Owner	Pose
Phoebe Beacon	NEW YORK CITY - Clinton -- otherwise known as Hell's Kitchen.     The Bodega was called Cesar's Corner. They jokingly had a salad that was the daily special, if you didn't mind your "Cesar" salad actually being a chorizo and scrambled egg sub with some romaine lettuce. It was the last place in the city that Phoebe Beacon -- otherwise known as Balm, a member of the Outsiders, of the Bat Family and until recently the Justice League Dark -- had last been seen in the city. The Bat Computer had refined a still from the camera clearly enough to identify the unique marker on her left wrist, slightly hiding her face as she wiped at it. She had not been wearing the clothing she'd left Wayne Manor in. Her motorcycle was missing, and the tags placed by Red Robin on her helmet and the bike itself were slowly making their way down the Ohio river towards Cincinnati.     On a rooftop is where the committiee was to meet; out of the view of the street as dusk began to settle over the city.     Phoebe has been out of communication for three weeks as of this morning. It is the longest she has been dark without a check-in.
Dick Grayson	Dick is here while Bruce is notably not. Batman had been pulled away to deal with a threat from the Joker which could not be ignored, so he sent his protege in his place. With Dick's experience as Robin, as Nightwing and as a police detective, he's probably the right man for the job.     Still, he's looking a bit worried as he awaits the other arrivals. Three weeks is forever in police time. Most detectives would not expect to find any useful clues after that long, but he's hoping that with the extensive surveillance equipment the Bats have all over Gotham, there might be more than that single camera image to give some idea of where she headed when leaving.     Otherwise, this will not be an easy investigation by any means.
Zatanna Zatara	The canny Phoebe had taken every precaution to erase her footsteps both physically and magically. Zatanna had lived with an underlying sense of dread for weeks now. It haunted her sleep and leached the joy out of simple things. Days were grayer, food less appealing. Little things irritated her. Tired of biting her nails over her apprentice and friend's disappearance, Zatanna has broken her silence with the Bat Family. One phone call, well, voice message to Tim Drake leaves her with a sense of enormous relief. Not that she had not reached out magically. It simply hadn't worked. Perhaps now, there would be action.
Sara Pezzini	Using a rather annoying method to get the attention of the Bats, that being just appearing in Gotham armored up, Sara had gotten the coordinates for the rooftop rendezvous. What this meant was she had to armor up to get there. What did the Bats have against coffee shops? Leaving her bike a couple of blocks off, she carries with her a satchel as she slips into the nearby alley to let Witchblade almost gleefully destroy the sweats and t-shirt she had been wearing. Once the wings spring into existence on her back, she lifts herself up into the air to head toward the location. Unlike the Bats, she doesn't have to conceal herself, but for their sake she takes a longer route around so perhaps she can successfully not be seen.
Gabby Kinney	BGabby was aware of Phoebe's disapearance, but hadn't been able to do anything herself either through the JLD or the Outsiders. Now at least, with this newest lead, there might be some hope of catching up or at least being close on her heels. Using one of those ziplines she swings on down to the roof landing heavier than intended in her haste. She's barely let the grapple wind back into place before she's blurting out, "How long ago?" With a glance cast toward those already gathered here. "I really hope she's not up to what she said she was going to be doing. If we need to find our way around New York quickly, I grew up here pretty much and know my way well." All those times sneaking out of the school might come in handy now.
Tim Drake	When Phoebe first disappeared into the aether, Tim didn't go after her. Sometimes people just need their space, and it would've been incredibly hypocritical of him to go against that. Not that he'd really care either way, but... well. In this specific instance he gets it. So he sets a alarm on his phone and decides not to think about it unless Phoebe hasn't sent word by then.     That alarm has been snoozed twice.     Let's be real, Tim started looking long before it sounded the first time, but with slowly increasing intensity each passing day. Now it's three weeks on and Red Robin is, uncharacteristically, pacing back and forth along one edge of the roof as he waits for other arrivals.     Balm's membership in the web of Bat-proteges means a general call had gone out, but Tim had turned specifically to his magical contacts for assistance. Zatanna's at the top of that list, naturally, both for her acumen with the mystic arts and her own relationship with Phoebe, and when she'd been the first to initiate contact Tim had been both relieved and somehow even more concerned at the same time, given what news (or really, lack of news) she relays.     He stops mid-stride, heel of his boot scraping against the rooftop. "What *exactly* did she say she was going to be doing?" he asks as he rounds on Gabby, the set of his jaw tense and uneasy.
