Raven could feel the tension, the hurt, and the anger within a hundred miles of her current position. At the moment, the feelings that the brother & wife were having happened to overwhelm her, and she faltered for a moment, stumbling. Quickly, however, she got her footing. It was something she'd lived with her entire life, and there was no reason to act like a weakling because of it. She was not some unseasoned girl, who'd never met with grief before.
"Something is wrong with the brother. He's angry, sure, but far less .. sad than I thought someone in his position might be," she realized to herself, turning her unnerving purple eyes on him, rewarded by his obvious discomfort. Had she caused that?
Casually, she raised a hand and black fire covered the body, entering the pores and doing the thorough analysis. It was really for show and didn't tell her anything she could not see with her eyes. Just to prove that her pale skin and strange coloring denoted a little bit more than just a strange human. She wasn't one of them, really, but they could believe that if they wished.
"Thank you for your information. It does help. Getting down to the bottom of this is important, for everyone's sakes."
It was rare to hear something like that coming from her, but considering how obviously they weren't wanted, perhaps necessary. The wife, at least, might be persuaded to come forward with more information if she thought she could trust Raven & the man who had been asking the questions a moment before. Seeing his gesture out of the corner of her eye, she followed, avoiding other's eyes.
"A little more show-y than I'm used to, but we weren't getting anywhere," she murmured, shifting one shoulder in half-shrug. She meant the black fire. Raven was certainly strong enough to defend herself, should any of the mob outside or the policemen show any sort of aversion to her being in the room. "What do you think?"
Once he had her out of earshot, Edward found he was still unable to simply tell her what he had already ascertained. The carefully practiced blank look on the girl's face was reminding him so irresistibly of Batman that he automatically wanted to present all his answers as riddles. It was only a hunch, of course, but he rather suspected such a course of action would not end well. He compromised by instead leading her through the steps of his investigation thus far.
First, he tipped his hat to her. "Edward Nigma, the Riddler. You are Raven, correct?" Introduction over, he got down to business.
"This is clearly not the crime scene. In fact, I believe he was brought here recently, several hours, at least, past the approximate time of death. And yet a conspicuous effort has been made to make this room appear to be the crime scene- the actual place in which the victim was murdered. What does that tell you?"
Edward took a deep breath, pocketing his little notebook for now. "You, Raven, as an empath (if I remember correctly), will be better able to read the emotions of those involved than I. Are you able to determine if that mob outside is defensive because they know they are guilty or because they know they are being framed?"
It wasn't Raven's intention to remind him of anyone else. In all honesty, she wasn't quite sure who he was, or how he fit into the entire puzzle of Gotham. That was no longer her domain or her interest. If she could do what she could within her own sphere, she would consider herself accomplished. She was tired of being the hero; it was obvious that the public craved such people as Robin and Batman. They did not need an ominous looking alien getting involved in their ways any longer.
"Mister Nigma," she said neutrally, bowing her head at her name. "That is what you can call me. Among other things, that is who I am." It was somewhat unlike her to be cryptic, but the situation seemed to call for it. As long as he did not make the connection to the Teen Titans, they could continue on the same page. It was imperative that he understand she was not here on behalf of the team, but rather on her own. She'd taken a special interest in this case.
Raven nodded again, confirming his words. "Hypostasis indications that this is so. It tells me that someone thought this very place to be significant, and went to a lot of trouble to make it seem like someone in this house committed the crime."
Hesitating slightly, she nodded a third time to affirm his belief of her having empathic powers. The mob outside was loud and noisy, and they were making her head hurt with all of the emotional static, but it was clear that they were worried & frightened of what was going to take place next. A few people were there just to be angry at the government and 'the Man' as a whole, while others showed genuine grief at having learned a friend was dead. But guilt felt .. different. It left her with a different impression, and she could not find it outside of the house.
"No. It is as you think it would be; they're frightened for their future. The good neighbors of the lot are sorry for the young man's death. There are the usual hot heads, of course, but their number is much fewer than it would appear. 'That mob' as you said, are just concerned citizens," she replied, steadily. "But the brother.. I got odd, conflicting feelings from him. It was in his mannerism as well, I would be surprised if you didn't notice."
Eddie nodded slowly along with her words, hiding his slight smile with his hand. Not bad. Not bad at all. The girl wasn't an idiot, he could tell. Of coruse, her empathic powers probably helped a little, but she still demonstrated a decent amount of intelligence. He felt justified in generously including her in his investigation. He would have been so disappointed if she'd proven to be stupid.
"Then you can clearly tell that this situation requires considerably more finesse than the typical crimefighter's usual answer of 'beat up the bad guy.'" A method which he had far too much experience with.
"We both suspect the brother, although I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the wife. Our issue, however, is finding enough proof to support our suspicions. Since you've established the 'mob' is not so- malignant- as I'd feared, this shouldn't be too hard." But also not too easy. He needed a motive or the true scene of the crime. If he had either one, he could build enough of a case to properly accuse. For the motive, he had a few ideas, nothing he could be too sure of, but they involved the reasons why a young, beautiful woman like the wife would be wearing long sleeves and a turtleneck on a hot day (clearly her body temperature isn't lower than normal, she's sweating, she's uncomfortable), her inability to meet his eyes directly, and a half-dozen other little details he'd registered but hadn't wanted to consider until he could with confidence rule out the possibility of the activists committing the crime.
