Hide yo Kids, Hide Yo Wife

[Karima Shapandar]

{desc=(Closed, Tag Crow)}It's difficult to keep in mind how fragile the human body is. How easy it is to cut or burn or otherwise destroy. The way titanium alloy razor blades move through a fresh corpse with perfect precision and accuracy like a hot knife through butter. Peeling away layer after layer, skin, muscle, bone, tendon and nerve. But these injuries aren't the cause of death, they're quite a different kind of maiming. Their purpose is not to kill but to learn.

Karima stands before the body of a recently deceased, a bloody mess now. The corpse laid open like a science project. Karima's fingers split open at the tips, with claw shaped razor blades protruding from each one. She was looking for something very specific, something that other forensic pathologists might've missed. The body lays open on a silver table which sits on wheels. Near her is a bed of instruments that are normally used in autopsies, but not a single spec of blood is on them.

Two other forensic pathologists stand around, awed and stupefied by what they've just witnessed. Not even the men and women with literally decades of experience that taught them how to do their jobs could've pulled off such a clean and thorough autopsy as such that Karima had just done.

"Previous conclusions are accurate. This is another victim of the suspect shield is pursing. How ever, I did find, as I mentioned before, that the victims nervous system was burned out from a starting point, rather than all at once as previously hypothesized. The area where the nerves are more heavily charred begins around the groin and leg area, the lower spinal column."

"How could you possibly know that? There is no evidence of that and our conclusions found there was no nervous tissue more burned than the rest."

One of the younger pathologists protested, late 20s, black hair, as Karima began to move away from the cadaver towards a sink to wash her bladed hands. Karima did not look at him as she silently cleaned the blade claws in her fingers, and once they were clean, they sank back into her hands with mechanical clock work like motions, the blade withdrawing as her fingertips closed in back to one nearly seamless fingertip.

"Any studies done with microscope of samples taken would have been disturbed in the process to such a degree that the extremely subtle evidence of my claim would've been undetectable. The differences were very subtle, but since I do not need a microscope to see at 400 times magnification, I noticed the difference. It's an acceptable mistake. Regardless, given the victims increased GSH blood levels, and residues found around the penis and groin area, in addition to this new evidence, we can safely conclude our telepathic electrokinetic rogue mutant is likely a prostitute or sex worker of some kind. Now that I have seen the injuries in person, I will be able to identify further similar victims with a 96 percent chance of success without autopsy."

Beyond the two experienced pathologists present, a representative from the local NYPD is also present, a detective helping Karima on this case. The pathologist who had given protest was more or less feeling some-what inadequate after watching such a brilliant display. He looked to the other pathologist, who was also his superior, when the other pathologist looked back at him, she simply shrugged.

"Is there anything else you need us for?"

The senior pathologist asked, a middle aged woman with brown hair. Karima switched off the faucet after her hands were clean. She's wearing shield issue gear, though she removed the jacket for the autopsy, which left her in a simple gray tee shirt. The boots, the cargo pants, the jacket, it was all indicative of shield military grade. Karima replied as she made her way to the coat rack where her jacket was.

"No, thank you for your assistance. Please retain the body until our investigation is complete in case we need it for further study. Are you ready to leave?"

She said, as she began to pull her jacket on, one arm at a time, while looking directly at the detective that had been assigned to the case, late twenties, early thirties, brown hair, blue eyes, moderately attractive. He nodded and began to reach into his coat pocket for a lighter and his cigarettes.

Some time later the two of them are standing outside the hospital, near the rear entrance where the ambulances come and go for emergencies. The detective, Todd Vanwallen, is lighting a cigarette, after he takes his first drag, he speaks.

"They said you was good, I never seen nothing like that tho. I feel like an awkward third wheel or somethin, the chief wants me stickin close to yas, he don't trust ya, but after what I seen in this last few hours, I'm beginning to think I'm only slowin ya down. We gotta find that girl and help her before she kills anybody else."

Karima paused when the detective began speaking, she looked at him in the same deadpan expression as always. Nick Fury had pulled a lot of strings to get Karima on this case, she has no formal background, but her unique skill set doesn't require one. Allowing a third party to control and conduct an investigation to this degree is unprecedented, but Karima is nothing if not unprecedented herself.

"You are slowing me down, but it is not my decision. Now that I have the perpetrators scent, I can track her from the last crime scene, unless the trail has gone cold, at which time it may be necessary we split up and begin questioning known pimps in the area where most of the murders have taken place. I suspect the pimps will be unwilling to cooperate, coercion may be required."

The detective just laughed, even without having a single funny bone in her body, Karima always seemed to say something hilarious. At least, to the detective, maybe he's just a really big fan of flat toned humor, he'd love Mitch Hedberg. Regardless, he agreed by way of snarky comment, and the two went on their way.

A half hour later, they were standing around the scene of the latest murder, a seedy cheap barely operational motel room where all you needed was twenty bucks to get a room. This entire area is particularly dilapidated and poverty stricken, it's really no wonder why sex work might take place here. It's a rougher part of town too, occasionally, you might get a patrol car to just come cruising through here randomly, but usually never after dark, and the sun is setting soon.

