Log:Christmas in July, Scene 4

Christmas in July 2014/07/31 	 Detective Carpenter Ellbeth Technohammer Tempo Starstrike Sonny Capelli Timewarp Vajra

4

Previously...

A freak snowstorm was spawned in downtown Colonial Bay, covering up a bank robbery by the Masters of Disaster. The elemental-based team made off with only two things from the bank: Some documents from Tommy Cangelosi's safety deposit box, and a couple of vials from one owned by Dr. Ellan Tilbury. The heroes learned that Dr. Tilbury is one of the scientists behind the MAMBA mutation process...but at the same time, a victim. Most recently, the heroes tracked down the Masters of Disaster, and captured three of the four.

A couple of questioning sessions with Detective Carpenter later, and that brings us to...

Detective Carpenter waits for the heroes he tried to contact at the end of the block of townhouses, near his wheeled car. He's unable to afford a hovercar on his salary.

Ellbeth makes her way to the meeting place by teleportation. Harry has the day off.

Timewarp appears, bang on time, as usual. Not that she had far to come, this time.

Vajra leaps down the street, arriving in short order at Det. Carpenter's car. "Hi~!"

Enforcer studies the situation from the cover of stealth from a nearby rooftop. Not seeing anything to be too concerned or wary about, he decides to make his way over. Moments later, a dark smoke cloud appears a few meters from the good Detective's car and Enforcer steps out of it. He offers a nod of respect to Detective Carpenter.

Of all Colonial Bay's neighborhoods, only Bayside can rival Colonial Heights in wealth, and none come close it in prestige: from the summit of the city's only hill the rich and powerful have looked down on the less fortunate from the earliest days of settlement. Even now elegant houses in old style Colonial architecture give the area a historic East Coast feel, and none are grander than those on Colonial Heights Boulevard, which descends gently west from the summit of the hill through a tunnel made by the interlacing limbs of venerable trees; in the fall the is alive with color, and at night the tunnel is illuminated from with by antique streetlamps. Lower on the hill the homes are not quite as splendid, and there are even some townhouses in the southeast, but even these are too expensive for most.

The detective puts away his PDA and smiles. "Wow...timely as ever. Thank you all for showing up." He motions down the block. "I found out who the MoD was supposedly working for. A guy named 'Sonny Capelli'. The thing is, he's been tough to nail down to question. And...he's apparently hired some bodyguards. Meta bodyguards. I was hoping you could help me get Mr. Capelli to agree to come in to answer some questions."

Carpenter says, "His home is right down there, but he's not home yet. I believe he's due home shortly."

Vajra grins (^ ^). "Oh~! I get to play a heavy! Can I be the bad cop~!?"

Enforcer raises a brow and turns his head to spy at Vajra. "I find that somehow difficult to imagine," he says with a wry smirk.

The detective laughs quietly, "No violence unless necessary. But a little threatening is fine."

Timewarp says, "So I guess we need to do this legal-like? How do we do this?"

Quinn comes dropping down out of the sky, pausing momentarily to hover on a column of actinic light that flares from his boots before he drops to the street. Thin pieces of ice crack and fall away from his armor.

Carpenter nods to Timewarp, "As legal as possible. Now...I can't control the actions of dangerous metahumans such as yourselves..." His tone indicates that he's hinting at something, but he won't say it outright.

The detective waves to Quinn as he arrives. Then...as if on cue, a black hover towncar glides up to the townhouse in question, and people start to get out of it. Four people in total.

Two obvious metahumans and a suit of power armor get out of the vehicle and then an older Italian man follows suit.

Starstrike(#1702TOn)

An obsidian skinned male...with aqua colored hair. His eyes are solid white, and his costume is a skin tight black and white outfit, kind of cut into quarters. White on the upper right and lower left. Black in the other corners. There's a symbol on his chest of two crossed S's, with what looks like a star in the middle, where they cross.

Tempo(#1779TOn)

This man looks statuesque...in a wiry kind of way. His costume is solid white, with blue shoulder pads, boots, and a belt. He also has a matching headband on, which hangs down the side of his face...when he isn't running, that is. The creepiest thing is that his eyes are solid grey...like they don't exist.

Technohammer(#1634TOn)

Big. That's the way to describe this huge suit of power armor, approximately 8 feet tall. The suit is metallic looking...and mostly white and blue. The helmet is blue, aside from the darkened visor. The armored torso is blue with the abdomen in white, with a large letter 'T' where a belt buckle would go. The arms and legs are metallic looking...kind of silver, and the gauntlets and boots are blue.

On his right arm is an apparent weapon of some variety, and tube running from his forearm to the armor's large blue backpack.

Timewarp says, "Anyone know who these guys are?"

