Introduction

It is the year 2009, four years after successfully stopping Magneto from destroying the Mutant cure. There was finally some peace between the mutants and the humans. Everyone was finally getting along, you still had your radicals of both sides, but no wars breaking out between the two species.

Special Mutant Investigator's:
The hero's of this story are two of the best students to ever attend Charles Xavier's University. Upon graduation, Lance and Melody were assigned to the Special Mutant Task Force. After a few ride alongs, Lance and Melody became partners. This is very rare for two young recruits to be paired together. However, Lance and Melody's powers worked well together. Electrified water was a hard combo to beat for the criminals of New York City.

Spearhead Alliance:
On a remote island lies the villains. A secret organization called the Spearhead Alliance. Lead by the Graham-Araújo family, their goal is find the strongest mutants to join the cause. Anything less than the greatest should be put down. Jae and Lillian, the direct blood line of the leader, were chosen to lead a special group of mutants. A special brother and sister rivalry fuels there quest to finding the strongest mutants.

Characters

Originally Posted by ClockworkLupine

The Hero--
Name: Melody Mercier
Also Known As: Striker
Appearance:
Striker is 5'9" with sandy blonde hair and piercing ocean blue eyes. She's got a toned hourglass figure but much to her chagrin, a small bust. Striker considers her best features to be her hips and long, shapely legs. More often than not, she'll wear daisy dukes and mini skirts to show them off.


(Click to see full size image)

Age: 21
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Race/Ethnicity: Mutant/Dutch and Cajun
Birthplace: Lafayette, Louisiana
Powers:
Electrokinesis, Striker has mastered the basics of her ability to manipulate and generate lightning. Her mentor Storm predicted there was much more to these powers than the young woman currently realized. In their current manifestation, they allow Striker to shoot lightning strong enough to inflict second degree burns. In rare instances Striker's lightning has been able to knock people unconscious for about five to ten minutes. She's unable to use her power during severe lightning storms as it might overcharge her body and kill her.
Personality:
Striker is pretty laid back and easygoing for the most part. In her downtime, one can usually find her eating a spicy fruit flavored lollipop and curled up with a good book. Much of the time she has what her peers call a 'benevolent deadpan' look on her face. However if she's talking about her favorite subject (food) Striker is very expressive and talkative. Many people mistake her general lack of facial expressions and leisurely pace as stupidity, flightiness, or nonchalance. In truth Striker is incredibly intelligent, possessing in depth knowledge of psychology as well as having keen attention to detail.
Bio:
Striker was born in Lafayette, Louisiana to a large family who loved her dearly. Being the youngest of eight siblings had its challenges for her in more ways than one. Firstly, she was what her siblings called the runt of the litter. Secondly, her powers awakened once she hit puberty and accidentally gave the family cat a jolt. Mr. and Mrs. Mercier decided it would be best for their daughter to go to a school for mutants. For several years they saved up until they could send Striker off to New York for college at Xavier University. She majored in criminal psychology and her eye for detail didn't go unnoticed. After training with the X-Men and Professor Xavier, Striker was assigned to a special investigations unit with several other graduates.

Originally Posted by Dustywebs

The Hero--
Name: Lance Holden
Also Known As: Hydrogen (Hydro for short)

Appearance:
Hydro is 6'1" with dark black hair and forest green eyes. He has a tone build, thanks to the rigorous training at the University. More often than not you can find him in simple clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt is how he feels the most comfortable.

Age: 23
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Race/Ethnicity: Mutant/ Caucasian
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Powers:
Hydrokinesis: Hydro has mastered the basics of his ability to freeze water into different shapes. He can maintain small amounts of water in his hands. At the university, Iceman took a strong interest in Hydro. He guided Hydro to fully accept his power and never stop trying to achieve his full potential. Imagination is Hydro’s greatest asset. As long as he can stay creative, his frozen objects can yield great results. He is unable to use his power when no water is present. He has not yet mastered how to pull water through other materials, but can sense the water is nearby.

Personality:
Hydro is somewhat of the quite type. He didn’t make many friends at the university because of the amount of time he spent trying to perfect his abilities. Any other time Hydro had, he spent learning. Find images of weapons, then creating them in ice and learning to wield them. The few individuals that did get to know him considered him to be the most trustworthy person they have ever met. Hydro would do anything from his close knit group of friends. Hydro comes off as a very serious person when it comes to school and training. In those few moments of time he has spent with his friends he is almost funny. A very sarcastic type of humor .

Bio:
Lance was the only child to a humble family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At a young age he grew to love the water. He would take tons of trips out onto the lake with his father. He first learned of his ability when spitting out water from laughing to hard. The water stayed in the palm of his hand. His family just wanted the best for him, and they knew that he would never be happy in Wisconsin. He was shipped out to the University for Mutants. His major was Criminal Justice, his father had always taught him to do what was right. So he felt this was a perfect major for him. Upon graduation, Lance was assigned to a special investigations unit with several other graduates.

