2012-08-10 Investigations Begin

It's a pretty decent day in Manhattan. People are going about their business, walking here and there. One fellow texts and walks, bumps into a guy and gets shouted at. A pigeon makes pigeon noises and fluffs itself, only to be shooed off by a food vendor. The weather is fair, sun softened by clouds. People -are- and the city mills about. At least, until the peace is broken by a woman screaming, "THIEF!" A teenaged kid bolts out of the door, grinning with a necklace in hand. Those with magically attuned senses or spells as such might realize the amulet has a minor luck charm on it. "You! The LARPer! Help me out?" The kid waves the necklace. Rain, who was buying a funnel cake looks up owlishly. She must've been taking care of her 'regulars' as it were. "Wha? Hey, no!" And the teenager keeps running. Flail! Sigh. She can't really bust out the broomstick and let's face it, running was never her best asset. But off they go! Still, the kid's coming to an alleyway...

A decent day in Manhattan. People going about their business--unfortunately, for some people, that means doing things they aren't supposed to be doing. The Phantom had just dealt with a pair of purse snatchers--he'd grabbed one, and Devil had cornered the other. They were marched straight back to their victim made to apologize to her, and made to wait while the woman called the police. Devil's ears suddenly prick up, then he looks to the Phantom expectantly. "It's going to be a busy day, eh, Devil?" he says with a grin as he climbs back onto Hero. Devil leads the way to and through an alley, and the Phantom can hear the running feet. Another grin, and he lightly taps Hero's sides to make her overtake the wolf, and he times it so he'll dash out just after the teen crosses the alley, letting the Phantom grab him by the back of his clothes and hoist him into the air.

Run, Rain, Run! Unfortunately, the luck charm seems to be working for the teenager. "Aw, c'mon, can't you play Nintendo like the other kids?" Huff. She really can't pull her guns here either. The teenager laughs and starts to cross when - WHOA. Purple dude out of nowhere! His luck must've just run out. He eeps as he's lifted by the back of his shirt. He flails a bit, none too happy. Rain and the woman are in tow. "That's the one! The little brat stole my necklace!" Ah geeze. Rain looks a bit sheepish behind her mask. Growling, the teen squirms. And - is that - The little group seems to attract a small audience. Rain pauses. "Um. Well, I think he's gotten got..." The LARPer turned hero (or at least, she raided their costume closet) looks awkward. Eventually, the teen kind of stops flailing, once he realizes his shirt isn't going to come off like in the movies. "Thanks, dude!" Rain waves. And the woman is content to try to grab her necklace back. "Little hooligan!" Ought'a be ashamed. Yup, teenager's getting a verbal reaming. Telling his father! Why, kids these days. And she'll be telling the police, right n-o-w.

"Ah-ah-ah," says the Phantom as he has Hero trot back to the woman who apparently owns the necklace. "No squirming. And seriously, a necklace?  This was your master plan?" He clucks his tongue in humor, arching a brow as he looks to the young man. Bringing the young man back to the woman, he sets the youth down, though doesn't let go. The little punk isn't going anywhere. "I believe he has something that belongs to you, ma'am," he says, giving the youth a light shake. Hint hint, give the necklace back. Devil hangs back a little bit, watching everyone; most people don't react all that well to wolves, so he's not going to make the situation worse--though he's also close enough to jump in should the punk try something.

Huff. The teenager looks none too thrilled. "Yeah, why not? You can hock 'em off..." He replies. With a scowl, he hands the necklace back. Clearly, not a hardened criminal yet. The woman takes it. "Thank you," She nods to the Phantom. Rain huffs and manages to trail along behind. "Yeah, thanks... sorry, running wasn't really..." She's not good at it and it's not like she can whip out the flying broomstick in a crowd. Or the guns. She looks apologetic. The woman is now promptly lecturing at the kid again. She gave him a part time job and that was her thanks? Boy, his dad is gonna hear it from her... And yes, she's calling the police. Cell phone. Rain looks a bit sheepish and grateful. The teenager? Is scowling and pouting as only teenagers can. "'s just a stupid necklace," Muttergrumble.

