Log:Powerless in Chinatown, Scene 1

Powerless in Chinatown 2021/01/28

Chen Dark Horse Kid Tengu Kihzra Lennox Mechanica Tessa Union Bestiary Charmer Dread Immortal Mimic Shaolin Wild Bul 1

It's a grey and miserable winter morning in Chinatown. Chinese New Year is past, and the cheerful decorations are gone, and with them much of the cheerful mood. But life goes on, and Ming Street is busy even on a day like this. Though there's something slightly off about the mood today...

Someone is playing hookie from school- but when you're a shapeshifter its easy enough to slip out and disappear for a couple of hours. Especially when you've got the drama coach wrapped around your finger & a couple of stacked free periods.

So we find KT in one of their many shapes and forms- this one, the young Katie who is reglarly seen around Chinatown - snooping where she doesn't belong.

And so we find her, looking over the comings and goings, leaned against a Chinese stone lion statue, eating some kind of noodles with chopsticks.

Mechanica despises the cold. She really should outfit her skinsuit and overcoat with heating elements in the liner. She keeps her collar up, crouching behind an AC rooftop unit as she scans local street cameras and wifi for an in back into the Triad's network. She dug up some research on the Kirin Fight Club's revival, and has tasked herself to seeing if she can uncover more information. Like if there's really any truth in it.

Chen is helping her grandfather at his market stall. She likes the Chinatown ambiance, helping her grandfather, and being visible as a maybe not so subtle reminder that Triad excesses are a bad idea.

Dark Horse had planned to be on a rooftop in Chinatown today. He had a day off from work, for once. But it's colder than he anticipated. The plan to remain on the roof is starting to wear thin, despite the winter coat he has thrown off his normal outfit, as well as a winter hat to deal with the mask not covering the top of his head.

Tessa emerges from alongside one of the many booths offering a variety of noodles, dumplings, and other tasty street foods. She is carrying a variety of noodles, dumplings, and other tasty street foods; some in hand, some in mouth. She looks around as she chews, not yet intimately familiar with the neighborhood, but certainly fond of the cuisine.

Chen glances around. Then has a second more deliberate look around the area of Chinatown visible to her. Speaking to her gransfather she leaves the stall and goes for a quick wander about the area looking for any sign of Pride's goons or Tim Lee's metas.

Dark Horse looks around curiosly down at the crowds below, like he's playing a game of 'Where's Waldo?', looking for...well, the people he expects to see in this area of town. And he just isn't seeing them. "Hrm."

Lizzy has been sent on an errand after school - buying some spices from Mr. Li's shop.

An eye for enforcer-types, of whatever variety, is something Tessa has. She may even have two of them, and an absence is conspicuous... also possibly fortuitous. Prolific pedestrians provide prime possibilities for procuring personal property from pockets, so now her sense switch to search for suitable subjects.

Mechanica notices the absence of evidence. She looks a little harder. Still...absent. And interesting.

Subtly is not Chen's forte. She simply approaches the group of Tim Lee's metas straightforwardly. "Now I just KNOW you aren't thinking of breaking the truce. Let me guess. Pride's grabbed One Man Army? Stand down and I'll get him out safely."

Dark Horse nods to himself as he spies a couple of people he recognizes in an alleyway. He uses his swingline to cross the street, to get to the building above them, and he starts to make his way down the fire escape into the alley proper.

Lennox is clearly concentrating on the creation of seared goodies, and is infamiliar with the local thuggery. He's the sort to dare people to stick him anyhow, so ...

Mechanica clicks her tongue as she spots a well known meta. Not all shapeshifters can be subtle, it seems. Whose side is she on, anyway? Helping the Triads? Mechanica shakes her head as she activates the chameleon circuit on her suit. Light refracts around her as she fades out of sight. Now she can move more freely without being seen.

Katie (KT) spots Tessa moving around the crowd. She moves to mirror her friend, at first looking for a suitable mark. Heroing is expensive, as is maintaining a teenage Royal Abraxxian's 'lifestyle choices', and so picking pockets of bad guys is easy. All she needs to do is find one so the sneakiest half of #CodeDark can do their magic.

