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Post by Aqualad on Sept 22, 2014 19:32:00 GMT
August 8th- 5pm
The hum of the zeta tube slowed as the red light faded and Kaldur stepped out of a section of a condemned building that served as the Zeta hub in Harbor City. He was dressed for incognito work, as he tucked to collar of his jacket up to hide his gills and continued down the alley to the main thoroughfare.p
He was here investigating a lead, albeit a slim one, but that seemed like the only kind The Team had these days. It had come from a portion of a scrap of a lexcorp memo that the watchtowers programs had picked up. Nothing overtly sinister, however it mentioned something about a satellite office for the Meta Research Center in Harbor City. However it had raised alarms, becuase if there was one thing Lex Luthor loved it was free press that made him look good. Yet there had been none, not even a newspaper article.
So here he was.
This could be the break The Team had needed, it could finally be a break on the Lights activities that they had been looking for. There was however a chance though that he would find just a construction site for a new outlet of Lex Luthors center, in which case it might make for a valuable surveillance as so far any attempts to infiltrate the actual center in Metropolis had been thwarted or found nothing.However despite himself he knew that there was a third option, this could be a trap. After his time working deep cover inside the Light he had come to realize that very little this group did was by coincidence and that scrap of information could have been planted as bait.
Which was why he had not looped in the rest of team until he knew for sure, though he had his com (disguised as a sports watch) ready to send out an all frequencies signal and his waterbearers tucked in hidden pockets in his jacket should things take a turn for the worse. With a quick check of the coordinates he then merged in with civilian traffic as he made his way to the location.
Midway to his destination he heard soft rumble and a crack of lighting as the sky opened up and rain poured down. A soft smile came to his lips as he saw most dart for cover or open up umbrellas. However as an Atlantean he loved the rain,letting it fall on his skin and taking a moment in the refreshment of it, before he focused once again, he had a mission here,best to get to it.
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Post by Hydracat on Sept 22, 2014 22:26:16 GMT
It had been a busy week for the solo Hero. The lab she interned at was on the brink of a breakthrough on the migration patterns of seals that called the rock beaches of Washington home during the winter months. The lead scientist of the experiment had all of the interns pulling longer shifts to double check the findings and data. If they could prove the patterns they had all first theorized there was a nice bit of grant money involved for the University so there was a lot of pressure coming from the Dean and other Department heads for them to get this right. It was exciting work but it also left very little room for much of anything else.
Between the lab, her small part time job and her nightly activities Katherine was stretched pretty thin and for a person that did not need much sleep to function she was exhausted. She couldn't remember the last time she had gotten what she considered a good nights sleep, everything lately had been around a hour or hour and a half at most. But, what could she do? This was the price she paid for her chosen life. Recently reports of missing runaways were popping up at even faster rates now, teens were disappearing without a trace and while most people threw it up to the teens moving on to different cities Katt knew better. Unfortunately there were a number of reasons why these kids could go missing: human trafficking rings, drugs overdose, getting in with the numerous gangs that called the city home or being abducted by Cadmus. All of which were viable reasons but she was putting her money on Cadmus. With the news of plans for a Meta Research Center to be built in Harbor City Katt knew she wasn't going to have to look far for a reason.
Of all the months she had been looking into Lex and his plans she had never come close to finding anything that could be of use. Nothing but small shell companies that were long cleared out before she even got there. It was extremely frustrating to know that you couldn't do anything to stop them. Luthor was smart, smarter than most people and he was always three steps ahead of everyone else. He moved his chess pieces across the board flawlessly and if you happened to take one of his pawns it was Becuase he wanted you to. Katt was starting to think she was going to have to find a different direction to take, she had to find a way inside somehow or else she was going to keep playing this game and never come out on top.
Her mind wandered as she slowly walked down the city street, having just left the lab for the night Katt was in no hurry to get home. At home there was research and homework and cleaning to do and she wanted to avoid that as long as possible. Maybe she should stop and get herself some food and some coffee, energy for the undoubtedly long night that was ahead of her.