She'd seen her fair share of murders, and there was a time when human death had fascinated her. Now, it only made her tired. It seemed that her impromptu partner was happy for her input, and she could feel his .. mixture of relief and approval. Frowning slightly, she tried to block off all emotions from him; sometimes, when dealing with others, it was better to not know what they were feeling.
"Obviously," she replied, hesitantly. Beating people up was more Robin's thing; violence didn't bother her, but it wasn't her chosen method of solving everything. "It might involve some delicacy, from both of us."
Closing her eyes for a moment, she recalled what she could of the wife. The woman had stank of fear, grief and .. something else. Something she couldn't quite identify. Emotions were like scents - just because you knew what it was, didn't mean you could always name it. She hadn't noticed the clothing, but there had been an air of .. hesitance around her that Raven hadn't liked. It was obvious that Raven and Mr. Nigma were not going to hurt her .. so why had she remained on edge?
"She's frightened of something. And I doubt it's you or me. That and she knows something that she isn't telling us. She doesn't want to offer any information, which is strange. As the closest loved one, she ought to be offering even the useless things," she said finally, opening her eyes. Raven glanced away. "There is a possibility that whatever she wants to say, she's afraid of saying it in front of the brother."
Edward restrained himself from snapping out orders in his excitement, but only barely. He told himself Raven was a temporary partner rather than a henchgirl, which he was used to working with. He'd have to phrase his next thoughts as requests. "If I distract the brother with a few questions of my own, could you talk to her? I'm planning to lead him outside because we need more information than she might be willing to give in front of her brother- or me.”
He pulled his notebook back out, flipping to a blank page in preparation for his distraction. Before hearing her answer, he clarified the request, though he doubted she would need it. “We need to know if the victim ever conflicted with the anti-mutant group or the brother, and if the wife was ever abused. We need to know how she feels about her late husband and her brother.” His primary suspect was still the brother, and he felt that the wife knew exactly the information he needed to solve this case.
Raven wouldn't dare be demoted to 'henchgirl'. She was something to be reckoned with in her own right, not a sidekick like Robin had been. And definitely not to someone she didn't know anything about. At the moment, she had plans to head right back home and figure out who exactly this man was, and what he'd been up to for the last twelve or sixteen years. Depending on the information she found, he may or may not ever see her again.
Hesitating slightly; Raven wasn't the best with people..., she nodded after a moment. "All right," she said, resigned. If the woman really had been abused, it was likely the wife would be uncomfortable talking alone with a man. Frightened, even. And there was no point in making a fuss if she could stick it out on her own and possibly help rather than hinder. (It was the hinder part she was worried about).
"The victim doesn't sound like the type who would, other than bringing attention to himself because of his appearance. Someone with weak powers, and a young wife, would try his best to stay away from militant groups," she added, but her eyes narrowed slightly. "The brother on the other hand. Mutations can run in the family, or be brought about by biological exposure. As his brother, he might have some sort of mutation that isn't clearly visible. You might want to be careful."
Nodding to him again, she glanced over her shoulder as she walked into the other room, winking solemnly. "Miss. You've suffered a terrible shock. Coffee is in order. I trust that you have a working kitchen? My friend will need to speak to your brother about the arrangements for the corp-, I mean, the deceased."
Stuttering and stumbling, the wife replied in the positive, and led Raven from the room, leaving the dead body and her brother all alone with Mr. Nigma.
Looooong replyeddienigmaAugust 29 2010, 00:51:57 UTC
Eddie took her warning to heart, for the possibility had already occurred to him. He interceded when the brother made a move to follow Raven and wife into the kitchen. "Ah-ah, good sir, if you could follow me outside for a moment? I'd like you to show me the men you are accussing. We must, of course, examine every suspect in this case, the better to bring it to a swift end."
The brother considered this, his sharp eyes lighting up as he realized this implied the detective was willing to consider the anti-mutant activists as suspects. He nodded gruffly and, casting one last glance at the timid wife, allowed Edward to lead him to the crowd gathered outside, just past the police tape.
"It's dem right there," the brother announced with a rumble, pointing triumphantly at a group of hard-faced men and boys. Edward was surprised by how young most of them were; it was likely that half the group was still high school aged. He wished the brother hadn't pointed, as the action caused the activists' faces to harden with hatred and defiance. They looked at him with unfriendly eyes.
"What're you bringing the mutie out here for?" one of them demanded. His question stirred the rest of the crowd, which Eddie noticed did indeed contain a lot of mutants, the "concerned citizens" Raven had mentioned earlier.
"You're not trying to arrest us, are you?" another asked. He glanced over the Riddler's lean (some might say scrawny) figure with a sneer.
"No," Edward answered patiently, checking his watch. At the rate the situation out here was degenerating, he could give Raven about ten minutes to conduct her interview, unless he could think of another distraction for the brother. "There is no evidence against any of you," he continued. "Although I would like to hear- from you- how you would have gone about killing him, if you were to do it."
He recieved incredulous stares from everyone within hearing distance. If he could keep them all unbalanced for the next... nine minutes and twenty-five seconds... Raven may be able to procure the testimony they needed to solve this case... and honestly, he didn't want to directly accuse the intimidating brother without a meta nearby to back him up.
