A Means to an End

[Pokefan0234]

((OOC: A discussion thread would be nice... though I'm not sure what we'd need to talk about. =P

@ironknight - If you're waiting for Flum, he's not at the shop, but Drew, (feel free to bunny him, by the way), is there.

Also, the answer to Drew's riddle, which is probably impossible to solve:

Spoiler: Answer to Drew's Riddle

The riddle begins with the phrase: “That ashy door is open to everyone at an IQ over 16.”

Ashy is a mispronunciation of "ascii". 16 denotes the key within the ascii system that's being used, or the hexadecimal system. And the hexadecimal values of I and Q are 49 and 51, respectively.

49 + 51 = 100. 100 over 16 is 6.25. Their is also an alternative answer, which is 49 * 51 / 16= 156.19 rounded. Both of those answers are correct, as writing either of them into the door deactivates the curse.

... Kudo's to anyone who figured that out. =)

Tuesday, Day 2, 8:50 a.m.

oO0 Scer 0Oo
On the Streets Near SRA Headquarters, D.C.

People were staring. Oh, yes, they were definitely staring at him. Scer could feel their eyes boring into his disguise, summing his strangely formal attire to be something of a madman. Well, maybe they were right. It wasn’t an everyday outfit – at least, Scer didn’t think it was. … Was it? No, it wouldn’t attract so much attention if it was.

As he trotted down the street, he couldn’t help but wonder about the man he was impersonating. The cocky, flirtatious attitude he had greeted Aroma with seemed nothing like the type of mannerisms a member of the SRA would have. And yet, his heroic act of pursuing the witch into a burning winery deemed him to be something more than a passing bystander. His name? Unknown. His abilities? Also unknown, although they did make his eyes turn completely black when he used them. They also required some sort of seal in order to use them… and a blood sacrifice. Perhaps… he was a summoner? It would certainly explain the dachshund…

Letting out a nervous sigh, he took his phone out of his pocket and checked his messages again. No new texts. Aroma hadn’t gotten back to him on this man’s abilities or his identity, two variables that Scer needed to function. He could always play it by ear, but the risks were… high. Very high, in his case. He wouldn’t be able to fake that sort of outright personality – at least, not for a long period of time. Determined words didn’t flow from his mouth so easily, and the large volume of letters that his tongue spewed were a sure sign of his lies.

Ugh… what good was he as a shapeshifter if he couldn’t even tell a lie correctly?

A sharp barking woke him from his self-pity party, causing him to jump a bit from the sound. Turning, he spotted the cause; an excited Chihuahua having some sort of seizure due to the sight of another member of his species. Scer chuckled a bit at the sight; the size of the dog it wished to fight was nothing to sneeze at, (even he was a bit frightened by the beast.) As soon as the light turned green, the driver of the chihuahua’s car turned away, leaving the tiny dog’s barks echoing into the distance.

The other car, though, continued straight. Scer paused in his steps, watching as it hurried away. From what he knew, that area of the city was nothing but warehouses and small businesses – not a place that someone would take their dog to. Perhaps they worked nearby and kept their pet for company? Regardless, Scer decided it was in his best interest to follow them. It was a longshot, but… perhaps there was more to them that met the eye…

In the midst of the chaos of the crowd, he ducked into a small crevice between a few stores, making his way into the darkness until he was invisible to the crowd. His fingers flew along the shadows. The sun was high enough to cast several shadows around the area – if he hurried, he could keep up with the taxi without being seen. He took a deep breath, letting his malleable body expand with the volume of the air, and exhaled.

With his nerves calmed, he disappeared.

For a moment, he lost track of where he was. His body appeared next to the shadow of a tree, some distance in the direction of the taxi. A quick examination of the area told him that the car was nowhere to be found. Had he missed it? Or worse… had it taken a detour, and turned around? He waited for a minute, looking around the area. The car was nowhere in sight. Great… he must have overshot it.

As Scer turned around to find his way back, his eyes caught sight of a peculiar reflection. Someone must have dropped a mirror on the street, because he could see himself standing on the other end of the road. He paused for a moment, smiling at the strangeness of the situation, and thought about making a stupid face or two. Still… why would there be a mirror sitting in the middle of the sidewalk?

… Oh sho-!

His thoughts were cut off by the instinct to hide, and he dived behind one of the nearby buildings, taking off in a run. How in the world was that human still alive? Aroma must’ve grown bored of the match and left. He hadn’t expected the man to be standing, much less walking in the same direction as the car he was following. Well, that was his dumb luck at work once again. There’d be an explosion if he didn’t get through the day without getting himself into a sticky situation.

He scrambled behind another building, pausing for a moment to check his surroundings. He didn’t see the man, but who knew where he was hiding? Aroma hadn’t gotten back to his text, (he hadn’t really thought that she would, but at least he tried). Without that information, he’d be a goner. A doppelganger that didn’t know the name of his counterpart? No one would believe that…

Peering out from behind the walls, he spotted a tail disappear into a blind spot. The dachshund! Of course that would be looking for him, too. He sighed, leaning back against a wall.

