"So, the paras will be representing the dogs in the picture." Bogie shook his head. "You're lucky I know you don't mean that the way it sounds, Jack." Bogie didn't wait for Jack to respond, instead he wandered over to where Krystal was admiring Bettie Page. "Dark hair... pale complexion. You two could be sisters."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:24, Wed 29 Oct 2014.

"Give your skin four to six weeks to heal before you come in for a touch-up," the bearded bald guy said. "You can get a free touch-up within ninety days after you get the tattoo. We try to schedule your touch-up with the same artist that did the original ink." He shrugged. "All tattoos will fade a bit over time but, if you take care of your skin, you can keep it looking good for your lifetime."

Two men emerged from the open archway behind the counter. The first was short and wearing a baseball cap with white t-shirt. "Thanks dude. I owe you," he said to the taller man.

"No problem," the other man answered. "Just promise me the next time you fall for a girl, you won't get her name tattooed on you, especially near such a sensitive area."

"I ain't makin' that mistake again!" the man said as he exited the shop.

"Hey Paul," the counter guy called out. "This guy would like to talk to you about a design, if you've got a moment." He gestured toward Jack.


The artist walked over to Jack. "Do you have something specific in mind?" He was an inch or two over six feet with dark hair and a five o'clock shadow. The black tank top he was wearing revealed a few tattoos, including something written on his back, just below his neck. Whatever it said, it wasn't in English.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:31, Thu 13 Nov 2014.

"Ooh I guess you want me to look in the back..." Zoey said as she started walking, she stopped short as the two men emerged. She jumped up and started emphatically pointing, "Hey! Yeah that's him! That's Paul! Did he kill me? C'mon Jack grill him. Krystal quick you getting any murdery vibes off of him?" She stopped for a second as she looked at her, "Oh um uh should I still investigate the back for clues while you guys do the living people duties?"

Jack fought the urge to cold-cock the artist.  Paul was their prime suspect, but suspicion did not carry the burden of proof the courts required in this era.  Jack had to be sure and he needed to know why.  Jack extended his unclenched hand and forced a smiling greeting.

"Paul, hey nice to meet the artist in the flesh.  I have seen your work and it is something truly special.  I told my friends here that I just had to get you."  Jack grabbed Paul's hand in a firm grip and pumped it.  "I've got an idea for my tattoo.  Tell me if you think it is lame, or something to die for."

Jack looked up into Paul's eyes for a quick moment, trying to get a read on him. {I will keep him busy for a bit.  Now may be a good time to check his aura, or his tools for clues} Jack thought to Tom.  Then, before it became an awkward moment, Jack released Paul's hand and went into great detail describing his idea for the ink scene that would never be.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:43, Sat 01 Nov 2014.

"No tattoo is lame as long it means something to the person wearing it," Paul answered.

The guy behind the counter looked up from the computer. "Looks like Paul's booked pretty solid for the next couple of weeks."

A wavy-haired man wearing glasses was cleaning one of the other stations. "I could do him tomorrow, if he's in a hurry. I had a cancellation."

The counter guy shook his head. "He specifically requested Petrov," he said as he pointed at Paul. "Apparently, he's a fan of your work, Paulie."

Paul turned toward Jack, raising one eyebrow. "Really? May I ask how you heard about me?"

"A couple of very nice girls said you are the one that tattooed them.  Ashley Miller and Zoey Granger."   Jack watched him closely for a reaction as he dropped the names of the known victims, along with the facade of getting a tattoo.

"Zoey was the one that had the Phoenix in her back.  I'm sure you would remember that," Jack said in an accusatory tone.

Krystal looked Paul over, one eyebrow going up as if she was pleased with what she saw. She turned back to the image of Betty Page. "I've been avoiding this for years. I kept telling myself that it would hurt my changes of being an actress if I had ink." Krystal looked at her right wrist. "No, this is a major decision. What color scheme? What size or where should it be placed? Do I want to be a living canvas or do I want to be able to look down at myself and admire the art without the use of a mirror." Krystal just waved her hands and mentally told Tom to update everyone about Paul's status.

Paul nodded. "I remember the phoenix. I'm glad she's happy with the result. Do you mean the Ashley that got the music notes - The John Lennon song? She just had her last session a couple of weeks ago." Paul didn't seem rattled at all by the mention of the names. He was attractive and charming, which probably contributed to his popularity with the clients.

