"Hey, what's up?" said Zhao.
This message was last updated by the GM at 06:23, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

"Did you guys see that?" Mingmei asked.
This message was last updated by the GM at 06:23, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

"It's just hitting the news now," said Trayvon.  "...yeah, that was weird.  Giant ugly bug."
This message was last updated by the player at 06:23, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

"Then it turned out to not be the case. It was really weird," Mingmei said.
This message was last updated by the GM at 06:23, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

"What happened?" Xiu asked.

"When I hit its weak spot, it turned into some guy and a weird piece of some kind of paper with a design on it," Mingmei said.

"Could that have been some kind of spell on him?" asked Lihua.  "Like those pieces of paper in that one anime?"

"Could be, the guy was ranting about being unstoppable and that he won something. Also getting rid of foreigners," Mingmei said.

"One of those types, eh?" said Trayvon.  "That's bad.  Glad you stopped him.  He'd have been happy to stomp any of us."

"Yeah. It'd be nice if i had any sort of clue to follow up with,but I got nothing," Mingmei said.

"Shame you didn't keep the paper," said Xiu.  "Was that all that happened?"

"I found a guy who was filming the fight with his camera for youtube and the news," Mingmei said.

"I wonder if he got anything that might help?" Trayvon asked.

"I dunno. Guess we might have to hit up youtube once the video goes up," Red Fox said.

"I can poke around, see if I can find that guy," said Trayvon.

"But was he cute?" Xiu added.

"Thanks," Mingmei said. "I didn't get that good of a look."

"Keeping him to yourself?" Jun teased.

Mingmei laughed.

"You know us girls, so interested in shadowy guys filming us without our knowledge."

"He might be a good lead, though," said Xiu.  "Seriously."

"I'll see if he's still there. Call might drop for a sec as I 'port," Mingmei said as she headed back.

"So how did it go?" Xiu asked.

"And is he cute?" Jun added.

"I got some video and I'm uploading it now," Mingmei said. "And not really?"

"ALL RIGHT SO THEN," said Trayvon, eager to change the subject.  "I'm looking at this footage.  Am I looking for anything in particular?"

"It's the spider-guy being loaded into a van," MIngmei said.

"Okay, got it," said Trayvon.  "Now what?"

"Can you get any info from it?" Mingmei asked.

"Well, I can tell you where and when it happened," said Trayvon.  "The angle's wrong to get a license plate in this one, but it looks like maybe there are other clips with those two and a similar van."

"Get me whatever you can," Mingmei said.

"Sure, can do," said Trayvon.  "It looks like that van picks up a bunch of different people... also, sometimes, a lot of the time, people are leaving it who are hurt.  And I don't see that many people leaving the van, compared to how many get in.  That's just an overview, though."

"Where did all this happen?" Mingmei asked.

"Generally Westlawn Heights," said Trayvon.  "Or the outlying areas.  Not a great part of town-- lots of bars, pawnshops and payday loan places.  When... these go back at least six months."

"That means there could be tons of these people soon," Mingmei said.

"Yeah, but we've only heard about the one guy, and he had some kind of personal agenda," said Trayvon.  "There's more going on here than just that.  What exactly did spider-racist say to you?"

Mingmei told him exactly what he had said.

"Okay," said Trayvon.  "He 'won,' right?  He didn't win his fight with you.  So what did he win?  Did those people who left the van looking hurt not win, or something?"

"Probably," Mingmei said. "Do you think there's like an underground fighting league to give people weird powers or something?"

"That... would be one possible scenario," said Trayvon.

"Oh, I get it," said Jun.  "So the people who come back hurt didn't win, or something.  And Proud Boy Spiderman did, so he got... something.  Something scary."

"It's certainly a possibility," Mingmei said.

"So what are you going to do?" Xiu asked.  "You stopped this guy, but what happens if the next one is that crazy, too?"

"I'm going to have to find one of these vans," Mingmei said.

"There might just be one of them," said Trayvon.  "Maybe two, tops.  I didn't see a license anywhere, but it's not just a plain white van."

"I'm gonna go on the hunt tomorrow," Mingmei said.

"Sure," said Trayvon.  "Just be careful.  I'll send you a summary of anything I find."

"Thanks!" Mingmei said. "You're a big help."

"Hey, it keeps me sharp," he said.  "Just glad that I can help make this town a little safer."

"And thanks to everyone else," Mingmei said.

"No problem!" said Xiu.

"...not that I did much," sighed Jun.

"You tried," Mingmei said, sticking out her tongue.

"Okay, later!" said Xiu.  The others hung up as well.

"I guess I should do some homework then," Mingmei said.

"Hey, how are you?" said Jun.  "Are you okay?  I've been worried..."

"I'm fine, but someone's releasing videos on Youtube of fights involved in this underground fighting organization," Mingmei said, sharing the link.

"That could be your way in," said Trayvon.  " I think you could really do this!"

"Anyone found enough info so I can do this?" Mingmei asked.