This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all…

 

[aggiegwyn]

OoC: Sorry for the late reply, school does junk like that.


Aroma Robinson, Blood Bandit in Washington DC

“Gwyllgi!” The man cursed, causing the dog to evaporate. How nice of him, to die with his pet. But Aroma wanted to hear his last words before getting the kill.

“Shame it had to end this way… but looks like this is a fight I can’t win. Don’t worry love, I’ll be more prepared next time. This was such fun, we should do it again next time. But for now, ta!” And with that, his tattoes glowed and he kicked her hand, singing his neck, but not burning him like fire should. Broken out, he cursed before seeing his spell was finally activated.

“Oh Lady Arachne! Your prey resides there! Entangle her, and you may drink of her blood. Leave her alive and bring her to me!”

And with that, he ran off, leaving Aroma with an old bag of a spider to face.

Aroma grinned, she may not have the Contractor, but she knew that next time she would take him on so easily. Next time, his last words wont be able to be spoken. The spider would be an easy feat, Aroma concluded before saying her spell.


"Roctalious finestro!" She yelled aloud. From the sky, a spark of light rushed down, and exploded on the spider itself, before it even had time to attack. Aroma fell back from her own spell, but didn't care. That challenge was easily over. However, using the powerful spell made her tired, so she headed off to another part of town in order to get some easier kill. The creatures around that area seemed better at what they did, trained almost.

She walked into a bar, where she got several stares due to her unnatural hair and eyes, but she didn't care. She needed to sit down if she wanted to be powerful enough to satisfy her master once more.

She took out her phone, a nessesity of a Blood Bandit, and saw that she recieved a message. It was from Scer, that blasted Messenger.

If you’re not busy – though I guess you would be because you’re in the middle of a fight right now – but if you had, like, a break in the fighting or something – but then again, you’d probably use that to set up another magic spell – but if you’re not busy, could you send me the name of that guy with the black irises? Oh, and a picture – if you can snap a picture, since he might be a vampire - but if he’s not a vampire, a picture would be nice – that is, if you have time to send a picture because you’re probably busy fighting this guy – but then again, if you were reading this, you wouldn’t be fighting him-

… Send me a picture? And a name. Oh, and anything else that might be important. You know, if you’re not busy.

She sighed at his stupidity, and clicked the reply button.

Dreizel Dietrich, although I think it was a fake name, since my Willo-Wisps stopped right before hitting him. If your stupid enough to think I was able to catch a picture, you truly are an idiot. Find him and take one yourself.

She sighed and ordered for a Scotch. She might as well be happy while on her killing spree.

 

[ironknight42]

OoC: Pokefan I don't intend to sit in Flum's shop so I'll just make arrangements to come back, in the meanwhile he'll be free wandering in Rock Creek Park, so while I wait for Flum someone can fight me if they want, I hear your having a recruitment drive. So pretty much lawmaster if you want a fight we can have one, if not its fine I just need something to do.

Day 2, 9:15 a.m.
Desmond Walsh
Bathesda, Maryland

Desmond pulled up in the rental car infront of what appeared to a a regular pawn shop, but it matched the address the girl had given him. So, he stepped out of his car and payed on a parking meter, they were a pain but getting your car towed even if it was a rental sucks. Time was wasting, time to get down to buisness, he entered into the pawn shop listening to a little jingle of a bell.

"Store's closed, get out of here" the voice had come from the back of the store, mayhaps it was Flum. As he walked back, he took his time looking at all sorts of trinkets, he had appraised stuff like this before. When he reached the back and looked up he saw a callow youth messing around on a hand-held game system, definitly not Flum.

"I said the stores closed, get out of here" he said as he looked up to see Desmond.

"I'm sorry to bother you but is there a Mr. Flum here, I am told he is very knowlegable about something that is of intrest to me"

"That whole SRA and Blood Bandit stuff" this comment took him aback it was very blunt.

"You are enlightened to the whole affair then I suppose" he grinned trying to win the kid over.

"Yeah sure, now can I get back to my game" he grinned back revealing a pair of fangs, so he was a supe, a vampire even.

"Well is Mr. Flum here, you never answered me" this kid was not going to be very helpful.

"No, he's out" mabye he was lying but it did not matter.

"Well when he gets back have him call me at this number, or use this, mention I am very willing to negotiate" while he said this he laid his card with a cell phone number on it and a pager on the counter.

"Fine if it will get you to leave" putting the things under the counter "Now please leave the store, were closed."

"I hope you have a nice day" he said this as he walked away raising his hand as a sign of farewell, he exited and headed for his rental car.

Now behind the wheel again he headed for Rock Creek park, he once again parked and headed off into the park. If he could he would find a nice seclude spot and relax for a bit, with luck Flum would contact him soon enough.

