shield herself from their anti-vampire items. "Don't listen to him! They're all vampires! Get 'em!"

His friends aren't stirred enough by his words and still hesitate.

Radical moves over toward the kid who's held down. "I'm serious. Put the weapon down. Let me try to cure the kid. You can keep holding him down. That'll make it easier."

The biggest of the group is the heavy one with the stake. Radical's managed to convince them enough that he lowers the stake and just focuses on holding the hissing, frigthened Wesley. The ringerleader backs up to get out of the way, closer to Mari.

Radical nods. "Thank you." He places his hand on Wesley and starts to concentrate on the spell.

As Radical casts the spell, Wesley calms down a bit, but he still has his fangs out.

Radical nods. "I need a couple more seconds. Keep him held."

The spell washes over Wesley, but still no change like with Lacy.

Radical shakes his head. "I think...I was too late." He looks up at the guy with the stake. "Ddi he feed on someone? What happened, exactly?"

"We found out what he was when he bit Miguel's girlfriend," the stakeholder nods over to the ringerleader.

Radical nods. "I'm going to need to take Wesley here, to get him some help. And I'll need to see Miguel's girlfriend to make sure she's okay."

Miguel pulls his holywater squirtgun and reaches to grab Mari's upper left arm. She shrieks as he wrenches her up to her feet, cringing in pain. It's almost silly watching him take Mari hostage with a squirt gun. "No, he's one of you! You'll let him off when he needs to pay for what he did to my girl!"

Radical stands and looks at Miguel. "You think I'm a vampire? Fine. Shoot me with that." He beckons him, daring him to do it.

Radical shrugs, "Or point your crosses at me. Whatever."

Miguel frowns angrily. "You think I'm scared of you!?" he shouts and does what he's been goaded into. Squirtsquirtsquirt! He shoots at Radical, aiming for his head.

Radical stands there patiently, not trying to avoid it. "You ARE scared of me. You think I'm a vampire. When I'm not."

Radical takes a deep breath. "What I am...is a mage. I protect those you need protecting. That includes you. That's why I need to take Wesley into custody."

Miguel's bravado starts to fail him when it has no affect on Radical. His explanation of being a mage restores some of his conviction. That's why it didn't work! "Fine...arrest him and take him away, then!" He still has Mari in his grip and tries to decide what her fate will be. "Why was this vampire with you?"

Radical titls his head. "She's helping me clean up the mistakes of someone else. She's effectively...a vampire cop. Let her go. Now."

Miguel scowls and is still stuck deciding. Then he finally releases Mari and she moves away from quickly to go to Radical's side.

Radical nods to Miguel, "Good choice." He looks to Wesley, "Are you ready to go?"

Wesley nods quickly. "Totes. Get me out of here." The others start to cautiously pile off of him so he can get up.

Radical grimaces at the word 'Totes'. But he nods...and places a hand on both Wesley and Mari...and teleports them all outside the building.

Radical gives Mari a wink, which can be seen through the lens on his mask. "So you're a vampire cop now."

Mari and Wesley immediately look relieved once they're outside. Mari manages to retract her fangs and straigthen up, that primal fear fading. He even makes her smile with the wink and the joke. "Are you deputizing me?" she chuckles.

Radical chuckles. "Since I'm not a cop, I'm afraid I can't deputize anyone. But it's sitll kind of accurate." He pauses, "The spell to undo the process didn't work. It should have, given how much energy I poured into him." He looks to Wesley, "She can help you."

Mari smiles at him at that accuracy comment. "For now, I guess it is." She looks concerned when he says his spell failed. She looks to Wesley and sniffs at him. "Maybe we didn't find him in time?"

Wesley looks at the two. "Are you kidding? Being a vampire is awesome! I don't need any help!"

Radical chuckles. "No. You do need help, Wesley. Think about it like learning to drive a car. There are rules to you need to follow."

"Rules? You've got to be kidding," Wesley complains.

