ic Something Fishy - part 2

[Supercape]

With a casual flip of his cane, Lord Steam knocked aside the Spear's of the guards. It was not that they were untrained, it was just that he was a master of baritsu, and his reflexes more than ample. With a shuffling of his feet, he lashed out with a foot, but only as a deception to unbalance the guards.

One-two.. with a spin, two heads cracked against his cane and met sweet oblivion.

His long legs then strode quickly towards the meat of the resistance, Lord Brutus. The man had a skull made of steel, and whilst he was confident that they would overpower him, he was also sure that it would require considerably more effort than his minions.

[Eviscerus]

Leviathan

The mighty blow from the warlord sent Leviathan reeling, his shadow shield cracking under the strain and stars erupted from behind his eyes. For a few moments, it took all of Leviathan's strength simply to remain standing. Shaking the cobwebs and stars from his mind, Veijlial tried to focus on the brute in front of him as he wobbled on shaky knees.

Note to self, do not laugh in the face of petty ignorant warlords that hit like freight trains.

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy had to admit she didn’t quite understand why the Ambassador had such a problem with Leviathan, but he seemed to drawing all his ire, despite Lord Steam and her own efforts.

Maybe she was trying too hard to solve the problem of why he was attacking, because she wasn’t really paying attention to were exactly her target was, her blow only just made contact with target. It was a clumsy blow and she had to readjust her stance to avoid landing on her butt. She swore softly and quite creatively in Russian.

She’d had to take the pressure off of Leviathan soon, she wasn’t sure if he could take much more of that punishment.

[Airon]

The full-speed charge had left Brutus wide open, and even if Revenant's attack was a bit clumsy, it still managed to hit hard: the magically empowered muscles of the undead girl finally succeeded in making a dent in the depths-forged impervious physique of the Atlantean. Brutus stumbled upon the impact - almost stepping on the unconscious body of a guard - losing his balance and landing on a knee.

The unexpected blow left even his penchant for over-dramatic provocations and threats without verbal fuel. Just a grunt interrupted his heavy breathing, then the warlord closed his guard trying to catch a moment to recover.

[Supercape]

"You are far too powerful for my feeble human hands!" said Lord Steam to Brutus, in all seriousness.

"You nearly snapped my cane in two..." he added "...it's worthless!"

He slumped and took a half step back, watching Brutus carefully. Then, hoping the Atlantean Assailant had his attention distracted, leapt in, holding his cane firmly like a spear, and shoving it straight below the sternum of Brutus, with all the force a few steps, his weight, and his strong arms could muster.

I hope they have the same pressure points... he mentally noted to himself.

[Eviscerus]

Leviathan

Seeing the effect his compatriots attacks were having on the Atlantean, Leviathan saw his chance to lay on some hurt himself. Pouring his anger and pain at the prejudices of this monster into the spell, Leviathan shouted, his voice filled with arcane might and a blast of shadow erupted from his hands to explode at point blank range against the warlord's chest. The effort of the attack hit Leviathan almost instantly, bowing his shoulders and causing him to breath heavy in weariness.

[Tiffany Korta]

Maybe now was the chance she was looking for, the Atleanian seemed to be a little woozy from the last round of strikes.

Whilst she had the chance she stepped close and made a successful grab for the man. Then she moved to try and pin his arms and stop him for a while hurting anyone else.

“Maybe now you’d like to consider just talking to us?

Maybe, just maybe if he calmed down he might see this as a chance to stand down without losing his honor. But she had a feeling that he was a death before surrender kind of idiot.

[Airon]

Hit hard in the solar plexus by Lord Steam, Brutus stumbled backwards, mechanically raising the elbows to protect his face; and again he took a step back, when he absorbed with some difficulty Leviathan's mighty spell. He never even saw Revenant closing in for a grab.

The undead girl's hold was strong, but lacked the skill of a professional wrestler; Brutus used his years of formal training in all forms of combat to evade from it, twisting his elbow and wirst to shift all of his arm's strength on Lucy's thumb - that gave in under the expert maneuver.

