February Investigation catch-all

[earlybird]

WHO: DAMIAN WAYNE, closed to Investigation plot CR
WHERE: Various locations
WHEN: Early February until Mid-February
WHAT: Robin is investigating a missing childrens' case, which brings him into contact with an array of characters.
WARNINGS: The kind of content you'd see usually see in a Detective Comics comic: violence, language, discussion of sensitive topics (murder, human trafficking, etc.)

NOTE TO PLAYERS: I've set the details of this plot up so you can feel free to tag at your own pace, or opt to handwave if you like!

START... MAURTIA FALLS.

Robin first picks up the trail of a few missing kids from the street; four children from the St. Nicholas Orphanage of Maurtia Falls Catholic Union. Assumed runaways, lost numbers in the system, they were originally a case file tossed aside by MFPD. But a key witness gives him a promising lead: Mortimer Stroud, a conman with a minor criminal history working at the orphanage as a part-time janitor under a different alias. Robin suspects he took advantage of his station, and sold some info upstream to interested parties about which children wouldn't be missed.

A catch-and-release interrogation gives him the location of a recently abandoned "workshop" in Maurtia Falls, and another name -- this time of a murdered criminal whose body was found by local police in de Chima: Warren Pierce.

LOCATION... DE CHIMA.

ASIDE: CRANE

Although in de Chima on business, there's some personal motive for Damian to make a visit out to the city. Ever since he discovered this world's Bruce Wayne, he's kept an eye on the older version of his father from afar. However, curiosity wins out, and draws him closer -- close enough to find out Dr. Jonathan Crane has, somehow, insidiously inserted himself into Wayne Enterprises. He has time for a little visit.

SABRIEL

Warren's effects are being held in the police evidence locker, and his body down in the department morgue. Sabriel, on RISE business, catches Robin in the middle of his investigation, and -- after some back and forth -- uses her skill to chat with Warren's ghost long enough for an interrogation, and another name: "CONSTANTINE."

LOCATION... MAURTIA FALLS.

JOHN

Constantine is suspicious, and an asshole, but Damian knows enough to know he (probably) wouldn't be involved on the wrong side of this kind of business. However, a lead is a lead, and the "supernatural advisor" is getting a visit from Robin: whether or not John's sober enough to deal with him. Turns out Constantine knows Warren -- enough to inspire a spiteful grudge that lasted beyond the grave, evidently. Constantine also knows a few other characters who ran in the same circles.

ASIDE: MOTOKO

Other children have gone missing, and these kinds of cases are bound to cross-over the deeper into the criminal underbelly an investigation gets: Robin runs into the Major, who's following up on her own threads. She's got some opinions on a boy getting involved in this kind of business, and Robin has some opinions about her opinions.

ALFIE

Those leads have born fruit: an informant has named Alfie Solomons as a lead player in what is looking, increasingly, like a child-trafficking scheme. Alfie isn't too happy to hear that he's been thrown under the bus, used as a scapegoat and a distraction, and conned by his own clients into unknowingly taking part in the kind of unsavory business even he wouldn't touch. He has the real identities of the perpetrators to give Robin -- one of them the very informant who pointed him Alfie's way.

DARYL

He's close. But his investigation has ground to a halt, as the ringleaders went underground at the tip-off of an investigation, and he's no closer to finding out where the children are being held. He's learned from the best that sometimes a change of track, a step back, is needed. A person -- an "angel" -- keeps coming up in several related cases, and that person might have some answers... if he can find and flush him out. (Daryl, turns out, has a special kind of insight.)

AURICAN, BRIANNA, and SHELKE

With Daryl's help, Robin is able to finally track down where the missing children are being held captive, only to discover a major operation in progress: nearly thirty youth have been taken and stored at a riverside warehouse to be handed off down the line, and among them are several imPorts. However, Robin isn't the only one to be making his move; neither Aurican nor the Breeze have been sitting quietly or waiting on rescue...and Shelke is in the same boat as them.

ALFIE, REVISITED

The main players behind the operation -- this hub, at least -- escaped in the chaos, going deep underground again in hopes of evading Robin's chase. But where they lose the vigilante, they find the man they double-crossed. Their bodies are found a week later, dumped among the trash and grime of Maurtia Falls' personal "crime alley" -- and it doesn't take a genius detective to guess who was behind it.

