Lucas then summoned his armor.

"I believe there may be one person who can help us, Knight.." Dragon Fist said as he then sat down briefly and messaged Meg on the Worm-net.

------>> From Kattakara Estate II

  Meg landed, still munching on her first burger as she walked in, and arched an eyebrow at Dragon Fist.

"Wonders never cease... Thank you for coming, Meg," Dragon Fist replied, clearly amused. "Meg...I'd like you to meet Knight Errant. New hero who is helping me out with this."

He then brought up the information sent in the trouble alert.

"Our friends of the Para front kidnapped the Chinese ambassador..." he said, now bringing up a picture of the kidnapped ambassador. "And they're making demands that I'm sure they know can't be fulfilled on a local level."

  Meg nodded, studying the information carefully.  She said "Can we get a full description, height, weight, and all the biometrics we possibly can on the ambassador?  It's MUCH harder to track a target I don't have a signature for."

Dragon Fist nodded, then brought up more specific information about the ambassador: height, weight, general health etc.

  Meg looked the information over, then nodded, and said "One other thing I want to do, is to see WHERE the ambassador was kidnapped from.  I may be able to catch his literal scent from that."

"Let me check the report..." Dragon Fist said, checking over the information to determine where the ambassador's previous whereabouts were.

    Meg nodded, even as he found that the ambassador had been in his travel limo headed to a trade meeting.

"Sounds like we'll need to start at the embassy then." Dragon Fist said. "Thanks again for your help, Meg. Let's head there, and pick up the trail."

  Meg smiled, and said "You know I never mind helping, Dragon Fist.  So let's go."

Dragon Fist nodded at Meg, then waved at Knight Errant.

"Time to get this started, Knight.." he said as they exited the HQ.

>>>>>>>>>>>To Downtown Weston Streets>>>>>>>>>>>

In reply to Hotwire (msg # 360):

MachineSmith hung back as Zeke dealt with the new guy keeping his opinions to himself. He'd served with the government most of his adult life, from the first contact with the artifact to being stuck in a tube for forty years. "Iris'll be by shortly, she's dealing with some kind of snafoo at the school.

Zeke just has to chuckle, though mostly because he doesn't know what else to do.

"Never a dull moment, huh?"  A look is given towards him then.  "Guess the military has changed a lot.  At least since you enlisted.  Then again, not so much the military but the world."

He shakes his head a little.  "Too much politics, not enough concern being allowed by the higher ups.  Mobile Infantry does the dying, Fleet just does the flying."

"I'll admit the world has changed a lot, but the world wasn't as peachy keen as everyone seems to think back in the day. We had our problems too." He leaned against a table looking over his friend and apprentice. "How was Meg's?"

He nods as a few more images flow across the screen, preparing for Iris.

"Meg was doing pretty good.  Busy as always it would seem."  He grins a little bit at that.  "Not sure how many people she was cooking for, looked like all of them.  Apparently we even have some Aliens calling Earth home now, too."

He grins just a little bit more at that.

"I'm proud of myself.  I didn't ask if they had a ship or any of their technology.  Slurping up Atlantean Technology like it was a Shamrock Shake is enough for me.  Almost worried to see what Alien Technology might do or react to me."

"I wonder why none of my technology never messed with you like that. It's atlantean based for the most part." He looked over at the screen as the images flew across. "Lotta people are living there. Including me. But you know who's not? Harvey."

"My... immune system maybe.. or whatever might not have been compromised at the time."

As he says this, he idly scratches his right arm.

"I went to Lin's house when a plasma cannon The Builder made was integrating with my right arm.  That and the Iphots that were there."  Scrunching up his nose just a bit as he tries to think.

"Who's Henry?"

The images were an odd collection.  The plans for the plane being broken down and sorted, the plans for the plane unedited, information and data from the Super Collider, an Anime with a young teenage boy and a suit of armor as well as screens showing some wave lengths he's likely not seen before.

"Harvey is the guy who started talking to Meg after you vanished. He works for Masks Inc those corporate supers. And him and Meg aren't exclusive, in case you were wondering."

"Harvey.  Right.  I met him.  I dunno.  Really, I'm not sure I'm ready for any relationship and just."

He shakes his head, rubbing a few fingers against the bridge of his nose.

"Parents weren't really that great of examples for me of what a healthy relationship of any kind is.  And Valkyrie..."

Yeah that was still an open wound there, too.  He just shakes it off.

"Corporate Supers?  Great, just what the world needs.  I really have missed a lot.  What's this whole Masks Inc?"

"Essentially they hire parahumans and then hire them out to various organizations and individuals. They do everything from security to private investigations."

"Let me guess, they use the A-Team theme song for their commercials."

Yep, he really didn't like the whole idea of heroes for hire at all.  But not like there was anything he could do about it either.

Machinesmith shrugged. "I wouldn't recognize it if they did. I was in a tube in the eighties. But hey if people are willing to pay for their services then theres no reason they shouldn't be in business. Thats how capitalism works."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:43, Mon 05 Aug 2013.

<<< From High School <<<

After a short trip, Iris zoomed by the window, leaving a colorful blur and a stream of quickly evaporating condensation behind her. She doubled back, hovering outside Legacy Headquarter's window, peeking in to see if she could spot someone to let her in.

"Guess we're just supposed to be in the heroing thing for the good of people.  Not our wallets."

He said it with a straight face, he's actually proud of himself for that.  Grant it he'll do things without being paid for it, but sometimes there are items that come up missing during robberies he stops, too.  Oh look, Iris!!

Waving to Iris as she zooms past the window, he absorbs into the building and appears on the front steps.

"Hey Iris, glad you could stop by.  Come on in."

Punching in a code to allow her inside.

Iris floated in the window and settled the board on the ground, tapping it with her toe until it telescoped back into the notebook-sized silver disc, "Welcome back! Did you enjoy the internet?"