 

[YDT]

Kuvalar
Los Angelos, California - Alleyway beside ice cream store
Day 2, 11:35 PM

The weak looking human was unphased by Kuvalar's crazy laughter. This upset Kuvalar, fear was half the fun of human slaughter.

"Ok, I will come with you." Kuvalar told the human. He then wiped the blood off of the claws with dead human man's shirt then folded them up. He placed them is his pocket and walked over to the man. As Kuvalar came closer he noticed that the man smelled putrid. Not like normal humans, a different kind of disgusting smell. The man then put the gun in his pocket and reached for handcuffs.

Foolish human Kuvalar thought as his teeth and jaw grew bigger. He opened his mouth wide and swung at the human's neck. He had his whole throat in his mouth, his head fell onto the ground. Kuvalar spat it out as quick as he could, the human didn't taste normal. It didn't even taste like any type of animal. It tasted like rotting fish, but human. Two men walked into the alley, with the same wierd smell as the one Kuvalar just killed.

"You have destroyed one of my favorites, what a pity. You will be coming with me now. I think you'll like D.C. very much, it's a good site for tourists. Not that you'll be able to see much being locked up in headquarters." Both men echoed in the same voice at the same time. Kuvalar pulled his gloves out of his pockets and put them back on his hands. He charged at the men, he wasn't gonna back down from this fight. They had such slow reflexes, it was easy for him to slice through them. They fell down, and Kuvalar walked away thinking they were dead. They got back up, but by the time they did that Kuvalar had already started heading home.

Humans are going after me? Well then I guess I'll just have to kill them first. They had said they would take me to D.C. I guess I better find out where that is. Afterwards I'll go after all those nasty humans in the...what did he say?...SPE. That's probably why they smelled and tasted worse than normal, they must be even more horrible than average humans.

 

[treespyro]

Penelope Gallen

Penelope has many times stated was not the smartest girl in the class. When Penelope stated that it was hard for her to find the door, it was really a common occurring theme. Not that it was hard for her at all, it was just confusing that the door was well hidden. She heard a male speak "Hello. Are you a new recruit to?" he asked. Penelope laughed "No. I just don't like the door" she must have confused the poor new recruit with her answer. Then Penelope was introduced to her 'employer' she was one of the agents working for this 'employer' "Luce, this is Penelope, one of your new agents." The director moved her eyes between them meaningfully, "Lucienne Bellefleur, Penelope Gallen." Luce moved over to kiss the human's cheeks, once on each one, "Mon plaiseur," she smiled at the new recruit. "Err you too I think" she replied looking a little confused. "I travel all around the world I still can't grasp all the alluring cultures" she laughed.

Suddenly an order was barked. "Luce, I want you to find out who she hung out with, inside and outside of work. Make a few phone calls with Special Agent Gallen. Wait for Merlin and Cain to do anything else though." and with that Penelope left with Lucienne. "Cold calling, you would think I am a telemarketer" she blurted out loud. Suddenly in the hallway, the red head was stopped by a male. "Greetings," he began, offering a hand for Penelope to shake. "It seems that though our backgrounds may be different, fate has decided to put us on the same career path. Though Miss Bellefleur might occasionally refer to me by my real name, you may call me Merlin. I have just been promoted to Special Agent on this team of ours." Penelope looked very confused. "Ummm okay well I am Penelope Gallen, human and yeah nice to meet you too" she replied very slowly. "Hmm, I detect a peculiar air of mystery about you," he decided to comment, locking eyes with her but occasionally glancing an inch away. "It is as if your outward demeanour and your true self are deciding to ignore each other... But fortunately, often times the most wonderful things happen when you accept fate for what it is. I can only hope that this pressing incident will bring out your true purpose in not only this agency, but the world as a whole."

Penelope was really just confused, she had no clue what was happening at all. "Now that our introductions are done, shall we go meet the leader of our team?" he asked. Penelope coyly smiled. "Been there done that, now I have to do some cold calling. Nice to meet you Merlin." she then flicked her hair and walked in the opposite direction. "Awkward" she muttered to herself.

Penelope then decided to make some calls. "Alright cold calling to these numbers in the DC region" she spoke to herself. Penelope start to call a lot of numbers but the information that she was given was very vague. So she decided to write it all down and give it to someone who is actually smart and could figure it out and piece it together. "This is such a weird thing" she muttered to herself reading the notes that she took. At least she was proud that she had very nice handwriting which makes it look good but anything else really was going to be a tough one. "So these fairies are very social but I can't get any information that pieces together it is way too vague for me to piece it together" Penelope started to play with her hair as she continued to call and call getting as much information as possible but it was going to be a long one for the attractive human female.

 

[bella10388]

Hi all! Welcome to the beginning of a Means to an End! Here's who's allowed to post here (aka the list of accepted people). LSU's will be accepted here.