"I've got a costume set for you," said Leann.  "And it looks like you've got a location.  Well, a few of them.  With how fast you can move, it should be easy for you to check all of them."

"I was asking if anyone has found anything on the people behind this," Mingmei said.

"No," said Trayvon.  "I'm afraid that's going to be on you to figure out."

"Sure, but has there been anything on the fights. I think I'm gonna need one to join up," Mingmei said.

"Well, with what you found, it looks like you need to show up at one of those audition fights, kick butt, get noticed, and then get the invite for the big one," said Trayvon.  "They look like they happen pretty often.  Shouldn't be hard for you."

"Keep searching the internet while I search in person, my tech team," Mingmei said. "I'm going to go out and scout some more."

"Roger that!" said Trayvon.

"I'm heading out now. Keep me updated," Mingmei said.

"You got it," said Leann.

What was Mingmei's plan?

She was going to head to the bad part of town and go from rooftop to rooftop, trying to find one of these fights going down in an alley or something.

Investigation and Perception, plz

(OOC: Investigation & Perception checks - Red Fox rolled 21,21 using d20+1,d20+6)

"So what's the good news?" Trayvon asked.

"I found one of their preliminary rounds and managed to win," Mingmei said. "Then they told me to be at a location tomorrow by seven."

"Oooh, scary," said Leann.  "You gonna pull the whole thing down?  What's your plan once you're in?"

"I'm hoping to learn everything about them first, then we can work on taking them down," Mingmei said.

"Dangerous, but it makes sense," said Trayvon.  "Can't act against them until we know who's in charge."

"I wonder if there's more to it than some underground fight club?" Mingmei said.

"Well, sure," said Trayvon.  "If they're giving out superpowers, there has to be something bigger behind it."

"I fought someone who already had powers," Mingmei said.

"...I wonder if that was some sort of test?" Leann guessed.  "Either that, or they want even more powers."

"Maybe, it was certainly rough fighting them," Mingmei said.

"Are you all right?" Leann asked.  "Don't push yourself too hard..."

"I'm okay," Mingmei said. "She just had these annoying fire powers that she'd cover herself in."

"Nasty trick for her," said Trayvon.  "Especially against you... hey, or against anybody who's just a brawler, and that's who they're recruiting, right?  Maybe she's there to weed out anyone who can't take it."

"Maybe, it sure was annoying," Mingmei said.

"Maybe you should get some heavy gloves or boots or something," Leann suggested.  "Just in case."

"I'm pretty good in costume, this undercover stuff is harder," Mingmei said.

"Yeah, but I mean, so you don't get a nasty burn that makes it harder to fight," said Leann.  "I mean, ow."

"I know, I know," Mingmei said. "I'll be careful."

"I figure you've got it figured out," said Trayvon.  "Anything we can do to help you get ready for the big event?"

"Can you guys get me all the info you can about the location?" Mingmei said.

"Looks like a warehouse owned by a chain of holding companies," said Trayvon.  "Looks like bribed and forged and fake records of what work has been done to it, but they've definitely added a bunch of tech.  Their power use is way up for a warehouse."

"Interesting," Mingmei said. "This is going to be fun."

"It's also probably going to be dangerous," said Leann.  "At best, even if they don't catch you, you're going to be in a whole bunch of tough fights."

"I can take 'em," Mingmei said. "But thanks for the concern."

"At least you've got a safe way out," said Trayvon.  "That's not nothing."

"Yep! I got this, don't worry everyone," Mingmei said.

"Gonna worry anyway," said Leann.  "But you're probably the only one who can do this."

"I am awesome like that," Mingmei said before bursting out laughing. "Sorry, I can't say that with a straight face."

"Well, just keep that confidence," said Trayvon.  "While being careful."

"When this is all over, we should have a party to celebrate," Mingmei said.

"We should!" said Leann.

"...is it just me, or are we down someone lately?" Trayvon asked.

"Yeah, has anyone seen Lihua?" Mingmei asked.

"I got texts from her," said Leann.  "Saying that she had stuff going on, and couldn't meet me for lunch.  But she wasn't on the phone now, was she?"

"No, she wasn't," Mingmei said.

"A little worrying," said Trayvon.  "Maybe we should reach out to her."

"We probably should," Mingmei said. "I'm worried."

"Who should call her?" Trayvon asked.  "She's pretty close to you, Mingmei..."

"I'll do it, but I'll say good bye to everyone first: bye!" Mingmei said and hung up before calling her.

...it went to voicemail.

"It's Mingmei. Just calling to check up on you," Mingmei said, before hanging up and sending a text.

Concerningly, there was no answer.

Mingmei texted the others about it.

"Huh.  I can swing by her place, later..."

"I can get there faster though," Mingmei said.

"Oh, right!" said Leann.  "Well, let us know."

"I'll slip over early in the morning," Mingmei said.

"Okay, keep us posted," said Trayvon.

"Not a problem. We should probably wrap up here as it's late," Mingmei said.

They said their good nights... and soon it would be the next day.

Mingmei got ready for the day.

What was her plan?

First on the list was checking out Linhua and see if she's okay.