A Demon In The City of Angels

He didn’t have to push too hard. Maybe it was the demonstration of his own preternatural capabilities that really proved that he was no common mortal, no civilian walking the sidewalk into things too big for them. Even among his own kind he was confident that he was strong, powerful enough to give even most metahuman some kind of trouble. Electronics formed a recreation around them, almost as if by magic rather than human technology. He couldn’t hide his impressed feelings for the whole thing. It was like being back at the moment with the smell of blood and fear, watching the pathetic thing scrabbling away from him as if that would do anything.

They always tried fighting.

He almost felt his heart begin to beat hard in his chest again, a mixture of awe and something else. The vigilante was who spoke up, stating the obvious. ”If you hadn’t shown me this…vampire would seem a little absurd but here we are.” He spoke, sounding just as perplexed as he looked. Walking through the projected scene with eyes moving to and fro, taking in every detail. He’d been sloppy here, as if daring the mortals to find him. Isis would have found the whole concept hilarious.

He pointed in a direction, a span of the floor leading up to the corpse itself. ”Small bits of blood here, ruffled carpet like she said. She put up quite a fight, especially if it’s against a vampire. “ He cocked his head to the side, contemplative. ”Find anything else at the scene? I wonder if DNA evidence would actually work on something like a vampire. Would they have anything in any database if this were the case?” He looked to the techno woman, silently questioning what she could do and where this could go.

"Yes, it does seem to point towards vampires more and more." She said, looking around the holographic cyberspace. As the other spoke ORCHID was in the background denoting everything as they spoke. Pointing out the ruffles in the carpet and small spatter of blood on the floor with circles or boxes, noting what type of cloth or ground it was apon, noting what type of spatter and its trajectory. It wasn't long before the AI spoke up, "A hypothetical recreation of the crime is possible Amanda, shall I present it?" The computer asked in her ear alone.

"We have been able to hypothesize a recreation of the crime." Amanda swept her hand across a digital screen in front of her and the scene played out. The criminal in question was denoted by a 7 foot dark shimmering beam, as his height and weight are unknown. Chasing down the woman who was kicking and screaming, clawing, and with rather ease it overtook her, biting her neck. The woman quickly withered away as the two images fell to the ground and the graphics timelapse began.

"If there was any blood at the scene the police would have it on record. If it was documented as Vampire blood, the only governmental place I know of who would keep it is the Iskatonic International Institute of Inquiry, or I-4... Who are notoriously hard for me to contact." She said with a small smirk. "Any ideas where to start our hunt?" She said looking at the two. "My knowledge base in the subject is limited to movies and the internet. Both rather questionable sources." She finished with a shrug.

She noticed how the two moved around the digital space. A new experience for the both of them for sure. But it was nice to be working with a small group, each person putting in details that she hadn't picked up or didn't have access to.

"So we're all in the dark," She said with a sigh, not one of them appeared to know about Vampiric enemies. Her eyes returned to the skyline, turning her back to her hastily united allies.
"I can keep track of the city pretty well, I can see most of it from here," she replied, turning her attention to the skyline.
"If anything is reported, I am sure you'd let us know," She said, gesturing to Amanda.

" But at this point we're grasping at straws, waiting for them to make another move" She grumbled, not liking the notion.

"Maybe the crime scene has a trail? Or perhaps someone saw him enter the hotel" She asked the crew. The tech girl certainly seemed more well-versed in these sorts of things. Even when out of her element she remained rather calm knowing that a vampire could strike at any moment. Part of her wished she had stayed with her friends, now she worried about the trio of girls alone in the Hollywood hills.  

Turning back to the others, she looked them over. They were certainly a Montely Crew. A ninja, a normal-looking man, and a robotic woman. It felt strange knowing how accustomed she was to this sort of thing.

"If we're working together, you should call me Shuriken. What can I call you all?" She asked with a friendly smile.

Where could one go from here? He considered the recreation offered to them through the woman's advanced technologies. This fabricated story of his had some connective tissues that came with it. ”I’m in the dark but I might know someone that has an idea about this, if we’re willing to look for a professional.” He could hear the irritation in the younger woman's voice, all of them being in the dark about  what was going on. ”I remember seeing a net ad about someone willing to investigate things of a supernatural nature before.” With arms crossed over his chest, he looked between the two of them with a small quirk of the brow.

”You can call me Lazarus. Pleasure to meet you Shuriken,” A casual, friendly smile that came with that introduction.  ”If we have the money for it anyway. Can’t say I’m exactly bursting with the stuff,” He set hands into his pockets, digging around until he found and withdrew a phone. One of those modern rectangles composed mostly of glass, light flashing across his pale face.

