RB and V was a small independent firm of stringers with three partners - Charlotta von Sydow, Nathanial Rockwell, and Richard Barnhart - and two employees - Marla Fendschmidt, secretary, and Bernie Lomax, accountant. They operated out of a small office on 40th Avenue not far from the major publishers - the Daily Bugle, the Daily Star, the Manhattan Guardian, New York Guardian, and the New York Star - as well as the offices of comic book companies like Marvel and DC.

All potential clients. That was what RB&V did - sold stories and photos to news outlets and comic companies.

And, on February 19th, they celebrated the formation of their venture and acquisition of the 40th Avenue office space from which to operate, with drinks down at Harlan's, a local tavern. And oh, did they put it away. Really, it was all a blur.

So, when the leads came in fresh and hot Monday morning, only Richard was in the office. The teleprinter started started spitting out information on reports of strange calls to police that had been received that morning.

CENTRAL CITY, CALIFORNIA

Item 1: Rumors of alien invasion in the downtown area, sparked by crowds witnessing strange words appearing in the sky without warning or explanation. Many calls to the police and eyewitness reports from officers on site. One witness reports seeing an unnatural monster tearing up the street. 10:00 AM

Item 2: Reports of an unseen ghostlike presence in an upscale botique neighborhood, felt by pedestrians. A cab driver reports the presence appeared in the back of his cab. 10:00 AM

Item 3: Reports of a flying man wreathed in fire overhead by multiple witnesses. 10:00 AM

Three items, all in Central City, all at the same time. Something was going on in California.

ooc: Feel free to get started without the other players, Richard. They can be written in as their characters are approved.

Journalism footnote:
The teletype machine is what's referred to when something comes in "over the wire." It's an AP subscription service that your firm pays for, and a prime source of leads. Other sources include individual players' Contacts and Current Events skills. Assume I'm filtering out a lot of mundane news items from the AP; maybe you guys have decided to specialize in 'weird news' and don't get the mundane stuff. Remember that 'Superheroes' have been out of the public eye for six years now; aliens and giant science monsters are more common conclusions to leap to.

You can research these leads by phone - call the Central City PD for comments - reach out to witnesses the same way, or fly down yourself. A cross-country commercial flight on a DC-8 is much faster than your own plane, and you can write off the ticket as a business expense.

Rich was not a "health nut", but he was an outdoorsy sort of guy with an appreciation for home cooked meals.

There were occasional exceptions however, and as hungover as he was the greasy breakfast burrito in the blotted white paper bag he carried into the office was as much a medicinal purchase as a culinary one. A large steaming to-go cup of coffee in his other hand the obvious beverage of choice for such a meal.

He was dressed in dark blue jeans, some scuffed leather roper boots and a tucked in button down plaid shirt, a brown weather stained fleece lined jacket helped to keep the winter chill at bay.

He had set everything on his desk, including his keys and had gone to wash his hands when the the teletype had begun to come in. To his injured brain the sound was more annoying than usual. Curious, he heard the ream of paper advance inch by inch as he cleaned up, and he was still drying his hands when he walked over and began to read the print out with interest.

His eyebrows raised up a fraction and he glanced reflexively to the clock, it was fresh...and with the time difference...things could just be getting started there.

He debated inwardly with himself for a few moments, his head sort of wobbling back and forth a little. The others would probably be in soon...it wouldn't hurt to see when the next flight out that way was. To have the knowledge on hand in the case that they did want to try and jump on this. Getting in a cross country flight right this moment would hardly be fun, but they really needed the work.

He walked back over to his desk, moved to the meal to the side and took up the phone book. Flipping to the right section he dialed JFK as the odor of the meal slowly filled the office and made his mouth water.

The next flight out was in a few hours - it'd be a six hour flight with a short layover in Chicago. He had time to do some preliminary research, if he could pick a topic he felt was useful.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:54, Wed 01 Dec 2021.

Rich found himself excited about the prospect of the cross country trip, not the flight itself, they would be crammed into coach, but this sounded legitimate...and if it was, it could mean a payday.

He decided to try to narrow down the reports of this "monster", it sounded like one of the more concrete leads with calls into the local police dispatch and potential traffic delays and damage to the area. Down town was mentioned.

If he could try to narrow down the location even further before they arrived, hopefully they would be able to bee line there and try to make up for lost time.

He glanced to the clock on the wall. Even considering that he did not have much to pack, there was no time to lose.

A white cardboard box in his right hand, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, Nathaniel Rockwell entered the offices of RB&V. He was dressed as he often was in a multi-colored, button-up shirt with the top button loose and khaki slacks. A pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. When he saw Richard, Nate grinned and held up the doughnuts. "I dunno if you've had breakfast yet, but I picked up some doughnuts on the way in."