Luckily, in this drought Chen lights the way to some erstwhile baddies.

Lizzy steps out of the way as Chen exits the shop, and turns to watch as she approaches the group.

Dark Horse isn't approaching the same folks that Chen is. Instead, he has spotted Kihzra and Wild Bull and a few others in the alley. He hurries down the fire escape, dropping the last level to the ground. "What're you looking for?"

Dread frowns darkly at Chen. "If Pride did this, then the truce is already broken."

Katie tries to get Tessa's attention and nods towards Chen's grouping when she does.

She begins moving that way- hoping to make the best of the distraction.

Luckily, KT has great hearing, so a litle distance won't stop her from hearing anything juicy while she makes her mark.

Tessa veers towards Chen and company. If they're focused on each other, that means they're not focused on other people.

Chen nods, "Yes. By him. And that will have consequences. Hopefully not involving significant destruction of our homes. You live here too remember."

Kihzra looks at Dark Horse. "Qhah, is Dark Horse, yes? Bad thing has happened. One Man Army was attacked. We rook for crues."

Shaolin says to Chen, "We intend simply to ask questions. For now."

Dark Horse nods to Kihzra, "Ah. So...you know he was attacked? Do you know who attacked him?"

Kihzra says, "No, is why we rook for crues. Arrso, to find out how they attacked him."

Chen shakes her head. "It won't go like that. You know it. That's why you're out here in force. Let me and a few friends ask those questions for you. If Pride is behind this we can deal with him without starting a Triad war. It will be just Capes doing Cape things. There's something I don't understand though."

Dark Horse nods slowly and says to Kihzra, "So...how do you know he was attacked and didn't just...go on vacation?"

KT likes Chen. They have a lot in common! Also, she makes the best distraction. Now with them engaged, KT decides to snake her way to the richest looking of the bunch and make her move. So, like a shark her circle tightens, but takes a bit of a meandering course so as not to be spotted easily. She could certainly use a prime pick to close out the week.

She only hesitates when the mention of local homes being destroyed. That causes her to stay her hand for now- at least until one of them makes themselves a mark. For now, she recognizes the truce in effect- she won't risk breaking it until the threat is less pressing.

Dread stares at Chen, then nods. "You want to do the questioning Go ahead. But if you don't get satisfactory answers and bring them here, we will question them."

Lizzy also likes Chen, who was one of the first people she met as Union (if tripping over a cat is meeting...).

Chen says, "One Man Army is your scout. Your eyes on the ground. Why go after him and not one of the heavy hitters from your faction. Surprise attacks should be aimed at weakening the opposition, and One Man Army wasn't in your front line. Second, how was he attacked. I thought there was always one OMA back at Tim Lee's keeping you up to date. If he was attacked, how can you not know for sure who did it?"

Kihzra says to Dark Horse. "We found him. Was rying here, arrmost dead. Is hearred now. But is, chah, stirr not better."

Dark Horse nods slowly. "So...what happens when he is knocked unconscious, and he's...split? Where does he end up? Like...he has ten duplicates around hte area, and one gets knocked out. What happens?"

Dread says to Chen. "You ask a lot of questions. And the answers to some are best not told."

Mechanica makes her way to the alley where Dark Horse is questioning some strange people. There's someone she recognizes. Still invisible, she takes a knee at the edge of a lower rooftop and sets up an image projection of herself. The hologram of Mechanica appears to decloak near the mouth of the alley. "Long time no see, Caballo," she says, keeping her hands down and open to show she's unarmed as she walks closer with swaying hips and a predatory smile.

Kihzra replies, "Normarry, is unconscious dupricate, rest is ok. Is not so this time. Is onry one him reft."

Chen points a finger at Dread, "Yes, I ask a lot of questions. Isn't that exactly what you just tasked me to do. If I'm to ask the right questions of Pride I need to know what happened. First so I know what questions to ask. Second, to know when he, or more likely Smiling Johnny White, is lying to me."

Tessa catches KT's hesitation and goes into hover mode to just gawk for now. It also gives her the chance to finish eating. Purloining on an empty stomach is a bad idea. Attempting so with hands already full (of food) is also a bad idea.