Mari takes a gentle approach. "It's really to prevent things like what just happened from happening again." She pauses a moment, not happy to ask, but she puts on a sympathetic smile. "Can you tell me what you did to his girlfriend?"

Radical glances to Mari, and he goes to speak...and likely would have been a bit harsher about it. After all, the guy who changed Wesley might die for his mistake.

Radical holds off, though.

Wesley chuffs at Mari's question. "She's alright. Better than alright. He's just pissed because he walked in on us and saw how much she enjoyed it while I was drinking from her," he brushes off Mari's concern.

Mari tries is speechless as to what to say for a moment.

Radical takes a deep breath. "There's a chance you changed her into a vampire as well." He looks to Mari, "What are the odds? Do I need to go find her?"

Mari looks to Radical, then looks back to Wesley. "Did you killer her? Or feed her any of your blood?"

Wesley looks completely surprised by the question. "What? No! The bites even healed up when I was done."

Mari sighs in relief. "She's probably fine, then," she says to Radical. "A bit tired, and in need of a cookie and liquids, but she'll be fine."

Radical nods to Mari. "Alright. Glad to hear it." He pauses and says, "I'm guessing you'll need to help Wesley out here. We do have a bunch more on the list to check, though. When do you want to do that?"

Mari thinks on it. "The sooner we check the rest, the better. You weren't able to cure him, so I worry any delays will be a risk. Though given this situation...perhaps the Baron could provide some help gathering the students if you can get all the addresses."

Radical nods. "I have them. But...it'll be clear I'm involved if you call the Baron in to help."

Mari nods and frowns, troubled. "Yes...and I don't want to cause you any trouble." She sighs, a little lost as to what to do. "I almost never get called to help the Court with stuff like this. I just know when the Baron calls on you to do something, you get it done, and quickly."

Radical nods. "It'll take us several hours to check the remaining students. We can probably get through them, but it'll take all night. And it'll get complicated if more than one has been changed."

And it's a weeknight, Mari realizes. "Perhaps we divide up the list? The night's young for me, but you'll tired out." She looks to Wesley. "And I should probably send him off to the Court as well for the Baron to decide who will teach him."

Radical nods. "Tell you what...I'll give you the list, with the addresses. Take him to the court. See if you can gather a bunch of these people in one location. When and if you do, I'll show up there. Meanwhile, I'll start working on the list. I'll start with the newest people, the ones most likely to be able to be healed. You can start at the other end, gathering the people less likely.

Radical says, "I figured I might get through a good six at least before you manage to gather the others."

Mari likes that idea and nods. "Okay, that sounds good," she smiles. And he might even get a chance to get some sleep tonight, she hopes.

The pair part ways after the list is split up and Mari gives Radical an address in Colonial Heights to meet up with any who are potentially too far gone to cure. Mari escorts Wesley to see the Baron, while Radical begins his long night to work on his half of the students.

It's a list of twelve, and tracking down some of them has proven a bit difficult because they're not always at home when he firsts checks. A decent portion are just showing symptoms akin to having donated blood. One had full recovered but was playing it up to avoid classes. A few were showing signs of addiction withdrawal. Cold sweats, nausea, cravings, hostility. A bit of wizard magic dealt with those.

But there -were- two others who were turned. One jumped out a third story window when Radical announced himself, resulting in a teleportation chase until he could finish casting his spell with success. He returned to normal and blamed his behavior on being scared. He hadn't fed on anyone.

The last vampire tried and failed to seduce Radical to get in close enough for a bite before he could block the incoming fangs and use his magic to cure her. She was less thank thankful, as she was enjoying her newfound powers.

The long night is nearly over. It's quite late, and has been an exhausting endeavor. Time to meet with Mari.

Radical heads to the meeting place that Mari sent him in a text. It's already been a long night, but if everyone is there, this could be over in a matter of minutes.

Mari is waiting with two others in an dark park in the neighborhood. The trees provide cover from prying eyes. Mari is leaned up against at tree, looking rather worn out. She's rubbing at the side of her neck as they wait.