Originally Posted by ClockworkLupine

The Antagonist--

Name: Lillian Graham-Araújo
Also Known As: Thorn, Widowmaker
Appearance:
Thorn is 5'1" with hair so black it has natural navy blue highlights. Her eyes are a honeyed hue of golden yellow. She's a buxom girl with a petite, fit figure. Thorn can't stand her height and will often wear high heeled or platform shoes to compensate. The only colors she'll wear are black, white, and or blood red. Often she wears black or red lipstick. On her left shoulder blade is a tribal tattoo of a lance head showing membership in her father's organization.

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Age: 25
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Race/Ethnicity: Mutant/British and Portuguese
Birthplace: London, England
Powers:
Osteokinesis, she can generate and manipulate bone growths on the skin along her spine. Thorn can also manipulate the keratin in her fingernails so they grow into vicious talons at will. While it is possible for Thorn to use her bone growths like throwing knives, if she does it too often they will become brittle. She's required to have calcium infusions of almost 1,000 milligrams every three days or she suffers from moderate heart complications and bruises appear on her skin. If left untreated she could die.
Personality:
Thorn upon first meeting is sweet and warm. She'll use this to draw people in and deflect suspicion. The instant she no longer needs/wants you around or feels you have offended her, she transforms into a cold heartless individual. She's incredibly vain but not at all vapid. She's clever, finding her victims' weaknesses with enviable ease. The only people Thorn cares about genuinely are her immediate family. She doesn't believe in romantic love, preferring to feed her lust and desires instead. However Thorn has many men who are deeply in love with her at her beck and call. She refers to them as her 'devoted harem'.
Bio:
The founder of an elite pro-mutant group, the Spearhead Alliance, kept five wives. They all lived on a gorgeous private island off the coast of Greece with several other mutant families they had found worthy of joining their cause. The leader's two favorite wives bore his only children. The first was a boy and the second was a girl, Thorn. Thorn's powers emerged at the tender age of nine during intensive combat training. From there her father carefully cultivated his little princess into a deadly diva. Along with carefully chosen members of the Alliance, Thorn and her brother were sent to New York in hopes of finding more recruits. Perhaps even some of the legendary X-Men...

Originally Posted by Dustywebs

Name: Jae Graham-Araújo

Also Known As: Shadow

Appearance:

Jae is 5’8"with Jet Black Hair, so black that light shimmers off the top. His eyes are a hazel, but no one ever says how pretty they are. He has a thin body, and is nearly pale white. He rarely comes in contact with the sun unless he absolutely has to. In his love for darkness, he only wears the color black. Just like everyone in the Spearhead Alliance, he has a tribal tattoo of a lance head on his left shoulder blade.

Age: 26
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Race/Ethnicity: Mutant/British and Portuguese
Birthplace: London, England

Powers:

Umbrakinesis: Jae’s ability revolves around light, well the lack thereof. Any room with artificial light in it, he is able to make completely dark. He is not yet mastered how to block out the rays of the sun. In the darkness he is swift, he can see perfectly, without the need for night vision glasses. With intense concentration, he is able to control and move objects by their shadow. From being in the darkness so long, sunlight feels painful to his skin. His power has been rumored to be able to create darkness so dense, it can actually be used as a solid object for combat. Jae is unable to perform this.

Bio / Personality:

Due to the strict household environment, Jae is stern person. He earns respect through fear and anyone that stands in his way will regret it. For Jae it was always a competition, even though he was the oldest child, his sister Lillian was always the favorite. She was perfecting her power even before Jae knew he had one. He discovered his power from being so frustrated with his parents he closed himself into a dark room. His dad started to open the door to give him a “man-up speech” letting a small amount of light in. In Jae’s rage he blacked out the entire house from the light.

Thorn was always very nice to Jae, and even helped him train. For that, he liked her. Even with his sister’s love, he still secluded himself in dark areas, practicing his abilities. He needed to prove to his dad that he was as strong as his sister. No matter how strong he got, his dad never seemed to approve.
After being accepted into the Spearhead Alliance, he and his sister were selected to go on a mission to New York. Their job was to find people worthy for the Spearhead Alliance, if they aren’t they don’t deserve to live.

Participants:

Dustywebs: -- Hydrogren + Shadow
ClockworkLupine: -- Striker + Thorn

OOC

Reserved

The Plaza Hotel- New York, NY
Room 340, the Victorian Gothic Double Suite

"You know brother dearest, I think your right. Keeping the Humans as slaves is a good idea. They aren't completely useless, after all they made this fabulous hotel! Imagine what kind of mansion they could make us if we told them to?" Lillian flopped back on one of the luxurious black beds in their huge shared suite. She kicked off her black and white leopard stilettos, then extended her tiny foot towards her brother Jae. "My feet need a massage after all that work tonight. Please? I promise to help your back in return." She purred. Three murders in three different parts of New York had tired her out. It was much bigger than their home island, which only would hold a region the size of Brooklyn and Queens combined.