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe's usual digs were in Hell's Kitchen. The ruins of The Laughing Magician were within eyeshot of the rooftop, along with the park where she was seen before the Bodega image.     The rooftop itself had the barest whiff of magic on it. Old and -- likely -- atmospheric.     Phoebe, from her disappearance from New York had covered herself pretty well, not even a coily hair was left behind.     And as for coffee shops -- can you imagine Nightwing or Red Robin walking into a coffee shop? That's like the set up of a horrible joke.     On the rooftop as Red Robin pauses, the wind picks up a little bit, carrying with it the heat from the day.
Dick Grayson	Nightwing moves over to where the group is gathering, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Sara as the armored hero joins them. He looks between Tim and Gabby saying, "Deep breath, Red Robin. We're all worried about her."     Next addressing Gabby he says, "It is a question that I'd like to know the answer to as well. If we want to find her, knowing her plan is paramount. It gives us a starting point to follow her progress further than a bodega."     Pulling up info on his HUD, he follows the trackers for a moment then nods. "I assume her bike and helmet are on a boat of some sort and most likely a decoy, so we'll have to do this the hard way."
Zatanna Zatara	Elegantly late as her mother would say, a purple portal appears about a foot off the ground, and a booted foot steps down onto the roof. Not tricked out in stage clothes, the magician brushes back her dark hair with a manicured hand, looks about, and then makes a beeline for Tim. "Do we have a plan? " she asks, characteristically straight to the point. She mitigates her brusqueness with a faint smile and a double kiss on Tim's cheeks. She dips her head, greeting the others already assembled, and steps back to include them all in the conversation. " I haven't found a trace of her and only have suspicions. That said..." the homo magi taps the side of her aquiline nose and raises her chin as though sniffing the air. "Someone used magic here but not recently." With a nod to Grayson, "And, it is just like her to use decoys."
Gabby Kinney	For just a moment Honey Badger is brought up short by Red Robin whirling on her with that question. A quick breath is drawn and held while her eyebrows draw together into a stern, serious frown. Apparently though many in the JLD had heard and known it hadn't been passed on to everyone that ought to know. "I should have told you, instead of thinking that it was passed around..." It's ground out while she ducks her head scowling at her own failure. Another quick breath comes as she clenches her fists at her side. Now was NOT the time for her to wallow feeling guilty. Instead her head snaps up to regard Red Robin with lisp pursed tight, and then she looks to the Nightwing, and Zatanna giving a firm nod. "Right. Phoebe has decided to go after the demon that plagued her to put it down by herself. Because there's a likelihood she may fail, she's set up or is setting up a spell to erase herself from our memories if she dies because she doesn't want us to feel the pain of losing her." "We tried to talk her out of it. I thought we *had* talked her out of it."
Meggan Constantine	Meggan is among the last to arrive, though that could have very much to do with the means of arrival. So as not to alarm most people, she floats onto the rooftop after manifesting out of the wind about a block away. The comet-like trail of her golden hair only fully materializes from light and flame to something solid when she touches down. Those wide green eyes move from person to person, though linger longest on Zatanna. Rather than frown, she offers a small smile for reassurance. No words, though. Hers is a precarious silence teetering on curiosity and worry. Then again, disappearances to her ilk may not have the great and immediate worry they should for others. "Sorry to be late, but here to help," she offers as a hello, apology, and explanation all at once. The British accent muddled up in Celtic and Welsh tones softens the impact. "We need a magical tracker, then, Zee? You figure maybe we whip something up to act like a beacon," ha, "and tie it to a map or this more of a mental space job?" Her attention narrows on Gabby's fading words, a frown almost coming out. "Oh dear. I hope not."