Radical appears seemingly from nowhere, and then walks over in the direction of Mari. Though he's not entirely sure waht to expect here, so he's somewhat cautious.

The kids startle. Mari does, she just smiles softly. "It's alright. He's the friend I spoke about."

"You...you really think he can help us?" asks one frigthened freshmen.

"Yeah, I don't want to end up like that one guy," says another young female student.

Radical nods. "I think there's a good chance, yeah." He looks to Mari, "Who's the 'one guy' she's referring to?"

"He was really hostile and scary! He didn't want to change back!" pipes up the youngest.

Mari nods, and winces. "I'm afraid one got the drop on me and got away. I should've changed out of this dress into something more suitable."

Radical nods. "We can deal with that afterward. Let's work on healing you two. I'm going to cast a spell. I'm a mage. But it doesn't requite me to use magic words or gestures. I just need to put a hand on your shoulder."

The students look skeptical, but Mari says kindly, "Go on. He wouldn't hurt you." She remains leaning against the tree as the students move forward to Radical.

Radical places a hand on the younger looking of the two, and he goes to heal them.

The youngest gasps in surprise. "I feel warm again!"

Radical nods. "Be sure to get something to eat...and some liquids." He then goes to heal the other as well.

While the youngest steps aside, the other seems to not yet be affected by the spell. She starts to look a bit worried.

The youngest says excitedly, "So I can go home again?"

Mari smiles faintly. "Yes. Just don't speak to anyone about this? It will be taken care of."

Radical nods to the second student. "Give it a couple more seconds. Be patient. Sometimes the magic works more slowly."

The student tries not to fidget. Finally, the spell works, and they take a breath. "Oh...wow. I feel so much better. Still hungry, but it's not gnawing at me anymore."

Radical pats the student's shoulder and nods. "Good. I'm glad it worked. You should be able to eat food. Drink regular liquids."

Radical looks over toward Mari. She had half the list. And this only accounts for...3? Including the one who attacked.

"Thank goodness," the other says cheerfully. The two students start to chat each other up about their experiences.

Mari looks slowly over to Radical. "The others hadn't turned. But a few had a taste of vampiric blood and didn't know why they were feeling so sick. They'll recover in time with some rest," she explains.

Radical nods to Mari, "So, what's the status of the one who attacked you?"

Mari looks embarrassed. "Escaped. He's fully embraced what he has become."

"That guy was a jerk before this," the older student complains.

"I'd say that aspect of him hasn't change," Mari frowns. "He didn't want a cure."

"He tried to eat Justine!" the young freshman pipes up. Mari's already used her new alias with these kids.

Radical nods. "I'm guessing tracking him down won't be simple."

Mari looks upset and concerned. "He's still new. He'll make mistakes. Hopefully not dangerous ones. We may still be able to track him down."

Radical looks to the kids. "I know you said he was kind of a jerk...but do you know who his friends were? He'd likely go to crash with them.

The girls think for a moment. The youngest said, "Yeah, actually. He has a girlfriend, too." The youngest takes out her phone and starts checking some addresses.

Radical nods. "The girlfriend's place makes sense to check first."

Mari smiles. "You've really got a mind for this stuff," she compliments Radical.

The youngest pulls up the girlfriend's address after some social media snooping. "She lives off campus at her parent's house in Bayside," she says as she gives the address to Radical.

Radical makes a note of the address. "How about any other friends? Know any of them and where they live?"

"Uhh...I think some are in an apartment at local housing in the student quarter. Hey, yeah! They were bragging and saying Victory used to live in the new apartment they just moved into," the youngest pipes up. She rolls her eyes. "It's like they think it'll get them laid."

Radical chuckles at that. "I see. I think I can find that address. Thanks again."

Mari snickers at the girl's comments.

The girl smiles. "And thanks for fixing us!" The other girl nods in agreement.

Radical nods. "Happy to help." He pulls out another card to give them. "If you need anything related to this, let me know."

"Where do you get those printed?" Mari whispers enviously to him from the corner of her mouth.

