1848/A Sinister Plot: Claws of Fury

A Sinister Plot: Claws of Fury
Date of Scene:	26 May 2020
Location:	Pugsley Creek
Synopsis:	Another group of hunters, led by Bishop, check out the spot Gabby was taken.
Cast of Characters:	Bishop, Julio Richter, Laura Kinney, Betsy Braddock

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Bishop has posed:
Bishop wasted little time after the briefing. He took Julio with him and quickly found Betsy and asked for her help. And so the trio is making their way into the New Salem woods using Pugsly Creek as a guide. The trio are moving briskly looking for the likely spot of the attack, and hoping to find a little help.

"Thank you for coming Psylocke, Mr. Richter." he pauses, "Do you have a handle you wish to use in the field?" He reaches into one of the compartments on his utility belt and pulls out a square shaped objected that when squeezed, one edge gives off the glow like a black light. It's very diffused outdoors though, and he's going to need help to make it more effective. "I don't believe anyone would have been able to take Gabby without a fight. And no matter how careful they were I can't believe they'd be able to erase all signs of a fight while trying to get the Honey Badger under control. Keep your eyes pealed for her sister Laura as well. She might be our best bet to pick up the trail."

Julio Richter has posed:
When Julio follows Bishop out of the school, he's still wearing a black Danger Room training uniform. It certainly makes him feel far more official than he would changing back into gym shorts and flip-flops... but, it must be said, it also leaves very little to the imagination. Totally new to that spandex lyfe(TM), the student feels self-conscious enough to slip his weathered brown jacket on over it before going outside.

"Richter or Ric are about it for nicknames," he answers Bishop's query with a shrug and an apologetic look. "At my school, most people went by their last names. I should probably put more thought into it." He nods in agreement at Bishop's assessment of Gabby's combat abilities. "I don't know how they could take her down at all -- she doesn't feel pain, she heals like that." He snaps his fingers.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     There had definitely been a struggle. Laura moves around the site of the kidnapping, having acquired a camera. Pictures are taken of everything. Trampled shrubbery, broken branches, footprints... An the claw marks in the ground and slices in the tree bark. It's too late to smell anything, between the chemical dispersed and the delay having a deadened sense of smell caused, there was no chance of that working. She's silent, the only sound her footsteps and the click and whine of the camera as its flash recharges. A backpack is slung over her shoulders, the weight not seeming to bother the dark haired teen any.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy looks at Bishop, brows slightly lifted. "Of course I came. " She has her reasons - she knows the horror of being somewhere against your will, possibly twisted or forced to do things you didn't want. She wouldn't wish that on anyone, let alone Gabby, who has already suffered so much. "She can heal, yes. But if someone used telepathy or psionic blasts to render her mind unconscious, who knows what they could have managed." Her voice is quiet, expression strained.

Purple hair is pulled back in a braid that snakes over her shoulder, a pop of color against the slate gray of the close fitting top paired with legging and simple hiking boots. She certainly doesn't look much like a fashion plate.

Bishop has posed:
"I have been meaning to ask Psylocke... is there a such thing as forensic telepathy? If such techniques were used does it.. I don't know.. leave anything, astral behind that you can find?" Bishop asks when she speaks of psychic means that might have been used to subdue Gabby. He's reaching, but also, who knows. Maybe right up on top of the attack site, Betsy can read something Cerebro cannot. To Julio he says, "So you've seen her fight then? Good. I'm going to look for any blood she might have spilled from one of her attackers."

He holds up a hand and slows his pace when her hears the click of Laura's camera before he actually sees her. "Talon." He calls out to her using her handle, "I'm glad we caught up to you. We're hear to help you find your sister." he looks around then and nods, "This is the scene of the attack?"

Julio Richter has posed:
As they come upon Laura, Julio pulls up short, giving her a sympathetic look and a small wave. He recognizes her from her confrontation with Piotr, in which he came off more aligned with her position than the Russian's, although he doesn't bring that up. At the moment, they all just want to find Gabby, so there's no point bringing up a point of considerable contention.

Instead, he glances over at Betsy and pulls his lips back in a grimace as he returns to the previous thread. "That's a scary thought," he says. "Is there any kind of defense from a mental attack like that?" He looks around for any blood spray, but has no special talents in that regard, so certainly isn't going to find anything Laura hasn't already.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     Laura eyes Bishop warily, her expression neutral but evaluating. "As long as you are not here to yell at me again about my methods and try to stop me." The teen seems to have gone full CSI, with bent in half note cards labeling various things she's already photographed. "It happened here, and there was a struggle. At least five, maybe seven attackers if they wore duplicate boot sizes. The amount of blood suggests that Gabby did not land a lethal blow, or if she did, a tourniquet was applied quickly. There was also a chemical deployed that deadened my sense of smell when I first investigated. By now, scent tracking is not an option."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy will pause a moment, before she turns to look at Bishop. "I felt some last...echoes, so to speak, of when Cerebro could track them. What I felt was.. not good. But it did not give any clues."
% She looks to Laura with violet eyes soft with empathy, a thin hint of a smile. She must try to remain optimistic. "I have some telepathic tracking abilities. I can try, from here, to see if I can pick anything up of Gabby." She won't promise results, but she will try.

Bishop has posed:
    "I am here to do neither of those things. Only to try and find Honey Badger." Bishop assures her, "Your Method's have deconstructed the crime scene expertly so far, so I have no intention of second guessing them." He looks to Betsy then and dips his head in thanks, "Thank you for trying, it's alll we can ask." Bishop for his part kneels by a tree where Laura is pointing out a slash mark and makes passes with his black light, looking to see if perhaps there's some dried blood. If it's only soak as far as the first lair of bark maybe someone can do something with it in Dr. McCoy's lab.