Changing directions Katt walked to one of her favorite Chinese food restaurants and ordered her usual noodles and fried vegetables for carry out. When she had her food a had paid Katt left the restaurant and continued back the way she had come toward her side of town. By this point it had begun raining and storming and the young woman pulled out a small umbrella from her bag and opened it. Normally, walking in the rain would be a treat but having her food with her Katy did not want it to get wet so she made the small sacrifice. As she walked along the street Katt was on the look out for a decent coffee shop, the places were everywhere in this city but finding a good one was the real trick.
While her eyes were scanning the the street they passed over something...someone familiar that was waking the other direction toward her and she stopped her walking. He looked different, his hair was no longer the blonde and there was growth on his face but Katt would recognize him anywhere.
What was he doing here? What business could he possibly have? This was her city, she had claimed it as her own and she didn't need him in it. She knew that she was over reacting but she was still upset with him and had planned to continue on with her life without ever having to see him again. Seemed something had other plans. As they were about to cross paths Katt looked away, hoping that he would continue on his way and not see her. She should have kept walking but her mind never seemed to work it's best around him, no matter what the situation.
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Post by Aqualad on Sept 22, 2014 23:48:14 GMT
While the rain was refreshing it caused new problems in the form of people fleeing from the downpour, as he had to duck and weave his way around those ducking in businesses and those with umbrellas rushing to get home. He also realized that it was double edge sword. On the oone hand the heavy downpour would also minimize potential threats that might be awaiting him and provide plenty of water for him to utilize, but would also minimize civilian traffic which would make him stick out more if surveillance was the name of the game. He was so busy trying to reorganize his game plan in his head that he accidentally bumped into one of the umbrella carrying people.
Briefly turning and offering a polite smile as he said "Apologies.", though not really paying attention to who it was he had bumped into as he continued on his way. It was only after a few steps then he paused as he realized that the person he had bumped into had been more failair than he had first realized as he turned back around and called back out to the person he had bumped into in surprise.
"Katt?"
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Post by Hydracat on Sept 23, 2014 0:17:26 GMT
Between her looking everywhere else to avoid him and he stuck in his own thoughts Katt could not move out of the way as he collided with her shoulder. As the hit happened Katt wanted to say something, almost feeling like it was deliberate even if she knew it probably wasn't. Why her? Why did he have to run Into her? It could have been someone else close to her and he would have done it, excused himself and been on his way none the wiser to her presence but no. That wasn't how the world worked.
"Apologies" He said in his formal, respectful tone that he always had. Hearing his voice for the first time in however long brought a lot of conflicting emotions to the surface and she worked fast to quickly push those back down where they belonged. She briefly made eye contact with him before giving a slight nod in understanding. That seemed to be enough because he was on his way again not having registered who it was.
As he walked away Katt let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in. "Get a grip she scolded herself. But between the anger and the other things she didn't know how to feel. Readjusting the bag with her dinner Katt shook the feelings off and went to continue on her way, planning on putting all of this behind her. But, before she could take too many steps to distance herself she heard that same familiar voice call out her name.
Katherine paused in her stride and stood there a moment. She should just keep waking, pretend like she didn't hear him or like he had mistaken her. It would have been the best thing to do but how often did she really do what was best for her? With a sigh she slowly turned around and faced him Kaldur she acknowledged but left it at that. Maybe this was long overdue but it didn't make it any easier
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Post by Aqualad on Oct 9, 2014 1:26:28 GMT
After she spoke, there was silence for a good few minutes as the rain provided the soundtrack for what was turning very quickly into an awkward reunion. Finally he spoke shrugging casually " I had heard a rumor that you had relocated here,"
A small white lie, in reality it had only taken M'gann's worry and the highly sophisticated Justice League computer before the Team knew exactly where she was. However the last time she had been to the Watchtower she had made it quite clear that she wanted her space, so it was marked and stored away on some file and then ignored under his very specific orders. Orders that had been given so long ago that he himself had forgotten about it until this moment.