The older one takes the card from him. "So we can go home now?" she asks hopefully.

Radical chuckles and says to Mari, "I'll tell you later. I almost never use them, but I've gone through more in the last day than I went through in like...six months prior." He nods to the girls. "I think so." He looks to Mari to confirm.

"Really...?" Mari asks with an undertone of guilt. She starts to get ideas about the cards. She nods to the girls. "Don't take any shortcuts down dark alleys," she smiles.

"Definitely not. Thanks again!" The girls are eager to flee and go home, and so they begin to walk away.

Radical watches them leave..and looks back to Mari, "I think the place to check first is the girlfriend's place."

"I agree. Also...he's going to need to find something before the risk of the sun rising on him. If he's got any sense, that would drive him to sheltering with her probably," Mari says. Gathering her energy she steps away from the tree she was leaning on, still keeping a hand along the side of her neck.

Radical nods. "Before we leave...let me see if I can do something about that injury, if you're okay with that?"

Mari looks surprised, and also embarrased. She pulls her hand away. There's a messy bite mark there. The black dress hides any stains. "You can heal this?" she asks in surprise. "I could heal myself eventually. I just..." she starts, but doesn't want to finish the sentence.

Radical nods. "I think I can? Let's find out." He place hand on her shoulder...and applies some more magic, but a slightly different spell.

The wound looks a little less fresh and shows the starting signs of healing. Mari says, "Wow. That feels...strange."

Mari adds, "But nice and...warm? Maybe that's my imagination."

Radical nods. "It's working, I think. Give me a second to try again. This is something new for me."

Mari chuckles and smiles nervously. "So I'm your guinea pig?" Even as she says that, the bite wound heals up completely. There's just a bit of the staining blood left behind. As Mari feels the pain go away, she reaches up to run her fingers over the area. "That's amazing. Feel free to experiment on me anytime," she grins.

Radical takes a deep breath, letting the Order magic pass through him. "I...will keep that in mind." His voice sounds like he's amused at the thought though. "I will be okay in a moment. We should get moving. So I can finally get at least a little sleep tonight."

Mari smiles in amusement at Radical's formal way of speaking. "Thank you for doing that for me," she says in appreciation, knowing what it costs him to do it. "I want you to get some sleep too. I feel bad for dragging you into this, but I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you."

Radical chuckles. "It's okay. This is...my back yard, so to speak. I'm happy to help."

Mari fishes out a wet wipe packet from her purse and tears it open. She rubs the wet wipe over her neck to clean up after the healing. "I'm glad for that, too. And you're already starting to sound like yourself!" she grins at his quick recovery.

Radical smiles. "That was...not a huge application of power on my part."

Mari smiles, her eyebrows perking up briefly in impressed surprise. "If all this has been minor for you, I shudder to think what a large use would look like."

Radical nods. "Each instance of it...isn't much. But you are right. It does add up over time."

Mari smiles at Radical, finding him charming in his misunderstanding. "That's not what I meant. I think you being able to heal that bite like that is a huge deal. If you think that's minor, then you've got to have some really impressive tricks up your sleeve."

Radical chuckles. "Ah...sorry. Yeah, I did not quite understand what you meant."

Mari chuckles. "Now that you've mentioned it, though, it gives me ideas," she says with a sly smile. "But let's get after that kid before we're stuck running around 'til sunrise."

Radical nods. "Have any easy way to track him?"

Mari takes out her phone and types something in, then holds out the screen to him with her map application open and a location marked. "That's the address the girls gave us for his girlfriend's house. It may be a quick jaunt for us there with your skills. I can see if I can pick up his scent around there?"

Radical nods. "Right. Right. I'm clearly getting tired." He shakes his head. "Okay, it's not too far. All set?" He then transports the pair to the address over a few jumps.

Mari smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry. I know it's been a long day and night for you." She steps up to him to take hold for the transportation. They end up in a nice neighborhood with well manicured lawns and expensive homes in a Bayside residential area. The street is well lit, but given the time, most of the windows on this street are dark.