”I think I could get us an appointment, if this is a way we want to go. ” He held the phone up to his the two of them, revealing what looked to be a web ad advertising  supernatural  private investigative services. The name attached was Samael, though no last name was provided. ”Apparently has a location in the city.”

Amanda nodded as Shuriken spoke. She was right. There wasn't much for leads with this and they all knew it. With a flick of her wrist the hologram vanished just as fast as it appeared. "It's nice to mee you Shuriken. Lazarus." She gestured to both of them in turn. "My name is Shock-Heart."

Amanda listened as Lazarus started to talk about his contact. The number and name was vague enough that she simply shrugged in agreement. It has seemed like her plan for them all teaming up was going to work. She didn't think about how blindly she was about to follow the man though. "Set it up." She said confidently and moved to the edge of the building.

The wind grabbed her cape and flung it about wildly. There was something steering somewhere close by, hopefully with the help of her new friends she'd be able to bring this killer to justice.

Keep us in sight ORCHID, and continue to record. She communicated with her AI. In return she only got a gentle hum and a feeling of steadfast confidence in herself.

"When you're ready Lazarus, lead the way." She smiled.

"A 'net ad'? What sort of cites are you browsing?" Shuriken retorted quickly, teasing words with a bit more venom than intended.

Chie's eyes darted to the boy when he brought up the ad, her scrutinizing gaze fading with his friendly introduction. Her suspicions were ultimately based on her jealousy, and she let them go, especially when he showed the ad.

She frowned at how quickly the other woman had agreed, another spike of envy. These were still strangers to her, and while she had teamed up with heroes before, they always had a very heroic entrance: entering with capes billowing in the heat of battle. These two were like her: elusive and enigmatic, and for once she felt seen as a hero. It's a deeply troubling feeling for a Ninja.

"Woah, woah, how much are we talking?" Chie asked nervously, putting her hands up apprehensively.
"Vigilantes don't get paid, and it's a full-time job" She remarked with a nervous chuckle.

It felt like they were getting along. As much as he knew about mortals and their reactions, he could hear and feel no difference in their heart rates.   ”Shady ones offering supernatural investigation mostly.” He returned to  Shuriken, in an absolutely serious tone.  The amount of people who offered their expertise in certain matters were so numerous that he had come across many humans just playing pretend at mage.

Hadn’t they considered someone might take them serious?

Metahumans existed so why couldn’t something like vampires and werewolves exist as well?  Typing a number into his phone he pressed it to his ear and waited for the dial tone to cease. ”Hello! I read your ad on the net and thought I’d call up about a consultation.” He paused, the sound of a voice faintly filtering through the phone. Occasionally nodding and ‘uh huhing’ to whatever  was being said.

”Vampire murders, yes. No I didn’t ask the local vampire king about this. That’s sort of why I’m calling a dodgy craigs list PI.” More talking before he got some kind of answer to the matter.  ”Neat, guess we’ll see you there.” Lazarus hung his phone up and looked to the other two.

”So, that was easier than I thought it would be.  Follow me my vigilante fellows. We’ve got villains to thwart and whatever else!” He didn’t leave much room for waiting, instead  turning before spinning back around on his heels.  ”How do you two plan to get off the roof? I’ve got my own way but...” He looked between the two of them and shrugged,  walking towards the edge of the building. IN a split second he disappeared, a faint blur that climbed down the side of the building and arrived on the street below within less than a second.

They could follow if they wanted to or if they could. He would wait, hands resting in his pockets until they pursued and then he went from there.   ”We’ll need to travel a little bit.” He offered to his possible followers,  a few blocks from here where they would find an otherwise unimposing building. Not really any signs, the facade nothing to write home about. Despite that when he pushed the door, it gave way and he stepped through. It smelled of old office building. Papers, inks and an undercurrent that didn't quite fit; sage? It made his nostrils burn a little though he didn’t let it show on his face.  An entry way which led into a more cramped office, large oak desk cluttered with various papers and the PI behind it.

A man with coppery red hair, and sunglasses which seems to cover the eyes regardless of the angle.  He was dressed almost in the fashion of a biker with leather jacket let unzipped to reveal a white shirt underneath, maybe mid twenties in age,  He looked up from the desk, lips curved into an unamused line. ”So...you’re the prospective clients, right?” He questioned, voice sounding rough.

”Right you are! I was hoping you could help us with a little quandary with what may or may not be vampires.”

”May or may not be huh? What about you two?” He turned to the other two, eyebrow arced.