Comments

ASIDE: CRANE

[earlybird]

[restingstitchface]

Crane's office is a base of academic research; a collection of papers, books and chemical equipment. Every day he can be found here, sitting on his post, pretending to be a normal member of society. Is he going to jump off and move when Bruce's back is turned?

He sits straight behind his desk and smoothes his tie, and doesn't bother to look up when the door swings open. He picks up his pencil and scribbles something on his papers. For the most part he's different to other scarecrows: shorter, dressed well, and calm and unprepossessing to the point of politeness. At least that's the impression one might get when he's silent and still.

And maybe ignoring you.

[earlybird]

He could have waited, made his move under the cover of night; could have picked his way through the office while the halls were empty, while he had the leisure of scrutinizing every scrap of paper Crane keeps in his possession. He still will, probably.

It's just that, first, he's going to play with fire.

The boy's dressed in blacks, thick winter coat still on, and he peers around the office with haughty disdain -- and sharp eyes -- before addressing Crane. It must be Crane, it's his name on the door, and the similarities are there, but it's like looking at a reflection in the water: like Dick, like Bruce, he doesn't match up to what Damian's familiar with.

"Busy, doctor?"

It takes a fair bit of work to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. He's attempting to play a part, here, though despite Kelley's instruction, he's still a poor actor at being anything but himself.

SABRIEL

[earlybird]

[bindsthedead]

[Strictly speaking, this isn't entirely RISE's business- there's no sign of any imPort involvement, but there are things that have raised questions. Besides, it never hurts to help out the police- you never know when you might need a favour, and De Chima doesn't have Maurtia Fall's corruption problem.

So even if half the police are a little afraid of her, the others are happy to see an imPort with a good reputation helping out.]

I'll speak to him soon. Are there any other questions I should ask?

[earlybird]

[ He is, not for the first time, considering how handy it would be to force the dead to talk. The caveat, of course, is that they might not shut up, and if Damian were a ghost whisperer, he would quickly lose patience with what would surely be non-stop whining an complaints.

(-Tt.- Look at him: he was dead, and he didn't cry about how unfair it was.) ]

Dates. Places. Deals. The last person he spoke with. And I want to know who he was working with higher up on the ladder of scum hierarchy.

[ Pierce was a small fish, an opportunist who pandered to the real movers and shakers, just like Stroud. But someone saw fit to shut him up, and Damian's sure it's tied to his case. ]

JOHN

[earlybird]

[heckblazer]

[ There are currently two things to which Constantine is blissfully unaware: the sheer number, a magnitude, really, of people who want him dead or suffering; and when he's being tracked by members of the Bat clan.

Normally, John can tell when he's being watched, but he deals with people who are lowlifes and wannabes who are too clumsy and obvious in the first place. The Bats and the Birds are something else - actually competent, for one.

John swaggers out of his usual poker match, intending to enjoy a stroll. He doesn't cheat every week, as it would raise too much suspicion, but he felt like treating himself tonight. One of the boys had stupidly bet his grandfather's pocket watch, and antiques always did work well for charging spells. He could enchant it with a bad luck spell and bet it back, now that would be funny.

And so John was planning on spending his night, enjoying a cigarette and an evening stroll, musing on what he could do with his new riches, hilariously unawares to any small, angry, flying children that might be about to to accost him. ]

[earlybird]

[ At this point, John should have learned the value of constant vigilance. It wouldn't save him much trouble, but it might come as less of a shock when a cannonball of a boy drops down in front of him like hell itself come knocking. ]

Constantine. A word.

[ A demand, more like, and issued as if he hasn't swung in from nowhere to darken John's door, cape swallowing up his form as it settles around him; nothing visible except for the narrowed eyes of his mask, the button of a nose, and the steady, permanent scowl. ]

ASIDE: MOTOKO

[earlybird]

[prostheticbody]

Robin isn't the only one who's taken note of the mysterious disappearances in Maurtia Falls. The investigation is one of several irons in the fire for the Major. Human trafficking would be the most logical explanation, especially considering the location. Maurtia Falls, despite her best efforts, is unfortunately a conducive atmosphere to such illicit trades.

She's also heard of another person investigating the missing children: a pint-sized superhero in spandex that appears to be just a kid himself. The Major has always been apprehensive at best about the role that minors play in the superheroics game, but this kid seemed even younger than the standard teenage crimefighter. She wonders if he knows what kind of forces he's dealing with, and decides that a meeting might be in order. As much as she dislikes dealing with kids, she doesn't want to see another one go missing because he's gotten too close to this thing.

