[IC] Epic City: Starburst

[Old Amsterdam]

@TheHangedMan

Techster looked around idly at the sounds of the voice. "That's neat. I don't even see a speaker system. Maybe powers," he muttered, mostly to himself. A few seconds of thought and he'd wrapped his head around the message. "Look, I'm sorry to bother you. But I want to help. I've done some digging, I hope you'll forgive me for that by the way but it really is the only thing I can entertain myself with. Oh, right, veering off course. Sorry."

He cleared his throat. "I, uh, know about your current predicament. Legalities and all that. I can help secure your freedom from all this. I just want to help. And I thought maybe we could become friends. I don't have any, given my particular... Ways, I guess you'd call it," he rambled on. "But look, if I could come inside and talk I could be more open about everything. Though I suppose I understand if you'd rather I do leave. Given your, uh, special circumstances and, uh, skills. Well, I could understand privacy being preferred and all."

He paused for a second. "Wait, I never said please did I?"

[Flamelord]

Finch

"Boss, he's trying to get on the roof," the driver called back to Finch as he continued his efforts at shaking the guy off. At the very least one had to give him some credit for persistence, if not simply having good finger strength. But that wasn't the sort of thing that Finch wanted, not when he was still trying to, you know, escape. It was like the guy hadn't gotten the memo about his role here in the city, a role that was very dependent on whether he succeeded or not.

Finch sighed, moving for the back of the vehicle. "Got it," he called out as his hand cam to rest on the rear door window. His powers came into effect, the glass morphing out to try and wrap around Magus' arm, where it could then allow spikes to push in from the ring. That'd do something if the Epic hero wasn't quick enough to break the glass or pull out another trick, Finch was sure of it.

Well, here was hoping anyways.

@Sedjwick

[Bluetommy]

@Old Amsterdam

Edward nodded at Alex's insinuation that he couldn't challenge the masked... woman he guessed. He knew that to be true, his power was all in his physical ability, and it didn't seem like he could attack without a weakness.

"No name that I know of, and you're right, I can't beat her alone, so you know what?" He tossed aside his chair and crossed his arms "I won't challenge her."

It took a lot to swallow his pride and admit he stood no chance here, not that that fact meant that he would so easily give up.

"I want to go with, I'm not just going to let the fun start without me," he commented with a smile, he stepped forwards and tapped his head. "This baby processes information faster than anyone else on the planet, I can be a hell of a detective when I want to be. How do you think I found out about her in less than a day?"

He chuckled, his smile fading a few seconds later. He sighed and turned away.

"You know what? You're right, I have no place here, I'm going home, I need to think on the nature of revenge..." He then realized that as he was turned away, Alex had no idea what he was saying. He turned back and opened his mouth to repeat himself, but he just sighed and covered his face with a hand.

"Never mind, it's fine, go, I'll see you when you've found a way to stop her," he stated with a frown on his face. He shot to the edge of the building and looked down over the city, still hung up about Nudd's death. "The nature of revenge"? What was he thinking? It was just him worrying about nothing, he should be fine. But he wasn't fine, he felt anxious, like he had to go do something to keep his mind off of it.

Stop being an angsty teenager, Edward, get over it.

His attempts to convince himself only made him feel worse, and he sighed anxiously as he continued thinking.

[Sedjwick]

Magus had gotten himself mostly onto the roof of the van when he felt something wrap around his right arm. He looked and saw a tendril of glass begin to encircle his arm. Magus wrenched his arm against the glass, but his strength alone wouldn't break the hold--it would merely delay the glass making its way fully around his arm and doing whatever else it was supposed to do. He took his staff back into his left hand and swung at the glass just below his arm while he wrenched upward. The glass splintered at the point of contact, and with another yank of the arm, he was able to break free, though it seemed he would be wearing an interesting bangle on his forearm for a while. He was now in a stable position on the roof of the vehicle once more, and so he chose to enact what he hoped would be a game ender for this chase. He took his staff in his right hand and lowered the end to the asphalt behind the car, the quartz rod trailing behind the car. Magus channeled his earth power through the staff and into the pavement, and the soil and rock below, focusing on what he wanted to happen. Suddenly, just feet in front of the car, the street exploded. A pillar of earth and rock shot upward from directly in front of the van, creating an impenetrable barrier, and the van was going too fast to avoid it.
Magus jumped backward off the van, stumbling, but rolling neatly to his feet just as the van collided with the solid wall in front of it. He stood in a ready stance, his staff held across his chest in both hands as he waited for the villains to make their next move.