"Did you find any recruits? I only got two tonight." Lillian pouted, her golden yellow eyes gazed over Jae. If only she had been born tall like him. That would make things so much easier. People would take her more seriously without her having to break their arm or jaw to make her point. She sighed. Well, it would be good if he were in the lead for a change. Of course to her, this whole little competition element to their recruiting and extermination mission was play. She loved her big brother and wanted to help him get stronger. This had to be a great way. People often mistook her sisterly affections for something else but that was their problem.

---

SMI Headquarters- New York, NY
Dining Room

Melody calmly sipped her coffee and reclined in her chair. It had been an uneventful day, leading a "Say No to Drugs" talk for very young mutants had been the most interesting part. Kids were cute but they never served enough to eat at those events. Dinner was Chinese takeout. For her that meant four containers of steamed beef dumplings, three containers of white rice, and three containers of sweet and sour pork. For someone slender like Melody her appetite astounded more often than not. What could she say? She had a good metabolism.

Currently the calm blonde had a cheek full of pork while watching her favorite drama on TV. Ernesto the firefighter was about to propose to his girlfriend Nancy, when suddenly she'd been caught in bed with..."Awww! I was just about to find out who Nancy cheated with. Oh well, thank God for tivo." Melody said softly. Someone had come in and changed the channel to the news. Reports of a serial killer had begun two days before. She supposed it was natural to make sure no mutants had been targeted. The chair next to her creaked, bright blue hues looked over to meet her partner Lance aka 'Hydro'. "Wow. This is terrible. It's a wonder the human police haven't figured anything out about the killer yet." Melody wasn't the best with casual conversation but she tried.

The Plaza Hotel- New York, NY
Room 340, the Victorian Gothic Double Suite

“Sister, I am not one of your ‘devoted harem’, those tricks will not work on me.” Jae said as he sat in the chair next to the bed. He always had a soft spot for his sister. She had been the only one to show him even the slightest bit of affection, however, not enough to belittle himself into massaging her feet. “I mean just think of all the things humans make: clothes, shoes, and lots of stuff. We would have to make everything ourselves. No mutant should have to waste their time on that when we could simply control them!” Jae said, with some distaste towards manual labor.

“I actually got three recruits today sister!” Jae said boastfully. It was the small victories, his sister was still leading overall, but he had finally beaten her on one night! “A pair of twins and an older man; the twins will be a vicious combo once they get some training. Father will be proud!” Jae yawned as she stretched his lengthy pale frame. "Do you think the police know the people we removed are mutants? I threw a few of my strangled victims into the river to make it seem like they drowned. Maybe that will throw them off a little bit."

---

SMI Headquarters- New York, NY
Dining Room

Lance sat at the edge of his chair with a folder of his findings. ”Melody this is very serious.” Lance said in his stern voice. “I brought this up to the captain and he just blew me off. I am tired of doing these ‘Say No to Drugs’ speeches. We are better than that! We weren’t the top of our class at the university to talk about how bad drugs are. Something is going on here, but I just can’t put my finger on it. I need your help.” Lance knew that Melody had a knack for finding the peculiarities that he couldn’t. He handed her the folder and then laid the remote on the table between them. He stared as she opened the folder. He was anxious to hear what she thought; he valued her opinion immensely, even if she was a little silly at times.

Like Lance, the folder was filed with information that was to the point. Melody combed over everything at her own pace. She spotted several interesting points in the case file that aided her in coming up with a theory. But as usual her face didn't betray anything other than simple complacent existence. However a special gleam could be seen in her eyes. The wheels were turning and calculations were being made.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. Should have said 'the killers'...Yup. It's two people." Melody looked up from the papers to pop another dumpling into her mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, she swallowed then added, "One is most likely a woman. She's never been married and is young. The other is young as well and most likely a large man. He's very strong but doubts himself. Wow, these dumplings are fantastic!" She smiled brightly and eagerly ate another morsel.

---

"Oh gosh, when do police ever truly get it right?" Lillian laughed, readjusting so she lay on her side facing Jae. "That's why they have so many books about other people cleaning up the cops' mess. They probably think it's just one of their own gone psycho." The younger sibling quipped and rolled her eyes. Humans and especially their cops were laughable when it came to problem solving.

"I'm just glad you found some potential firepower for us. Daddy might even smile." She yawned, closing her eyes and bringing the covers around herself. They had a big day tomorrow and Lillian was exhausted. "Tomorrow you pick who goes where. It's the least I can do to congratulate your temporary lead." She teased. "I love you Jae. Goodnight..."

