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Lou's eyes popped at the mention of the Interceptors. "Really? You mean, I could... With Jack... and... Stabpunch?!" With the sudden appearance of a Kitty on his shoulder, he seemed to calm down. "Oh, well... I've worked with Wail, and Asad. Oh, and Whiplash. Plus I did some work with Revenant and Fleur De Jolie." "I've always wanted to run with you, Mona. It'd be fun. ...Well, as fun as saving lives can be, anyway. Serious Business." He looked at Vicky as the cat rubbed up against his sideburns. "So, what was your idea?"

Fortunately, Lou was not bothered by Holy Places in the slightest. Though... magic did make his teeth itch a bit. "So... you know about this man in yellow?" asked Pyre. "The only reference to spellcasters in yellow that would even remotely consider interacting with demons I could think of are... well.. Using a spare arm, he pulled out his phone, and pulled up the drawing of the cloaked figure. "Something about a King In Yellow. Some sort of evil elder god that mostly shows up in board games and webcomics now."

"I am immune to fire." Pyre bit his lip. "I... I don't know what that was, but it wasn't fire. I couldn't touch it." "What we need to do now is find who is responsible for this and stop them before something else happens, and the only lead we have is in Prison. Until we find out how those demons found us, and how to stop them from doing it again, then it's only a matter of time before this guy tries the lowest of low blows." He offered a massive hand to Whiplash. "Climb on my back, and hang on. We've got to move fast. This can't wait another night..."

"Heh, what do you think I've been doing lately?" said Lou. "I mean... I don't really have a costume, but it helps. Audrey keeps saying I should get a cape or something." He grinned as he idly sculpted a ball of fire in his hands, the flame dancing around his fingers for a few moments before quietly snuffing out. "I mean, I'm not formally affiliated yet. I've worked with a few people, though." Pyre's train of thought was promptly derailed by the sight of a one eyed kitty. "Awwww, hey there! I haven't seen you in a while, little guy!"

Shrike worked as quickly as he could, before depositing the body back in police care with a nicely written thank you note, a box of chocolates, and a fully written analysis. Meeting up with Robin afterwards, he went over his notes. "It's surprisingly simple, but it's definitely not something any addict could toss together. If I had to guess, he went to a designer chemist..." "...I also really really hope you didn't get in trouble for this." He barely knew the woman... except he did. Except he didn't. Except... gah. It made his processors hurt to think about it. But if she lost her job because of him, he'd be crushed...

I'm not sure what's intimidating, actually. XD Maybe I'm picking up on Shrike's emotions too much. I can take 20 on Life Sciences for a 28. I don't have Gather Information trained yet, but having a substance to identify will help. :D

"I'll be fine." said Pyre, as he gingerly poked his new burn mark. "It just feels like I spilled coffee on myself. But... How does this even...?" Writing about magic was one thing, but seeing it in action? "...How did those things even know where we were? Can they be summoned anywhere? We've got families Whiplash! I can take a few burns, even if they do hurt, but I don't want some demon popping up in my house! We need to find a way to hold these things off or to stop them at the source, and fast." He shook his head. "But... I don't know any mages either. Unless Revenant knows someone, the only option we have is to interview that woman..."

Oh, yes. Probably a gather information roll, or maybe an autopsy. This whole one on one thing is kind of intimidating, you know?

Pyre gasped for breath as the demons collapsed into ash. "What the HELL just happened? I... That demon burned me!" Alright, whoever was responsible for this could summon random demons from nowhere. Not good... Not good at all. "Whiplash, are you alright? They didn't burn you, did they?" This was definitely more serious than he anticipated... If these were just the mooks, then who knows what the big demons could do? Especially if they could attack from nowhere! "...Whiplash. You don't happen to know anyone more magically inclined, do you? I think we might need some help..."

"I do like a good dungeon punk story." said Lou. "Part of the influence behind Pyre's original aesthetic. Not that I'd actually ever wear spikey demon pauldrons... And, yeah, ten feet tall." He smiled a bit as he flexed one of his arms. "I mean, it's not all bad, once you get used to it. it's just... doors and pants." He paused to consider the name. "I like it! And a cat would make a cute mascot. Especially with a little cape and cute little whiskers and..." "...Oh. Uh. Got carried a way for a second. I do like it, though."

"I know, I know, I'm not accusing you. But that is interesting." Shrike stroked his chin. "A drug that enhances musical ability... That is unusual..." Clearly it had to be some sort of Metadrug. No ordinary chemical substance could do something like that. "...Well then, I'd hate to drag your fine establishment into this mess. But you've helped me a great deal." A red haired, left handed shooter with some connection to a rather unusual drug. This was getting interesting... Perhaps a more detailed database check was in order...

Shrike placed an arm around Robin, silently thankful for the save. "I don't believe Robin said anything about Mr. Feathers having any problems. Didn't you Robin?" He smirked under his mask. "But since you brought it up, I suppose it would make interesting dinner chatter." This was so much easier with two people... "What sort of trouble did he have? Judging from your friends here, I'd hazard a guess that you really want to keep out of it. Assuming, of course, you're at risk of being involved."