@Flamelord

[Old Amsterdam]

@Bluetommy@Regitnui

Alex shook her head in confusion as Comet shot off.

"He's... Different than I expected," she noted out loud to herself. "But still a good guy."

She pulled out her phone from the doorway, shooting off a quick text.

We seriously need to get together after your date, Rox.

She thought about adding more, but the more she thought the more she decided not to talk to Roxana about what had just happened.

Who else was there? Dragon would help, but again...Rox. Comet really needed to stay out of the situation temporally. Mass? She wasn't sure he'd meet with her.

Guess I'm going to handle this alone for a bit...

She sent a mass message to her contacts to spread the word to various high powered Epics that she needed a meeting. Maybe she'd get lucky enough for one of the High to take notice of her in her time of need.

She set off, opening doorways as she scouted the City.

-----

In Guilt's main neighborhood of operations a whisper arose. "Traveler is looking for an Epic with a gas mask. Says she'll reward anyone who can prove they helped get the Epic to meet her at the abandoned railroad station."
@thewizardguy

[TheHangedMan]

Charlotte Carolle Lutwidge

---

Lutwidge Manor

If this was an attempt at getting her to let her guard down, it was working. Whoever this boy was he was incredibly underwhelming, to put it nicely. To put it bluntly, he was kind of a dork. But his words bore considering; she didn't know what he knew, but it was clear he'd made found something out about her. Whether his offer to help her was genuine or otherwise would remain to be seen, but she would agree to meeting him - at least, meeting him in kind - at least until she could ascertain how much about her he knew. It would be dangerous if he had knowledge of something incriminating, or even worse, her identity. She'd play by ear with this one.

She'd let Aida make the opening move.

The mannequin instinctively understood her intent, and walked quickly back upstairs to her room. For Techster, he would be left in silence for a couple of minutes, with only Cheshire as his (unknowing) companion. Finally, the door opened.

Aida had donned a face - literally - to meet with young man, it was a face called "Camilla" - a fake maid with a real birth certificate that Charlotte had commissioned. Plenty of her faces had their own, verifiable identities. It made it easier for the mannequin to move about in broad daylight, when needed.

Still dressed in her maid outfit, she greeted him with a quick bow and said, "We will talk here, if you don't mind." Although she sounded polite it was apparent that it didn't really matter much if he minded or not; they were going to talk outside, and he was not stepping in.

"I'd rather not disturb the mistress, you see. She requires rest, and a matter such as this requires . . . discretion," she spoke. implying as though Charlotte were unaware of their meeting. "Now, who are you, and what is it you want?" Her voice was even and eerily devoid of emotion. Aida had a phenomenally good poker face, which was a given as she did not truly have one. More than once she found it gave her an advantage during negotiations, when no one could discern her true intentions.

---

@Old Amsterdam

[Old Amsterdam]

@TheHangedMan

Techster bowed himself. "So long as you're sure. I am the intruder on this situation," he said easily.

"I, uh, I'm an Epic. Tinker classification. Meaning I create things through technology. My personal power deals with compacting a ton of stuff into one package, well beyond what should be possible," he said quickly. "And I monitor things across the City. I stumbled across the court dealings involving the young Miss Lutwidge, and she's done surprisingly well with the matter. But she's at a huge disadvantage. Partially how many are against her, looking to manipulate her. The court system isn't going to bend to her wishes easily, but they can."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I can help. And I have suspicions that she's in need of more help than just that," Techster continued as he pulled a device out of his pocket. "This is like a USB. But it has all the relevant information she needs to finalize all this mess. As well as documentation I've found that leads me to believe she could, possibly, probably, likely, has either the spark for abilities or already discovered them. Discrepancies in her history, medical attention and records, things like that. I have no other copies of this, and it's yours. Well, her's." He offered the little stick. "Again, I'd really like to talk with her."