Several of the metas react to 'Mechanica's' sudden appearance. Kihzra draws her sword. Charmer starts, looks at the image, then whispers something to his companions.

Dark Horse nods and waves to Mechanica. He then says to Kihzra and the others with him, "This is Mechanica. Another local hero." He says to Mechanica, "One Man Army was attacked. Only one copy of him is around, and apparently...badly hurt? They're looking for clue as to what happened and who attacked him."

Dread makes a decision. "Very well. I'll tell you. But should you or your friends spread knowledge of out current weakness around..." his face changes to something frighful, horrific, "then you will face our wrath. You understand?"

The simulated Mechanica halts as others get hostile. Exactly why she didn't show up in person. "Word travels, I see. There's a lot of him around...do you think they attacked the original, or it was some coordinated attack on all of him? If it's the latter," she strolls to a wall and turns to lean back against it, folding her arms over her chest and smirking, "Well, I imagine something must've picked up on it. Cameras, vloggers, selfies...it's hard to be anonymous these days."

Katie takes the opportunity to get a good smell of the meahumans Chen is speaking with.

Charmer says to Dark Horse, "That isn't Mechanica. Not if Mechanica has a mind."

Dark Horse nods to Charmer, "Hologram or something. It's a picture of her, at least. She's like...high tech. Probably sitting in a lab someplace eating chocolate, and wearing pajamas."

Chen flinches and takes a half step back. Stands still for a couple of seconds. Then gathers herself together. "You don't need threats. They just put my back up. Which doesn't help."

"Mexican hot chocolate," the Latina heroine's holographic projection grins. "And those little marshmallows piled high." Mechanica only wishes she were. She will definitely be doing that tonight from the comfort of her home and wheelchair, providing Overwatch for less resourceful street heroes. "Sorry this wasn't worth me coming in person. Lots of plates spinning."

Chen adds, "So that's what it's like. I do that too. Effective isn't it."

Dread is satisfied to see he made an impression. "Just making sure we understand one another. And making sure the crowds back off." (In fact, they were avoiding Dread and company well enough already.) "This is the problem. Last night, One Man Army - one of him - was attacked in an alley. Apparently so fast he didn't get a good view of his attackers. And then - his powers were stripped from him. The other instances of him vanished, leaving only the injured one. And in that one blow, we are without our lookout."

Lizzy sees Chen threatened by Dread, so she looks around for a place where she can be unobserved for a moment.

Dark Horse shrugs, and says to Mechanica, "Given that normally if one of his duplicates gets knocked out, it just...falls over, and he continues operating as normal, I'm guessing hte original was attacked here. Which begs the question...how did the attacker know it was the original?" He starts to look around for other clues nearby.

Just to be cheeky, the hologram simulation turns and holds out a hand as if accepting a mug from someone 'off screen' from her projectors. 'Mechanica' says, "Speaking of, here's my refill." As her hand draws back, there's a mug of hot cocoa and marshmallows in it that's revealed as if getting picked up by sensors and displaying in frame now. "I'm glad you still recognize me, Caballo." The real Mechanica lets her simulation run while occasionally selecting specific prompts. Her simulations can pass most Turing tests, giving that she's one of the world's Artifical Intelligence experts. She, meanwhile, starts to attempt a hack and search for facial recognition across social, security cameras, CCTV, etc, for One Man Army and his duplicats for clues.

KT sees Chen's reaction and her eyes widen.

She considers giving up the game and getting in a sucker punch on Dread or one of his ilk.

Chen nods slowly, "That... is disturbing. Very disturbing. If who ever it was can strip powers, it makes you wonder who's next, am I right? Is he now safe with you? That give a bit of leeway on time. A suggestion, buddy up. Don't go anywhere on your own."

"That's a good question," Hologram Mechanica blows on her hot cocoa. "What happens to his duplicates when he's knocked out? They all go poof? Do we know when this happened?"

Lennox nods at something his -- contact? friend? acquaintance? just a person willing to show him what he's doing? -- says, blissfully unaware of the tension in the various alleys about the market.