After searching around the building and surrounding area while the detective followed almost like a lost pupppy, Karima was unable to find the trail. It had been several days since the murder, and these things simply do not last long. Karima caught out of the corner of her eye the detective yawning just as he was pulling a cigarette to his mouth, at that point, she paused and turned to look at him.

"You should go home and get some rest Detective Vanwallen. I will not require sleep for 36 more hours, I will continue to work the case. Do not worry, I will send updates to your cell phone."

The detective scratched the back of his head as the cigarette he'd just lit hung loosely from his lips, he took another drag, then plucked it from his mouth and exhaled a plume of smoke as he responded.

"Well alright, you've got all the info ya need. You sure you don't want a gun or somethin, this is a rough neighbor hood after dark, hate ta leave you out here all alone."

He wanted to say something about how beautiful she was, and how being a pretty girl like that would draw in just the kind of attention she didn't want, never mind the thugs looking to give authorities a hard time regardless. Karima simply shook her head.

"I do not need a gun and I will be fine. I am like, as you so eloquently put when we met, a terminator. In the unlikely event I do need backup, I will call shield, as it is unlikely that if I need backup, the NYPD will be able to provide adequate backup."

The detective seemed a little insulted, but he supposed that with her being a walking swat team and all, she did have a point. Cops were crowd suppressors, if a girl like Karima needed back up, then all they could do is throw more swat at the problem, best case scenario. He had a feeling she was hinting at something else though, something to do with mutants, in which case, yeah he'd rather let Shield take care of it. He's been on the force long enough to have lost a good cop or two to some rogue mutant, and he'd rather not do it again. He doesn't hate mutants, but he is also not a fan of how randomly powerful and unpredictable they can be.

"Heh, Yeah, alright, well yous just give me a call, alright? I'll be by my phone, and my wife thanks you."

He smiled, and then turned to head back towards his car. Karima didn't feel any extra distinction from her decision to tell the detective to go home. It meant literally nothing to her, except that now she had a certifiable reason to send him away so she could work easier without having to constantly watch him. He was right earlier, he was like an awkward third wheel, but Karima had simply dealt with it. She didn't feel strongly for or against the idea except in a logical since that it was literally impeding her investigation to have him along. Still cooperation with the local authorities was something Karima understood as necessary.

There had been several murders in this area, all with the same MO, burned out eyes, burned out nervous systems, victims found either naked or nearly naked in seedy local motels you wouldn't expect people of their stature to be, all the victims were men. It stood to reason that the perpetrator had not committed the crimes in the same area where she lived, but it also stands to reason that this six square block area is the best place to start looking.

A short while after the detective left, nightfall fell across the city. It didn't take long for the hoodlums and unsavory types to come out. Many of them just had day jobs and were coming home. It was a well populated area, many apartment complexes and small businesses, garages, warehouse hang out spots. Karima had no contacts and very little information to go on. Even with DNA and fingerprints, they had no file on her, all they knew was that the same girl had committed all the murders, the murders all had the same MO. She was likely an illegal alien. How ever, there were a lot of people in the area she could question.

The streets weren't silent though. Cars came and went through the area fluidly. Pretty girls walked up and down the side walks. Men driving cars that had more custom work done to them than some people spend on their entire car cruised at arrogantly slow speeds up and down the various boulevards.

Karima approached a group of young girls, they were all in their late teens and early twenties, with one who seemed like she was maybe in her late twenties. They were prostitutes, no doubt about it, they had the look, the swagger, and had been hanging out in one destination for the last thirty minutes.

"Hey there girly, aint very often we get shield agents in this part of town, you looking for a good time? I'm not into doing girls, but Jamie and Vanessa are."

The older girl of the group greeted Karima as she approached, truth be told, the younger girls were intimidated by anybody official looking, they lived life by barely hanging on from a thread, they never knew if they would be able to pay rent or put food on the table from week to week and the last thing they needed was jailtime for doing the only thing they knew how to do, but the older girl had experience, she knew her rights and knew how to deal with cops and suits.

When The older girl references two other girls, two of the younger blondes wave and smile, and one of them calls out to Karima, her voice is silky and lovely.

"Maybe you wanna try both of us at once? What do you say cutie."

They normally wouldn't be so open to flirting, but Karima was gorgeous, she might have the personality of a brick, but beauty alone can take you far in this world. But only so far, so when she finally opens her mouth to speak, the tones that come out make the other girls much less friendlier in demeanor.

"I am here investigating some recent murders in the area. We have reason to believe that a prostitute, possible mutant, is responsible and I was curious if any of you had any information on it."

The girls went quiet, and all looked at one another, they seemed unsure if they should say anything. The little meeting had come to a stand still, and fast.