This day was shaping up to be... weird.
"It seems the rumors are true" he concluded before pointing at her bag which was starting to get a few drops on it as the rain increased " Though, your food is starting to get wet. Here." he paused for a moment and closed the gap between them as he gestured upward with his hands for a moment as the rain stopped in thier small area of the sidewalk. In reality he was using a bit of sorcery to cause the rain near them to fall around as opposed to on top of them. A small trick he had learned over the years after doing stakeouts with some of his less aquatically oriented teammates.
Now that the distance between them had closed he paused and nodded saying " You look well, Katt. This city seems to agree with you."
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Post by Hydracat on Oct 9, 2014 2:20:06 GMT
As they both stood there in the rain and in silence Katt was ready to take that as her que to leave, they had said their hellos and maybe it would just remain as that. A lot could change in a year, a lot had changed and she wasn't sure if she was ready to see what he had become in that time. The rain fell around them and she was painfully aware at how this must look to any onlookers, so it was time to end this now. Katt tightened her grip on the umbrella handle and began taking in a breath to speak when he finally broke the silence.
"Seems so" she answered quietly, she knew he knew she had been here, she knew the tabs they kept on people who were and were once in their ranks but she appreciated his effort. At his mention of her food she looked down at the white plastic bag, having forgotten all about it in the moment but now that she was looking at it she could see the rain start to drip down the side of the bag. 'Here' Katt looked up and saw that he had come closer now and her first instinct was to step away but she didn't because she really didn't want to, and that bothered her more than anything.
Katt felt the water stop hitting the top of her umbrella and she no longer felt the splash hitting her arm, it seemed to have stopped when he got closer. She had always envied the Atlanteans magic, their power was so elegant and refined and she would be lying if she wasn't a tad jealous. 'Thanks..' Now that he was closer Katt got a better look at the changes in him, his scruff, his hair. It suited him. " You look well, Katt. This city seems to agree with you." "It does, it feels like home. You look well she motioned with her umbrella hand at him "It suits you." Now that that was out of the way she wanted to get to what was really important "What are you doing here, Kaldhur?
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Post by Aqualad on Oct 12, 2014 8:11:58 GMT
As she asked what he was doing here, Kaldur paused, unsure if he should tell her. He had not looped his own team into this for this very reason. If he was wrong he did not wish to pull anyone's time from potentially more valuable avenue of investigation. However by the ssame token it looked like Katt was busy with other things herself, so perhaps telling her would just merely result in a nod and she would continue on with her business. On the end he opted to split down the middle
He shrugged his shoulders and with a half smile he said " Chasing rumors and ghosts it would seem. I'm here to see if a potential lead pans out, though the specifics should perhaps be left ..." his gaze shifted as despite the fact the rain had dispersed the crowd it had not dissipated it from the streets. " for another time."
Not when civilians are within earshot was the underlying message there. It may have seemed like an unusual request however as Kaldur had learned , when it came to the light, it was better to be safe than say something in the wrong crowd.
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Post by Hydracat on Oct 12, 2014 23:01:35 GMT
Katherine gave a slight nod at his hint. She understood but now he had her curiosity, chasing a lead in Harbor City warranted her attention since she had claimed the city as her own and while she may still have her reservations about him there was still a professional curiosity there and she may be able to help him. In return, maybe he could help her.
As much as she would hate to admit it she was going to need things that she did not have access too but he did and it would be beneficial to her to try to maintain some kind of working relationship. "Perhaps we should get out of the rain" she told him "my home is a few blocks away, we can finish catching up there." Katt's tone was relatively flat as she spoke, this was not meant to be a social visit but if he did not want to talk here then she could give him places where he could.