"Was it the original?" asks Immortal. (Some of you may remember him from such scenes as Ghravvruhs's invasion of Chinatown...) He canmot say himself who is original. Maybe none of him is more truly the original than any other!

Dread remarks, "You observe we are travelling in groups."

Dark Horse shakes his head and says to Mechanica, "Theoretically, the duplicate falls over, and he keeps fighting."

Hologram Mechanica lifts her head at Dark Horse. "No, no...if the original falls over. Knocked out. Do his duplicates keep fighting usually?"

Katie cuts eyes at Tessa when the 'nups mention someone stealing powers. That's a much bigger deal than they thought.

She gives Tessa that 'We should help...' look.

Dark Horse shrugs, "That...I'm afraid I don't know. I've never seen it happen. Kihzra? What do you think?"

Chen looks past Dread to Bestiary. "Any recognizable scent trail?" she asks, figuring Bestiary will have checked.

Kihzra grins, "Arr of him is knocked out separatery. I know from training. Some have been kirred before, I know. Not by me."

Bestiary resumes human form to answer. "The scent trail disappeared. Mimic is trying to find it again. I've come to see if I can smell it among Pride's men."

Chen nods, "Can you take me to where the attack happened so I can learn the scene myself?"

Dark Horse straightens up, stopping his search for clues temporarily. "Thet is...interesting. If the normal pattern is the original just gets knocked out, pehraps his power was suppressed?"

Finding a suitable spot, Lizzy becomes Union.

Dark Horse goes back to looking for possible clues, though without knowing exactly where the body was lying, it's going to be difficult.

Chen pulls out a PDA. Don't ask where she pulls it out from. And does a quick and dirty news archive search. The Stadium. Many years ago. Something her aunts told her about. Whewn a Power Suppressor was involved in an attack on.. oh, who was it?

Bestiary take the lead before Dread answers. "Yes. We'll take you there."

"Ah," Holographic Mechanica says as her head lifts. "3:27am. Snap. Blip. All duplicates of his winked out simultaneously."

While she has the PDA out Chen posts to HeroNet. "Major incident and expected trouble in Chinatown. I need help! Chen."

KT's PDA beeps. She glances at the screen and says, "Don't worry Chen- you've got backup."

As she speaks and puts her phone away, KT turns into a rough approximation of Chen and grins at her.

Lennox's qPid goes beedle-deedle-deep, causing him to flick its readout into existence. He frowns at the HeroNet post, and takes a moment to look around. /He/ didn't notice a major incident ...

Chen smiles back, "Nice. And thanks. How much did you hear?"

Union's PDA beeps. She glances at the screen and steps out into the open, moving toward Chen. She waves and says, "Hey Chen! What's up?"

"Everything you did." Katie-Chen replies easily. "Been lookin' for trouble." She adds, trying out CHen's voice a bit.

Lennox must be in /just/ the wrong spot to have concealment from /everyone/, because he doesn't see a /thing/. He asks his 'host' a question, which gets him a wave up-market. After a few moments, he shrugs and thanks the man, and starts working his way through the market.

By the time everyone has met up (even Lennox can see the big crowd of metas heading into an alley!) Dark Horse has found something the Chinatown metas had missed: a tiny hidden camera, close by where the attack on One Many Army happened.

Chen looks to KT and Union, "You've found it. Trouble that is. Stop me if you know this. There's two factions of Triad active in Chinatown. With an uneasy truce between them. If the truce breaks down it's going to get ugly real quick. And a member of one factions has just been attacked."

On the way to the alley Chen morphs into a floppy eared bloodhound.

Dark Horse points out the camera. "Hmm. A spy cam kind of thing. I ran into one of these when I was looking into FearMonger a few years ago. Who knew the government used tiny cameras in their own facilities? Not me. That's why I set off the alarm."

Hologram Mechanica turns her head. "Huh. Now how did I miss that? It's signal must be pretty buried, or...dios...maybe it just stores it all locally and has no wireless capabilities."

Katie-Chen doesn't stop her. There's no such thing as too much information in a situation as tenious as this. "Well, I was always wondering why the clouds always hung lower in Chinatown." SHe replies, opening and closing her hands a few times to get a baseline with her secondary olfactory system.