Carpenter nods to Timewarp as he starts to walk down the sidewalk toward the newcomers, "The Hammers. A bunch of local mercs."

Timewarp says, "Anything we should know about them?"

Carpenter flags down the group, "Excuse me? Mr. Capelli?" He flashes his badge, "Detective Carpenter from the CBPD. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Quinn blinks behind his faceplate as he looks at the three individuals. "Great. So it's going to be Hammer time?" he asks. He looks at Technohammer, sizing up the large man in powered armor. "Someone really needs to learn about moderation," he says sotto voce.

Sonny Capelli halts, glancing at the suit of power armor with him. He then says in return, "You should speak to my lawyer, capisce?"

Ellbeth sends a telepathic message to the detective. o O(Stall. Keep him talking. Ask about his lawyer, etc.)

Technohammer makes a hand motion to the two metas with him, and they start to scan rooftops and keep an eye on the group of heroes.

Carpenter nods to himself, "Can you give me his contact information? I'll get in touch with him as soon as possible." Capelli nods...and goes to fish a card out of his wallet.

Ellbeth then starts working on a Mental Insinuation on Sonny Capelli, avoiding any sign that she is using a power.

Vajra stands next to Carpenter. . o O (How does Koto-chan do it... ah yes!) Her posture takes on a threatening air, insofar as she can, rubbing her left hand over her right fist.

Enforcer steps behind Carpenter's car and crouches for a moment. The next time someone looks around, he seems to be absent.

Timewarp decides to have fun (and maybe get an advantage when things happen), runs up to Tempo, and tries to undo his belt and tie it around his ankles. All too fast to see, hopefully.//IPE STR 10 TK fine manip. I pray Tempo isn't a time-warper....

Quinn gives a nod of his head in the direction of the man in the suit of powered armor. "Hammer," he says, "How's it going? Still running around in that old thing that you managed to steal from ACRO? You know, you should really look at trading it in before the blue book on it drops too much."

Timewarp(#2661PenACcF?)

Timewarp, when she's not a barely-perceptible blur, is an attractive young woman barely over 5 foot in height, with shortish brown hair worn swept straight back from her mask.

Her costume is a classic skintight suit with half mask, in shades of magenta. Over this she wears boots, which come to a high point at the front, and a waist-length jacket, both in midnight blue with lighter blue trim. The jacket has numerous zippered pockets and the emblem of a blue rose on a white background on the left breast. Typically she has the jacket done up only at the bottom, though this varies.

Tempo's eyes narrow...he doesn't react fast enough, but he does manage to track Timewarp's movements with his eyes while she goes about moving his belt. He says to her, "Childish, much?" He steps out of the belt, as it was just there for aesthetic purpoases.

Technohammer shrugs a bit and says to Quinn, "I helped build it. I'm invested in the suit. Even if it isn't the newest thing to come down the pike."

Timewarp giggles. "Yeah, pretty childish. Hey! You're fast too!"

Tempo smirks and says to Timewarp, "You and I will have to race. But another time."

Timewarp says, "Another time - how come? Got something better to do?"

Tempo nods to Timewarp. "Working. And I like my job."

Timewarp says, "Really? Cos it looking globally slow."

Carpenter gets the lawyer's contact information down in his PDA. He takes as much time with it as he can manage before Sonny starts to get antsy. Sonny says to Technohammer, "I don't like being out here on the street. Let's get inside."

"Hang on," Quinn says as Sonny starts getting antsy and worried about standing around outside. He turns and begins to survey the rooftops around the area, using his thermal imaging systems to search for people crouching down trying to use the roofs for cover.

Sonny hesitates and looks at Quinn, "Did you see something?"

Vajra scans with her sensors as well! Active sonar, IR, UV, etc.

Quinn shakes his head. "Nothing but some pigeons," he says. "You seem awful jumpy being out here. Anything in particular we should be aware of?"

Sonny stares at Quinn for a long moment, considering the question. "Nah. Nothing to worry about."

Starstrike tilts his head back slightly. If his eyes weren't solid white, it's a reasonable guess that he might be rolling them now.

Ellbeth says, "If you are concerned about being outside where you are exposed to all kinds of danager you should hurry inside, Mr Capelli."

Timewarp nods to Tempo. "Have fun watching this guy hiding from nothing!"

Sonny nods to Dr. Wyrd. "Thanks, babe." He hurries inside, with Starstrike taking the lead on the way in. The other two guards follow them inside, with Technohammer going last.

"Overdue library books," Quinn says to Vajra. "You really do not want to mess with librarians. They take their job very seriously."

Vajra nods sagely, "Don't ya know it, Q-kun. They're a scary bunch."

Ellbeth msteps over to the detective. "You do understand that none of what I say can be used in a court of law. But I have mystic powers. If you tell me the questions I will consult the oracle and relay what the great one says."