"I'm going to let you go, now, and if you run--/I/ won't chase you. /He/ will," says the Phantom as he releases the boy, then nods back toward Devil. The wolf's ears prick and he looks at the youth as if daring him to try it. He then turns Hero--and stops when his gaze settles on Rain. He remembers her from that bank incident in Gotham City. He gives her a smile and a polite nod, then says, "I seem to remember you from that bank incident last week. The police will be here soon, but it might interest you to know that the hooded fellow knocked over a restaurant later for some man named Falcone." A look, then, to the roof of a building a few stories tall, then he looks back to Rain. A silent offering for a meeting, perhaps? Either way, since he really doesn't want to be around when the police show up, he continues to turn Hero around in preparation of nudging her sides to gallop off.

The teenager eyes the dog. Hmmm. He's not sure he likes those odds. Rain pauses and smiles back. Wait, she's got a bandana on. Instead, she carefully nods and tips her hat. There we go. "Yup. I was trying to open an account..." She seems to have bum luck. Then a blink. "Weird." She wrinkles her nose. She's trying to put the two together. "And ah yeah... I should probably..." She agrees wordlessly. Either way, the woman seems content to help the wolf should teenager A bolt. She's having none of his sass. And to think! She knew him as a little boy! Oh, it just breaks your heart. She fans herself. She'll follow along behind Phantom, though once out of sight, she summons Ye Olde Flying Broom(e) and will do her best to keep up/head to the meeting point.

Devil takes a few steps--backward, so as to keep his eyes on the youth. His eyes are narrowed, as if to say that the wolf might be out of sight, but that won't mean he isn't watching. After a soft snort, he turns to race after the Phantom. He dashes across the street, much to the consternation of the drivers, and moves to crouch on the saddle as the mare races for another alley. As she gallops through, the Phantom leaps off the saddle to grab right onto the wall. There's a crack just wide enough for fingertips, and he uses that to hang on for a beat as he plants his feet on the wall and leaps backward and upward to grab the will of a window. He spider-monkeys his way up like this, leaping back and forth between the buildings as needed, until he grasps the edge of the roof and hauls himself over. This time he didn't use his grappling hook for a reason; still hasn't gotten the mechanism quite right.

Well, the police and lady will take care of TeenDude. The woman's likely willing to thrash the kid, anyhow. Stole from her, he did! Rain's magic is great in that it's subtle and quiet. Not so much for speed. She hops onto her broomstick and takes off easily. She peers over to see where the Phantom went and - apparently there's only seconds between the two. Her eyes widen. "Man." She suddenly feels positively outclassed here. An amused look and she'll land on the roof, dismissing her broom. "That looks pretty handy," She seems duly impressed. Even with guys who fly, shoot eye lasers, fart lightning and what have you, it's still nice to notice talent.

"Thank you," says the Phantom with a grin as he sets his hands on his hips. "Though I imagine having that--" a nod to the broomstick, "--makes it much easier to get around." Talent is nice, but he wouldn't mind something like that sometimes. Especially on the days when the bad guys escape by going /up/. "Thank you also for your help the other day, at the bank. It's nice to see someone else who genuinely wants to help people." And it is, too. Too many people want to walk on by; even in a place full of the costumed types, it's nice to see someone concerning themselves with the little things--though it's kind of odd to think of a bank heist as "little".

Rain smiles at that, and nods. "It is. It's just... sometimes I can't really use it because people would bug out. Like just before." She notes. "Or make a lot of bad jokes. Whichever," She's obviously being a bit wry. "There's a lot of freedom in talent," She adds. She goes quiet and turns a bit red. "Um. You're welcome but ... I didn't really do a whole lot ... cept get a crazy stalker," She looks sheepish. "And I think it's just that when you have folks who work with orbital death rays and stuff, or have powers like a military base's arsenal in their pinky... people lose sight of scale," She remarks. "And it is odd. But that's how it goes," She admits with a shrug, "I suspect I'd be toast up against a lot of things..." Sadface. "But I'm glad you were there too. Thank you." Hey, she paid attention, such as it was. She might not be a super hot model or what have you. But she has /eyes/.