So, during his nightly rooftop patrols, he's likely to run into a purple-haired woman clad in a black bodysuit and trenchcoat that can move as silently as he can. "Aren't you a little young for crimefighting?"

[earlybird]

An investigation that takes him into the rougher streets of the city is bound to turn up more distractions than lead: a muffled cry diverts his attention to a mugging in an alley--

(the fifth instance tonight, thieves and opportunists still overconfident after the riots and looting that erupted during the Blackout)

--and he makes short work of it. Bag recovered, muggers hitched to a postal box for safe pick-up. By the time he's slinging himself back up to the rooftops, he's ready to return to business...

...only to run smack into another interruption.

"Like I haven't heard that before. Do I look like I care?"

The surprise is covered up by the snap of his voice, as he bristles, caught off-guard by the company, swinging a baleful glare her way. He wasn't aware he had company before she spoke, and the realization rankles.

ALFIE

[earlybird]

private network conversation ; let me know if this works!

[devoutish]

[There are a lot of reasons for Alfie not to be particularly happy about all of this. The one that's forefront in his mind right now is that fact that he's being called by a ten-year-old crime-solver.

It's fucking ridiculous, really.]

Right. Let me just lay this out, here. You want me to give you the names of some very bad men, so that you can stop them yourself. Have I got that?

in media res is always perfect yesss

[earlybird]

Dealing with 'very bad men' is my profession.

[ His posh, gruff little voice hold much in the way of patience. He's declared his terms and set out his expectations, as simple and direct as a battering ram knocking, relentless, at Alfie's door. It's a tall order from a short boy, but he's serious, all steel. He tracked Alfie down, after all. ]

Not like you have any reason to protect them, do you? Black market client confidentiality agreements don't exactly survive one of the parties being thrown under the bus. It could've been the police instead of me.

[ And he's willing to trade key information for looking the other way. The cops are corrupt, but chances are they would have been more keen on taking the scapegoat and seeing Alfie behind bars. ]

DARYL

[earlybird]

hi daryl i hope u like ACCUSATIONS from SMALL CHILDREN (lmk if this works!)

[earlybird]

[ It's taken days, patience, persistence and cunning. First, he had to pore over stolen reports and grainy footage, talk to witnesses, narrow down possible regions of the city. Then he had to hold stake-outs, screen the streets, keep sharp watch. Without Batman at his side or his usual resources, the sheer amount of work that he's had to do has been hefty, bordering on exhausting, and it's only the lessons he learned from being Grayson's Robin that keeps him focused through the frustration.

(He hates talking to civilians. There's the same pointed questions about his age, every time, but it doesn't occur to him to throw on a different identity, to ask around in less obvious ways. Disguises and personas were Red Robin's specialty, not his.)

But it pays off. Which leads the here and now: an ambush. ]

You knew exactly where they were, every time. How? Who's giving you your intel?

[ He'd dropped from above, a swift and heavy shadow, and now cuts right into the thick of conversation: no nonsense, no nicetities, no humoring any attempts at playing coy. Just four feet, seven inches of aggressive vigilante ready to throw down with a stranger in a side alley. ]

[dirtyredneck]

[Daryl is in the middle of following a trail of flowers - dandelions specifically - when he's cut off ten feet from the plant he'd been looking for by a kid that barely came up to his chest. The weed itself looked pretty dead and had been hard to spot, so he knew he wasn't anywhere close to the kid he was looking for. But it was still frustrating to be interrupted while he was quietly going about his business.

He looked the boy up and down before moving to walk past him.]

Don't know what you're talking about, kid.

AURICAN, BRIANNA, and SHELKE

[earlybird]

[fayzedandconfused]

for the other kids;
[ This isn't the first time she's been kidnapped, so to speak. The last time was even worse. But she still has to take a while to figure out the situation, once she's fully in it. Huge warehouse, lots of kids, and she can't move nearly as fast as she should be able to. That's a problem.

She sits on the floor for a while, ignoring the other frightened kids and trying to come up with a plan. They say (whoever they are) that the most important thing is to never let the kidnapper take you to a secondary location. Too late, she's already here. The only thing she can do is keep them from taking her anywhere else, which they're surely planning to. Nobody keeps kids locked in a warehouse unless they're going to move them somewhere else, right?