Tim Drake	"I'm perfectly calm!" Red Robin tells Nightwing, which is both not really a response to what he'd said and also a total lie, based on the pacing and the microexpressions that any detective trained by Batman would be picking up on right now. He shakes his head and also slices his hand through the air, palm facing downwards, dismissing the trackers floating down the river as a false lead.     He's definitely not calm, because that was probably kind of rude. And Tim's not like that, usually.     Still, he has enough manners to return Zatanna's greeting, though it's only with a quick squeeze to her arm, relief hidden in the gesture. There are methods of covertness only possible through magic that he has little idea how to address, and if anyone's going to know what those methods are, it'll be Z.     Then Gabby drops the bombshell.     For a long stretch of silence afterward, Tim doesn't react. With the domino mask his face is unreadable, still as it is in this moment, and then he lets out a great heaving breath. He turns away and covers his face with his hands, which does very little to stifle the groan he lets out.     "Once we find her I'm going to kill her *myself*," he says. And, newly composed, he faces the group once again to back up the newly arrived Meggan's suggestion with a curt nod. "I can produce a hard-light map if you need something physical for the tracker."
Sara Pezzini	Landing solid on the rooftop, Sara walks across to the gathering group. It might seem odd for her to be carrying a satchel, but she clearly had a reason for it, and it wasn't to match her armored boots either. "Evening," she offers to those gathered. She knew the faces, and in come cases the masks. She listens intently to Gabby, noting the body language and wondering just how it was that Red Robin had that sort of effect, but it wasn't her call to make. That sort of thing was up to the Bats. "There's more to it then that, or perhaps that is the excuse she gave for her disappearance," she then adds. Reaching into the satchel she removes items that are clearly Phoebe's, a sketchpad among them. "Two weeks ago she was in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She got gas at a SHEETZ, an energy drink and some water. I've verified the license on the motorcycle, even if she kept herself hidden inside the helmet the whole time. There was a finger print lifted off the SHEETZ bag that I found, now get this, in a dumpster outside Grand Central." The items from the satchel at offered over to Zatanna. "She was working on warding circles, as well as a necromantic spell to create a flesh puppet. There is also evidence that she was looking into the Ghost Towns around Pennsylvania, and with the appearance of the fourteen children, some out of their own time, it strongly suggests that she was connected in some way." "I started my investigation the minute it hit my desk, and I can tell you that she appeared to be deliberately leaving hints along the way. The spell was found in a park not far from here, in a camera tube, along with it was a key to her locker in Grand Central, where I found the sketchpad, a map of Bayside, NJ, and a book on those Ghost Towns. And the SKEETZ bag, I was drawn to the alley by a magical pull." Realizing that was a large information dump all at once, she offers the book and map to those present, but the SHEETZ bag and receipt she keeps for now.
Phoebe Beacon	Hooray for Sheetz, in Pittsburgh, which definitely has never doubled for Gotham.     With the handing over of the satchel and materials, those would find:     A worn change of clothes (smells like Lavender deoderant and Phoebe's blend of black pepper and roses). A pair of solid boots, some folders and her avocado and deviled egg socks. The folders contain information about Bayside, where the JLD had recently had a run-in with The Long Man, and several ghost towns and haunted cemetaries in PA.     The folded-up spellwork is a mix of two handwritings -- Phoebe's own notes from constructing a flesh puppet and connecting it to herself for power, and notes on the Camdever Curse, sourced from a certain Scouse magician during that business with the Angels. Like a good school girl, she dated her notes (admittedly, dated in Middle Egyptian).     The notebooks are full of other notes, this and that, bits and bobs, codified, written in Heiroglyphic and occasionally in Elvish (because she's a nerd).     A few stills from the security cam at Sheetz would confirm that it's Phoebe's bike, but it's not Phoebe's normal helmet. There's no scuffs on it.     The magic on the rooftop seems to remain, like a bad memory -- or a smell clinging to clothing.