She keeps up easily but will be the last one -if only to let Tessa keep an eye on her so she can scoot off and change into something heroic.

Lennox doesn't necessarily know they're metas, but he recognizes organized thuggery when he sees it moving en masse. Trailing along afterwards, his eyebrows soon lift as he recognizes soneone, and he quickens his steps. As the group pauses inside the alleyway, he stops behind it -- or rather, just off the right shoulder of a young Chinese man with old eyes. <> he says quietly in a long-mutated dialect of one of the Middle Kingdom's many languages.

Bloodhound-Chen sees Al and others. "Hey, good to see you. I mean really good. My aunts were always praising your investigation skills. Found anything?"

Dark Horse blinks upon seeing Chen, but doesn't recognize her. "I'm afraid I have no idea who you are. But yes..." He points out the camera.

Immortal looks at Lennox for a second before a smile of recognition crosses his face. <> he replies on the same language.

Mechanica mentions to the others, "There are other cameras that oversee this alley. But they were all disabled before the incident."

Chen says, "Chen Li, Dark Horse. You know my aunts. Jenn and Jess."

Dark Horse nods slowly. "Ah. Right. Yeah, I know them." He looks to Mechanica, "Maybe this camera still has footage that saw what happened?"

Chen moves around nose to the ground, sniffing, trying to build a mental picture of what happened from the scents left behind.

"How extraordinarily convienent." Katie-Chen says, not seeming to beleive the cameras went out just before the act by coincidence.

"Where'd it happen at- exactly?" KT asks, hoping they're near enough for them to try to pick up a trail.

Hologram Mechanica nods and walks over, sipping her scentless hot cocoa. "Let me take a look at it. I'm not sensing any radio signals from it."

"I could examine it," offers Immortal. "Though your skills may be greater than mine."

Lennox can't help but grin back, pressing his hands together to bow in the old way. <> He looks past 'Immortal' -- that's not how /he/ knows the man, at least -- and frowns a little. <>

"How extraordinarily convienent." Katie-Chen says, not seeming to beleive the cameras went out just before the act by coincidence.

KT follows Chen's lead and begins sniffing about- though mostly by weirdly waving her hands about and opening and closing them at various speeds over the most interesting scents.

Immortal (still speaking an archaic Chinese dialect) quickly brings Lennox up to speed.

"Si, convenient they all went offline at the same time, minutes before all the duplicates vanished," Mechanica agrees with Katie-Chen.

Lennox nods judiciously. "Proper scout takedown. That's how I'd do it," he adds.

Chen woofs. pads over to a corner of the alley. "One of the other sniffers care to check me on this. I make it three in high tec armor. That metal and ozone smell is distinct. That appears here, turned the corner and shot One Man Army. Went to him. I can't tell how long for but not long. Then went back around this corner and the scent vanished. Teleport most likely.

KT follows CHen's woofing and then tries to follow her mental picture while sniffing about the areas indicated curiously. On-the-job Training is important for youth volunteers!

The Real Mechanica, the one in the wasted body hidden by her coat and skinsuit, mentally sighs. Still cloaked, she leaps down atop her hologram so that it overlays her briefly. The one that could detect minds would sense the overlap now, or that a mind just dropped into the hologram. It's definitely a paranoid mind, filled with general anxiety and running a mile a minute. The hologram holds out its hand for the camera, while Mechanica's real hand is cloaked in the same spot. "Let me see the camera."

Tessa looks at people looking at stuff, preferring to not draw any further attention to herself. If others are looking at the same people, they're not looking at her. Plus, yes, she's still eating. She's hungry, alright?

Mechanica studies the camera, saying dismally after a quiet curse in Spanish, "It's fried. It looks like it has its own EMP generator to self destruct it and the cameras around it. But it had wireless capabilities. It probably broadcast a signal, then destroyed everything to try and not leave a trace."

Dark Horse tilts his head, "So the camera was owned by the attacker."

Chen asks Mechania, "Can you source the hardware?"

Mechanica grins. "Most likely, si. I could try to take it apart. Maybe I can learn more about its make from internal parts."