Re: Looooong replyinsulatedravenAugust 29 2010, 01:56:11 UTC
Raven could feel the woman's fright, and for a moment, she regretted showing her powers. It would be better if the wife thought that she was just another girl, with strange skin. Starfire was always better at this sort of thing than she was, anyway, and it wasn't as though this was going to be the usual sort of woman to woman chat. Raven couldn't imagine how it would feel to be abused for ages, though she did understand what short term abuse did to the mind and the psyche. She'd had enough of that herself, with her father. It would take some seriously pride-swallowing for her to get anything out of the woman.
The kitchen was comfortable and economical - chances were, like many mutants, they were living from paycheck to paycheck. It was only the high status celebrities who could make a decent living without facing prejudice. That and super heroes. "You must have spent a lot of time here," Raven said, carefully, softly. The woman shuddered slightly and nodded, placing a tea kettle over the stove.
Raven was at a loss. She didn't have any family memories she could give this woman to entice her into talking, and reading her mind felt .. dirty. Like picking through someone's dirty laundry. The wife was frightened. How did Raven want others to treat her when she was frightened? I'd just as rather them leave me alone, she thought to herself wryly.
"My friends, when we all lived together, we spent all of our time in the kitchen or the living room. I imagine with couples, it is much the same," she offered, finally, and the woman nodded again with her back turned. A wave of grief and guilt hit Raven hard, and she bit her tongue to keep her eyes from welling up. Emotions were difficult to manage. But why was she guilty? Her husband had been murdered, she'd found his body -- and yet there was an equal amount of grief as there was guilt. There should be more.
"Some ... friends, or lovers, don't take into account how much you care for them. Sometimes, they hurt you," she added, tentatively, and felt shame emanate from the woman. It wasn't a confession, but it showed she was on the right track. "They hurt you until you don't think there is anything left in life, and you aren't sure that there will ever be someone to save you. Like the sun is blotted out from the sky."
Raven's eyes softened slightly as she stood and crossed the kitchen, standing behind the woman, ready for her to lash out or cry, or do something. She could feel the emotions swirling, from confusion to shame, and then grief and guilt. Back and forth, it was enough to make her feel sick.
"You don't love them any more, not after that. You're just trying to survive after that."
The woman tensed up and reached into a high cabinet for the tea cups, her hands shaking. So far, though, she hadn't said a word. Raven couldn't see her face, but she imagined that it was blank. What she was saying was something no proud woman would admit. Giving the woman the facts and confronting her would only traumatize her when she did admit it. Raven had to be as gentle as she could.
"But when your brother, or father, or mother notices what he's doing to you and makes it stop .. then you have something new to hide."
Crash! A tea cup hit the ground and the woman turned, hand raised to slap Raven. Luckily, the girl was ready and had her by the wrist in an instant, pushing up the sleeves of the wife's long sleeve shirt. She was rewarded with bruises and burns in the shape of a cigarette butt. Someone had been using her as a human ashtray.
"You don't know anything about me!" The woman spat, and Raven nodded. "No. I don't. But I know a lot about how you feel." Raven replied, feeling slightly nauseous.
"He beat you. He made you hurt, and you thought no one could tell. And then, one day, someone noticed. Life was getting unbearable, and you were going to quit living. Someone noticed, and killed him. And even though you knew that it was wrong, you had to stay silent - because you never thought the police could help you and stop what your husband was doing to you, and this person did."
Re: Looooong replyinsulatedravenAugust 29 2010, 01:56:48 UTC
It was a statement, and with that, the wife's resolve left her and she collapsed in a heap on the floor, nodding. She was crying now, and Raven was fighting the urge to do so herself. She might later, when she was alone. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes." Rocking back and forth, the wife hugged herself.
Raven grimaced, and then filled the remaining cup with tea and boiling water. Kneeling to hand it to the woman, her face softened into a small smile. "You've done well. I'll take away the hurt for a while. Drink this, and sleep. You've done very well, now rest. I'll see to it that you see a doctor soon."
Pressing two fingertips on the woman's forehead, she took away the grief, pain and guilt, taking them into her own mind and mastering the emotions before replacing them with fatigue. She would sleep.
In the mean time, Raven had a job to do. A very, very distasteful job. But someone had to tell Nigma that their theory had been spot on.
ooc; Feel free to have her walk out and recap, this post just got away from me.
Re: Looooong replyeddienigmaAugust 29 2010, 02:26:06 UTC
Outside, the men were still talking animatedly. "It would take a lot to dent that skin," an activist spat bitterly.
"He knows because they have thrown bricks at him before," the brother retorted with an alarming growl.
"So, a group of people, heavily armed, or a single man, incredibly strong," Edward summarized, staring at the brother.
"Or the wife!" another activist chimed in. "She could reflect other freaks' powers, I remember."
"She would never!" the brother roared angrily. "She is good."
"I suppose you have undeniable proof that she was not the killer?" Eddie inserted probingly. He locked eyes with the brother, daring him on.
The mutant stood still, jaw working furiously.
"Nothing to say?" Edward asked, turning his back to the others when he saw Raven exit the house. He reached her side in three quick strides, trying to read her face for any hint as to what happened inside. As usual, her face was frustratingly blank. However, he did not even have to ask.
"We were right," Raven announced.