Dick Grayson	Nightwing nods, "Thanks Sara, that's a lot more information then we had a few minutes ago." Glancing at the papers he adds, "Not that I can understand most of it."     He gestures to Zee and Meggan, "Ladies, I believe this would fall under your specialties. Would you take a look and see if there's anything there that can help us find her?"     Looking at the contents of the bag he nods, saying "Ditched her clothes so she couldn't be tracked that way either. She was putting a whole lot of effort into not being followed, so we'll just have to put in that much more to find her."     He sits down on the raised edge of the building. "Once we figure out the magical part, I'll be more than happy to bash whoever needs it to get her home."
Zatanna Zatara	"So that is what I caught. Of all the...." the magician's face turns a brilliant red as she tamps down the anger at Gabby's news. "Insufferable idiots," escapes her before her lips clamp into a straight line and her fists clench. The anger covers a sense of helplessness and guilt at letting Phoebe find her way alone. Yet another demon stalks the young girl's life when it should be her elders taking on the burden. Meggan's arrival distracts her momentarily from the futile guilt. Then, with a decided slash of her hand, Zee affirms Gabby's words for Meggan. "I'm glad you're here, my dear. Some of Zee's anger at her erstwhile apprentice and frustration leak into the question. "Do you smell it?" "We will need your special powers in this, Meggan. No beacons I've cast have worked so far. The astral plane may have the answers we seek." Now, Sara presents them with the trail of clues left behind. Did Phoebe want to be found and helped in her mission? Was it an unconscious cry for help? Those are rhetorical questions now. "Thank you, Sara. Now, we have something solid to follow despite Phoebe's double blinds." Zee holds out her hands to Meggan in invitation. "Shall we take a look? ".retsac eht ecarT" (Trace the caster.)
Gabby Kinney	Honey Badger steps forward reaching toward Red Robin to lightly place a hand on his shoulder. "... Hey. We'll find her. We know more now together than any of us did alone." Though she feels the guilt still of being the one to hold such info without the others knowing. She'd deal with that later though, as she turns her head away with a mumble of, "I'm sorry," to instead glance over at Zatanna beginning her work on the search. "What's in Pittsburgh? I could see Centralia maybe." Then again maybe not.
Meggan Constantine	"A map gives us a tracking point. You've things of Ms. Beacon's?" Meggan tips her head, gold hair looped over her normally pointed ears in a way to give her a more human semblance. Truly fleeting at best; a human-shaped vessel for a blazing torrent. Nightwing's observations bring out a fleeting, friendly smile in his direction, extended to Gabby and Tim. "You're sure to bring just as much to this, fitting all the pieces together. Not one person's gonna solve the mystery." A slight dip of her chin affirms her opinion of Bat talents and Outsider skills. She hangs back by Zatanna's elbow, and the backlash of the homo magi's emotions goes off like a small explosive device. Flinching needs no Bat-level reading of tells there to reckon on isolating herself from the emotional splash radius. "Um." The objects in Sara's care are gestured at. "Your methods probably make more sense. But you can ask mirrors, roads or the wind about her if we get a location." "Two of them, then. You figure that the dupe's gotta have differences? Hasn't had the chance to grow her aura like Phoebe has, or making a mirror of herself has to use the base material as a starter. 'Cos you can't get something for nothing in magic." The latter she explains for the others. "Could be the real Phoebe has an aura slightly diminished to carve up her anguish or just more worn out paying the price. I've seen it before." No need to say who and where, the grimace twisting her lips a hint for any who dealt with doppelgangers or demons or murderers oh my. Palms upright and absent of ring or tattoo are extended to Zatanna. No matter the heat of the moment, the touch is pleasantly cool. "You ready? Here we go." Her fingers clutch lightly at Zatanna's wrists, involuntarily convulsing, painful even though feather-light. The Galadriel effect kicks on a moment later, hair starting to glow and eyes watering. Watching her isn't fun, as the moment turns to a maelstrom of shuddering emotions ripping through her in a live electric wire. A credit to her not to choke on the lump in her throat, gagging and gulping together. "I'm sorry, so sorry, sorry, oh darling never, never believe that--"
Tim Drake	It's likely no surprise that Tim steps forward immediately to start looking through the physical evidence that Sara provides, though he does pass them off to the magic-users present after only a brief perusal. He'll examine them more closely later.     Plus he now has scans from his domino mask.     "We will," he confirms with a sharp nod, the jut of his chin suggesting he's not looking directly at Gabby as he responds to her. He doesn't quite look Dick's way either, but he does add, "We have access to some equipment that should work just fine up against demons."     What little expression that managers to filter out from behind the domino mask is purposefully mild. Red Robin has a handle on his emotions now, ruthlessly quashing them as is the Bat-way. He steps back to give Zatanna and Meggan as much space as possible, and with only a tap of his finger a map of the eastern United States is projected onto the roof from the computer built into his left gauntlet.
