Log:Radical Recruits for Moonshadow's Rescue

2019/08/15 	 Radical Hunter

1

Radical shows up in the foyer of Amelia's apartment, literally appearing from nowhere. He looks around, just to confirm who's here. "Hello?"

The apartment is...silent. As it has been since Moonshadow's disappearance. Things have been considerably hectic with the Rift Crisis Part Deux, understandably.

"Ahem," comes a voice from behind Radical. Will Wagner--secretly remembered as Hunter to his old friends--stands there with his hands folded behind his back.

He's in casual clothes though--a first around Radical. He's wearing a dark red v-neck tee and jeans, and black converse sneakers. Outside of the suit, he looks even younger for this position as head of security.

"I'm afraid Ms. Steinburg isn't in again," Hunter says formally.

Radical nods. "She's okay, I hope. We already have one missing person to deal with. Moonshadow. I've tracked her location, though. It appears she's been kidnapped by DEMON."

By his expression, that's news to Hunter. His arms relax and he frowns slightly. "When did that happen? Why would they be after her?"

Radical pulls off his mask. "This outfit is too hot in the summer." He shakes his head, "I suspect it has to do with her origins and her use of magic. DEMON is one of those organizations that tries to leverage any magic they can find. I believe that Amelia Halfdemon, the other-world version of our Amelia, is involved. And that she's being held in a castle west of the city. Yes, a literal castle.

Hunter raises a brow as Radical pulls off his mask. "I'm sure you're welcome to Amelia's refreshments if you're too hot," he offers, then sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "I guess my sabbatical will have to wait. I haven't been able to get ahold of Amelia, but that's nothing new. She likes her privacy from....normals, I guess," he mutters. "Where's the rest of you?" he asks, motioning to the empty foyer of the penthouse.

Radical shakes his head, "Jak has been overseas. Looking into a lead on Amelia Halfdemon, ironically. It might be related. I haven't heard from him at all. And Tali...I haven't seen at all."

Hunter frowns a little and leads Radical to the seating area the Travelers had so often gathered in before. "Do you think Tali's been taken, too?" he asks as he stops by the liquor cabinet. "Drink?" he offers politely.

Radical smiles. "Just some water, thank you." He runs his hand through his hair. "I...am really not sure. I think it would be difficult to hold her anywhere, honestly. I suspect Tali is okay. Just busy."

"Well, she -is- a time traveller. I suspect she'll show up exactly when she's needed," Hunter says with a wry smile as he pours a glass of water for Radical and hands it to him. "But just in case, it may be best to start enlisting other heroes if possible. The longer they have her, the worse it will be. And if Halfdemon is involved, it could be very dangerous for all involved."

Radical nods. "Yup. First, I wanted to contact the Travelers I could find. After that...anyone else I could round up.

Hunter declines to get a drink for himself. "The other Travelers seem to be traveling, I guess," he quietly jokes. "The responsibility of employee is my first duty, and Amelia's made it clear her people are not employees. If there aren't any pressing matters, I might be able to assist."

Radical takes a sip of his water. "I appreciate that. Thank you. We're likely dealing with magical defenses. It also looks like I might not be able to dimensionally shift inside the structure, which complicates matters a little bit."

Hunter makes a thoughtful noise. "What can you tell me about the defenses? Was there anything visible you could see or sense? I used to do magical research in my previous job."

Radical shakes his head, "Mostly warded. I didn't poke the bear much. I just scanned around it to make sure I had the right place."

Hunter steps over to one of the bookshelves. He traces a finger along them. "Hmmm, maybe Mortecainem's Tome of Wards?" he asks, mostly to himself. He seems to finally find something and slides the book off the shelf. He flips it open and browses through it. "If you couldn't get inside to see, how can you be sure that was the place?" he asks as he reads.

Radical chuckles. "The trail stopped at the building, and didn't leave it."

His head lifts. "What sort of trail? A magical one, or physical?" Hunter asks. "I'm just curious on how your investigation went. Maybe there are some other clues within." He motions to one of the couches. "Please, feel free to sit a moment. Perhaps some of Amelia's books can provide some help."

Radical thinks about it. "I started with her last known location. The Towers. She was headed to the library, but never made it there. I asked around in the Alien District, and found that there was a meta battle nearby at about the time she disappeared, so I checked out media reports for a location to confirm an interspected or building. Once I found the location, I looked into the past, and was able to pick out Moonshadow...as well as a DEMON Morbane."

"I'm sorry, you what?" Hunter asks, even though he clearly heard that looking into the past part.

Radical grins. "I can still cast a few spells from when I was the Cartesian. One of those is to look into the future or the past."

Radical smiles and shrugs, "It's basically just...seeing the threads of fate. We each have a thread that represents our lives. They interact, connect...drift apart."

"That's handy," Hunter chuckles. "Where were you when I needed you?" he jokes quietly as he looks down into the book and turns the page. "Well, a Morbane is seriously dangerous, from what I understand. You may need to find someone who can counter their spells. But Halfdemon herself didn't seem too hard if you can get in fast and avoid her spells."

Hunter falls silent a bit as he ponders on Radical's explanation of fate's threads, becoming introspective for a few moments.

Radical says, "I can also see magic and dimensional energies, with my gear." He holds up his mask. "So with a fair bit of effort, I was able to track her location to that castle."

Hunter nods as he glances up in thought. "Any particular types of magic noticeable at this castle? There's got to be blueprints somewhere for that sort of structure..."

Radical thinks about it. "Actually, now that I think back...my retrocognition caused me to notice they were heading westward. I then looked for appropriate locations where they might have holed up. And that castle really stuck out. Morgenstein or something like that?"

Hunter purses his lips in thought. "That sounds like something we could look into. A property like that has history to have a name like that," he muses with a half smile.

Radical thinks about it some more and rubs his temple. "Let me check my notes." He pulls out a PDA and checks. "Okay...so, I'm wrong. No warding. But..I did see a couple of soldiers. Six total. Two wearing a uniform that didn't look familiar. And four that looked like what I'm used to. All DEMON folks. I thnk the two odd ones were from another dimension."

"Soldiers, I might know," Hunter says, closing the book and setting it on a side table. "Were there any icons or logos on their uniforms? That doesn't sound like magic."

Radical nods. "Definitely DEMON logos from what I could tell."