"Aw... I'm touched, Mona. I'm just glad she's not as short as Edna Mode or I might have stepped on her..." he grinned. He listened to Vicky's story intently. "...Interesting. Considering the nature of the actual outbreak, not telling people what caused it would make sense. This is before stuff like the CDC and Mass Media, so all you could get are rumors. Plus a cause implies that there's some sort of method of stopping it, which might not be what you're going for. As long as you're internally consistent, you'll be fine."

"I've had to deal with some personal issues lately. Plus I figured a bit of jazz would cheer me up. This band is -hot-." Shrike snapped his fingers along to the music. Man, this lying thing is easy when what you're saying is technically true. "Though, I'm sorry if I startled your friends here. Is something wrong?" Having personal security wasn't something particularly odd in a place like this, but their reactions were fairly suspicious. Fortunately, his Interrogation protocol was... //Warning: LieDetectorPlus.EXE has experienced a critical error and needs to close.// Totally not prepared for this situation. Dang it, why did he have to let himself get kicked in the hard drive?

"I just wish you would have warned me first." said Lou, as he stretched his arms out in a quite effective Vitruvian Man impression. "I do appreciate the gesture, though. It it wasn't for these plus-sized tank tops and jeans Audrey found, I... it wouldn't be pleasant. Is this going to cost me much?" Lou was definitely a large gentleman, and it would take a lot of fabric to cover all 10 feet of him. "...In all honesty, the hard parts are really the sleeves and horns. It's hard enough to find a shirt that fits over one of these things, let alone two on the same side. And I ruin more shirts because of these stupid horns than I do from fire..."

"Alright, alright. It's on me. I don't think I'll drink tonight though." said Shrike. He still had some money in his bank account, anyway. Enough to pay for this. Not like he had to pay for food or anything. "You place the order, I'm going to go chat up the boss over there." Shrike calmly walked over to the corner, where the Kingpin and his two bodyguards sat. ...He really hoped this was a good idea. "Hey there. Loving the show tonight. One of the best ones I've heard in a while." Interrogation Protocol Activated Alright... got to make this look natural. You're here for a show. You just need to guide the conversation. Easy...

"GAH! NINJA TAILOR!" Lou's horns nearly left two neat holes in the ceiling at Carrie's sudden appearance. The pounding of his heart was audible. "Oh... I... didn't see you. How long have you been... you're making me a suit? I..." He took a moment to swallow the lump in his throat. "Don't scare me like that." Picking himself off the floor, he tried to salvage what few remaining scraps of dignity he had. "I... uh... Appreciate the gesture, though. I just... How long have you been in here?"

Lou laughed. "Mona, my favorite coffee mug is the one my daughter tried drawing a picture of me on during a field trip to the pottery studio. What does that say about me, exactly?" He smiled as he turned his attention back to the portfolio. "But I do think Vicky has a real talent. The hard part about making comics is versatility. You've got to be able to draw thousands of things in thousands of different ways if you want to be successful. Of course, a good publisher helps too. It's why I'm so excited about this. I've been drawing Dr. Mystery for so long that I've started to miss the old days where I drew a new hero or villain every week!"

1d20+5=19 Did someone just feel a breeze?

"Oh, I don't know. Chat up the regulars, enjoy the music..." said Shrike, idly stirring a beverage he hadn't even touched. "Or. If you're in a practical mood, I guess one of us could serve as a distraction while the other excuses themselves for a moment." Shrike idly gestured to his cummerbund, which briefly rendered itself invisible as he spoke. "And if that doesn't work. Well, I could always just forget to leave. What do you think? We're in this together after all, aren't we?" he asked, with a shrug.

Lou flipped through the binder. "Cowboys and Zombies? That sounds like an interesting combination." He got a bit antsy at the mention of his last comic convention though. "Oh yeah, that one. ...Yeah, that was memorable..." Focusing his attention on the binder, he eyed one of Vicky's more recent works. "You've got a very interesting style. I love the line work on this picture. The detail is amazing!" He grinned. "You know, it's refreshing to see people trying out new genres in this business. Took me ages to get Castle to consider publishing some Fiction comics. Makes you wonder how much talent they've missed over the years."

1d20+15=18 Ow... That's a failure by 6. I'm dazed and bruised.

Shrike emerged from the shadows behind Robin, the faint outline of a smile showing beneath his mask. "Sorry I'm late. Had to stop and grab a a few things." he said, as he tipped his newly rented fedora at the detective. "Do I look okay? I'm feeling a bit obvious at the moment, with the mask and all. I'm kind of secretly hoping everyone will be distracted by how lovely you look tonight to notice, though." he joked. "Anything interesting happen while I was busy? I don't want to miss any of the excitement."

"Whiplash, they're right in front of me! Gah!" Pyre barely managed to lean out of the way as a razor sharp claw nearly grazed his face. So the goggles did nothing, apparently... Wonderful. He barely had time to think of a way around that little issue when a second Demon lunged from the smoke at his face. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" he shouted, as he brought all four fists down on the lunging demon like a rain of hammers, arresting it's momentum mid-lunge. "Let's see you shrug that one off, sulfur breath!"

Heh, I actually think those might hit. I dunno. But since they're in melee... PUNCH! (1d20+10=30) Ooooh. Going for the increased effect ability for... a DC 35 Unarmed Strike. Owie.