Supernatural Response Team:
Lucienne Bellefleur (Vampire, Supervisory Agent)--> Musical Mayhem
Penelope Gallen (Human, Special Agent)--> treespyro
Vincent "Merlin" Estrel (Witch, Special Agent)-->Kiruria
Cain Orlowe, etc. etc. (Contractor, Probationary Agent)-> Niihyl

Kitt Morrison (werecat, Supervisory Agent)-> Musical Mayhem
Lester Putzkanner (Goblin, Special Agent)--> Universe Chaser
Katommo "Tom" (Triclops, Special Agent)--> aggiegwyn
Edwin "Lupin" Tasselbury (Human, Probationary Agent) -> Kiruria

Blood Bandits:
Scer (Shade, Messenger)--> Pokefan0234
leaf vesselius (Woodland Elf, Assassin)--> lawmaster
Aroma Robinson (Witch, Assassin) --> aggiegwyn
Lucas white (Akhlut, Assassin)-->lawmaster

Freelancers:
Lost (Fleshing)--> Niihyl
Desmond Walsh (Witch)--> ironknight42
Todd Richards (Human name), Kuvaler (Merman name) (Merperson)--> YDT
Flum (Jorculine)-->Pokefan0234
Weijun Muilum (Qilin) --> wayjun

Tuesday, Day 2, 8:45 a.m.

SRA Headquarters, Washington D.C.

The office was almost silent in the early morning. Many of the team members from last night’s investigation of the bloody wall had headed home or out to investigate. Even more had left, probably never to return. Desks had been packed up in fear, boxes were strewn on the floor. In the midst of this mess stood one vampire, her flaming red hair curling down her back in loose waves. It framed her face, her large, angry blue eyes as they surveyed the damage before her. It was into this mess that Special Agent Kitt Morrison walked, only to be skewered by the director.

“Morrison, where’ve you been?!” She demanded, her fangs protruding just enough to look intimidating. Kitt raised an eyebrow at Director Azeur, her green eyes following her superior’s gaze.

“At home? It was my day off yesterday...” Her voice trailed off unsurely, “What’s happened?” The werecat’s ears pushed back against her head fearfully. Her fingers were curled, ready to extend her claws in case of danger.

“No need for that Kitt,” The director sighed, before gazing at the supervisory agent, “Unfortunately after the discovery of our fairy friend, it looks like quite a lot of our agents have... flown the coop.”

All of the agents had heard about the fairy’s death. The agent had been ambushed and killed, the note written in a red liquid pinned to his body. No fingerprints. No evidence aside from the puncture marks in his neck. Which was considered to be a sign that the Bandit himself had done the killing instead of his mutt, the Blood Bane. All of the agents had been called in to investigate, the body sent to the medical examiner, a necromancer by the name of Peter. Most of the agents fondly called him “Patch”, due to his ability to patch up dead bodies. The evidence had been sent down to the forensics lab, but DNA and dental records were taking a while to process. No leads. No nothing. And they only had twenty-eight days left. This was the beginning of day two, which saw the packing up and departure of several agents, effectively disbanding old teams.

Kitt was looking expectantly at Director Azeur, who continued patiently, “We only have enough agents left for about...” the woman’s red brows furrowed as she did the math in her head, “five or six teams. Which means I have to promote two agents to Supervisory Agents,” Her eyes were meaningfully on the young agent.

“What... me?” Kitt exclaimed as she noticed one other person enter the room. The short, skinny form of Lucienne Bellefleur appeared as she pushed through the door into the room. Her green eyes widened in surprise.

“And your old partner over there,” The director waved her hand towards the other vampire, who was now staring blatantly at the boxes and a desk that was even lit on fire.

“Well this sucks,” Luce sighed, running her pale fingers through her hair. “What’s up director?” Her eyes darted nervously to Kitt and back to the director once more. Director Azeur waved her hand, signaling the two agents to follow her. They reluctantly did, heading down a cream-colored hallway. Recruitment posters, informative posters, even some of those inspirational pictures hung along the wall. At the very end of the hallway were several offices, currently closed off behind two very heavy doors. Between the two scuffed wooden doors was a huge poster that read “SOAR”. On it was a picture of Harry Potter on a broomstick.

“Nice gag.” Luce chuckled under her breath as she eyed the Harry Potter, “Now what in the world is going on?” A tiny bit of her French accent popped out in her irritation. Luce pushed open the door on the right, revealing a small room. The walls were painted light blue and four desks sat in a loose circle in the center of the room. Each was a simple oak desk, complete with a computer and little name-plate. One wall was entirely cork-board, the one opposite of that was a giant whiteboard. A high-tech television sat in the middle of the cork-wall, which Luce supposed would be used for solving cases and such.

“This is your new office Ms. Bellefleur,” the director answered. Luce whirled around to find the other vampire leaning casually in the doorway, “Ms. Morrison’s new office is right next to yours. Both of your teams could practically live in these rooms. There’s bunk beds through the door in the corner,” She nodded towards a white door in the back of the room, “Bathrooms too.”