Sara Pezzini	Sara knows nothing of how the magic Zatanna or Meggan use works, but she recognizes the emotions expressed by Meggan. She'd lived them herself, that moment in Phoebe's argument, the sadness and pain the teenager felt. It made her her drive to find the girl even more resolute, and she'd stop at nothing to do just that. "Witchblade should be able to discern a difference between the real Phoebe and a copy," she offers, making sure everyone gets a to look at the items, and that Meggan has what she needs from the collection of items. "That of course assumes there is a copy, and that we find it... but you should all know, I'm not stopping here. Whatever plans are made, whatever the next step is, I'm involved. Phoebe shouldn't be out there alone, and if she /is/ going after a demon, Witchblade feels obligated to be involved in destroying it."
Phoebe Beacon	The scans come up for Red Robin, and Tim projects it to the rooftop markers come up. The two trackers that were in Phoebe's helmet and on her motorcycle in the middle of the Ohio river, slowly making their way down. Probably not in a boat. Bayside, New Jersey where the fourteen kids re-appeared (all inexplicably not from this century). A house in a ghost town that's been coming up on Occult and Supernatural message boards. A couple other ghost towns and abandoned foundaries in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh, where the last ping of her tracker was before it became one with the river.     Trailing from northern coastal New Jersey, hopping between towns, possible routes. Possible trajectories. Possible next targets of haunted locales in West Virginia, Ohio. Scanning news feeds and instagram (Idu, after all, was also gone. Someone might have uploaded a unique looking dog).     Hits are far between. Nacho, Nick and JayJay lodged a missing persons report two weeks ago that wasn't given much attention.     Then, reflecting the caster's own magic in pale pinkish-gold --     Bayside, New Jersey. Phoebe was there at some point. Gotham City. New York. A ghost town in central Pennsylvania, though not Centralia -- something north of the Silent Hill town. Pittsburgh. Then north towards Erie. Then a hit west, in a little town marked Smokey Creek, Kansas.     Now, is it Phoebe, doubles, decoys -- or leftover Witch's bottles?
Gabby Kinney	Gabby Kinney watches the magic users begin their scrying through different means to attempt to find Phoebe after touching things that had belonged to her. Though she stares long and hard at the objects while Tim sorts through them wearing a small thoughtful frown. It's the talk of the duplicate that causes her to pause, and tilt her head thoughtfully. A hand lifts with a single finger raised. "I'm not as ... experienced with magic as all of you, at least not in this way, but if those items were from the duplicate..." She doesn't add more. Clearly her uncertainty as to HOW they would find the original Phoebe from that is implied. "What about Idu?" She looks around among those here only to clarify, "When I was trying to convince her against this I brought up Idu, and she said he would cease to exist if she did because they were from the same place. If *these* items don't work," a gesture is given to the evidence Sara had so diligently gathered. "Maybe Idu would have a link to her through their shared existence in general. Since they're apparently the only ones left of their... tribe?" Was that right? With that suggestion made her attention falls to Charlie watching with a perplexed expression. "Man, I thought I had a lot to work through." Her gaze tears away to instead look at the projection Red Robin has set up while crossing her arms. Better to focus than fidget. Turning away even from that she states, "I'm going to go check out the mission. Just in case there's something there." Or maybe she just needs to burn off some stress while the search starts.