Brutus was injured, almost stunned and defending himself like a trapped beast - but he was still standing "Atlantis' bards write songs about my prowess - anf" he had to catch his breath mid-speech "you cannot best me!" his boast was somewhat less threatening with his arms shielding his face and his voice broken by the heavy breathing.

[Supercape]

"They can sing till they are blue in the face...or maybe green!" retorted Lord Steam. "It does not make it so! You, sir, are a plebian, a ruffian and a bully, whatever your title!"

He sniffed and held his head up high.

"Hardly fitting an ambassador!" he added, before raising his cane up with both hands, and with all his weight bringing it crashing down on the Atlantean's cranium.

"Let this be a lesson to you! Hubris leads to downfalls!"

[Airon]

Brutus lifted his hands to parry the powerful blow dealt by Lord Steam, but he was too slow and too weak. The cane jerked back the warlord's fingers, and landed on his head, breaking his right eyebrow. As thick, almost purple blood gushed out over his face, Brutus' eyes closed and his knees gave in. With a thunderous thud he hit the floor. He tried for a second to raise a hand, but failed.

The three heroes looked around. The once wonderful room of the mansion was half in ruin: spear-holes in furniture and tapestry, cracks in the walls, unconscious bodies all over the floor... behind a large couch that escaped from the mayhem hid the human ambassador and her Atlantean lover. The former was eyeing the door, now partially blocked by Revenant, as if she was planning to run for it.

[Supercape]

"Let that be a lesson to you, Sir!" said Lord Steam standing above the Atlantean's feat. He twirled his cape, thrusting it under one arm, and dusted off his jacket.

Turning and spying the two figures behind the luxurious couch he cocked an eyebrow.

"So, the plot thickens!" he proclaimed. "Exactly what are you two doing here, eh? hiding? you could have lent a hand!" he said with a half-smile.

Despite his outward appearance, this appeared suspicious. Something very peculiar was afoot - and he meant to drill down and get the truth!

[Tiffany Korta]

These two held the clue to what, or even knew who had murdered the man. Whilst Lord Steam took a more direct approach she thought she’d play the kinder one. She didn’t know but they probably had a term for this kind of tactice these days…

So Lucy softened her voice to be the clam caring one of the group, though she meant sure she still blocked the door.

“Please you know what happened to that poor man, I think his family deserves to know the truth.â€

She gave a kindly but concerned look at the two.

[Eviscerus]

Leviathan

Watching the monstrous atlantean fall brought a shaky smile to Veijlial's face,but the facade soon cracked as he went down to one knee, breathing heavily. Veijlial wasn't aware how drained that last blast had made him until the adrenaline of the moment subsided. Regaining his feet, Leviathan steadied himself by leaning against the wall for support whilst his companions questioned the two cowering behind the couch.

"Perhaps now that the immediate danger has subsided you can cease hiding like children and explain just what in the depths is going on here? I wouldn't like to think we just assaulted Atlantean royalty to defend a murderer." Veijlial eyed the Atlantean and the woman with dark, smoldering scrutiny, waiting for their alibis.

[Airon]

Both the human woman and the young Atlantean backed down in fear when Veijlial turned towards them in full-on monster of the abyss mode. “Iobee… is that a… a…†the woman tried to hold her lover’s hand, but he was pathetic enough to withdraw from the Deep One hero, further away in the corner of the room.

The human ambassador gave him a look of reprimand, then stood up from behind the couch. “I… I didn’t kill Diocles Ahdhar, nor I ever committed any other crime. I… I am grateful for your intervention.†She walked in a semi-circle, getting closer to Steam and Revenant and trying to put them between herself and Veijlial. “I was lead to believe, during my stay in Atlantis, that your kind was bent on corruption and wickedness.†Said then , talking to him.

“They are! They…â€

“Shut up, Iobee! As I was just now victim of prejudice and incautious judgment, and seeing as you fought to give me a chance, I apologize for my diffidence; but many of my friends during my stay in the depths warned me against the treacherous ways of the people with your aspect. Who… who are you? You don’t look like super-heroes, though you certainly were heroes in our regard…†she looked at the unconscious body of Brutus laying a few feet away and shivered.

[Supercape]

Lord Steam gave a courteous and slightly exaggerated bow.