“So... we’re gonna be here a while, aren’t we?” Luce asked, trying to sound casual.

“Yes. Here’s your new team assignment,” The director yanked out a sheet of paper and glared at it, “Special Agent Vincent Estrel. Also known as Merlin. Witch. Male. He’s a good kid,” She pointed to the desk closest to the white door, “Next, Penelope Gallen. Human. Not sure how she found out about us, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.” She gestured to the desk next to Merlin’s, “And last but not least, Cain Orlowe. He’s a contractor and your probie. Watch out though, I’ve heard he’s a womanizer,” With that, the director winked and dropped a stack of files in Luce’s arms, “Your new team’s files. Study up on them until they get here. I must go meet with Ms. Morrison,”

The director walked out the door, trying to keep her stride steady, then pushed into Kitt’s room. The werecat was standing in the middle of the room, her eyes focused on the cork wall, “Ms. Morrison.” The director announced as the werecat jumped around.

“Your new team assignment.” The director handed another stack of manilla files to Kitt, “Lester Putzkanner. Goblin. He’s a great guy, very clean, contrary to popular belief,” She gestured to his seat next to Kitt’s desk, “Tom. He’s a triclops. Good luck figuring those buggers out,” She pointed to the desk near Kitt’s white door, “And finally, Edwin Tasselbury, also known as Lupin. He’s your probie. I believe he’s friends with Merlin, the witch on Luce’s team.” Kitt’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Now Ms. Morrison, I know you’re fighting with Lucienne, but you have to accept that your teams will be working closely on this case. Study that. I’m going to wait for the other agents to arrive so I can send them to the proper room.” With that, the director turned on her heel and departed.

The red-headed vampire returned to the deserted and broken room that had once been their central headquarters. She perched on a desk, staring at the door in wait. Perhaps that had been the Baron’s plan all along, to break them down. Well, the director thought as she straightened the black bat pinned on her pink blouse, she couldn’t let that happen.


Blood Baron, undisclosed location.

“They’ve scattered my Lord.” A voice whispered in the darkness, a pair of vibrant yellow eyes peering out, “Very few remain.” The creature’s voice was low and gravely, almost menacing.

“Good work Bane,” Another voice concluded. Its owner was completely shrouded in the darkness, not even its eyes could be seen, “Go speak to the others. At the very least, text them. I want Scer to find members of the SRA. See if we can get them to flip. If they don’t, send in... oh, hmm, who to send...” The voice trailed off, pondering, “Leaf. Aroma. Lucas. Any of them will do. Have them follow the agents. Follow, not kill. We may need their magic.”

“What if they run into any freelancers, sir?” Bane questioned, his long fangs flashing in the dim light of the cave.

“Kill them.” The voice sighed, “Unless they can... persuade them to join us. We need as many as we can get for the... unshrouding.” Voice chuckled and Bane could almost imagine the chilling smile that would cross the face it belonged to, “Go Bane. Find the others. Tell them their duties.”

“Aye sir,” Bane yelped before he transformed himself. His body quivered anxiously as he became a large, black wolf. Its fur was tattered, part of an ear missing. His yellow eyes glowed as he ran through the dim forest, the morning light barely touching him beneath a canopy of green. After quite a few minutes of a flat-out sprint through the woods, Bane deemed it far enough away from his master to stop and text some of the others. He transformed back into his human form. The Blood Bane was a tall, dark-skinned man, full of brawn and bulk. Even in his human form, he possessed yellow eyes that scanned over a tiny, blue phone in his hands. His fingers slowly began to move over the keys.

To Scer, he sent this message.

The SRA agents are your new targets. Try to flip them. If they will not flip sides, alert Leaf, Aroma, or Lucas. They will eliminate the threats. You have until tomorrow to check in or I’ll come “help” you.

To Leaf, Aroma, and Lucas, he sent the following:

Scer is attempting to get some of the agents and freelancers to switch sides. If he has any problems, he will contact you. For now, see if you can trail any of them. Follow but do not kill. Do some of that investigating that they hold so dear. Report back to me by Thursday.

Bane smiled to himself. Quite the job well done, if he did say so himself. Oh, the plans they had...

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, so here’s the deal. SRA guys, go to the SRA headquarters, which appears to be an old warehouse on the outside. Meet up with the director (who is an NPC that you can temporarily control, usually she’ll be controlled by me or Pokefan) who will show you to your proper team room.

Bandits, your job is to try to stop the agents from getting to the building (or wait until they leave, which will be soon, don’t worry) to try to get them to flip sides. If they don’t flip sides, pick a fight, try to capture them. It’s up to you and whoever you attack whether or not they get captured. It is only Day 2 after all.

Freelancers, the Bandits are after pretty much everyone right now, so watch out! Feel free to wander about the city, or wherever you happen to be until you happen upon something noteworthy (perhaps you’ll even stumble upon some evidence.... evil smile). And if you do run into any SRA people, you might want to make sure you don’t become a suspect (another evil smile).