Union says, "Are there fingerprints?"

Lennox frowns. "Are the other cameras here active now?"

KT nods at Chen. "I think you nailed it, Chen." She says to the person she's duping- she's also fairly confident that Chen picked up on things she missed.

Mechanica examples the camera a bit more. "Hmm...well manufactured. Miniaturized parts. No branding...that's special. Smart. No easy way to trace that. But very high tech." She waits a moment as her systems scan the camera. "No fingerprints."

Mechanica sighs and plants her hands on her hips, shifting her weight to her right leg. "And nothing pinged on local cell towers or satellite that I can pick up on."

Chen says, "If you have any data, try matching it against known ACRO tech."

Dark Horse waits patiently to one side while Mechanica works.

Mechanica laughs at the question. "No, this isn't ACRO tech. They deal mostly with weapons, anyway. Higher profit margins, and more their specialty. But I do see the range on this must be limited. It probably broadcasted directly...hmm, within the city. I'd say that's the maximum range."

"But are you any closer to saying ordered this attack?" says Dread, not sounding very impressed.

Chen says, "It's a big city. With a TransMat terminal. Pride is still in the picture. He uses ACRO tech. But what was done to OMA. That's new. Anyone know any instances involving that capability. Or have comtact who might have answers?"

Kid Tengu moves closer to Mechanica to see if she can lift anything from teh camera with her alien senses- mostly sniffing about for who might have tampered with the camera in case they encounter them.

Lennox's head tilts to the side in consideration. "What," he asks, "does removing your trip-line expose? It could have been done," he suggests, "merely to gauge what your initial response is. Or, alternately, to concentrate your attention in one place while they act in another, one which you would normally be covering."

Dark Horse looks to Dread, "Investigation takes a little time, I'm afraid. None of us here can see through time, as far as I'm aware, so we need to use other means to find the culprit."

Chen thinks, "Somone had to plant that camera. Backtracking that either through video or.." she sees Katie-Chen examining the camera, "or by the scent of whoever placed it."

Mechanica sighs in annoyance at all the chatter. Invisibly, she rubs her temples as she she tries to think of how this person was so tricky. "Creo que si...perhaps a new player."

Dread says to Lennox, "If that is what they expect, they are in for a rude surprise. We are on our guard."

Lennox glances sideways at Immortal, then smiles a little as he returns his gaze to Dread. "What would you be doing instead of this?"

Chen goes to Katie-Chen, "Any success?" she asks.

Dark Horse rubs his chin, "I know of only a couple of people who can suppress powers. ACRO has some kind of tech suppression gun, but nothing for other meta powers, as far as I'm aware. Line Item Veto, one of The Senator's crew could do it. But that kind of tech..." He motions to the camera, "...isn't their thing."

Mechanica really does want to be home in her pajamas. With a fully upgraded XH-50+ automa industries model massaging her shoulders. There's little she doesn't know something about, so this has her frustrated. But also a bit excited. "The absence of these clues is the clue itself. I'm definitely leaning to a new player in town. So another question. Why is One Man Army so important to take out? What was there to gain or hide by doing so? How did they know which was the original? They must've been watching. Or maybe...it was an inside job." She could go off the deep end if she really starts spinning up her conspiracy theories.

Mechanica waves off dismissively and grumbles, "Pues, si, that was several questions."

Dread looks darkly at Mechanica. "You are suggesting one of us is behind this?"

Dark Horse shrugs, "You shouldn't rule it out entirely. It might be unlikely, but that doesnt' mean it's impossible."

Chen says, "If it is a new player the objective could be to get the two existing players to weaken thermselves fighting against each other. Leaving the new player to come in and take out the weakened winner."

Lennox glances through the group, opens his mouth, then closes it again as Dark Horse says what he's thinking. Chen's point is equally well-said. He turns around, leaning against the side of the alley entrance, hands in his coat's pockets, and watches the passers-by as he listens to the Powers inside the alley.

"Or," comments Charmer, "It could be the same old player, thinking we will be paralysed by such doubts until it is too latte..."