Edward nodded slowly. "I hate it when I'm right. Well no, what am I saying, I love it when I'm right. But sometimes I hate the things I'm right about." As he talked, he caught sight of the brother out of the corner of his eyes. The mutant was staring intensely at something- or someone- on the roof of an opposing building. When Eddie glanced in that direction, all he saw was a brief snatch of fabric as someone moved away. "Regardless, the case is... closed..." The brother was lumbering toward them, his expression, for the first time that evening, completely blank.
((OOC: lol, I thought my reply was long; well, a lot had to be said, and that kind of conversation would have been cheapened if you tried to keep it shorter. Anyway, I didn't do much; I don't want to god-mod.))
Re: Looooong replyinsulatedravenAugust 29 2010, 18:29:12 UTC
There seemed to be some sort of shouting going on outside, but it was just as well, because Mr. Nigma noticed her right away. Anger, sadness and the remnants of guilt and shame she'd taken from the woman overpowered her usual mysterious air, and she announced simply that they were right and waited for the uproar to begin. Whatever human vs mutant spat had been going on, it was irrelevant. The bastard who lay dead inside (because that's what he was for abusing his wife so horribly), had been killed by one of his own kind. There was no getting around that.
Her eyes narrowed on the brother and her eyes shone with power suddenly, as she lifted her hands. She wasn't angry at him, more upset. Although her face didn't show it, she was disgusted by the situation. She wanted to hurt something. She wanted to fight. The crowd flinched in anticipation. No. Not now. Otherwise I'll be in a mess load of trouble. I'll let Nigma handle this, she realized, lowering her hands. It took a moment of imagining a cool, smooth lake to return her to her usual apathy about the situation. Even still, she would have to have a good cry out later.
Raven wasn't in the least bit frightened by what the brother might do - attack them? Silly, mutant he might be, but she had been raised on magic and fighting. And Nigma couldn't have survived this long in Gotham without picking up a few tricks for survival. Claim it wasn't him? She had a confession waiting inside.
"Your sister is in need of urgent medical attention for some old wounds," she remarked, finally, tactfully. "It seems, though, there won't be any new ones." She couldn't condone murder as the right or justified thing to do .. but she could understand the emotions that would lead a man to kill his sister's wife to protect her. Not on a personal level, but because Raven had felt them before and felt them on him now.
Re: Looooong replyeddienigmaAugust 29 2010, 20:46:49 UTC
Obviously the girl was feeling tense and frustrated; Edward's mouth tightened in a sympathetic grimace. He faced the brother, squaring his shoulders and preparing for an aggressive encounter. They had a testimony and just enough evidence to accuse the brother, he was sure of it. The problem now might lay in getting him to cooperate...
"It was me. I did it. I killed him. I beat him to death in front of his wife and then tried to frame my enemies," the brother said simply. Oddly enough, despite the confession, there was a certain, satisfied glimmer in his eyes.
Eddie didn't like that look. "Well- good... then... the police are right over there, er, they have handcuffs. You, ah, you are sure you did it?" That... that just may have been the stupidest question he ever asked.
There is something else at work here... something... greater-
"Never mind. Your confession matches the evidence and the witness testimony, as I am sure you already know," Edward rushed on, trying to recover from his momentary speechlessness.
Something changed- in a short amount of time-
-when I was talking to Raven, that took what, five seconds?-
-she's such a chatterbox, I know-
-what happened?
He led the brother into the custody of the police, his thoughts racing. With the brother in oh-so delicate care of Gotham's cops- that may be a prejudice left over from my criminal career- he turned back to Raven. "That was unexpected and... highly suspicious." He wondered if perhaps he was just being paranoid.
Re: Looooong replyinsulatedravenSeptember 5 2010, 22:11:16 UTC
Raven was almost disappointed that the brother didn't fight them. It would have given her an outlet for all of this energy that cried for her to do something, to hurt someone. Instead, he just admitted his guilt, and almost dared them to think otherwise. Not typical criminal behavior unless- "Unless he thinks he has nothing to lose," she thought to herself, her eyes narrowing. And only fools think that, fools or men who know that they have protection. And protection in Gotham always meant some sort of mob or group involvement.
Nudging Edward with her elbow, and rewarded with his 'Never mind', she watched the police lead the man away and then sighed heavily. The crowd, sensing that there was going to be nothing more to see .. well, they had better things to do (like gossip). People started streaming away, muttering about how strange things had turned out.
"He's not afraid," she murmured. "Everyone knows the danger of jail, and how most people don't make it out alive, regardless of your crime. That, or Arkham is in his future, depending on how his attorney sings his song. But he's not afraid. He thinks we don't know something. He thinks that there is something we've missed."
It was chilling. If it wasn't the mob, then who could it be? There was dozens of suspects, just in the city alone - and that was assuming that there wasn't anyone else outside of the city involved.
Drat. It looks like things were never as simple as they appeared.
Re: Looooong replyeddienigmaSeptember 6 2010, 01:18:46 UTC
So. He wasn't paranoid- or if he was, then so was his partner. Edward noticed her disappointment, faint, barely a flicker, and was briefly distracted- were her powers tied to her emotions? That would certainly explain her struggle to maintain control. He would have to look this up later and perhaps expand his personal files.
