3/18 Instance: There's Something About Eddie...

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: after Explosivo


Misty: Misty, standing well away from the perimeter of crime scene tape to avoid being hounded by any gawkers or members of the press, was feeling fairly annoyed. Despite the late hour, it was hard to downplay a building exploding from the media, and she hoped it had nothing to do with her cannibal case, which she could find out if Eddie ever bothered to show up.

Misty: However, it wasn't like she needed the rookie, so she was beginning to entertain the idea of running through everything herself.

Eddie: Moments later, the rookie in question appeared, breathing heavily from running, "H-hey.", he managed, stopping beside her and catching his breath, "Sorry....sorry ahm late....", he wheezed, hand on his heart, "Y-you....haven't waited...long....right?"

Misty: "Only since I responded to the call," she answered as she skeptically eyed him, "Why exactly are you late? You know you can't be late responding to an emergency, right?"

Eddie: "Y-yeah.", Eddie sighed, scratching his head, "I'm really sorry, just....had some stuff going on recently. Nothing that'll affect my performance, I swear!"

Eddie: 'Well, not that we'd share...'

Misty: "Uh huh..." Misty replied, obviously not completely convinced. "Well, let's get a start around the outside. Maybe, by the time we're done, the fire department will have determined whether all the fires and hotspots are taken care of. Then, we can move on to whatever's left and hope there's no bodies."

Eddie: Nodding with her, Eddie followed, thinking back to the weekend, "Did they catch that black van?", he asked, suddenly aware that he probably shouldn't have linked this to that, "I-I mean....there was a disturbance reported a couple of blocks away the same night, a-and a van was seen escaping the er....the scene. And it seems a little too....you know...."

Misty: "Van?" she asked, pausing to turn back to him once more as she considered his explanation. Eventually, she shook her head, "No."

Eddie: "...oh. 'K.", he looked around, "What about the guy the X-ers were chasing?", inwardly, he winced - there he went again.

Misty: Misty stopped again, vaguely wondering if she'd been out too long and was beginning to forget details, "Which X-men? What guy?"

Eddie: Eddie's thoughts were a blur of cursing momentarily - she didn't even know the X-Men were involved yet!? He frowned a little, "...ah....t-they er...people rumoured seeing them around here, right? They said mutants, and a few of the ones described sound like the X-Men. T-to me. I'm....kind of a fan.",

Misty: Her eyes narrowed, brow furrowing as she questioned, "You were taking care of 'stuff', yet you had time to find and question witnesses?"

Eddie: "N-no, the...internet.", Eddie shrugged, "I...well, I'm just a little bit of a neckbeard in my spare time I guess.", he smiled wryly.

Misty: "...You were late because you were busy being a fanboy?" Misty incredulously asked just to make sure she had things straight. The whole story wasn't quite sitting right with her, but there always seemed to be something off with Eddie.

Eddie: Scratching his head, Eddie shrugged again, wearing as innocent a smile as he could, "...I said I was sorry, right?", he grinned, trying to make light of it, "B-but in my defense, if I know things you don't, it counts as sleuthing....right?"

Misty: "If this had been a robbery or something and someone died because you were late, I don't think sorry begin to cover it," she replied, shaking her head. Blowing out a sigh, she turned back around, asking, "Only if you found anything useful."

Eddie: Eddie let out an inaudible sigh of his own, "Well...the symbols found at most of the crime scenes - also, the quotes and anecdotes left at a few of them - are all reminiscent of a possible cult.", he crouched under the crime-scene tape, stepping behind it, "No ID on where the runes come from - seems they might be specifically tied to this group. Code, mockery, something to screw with us....", he shrugged again.

Eddie: "Then there's the cannibalism, which is actually religious practice for some tribes even today.", he raised a finger, pointing at Misty, "Did you know that? The whole 'eat the body, gain their strength' doctrine is actually a thing?"

Eddie: He nodded, "The Aghoris tribe - offshoot of Hinduism - honestly think eating the dead bodies cast into the River Ganges is a viable way to ensure immortality and supernatural power.", grinning, he turned back around, "Wiki'd it."

Misty: "Because everyone knows that's a credible source," she snorted as she peered around for anything that could be useful, "However, that's been a thing for a long time, hasn't it? Also, you actually think it's some kind of cult?"

Eddie: "I have my reasons.", Eddie nodded back, "Creepy messages, a self-made rune language, ritualistic killings, targeting mutants....", he considered that for a moment, "...huh. Like the Friends of Humanity, only more....what's the word....", he snapped his fingers a few times.

Eddie: "Ah, that's it.", he grinned back at Misty, "Catholic."

Misty: Misty shook her head, a slight smile tugging at her lips, "It's something to keep in mind."

Eddie: "You find anything yourself?", Eddie asked, reaching for his flashlight and clicking it on. The white beam slid through the hazy shade, illuminating the blasted out ruin of the warehouse, and bringing memories back of the events within.