"Nothing wrong with standing up for the people on the other end of the scale." The Phantom grins again, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "I'd probably be toast up against the things at the other end, too, but that's what the more powerful people fight against." He knows that he's not exactly someone to stand up to the more powerful "super villains", the kind with the lasers and the artillery. But someone has to stand up to the purse snatchers and the bandits. "Thinking about them, though," he says as he reaches into his belt just behind his left hip, pulling out a small item wrapped in brown leather. "I managed to get my hands on this after that hooded fellow attacked the restaurant," he says as he unwraps it. It looks something like a Batarang, only slimmer, deadlier, and red. It's offered to the young woman to look at, though he'll hand her the leather as well. Thing is sharp as heck.

Rain smiles at his grin, though she pauses and takes the bandanna off. "Sorry, I'm sure I sound muffled." And really, she wasn't allowed to wear one in the bank, so... She shrugs. "It's how we do when we can't save the world from death lasers or what have you," She remarks. She seems to generally agree and nods as he speaks. There's a pause and she looks over at what he has in his hands. She peers over, moving a little closer. She carefully takes it, leather bits first - she can appreciate sharp objects. "That's weird. I thought the um, - aren't there some Bat-folks..." Her free hand is waved in a sort of 'seems familiar but not really maybe' way. "But not red..." Or evil. She looks a bit puzzled. "Weird."

"I don't suppose you know anyone who can trace this back to its owner?" asks the Phantom, arching a brow as he looks at the woman. "It's not exactly something one can purchase on a shelf anywhere. From what I'm to understand, he left this behind in his escape, so I'm hoping it's something valuable--something that will lead us right to him." A bare beat as a memory occurs to him. Her healing that man who was injured during the bank heist. "Can you--I don't know, use whatever gifts you have to trace it back? I remember you, ah, helping that man in the bank heist, so I wonder if you have any other talents." He really doesn't know the first thing about magic, save that it's mysterious and powerful.

Hmmm. Rain looks thoughtful. "Maybe! I work for a guy usually, he might be able to." She goes to think again. "I could give it a try," She wrinkles her nose. "But I wonder if the sympathy would be strong enough anymore..." Chintap. She's pretty sure, anyway. "And it's okay. I'll keep my eyes open, even if this one doesn't pan out," She offers. "That red hoodie guy ... he seemed to be trying to steal from bad guys mostly? I can't remember what he said. Still..." She sighs. "I think we can do something with it," She nods. "And yeah, that healing - he um, I felt bad he offered to marry me." Wince. "I ran away." Awkward. "Anyway. Like I said, I think we can get at least an idea of whom it belongs to or where they hide out."

In deference to her awkwardness at the topic of the man she healed, the Phantom doesn't touch that particular subject. "That man--he knocked over a restaurant. Said he was working for a man named Falcone.  I really don't think we can believe that all he's worried about stealing from bad guys.  He might just be out for himself--and from what I was told about the attack on the restaurant, he doesn't seem like he cares much who he hurts in the process." That's said more grimly as he looks down to the blade. That very thing and its twin almost sliced him in half--and that's not to mention the grenades. He exhales softly through gritted teeth and looks back to the woman. "So you'll see what you can do with it, then?" he asks her, canting his head a little.

Rain is awkward period. She's actually doing pretty well not to try to squirm and fidget away. She takes a deep breath. "Falcone... no idea on that one," She admits. "And I suspect you're right that he's not too careful," She frowns. She looks to the blade. "What with explosives and ... yeah." She does recall the carnage at the bank. "Though I think there were multiple groups at the bank working in the chaos." Something about mobsters and - who knows. "I will do my best," She offers with a nod. "I don't think I can make any promises. I hate when I can't keep them," She remarks. "But you seem sincere."