The wavy-haired artist turned his attention to Krystal. "Lots of actors have tattoos these days. It isn't as taboo as it used to be. You could always use cover up makeup if it's a real problem for a particular role."

"You're an actress?" Bogie sounded intrigued as he spoke to Krystal. He wandered a bit closer to the station the wavy-haired artist was cleaning, glancing at the tools and bottles.

Tom casually took his glasses from his pocket and looked around, memorizing Paul's aura in particular. {Jack, Zed, Zoey: not accusing anybody of anything here, but: Paul is a mage. Give me a moment and I'll try to see if his aura matches the magic in the tattos.}

A moment later, Tom continued: {OK... That wasn't conclusive. To use a metaphor, I saw our guy at night, and Paul has the right height and weight, but I couldn't tell you if hair and eye color match. Before we accuse him of murder, we may want some real evidence.}

Zoey stared into Paul's face but she was certainly no detective. She got quiet and listened carefully as Jack started feeling him out. She perked up and looked at Tom, "Right, evidence. I guess I should try to look around, staring at him isn't doing me any good...Um just try not to leave without me okay, I barely have a handle on the whole teleporting thing. I'll shout if I find dead bodies" she said with a nervous smile before she finally headed toward the private rooms that Paul had emerged from.

Zoey wandered through the opening next to the large mirror and into a small hallway. There were doors to a couple of bathrooms, an office, a small break room, and a couple of rooms that were set up for private tattoos or piercings. One of those rooms appeared to have been recently used.

There didn't appear to be anyone in any of the back rooms at the moment. The break-room had a small table and chairs with a microwave, fridge, soda and snack machines along the wall. A half-full coffee pot was keeping warm on the counter. The office had a chair and love-seat with a file cabinet against the wall. A laptop computer was closed on top of the desk. A small storeroom held mostly t-shirts and other merchandise with the Rat-a-tat-tat logo.

The entire shop was decorated with an eclectic collection of artwork. Classic rock music was being played on the sound system and could be heard in every room. The place was bright and comfortable.

"Thank you for clearing that up Paul."  Jack shift gears from potential client to reporter.  "You see, the fact of the matter is, neither girl is very happy right now. Both of them are dead.  They died suddenly and the exact cause remains unclear.   The only thing that seems to connect the two girls is that they both were recently inked by you, Paul.  Don't you find that interesting?  I sure find that interesting." Jack said.

"What are the odds that two healthy young girls whose only connection to each other is that they recently were stabbed repeatedly by needles held in your hands end up suddenly dead?  I'd say the say the Improbability Drive is fully charged up.  What do you say, Paul?" Jack asked the artist.

"They're dead? That's awful. How?" Paul appeared genuinely shocked. "Wait, you don't think I had anything to do with it? They were both fine the last time I saw them. I wouldn't hurt anyone."

Zoey entered the main room again. "I tried to rifle through his things but I don't really know how to rifle yet..." she said as she looked down at her incorporeal hands. She looked up at Tom and added, "I know, I know, superpowers soon right?" she sighed slightly before she peered over another artist's shoulder. She squinted slightly, "Weird..." she looked back at Paul with a more focused look than before. "Tom, you said that Paul is some kind of a mage right? How can you tell? Is that a thing that I can do too? Cause I don't know how to describe but he just looks...different. Jack looks like he always had but Paul...its like I can see it. I don't know, my point is his ink, the stuff in the back, it...it uh its like it looks like Paul, yknow but this, this ink out here looks like Jack. Oh gosh, am I even making sense anymore? The world just looks different to me than it used to but I didn't understand it, and I think I'm starting to...I hope." she looked confused but was hopeful someone else understood her.

{That would be one of your superpowers, dear: you have supernatural senses now. You'll learn with practice to tell exactly what you are looking at. When you add invisibility, incorporeality, and teleportation, you are up to four powers already. Next in line is probably manifestation, which is basically the ability to turn invisibility and incorporeality off for a while. Good job, girl, good job.}

While talking to Zoey, Tom had walked up to Jack. When he spoke, his tone was calm: "People sometimes wonder how, when a mage can kill people from far away, police can manage to track them down. If they were in a different continent, surely they must have a perfect alibi, right? Wrong. Magic has its own signature, and a mage's power is as unique as their DNA: whenever a mage casts a spell, that spell can be traced to him." He lowered his voice, to make sure that only Paul and Jack could hear him: "I know you have been using magic on your inks, Paul. I would like you to tell me what kind of magic that is.""
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:36, Wed 19 Nov 2014.