He nodded slowly to her words. Of course the brother wasn't afraid. The entire case had been- wait, had she said Arkham? He shuddered at the name. No. No way was he ever going back there, for any reason. But she did have a point with the last statement- that sort of confidence only came when a man- or mutant as the case may be- thought he had the upper hand.
"Allow me to retract my previous statement. This case is far from closed, although the courts will not see it that way." Eddie pinched his brow. It was doubtful that there was any more information to be gained from the crime scene, the real one or the fake, though still worth a look. Of course, the police would soon be clearing both scenes, because they believed the case was closed. He had no other proof besides a hunch that something wasn't right so where else could he look- the wife?
Also worth a try, since she may haave more information or at least names, names of those who might be able to protect the brother, what was his name anyway?
Names. The brother trusted someone to take care of him. They needed names- they? Oh, yes, Raven. Eddie had forgotten she was here with him. He looked at her now, considering inviting her along for the rest of his (now somewhat illegal, but when has that ever stopped him before?) investigation. If these friends were mutants, he may need the superpowered back-up. Also, the girl had proven herself smart enough to keep up, and it was only fair to offer her an opportunity to finish what she'd started.
"If you care to continue the investigation... the wife still needs to be questioned further. We are looking now for reasons why the brother feels safe in surrendering himself. He is either a fanatic, or he has very powerful friends- or both, of course, or neither-" Stop babbling, Eddie. "Er, yes. Am I to assume you agree with me on this?"
Re: Looooong replyinsulatedravenSeptember 12 2010, 00:18:50 UTC
Raven could be accused of paranoia, but it seemed justified in this case. Something about the man was rubbing her the wrong way - other than the fact that he'd just murdered someone. (Then again, whether or not that someone deserved it was still being decided, in Raven's mind). She was worried that this might develop into something that she and Nigma wouldn't be able to handle alone. That she might have to enlist the help of the Titans - the last thing she wanted to do.
Carefully schooling her expression and her emotions, she felt the twinge of fear from Eddie, and glanced at him sidelong. Had he been there? Something else to look up for her knowledge, just in case there was a key element of his past that she was missing. Just because they both were on the same side this time, didn't mean that would always be the case.
"We have more work to do, then," she replied simply, shrugging her shoulders. The police were a joke - they'd done their job so far, and no one else would care enough to investigate. Raven had no wish to hand this off to Nigma to work alone; something told her that this was bigger than the two of them. Somehow they'd become a 'we' in her mind, but she wasn't stupid enough to mistake that for real partnership or friendship.
Nodding once, she glanced back at the house. "She isn't in any condition to be questioned further. I'm sure she feels better than she has in years, but she needs rest and hospital care before we'll be able to get anything useful out of her. I could .. read her mind, but there are obvious legal and personal ramifications if I take that route," she replied, hiding a shudder. The feeling of being in someone elses head was not one she relished. "I do agree with you, but it seems like we'll have to regroup, cut our losses, and continue at a later date. There is nothing more we can do tonight."
"Something is wrong with the brother. He's angry, sure, but far less .. sad than I thought someone in his position might be," she realized to herself, turning her unnerving purple eyes on him, rewarded by his obvious discomfort. Had she caused that?
Casually, she raised a hand and black fire covered the body, entering the pores and doing the thorough analysis. It was really for show and didn't tell her anything she could not see with her eyes. Just to prove that her pale skin and strange coloring denoted a little bit more than just a strange human. She wasn't one of them, really, but they could believe that if they wished.
"Thank you for your information. It does help. Getting down to the bottom of this is important, for everyone's sakes."
It was rare to hear something like that coming from her, but considering how obviously they weren't wanted, perhaps necessary. The wife, at least, might be persuaded to come forward with more information if she thought she could trust Raven & the man who had been asking the questions a moment before. Seeing his gesture out of the corner of her eye, she followed, avoiding other's eyes.
"A little more show-y than I'm used to, but we weren't getting anywhere," she murmured, shifting one shoulder in half-shrug. She meant the black fire. Raven was certainly strong enough to defend herself, should any of the mob outside or the policemen show any sort of aversion to her being in the room. "What do you think?"
Reply
First, he tipped his hat to her. "Edward Nigma, the Riddler. You are Raven, correct?" Introduction over, he got down to business.
"This is clearly not the crime scene. In fact, I believe he was brought here recently, several hours, at least, past the approximate time of death. And yet a conspicuous effort has been made to make this room appear to be the crime scene- the actual place in which the victim was murdered. What does that tell you?"
Edward took a deep breath, pocketing his little notebook for now. "You, Raven, as an empath (if I remember correctly), will be better able to read the emotions of those involved than I. Are you able to determine if that mob outside is defensive because they know they are guilty or because they know they are being framed?"
Reply
"Mister Nigma," she said neutrally, bowing her head at her name. "That is what you can call me. Among other things, that is who I am." It was somewhat unlike her to be cryptic, but the situation seemed to call for it. As long as he did not make the connection to the Teen Titans, they could continue on the same page. It was imperative that he understand she was not here on behalf of the team, but rather on her own. She'd taken a special interest in this case.
Raven nodded again, confirming his words. "Hypostasis indications that this is so. It tells me that someone thought this very place to be significant, and went to a lot of trouble to make it seem like someone in this house committed the crime."