"Yes, that's a chance. They had to have inside information, I think," Mechanica states plainly, not realizing who she's dealing with.

Dread's face darkens further. Who might dare such a thing?

Chen looks at Dread, morphing back to Chen, "Pride isn't that stupid. If it comes to a knock down fight you'll win. Chinatown will be a loser though. And the war won't end. Because next you'll be taking on Capes. If you win that, the USMS, etc.."

Mechanica looks to the Chinese metas. "So...who would know One Man Army, the original, was to be here, in this alley, around 3:27am? Hmm?"

"The person with that camera," says Immortal. It seems pretty obvious.

Chen says, "The camera. The question is, who would know he would be in this alley at some point."

Mechanica clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes at the Immortal. "And how did they know to put the camera here for him, hm?"

Dark Horse holds up a hand. "That's a guess though. It's possible there's more than one of these on his patrol routes. We might want to check the otehr locations he might typically go."

Dark Horse nods at Mechanica's comment. "Think of it like a Chess fork. You cover all the bases. Every likely location he'd be in."

Mechanica snaps her fingers and points to Dark Horse, smiling. "Bueno, Caballo." She looks to the Chinese metas. "So I repeat myself. Who among you knew?"

Chen nods to Dark Horse, "Yes. Like I said, glad you're here."

Lennox frowns for a few moments, then calls back over his shoulder, "Since that camera has transmission capability, if Gudan Yingxiong --" that's Mandarin for 'One Man Army' "-- has something of a patrol route ..." He nods at Dark Horse and Mechanica's words. "Probably just here, though. They figure out his routes, find a good spot, lock in coordinates, then keep a ready team. He shows, bam on the electronics, bam on the 'port, bam on the hit."

Dark Horse looks to Kihzra, "You have him resting someplace, right? What was he hit with? What kind of weaponry?"

Chen asks Dread, "I kept hearing it was the original OMA who was attacked. Is that correct? Does he even know which is the orginal?"

Kihzra says, "Is, cha, some type of knockout drug. Was not deadly wound, but lots of drug, so hearrers needed."

It's Immortal that answers Chen. "My understanding is that none is more 'original' than any other."

Chen nods to Immortal, "That's what I thought. So since OMA was kind of regular in his patrolling, most anyone would know this was a patrol route. They didn't have to wait for the 'right' one."

Mechanica sighs. "What was this One Man Army's patrol duties for? What specifically does he protect or look out for?"

"He watches Chinatown. For us. And for Tim Lee," says Wild Bull, whose English has evidently improved.

Chen glances at Dread but answers anyway. "Chinatown. Yes, these and with Tim Lee. But unlike Pride's goons these folks have helped Chinatown on several occasions."

Mechanica thinks on it all for a few moments. "Pues. I think you're about to be hit in your very blind spots soon. But since you're all delicuentes...I fail to see how this is a problem for heroes."

Chen looks to Mechanica, "It's called collatral damage."

"What did you call us?!" says Wild Bull to Mechanica.

Mechanica shrugs at that, her invisible self stepping away from her hologram. The hologram is still the one doing all the talking and interacting. "You heard me."

"What does it mean?" Wild Bull demands of the hologram. He really has no idea, but he's pretty sure it was an insult.

KT is subtly impressed by this set of 'nups. She doesn't have anything to say at all, though she wishes she had a notepad.

Chen quietly asks KT, "did you pick up a scene from the camera, and if so how old was it and can you track it?"

Dark Horse shrugs, "I don't speak Spanish. But I suspect it has something to do with you all being criminals. Something like that. But..that's beside the point. A gang war helps no one."

"Criminals," Holographic Mechanica replies. "Holding the citizens here hostage with your games, and the heroes allowing it. You're not much better than the cartels."

"I got a little something. Nothing specifc though- faint. Human-y. You know that smell that's kind of like triangles? Well in either ase, I'd recognize it if I ran across it again." KT replies quietly to Chen wiht a helpful smile.

"Am not criminarr! Am hero!" objects Kihzra stalking up to Wild Bull's side.

Chen sniffs the camera if KT alloows.

Kid Tengu hands it off happily.