"Lord Steam, madam, at your service!" he said confidently.

"Pleased to be of service. That Brute needed a lesson in manners, in my opinion. No class. Quite how a man of his calibre managed to weasel his way into the position of ambassador, a role that requires some subtlety and grace, not to mention intelligence, is beyond me. No accounting for some people" he said with a sniff of his nose.

He was of course flattering himself as much as the woman.

"But in order to continue our assistance, dear Lady, we are looking into a case of murder. And we were rather hoping you might have some answers for us!"

[Eviscerus]

Leviathan

Veijlial sighed at the mention of his heritage and bowed his head.

"I assure you, madam, that I share very little with others of my ancestry in regards to temprament and design. The crude and foul machinations of my brethren are one of many things I do not share with my race as a whole. I was raised by the sea and her creatures, not some evil cult bent on bringing about destruction and chaos."

Veijlial turned to look at his compatriots and frowned in thought for a few moments. "As for my fellow liberators, I can not speak to their proclivity or lack thereof in matters heroic as we are new acquaintances at best, however for my part I endeavored to join this investigation in the hopes that this crime was perpetrated by the same group that murdered my mentor. So far, I have found no evidence of their involvement. However, your involvement seems almost a forgone conclusion at this point unless you can offer us an explanation why the killer of this Diocles Ahdhar would be wearing your visage and how the Atlantean brutes ended up with the same knowledge?"

Veijlial attempted to soften his features and voice to instill calm in the Atlantean and the ambassador, he did not like to make a habit of playing on the perceptions people had of his people, no matter how much easier it would make gathering information.

[Airon]

“Lord Steam? Oh – I’ve heard of you at the UN… I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance, and in such a dashing situation, I must say!†her politician’s soul came out as she started playing on the temper of her savior. She also greeted the other two heroes with education and grace.

"I can't really tell you much about Diocles’ death" Ms. Roche started mechanically straightening her dress “We had a fight at the club last night – about Iobatus staying here, of course, and where should we raise our…†she bit her tongue “I mean, where should he live.†Iobatus meanwhile had stood up and got close to the woman, still eyeing Leviathan in fear and mistrust.

“Diocles, much like my uncle Brutus here and most of the Atlantean nobility,†continued Iobatus “think that a heir of the House should be under the sea. Diocles got a bit loud about his opinions, and got himself thrown out by the bouncers.†he didn’t seem as distressed as his girlfriend about the death.

“It’s true. That was the last we saw him… then Ewoma got back and the three of us got out of the club – you can ask her, if you want… if it wasn’t for Iobee’s uncle, I wouldn’t even know he was dead.â€

[Supercape]

“It’s true. That was the last we saw him… then Ewoma got back and the three of us got out of the club – you can ask her, if you want… if it wasn’t for Iobee’s uncle, I wouldn’t even know he was dead.â€

"Ewoma?" replied Lord Steam, raising an eyebrow and leaning gently on his cane in front of him "another thread in this spider's web!" he concluded.

He had a hunch that the couple were telling the truth. Well, barring their slip of the tounge - the pregnancy was probably going to go down like an iron anchor with the Atlantean nobility.

"I confess I am inclined to believe your story" he said, scrutinising them both briefly "or at least believe your innocence. Considering the aggressive behaviour of our unconscious friend here. But as this may well blow into a full blown diplomatic meltdown, evidence of a firmer sort would be most agreeable. Who is Ewoma and where can we find her?"

[Airon]

“She’s my assistant… more like my right arm, I’d be crippled without her.†Ms. Roche pointed at a framed picture with herself and a short black woman, with large cheekbones and hair in a buzz-cut. “She’s been distraught since we came back from the depths, so I’m staying close to her, keeping her company until she figures out what’s troubling her. She’s coming over in a few minutes, anyway, if you want to talk to her… I hadn’t the time to warn her about my…†she pointed at the unconscious Atlanteans “inconvenient accident.â€

Iobatus rolled his eyes while Michelle talked about her assistant, but she didn’t notice.

In the moment of silence that followed, everybody heard the sound of tires rolling over the gravel of the front yard, and from the window they all saw a grey Prius parking side by side with Steam’s Bessie.