"Magic?" Paul frowned as his eyes darted back and forth between Jack and Tom. "I don't know how to do magic."

Bogie stepped closer to the group. "We could settle this really fast if you'd let us check out the ink you use."

Paul looked at his three accusers and exclaimed loudly. "I'M NOT A KILLER!"

"Everything ok, Paul?" the guy behind the counter asked.

Bogie glanced around and saw that most of the eyes in the shop were staring at them. "It's probably not in your best interest to have this conversation in earshot of everybody else," he told Paul.

Paul just stood there stone-faced for a moment, as he seemed to consider Bogie's words. "Yeah," he finally said. He nodded and repeated the word in a louder voice. "Yeah, Everything's fine." Then he returned his attention to the trio of men surrounding him. "Let's talk back here."

He led them into the back area, to the private room where he had just finished working on his most recent customer. "I'm not a mage," he insisted. "I couldn't cast a spell if my life depended on it." He studied the faces in front of him. "Who are you people?"

Jack pulled out his press credentials, and laid his cards on the table, so to speak.  "I am Jack Jennings, reporter for INS, the Independent News Service.  My friends here have ... talents and know their way around the world of the paranormal."   Jack showed him his press card then put it away and withdrew his ever present notepad.

"If they say you are a mage, then you are a mage.  No sense in denying it.  If you know me and my work, you know that I treat the paranormals fairly.  If I was able to follow the trail that led me to you, so can the police.  But I have learned there are two sides to every story.  Tell me yours before only one side of the story gets told."

Jack poised his pen over the pad of paper and calmly watched Paul.

"A reporter?" Paul spit the word out like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Slow news week? You have to resort to making crap up. The truth isn't important and you don't care if you hurt innocent people. All that matters is that you get your byline."

Paul leaned against the wall with his arms folded in front of him. "Let me ask you something. If a person inherited a predisposition to alcoholism but they never touched a drop of booze in their life, would you still call them an alcoholic?" He let out a frustrated sigh. "Just because I carry the gene, doesn't make me a mage."

His tone softened a bit before he continued. "What possible reason would I have to kill those girls? They seemed like nice people. I'm sorry they're dead but, I barely knew them. They were just clients to me."

Tom replied in a very reasonable tone: "There would already be plenty of material to write a bad, dishonest article. The fact that we are even here should prove that Jack is interested in writing a good one, with actual facts and a balanced point of view. Please rest assured that your inks are indeed enchanted: if you did not do it, somebody else did. Even if you never actively used magic, surely you are able to sense it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:06, Sat 22 Nov 2014.

"The ink?" Paul looked at his supplies. His brow knitted together as he concetrated for a moment, then he opened a cupboard and pulled out a couple more bottles. He compared them to the ink he had been using. "Shit." An almost apologetic look crossed his face as he turned toward the group. "I didn't know. My... magic sensing muscle is weak because I never use it." He studied the bottle in his hand, turning it around again and again, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Can you tell what kind of magic it is? I mean, just because they're enchanted doesn't mean they're deadly, does it?" He sounded bewildered. "It was supposed to be stuff to ease pain and speed the healing process but, I wouldn't have used it if I'd known it was magic. She told me it was natural herbal stuff."

Paul was protesting, a lot.  But his demeanor was one that truly didn't know what was going on, instead of one that was hiding what was going on.  Jack was beginning to think Paul was an unwilling participant in a nefarious scheme.

"She who? Paul, where did you get those inks?  What is her name?" Jack asked.

"Oh my God" Zoey's face sank, "So this really is it? This is how I died? He killed me. Even if it was an accident...wow...knowing for sure just makes it feel weird, I'm okay, I'm alright really" she said as she took a deep breath and continued listening.

"My sister, Karen," Paul answered. "She's a doctor and she's been studying natural remedies. At least, she said they were natural."

"Doc Karen?" Bogie asked. "The same doctor who's been working with the Lix addicts in Cabrini?"

Paul nodded. "Yeah, that's one of the reasons for her research. She's been trying to find ways to help ease them off the drug. She helps people. I can't believe she would intentionally hurt anyone."

"Somehow, this just keeps getting worse. Alright, let's have a look." With that, Tom wore his glasses again, and concentrated for a moment on the inks.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:42, Tue 25 Nov 2014.