Spirited Away

Mutants and Masterminds...

Mr. Hogarth has an interesting case. Several notable people have gone missing, and now that one of the former members of the coterie have gone missing, Mr. Gray has brought it to our attention. Ben is also missing. No he's not, he's lifting, bro. Detective O'Connor is also missing, and the fire chief was missing, but he recently reappeared.

The name of the coterie who went missing was called Salem, although she goes by the name of Miss Holly now. She's been working as a psychic, but she's really a witch of sorts. She has possession powers, as well as astral protections and control emotions.

The matter of the missing fire chief and Natalia O'Connor has been the subject of newspaper headlines, and the police are putting full power into investigating O'Connor's disappearance.

Hey everybody, it's Tuesday.

I look for the fire chief, and eventually find him at the main fire station.

After a bit of mind probing, I find him. He's older, and talking with several of the other fire men. He remembers going to the mountains, but not going there or coming back. He thinks city hall is trying to slander him, as he cleared it with them. He even remembers the mayor's secretory wishing him a good vacation, but then she also declared him missing.

As I probe his memory, I do notice a part of his memory seems fuzzy, but I can't penetrate it.

I go to city hall next, to check what Monica's mind holds. I find her quickly. She's a mousey woman, with black hair.

He definitely went missing, and she never wished him well on his vacation, since he wasn't going on one. The weirdest part is that he was supposed to have a meeting, and he just didn't show up. Nothing seems wrong with her memory, either.

Michael Schroeder's drone roams the mean streets. He finds out a few other people are missing too. Most of them are homeless, and gets the name Gatekeeper.

Michael's drone also checks out the fire chief's house. It finds a laptop, but it hasn't been used in years. Checks around some more, looks like the fire chief lives alone.

Jack McCoy visits the Rabbit Hole to talk to Natalia's brother, saying that Natalia had him look for her if she went missing.

Her brother considers this, and says the police are looking into it already, and she was looking at an orphanage. She's been gone, two days now, and it wasn't planned so far as he knows.

It's the Castra Orphanage, the one Nigel Barnett (the newest council member) had committed money to.

With Jack's information, I take a visit to the orphanage, with Michael's drone's help. There are some kids outside, and three adults, two watching the kids, and one inside.

After some mind probing, and hacking, we find out that no kids are missing, but there was concerns because there were strange people in the area, wearing dark clothing. Natalia was here investigating, looking for a link, and left, saying she was going to look out in the alley.

Strangely, some of the children are resistant to my mental probes.

Next, Michael's drone and I take a look in the alleyway. There are some scuff marks, and Michael's drone spots a gunshot hole. There was a fight here, with several people. Michael's drone takes a sample of some dried blood, which we later discover the owner has a degenerate disease.

We take a visit to the Ace of Spade, the bar by supers, for supers. It's only four in the afternoon, so there's not many people here.

Michael talks to a regular who is very green, with eyes of glowing holes. He heard there were people disappearing, and Neilatech is having a conference. Mr. Gray comes here sometimes, as does Miss Holly.

We call on Mr. Gray, and he meets us in the diner. He reveals that Miss Holly had the ability to change memories as well. She used it on the Sandman a few times.

We visit Miss Holly's flat, where I am promptly knocked out by an inscribed rune.

Michael finds a secret compartment in the floor, and there are books and artifacts inside. It's warded, and Shroud disables it, and opens the box.

By looking through one of the artifacts, a ring, Shroud finds that she has been investigating the missing people as well, and the Gatekeeper is making an army, in the subway area. Apparently the Fire Chief was also part of his plan.

Another of the books has some spells and notes on developing spells. The last book has no writing, but contains a talisman of holly leaves, which Jack speaks the words to activate, and it embeds it in his hand.

His hand leaps up, as if being dragged by the artifact in a direction.

We follow it.

West we find in these tunnels a lot of people. Suddenly, an EMP hits, knocking Michael's suit out out.

Jack's hand starts tugging in another direction.

There are several cages in one corner, and Natalia unconcious is in one of them. Shroud uses a portal to retrieve her cage.

I mind probe one of the people milling around, and find he is one of the gatekeeper's. But the gatekeeper is out, retrieving the next part of the plan, to take over the city.

Natalia is the second part of the plan, she has something to do with removing the mayor. Something involving fire. And, the gatekeeper is a young man who wears a business suit and smokes cigars.

We follow Jack's hand, to a country house outside of the city.

Lux's Angels, No Drone Left Behind

There's one person by themselves, and three in another room on the other side, one laying on their side and the other two standing. I read some minds real quick like and get an idea of what is going on.

One of the ones standing is telling the other to take Sherry back with them. Sherry, of course, is on the bed, and appears to be the next part of the plan.

Shroud opens a portal, and we can see the smoking Gatekeeper. Salem has a thing in her neck.

Michael fires a shot, and the Gatekeeper dissipates.

He opens a portal below him, and disappears with Salem and Sherry into it.

Jack's hand leads us back to the Gatekeeper's minions are.

We arrive, and they mob at us, and Jack is stunned.

Michael's drone grabs Salem, and the Gatekeeper disappears. We subdue her, and takes her with us back to the Lustracio estate.

Jack shocks the holly branch embedded in his hand, and painfully removes it.

We investigate the device in Salem's neck, which seems to be part arcane and part mechanical. Mr. Hogarth says he will prevail upon Mr. Gray for assistance immediately.

In the other room, we can hear Natalia waking up. Michael and Jack go to her, and Michael lets her out of the cage, and they spin a story that Michael in a suit is a robot and Jack is a secret government agent.

She's not impressed, although she is greatly amused by Michael's antics after Jack leaves the room.

Mr. Gray arrives, and with the assistance from some paste, removes the device from Salem's neck. He says that when she awakens, she should come find him.

Jack finally lets Natalia leave, and gives her one of his burner phone numbers.