A short, black woman got out, looked at the unique vehicle for a couple of seconds, saw the front door smashed to bits, and started running towards the house screaming “Michelle! Michelle! ohmygod Michelle!†while running she reached for her phone.

[Supercape]

“Michelle! Michelle! ohmygod Michelle!â€

"Calm yourself madam! Calm yourself!" interjected Lord Steam in a soothing tone. His voice still carried the clipped aristocratic British accent, full of authority.

"There is no imminent danger. Just a slight misunderstanding with the ambassador here..." he said, indicating the unconscious bodies next to him "I am sure that can be ironed out with a nice cup of tea. 'Michelle' is quite safe, as you can see. No need to panic".

He paused a few seconds to allow the woman to reorientate herself before continuing. "I presume you are Ewoma? The lovely Ms. Roche's assistant. Delighted to make your aquaintance, m'dear!" he said, bowing magnificently "perhaps you would like a drink? do take a seat. Most distressing, everything. I was rather hoping you could help us unknot the whole problem..."

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy spent a few minutes making sure that all the Atleanians were both unharmed and would harm them in future. Whilst she was doing all this she half caught Lord Steam conversation about the various people who were involved. So she stayed quiet and tried to kep up with the ebb and flow of the conversation. With the arrival of the new woman she saw her chance to step in and a least provide moral support, and possibly even help, Lord Steam.

“Please listen to this man, I thinks it best if we all calm down. Obviously there a story going on her and I think we all want to hear it.â€

[Airon]

Ewoma did a series of double takes on everything that was in the room. The furniture in disarray, the bodies on the floor, the heroes. Finally her gaze reted upon the ambassador "Oh thank the... Michelle! You are ok!".

"I am, Oma, thanks to these heroes. We had a little trouble with Lord Brutus... you remeber him, right?"

They quickly explained the situation to the ambassador's aide. Ewoma listened in a daze, often interrupting for questions.

"I... I don't know much else about that night... after Diocles got tossed out, I went to the bathroom." she had her eyes low on her lap, but soon enough regained her posture and looked Steam right in the eye.

"When I came back, we listened to a couple more songs then we left. I took a cab and went back to my apartment."

"Michelle, we really should call UNISON about this." she pointed at the Atlanteans "You can't tolerate this behaviour! Brutus was always a hothead, but this is criminal!"

[Supercape]

"Madam..." interjected Lord Steam "I am sure the authorities will be informed, and I would indeed urge that to be done..."

"However" he added more forcefully "you are also aware, I am sure, of the political ramifications of this. Speedy resolution as to the real crime is of the essence. And things, my dear, are not always as they seem..."

"So, you say that after Diocles got tossed out,

we listened to a couple more songs then we left

...who was that with?"

He cocked an eyebrow at the woman. Who was the third party? or was she getting her story muddled?

[Tiffany Korta]

She was a little out of practice but she had learnt how to read people, and people hadn’t changed in the last 90 years. She might not be exactly lying but she was keeping back something. The poor woman was shaken with everything that had happened, so playing the bad one probably wouldn’t help. Beside Lord Steam seemed to have a handle on the situation. So she decided just to key him into the situation, leaning in she whispered into his ear.

“Ewoma’s not quiet telling the whole truth about her whereabouts on the night of the murder.â€

[Airon]

Ewoma bit her lip at Steam's inquiry "No, I mean... just us, Michelle, Iobatus and me… there was no one else."

She abruptly pointed at the knife that Brutus had thrown on the ground and, in the heat of battle, had been half-kicked under the couch. “Is that the King’s present?†Ewoma moved to grab the knife “This… did he used this against you?†she gasped “That’s it. I’m calling Mikos West right now. Brutus should be locked up.†Ewoma started dialing her phone.

“Oh, right†Michelle looked at the weapon “he seems to think I brought it with me and used it to kill Diocles. That’s absurd, I thought it was still in its case, downstairs… I didn’t even went downstairs. Iobee… you were in the living room for a while, you didn’t see that it was gone?â€

“I… I just thought you moved it somewhere else… didn’t seem like the kind of thing to bring up...†Iobatus shrugged as if it was nonimportant.