He set the box down on a table and walked over to the coffee machine to make some coffee. Glancing back over at Richard, Nate realized that something was afoot.

"Got a lead this morning, Rich?" he asked as he spooned some coffee grounds into the filter and filled up the coffee maker with water. Opening the box, he grabbed a doughnut and strolled over to Richard's desk. He glanced at the three reports from the teleprinter, and his eyebrows rose with interest.

"Hey, these look really interesting!" he said. Strange words in the sky, a ghost, a flying man wreathed in flame. When he saw the third, Nate became more excited.

"Hey! Whoa!" he said, reading the third item again. "A flying man made of fire? Sounds like the Human Torch! But he hasn't been seen in - what - six, seven years? This is huge! And in California? We need to get there, pronto!"

In fact, Nathaniel remembered that the Human Torch's last sighting had been somewhere in the Southwest back in 1955.

It hadn't been the last time he disappeared - he and his sidekick Toro had vanished in 1949 too, only to come back a few years later.

The look on Rich's face as Nate brought in the doughnuts betrayed that something exciting was happening, and although he was on the phone at the moment he gestured to the teletype.

"Yup, appreciate you...yeah, thanks again. Bye" Rich hung up the phone and stood from his desk. "Mornin'" he greeted Nate with a beaming smile.

At Nate's observation Rich nodded along as well. "Yeah, that's what came to mind for me too. Has it been that long? Anyway, I got us tickets...it's not a huge window, but I think it should be enough to grab the essentials before we head out." Rich grabbed a maple bar out of the box and ate nearly half it of in a single bite. "Thanks for these, by the way" he said with a full mouth "Have you heard from Charlotte?"

"Not a peep," Nate said in response to Richard's question. He reread the teletype reports, lingering over the report of the "monster". This sounded kind of dangerous. What kind of monster might it be? And just the Human Torch? Or might this be Toro?

"Man, this is so sudden. You think all of these sightings are connected? It's almost like an outbreak of weird! What could be causing all of this?" Maybe some mad scientist's experiments had opened up portals to other dimensions, or maybe the Torch had resurfaced to fight this monster thing, whatever it was. What words had appeared in the sky? Nate's mind  tumbles with questions.

Walking over to his desk, Nate set his coffee down, took a drag on his cigarette, and started checking his kitbag to make sure he had all his equipment. "How much time do we have left? Charlotta isn't going to want to miss this, but we can't afford to wait too long."

"She'll understand, heck, I'd understand if she had to take off for something like this."

Sure enough, in the time it took Richard to get his things together and to make his own arrangements, it was about time to call the cab.

Soon enough the man was napping on the cross country flight, arms crossed across his chest and his pack tucked protectively between his legs. Given how late they had stayed up the evening before, and the potentially long day in front of them, the few extra hours of rest came with relative ease.

As they gradually lost altitude as they came in for the landing, Rich found himself staring out the window as if they might catch sight of something fantastic merely by being in the general region, and he stood with the others as the passengers began to file out into the California weather.

On the flight to California, Nate found he couldn't sleep. He envied Rich for being able to go to sleep so easily. Though not tall, Nate could never get comfortable on a plane, and the only time he could really sleep was when he was completely exhausted. Now, under the circumstances, Nate is much too excited to rest. He spent his time reading through a history of superheroes that he had picked up from somewhere.

The Torch was not actually a man but an android, though he used the name Jim Hammond. Upon encountering air, the Torch would burst into flames. It fought another science-hero, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and had a young partner named Toro. The Human Torch had served as both a police officer in New York and as a fighter in World War II, teaming up this time with Namor and with another hero, Captain America. The Human Torch had actually been the one who had killed Hitler and ended the war.

The Torch had been thought dead once before before being reignited by an atomic bomb test in 1953, but he had disappeared again two years later.

Nate had leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to think. Why had the Torch resurfaced again? Did it have something to do with the monster that had appeared? And what of the ghost and the words in the sky? Something was happening, maybe something big, and Nate had to know more.

When the two disembarked, Nate stifled a yawn a bit, but when he spoke, his voice was brimming with excitement. "Where to first? The downtown area, I guess? We have so many leads to check out! Should we split up or stick together?"

OOC: Nate will want to head downtown to start talking to people and look for eyewitnesses to the sightings.

Rich stood in the cavernous airport terminal as the other passengers milled around on their busy errands, although he still looked a little bleary eyes, he too was obviously excited and eager to get to work. Not only was this a potential pay day, but like Nathanial, there was a deep set almost boyish excitement about the fantastical and unknown that bubbled beneath the surface.

"Let's stick together for now, and yeah...gonna need a vehicle. You want to rent a van or something to work out of while we are here? Taxi fares are gonna add up pretty quick."

How much would a van rental cost?