[thewizardguy]

@Old Amsterdam
Hmph. A rather obvious message. Guilt crouched on the edge of a roof, staring at the streets below as she considered what this meant. While Comet was brash and arrogant, Traveller seemed more cool-headed and intelligent. That made her far more dangerous. What reason was there to lure Guilt to a fixed location, other than as a set-up for a trap? In their last encounter Traveller had seemed opposed to killing, but well prepared to employ violence if necessary. So perhaps something about that encounter had convinced the deaf 'hero' that violence was indeed necessary. Comet must have convinced her of this, or perhaps another hero contact. Alternatively she had always been willing to use violence, but unconvinced of her ability to take Guilt down. The tactical approach. Unwilling to face Guilt one-on-one, or even with Comet's help, the logical conclusion was an ambush, most likely by a collection of heroes. In the end her motive didn't matter. Even if this wasn't a trick or ambush, it would be bad to come unprepared.

Now if Guilt was absolutely certain that this was a trap, she could simply bomb the place. It would be easy for someone with her abilities to set up a suitably powerful bomb, using materials from all across the world. Causing that bomb to materialise in the midst of these heroes, and then setting it off, could level the entire railroad station. Innocents would most likely have been removed from the scene beforehand, but the risk that they were present was just another reason this plan couldn't be performed. No, Traveller had not yet sinned, and she couldn't punish people pre-emptively. To do so would be to abandon all reason. So Guilt would have to do something far riskier and move in, while avoiding the superpowered entities that would no doubt be present. So this was a meeting that she would need to prepare for, extensively. Because if it did turn into a fight... she might have to slaughter a significant number of elite Epics.

So over the following day denizens of Epic City would notice a number of odd occurrences. When it rained, some places were completely dry without explanation. Strange seismic events that couldn't be normally explained. Objects vanishing from hardware stores, sports stores and warehouses all over the city, occasionally compensated with money and occasionally just a note saying 'I'll put it back later'. On once notable occasion, an entire house vanished for 20 minutes before reappearing. Even for Epic City, a place filled with strange events, these events were rather odd. But then the hour of the meeting struck.

When the train station itself was quiet, Guilt would appear. Her usual outfit was complemented with hardware gathered from various locations within Epic city, and a couple of locations without. She was familiar with a number of places, including her former residence, where she could access equipment that would be hard to come by in Epic City. This new gear included a set of heatvision goggles, which she now used to scan the area. Comeras appearing in various locations would allow her to monitor the entire station. While Traveller's ability allowed her to rapidly call in reinforcements, the amount of people here already was an important factor. As calling in reinforcements would require Traveller to expend focus, and if Guilt was able to keep traveller busy she could limit the amount of people who came in. After doing her little reconnaisance the extra equipment would vanish.

Whomever had chosen to show up to the train station would find a sudden fog rolling in, seemingly out of nowhere. The kind of thick fog, that made it difficult to see anything further than a meter away from you. Those susceptible to this kind of thing would find themselves highly nauseated... something in this fog was causing them severe discomfort from just breathing it in.

[Flamelord]

Finch

One moment they were driving along fine, and then the next there was a wall of dirt and stone in directly in front of the van. There was no time to turn or dodge, much less time to brace for the impact when it came.

"Oh shi-"

The sound of the impact and screeching metal filled the air as all the kinetic energy of the vehicle immediately terminated, throwing it forwards before it crashed back down. The guy in the drivers seat didn't stand a chance, and if everything hadn't been thrown around by the wind and water before, it certainly was now. Still, it had done what Magus wanted.

inside the vehicle, Finch found himself half draped over a seat as the van settled from the crash. There was a sharp pain in his arm and his hip, but he pulled himself to his feet with a hiss. He quickly looked around, but at the moment there was only one guy currently on his feet who would be of any use. Certainly the grunt in the drivers seat was a loss. Though they should probably bail before things got worse. This was going to suck though, he had the feeling.

"Alright, follow my lead," Finch hissed to the guard before moving for the open door with two bags. He exited the vehicle in a run, tossing one of the bags at Magus upon sighting him while holding on to the other. The gun would follow if he got any fancy ideas, but clearly Finch didn't plan on sticking around as he broke for a nearby alleyway. Hopefully the money or the trashed van would be more distracting than going after him.

@Sedjwick

[Old Amsterdam]

Traveler - Abandoned Railroad Station

@thewizardguy

---

Traveler opened several dozen portals in the train yard, scouting the area herself.

She frowned at the frog, keeping it from entering any portal by raising them.

Better to just get this over with, Alex urged herself.

With a twirl, Alex jumped through a portal, landing on her feet on top of a bit of metal scaffolding, well above the fog. She sighed, the motion visible even from a distance, and she started switching trains with piles of rubbish, giving order to the chaos this place had turned into.

