The Merge: Agents and Powers Chapter 2: Agents Abroad

[Tony Jones]

"Perhaps!" replies Lilly. "And I will do so. But if the killer came this way there might be something to hear, and it should only take a moment or two."

[kirinke]

Amy

No underground and for the sacred bird's sakes, no sewers, please Arceus, have mercy... the girl prayed fervently.

ooc
Did you expect anything less from Amy at the thought of underground?

[pathfinderq1]

Viv DeLaCourte (Harbinger)
HP: 1; LP: 0; Condition: Normal

Viv barely looked up from her phone as they headed back out onto the street, and gave only a brief curious glance as Lilly stuck her head down into the sewer-hole.

"It is going to be a few minutes before I can get a car here," she murmured after a moment or two. "I suppose, if you must, amuse yourselves..."

Another moment, and she finally looked up and around at the rest of the group. "So we have three new leads, all in different places: Clarity should be 'bouncing' tonight at the Wunderbar; Fiend, somewhere in or under Speicherstadt; and Syndrax, somewhere around Kaltenkirchen, which is quite a bit outside of town. Since dividing our merry little band seems unwise, perhaps we might try to track down Fiend for a while, then see if we can find Clarity once the Wunderbar opens for the day. Unless we want to run around a bit closer to Empire, and see if we can pick up anything the police couldn't... Anyone else have an idea?"

>OOC: Viv will hire a car via Uber/Lyft/whatever, so we can head wherever we're going. She will also, if we haven't already done it, send the image of the killer off to the loacl police and to the Ministry, so that they can put out whatever passes for an APB, with appropriate cautions.

[kirinke]

Amy

"I'm good for whatever, while we're getting from place to place, I'll work my medical contacts and see if I can drum up anything else." she said. "No promises, but we might get lucky there."

[Tony Jones]

"I suppose, if you must, amuse yourselves..."

"Merely because we investigate and act in a way you find unconventional does not give you reason to belittle our efforts, Viv," comes Lilly's voice from the depths of the manhole. "This path may bear fruit, or it may when I try again closer to the Empire club. And if it does will you disregard those fruit because you do not care for how they were obtained?"

[kirinke]

Amy

"Or whom they were obtained from?" she added. "We all make mistakes, you know Viv. Hell, one of the reasons why I do these jaunts is to learn and grow stronger from my experiences! Perhaps you should do the same." she told the investigator.

[Neo-Paladin]

//What an APB in the US is would amount to a " Großfahndung" in Germany - just a little tidbit of language info here

It might take a while for a cab to come by - Uber is only available in Berlin and Munich due to legal issues, it's a long and boring story - but in the meantime, Viv sends the image to the Ministry and to Spengler, who quickly puts out the equivalent of an APB. If the killer shows their face, cops will be on the lookout.

One thing Lilly has learned from being around the homeless and the rundown areas of a city is that rats are excitable, chatty little furballs, constantly communicating with each other, the usual topics mostly food, where people have put out rat poison, where nasty dogs or cats are and, of course, mating.
Apparently, there is some discontent in the rat community about a particularly nasty and large rat setting up shop in the sewers and demanding fealty like a little king - possibly a dire rat, a rat the size of a mid-sized dog. The other rats are not too happy about it but the big one has apparently already bitten several challengers in half.
Also, something is apparently stalking the sewers and killing off more dangerous inhabitants like mutants, ghouls, lacedons, even a smaller troll etc....something the rats find very hard to see and smell and something that creates " Bright boomy lights that make things splat!"

[Tony Jones]

"No sign of the killer we are seeking from the chatter of the rats, here in any case," announces Lilly, sitting back on heels then standing up from the manhole. "But there may be a dire rat trying to set itself up as a rat-king down there. And a hard to detect being with superpowers or weapons advanced for your world - 'bright boomy lights that make things splat' is how the rats describe it - appears to be stalking the sewers killing creatures down there."

She picks up the manhole cover and replaces it over the opening.

"Shall I teleport us back to the club?" she asks. "Apart from you Torque, my apologies."

[kirinke]

Amy

The girl hrms. "That could be bad. Perhaps we should let Spengler know about it so he can get people to investigate it." she looked at the others.

"Rats can get into anyplace. If something directs them it could get very bad." she noted. "Also, something killing sewer critters could be bad as well. It needs to be looked into."

[Tony Jones]

"I agree we should alert the Ministry about both things," nods Lilly. "Perhaps we can investigate once we have dealt with the killer."

[kirinke]

Amy

The girl nodded. "Sounds reasonable." she then made a face. "I hate going underground. Something always winds up considering me to be a menu item."

[jmucchiello]

"Spengler will most likely have us investigate," Adeleth says.

[pathfinderq1]

Viv DeLaCourte (Harbinger)
HP: 1; LP: 0; Condition: Normal

Viv had been playing on her phone some more, working her way through the intricacies of local transport, but she nodded at Lilly's sugeestion. "If you can get us back to the club, where we left our car, that would speed things up. We can mention whatever it is mucking about in the sewers- sounds like some sort of beam weapon or plasma perhaps- but the locals may already be aware that something is going on down there. Remember how the policeman reacted when you suggested speaking to the local homeless population. If Herr Spengler wants to make a request for our assistance, I'm sure Hagen will consider it- but for now we have our case, and the game, as they say, is afoot."

She paused for a moment, considering. "Perhaps we ought to head back and collect our car, touch base to see if the police have anything new. Then perhaps we can head down to the Speicherstadt in search of 'Fiend'. If you want to try that Rat-Speaking trick again, I would imagine it might be helpful in narrowing the field- hard to imagine someplace more full of rats than a warehouse and shipping district built over wharves... We can prowl about for a few hours, then still have time to get to Wonderbar to find Clarity- If we can find Fiend quickly, we may have time to pop back to the police station and go through their list of other associates. Depending on how we do today, and tonight, we can see about making the longer trip to Kaltenkirchen tomorrow."

"Does that sound reasonable, or do any of you have a better plan?"

[kirinke]

Amy

"Sounds good to me. I can help out with the talking to critters as well." she said. "I don't have super-hearing or anything like that, but I can speak with them. I'm still learning how to use the force to sense things. I'm not very good at it yet." she admitted.

"Spengler will most likely have us investigate," Adeleth says.

Amy just sighed. "You're probably right."

[Tony Jones]

"Very well," nods Lilly and holds out a hand (the same one she used to lift the manhole cover). "We shall see you at the Empire, Torque."

And on the assumption that everyone takes her hand, she will teleport everyone but Torque back to the club.

Upon arrival, with a nod to Adeleth, she lifts a manhole cover there as well, and listens again in the same way as before.