Hesitating slightly, she nodded a third time to affirm his belief of her having empathic powers. The mob outside was loud and noisy, and they were making her head hurt with all of the emotional static, but it was clear that they were worried & frightened of what was going to take place next. A few people were there just to be angry at the government and 'the Man' as a whole, while others showed genuine grief at having learned a friend was dead. But guilt felt .. different. It left her with a different impression, and she could not find it outside of the house.
"No. It is as you think it would be; they're frightened for their future. The good neighbors of the lot are sorry for the young man's death. There are the usual hot heads, of course, but their number is much fewer than it would appear. 'That mob' as you said, are just concerned citizens," she replied, steadily. "But the brother.. I got odd, conflicting feelings from him. It was in his mannerism as well, I would be surprised if you didn't notice."
Reply
"Then you can clearly tell that this situation requires considerably more finesse than the typical crimefighter's usual answer of 'beat up the bad guy.'" A method which he had far too much experience with.
"We both suspect the brother, although I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the wife. Our issue, however, is finding enough proof to support our suspicions. Since you've established the 'mob' is not so- malignant- as I'd feared, this shouldn't be too hard." But also not too easy. He needed a motive or the true scene of the crime. If he had either one, he could build enough of a case to properly accuse. For the motive, he had a few ideas, nothing he could be too sure of, but they involved the reasons why a young, beautiful woman like the wife would be wearing long sleeves and a turtleneck on a hot day (clearly her body temperature isn't lower than normal, she's sweating, she's uncomfortable), her inability to meet his eyes directly, and a half-dozen other little details he'd registered but hadn't wanted to consider until he could with confidence rule out the possibility of the activists committing the crime.
Reply
"Obviously," she replied, hesitantly. Beating people up was more Robin's thing; violence didn't bother her, but it wasn't her chosen method of solving everything. "It might involve some delicacy, from both of us."
Closing her eyes for a moment, she recalled what she could of the wife. The woman had stank of fear, grief and .. something else. Something she couldn't quite identify. Emotions were like scents - just because you knew what it was, didn't mean you could always name it. She hadn't noticed the clothing, but there had been an air of .. hesitance around her that Raven hadn't liked. It was obvious that Raven and Mr. Nigma were not going to hurt her .. so why had she remained on edge?
"She's frightened of something. And I doubt it's you or me. That and she knows something that she isn't telling us. She doesn't want to offer any information, which is strange. As the closest loved one, she ought to be offering even the useless things," she said finally, opening her eyes. Raven glanced away. "There is a possibility that whatever she wants to say, she's afraid of saying it in front of the brother."
Reply
He pulled his notebook back out, flipping to a blank page in preparation for his distraction. Before hearing her answer, he clarified the request, though he doubted she would need it. “We need to know if the victim ever conflicted with the anti-mutant group or the brother, and if the wife was ever abused. We need to know how she feels about her late husband and her brother.” His primary suspect was still the brother, and he felt that the wife knew exactly the information he needed to solve this case.
Reply
Hesitating slightly; Raven wasn't the best with people..., she nodded after a moment. "All right," she said, resigned. If the woman really had been abused, it was likely the wife would be uncomfortable talking alone with a man. Frightened, even. And there was no point in making a fuss if she could stick it out on her own and possibly help rather than hinder. (It was the hinder part she was worried about).
"The victim doesn't sound like the type who would, other than bringing attention to himself because of his appearance. Someone with weak powers, and a young wife, would try his best to stay away from militant groups," she added, but her eyes narrowed slightly. "The brother on the other hand. Mutations can run in the family, or be brought about by biological exposure. As his brother, he might have some sort of mutation that isn't clearly visible. You might want to be careful."
Nodding to him again, she glanced over her shoulder as she walked into the other room, winking solemnly. "Miss. You've suffered a terrible shock. Coffee is in order. I trust that you have a working kitchen? My friend will need to speak to your brother about the arrangements for the corp-, I mean, the deceased."
Stuttering and stumbling, the wife replied in the positive, and led Raven from the room, leaving the dead body and her brother all alone with Mr. Nigma.
Perfect.
Reply
The brother considered this, his sharp eyes lighting up as he realized this implied the detective was willing to consider the anti-mutant activists as suspects. He nodded gruffly and, casting one last glance at the timid wife, allowed Edward to lead him to the crowd gathered outside, just past the police tape.
"It's dem right there," the brother announced with a rumble, pointing triumphantly at a group of hard-faced men and boys. Edward was surprised by how young most of them were; it was likely that half the group was still high school aged. He wished the brother hadn't pointed, as the action caused the activists' faces to harden with hatred and defiance. They looked at him with unfriendly eyes.
"What're you bringing the mutie out here for?" one of them demanded. His question stirred the rest of the crowd, which Eddie noticed did indeed contain a lot of mutants, the "concerned citizens" Raven had mentioned earlier.
"You're not trying to arrest us, are you?" another asked. He glanced over the Riddler's lean (some might say scrawny) figure with a sneer.
"No," Edward answered patiently, checking his watch. At the rate the situation out here was degenerating, he could give Raven about ten minutes to conduct her interview, unless he could think of another distraction for the brother. "There is no evidence against any of you," he continued. "Although I would like to hear- from you- how you would have gone about killing him, if you were to do it."