Misty: "That the press is going to eat this up?" she suggested, the flashing of cameras continually going off. "It's mostly been waiting around to hear whether the place is structurally sound enough to wander in to investigate, so you actually haven't missed much."

Eddie: Eddie sighed, "Yeah, half looks like the place'd fall down on us.", he inspected the guillotine that had gotten him before - or rather, what was left of it, "Huh....pretty.", he frowned at the hand prints left in blood where he'd caught the blade, still visible as vaguely singed into the metal.

Misty: "Yeah, I'd like to avoid that," she commented. That'd be just what she needed to top off her night. As she stared at the remains of the building, she heaved a sigh, "I'm not sure we'll be able to find anything useful until later today. Tomorrow, even."

Eddie: "Maybe...", in his head, he disagreed. They needed to get anything they could on Kraven sooner rather than later, but there was no sense in attempting to talk Misty around it. Or was there? Wouldn't she be suspicious if he did? He already knew too much, and wasn't sure she really believed his bullshit story.

Eddie: He looked around, shining his flashlight, "Aren't you curious about the traps in here? Might be something left behind, maybe tracks, an escape route?"

Misty: "Of course I am," she answered, "There could be something in there that'd give us a better idea of who we're dealing with, but safety is a concern. How do we know all of the traps were disarmed when the explosion happened? What if the structure collapses? What if something's still burning? Would there be another potential explosion?"

Eddie: Eddie smirked, "You scared?", he asked jokingly.

Misty: Misty shot him a grin, scoffing as she rolled her eyes, "Of course not."

Eddie: "Then come on, let's have just oooooone little look?", he glanced over to the hole in the wall he'd made chasing Kraven before giving up and doubling back to help Laura, "Check that out..."

Misty: "A quick one," she relented, "And then, we're going to take care of the boring task of questioning witnesses."

Eddie: "Thanks, Mom(!)", Eddie jibed, walking over to the hole in the wall and stepping through. It was about here that he'd stopped following Kraven earlier. Shining his torch, he found the stairs he'd neglected to check out earlier, approaching them and cursing under his breath.

Eddie: The stairway was mostly destroyed, debris tattering it - sure as hell risk for anyone who wanted to try and make their way down the two short flights to the sub-basement. He turned to Misty, looking at her with a puppy expression.

Misty: Pulling her own flashlight from her belt, Misty trailed after him and raised an eyebrow at the stairwell, slowly shaking her head, "Oh, no way. You're not going down there. It's bad enough we're in here."

Eddie: Eddie sighed, "It'll be fiiiiine, what are you scared of?", he tapped the wall with his hand, "See? Sturdy as anything!"

Misty: "Dying before I solve this," she answered as she shined her light in that direction.

Eddie: "You know, I had you pegged as 'cool'.", Eddie grinned, "Besides, think about it - what if we're missing something important?",

Eddie: 'Like Kraven....'

Eddie: "...-l-like a secret passageway? O-or an important clue left at the crime scene for the perp to come back and get later?"

Misty: "Well, I never said you couldn't go," Misty pointed out as she slowly turned to study the rest of their blackened, glass littered surroundings.

Eddie: Waving his finger at her, Eddie smirked, "No, you did not.", he shrugged - screw it, he could check this out alone then. He approached the stairwell, lighting his way with his torch and slowly descending into the black.

Misty: As Eddie started down the stairs, Misty hesitantly made her way over to the opening, calling after him, "Keep in touch!"

Eddie: "Hey, if you're so worried, come on down(!)", he called back up, careful as he reached the second staircase, descending and stopping at an open mantrap, somehow having dodged all the debris, "Huh. Jackpot...."

Misty: There was no way she was going down there. They didn't pay her enough. Catching the comment, she asked, "Jackpot?"

Eddie: Eddie knelt down, "Yeah, there's...a really fancy mantrap here. Looks like there's a wire connected to....the door in front of it.", he stood slowly, "....I've seen enough anime...", he murmured.

Misty: "Right. Get back up here, so we can get out of here." Apparently, a bomb squad would be needed.

Eddie: Deciding it better than being spattered against the walls of the building a second time, Eddie turned slowly, cautiously creeping back up the stairs and to Misty's side, he turned to her, smile as cocky as you like, "And you weren't gonna look down there...",

Misty: Misty rolled her eyes as she turned back toward the gaping hole they'd come in through, "Oh, shut up."

Eddie: "Say it.", Eddie challenged, following her back carefully through the breach, "Saaaaay iiiiiit."

Misty: Shooting him a bemused look, Misty shook her head, "Go question some witnesses."

Eddie: "I'm the best.", Eddie sighed, shrugging, "Whatever, it's enough that I know it...", he nudged her as he slipped by, hoping that she was now sure he was back to being the sarcastic sidekick in her eyes.

Eddie: 'We cut that awfully close...'

Eddie: 'Relax! Everything's fiiiiiine...'

Misty: Misty eyed his back as he went to do as she'd commanded, eventually looked back to the bombed out building before going around the opposite direction. She made a mental note to look into Edward Brock once she'd finished taking care of this.