The shape of a perpetrator

[mari_grayson]

The Titans have assembled in the conference room. Nightstar picks up a copy of the note she and Grant were given by Yuri Ivanovich Mediev. "Okay, so Oracle confirmed there's nothing funny about the note itself. That leaves us with the message."

Mankind will soon assume its proper place. I should think that you would assist me in this endeavor,

Comments

[_nightwing_]

The physical descriptions we've gotten can't be considered an absolute, since it could just have been a disguise. We also can't afford to rule out the obvious - the wording and attitude sounds close to that of Ra's al-Ghul - yeah, I know, he's dead, offically, but that really doesn't mean much where he's concerned.

If not him, then perhaps someone who might share his worldview on mankind's "place".

He considers.

Naturally, it doesn't have to be a male, either. The man witnesses saw could simply be a proxy. This doesn't fit the typical MO's of a lot of the usual suspects, but it wouldn't be beyond the scope of someone like, say, Scarecrow for instance.

[mari_grayson]

"'Mankind's place,'" Nightstar says slowly. "Does that mean mankind is expected to survive? Poison Ivy or Jason Woodrue talk about how humanity's place is in the compost heap."

[clear_thinker]

"It also seems there are enormous financial and scientific resources involved - though anyone with the former might be able to acquire the latter."

[_bird_of_flame_]

"So, we're down to the 'rule the world' sorts, right? There can't be that many of those." Not that Bette really knows. Sure, she's read all of the files but she remembers the people she's dealt with in person better. "One of those rule the world through subjugation or.... what?"

[alt_minds2]

Aurora keeps quiet, thinking. The eco-terrorists she knew weren't so flowery or formal with their language. If she thought it would help...Well, better to look stupid for a moment than stay silent when you shouldn't.

"I...know some..." she bites her lip. "Well, they're radical environmentalists. The kind who believe Gaia would be better off with fewer of us. Some even call for voluntary extinction - not having children or withholding medical treatment. This stuff isn't the style of the folks I know, but maybe someone 'subcontracted' there?"

[mari_grayson]

"Or could subcontract in the future," Mar'i says thoughtfully. "Could you check your contacts, see what you can hear?"

[alt_minds2]

"There's a cell in San Francisco. They will NOT talk to a cape, so it's definitely going to have to be Aurora that approaches 'em."

[mari_grayson]

"Not all by yourself, I hope," frowns Nightstar. "Some kind of backup--either visible or not. If you're worried about being wired, maybe Beast Boy could ride along somehow?"

[middle_amazon]

I'm going to have to concur with Fauna. This.." She waves to the letter. "Sounds like someone trying to engineer an already engineered plague - a plague designed to mutate the human race." She turns to Cyborg and the Legionnaires. "Could this disease be engineered to remove superpowers. Mutate everyone to baseline human - in theory?"

[triplicated]

"In theory, probably. But in practice?" Triad Neutral glances at the scientists in the room.

[clear_thinker]

"Based on the notes? Absolutely, the potential is there. It'd take more than the research being done at STAR Labs, but that is a potential use for the virus.."

[_nightwing_]

Even a genius would likely take more time to achieve that than I suspect this person's planning on taking.