Thanks you for the post.

 

[Musical Mayhem]

OOC: Hey guys, got some bad news. I know I've been neglecting this a little, but I'm having some family problems at the moment. I'm going to continue this RPG, but I just want you all to know that updates will probably be few and far between, so just bare with me, okay? I'll have a story post up tomorrow or Tuesday.

 

[Kiruria]

OOC: Well, it's Wednesday, and I don't see any story post. Still busy eh? As for me, I haven't been posting lately because A) I didn't know what to post, and B) I was waiting for treespyro and/or Musical Mayhem to post.

@aggiegwyn: ...I'm just gonna assume that you calling your triclops Todd was a mistake, that you meant Tom instead. And haha, Lupin's not a wizard. I think Lawmaster was confused.

@Pokefan0234: Ah yes, the riddle. I've been thinking about it ever since you posted it.

Spoiler: Might relate to the answer

I managed to figure out the formula, but because I didn't know the ASCII values, I couldn't get the actual answer. Although I actually thought you could only multiply (not add) the two values in the numerator, because when you have two variables next to each other with no operational sign in between (as in common algebraic expressions like 2x and xy), it means the values are multiplied together.

IC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SRA Headquarters

Like a lot of muggle girls he had talked to in a very similar fashion, this one seemed to feel awkward and confused when Merlin introduced himself. Oh well, at least he learned that her name was Penelope. As he watched her turn and walk away, though, he kept noting a sort of peculiarity about her aura that would bother him from then on. After all, it is true that one can tell a lot of things about someone by reading their aura. The colour, shape, thickness, and even its subtle movements about the body can indicate many things. What Merlin saw with Penelope was a mixture of intense colours--actually, it didn't seem to be any defined colour, but some intense shade that had no hue, somehow. It felt like she was radiating some sort of powerful energy... or she would have, had it not been for the foggy white shell on top of it. This shell dulled the colours a bit, and made her overall aura very thin and subdued. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, especially on an ordinary, simple-looking human.

It was obvious now that Penelope would refuse to talk to Merlin any further, if at all later on. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Lucienne, the vampire, the leader of his team. He could go talk to her perhaps... but he didn't want to do so when he felt so let down after Penelope just ignored him like that. For the time being he turned away from her, gazing down at a fake potted plant standing just outside the door. He took a curious glance at its papery leaves, its plastic twigs, and the trunk whose wood had been dead for years.

You were created in memory of the beauty nature has to offer, he thought, hoping to take his mind off of Penelope. In your existence, you allow people to appreciate such beauty without keeping any living being captive. Perhaps that is, in a sense, what art is all about.

Inspired, Merlin took a few paces toward Luce. He admired her rather unconventional style of clothing, but detected an almost somber air about her. Her aura looked very similar to the way Lupin's usually did, which surprised him a bit. She looked like she could be nice to work with, provided she could cheer up a bit.

"Greetings, Miss Bellefleur," he mused, extending a hand for her to shake. "I don't ever remember seeing you before, but then again I have been here only a year. I know it is rather disappointing, with so many agents having quit the job last night... but you'll be happy to know that I've actually been hoping an incident like this would arrive. After all, it's much more exciting than investigating mundane crimes." A pause. "Is something the matter? Do you need help with anything?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Lupin was listening to Kitt and Tom talk about finding out where agent Yims lived. As he was listening to them, he turned on the computer in front of him, curious to find out what was on it. The first thing he noted was all the databases that were stored on a remote drive located in an undisclosed and unaccessible room of the headquarters. These contained information on past cases that had been investigated, agents who have worked in the SRA in both the past and present, and a few scattered police records and confidential news reports. However, like any government database, all these were encrypted. He could browse the list of all the files, but he couldn't open them without logging in first.

To log in, he had to input his ID number, along with a special PIN he had chosen upon employment. In addition to that, he recently found out that one could only log in with a certain ID number if the agent with that number was present in the headquarters (that is, they had scanned their ID's at the entrance). Measures like these were added to prevent hackers from accessing the database.

As Lupin scrolled down the list of agent files, a couple of names caught his eye: three agents with a last name of Estrel, indicating Merlin and his parents. Merlin was still listed as a Probie, oddly enough--perhaps his status had not been updated yet. And he found his own name as well, scowling upon seeing his last name especially. Carrying that last name with him was like carrying around memories of his father, memories that he thought he had abandoned when he ran away from home. Immediately he closed the window, desperate to find something else to do.

That part was easy enough--the triclops from before had walked up to him. "Hi, I'm Tom. I've been an agent for a little while, so feel free to ask questions."

Lupin glanced up at Tom in almost a scowl at first. Especially with his cocky grin and his muscular appearance and tanned complexion, he seemed like the kind who would get arrogant and annoying rather quickly. In fact, he reminded Lupin of a surfer whose arms had been out in the sun too long. Oh well, at least he didn't tower over him once he stood up. After standing up, the expression on Lupin's face became a little more kind, though that's not saying much for someone who was usually grumpy during the daytime. Then he noticed the clawed hand Tom was offering him. He glanced dowwn at his own hands for a while, as if wondering which one he should shake it with. He eventually chose his right, trusting Tom not to scratch it.