Holographic Mechanica certainly has feelings on this with her family having been terrorized by the Cartels. "If you're another investigator, sure. But if you're part of the Triads, you're the same as them. If you're protecting their hold on the hostages in this part of the city, you're the same. As. Them." The real invisible Mechanica leaps up to the rooftop as gracefully, thanks to the enhancements in her skinsuit.

You're talking to an illusion," Charmer informs Wild Bull and Kihzra. "She's not there any more."

Chen nods, "Yes. I smell it too. One of the attackers. Now it will be easier to detect him or her outside the armor. About, uh, two or three weeks old. Can you confirm that?" Chen asks KT.

Kihzra laughs. "Qhah! Is coward!"

KT shakes her head. "Getting there for sure. I can barely get a grasp on it." She says to Chen.

The hologram Mechanica smiles. "At least I'm not terrorizing part of a city. I hope this new player takes you for all you have and brings down both your factions." The hologram pixelates and fades out.

Lennox looks over his shoulder again, turning enough to clearly watch the growing tension. He has only one real philosophy on organized crime: if they actually protect the people they extort from other predators, then they're little different than an actual government. It's the ones who don't -- who don't encourage the health and welfare of their 'constituents' -- who are problematic. At some point, most gangs will see to the good of those under their wings ... but at most points, all of them fail. Which is why they're criminals, and not decent government. Of course, one can say the same of some governments, so ...

Chen turns back the hologram, "Our guess is the camera was planted about two or three weeks ago. You might be able to pick that up of archived footage. They would likely not have wanted to draw attention here by disabling the officuial cameras twice."

Chen then sighs as the hologram fades out.

Kihzra talks softly to Wild Bull, calming him down.

Dark Horse nods to Chen, "I can probably look into that, if she can't."

Lennox watches the group start breaking up, then asides to Immortal, <&lt;I have a couple of places in the Upper East Side -- I think you might appreciate Sentries. Come by some time.>>

Immortal smiles. <>

Lennox shrugs. <> replies the black man. <> he says drily.

Immortal nods. <>

Lennox smiles wryly, his words slowly transforming into the modern language used here in Chinatown. <> he adds, waving at the Powers. <>

Immortal replies, <>

Lennox shakes his head, but can't help but laugh a little. "I /told/ you you should have gone merc," he says (yes, in English!!) with some amusement. "Even the Middle Kingdom would catch up eventually. I am surprised it took quite that long. I would have thought that stint as a bureaucrat would have convinced you, but ..." He shrugs, looking back at the market. "It is, but now ... people like us can hide amongst a group who have wonders of their own."

Immortal shakes his head. "The mercenary life is not for me. I will not kill, not any more. Their lives are so pitifully short as it is - it is not for me to shorten them."

With trouble averted (for now), Union slips away to change back to Lizzy and finish her shopping.

Lennox tilts his head in one direction. "Mmmm. Everyone gets one life -- however long that happens to individually be. Which reminds me -- you remember Hanoch? Hanoch ben Qayin ben Adam -- Aramaic, big black beard, dark eyes?" An 'immortal' from what would come to be called the Middle East, of about the same age as the Chinese ageless. "I regret to inform you that his heart ceased its labor earlier this year."

Immortal looks surprised. "How is that?"

Lennox hesitates, looking about for a moment, then says quietly, "Come up to Sentries some time and I'll tell you about it over a drink or two."

Immortal nods. "I shall do that. Assuming I can." He pauses thoughtfully. "If there is someone who can take powers away, perhaps my life might end soon, after all this time..."

Lennox sighs. "There is that. But I've only ever been slowed, even by the gods, so ..." He offers the other man an embrace. "Now that you know I'm in town, don't be a stranger. We have young ones to educate."

Immortal nods. "I will come, if I still live. And, I find, I have no desire to do otherwise, yet. Not while there are drink and pretty women in the world!" He smiles. "You see, my tastes are simple as ever."

Lennox laughs. "You are going to /like/ my establishment, I think. Maybe not the decor, but the rest of it, aye." He claps the other on the shoulder, nods, and heads back into the market. Maybe he can persuade the cook to let him try to learn that technique ...