[Crow]

Crow had forgotten how much she hated apartment hunting. It had been over two years since the last time she needed to relocate; incidentally, that was about the time she'd given up on sleeping and eating in them. She barely used them as it was, and having them get blown up was definitely a surprise. Still, she did need at least one. They were good places to store clothing, and take showers. Not having either of those abilities had been getting seriously irritating over the last week. She'd had to resort to petty theft, like she was still a homeless teenager. Awful.

And so she sat in a cafe, using their wifi to apartment search. She was considering getting a nice penthouse this time. Maybe Manhattan. They were ridiculously expensive, but she had the money. Luxuries weren't normally her thing. Even a nice penthouse was something of a matter of practicality; she was hoping that the height would do something to help distance her from things that set off her telepathy. Having a place that would be migraine-free was appealing. Crow sipped at a cup of coffee slowly, staring at some luxury apartment tower's website. It was all cursive lettering, animation sequences that seemed jerky under her enhanced vision, and softly-lit rooms. Absolutely riveting.

A high-pitched beeping, far above the human range of hearing, caught her attention. Her phone. She pulled it out of a pocket and glanced at the screen, surprised by the number there. It was Todd. He hadn't called in a while. Considering he'd handed her off to some new guy, she assumed that she'd scared him off. But she hadn't heard from Jenkins for a while, either. She really wasn't sure why, in his case. She didn't think she'd done anything to scare him off. She certainly hadn't turned into a bear, pinned him, and roared in his face. Poor Todd. Although, to be fair, he'd deserved it. He'd been very rude.

After another ring, Crow answered her phone. “Todd,” she purred, voice soft and just a touch menacing. “Strange to be hearing from you, and not Jenkins.”

“Crow. Thank god. Thought you might be dead, no one's seen you since that explosion at your place. Hyatt's disappeared. Speaking of which, there were a few other ex—“

“If you cared about my health or my business, you would have called two weeks ago. What do you want?” Crow replied dryly. The police knew about one of her apartments. She'd ignored the fact they bugged it; sometimes that was a useful way to pass them information. Undoubtedly they'd been aware the instant Scotch blew it up. When it was shortly followed by two more explosions, they'd likely put the pieces together. She didn't him asking questions, though, just in case the fourth explosion was brought up. That one was her doing, not Scotch's. There had been...collateral damage. SHIELD's prototypes had been even more effective than she expected.

There was a long moment of silence. Crow waited. If Todd had anything useful to say, he'd get to it soon. If he didn't, then she had better things to do than make small talk. Or tell him why she'd blown up half of a street. Although, honestly, he had no right to be pissed off for that. She'd waited until after the cops had left.

“I was wondering if you knew anything about some new killer,” he began, tone obviously cautious even through the phone. Yup. Todd was still afraid of her. Smart man.

“You're going to have to be more specific.” He wasn't talking about Scotch, was he? Crow still needed to have a long, menacing talk with him about that. The assassin's main source of information on her seemed to be police files, which meant someone inside had given them to him. Granted, if he did want information about Scotch, that was going to get a little embarrassing. He was almost as good at covering his trail as she was. She still hadn't found much on him, and she was hesitant to try calling those phone numbers she'd gathered without more research. As Todd continued, however, it quickly became clear that he wasn't talking about the asswipe that blew up her houses.

“Prostitute, killing johns. Seems to be a mutant, or...something. Victims have their eyes burned out, and some sort of nervous system damage. SHEILD's all but kicked us off the case. They have some girl working it. She's good, but I don't think she's all there, y'know? Name's Karima Somethingorother. Pretty girl, actually some sort of Terminator robot. Autopsied one of the victims with these...claws. I think she's still in Queens's red light district.”

Ah. So the police wanted someone deniable to keep an eye on this SHIELD agent. She wasn't exactly in the habit of doing favors for the police, but...this was interesting. Nearly anything that SHIELD got their hands into was. It was one of the reasons why she'd been willing to work with them, once. Amazing how things changed. If there were 'terminator robots' as well, she should probably keep an eye on them for herself. Robots were dangerous. They couldn't be bargained with.

“I'll look into it.” She hung up, shoved her phone back into her pocket, and stood up at her table. Crow wouldn't necessarily report back to Todd—Todd was a little bitch—but SHIELD was involved in something in her city, and that meant she should probably take a look. Besides, there were hookers and murders and robots. It definitely sounded better than apartment hunting. She folded up her laptop, shoved it into her case, and walked out of the cafe. Now for the fun part: finding out a place to start.

It was a pity that she couldn't get Seeker in on this case. He would have loved to help, if he weren't busy being held captive by the Brotherhood. As much as Crow hated to admit it, he was the best person around for tracking down known entities. He was also significantly better acquainted with New York's hookers than Crow was. Hell, he probably would have tried testing this one out, just to see what happened. Hmm. She had to wonder if SHIELD had taken her advice yet, and looked into the fact that he was missing. Possibly. Hopefully. She almost missed the bastard.