After a while, she stands up and starts moving around the room, checking out any possible exits. Maybe if everyone works together, they can get out of here. She's not exactly optimistic about the other kids in here—in her experience, kids want to sit around and wait for someone else to take care of the problem—but it's worth a shot. ]


for damian;
[ She's waiting by the doors, ready, when she hears footsteps approaching. Her powers aren't what they should be, and she doesn't have her weapons with her, but she's still got some of the speed, and she's going to use it to mess up whoever's on the other side of this door. She just hopes it's only one guy and not a whole bunch of them.

As soon as the door swings open, she launches herself at whoever's on the other side of it, screaming her craziest "I'm gonna kill you" scream, hoping that her extra speed and above-average fighting skills will knock whoever it is off balance. And then she's gonna punch them in the face. A lot. ]

Kids

[thelasttsviet]

[Unlike most of the other children, Shelke didn't seem entirely phased by what was going on. When she'd woken up, she'd taken the time to examine the room and the door, looking for weaknesses, some means of escape. But once she'd determined that she couldn't do anything immediately, she'd chosen a corner that let her see the door, and most of the rest of the room, and just...sat down. And waited. Often with her eyes closed, just listening.]

[Occasionally she would seem to...'flicker'...in place, as she tested the limits on whatever was dampening her powers. Her invisibility still worked, and yet clearly it didn't. What did that mean for the rest of her? Her health was dependent on her powers, in a sense. When they were gone, did that mean she was better, or worse?]

[It was something to worry about when she wasn't kidnapped, at least. Or being faintly annoyed by another of the kids pacing around the room. Her slightly glowing blue eyes focused on Brianna as she walked past her for at least the seventh time, and she finally spoke up.]

We can't break out.

[She didn't sound upset or resigned, she didn't really sound emotional at all. Just...stating a fact.]

Teeny Titans Team-Up

[earlybird]

[ For once, Robin takes his time to move carefully, to stop and look before jumping in with both feet, metaphorical guns blazing. This is no longer four missing children, but a major operation -- one that normally took both him and Batman, or him and Nightwing, to tackle.

No matter. He has this. There's no turning back for help, if he was even inclined to ask for it in the first place; judging by the activity below, they're shipping out. Soon.

Moving past the watchmen without attracting notice is easy, and they neither hear nor see the swift, silent shadow moving across the grounds, slipping into the warehouse through the door to the back offices. Robin picks his way through, taking out the lone man in the hall before he can complete his circuit, and strides towards the entrance to the main floor.

He doesn't expect hell to unleash upon him when he opens it, a screaming hurricane of fists and feet barreling into him, ripping a shocked curse from the boy -- and what immediately follows is a brief, vicious scuffle between two particularly small and skilled individuals that wrestles its way into a deadlock.

(He would never admit to being taken unawares, but the frazzled snarl breaking his normal game-face says otherwise.) ]

What the hell?

[thelasttsviet]

For Damian:

[When Damian came bursting into the room, Shelke didn't initially make any real attempt to interact with him. She thought she recognized him, even with a mask on, but she wasn't certain. Secret identities were difficult to keep when dealing with information specialist who remembered everything. And from what she'd read of superheroes, they weren't always the most reliable things.]

[So instead, she filed out with the other children in the room she was being held in, but as her powers came back on, she let herself fade out of sight, there one minute, gone the next. She watched as he interacted with the non-import children, trying to make up her mind about him. He had seemed...gruff when they had met before, but not a bad person. And if he was letting them go, he probably wasn't involved here. Hm.]

[It wasn't until the children had scattered, leaving Damian there, that she faded back into view, standing a few feet away, near the door into the room that had held them. Her faintly glowing blue eyes watched him carefully.]

Did you find where they took our things?

[No hello, no questions about what he was doing here. There'd be time for that later, really.]

ALFIE, REVISITED

[earlybird]

[devoutish]

[Whether or not Damien keeps Alfie updated, Alfie follows the case. It's not easy to find out when it all blows up - a bunch of kidnapped kids being sprung from a warehouse isn't a small thing, and word gets around.

And then Alfie springs into action.

Once the men are dead and their bodies are disposed of semi-publicly (not public enough for any random Joe to stumble across, but not so hidden that they won't be found and Alfie's point won't be made), he continues to go about his business as normal. He can be found at his apartment in independent housing, at work at the radio station, attending temple, shopping for groceries - you know, all the typical things that murderous gangsters do in their downtime.]