Mari looks at the map address, then looks around. "This one," she says quietly. It's a large, two-story Cape Cod-style home in light gray with white trim.

Radical nods. "Let's poke around a bit outside and see if you can pick anything up?"

Mari nods at his suggestion. "Sounds good. It should be easy enough to smell him. He's got some of my blood on him, after all." She moves quietly towards the house, sniffing at the air delicately.

Radical looks around in the meantime, looking for any clues he might pick up on, though his senses are more attuned to things which...might not be as useful.

Mari is lurking around the windows, still sniffing and having difficulty finding anything.

Using his magic sight, Radical doesn't sense anything. Not even anything unusual about Mari, except for the residual Order magic lingering on her from his spell. What he does notice, thought, is a car turning onto this street and heading their way. For this neighborhood, that car looks like it doesn't belong. More of a small college car than something from a ritzy neighborhood.

Radical says to Mari, "Get out of sight. There's a car coming which might be him."

Mari looks alert, then quickly slips around the side of the house and behind some bushes.

Radical gets out of sight as well. He doesn't know what the kid looks like, so he's going to have to count on Mari to identify him.

The car starts to slow as it gets near the house they were inspecting. It pulls up to the curb in front of the house and parks before the engine shuts off along with the headlights. A college-aged man hops out and heads for not for the door, but more off to the side. His eyes are fixed on one of the windows on the second floor.

The young man halts as he looks towards Radical's direction, then over to where Mari is hiding. He starts taking some steps back from the house and frowns. He looks attractive and like he works out, clean cut with a t-shirt, jeans, and a brown jacket. It's safe to say the girlfriend dates him for his looks at least.

Radical frowns and decides they've been spotted. He teleports back by the guy's car, and then turns to face him. "We need to talk."

The college student balls his hands into fists. "First that nosey lady wanting to help, and now a frickin' cape. Seriously?" he says aggressively.

Mari takes the cue from Radical and steps out of the bushes. She nods to Radical in conformation of the kid's identity, but his words already confirm as much.

Radical nods. "Seriously. Because this is serious. Any chance we can talk before you decide to turn this into a fight? It's been a very long night."

The young man smirks. "I already heard the pitch." He looks over his shoulder and jerks his chin towards Mari. "She said she knew someone who would make me human again. Why would I want to give up immortality and powers?"

"Tyler, you should listen to him," Mari implores him.

Radical nods. "That would be me. I can do that. And we're not telling you that you have to give up immortality and powers. So, did you already hear that?"

"Yeah, I heard that. I also heard about there being rules and shick," Tyler doesn't sound interested in those in particular.

Radical nods slowly. "Do you know why there are rules?"

Tyler looks at Radical pointedly. "I'm starting to get an idea why. You can't even jaywalk without capes getting involved in this town," he scowls.

Mari comments, "That's one reason, yes."

Radical adds, "Because normal people will want to kill you. And if you draw attention to the fact that vampires exist...others will come to hunt you down. And everyone else around you. It's mutual protection. And yeah...there are metas who hunt vampires. I've run into at least one."

Tyler's scowl fades some. "Okay. So...what if I just get my girl and get out of town?"

Mari doesn't risk stepping closer yet. The kid already took a bite out of her.

Radical nods. "Okay. And go where? What are you going to do? Have a plan for when daylight comes?"

"I...I dunno," Tyler starts. "Live forever together. Find some motel until sunset," he says, grasping at ideas. He hasn't thought it through.

Mari piggybacks on what Radical's saying. "That's a rough way to live. You're going to get hungry. You're going to hurt people..."

Tyler doesn't seem swayed by her argument about hurting people. "I'm not hungry now. Drinking from you...that was way better than the other people I drank from. That was a rush. I could just...keep feeding off of vampires," he says as he turns toward Mari.

Radical tilts his head, "Really? How ar eyou going to find more of them, Tyler?"

Tyler smirks. "Justine said there was a group of them in this city. I figure there's got to be others."