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Post by Aqualad on Nov 10, 2014 9:36:26 GMT
Kaldur paused for awhile and then finally gestured toward her and said " Lead the way." as he followed
Internally he was torn, he had not intended for Katt to get mixed up in this, as she had made it clear that he had not wanted any further part in the team, but on the other hand it might be good to have a little backup. Assuming she even wanted to back him up. A part of him was half expecting her to just roll her eyes and scoff. There was a reason this wasn't a sanctioned mission just potential fact finding.However he rationalized that if nothing else it was " good form". While it was not exactly an official rule or anything, it was usually considered both polite and a common courtesy to bring any hero that was operating in an area up to speed on a potential "job" that might be going on in their area.
So he followed her as they crossed the feww blocks to where she lived,Kaldure keeping the small "bubble around them which kept the rain to a minimum. Once they were inside Katts apartment, kaldur took of his jacket and shook off what rain was on it, before turning back around to face her. His eyes roamed around the apartment, thoough he remained silent, mainly becuase he really did not know where to begin from here. It was different than briefings with the team and given the history between the two he wasn't sure if he should just jump in or whether this was just the beginning of a new round of small talk. So he waited for Katt to begin, until then it was back to the awkward silence it appeared.
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Post by Hydracat on Nov 10, 2014 18:26:23 GMT
She was almost surprised that he agreed to come, she would have thought that he would take that as a whole out to leave and let things settle where they were but, now that he had agreed to follow her back Katt nodded slightly and turned to lead the way.
The walk there was in relative silence, making small comments to each other every now and then. When they reached her apartment building Katt lead the way up the stairs to the floor that the was hers, thankfully her neighbor wasn't around much during the day so there wouldn't be any chance of running into him.
Once they entered the home Katt walked into her open kitchen and set the bag of food down on her counter and removed her jacket and set her umbrella near the door for it to dry. Um. Katt crossed her arms for a moment before uncrossing them again and heading toward her kitchen once more Something to drink? depending on his answer Katt acted accordingly before leaning against her counter and crossing her arms once more. So, what lead are you chasing? casual conversation used to come naturally with them but now, it felt like pulling teeth and she would rather get it done and over with.
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Post by Aqualad on Nov 12, 2014 2:05:29 GMT
"Water will be fine." Kaldur said to be polite. Once he had the glss of water he took a tentative sip as she asked what lead he was chaing and then began.
"It was portion of a lexcorp memo that mentioned a satellite office for the Meta Research Center here in Harbor City. Nothing overt enough to raise red flags, but it's the fact that it didn't raise any flags that made it sstand out. Lex Luthor is not one to ignore free publicity and annoouncing an opening in a city like this with it's increase in runaways would seem like a veritable...I believe the expression is "gold mine"."
He placed the glass of water down as he continued " This could be the break that we've needed. However on the off chance that Luthor is just merely saving larger press for later it could still be a chance for valuable surveillance as so far any attempts to infiltrate the center in Metropolis have been...unsuccessful."
He shrugged "As I said before it is a slim lead,."
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Post by Hydracat on Nov 12, 2014 3:04:39 GMT
Katherine listened to Kaldur explain the lead he was chasing and it had certainly caught her interest when he mentioned the research center and she listened more intently to his words. She was not aware that a center was being built here but now knowing that bit of information made certain things for her fall into place. "Street kids have started disappearing at a faster rate. They are scared to talk, don't trust anyone. Not that I can blame them. These kids were at their lowest point and many of them had no where to turn so it wouldn't be hard for someone to use the guise of kindness to lure them into a trap only now it seemed that they had grown wiser and would not talk to anyone. Not the police and not her.
The young woman uncrossed her arms once more, not knowing what she wanted to do with them. She was feeling fidgety now that the center had been brought up. The idea of that place had haunted her dreams for the past year. No one knew for sure what was going on inside that place, the press had hailed it at as a haven for the unfortunate and painted Luthor as its savior but what was really going on under the surface? Katt could imagine, she had experienced Lex's 'generosity' first hand and she didn't want that for anyone else. No one else deserved that life, which was why she was leading her one woman army against him. Or, trying to at least. Truth be told she was not getting very far.