Jae smiled, “Goodnight sis. I will plan something for tomorrow then.”

Jae left his sister room, shutting the lights of as he walked out. He walked over to his room and grabbed a map.

A few of his sources had told him that there was an anti-human cell over in the East Williamsburg. Right off of interstate 278, in one of the abandoned warehouse buildings. “That will be a perfect thing to do tomorrow. I have been saving this tip for the perfect time. We can set out right before it gets dark and see if we can track these mutants down.”

Jae stayed up late planning out other things for his mutant team. He need to make sure he got this perfect for his big shot at being in charge tomorrow. “Pfft… Temporary Lead…” Jae said to himself. “We will see about that.”

---

Lance decided to help himself to some Chinese food. He was starving and it looked like Melody had plenty. She never stopped amazing him with how much she could eat, let alone afford! “You must have eaten your parents out of house and home.” Jance said jokingly.

“I am still amazed at how you can do that, but I am glad you are on our side, and not a criminal. How do you get stuff about their personality from murders? Do you think these two people are working together or are separate? I just have so many questions!” Lance said excitedly. He was finally making progress.

“Tomorrow during our patrol duty can we go out and do some actual investigating ourselves? I am going to train a little more before I head off to sleep.” Lance had been practicing a new ability. He wanted to be able to pull the water from pipes. He can only sense the water is in the pipes and has been unsuccessful at extracting the water. Regardless he tries every night and one day he will get it, he just needs to practice more.

With her nose still in the file, Melody somehow managed to reach over and snatch a dumpling off Lance's plate. She replaced it with some more sweet and sour pork. "Sorry, the dumplings are sacred. Don't touch please. Have some more pork instead, it's really good...Hm..." She turned a page then back again several seconds later. Something didn't add up.

The victims didn't have anything in common, at least on the surface. She would have to dig deeper on that in the morning. "No, all eight of us ate like that. All eight siblings that is. I'm the baby and the shortest one. Now that I think about it, Papa can eat two whole pizzas by himself and still have room for more...maybe it's genetic." The tall blonde giggled then turned back solemnly to the case file.

Lance had posed a good question. There were indeed two killers but motive, victim commonality, and whether or not they were working together was still up in the air. After polishing off her second carton of rice, Melody put the folder down. "I can tell basics about who they are from the following. I determined gender based on the method of murder." Her blue eyes lacked any whimsical quality they usually held.

When in this mode Melody meant business. Any dizzy seeming qualities peeled away to reveal a highly competent, sharp individual. "A healthy 7 times out of 10, women tend to be poisoners. They statistically lack the upper body strength to strangle a grown man with their bare hands. Men are found to be more likely to strangle another person if he feels the other is easily overpowered physically. Otherwise, they resort to weapons as a second resort. No evidence of a secondary weapon is present on the strangling victims, but hand marks are clear."

Next she held up two photos. Both were of notably handsome men no older than their early thirties. "With the age, I can determine based on the circumstances of the murders. Ben Franklin once advised a young friend that he should want an older mistress. One underlying reason being that the chances of being caught were slimmer, as older women were wiser and craftier about hiding things. This holds true for our little poisoner." Melody tapped the pictures insistently to keep Lance's attention.

"She would have had to rush from one crime scene to another to make the time line up for the other poisoning murder that took place the same night. I'll bet the crime scene was littered with signs of hastiness. Also men in this caliber of appearance are notorious for lusting after younger women." After slipping the photos back into the folder she pushed it back towards Lance. Melody decided not to overwhelm him which in her 'bloodhound' state would be easy to do.

She cleared her throat and returned to her usual self. Her refined features relaxed from their stern expression into her benevolent deadpan. "Oops. Got too far into it again. I can tell you more later if you want but I don't want to melt you face off with details. It can be so surreal...heh..."

Lance starred at Melody as she explained the details to him. He tried to hold all of the knowledge, but knew he was going to have to ask her to repeat some tomorrow. It was getting late and his brain was operating at 100%.

"Well, I am glad we are on the right track. I will see you tomorrow; don’t stay up all night eating, Melody. It’s supposed to be bad for you…, well I guess no worse than eating 4 boxes of Chinese food." Lance chuckled. "Just let me know when you have time to go visit the crime scenes tomorrow. Do we want to start bright and early?"

Melody stuck out her tongue playfully at him. She could eat what she wanted, thank you very much. Yes, she'd bought seven boxes in total. But the three boxes of rice had come with the meal and they were small! "People with cute little birdie stomachs just don't understand. Besides I'd have been crazy not to snag the dinner special."

She patted the file gently and smiled at the tired brunette. "Please leave this with me tonight. I like to read before bed and this tells some really interesting stories. See you bright and early tomorrow Lance!" The lack of commonality between the victims bothered her. Maybe if she went over the news recordings as well she could piece something together.