After dropping off her stuff in the hotel room she'd rented, Crow made her way over to Queens. She was familiar enough with the area; there were a few strip clubs that she liked to use for meeting spots. Public spots with lots of noise and distraction. Safe, but free of eavesdroppers. It was also a pretty crowded neighborhood. Finding one 'pretty girl who was actually a robot' would be difficult. Finding victims, though. That would be faster work. Once in the area, it had been another half-hour of work to gather rats. She preferred her pigeons, if possible, but it was getting late. They were daytime birds. Besides, if she was looking for another victim, they would probably be inside.

In the form of a cat, Crow prowled through a dark ally, reaching out mentally to the animals she'd gathered on her way here. There were at least a hundred, but counting them would be a waste of time. All of them moved out of her way, as instincts to avoid predators fought the telepathic compulsion to stay nearby. She started out with a tentative thought about dead humans, and got a few immediate responses from recent memories. There had definitely been something odd going on. Crow took a closer look at the images they presented, and found eyeless men. That was definitely it. Grabbing hold of one of the clearer mental images of a victim, she impressed it into the minds of the rats. ~Go. Find more. You'll be rewarded.~

They disappeared. Most seemed to be willing to help; bribing usually worked well on rats. Now for the rest of the equation. This time, Crow shifted into a small owl, and took off into the air. She'd need to cover a lot of ground if she was going to find the SHIELD agent with nothing more than Todd's rough description. Pretty robot girl. In an area filled with pretty, non-robot girls. This would be interesting.

Amazingly enough, it didn't take long. The SHIELD uniform stood out in stark contrast to most of the people here. Crow slowed her flight, watching intently as the agent talked to some hookers. Adorable; they were flirting with her. Karima's response was less than receptive; if Crow had the body parts, she would probably be facepalming about now. Well, if that was the type of way she confronted possible witnesses, Crow was in absolutely no danger from some robot police force. Continuing her flight, she dropped down a few buildings away to shift back to human. Unlike a certain terminator, she was dressed for the area: combat boots, jean shorts, and a tank top that clearly displayed her gaunt figure. If not for the scarring, it would have been easy to mistake her for some addict-turned-hooker.

She strolled down the street at an easy pace, no longer in any rush to find the SHIELD agent that had taken over Todd's case. As she got closer, it was plain to see that the hookers she was talking to were nervous. Understandably so. Even if they didn't know the killer directly, they weren't about to turn one of their own in. Crow slowed, and then stopped, about ten feet from the group. She hooked her thumbs around the shorts' belt loops, and shifted her weight to one foot. It was one of the worst positions to be in, if she needed to run or fight. That was entirely the point. Her gaze, still sharp and predatory, contradicted her relaxed pose. No need to get involved yet. It would be interesting to see if Robocop could get herself information now that she spooked her witnesses.

[Karima Shapandar]

The quartet of younger girls all looked at one another when Karima proposed her question. The older girl of the group looked back at them as well, then looked back at Karima. Crow's initial assumption was true, they wouldn't give this cop any information about a prostitute if murder was involved. Immediately, they all drew the same conclusion, the men probably had it coming. These girls rarely ever see the nicer side of the rougher sex and they're all quick to judge.

"We don't know nothing, so unless ya here for some other business, jus keep walkin."

Karima had expected such a response, as she had previously assumed, unsavory types usually required some sort of coercion or other to get them to warm up to her. She was still unclear why this was, perhaps it was her demeanor, or perhaps, more likely, it was some problem related to the human condition. Some emotional internalization that she couldn't understand. Previously, she would've been at a loss for what to say, but after having spent months down here in the streets, she had noticed a trend. People who were poverty stricken, and otherwise seemed to have it rough sometimes held a sort of camaraderie for one another. Sometimes they didn't, and sometimes they even fought with one another over the most inconsequential things, how ever, mysteriously, in other incidences they would bend over backwards for one another, risking personal safety and livelihood for one another. Karima couldn't understand the connection, but she was learning. Still, in a rare expression of empathy, Karima drew a conclusion that may just wind up being the right one for a change.

"Two weeks ago I lived on the same streets as you. I was homeless and stole when I needed to eat. I am also a mutant, and Shield found me, and gave me a place to stay and a temporary job to do until I figure out what I want to do. It is not my intention to harm the girl responsible, but she is a danger to herself and those around her. Alternatively, she may be committing these murders on purpose in which case she is still dangerous, even to you. Additionally, she is killing customers and I would assume repeat business accounts for roughly 43% of your annual earnings."

The older girl in the group just started laughing when Karima tried to lay some sob story on her, but when she mentioned repeat business, something in her head just kind of clicked and her laughter died out pretty quick. Karima hadn't meant to specifically divulge the actual statistics, but she had done the math based on one of the many acquaintances she made while living in the streets who was also a prostitute and spoke with Karima at length about what she did, incidentally, while also attempting to talk Karima into doing it herself.

Before any other exchange could take place though, one of the younger girls, the youngest in fact, kicked out of her home by a divorced alcoholic father nearly a year ago, found refuge among women like the one currently acting as shield for the rest against this cops 'harassment'. She's pretty, brown hair, a bit on heavy side, but it really only enhances her curves.