"You're obviously already here," she called out. "Apparently you've taken countermeasures, which is slightly annoying. If you'll come out, I'd like to actually talk. Though I have a feeling you won't remove your mask, given what little has been consistent in the stories I've been told."

She finished moving things, having organised the bulk of the trains to one side, and promptly swung herself around and sat with her legs dangling over the edge.

"I should mention I'm here alone. Not that people don't know I'm here, of course. Dealing with an unknown variable, I can't take risks," she continued, appearing completely at ease. "So, I'll go ahead and start. Given the weird fog, and I do believe I saw a camera of sorts, you're crafty. Powerful. Paranoid. Police? Military? Spook? Lots of options for a background. Which also helps explain why no one knows anything about you. You don't let them figure out your powers. Nothing wrong with that, really."

Alex raised a hand in a 'so-so' motion.

"But you've been pretty brutal. Maybe you've got legit reasons, I'm not sure. You've also got Comet riled up. Though I think I've convinced him to leave you be. No guarantees though. So, that get you wet and excited with curiosity?"

[Sedjwick]

Only two people exited the van: the gunman who had been harrying Magus for most of the ride, and one of his goons. Rather than try to fight, the two just grab what loot they could carry and ran for the nearest alley. Magus first went to the van to see if anyone else was there. The only people left in the van were either dead or out for the count, and about half the contents of the robbery remained. Magus considered going after the two who had fled the scene, but after the trouble they had caused him, he didn't like the idea of facing off against them again, and if any of the people here regained consciousness while he was chasing the others, his work would just get ten times harder than it needed to be. Instead, Magus chose to inform the authorities of the events and let the ECPD take in the robbers that were still alive but currently unconscious.

Spotting a civilian about a block away, Magus waved to the man and asked to borrow his phone. Magus never had a phone on his person since the plastic in the casing was not good for his powers, and the trans-uranium elements that were sometimes in the batteries rendered him utterly powerless. He called the police and told them about the robbery and his role in recovering half the loot. Within half an hour, two police cruisers arrived on the scene as well as an armored car from the bank. The police thanked Magus for his service and took the robbers into custody, and the bank reclaimed the stolen money. All in all, it was a good day's work, but Magus was still irked that the ringleader of the robbers had gotten away with half the money. Sooner or later, there would have to be reckoning for that.

[TheHangedMan]

Charlotte Carolle Lutwidge

---

Lutwidge Manor

Aida and Charlotte both processed his words. If what he said was true, then that would accelerate her plans by months, years even. With Charlotte's legal problems completely done with, they could divert their focus towards information gathering and expanding the range of her operations. Even more, the amount of money, while admittedly small in comparison to the total amount of assets she possessed, was not inconsequential - if she were free to use that money elsewhere, she could begin supplying herself with better equipment, and even get around to overhauling the manor into a more secure headquarters, or further down the line, begin funding other heroes as well!

Charlotte shook her head. No, she shouldn't get ahead of herself just yet. It was a fanciful thought, but it would be better to keep her expectations low. For now, they needed to verify if what he was saying was true.

"I . . . see," said Aida, with a nod of her head. "This is certainly incredible news. You will forgive me if I have a hard time believing it and your good intentions. If you do not mind, I would like to verify the documents before dealing with you any further."

The maid entered the house for a second, before coming out with a wooden fold-able chair. "It would be discourteous to have you stand the whole time, please sit here for the moment." And with that, Aida disappeared back into the manor.

Once inside, she handed the device to Charlotte, who quickly got to work picking it apart. Just a few seconds in and it was already apparent that he was not lying. The information contained with in could decisively end her legal problems, and moreover, with the documentation he provided, she now had an idea of how to cover her tracks.

Despite the help he provided, it was still a bad sign that he was able to discover as much about her as he'd had, even if what he'd discovered was not quite damning. Still, this was dangerous information about her. She'd rather remain as anonymous as possible, for the time being.

Charlotte nodded at Aida, and the maid proceeded straight for the kitchen. It seemed as though she would be meeting with Techster after all, and see what he wanted out of this.

It took a quarter of an hour before the maid returned. Hopefully the boy wasn't feeling too impatient with them.

"Thank you for waiting. After careful deliberation, m'lady has decided to meet with you," she opened the door for him, inviting him inside with a gesture. "If you would please."