Radical steps a bit closer to Tyler. "Sure. You going to manage to find them before you get hungry? How?"

Radical says, "I'm asking you to think through your plan for living. If you screw this up, you die."

Tyler grins, flashing his fangs. "Humans taste great, too. They'll keep me going just fine while I search. You have no idea how good they taste. How GREAT it feels! I can't die! I'm immortal now!" Except for sunlight and other things.

Radical blinks. "No, you can die. The big one is sunlight. But...holy symbols. Running water. Stakes. Those are all real dangers for you." He steps closer, trying to casually walk to up to Tyler, though he's wary and ready to defend himself.

Radical glances toward Mari. If that first feeding is the cutoff, he wont' be able to remove the vampiric powers, based on what Tyler just said.

Getting closer, Tyler appears to be a bit drunk off of Mari's blood. Or maybe he's still just a jerk. "So I wear sunscreen or don't go out at night! I always slept in late anyway. I don't see how stakes are any more dangerous now than when I was human. Though...not being able to take showers is going to suck."

Mari has looked concern this whole time, until the shower comment. Her expression totally reads as 'What an idiot'.

Radical had meant streams or rivers, rather than a shower. "Um....not what I meant, in regards to the water. That's why you need a tutor someone who knows the deal, and can teach you about your new abilities."

Radical goes ahead and tries to use his healing power on Tyler, reaching out to place a hand on Tyler's shoulder and get it off quickly.

Tyler rolls his eyes. "I'll watch a movie or something then."

Mari's nose wrinkles at the comments. "That's...that's not how this works!" Her loss of temper gets Tyler to look her way in time for Radical to lay a hand on him.

The spells works. Thankfully. His fangs retract and he blinks a few times as the rush of being vampire leaves him. "H-hey...what happened? What'd you do!?" he growls at Radical, just a human once again.

Radical tilts his head, "I made you human again. You were a kid playing with a loaded wearpon. I couldn't let you run loose on your own, because...you wouldn't listen. Sorry."

"What?? No! I was going to live forever!" Tyler shrieks as he looks down at himself, not that anything can be seen to have changed. Mari gives Tyler a pitying look, but she's not too sad that he's been fixed.

"G-give it back!" Tyler reaches for the lapels of Radical's coat. A light turns on upstairs from Tyler's yelling.

Radical sidesteps and avoids Tyler's grip, knocking the kid's hands aside easily. "There's a quote I remember from something I read recently that applies here. 'You get the same amount of time as anyone else. You get a lifetime.'"

Tyler is easily deflected and stumbles past Radical after his sidestep. Feeling helpless, slow, and human again, he sinks to his knees in defeat. "No...no, no, no..." he says in a constricting voice.

Mari walks over to Radical, impressed by his quote. "I think we're done here."

Radical nods to Mari, but wants to tell her something else...out of Tyler's earshot. He says to Tyler, "My name is Radical, by the way. If you need to blame someone other than yourself, pick me. But this is a consequence of your choices." And with that...he figures he might have made a supervillain wannabe, but who knows? He then places a hand on Mari's arm, and teleports the two of them away.

Once they're away from Tyler, he says to Mari, "Can you do me a favor? I'm too tired, but...I'd like to make sure Tyler doesn't take out his anger on his girlfriend."

Mari looks to Radical and nods. "Of course. I'll watch out for her. You deserve a rest," she smiles softly, patting his hand.

Radical nods. "Thanks. I think...I need to go crash for the night. If you need anything else, give me a call." He goes to give her a hug, "Thanks for the help on this, too."

Mari hugs him back warmly. "I'm supposed to be thanking you. I was the one who asked for your help. And you were amazing. This was a rough night, but it turned out better than I could have hoped." She gives him a squeeze before letting go and smiling to him in appreciation. "I'll catch up with you in a few nights, perhaps? By then, you'll have rested up, and I'll hopefully be done with the Baron's questions."

Radical nods. "And I realize he...might have questions for me, too. If necessary, I can talk to him.

"I'll try to leave you out of it," Mari offers.