"Actually, Megan told me about some girl who saved her from Bruno and his gang a month ago, some really hot Indian chick, kind of like what she looks like...Probably aint the same, but...could be."

The older hooker looked back at her with a frown, like the last thing she expected was for one of her 'sisters' to get behind the cop, she sneers and scoffs. Her earlier thought about repeat business was immediately washed from her head by the light amount of betrayal. Still the expression on her face for that split second, she knew something, she knew a lot more than she was letting on at least, unfortunately, Karima lacked the empathy to see it. Her retort is quick and vicious.

"Yeah right, that don't mean shit. Look, just get out of here, I know my rights alright, who ever it is, I don't know and neither do any of them, so just get lost, freaky weird cop girl."

Karima simply continued to stare with the same listless expression on her face. She had been the hot Indian check to save Megan from Bruno, but at that point, she saw no point to further pursuing that avenue, if she had pressed it, she might've gotten further, but she didn't see the point, the initial attempt failed, why bother with additional attempts? She reached into her inner jacket pocket and pulled out some cards, along with a pen from another pocket. She didn't have any formal business cards, but these blanks would suffice for now. She quickly, actually faster than humanly possible, jotted down her telephone number in perfect Times New Roman font onto the cards, along with her name, and then handed each of the girls one of the cards.

"Very well. If you do learn anything. Give me a call at this number. It will be toll free to call, even at a pay phone. I will reward any information I receive. I am not a cop, I am not with shield, though I am helping them with this case, I work by my own rules. Please give me a call if you learn anything."

The older hooker just tore hers up, but the other younger girls took the card and just kind of fiddled with it. Two of them also ripped their card up, but two pocketed the card. They were all kind of wierded out or otherwise impressed by Karima's remarkable 'penmanship' as it were.

Afterwards, Karima began walking away from the group of girls, and straight towards Crow. Could just be a coincidence, right? Maybe she's going to question Crow the same way she just questioned those girls. If Crow knew what Karima was capable of though, she'd probably not feel so confident in her eaves dropping skills. Karima notices everything after all.

[Crow]

Considering her rough start, this SHIELD agent was doing better than Crow expected. She could see the prostitutes almost considering her words. Maybe if Karima Somethingorother was able to actually emote, they would have gone for it. As it was, however, Todd's description of her as a robot seemed to be fitting. In addition to her obvious lack of personality, the vital signs Karima were giving off were decidedly not human. Her smell, as well, was strangely mechanical. Now that Crow knew it, she was pretty sure she'd be able to sense the girl a half-mile away. The SHIELD robot was young, too. Probably no older than twenty. Pretty face; nice assets. Crow would tap that.

Almost as interesting was the information that the oldest girl was giving off. Her heart rate was fast, and Crow could smell the adrenaline on her. She was angry, sure, but more than that. She was nervous, and definitely hiding something. Crow didn't think she was the murderer—there wasn't quite enough of a reaction to justify that—but she was involved somehow. That was a very useful thing to know. Now, if she knew and liked the killer, what was the first thing she'd do after the SHIELD agent stopped talking to her? Warn her friend? Cover up another crime scene that she knew about? Seemed likely. If her rats didn't come through, then she'd need to keep this girl in mind. Crow committed her scent to memory, and made sure she knew her face. If she needed to track her down later, she'd be able to.

It seemed like Karima was wrapping up her questioning, even if she hadn't gained the results she wanted. Crow watched, interested, as she scribbled down something onto some cards. Hmm, enhanced speed? Useful. She caught a glimpse of the actual writing a second later. That was one of the funniest things she'd seen all week. Not, of course, that she was laughing. Or smiling. Or doing anything other than simply observing the scene in front of her. She was pretty sure that the hookers hadn't noticed her yet, and keeping it that way was preferable. Anything else might change their responses.

As expected, the oldest girl immediately tore up the card, scattering the pieces on the sidewalk. A pity, that. Having a tracer on business card would have been an easy way to find her, later. Finally, Karima turned her attention away from the hookers, and towards Crow herself. She didn't so much as twitch, but her pale green eyes met the cyborg's brown ones. Behind her, the girls milled around, talking to each other...except the eldest, who took off at a brisk walk. She quickly noted the direction that the hooker was traveling before turning her attention back to the SHIELD agent. Yes; if Crow was going to help with this investigation, that one was definitely worth keeping an eye on.

But she wasn't entirely sure she'd help yet. She might pretend to help, if only because it would keep Karima from driving her off, but she still didn't have any reason to get involved with the case itself. Humans killed humans all the time. Humans or mutants; didn't really matter. Unless she was either shooting or being shot at, Crow tended to not care about death much.

Slowly, Crow began to circle around the SHIELD agent, evaluating her. Her movements were slow, but not quite fluid; instead, they had a strange, spiderlike grace. She gave the girl a thorough once-over, making sure it was obvious enough for Karima to notice. Meanwhile, she did a quick mental probe of the area around her, trying to find out if any of her rats had noticed anything. Nothing yet, although on reported the smell of death. “Todd was right,” she commented quietly, “You are interesting. So. Why is SHIELD interested in this case?”