Carpenter raises a brow at Ellbeth's comment. "Uh...alright. So, I wanted to know if he actually hired the Masters of Disaster. And...if so, what was the purpose?"

Ellbeth listens to detective Carpenter's question. "The great Oracle says that Sonny Capelli did hire the Masters of Disaster. The aim was two-fold. The documents were intended to give him leverage over Tommy Cangelosi. The theft from Dr Tilbury was because his son has undergone the MAMBA process. He wants to undo his son's transformation."

Detective Carpenter looks a bit surprised again. "Huh. Okay...so where can we find the son? And does the son want to change back to a normal human?"

Ellbeth goes digging for the answers to the detective's second question.

Quinn cocks his head to one side for a moment as he thinks of something and then turns his thermographics to Capelli's building, deciding he really should check and make sure he can't see any assassins inside waiting for Capelli and crew.

Ellbeth says, "The Oracle is not sure of the location of the son. Somewhere south of the city. The son does not want to return to being normal. Sonny is intending to force the cure on his son. Now speaking personally, I'm all in favour of letting him do that."

Carpenter nods again, thinking about questions to ask. "What did he want over Cangelosi?"

Ellbeth says, "The Oracle believes that Cangelosi was involved in dirty financing of a proposed casino. Sonny wanted, and got, documentary proof of that."

Carpenter nods, "I just wish this was all usable in a court of law." He rubs his chin, "Hmm."

The rest of the group, thsoe not dealing with the 'questioning', notice a few people on the far side of the street have gathered. A couple of them are starting to take photos with their PDAs.

Ellbeth looks at Carpenter. "No. You don't. You wouldn't want to live in the kind of society in which this would be admissable in a court of law."

Carpenter smiles, "Not what I mean. Just that I wish the information I had was usable. Not that the method used became legal."

Ellbeth says, "I believe the term is 'Parallel Construction. You have the answers. What you need now is legal proof that the answers are correct. Good old fashioned police work."

As the photos across the street are being taken by a young Asian couple and a solitary Caucasian man, the townhouse explodes, sending flames out the windows and bricks flying. The people across the street duck, trying to cover their heads.

Ellbeth drops the telepathy from her end of the connection. "The Oracle is exhausted. No more answers for now."

Vajra tries to dive in front of Carpenter to protect him!

With the civilians only in danger of superficial injuries Quinn likewise springs into action, moving to interpose himself between Ellbeth and the exploding building.

Timewarp instinctively dodges both shockwave and debris, shifting into accelerated time.

Enforcer doesn't have time to lasso a civilian and pull them away from the blast, so he does the only thing he can with the alotted time...he tries to sprint for the youngest of the civilians in an attempt to shield them from the blast and hope his armor holds up. If he can even get there in time.

Jets flare on Vajra's suit as she dives in front of the Carpenter and Ellbeth, keeping her from being blown back into them.

The explosion takes out the windows and there are flames inside. A shimmering purple forcefield can be seen glowing through the smoke.

Ellbeth's magical defenses soak up the explosion damage leaking pass Quinn's protection. She's white faced though and obviously shaken, "So close an escape." she half whispers.

Carpenter gets flattened and he cries out as he hits the ground. He's bleeding slightly from some shrapnel that struck his head.

Quinn, unfortunately, is not as fortunate as Vajra, being knocked for a loop by the force of the explosion. He twists in an effort to avoid plowing into Ellbeth or Carpenter and ends up on the other side of the street.

The metas manage to get out of the building...Starstrike has Capelli inside a force bubble and is carrying him. The older Italian man looks understandably rattled. Technohammer is carrying an unconscious Tempo.

Timewarp returns to the spot where she was once the explosion is done.

Ellbeth just shakes seemingly shocked into immobility.

Carpenter looks over to Ellbeth, "Are you alright?"

The building is on fire...and sirens can already be heard in the distance. Otherwise, there is just smoke billowing out of the windows.

Ellbeth shudders, "I will be. Luckily. I was unhurt. And it seems Sonny Capelli is likewise. I was deep in his mind just moments before the blast. If I hadn't broken contact when I did and Sonny had died... not many mentalist who that happens to ever fully recover."

Timewarp scouts the building rapidly and gets to work, bringing water to the scene!

Vajra runs up to Technohammer, "Was there anyone else in there!?"

Enforcer checks on the civilians and sees that they're unharmed, then glances back at the remains of the exploded house. He draws back his hood with a gloved hand and considers himself lucky he didn't go inside. Him and explosions haven't quite met eye to eye in the past.

Technohammer shakes his head, "No...no one else in there. Not even any pets. We just need to get the fire out."