Finally Katt placed her hands behind her and rested them against the counter, feeling a little ridiculous for being so antsy. "If there is a center being built here it would explain the sudden rise in disappearances. It can't be a coincidence" she didn't believe in them. "What can I do to help?" She knew he said it was a slim lead but If this was a chance to get info on Luthor's plan then she wanted in, she had been behind for too long.
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Post by Aqualad on Nov 13, 2014 4:06:59 GMT
Kaldur nodded as he listened to her input the pieces of this puzzle moving slowly together in his mind taking her offer for help at face value as he clicked a button on his disguised com as a holographic projection of the city projected it self onto the floor.
With another click six buildings lit up in red as Kaldur continued " These are the empty lots or condemned buildings that the Watchtower computer found has either been purchased by Luthor or one of his numerous shell companies. I was going to do a wide sweep, however this is your city." he said gesturing to her " You might be able to narrow the field, any areas that might suit the needs of that kind of facility, any unusual gaps in crime," he mentioned as often criminals would avoid an area they knew was territory of a bigger fish " anything that may narrow down the targets would help avoid any more false leads than have already been thrown at us would be a good start."
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Post by Hydracat on Nov 13, 2014 4:39:35 GMT
As the map spread out across her floor Katherine stood up more and took a few steps forward so she could get a better look at the area he had found, eyes studying the buildings and the streets while Kalhudr'ahm spoke. Some of the buildings that were lit up she could take out of the equation right away, they were abandoned and a lot of homeless people used them for shelter and makeshift camps had been built inside and to her knowledge they were still there today. So that narrowed it down to four.
Katherine continued to sweep her eyes across the map, narrowing and whittling out the buildings that she knew wouldn't be useful for something of this size. She stood there a moment in thought before pointing to two buildings on opposite ends of the map. This one here Katt pointed to a large building in a more populous area of the city It has the potential but it is in a very populated area maybe for something more public but for the activities that were suggested with the disappearances she thought not even Luthor would be that bold.
"But this one. Her finger moved across the space above the map a few blocks south to a smaller building It used to be a refinery but it's been out of production for years. The area around is poor and crime ridden, with what used to be high gang activity, but lately... Her finger traced a line east of the building the gangs have started moving away from the area and expanding out. I thought they were just looking for new turf but if they are being pushed out it would explain things. The building would have what they would need, its large, it is out of the way and you could easily conceal what you were doing. Katt brought her hand back to her side and looked toward Kaldhur to get his input on this but if she were the betting type, that is where she would put her money on.
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Post by Aqualad on Nov 14, 2014 7:33:41 GMT
As he listened to her slowly eliminate the list of targets he foucsed on the oens she had left until she gave her best guess. Once she finished Kaldur changed the scope of the projection to encompass just the section of town she had pointed out as he looked at the surrounding and picked up where she had left off.
"Most of the surrounding area is smaller than it, and there is a decent amount of open space between the property and the main building. It's close to the docks but not directly in the path of it or on it, good if you need to smuggle in equipment or build a entrance under ground,which as we both know is something of a Light specialty. I concur with your assessment, this is the most likely location."
He paused " However what makes it an ideal place for The Light is also what makes it a difficult place to mount any surveillance as there are few places to set up any surveillance, the best spot would be here." he said pointing to a rundown shop that was off to the side of the location. " It would not be ideal, but it would be enough assuming that there are no enhanced security measures." he concluded clicking of the holo and moving toward the door. He had almost gotten his jacket on, when he paused.
Without realizing he had fallen into an old rhythm, to the point where he had started moving to action without acknowledging her, just expecting her to follow as she would have when she was on the team, each of them knowing where the other would set up. However he had to remember that this was not the case any more. Wincing he turned back toward and then said
" I should mention that it is a possibilty that this is a trap. It's crossed my mind and the fact that we have managed to narrow down the search has not assuaged that fear." he paused and then gave a faint hint of a smile as he said " That being said I understand if you wish to end your involvement here and if that is the case I thank you for input, however if you wish to join me, you assistance would be welcome."
He waited for her answer.
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