[Karima Shapandar]

The moment Crow came into Karima's field of vision, she began researching the woman. She did this to every one though, it was simply common practice and indeed in her nature to acquire as much information on a situation as she could in order to make informed, educated decisions about that situation. She only mainly has legal access to Shield's databases, which usually don't pull up much info on any one Karima encounters, given that she scans every one that is. How ever, crow pulled up a nice big file, it took Karima only a half second or so to read it. By the time she was done, she had a nice big warning sign in relation to Crow which read something like Approach with caution.

As soon as she finished her interrogation with the girls, she approached Crow and stopped just a few feet short of her. She turned her head, but not her body as Crow circled her with that predatory stance. Karima of course had no reaction.

"Answering your question fully will require five hundred and two words. Would you like me to proceed? I am curious if you know anything regarding the recent murders in this area featuring victims with burned out eye sockets that are found naked or nearly naked. By Todd I assume you mean Todd Vanwallen, by proxy of mentioning his name, I'm going to assume you have information or can aid in the investigation. I assume he called you?"

Karima calculated the likelyhood that Todd had called this woman to be fairly high, she didn't even need to hack into Todd's phone records to learn that, though she thought about doing so, she figured it was best if she didn't. She was slowly learning about personal boundaries and privacy. She knew the laws, in fact she's probably one of the best lawyers on the planet, but she didn't usually follow all the laws

[Crow]

As Crow circled Karima, she did a more thorough inspection of the SHIELD agent. The results only served to further solidify what she'd already picked up, and what Todd had mentioned. Her finely-tuned hearing picked up on the quiet noises of machinery, a voicebox that was faintly tinny, and the high-pitched whine of electricity. Karima's smell was mostly inhuman as well, although less identifiable. But not entirely inhuman. Crow inhaled more deeply, analyzing as much as possible about her scent. There were traces of other people on her; none Crow immediately recognized except Todd. Traces of shampoo and soap; very little scent of what she'd last eaten. Her last meal had been quite some time ago. More interestingly, there was absolutely nothing in her scent to indicate stress, or excitement, or lust. No emotional response whatsoever. Her uniform and personal grooming were impeccable; her movements and speech both impossibly precise.

Robotic. Fascinatingly robotic. Cold reading her had turned up next to nothing, besides what Todd had already mentioned. Oh, this Karima was going to be fun. Crow would need to thank Todd later. Buy him something nice, perhaps. Apologize for that bear incident. Well, maybe not. He had deserved it.

“By all means. Continue,” she replied simply, stopping once she'd made a full circle around the cyborg. There was no need to give her confirmation that the detective had sent her; it was likely that Karima had some sort of recording device. Crow was absolutely certain that Todd didn't want to be officially connected to her. She wouldn't want to cause that sort of inconvenience for him. Not right now. He'd given her a shiny new toy. And as for information on the case, Crow was still working on it. She'd be able to give a better reply in a few minutes. If Karima spent that time talking about SHIELD, all the better.

But it wasn't entirely a play for more time. She did want to know why SHIELD was so interested in a simple string of murders, even if a mutant was involved. It was possible that one of the victims had been someone involved with SHIELD. More likely, they were looking for recruits. The Tank program was...growing. Crow had heard tell that this was a wonderful time for Seeker to be as far away from them as possible. Still, a prostitute. Killing johns. It seemed rather trivial for SHIELD. Was this how they had decided to haze new recruits?

[Karima Shapandar]

Karima noticed immediately that Crow did not answer any of her questions. It did not bother Karima, she could simply ask them again. She found most humans tended to forget things in their short term memory and crow apparently seemed more interested in Karima than cooperating with her. This was also not surprising and in general, most people are distracted by her demeanor. She is already working on a number of solutions to this problem, but ultimately, restoring her formerly lost humanity will be the most permanent solution.