Once inside, the maid led them through the enormous mansion. It was dimly lit - not much point in keeping the lights on when the one person who needed them usually stayed in her room all day - even if it was well maintained and clean. In silence, Aida walked until they came upon the large wooden double doors that led to what was once Charlotte's mothers' library.

The room itself was large, taking up an area of about 20 feet and two floors high, but as for actual living space, there was almost none to speak of. Nearly every inch of the place was covered in books, or manuscripts. There were also display cases of various gemstones and diagrams of machines and clothes of all kinds. Needless to say, the room exuded an aura of quiet knowledge.

Charlotte was seated across a wooden desk, playing idly with a chocolate-chip cookie in hand. It was hand made by Aida, though it wasn't quite fresh off the oven. She found it was still serviceable as a snack though. She made great cookies after all - although now she was wondering when she even had the time to learn how to bake; it was strange, despite their mental connection, the maid was still somehow found a way to surprise her.

In any case, she put finished off the cookie in one bite, and then, her face was strictly business.

When she spoke, her voice was the high-pitch expected of a child her age, yet it held none of the wavering uncertainty, or the ever-present garble as words threatened to trip upon another. Her tone was soft, but carried itself with surprising clarity across the room, serious and direct. It was a face Aida found she put far too often these days.

"Good evening. Though you're already aware of who I am, let me introduce myself for the sake of formalities."

"I'm Charlotte Carolle Lutwidge, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

---

@Old Amsterdam

[Old Amsterdam]

Techster - Lutwidge Manor - Interior

@TheHangedMan

---

Techster was still staring around the room in awe. "This is amazing. The amount of information within these walls... I'm envious," he whispered. He turned his attention back to Charlotte, his eyes seeming to zero in on hers. Raising his voice slightly, he continued. "The pleasure is mine. Techster, or Howard 'Howie' Sheldon at your service milady."

He sat down fidgeting a little as he glanced around the room. "So, where do you want to start?"

[TheHangedMan]

Charlotte Carolle Lutwidge

---

Lutwidge Manor - Library

Charlotte stared at the older boy in silence for a moment, before nodding. "You can start by taking a seat, Howard, or do you prefer Howie?" she offered politely. "Also, thank you. The library was my mother's and she went through painstaking effort to developing it." She was genuinely surprised by his reaction towards it, and also somewhat grateful. Asides her fathers statue collection, her mother's library was prioritised during her efforts to claim her inheritance. There were books in here that were rarities among rarities, and their literary value aside, some individually could probably be sold for numbers at no less than a six-digit range. There were at least two that went into the seven-digit range and were probably some sort of national treasure somewhere.

The girl slid a tray filled with cookies towards his end of the table, offering it to him wordlessly.

"First of all," she began, after allowing Techster a moment to get comfortable, "I would like to know: What do you want from me? For all intents and purposes, I am just a girl tied up in an admittedly bitter legal battle for her inheritance.

"Your own personal suspicions aside, there is little you could get out of coming to me like this, unless you're considering blackmail, which I will inform you beforehand, will turn out very, very poorly for you."

As if to emphasise her point, the Aida who had been last seen closing the door, had soundlessly positioned herself behind him, and only now made her presence known. Her hands were hidden behind her back, though they were no doubt already holding on to something to make good on Charlotte's words.

"So why me? If it's funding you want, you could get it easier from other sources, without having to go through the trouble of digging them out of a rough spot in court."

She was honestly curious. Why her, of all people? She couldn't think of anything that would have procured this sort of reaction from anyone, least of all an apparent hero like him.

---

@Old Amsterdam

[Regitnui]

The Kryptonites may have had military-grade ordinance and training, and even think of themselves as the frontline of humanity's defence, but they didn't have formal ranks. So, the woman who started shouting orders was hardly distinguishable from the rest. "Secure the speedster! Don't waste shots on the ghost, it's a projection. Find the Epic and kill it!"

She personally investigated the gunshots. Epics didn't use guns, relying on their arrogance and curses. This must be the police who survived. Pity. She grabbed her helmet and ducked behind cover when another gunshot rang out. "Lay down your weapon if you're pure!" She shouted in the direction the shot had fired from. "No harm will come to you if you surrender now, cop!"

@Mercenary Lord@AtomicNut

[Old Amsterdam]

Techster - Lutwidge Manor - Interior Library

@TheHangedMan

---

Biting into a cookie, Techster listened intently. Given the concealed threat, he didn't even quirk an eyebrow.