And yes, for Lupin, choosing hands is important. His left hand, having a stronger grip than his right, is the one he uses to wield weapons and lift heavy objects. He uses his right hand for any task where dexterity is needed, like writing or fishing into someone's pocket. As such, he's careful about preventing it from getting injured.

"You may call me Lupin," he replied to Tom. His voice was deep yet quiet, and carried a bit of a British accent. "So far everything is going well--I just finished looking at the digital version of the database. I see you preferred to use the hard copy to find info on Agent Yims. Which makes me wonder," and here a smirk crept its way onto his face, "if there's any investigation we need to do of this agent's residence..."

His eyes wandered curiously over to Kitt. "Excuse me for a moment..." he said to Tom, leaving him with a husky dog pawing at his leg. The tag on her collar, which had "ARTEMIS" printed at the top, could easily be read from a short distance.

Rather than speaking up to catch Kitt's attention, he just walked over to her desk. "Well Kitt, it's nice to know we have a member of a more stealthy race on our team. You can probably guess that I'm Lupin, seeing as I'm the only human on our team it seems... Well anyway, I'm just wondering what we hope to find out about this Yims." His tone of voice here was more matter-of-fact. "I would especially like to know what we need the address for. If we are ever to conduct an investigation of Yims's residence, you'll be happy to know that such investigations are my specialty." The smirk reappeared on his face.

 

[Universe Chaser]

OOC: Sorry if this is a bit short, I just wanted to put a post in before I leave for XC training camp.

Lester Putzkanner
SRA Headquarters

Lester jumped for joy when he heard about the new recruit. He loved new recruits. They made him feel so useful when they needed help, and he could offer it. He stumbled over to Lupin, trying to smile but not look creepy (and failing), and stretched out his arm to shake. Unfortunately he was completely ignored as the recruit headed over to talk to the triclops. I have to prove to him that I'm useful. He must think that I'm a monster, by the way I look. He must have heard the stories about us. He must have-

But Lester shooed away these thoughts, fixed his hair a bit- yes, it was probably my hair that drew him away- and focused on the mission at hand.

Yims was his only friend during those first days. Those days when if you were a goblin who didn't speak English, you were spit on or avoided in the office. Where you're not even tolerated in a world of freaks. That fairy was the only one who'd talk to him. And Lester would talk back to him. They couldn't understand each other, but the sound of a voice responding to Lester that wasn't an order was the most beautiful sound in the world. It was new, it was fresh, it reminded Lester that he was no longer a slave. They went their separate ways after the first crisis, and never saw each other again. Now Yims was dead. And for some reason, Lester's team now has to research the guy. It was strange. They never got the chance to have a real conversation.

Lester looked again to Lupin. The guy looked a bit weird, but Lester wasn't one to talk. New guys need friends. With a sincere, if ugly, smile, Lester walked over to Lupin. "Lester Putzkanner, Special Agent. So, Mr. investigator," he said, "where to?"

 

[Niihyl]

Lost
Somewhere in D.C.

The police car rushed down the road, and entered the city. The plan was to join up with the SRA… although it would be preferred not to, their interests aligned… for now. The Blood Bandit must die. Lost knew, oh he did, where the SRA base was. He had tortured the information out of an agent long, long ago. Lost stopped the car in the parking lot of a random business, not caring what happened to it. He morphed into his preferred form, that of a small child. His clothing was still that of the officer, and was much too large.

He debated with himself whether visiting a clothing store would be beneficial. Yes, wearing a police officer’s clothes would be suspicious. He waddled around, drawing several strange looks, and walked into a small, private clothes shop. As he entered he closed the blinds, blocking the inside of the shop from view.

“Oi! Don’t do that, huh? Kid? Where’re your-“ the man was cut off by Lost falling to the ground, and beginning to retch. With concern in his eyes, he reached down and touched Lost’s shoulder. Lost looked up, and from his mouth, a bloody human being crawled out. The man screamed, and was grabbed, and throttled to death. Lost devoured him, and out of common courtesy, sucked the blood from the carpet. Wasn’t he kind?

“That was fun,” Lost said to himself, a smile on his cherubic face. He stripped off the oversized clothes, and dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts. He exited the shop, flipping the sign to closed.

Now, the SRA.

The warehouse that was the SRA base was nearby. Lost stood in front of the door, and was stopped by the ID scanner. “Oh, damn,” Lost murmured nonchalantly. He was distracted by a tall, extremely pale man in a singed suit walking towards him.

Cain Orlowe
In front of SRA HQ

Cain winced as the Hellhound’s energy fully left his body. The burns hurt. He’d have to get some healing for that. And perhaps a good tailor. Although fixing a suit like this would be very expensive, almost as much as a whole new suit.