Dick Grayson	Nodding to Sara, Nightwing tells her, "I don't think anyone has a problem with you helping, given that we have no idea what we might run into." He turns his attention back to the map as the markers start filling in.     "Well, somebody has been a little busy in the last few weeks. She's been seriously moving since she's gone out on her own." As the latest hit lights up in Kansas, he blinks a little. "Kansas, seriously? Doesn't strike me as a nexus of demonic energy. Which is probably why it is. Set up where you're not expected and all."     He looks around at the group, especially the two magi and asks, "Is that the last trace, or are you still getting information?"
Zatanna Zatara	Taking an involuntary step backward, Zee stiffens and jerks hard as she channels Meggan's power and emotion. Sapphire eyes fixed on Meggan's, the magician follows the spell cast into the unknown. It tunnels through the astral plane - a waft of lavender, pepper, and rose perfuming the roof. The homo magi's eyebrows convulse, involuntary tears springing to her eyes at the tumult of fear, distrust, the need to hide, and the inchoate desire to live from Phoebe. Aloud, she affirms the reason for everyone's presence, "We have your back, Phoebe." Rose gold blips follow Phoebe's tracks through the last weeks. None of it would be possible without Sara's sleuthing and the combined effort of Dick and Gabby. Coming back to herself, Zatanna quips, "Well, she has Toto. And it certainly looks like Kansas. I think we will find more, the powers willing."
Meggan Constantine	The world reels for Meggan and she simply lets go of a fraction of her humanity. Ground is the first tether to break as she floats up with her hands in Zatanna's. Fighting against snapping those delicate wrists like matchsticks becomes a conscious effort while the objects give up their secrets. Her liquid green eyes tilt past the homo magi's shoulder, seeing none of them initially. "She hurts. The world has treated her hard and youth takes these wounds to heart." She does not breathe. Easier to then cling hard to that iridescent grey thread shot by desert winds and unyielding light. "She felt rejection from the ones who took her in. Shifting grounds changing under her feet amplify the hurt and give cause to hurry on. Desperation tastes like vinegar. Sorrow is her salt. Fear gnaws at the back of her mind. Cheap, shite cigarettes on the tongue." The emotions take on colours, blossoming like faint ribbons under her fingers. A bouquet of pure emotions, seized from the gloom. Her gaze snaps back to the map etched in light. "Open a door to that dot, be there faster. Know if it's her or we followed the copy. Can you, Zee, or you need us to?" Her voice is slightly singsong, the Celtic undertones rolling in a poetic lilt. Sifting through a teenager's emotional turmoil is like whitewater rafting, except the boulders hit the psyche, not the body. Bruises look really odd under that microscope. A hummed pause resolves to words. "The list for her shopping is all muddled up. None of the components make a lick of sense. One for love, two to bind, three burn what's on her mind. If she hunts a demon, this is deep, this is personal. Using bits for love is dangerous, bloody hell it is." A blink brings her into focus, only momentarily. "Someone give the girl a hug, she needs at lesat that."
Tim Drake	"Whatever she's up against, Phoebe certainly thought it was deadly enough. If Witchblade is willing to go toe-to-toe with whatever demon that has Phoebe in its sights, I won't say no." Red Robin's expression is frozen, implacable. "It'll give me the opportunity I need to drag her away."     It's the mention of Idu that provokes some kind of reaction from Tim, though it's only to turn away from the scrying-in-progress as he stalks to the nearest rooftop edge. Even in New York City, the skyline is a good backdrop for brooding.     Though when Nightwing calls out the Kansas connection, Red Robin looks back over his shoulder. "Where in Kansas?" he asks, gaze falling on the map. He approaches, the projection seamlessly zooming in on the magic-indicated dot, and crouches by its edge. He clicks his tongue, uncertain, then rises back to his feet. He glances at Dick and then shrugs. "Kansas has never been anything but annoyingly pleasant every time I've visited. Flat. Kind of boring. But evil is attracted to misery, and you never have to go far to find that."     At Meggan's insistence on someone hugging Phoebe, Red Robin looks away again, pensively silent.