"Well, actually, blackmail is pathetic. Funding is useless when I help develope tech for the City and given my parents unique position in the City. Which I'm afraid I can't go into details on those two subjects for confidentiality reasons," he said with a shrug. "Howie or Techster is preferred," he added as an afterthought. "Part of being a hero is helping people."

He gently laid a circular device on the table, which promptly glowed a deep blue and red.
"See, I want to help you. Maybe make a friend. Or just help. Whatever happens. I'll settle for helping, because you honestly need it. I've given you the means to end your legal battle. I can give you access to more information like that. Beyond that, I'm willing to help cover your tracks. Because I doubt I'm the only one capable of finding out, and everything points towards you being a Hero inside. So why not help, I figure?"

Techster tapped the device. "This detects life. It's showing you and I as alive. The... Maid... Behind me is not by accepted standards. I want to help you cover your history, and help ensure your creations maintain credibility. Of course, I suppose I could be hurting my case laying it all out like that. But I've got nothing to hide here."

[Flamelord]

Finch

It had been a few days since the heist had taken place, and Finch was already getting the itch to act. It had hopefully been long enough for the heat to die down, and it certainly had been enough to get rid of his earnings. But he had his role to play and he couldn't stay inactive for long. Besides, he needed to shake off the sting of the ending of that particular heist, as a matter of personal pride. It had certainly been more annoying than he was used to.

Yet he couldn't just go off on a wing and a prayer for a heist. At the very least he had to find something worth his time to steal. Petty cash was good and all but people wanted drama and symbols to focus on. Which required having a bit more finesse when it came down to it, as he had learned in his time as a thief.

He had places for that though, and connections that he could call on. It would be useful in tapping the rumor mill and finding out if there was anything worth having a go at. That was why he was currently out of costume and making his way into a distinctly average bar, where average people drank and tried to forget the hardship of their lives. He liked to think that he fit in fairly well, at least for the moment.

Entering, he found the lighting subdued and smooth jazz filling the air while people chatted all around the place. Of course he was here for one person in particular, and his gaze swept the room in an attempt to locate them. It wasn't hard, and he made his way over with a grin on his face. "Hey Erin, I'd say that I'm surprised to see you here but we both know that I'd be lying," he said to the seated blond currently nursing an amber drink in front of himself.

Erin glanced up before scoffing. "And I'd say that I'm surprised you aren't in prison, but the big guys at top don't want you gone just yet so I have to deal with your insufferable face for a bit longer." He gestured towards the chair opposite him, and Finch sat down to relax for a bit. "So what do you want?"

Finch folded his hands as he placed them on the table, getting right down to business. "Nothing major, I just wanted to know if you'd heard of anything interesting recently. I'm looking to do another job if I can."

That earned a snort from his companion. "'Nothing major' he says," the man grumbled as he took a sip of his drink. "Well, I guess for you it wouldn't be major at all considering what you do. I may have a thing or two tat you'd be interested in." Finch leaned forward, listening carefully. He wasn't goin to be standing still for long, just the way he liked it.

[thewizardguy]

@Old Amsterdam

Well, it was now or never. Guilt could have done this for a while, stayed in the shadows and prepared. But at this point it felt almost silly, preparing so much for a combat situation when the other wasn't taking this nearly as seriously. If this was a trap it wasn't a good one, giving Guilt all the advantages like this. So it probably wasn't to begin with. Sighing Guilt once more ate up the Fog, all of it vanishing in a brief flash of light. That was not to say she wasn't prepared to go to battle anymore, as letting down her guard around another Epic was a potentially fatal mistake, but she wasn't going to waste resources like this. If this was intended to be a peaceful bit of communication, then she would have to treat it as such.

Guilt would appear on the opposite building, although she would still not sit. It was not surprising what Traveller had manged to learn, and her guesses were fairly accurate. As was to be expected of a major-league hero. Of course Guilt still could not remove her mask, but this time she was prepared. A teleprompter would appear attached to the wall below her, attached to a generator and a small keypad. Guilt typed what she wanted to say into the keypad, never looking away from Traveller. Her words would appear on the teleprompter, slowly scrolling upwards.

"I'm from the outside world. Where there are no High to protect you.
I kill criminals, because they do not deserve to live.
I am brutal, because it makes their death memorable.
It makes others take notice.
They die quickly. It is a mercy.