He recieved incredulous stares from everyone within hearing distance. If he could keep them all unbalanced for the next... nine minutes and twenty-five seconds... Raven may be able to procure the testimony they needed to solve this case... and honestly, he didn't want to directly accuse the intimidating brother without a meta nearby to back him up.
Reply
The kitchen was comfortable and economical - chances were, like many mutants, they were living from paycheck to paycheck. It was only the high status celebrities who could make a decent living without facing prejudice. That and super heroes. "You must have spent a lot of time here," Raven said, carefully, softly. The woman shuddered slightly and nodded, placing a tea kettle over the stove.
Raven was at a loss. She didn't have any family memories she could give this woman to entice her into talking, and reading her mind felt .. dirty. Like picking through someone's dirty laundry. The wife was frightened. How did Raven want others to treat her when she was frightened? I'd just as rather them leave me alone, she thought to herself wryly.
"My friends, when we all lived together, we spent all of our time in the kitchen or the living room. I imagine with couples, it is much the same," she offered, finally, and the woman nodded again with her back turned. A wave of grief and guilt hit Raven hard, and she bit her tongue to keep her eyes from welling up. Emotions were difficult to manage. But why was she guilty? Her husband had been murdered, she'd found his body -- and yet there was an equal amount of grief as there was guilt. There should be more.
"Some ... friends, or lovers, don't take into account how much you care for them. Sometimes, they hurt you," she added, tentatively, and felt shame emanate from the woman. It wasn't a confession, but it showed she was on the right track. "They hurt you until you don't think there is anything left in life, and you aren't sure that there will ever be someone to save you. Like the sun is blotted out from the sky."
Raven's eyes softened slightly as she stood and crossed the kitchen, standing behind the woman, ready for her to lash out or cry, or do something. She could feel the emotions swirling, from confusion to shame, and then grief and guilt. Back and forth, it was enough to make her feel sick.
"You don't love them any more, not after that. You're just trying to survive after that."
The woman tensed up and reached into a high cabinet for the tea cups, her hands shaking. So far, though, she hadn't said a word. Raven couldn't see her face, but she imagined that it was blank. What she was saying was something no proud woman would admit. Giving the woman the facts and confronting her would only traumatize her when she did admit it. Raven had to be as gentle as she could.
"But when your brother, or father, or mother notices what he's doing to you and makes it stop .. then you have something new to hide."
Crash! A tea cup hit the ground and the woman turned, hand raised to slap Raven. Luckily, the girl was ready and had her by the wrist in an instant, pushing up the sleeves of the wife's long sleeve shirt. She was rewarded with bruises and burns in the shape of a cigarette butt. Someone had been using her as a human ashtray.
"You don't know anything about me!" The woman spat, and Raven nodded.
"No. I don't. But I know a lot about how you feel." Raven replied, feeling slightly nauseous.
"He beat you. He made you hurt, and you thought no one could tell. And then, one day, someone noticed. Life was getting unbearable, and you were going to quit living. Someone noticed, and killed him. And even though you knew that it was wrong, you had to stay silent - because you never thought the police could help you and stop what your husband was doing to you, and this person did."
continued.
Reply
Raven grimaced, and then filled the remaining cup with tea and boiling water. Kneeling to hand it to the woman, her face softened into a small smile. "You've done well. I'll take away the hurt for a while. Drink this, and sleep. You've done very well, now rest. I'll see to it that you see a doctor soon."
Pressing two fingertips on the woman's forehead, she took away the grief, pain and guilt, taking them into her own mind and mastering the emotions before replacing them with fatigue. She would sleep.
In the mean time, Raven had a job to do. A very, very distasteful job. But someone had to tell Nigma that their theory had been spot on.
ooc; Feel free to have her walk out and recap, this post just got away from me.
Reply
"He knows because they have thrown bricks at him before," the brother retorted with an alarming growl.
"So, a group of people, heavily armed, or a single man, incredibly strong," Edward summarized, staring at the brother.
"Or the wife!" another activist chimed in. "She could reflect other freaks' powers, I remember."
"She would never!" the brother roared angrily. "She is good."
"I suppose you have undeniable proof that she was not the killer?" Eddie inserted probingly. He locked eyes with the brother, daring him on.
The mutant stood still, jaw working furiously.
"Nothing to say?" Edward asked, turning his back to the others when he saw Raven exit the house. He reached her side in three quick strides, trying to read her face for any hint as to what happened inside. As usual, her face was frustratingly blank. However, he did not even have to ask.
"We were right," Raven announced.
Edward nodded slowly. "I hate it when I'm right. Well no, what am I saying, I love it when I'm right. But sometimes I hate the things I'm right about." As he talked, he caught sight of the brother out of the corner of his eyes. The mutant was staring intensely at something- or someone- on the roof of an opposing building. When Eddie glanced in that direction, all he saw was a brief snatch of fabric as someone moved away. "Regardless, the case is... closed..." The brother was lumbering toward them, his expression, for the first time that evening, completely blank.
((OOC: lol, I thought my reply was long; well, a lot had to be said, and that kind of conversation would have been cheapened if you tried to keep it shorter. Anyway, I didn't do much; I don't want to god-mod.))