"Read the papers," says the Phantom, "and you'll see how much damage he can wreak. A few well-meaning bystanders kept things from getting worse.  All I want is to stop him--I'm very sincere in that.  He can't be allowed to continue; too much more and there'll be casualties even your magics can't heal." Not that he really knows what magic she has access to, but it's the point that's hopefully being driven home that counts. "If you need to keep it, I understand. I can find you later, if you like.  My friend's got your scent, after all." That's said with a grin, indicating his canine companion.

Pause. Rain nods. She can actually get those now! Derp. "I see. We'll take a look. He seems to be a pretty good fighter, though," She considers. Deep breath. "I'll do my best. I think I can just ask for it again later. It'd be hard to explain bringing this back and I'd probably just injure myself anyway. Did they dust it for fingerprints? Although, that's probably useless if it hit you..." She considers. A PI she ain't. Sigh. "I think I get your point. And um, that's pretty interesting." She nods at the indication. "And besides, I'm sure you'd probably want to show it to others if I can't find it right away."

"No usable prints, but he was also wearing gloves." The Phantom shrugs that one shoulder again; of course it can't be so easy. Things just can't ever be that easy. "Do what you can, alright? We'll find him." A smile for the woman, and he sticks out his hand for a handshake, firm but not overbearing if taken. He's more than fine with teaming up with her--as a magic-user, she has access to things he doesn't, and besides, another mind mulling the problem over can't be a bad thing.

"Makes sense. He's not inexperienced," Rain nods. "That sounds like a plan. You should probably hang onto this in case you run into someone before I figure it out," She notes. "I'll give it a go." She accepts his hand shake with her free hand. She smiles faintly. She doesn't seem too ruffled by the idea of helping out. Rain seems like a reasonable sort once one gets past the epic awkward. "Be well and stay safe, okay?"

"And the same to you," says the Phantom, taking the red blade-thing back and carefully wrapping it in the leather again. "I don't think this will end very well, I have to say. It won't be a quick one; it feels like the road will be long and difficult." A low exhalation as he tucks the blade-thing away again in his belt, making sure it's snug. Just what he'd need, the thing coming loose and stabbing him in the side.

The side or worse! Rain nods at that. "He's apparently not inexperienced," Not like their teenaged 'friend' who is likely receiving the tongue lashing and grounding of a lifetime at this very moment. "We'll see." She seems to figure it'll work out - for better or ill. "And thanks. Um, what the heck do I call you anyway?"

That makes the purple-suited man grin. "I have many names--the Ghost who Walks is one of the more popular ones, it seems, but you can call me the Phantom," he says as he puts his hands on his hips again. Not much of a legend around these parts, yet, especially with so many other costumed people running around, so it's a good thing he's not in this for fame and glory.

A faint smile at that. Ghost in purple pants. Neato! Rain nods. "Phantom. Nice to meet you. I usually go by Rain." Her real name is far too embarrassing and she's clearly not big league enough to worry about a secret identity. And indeed, competition is stiff.

"I'll remember that. It's a nice name." A beat, as the Phantom looks over the edge of the roof, then he looks back to Rain. Giving her a light two-fingered salute, he says, "Looks like my ride is here. "I'll find you later, and we'll see where we stand, alright?"  And with that, he goes to hop over the edge, spreading his legs so the toes of his boots drag down the walls of the alley, as he uses his hands to somewhat "steer" him.  Near the bottom, he lets go and drops--right into Hero's saddle.

Blush. "Thanks. That's kind of you to say." She smiles at his salute and waves - wait, then salutes back and re-waves. She is a bit awkward and dorky. Still, she means well and watches him go quietly. Rain likely wants to see both the trip down and to make sure he doesn't fall or something. Once he's safely going, she'll follow suit - though there's a broom and such involved.

((Fade out))