It is not hard to anger Comet. Comet is a fool.
He attacked me, and expected to kill me.
He claims this is because I kill criminals.
Yet he attempted to kill me, and he killed another, Nudd.
His judgement is foolish and flawed.
Are all heroes here fools?"

Silently Guilt waited as the large white letters slowly scrolled upwards. This method of communication was somewhat slower than speaking, but it was her best option, at current. And despite herself, Guilt was interested in what Traveller's answers would be. After all, this was the first time she had been able to sit down and talk to a big-city hero.

[Old Amsterdam]

Traveler - Abandoned Train Yard

@thewizardguy

---

Alex read the words, still mildly impressed with the woman's abilities.

"I'll answer that in parts, to try and make more sense. But first I just want to say I'm being pretty damn honorable right now. They don't call me the Traveling Trickster for nothing. Or impish, in my terms," she said with a slight laugh.

"So point one, killing the bad guys. Pretty common thing around the world. I don't even object, personally, unless it's minor crimes. No need to kill someone trying to make ends meet in a relatively nonviolent way." She paused, her face darkening momentarily. "I'll tell you something I've never told anyone. Not even my best friend. Not even my parents, not that they'd care much anyways. Without going into too many personally details, I was abducted when I was young. The incidents that followed left me deaf, and granted me my powers. I escaped, they didn't get their ransom, and my parents were... Mildly difficult. Those men are dead, and they have been for years."

Alex left the statement hang for a moment. "Common Joe stealing doesn't deserve death, unless he's hurting or killing to get away with it. I hope my point is getting across? Even the High have their limit. Eventually they step in, and an Epic is dead for being a major problem."

She shrugged visibly before continuing. "Comet is a fool, but his heart is in the right place. Wanton murder is crazy to him, and to most. As for this Nudd....I wonder if Nudd was the reason for several disappearances in the last several days. He mentioned they were old enemies, Nudd having killed Comet's childhood love before going on a psychotic rampage. He'd been given assistance by the High Venom and one of her subjects going by the name of Shatter or something," she said with a frown. "As for the other Heroes, it's entirely a case by case basis. Magus has a gimmick. Dragon Heart can be a bit of an ass with his temper. Comet, well you saw him."

Pausing to consider, Alex made a decision. "How would you feel about being kind of partners?"

[TheHangedMan]

Charlotte Carolle Lutwidge

---

Lutwidge Manor - Library

Charlotte slowly digested the fact that Techster had come all this way 'just because' - and you would forgive her if she found that it was a difficult claim to stomach. For the past two years now she'd dealt with a myriad of people, all using different approaches to get to her and her inheritance, and many of them attempted to earn her good graces through seemingly benevolent acts of kindness towards her. After the first time one had nearly managed to get away with it, she promptly put her guard up against similar tricks - all of them were dealt with in quick succession.

She sighed. Perhaps she was being a bit too cynical about him - young though she might be, she'd like to think that at this point she wasn't so terrible a judge of character that she'd figured out Techster wrongly. For all that her experience told her that this was a trap, her instincts all pointed to the boy being a good person, or at least, a good person to her for the moment.

"Okay, I will accept your claims as genuine, for the moment. It's far from trust, but you'll forgive me for being cautious," she stated, shaking her head. No point looking a gift horse in the mouth. "It's a bit late, but thank you for your help. I'm sure your already aware, but what you've done for me is not a small thing. Consider me in your debt."

Dangerous words, for sure, but at this point there was really no helping it. His help was appreciated, and moreover, needed to be repaid somehow. She didn't like being in debt, after all. It was generally bad for business, and as a personal rule, it was an infringement on her honor.

"Another question, if I may," she asked. It was as good a time as any after all. "Just how much do you know about me?" Of course, he could lie about this, but given what he knew already, knowing a little more wasn't that big a threat to her. Truthfully, details about her powers would benefit little. The most dangerous piece of information was something he was already aware of or at least suspected - that she, while wearing White Knight, was 'Looking Glass'.

Besides - and this is something she wouldn't admit it out loud - a part of her was relieved, and extremely ecstatic, with Techsters presence. Though she hadn't ever heard his name on the news, and though he was hardly the image she would conjure upon thinking of the word 'hero', the fact remained that he identified himself as one, and so far, has conducted himself accordingly. Childhood memories, no matter how tainted they were, had a habit of rearing up on her, despite her attempts to restrain them. None of those feelings made it to her face, and her expression didn't change at all.

---

@Old Amsterdam