Reply
Her eyes narrowed on the brother and her eyes shone with power suddenly, as she lifted her hands. She wasn't angry at him, more upset. Although her face didn't show it, she was disgusted by the situation. She wanted to hurt something. She wanted to fight. The crowd flinched in anticipation. No. Not now. Otherwise I'll be in a mess load of trouble. I'll let Nigma handle this, she realized, lowering her hands. It took a moment of imagining a cool, smooth lake to return her to her usual apathy about the situation. Even still, she would have to have a good cry out later.
Raven wasn't in the least bit frightened by what the brother might do - attack them? Silly, mutant he might be, but she had been raised on magic and fighting. And Nigma couldn't have survived this long in Gotham without picking up a few tricks for survival. Claim it wasn't him? She had a confession waiting inside.
"Your sister is in need of urgent medical attention for some old wounds," she remarked, finally, tactfully. "It seems, though, there won't be any new ones." She couldn't condone murder as the right or justified thing to do .. but she could understand the emotions that would lead a man to kill his sister's wife to protect her. Not on a personal level, but because Raven had felt them before and felt them on him now.
"Mr. Nigma? Would you like to handle the rest?"
Reply
"It was me. I did it. I killed him. I beat him to death in front of his wife and then tried to frame my enemies," the brother said simply. Oddly enough, despite the confession, there was a certain, satisfied glimmer in his eyes.
Eddie didn't like that look. "Well- good... then... the police are right over there, er, they have handcuffs. You, ah, you are sure you did it?" That... that just may have been the stupidest question he ever asked.
There is something else at work here... something... greater-
"Never mind. Your confession matches the evidence and the witness testimony, as I am sure you already know," Edward rushed on, trying to recover from his momentary speechlessness.
Something changed- in a short amount of time-
-when I was talking to Raven, that took what, five seconds?-
-she's such a chatterbox, I know-
-what happened?
He led the brother into the custody of the police, his thoughts racing. With the brother in oh-so delicate care of Gotham's cops- that may be a prejudice left over from my criminal career- he turned back to Raven. "That was unexpected and... highly suspicious." He wondered if perhaps he was just being paranoid.
Reply
Nudging Edward with her elbow, and rewarded with his 'Never mind', she watched the police lead the man away and then sighed heavily. The crowd, sensing that there was going to be nothing more to see .. well, they had better things to do (like gossip). People started streaming away, muttering about how strange things had turned out.
"He's not afraid," she murmured. "Everyone knows the danger of jail, and how most people don't make it out alive, regardless of your crime. That, or Arkham is in his future, depending on how his attorney sings his song. But he's not afraid. He thinks we don't know something. He thinks that there is something we've missed."
It was chilling. If it wasn't the mob, then who could it be? There was dozens of suspects, just in the city alone - and that was assuming that there wasn't anyone else outside of the city involved.
Drat. It looks like things were never as simple as they appeared.
Reply
He nodded slowly to her words. Of course the brother wasn't afraid. The entire case had been- wait, had she said Arkham? He shuddered at the name. No. No way was he ever going back there, for any reason. But she did have a point with the last statement- that sort of confidence only came when a man- or mutant as the case may be- thought he had the upper hand.
"Allow me to retract my previous statement. This case is far from closed, although the courts will not see it that way." Eddie pinched his brow. It was doubtful that there was any more information to be gained from the crime scene, the real one or the fake, though still worth a look. Of course, the police would soon be clearing both scenes, because they believed the case was closed. He had no other proof besides a hunch that something wasn't right so where else could he look- the wife?
Also worth a try, since she may haave more information or at least names, names of those who might be able to protect the brother, what was his name anyway?
Names. The brother trusted someone to take care of him. They needed names- they? Oh, yes, Raven. Eddie had forgotten she was here with him. He looked at her now, considering inviting her along for the rest of his (now somewhat illegal, but when has that ever stopped him before?) investigation. If these friends were mutants, he may need the superpowered back-up. Also, the girl had proven herself smart enough to keep up, and it was only fair to offer her an opportunity to finish what she'd started.
"If you care to continue the investigation... the wife still needs to be questioned further. We are looking now for reasons why the brother feels safe in surrendering himself. He is either a fanatic, or he has very powerful friends- or both, of course, or neither-" Stop babbling, Eddie. "Er, yes. Am I to assume you agree with me on this?"
Reply
Carefully schooling her expression and her emotions, she felt the twinge of fear from Eddie, and glanced at him sidelong. Had he been there? Something else to look up for her knowledge, just in case there was a key element of his past that she was missing. Just because they both were on the same side this time, didn't mean that would always be the case.
"We have more work to do, then," she replied simply, shrugging her shoulders. The police were a joke - they'd done their job so far, and no one else would care enough to investigate. Raven had no wish to hand this off to Nigma to work alone; something told her that this was bigger than the two of them. Somehow they'd become a 'we' in her mind, but she wasn't stupid enough to mistake that for real partnership or friendship.
Nodding once, she glanced back at the house. "She isn't in any condition to be questioned further. I'm sure she feels better than she has in years, but she needs rest and hospital care before we'll be able to get anything useful out of her. I could .. read her mind, but there are obvious legal and personal ramifications if I take that route," she replied, hiding a shudder. The feeling of being in someone elses head was not one she relished. "I do agree with you, but it seems like we'll have to regroup, cut our losses, and continue at a later date. There is nothing more we can do tonight."
Reply
Leave a comment