"Shield occasionally involves itself in daily law enforcement affairs when recruitment for their new tank program seems meritable. For example, they took notice of a simple theft I made a few weeks ago, and investigated. Involvement in this particular case did not maintain a high priority in their queue of tasks, how ever, since I was available and can stand in for an entire team, for free, they asked me if I would like to investigate. I am acting on behalf of Shield, but I am not employed by them, nor do I wish to be. Their interest in this particular mutant pertains entirely to the tank program. I was sent to investigate the case by interview only. After contacting the liaison between shield and the New York Police Department, we sat down and discussed the details of the case, I was in direct contact with a ranking shield agent during the interview, who was to determine if further involvement was worth the trouble after the discussion. The New York Police Department had asked a number of other experts on supernatural or mutant affairs to lend aid, but Shield was the first to respond since the pattern was detected five weeks prior. There were very few leads to follow on but when I arrived I was informed there was a fresh cadaver from a recent murder that was suspected to be involved but had not yet been autopsied. After I was given clearance to autopsy the corpse myself, I concluded it was part of the recent murders based on previous autopsies and was able to deduce the nature of the injuries to a very fine level of detail. The mutant is apparently a telepathic electronkinetic. I will not know more until I am able to analyze and interview the suspect, but statistically it's given that the mutant in question is not in control of their powers and the killings are random. I have cross referenced one hundred and twenty seven points of comparison between the victims and found only ninteen point six percent of qualities were shared mutually among all victims, which likely rules out any sort of intentional homocide. With that information, my contact at shield gave me the clearance to continue the investigation fully and until recently, I was in direct contact with them continually, how ever, they, like most agents, are now off the clock. I need only 15 hours of sleep per week, so I opted to continue working the case. Their primary interest in this particular mutant in question is because they will likely make a good candidate for the tank program, which is seeking to lend aid to mutants with violent and uncontrollable abilities by giving them control and expanding their abilities to their maximum potential while lending them the opportunity to become successfully contributing members of society. I believe the publicity of this particular case will largely be positive if it is successful, which I conclude is shields unofficial reason for being so heavily involved."


Karima found Crow's surface neural activity and general biorythmics to be fairly interesting. There was something vaguely feral about them, like Crow had some form of animal literally lurking in her physical form. Some kind of predatory, dominant, carnivorous, and possibly highly aggressive animal. Still on the surface, Karima made no real note of these interests. Karima didn't even need to glance at Crow's body to see it, her peripheral vision was plenty. So Karima's eye's remained locked with Crow's.

[Crow]

Crow watched the Karima intently as she spoke, although she wasn't quite sure what she was looking for. It was, after all, pretty unlikely that she'd be able to catch the agent lying. Or sense any telling emotional shifts. The robot was too...well, too robotic. Even so, Crow wasn't too keen on taking her eyes off of the girl. She was SHIELD, which meant they'd be on shaky terms at best. Crow had dealt with fresh, overeager agents before. They tended to try to shoot her.

The fact that Karima wasn't officially a SHIELD agent was very interesting. Usually they didn't like having their consultants wear the uniform. Made them more deniable, considering most of their consultants were...less than savory. Crow knew plenty about that. But she was wearing the uniform, and had expressly stated that she didn't want to be under their control. So SHIELD wanted her. Desperately. Perhaps her claim that she could stand in for an entire team was true. It also explained why she'd been given this particular case; it was low-key enough that they could risk sending someone untested, but interesting enough to keep the Terminator's attention. And if she needed to persuade some girl to join the Tanks...Oh, SHIELD was clever. This wasn't just about publicity, and a recruitment mission for some poor prostitute; it was intended for Karima, as well.

Also important, although significantly less interesting, were the details of the case itself. It was more detail than Todd had given her, but it still fit in with his description. A hooker killing off her clientele. Not exactly the best business plan. Probably accidental, yes. Maybe the girl hadn't even made the connection yet, if there was some delay before her powers kicked in. Still, unlike Karima, Crow wouldn't necessarily rule out intentional homicide. Not all serial killers needed a common point between their victims. Besides, she knew a few prostitutes who wouldn't be above killing certain men. Maybe this one was just a little more thorough.

Hmm. Was it worth getting involved? Crow wasn't keen on the idea of recruiting them more agents, but she had to admit that the idea of a hooker working for the Tanks was entertaining. Seeker would be disappointed he left. If nothing else, SHIELD would hate that Crow was getting involved in a recruitment mission. Maybe she could dissuade Karima from joining, while she was at it. Find out why a robot didn't want to join the organization, but was still willing to ask others to work for them. And willing to work for free. She had to be working some angle; looking for information, most likely. It wasn't for favor, considering how much SHIELD probably wanted her; and Crow doubted that a Terminator robot needed protection.

A tingle in the back of Crow's head a moment later helped her decide. She focused in on the rat that caused it, attention wavering from Karima for a few seconds. It was in a cheap hotel room a few blocks from here. There was, as expected, a body without eyes. Male. Still warm. No sign of the killer, but at least this was a fresh kill. There would be a trail. Well, it looked like stalking down that older prostitute wouldn't be necessary, after all. Crow would help, if only to find out what Karima's motivations actually were. It looked like she'd be spending her night helping a robot chase down a hooker.

“Okay,” she replied simply, turning away from the girl and starting down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. She kept her hearing tuned into the robot's movements, just in case she tried something. Crow doubted that would be the case. “I might have a lead for you.”

[Karima Shapandar]

Inside Karima's mind were a multitude of variables which had been left blank. Thousands upon thousands of traits that Crow might or might not be capable of displaying and as they interacted, Karima filled in these variables. For as much as Crow was stalking her, Karima was stalking crow right back. She had no idea what Crow was doing in her repeated circling, but she did not mind it either. Everything in the file shield had on crow told Karima that crow was not a danger to Karima directly, for ever advantage crow might be able to glean with her shape shifting abilities, Karima had a counter measure prepared, a veritable infallible solution to dozens of scenarios.