Quinn pulls himself up to his feet and looks around at the devastation. Seeing that no one outside seems to be seriously injured he heads into the burning building, boot jets flaring as the carry him aloft. "On the bright side," he says to Detective Carpenter as he passes, "you should be able to take him into protective custody now."

Carpenter winces and gets to his feet, touching his temple lightly where he's bleeding. "Ow." Sure enough, he says to Capelli, "You'll need to come downtown. And you can call your lawyer on the way."

Steam billows from the house almost instantly as Timewarp sets to fighting the fire.

Timewarp thinks. o O (Figures *their* speedster would be out cold.)

Technohammer says into a radio, "Send the van over. We'll need pickup."

Vajra nods to Techno, "Good!" She calls the fire department using her internal communications systems.

Ellbeth shakes herself free of her fugue. Lifting both hands she speaks a short series of words that seem to roll and rumble as they echo in the street. Dark clounds form overhead and a few seconds later a torrential downpour of rain is helping to dampen the fire.

Capelli looks nervous enough that he'd agree to most anything right this second. He nods to Carpenter, "Alright, alright..."

Enforcer flips his hood back up as the rains come, stalking over to Carpenter and the others.

It's only a matter of a few minutes before a couple of fire engines show up on the scene. The efforts of the heroes have definitely not been wasted. The fire is well under control, and the fire professionals are able to take it from this point forward.

Ellbeth dismisses the rain and clouds. Then casts a quick spell to dry herself off and tidy up her robes.

Everyone other than Ellbeth notices: One of the civilians from across the street has disappeared. The police have arrived and are starting to question witnesses. The Asian couple is still here. The other man has vanished.

Timewarp goes in search of the vanished witness.

Enforcer does a double take and has a suspicious expression. He was just by the civilians, and now one's missing. Clearly he missed something in the explosion. "Huh..." he murmurs softly to himself.

The man, or someone Timewarp thinks is the guy at least, is spotted riding the Maglev (through the window), heading toward east side.

Meanwhile...Capelli has agreed to go with Carpenter to the station. The bodyguards go with him. Tempo has woken up before the group leaves.

Of all Colonial Bay's neighborhoods, only Bayside can rival Colonial Heights in wealth, and none come close it in prestige: from the summit of the city's only hill the rich and powerful have looked down on the less fortunate from the earliest days of settlement. Even now elegant houses in old style Colonial architecture give the area a historic East Coast feel, and none are grander than those on Colonial Heights Boulevard, which descends gently west from the summit of the hill through a tunnel made by the interlacing limbs of venerable trees; in the fall the is alive with color, and at night the tunnel is illuminated from with by antique streetlamps. Lower on the hill the homes are not quite as splendid, and there are even some townhouses in the southeast, but even these are too expensive for most.

Carpenter smiles, though he looks like he's seen better days, "Thank you all for your help, by the way."

Timewarp changes to civilian clothes and hops onto the maglev train to follow the guy.

Ellbeth says, "Mr Capelli, do you have a photograph of your son in your PDA?"

Sonny nods. "I do. Why do you ask?"

The man that Timewarp is following doesn't seem to notice, but he has that wariness about him that is so common among people on public transit in big cities. He gets off at the Bridgend stop.

Timewarp acts cool and texts Ellbeth - nothing suspicious looking in that - to say she's tailing the guy and where she is.

Timewarp gets off at Bridgend too.

The suspect apparently works at the Yacht Club. He heads inside a locked back door, and closes the door behind himself.

Ellbeth texts a reply, "Can you get a snap of him?" and tells the other heroes what Timewarp is doing.

Timewarp sketches the guy while he's still fresh in her mind, photographs it and sends the photo to Ellbeth. "This do?"

Ellbeth says, "Mr Capelli. Someone just bombed your house. The two most likely suspects are Tommy Cangelosi and your son. If it was Tommy he may have picked up your son as a hostage to use against you. Either way, we need to know what youre son looks like."

Sonny nods slowly, "Alright. But I don't see how Johnny could be the one who did this." He pulls out his PDA and shows Ellbeth the photo of his son.

Ellbeth copies the image and sends it to Timewarp. "Is this the guy you were following?" She doesn't expect it to be so but does it just in case.

Timewarp texts back, "neg."

Ellbeth says, "Timewarp has texted me. The guy that I think she suspects of setting off the bomb has just gone into the Yacht Club. Anyone have any idea why?"

Vajra says, "That's where Cangelosi is, right?"

Quinn gives a small chuckle. "Maybe because Cangelosi owns the restaurant next door?" he suggests.

"No real reason to think he was the bomber, though," Quinn adds. "He might have just been keeping the place under observation for Cangelosi."

Q leaves Colonial Heights and enters Sky Above Central Colonial Bay.