As he walked up to the warehouse that was not-so-cunningly disguised, he noticed a small boy standing there. The boy was definitely not normal. Some sort of shapeshifter, doppelganger, or other mimic, most likely. Cain fingered his gun, and spoke up; “Oi, Supe. You renegade? Am I going to have to shoot you?”

The boy looked up with wide eyes; “I don’t know what you’re talking about mister.”

“Cut the crap, I’ve been around long enough to know when something’s just not right. So, what’s it?”

The boy sighed. “Fine then… I want the Blood Bandit dead. Killed and gone. Supernaturals must not be revealed.”

“Well our interests align. But you may just be lying. So, I’m sorry, but step aside, and let me in. I’ll talk to the higher-ups and maybe we can Skype or something,” Cain said, stepping closer slowly. He waved his ID in front of the lock, and moved inside. The boy didn’t make any threatening moves, so he closed the door and walked in.

Boss-lady was sitting in a mildly destroyed room, with a fire in a corner. “’Sup, it’s me. Yep, when all those ‘trustworthy’ bastards ran off with their tails between their legs, you’ve got me still here.”

The director rolled her eyes. “Hello Ca-“

“Name,” Cain cut in.

“Sorry. What are you going by these days?”

“Dreizel Dietrich.”

“Dreizel. Yiddish?”

“Felt appropriate.”

“You’re with Lucienne. Over there. Try to refrain from hitting on every female in the room.”

Cain laughed, and as he left, remembered to say; “Oh, and there’s a suspicious supernatural standing outside. Looks like a little kid, all creepy-like. Might want to either shoot him down or talk to him, he’s not moving from that spot. Looks like he already knew where our base was. A warehouse? Honestly? Oh, and there’s also a psycho witch on the loose, burned down the winery. Tried to take her down, but summoning takes time, and apparently she can dodge bullets.”

Cain waltzed into the room, and found that everyone else had already arrived. Some girl, a wizard-y guy, and a vampire that could only be Lucienne Bellefleur. “Sorry I’m late. Was busy in the midst of a near-death experience. I’m sure that only Luce knows my name, and it would be nice if it stayed that way. Things tend to go awry when a Contractor’s name becomes widely known. If you want more information about me, I’ve been here for two years, but I’m still a probie since I can’t be trusted. So… introductions over, what do we have so far?”

 

[aggiegwyn]

Kiruria-Hear that sound? How it kind of echoes? That's me slapping my forehead. Really hard. XD


Tom, a Triclops SRA Agent in Washington DC
Tom saw the scowl on the man's face and immediately was confused. Had he done something wrong. He wasn't really sure until his expression softened as he stood up. He paused for a moment, staring at Tom's claw. Embarrassed, as the man chose a hand Tom changed it into human, not giving a scratch.

"You may call me Lupin," the man-Lupin-replied. Tom was surprised by his deep yet quiet voice, with a sort of British accent. Very impressive. "So far everything is going well--I just finished looking at the digital version of the database. I see you preferred to use the hard copy to find info on Agent Yims. Which makes me wonder," he paused, letting a strange smile...a smirk maybe, crawl up his face. "if there's any investigation we need to do of this agent's residence..."

Tom figured that they would probably have to, seeing as how they probably wouldn't gather much evidence any other way.

Lupin's eyes trained to Kitt, and Tom wondered what had caught his attention.

"Excuse me for a moment..." he said to Tom, revealing a dog with the tag "ARTEMIS" around his neck. Aw, Tom loved animals...oh darn. He remembered that squirell he had to kill. He would get it tonight.

He hoped the dog was pet-able, because Tom really wanted to pet the dog. Meanwhile, Lupin waltzed over to Kitt's desk. A bold move, if Tom were to say.

Tom turned down to the dog.

"Artemis are you? You must be an awesome dog, considering you have the name of a goddess!" He excitedly said to the dog.



Aroma Robinson, Blood Bandit Witch, Washington DC

Aroma stepped out of the bar, surprisingly sober. The motivation of the mission convinced her to not accept the drinks that were offered. It was strange how many men liked Aroma, considering her unnatural skin and hair. Her figure was all she had, in honesty.

She stepped out onto the street, wondering were her next victim would be. She decided to head for the outskirts of the city, more on the edge. She stopped at a park that was by a set of office buildings. It was a fountain with benches and plants surrounding it.

To any normal person, they simply would have walked past. But Aroma noticed something peculiar about a certain pot of flowers that a normal person wouldn't.

The tulips standing were all a certain shade of violet. And as Aroma hopped over the gate it became more and more evident that one tulip was a different shade. This one was more...bold. In fact, this one was a fairy, cleverly using her wings as a disguise.

The "tulip" was now shaking. Aroma tore the leaf off of the stem, revealing the rest of the fairy.

She smiled wide, and waved good bye before lighting the plant on fire, killing the fairy. She walked away slowly, satisfied.