There's a pause then and Bishop asks, "Have you found any shell casings? Where guns employed." He slowly looks to Richter and says, "Richter, how connected do you feel with the earth when you make things shake? If you were to give things a gentle shake can you feel if anything's laying on the ground that's *not* part of it? bullet casings, glass, perhaps part of a canister that was used to deploy the chemical that interupted sense of smell?" Is Bishop suggest Julio sift the ground like a prospector looking for gold dust?

Julio Richter has posed:
"Si -- I wasn't a fan of the yelling the first time," Julio says, glancing at Bishop in support of the diplomatic approach. "Besides, it's probably safer in groups." Not that Laura strikes him as needing anyone's protection, but it can't hurt to be careful.

"I can certainly try," he answers Bishop's suggestion. Knowing as little as he does about his powers, nothing's too outlandish to be worth testing. He stands off to the side, where he'll be out of the way but available if needed, and crouches to connect gloved hands with the earth beneath him. Before he starts the rumble, though, he tilts his head to ask Laura a question. "You said there was some kind of chemical used in the attack -- did you get a sample? That would have to be pretty unique. Maybe we could learn something from it."

Then he's drawing seismic energy into himself, giving off a fracturing, vibratory aura whose color blends in nicely with the foliage. Once he has a strong connection to the geography, he starts pushing seismic feedback, very gently, to keep the shakes local and not too dangerous. Still -- watch for loose acorns.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     "They were smart and did not bother. Guns only make us angry. They would likely have used spearguns or crossbows. I have a soil sample in the trunk of my car. I do not have access to a lab to analyze it or track the chemical in question." Betsy gets an acknowledging nod, the tension in Laura's frame fading slightly in response to the empathetic look.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy keeps gazing over the scene in front of her, a hand moving to rest against a tree trunk. She doesn't /need/ to close her eyes to use her powers, but sometimes closing out the physical vision can help with the psychic kind. She will try to tune out the minds around her, seeking Gabby's mental signature. She wished she had a closer tie to the girl, something anchored deeper to pull at. But she doesn't form many bonds like that anymore.

There's a faint, faint smile as she finds just a wisp of Gabby's presence. "Trust Gabby to feel aggravated, most of all." She says softly, before she's taking a deep breath to expand her blind seeking for mental signatures. There's a shiver through the British woman, a shake of her head as her eyes open, pupils a little wide. "Those that took her.. psychopaths." That was unpleasant - but now Psylocke looks angry. Again.

Bishop has posed:
"Psychopaths?" Bishop says with a blink. He puts one hand on a near by tree as Julio starts to make the ground shake in small, rumbling, bursts. "You're doing good Richter. Just be patient, take your time and let us know if you turn up anything." Bishop says trying to encourage the young mutant. His attention turns back to Betsy, "I know it is asking alot Psylocke, but can you sense anything else about them? Where they methodical, despite being pyschopaths? Or are were they blunt instruments, meant to overwhelm Honey Badger however they could?"

Bishop shines his Black light around, up and down the trees, differing directions from what seems the epicenter of the abduction. "Now how did they extract her. No chemical agent I know off c ould have help her for long. They'd have to get her to some kind of containment very quickly." He looks to Laura, "Does it seem like they ambushed her once she reached this spot or where they following her for awhile?" Bishop asks.

Julio Richter has posed:
After several seconds of rumbling, during which Julio has his eyes closed and looks like he's doing focused listening, he lifts his hands off the ground and shakes his head. "Nada," he tells the others, standing and dusting off his palms. "At least, nothing physical. They were very careful, or they were ghosts." He glances over at Psylocke as she comes out of her reverie, and reaches out to offer her a reassuring shoulder-clasp.

Laura Kinney has posed:
     Laura growls a little at the mention of the kidnappers being psychopaths, droplets of blood welling up on her knuckles as the teen's claws try to slide out, barely kept in through sheer willpower. "The footprints do not make sense. They start very close by, and do not try to leave either. There is no downdraft pattern that would indicate a helicopter airlift. I suspect a teleporter."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
"Or someone strong enough to lift them, and a struggling Gabby, out of here with telekinesis." Betsy adds thoughfully. She shakes her head at Bishop. "I don't really know them, so locking down on anything worthwhile is hard. All I'm working with are echoes, and likely not completely whole ones at that."

"Though thinking of that... no one be too alarmed, it's just me." And unless they can completely block her out, they will feel the faintest mental touch in the back of their minds. "I'm hiding us from any possible nosy telepaths, as well. Just to be on the safe side."

Bishop has posed:
Bishop closes his eyes for a second when Betsy tells them not to be alarmed. As he feels that faint tickle in the back of his head the big man says, "Thank you Psylocke," He looks around then and says, "Ok then, we have some physical evidence to take back to the mansion to be analyzed. I can't rule out all other possibilities Talon, but I will say that your theory this might have been a teleporter is starting to look very likely." There's a moment where bishop is silent. A cold uncomfortable moment, as if something is making him very concerned, but nothing else has been his M.O.

"We should get all this back. But then this is what I think we do next. I don't care what kind of a mastermind you are. You don't just have someone sitting around on your payroll that can teleport 5 to 7 pyschopaths, holding a struggling engine of destruction, just waiting for a rainy day. You are either powerful enough to do that yourself or you hired someone that is. And somewhere one of our enemies knows who's capable of pulling this off." Bishop looks to the others in turn and says, "While the lap is analyzing our samples, I say we go kick in some doors until someone feels motivated to tell us who we are looking for. Some one *always* knows. No one exists in a vacuum."