"Good. Any cooperation or leads you can provide will be most beneficial. I will reward you how ever I am able if you like."

Karima had nothing in particular in mind, she just knew there were quite a few things she could do and her morals were quite questionable. She wouldn't end a life, but robbing a bank at the behest of another? Karima would see no problem with that, mostly because she knew she would not get caught if she attempted it. She would go after hours when no one was actually at the bank and use her wide array of unique precision abilities to cleverly remove the money without ever setting off a single alarm or even breaking anything. So many banks rely on interconnected electronic security systems. Regardless, what ever assistance crow might need with a particular task, Karima would be more than happy to help her, provided it didn't conflict with her primary objective.

She mostly offered the reward out of habit. She understood the fastest way to make friends was to give, either in trade, currency or labor of some kind and Karima had no shortage of the latter and most found her skills quite impressive. She just didn't see a problem with it, even if the other party took advantage, Karima leached data from every single little social interaction she had, so regardless of how much they took from her, Karima was able to take something much more valuable, a little tiny piece of her humanity. Eventually, Karima will be able to rewrite her operating system and regain her humanity, after that, the kind of person she becomes is as good a guess as any.

[Crow]

Thankfully, there was no sign from Karima that she was doing anything other than follow Crow. Good; she really wasn't in the mood to fight a Terminator robot and piss off SHIELD again. She'd been doing so well with them lately. Fury hadn't even tried to kill her the last time she was in his office. Now, if she were to just give Karima a few more doubts about joining the organization, she could work with that. Keep them from ending up with a useful new toy and gain a new contact. She'd just have to make sure that SHIELD didn't find out that she was behind it.

Although a reply was expected, certainly, the offer of a reward wasn't. Silly girl; never offer a reward after someone's agreed to help. Back already turned towards Karima, Crow smirked slightly. She could think of several things she'd like the robot to do. It was unlikely Karima would agree to any of them. She did know a guy that would kill to have a look at her processors, though. Having him owe her a favor would be nice. Of course, having a not-a-SHIELD-agent robot owing her a favor would be useful, too. She'd have to think on it. Thankfully, there was still time. They had a hooker to catch.

Crow picked up her pace a little, expecting Karima to stay close behind her. She damn well didn't want someone else to find the body before them; it would mess with the scent trail. Crow gave a quick mental check on the rat that had found the body. No one else had arrived yet; he was nibbling on a toe. She wasn't about to stop him. Well, no harm in making small talk on the journey over there. Especially if it gave her some more information about this situation. “So,” she began, glancing back towards the robot, “You say you aren't interested in joining SHIELD, but you're wearing one of their uniforms. What gives?”

[Karima Shapandar]

When Crow picked up her pace, Karima did as well. She could run probably 70 miles an hour if she really pushed herself. People liken her to the terminators, but their designs even in the fictional setting they exist in was flawed, clunky and primitive compared to Karima's. They couldn't leap hundreds of feet or move faster than the average human can run. Karima had hydralics for muscles, but what they lacked, Karima possesses; tendons. Only Karima's tendons are made of high tensile strength titanium alloy woven fiber cables.

As they walked, Karima kept track of their surroundings, all that she heard, saw, smelt, felt and tasted was taken under consideration, cross referenced, archived. The range of her hearing was much broader than a humans, both in distance and wavelength. She could also see farther with higher detail. Most humans cannot read the date on a penny unless it's in their hand, Karima could do so from a mile away. Human eyes already have such amazing potential for high definition visuals, with her mutation, a perfect blend of technology and natural evolution has combined to create an almost perfect eye. The only thing it can't do is see out the back of her head.

"It was Director Fury's idea. I am acting on Shield's behalf and a great deal of shield jurisdiction was called on to allow me to work as freely as I needed. I have no formal medical background, but was allowed to perform an autopsy, I have no formal criminal investigation or forensic training or education, but have been given free reign to conduct this investigation. He explained the uniform would allow me a higher amount of access. He suggested a badge be printed as well, but I reminded him that the lines between employed and not employed would be to blurred at that point. The logic is sound how ever. Humans are distrusting of what they do not understand or know. They know Shield, and will work with shield, even if I am only a consultant, wearing their uniform allows them peace of mind in granting me that access. I am fairly certain if I had told any of them that I am 18 years old, it would've likely made the ordeal more difficult, how ever, no one has brought it up yet."

And Karima only brought it up at that moment because she understands Crow isn't in a position to produce a multitude of red tape for Karima to have to navigate, and it was information that lent credence to her case. The shield uniform is only a disguise in a way. Karima's youthful appearance and amazing beauty was likely attributed to some freakish blend of European and Asian genetics and that she was likely actually in her late twenties or early thirties.

[Crow]

Crow scanned the street as she walked, on alert for anything out of the ordinary. Even if she didn't expect to see the prostitute they wanted, there was still an assassin that had been following her for almost a week. He was getting very annoying. Still, despite the recent killings, everything seemed to be calm. A few local businesses were closing down, but more were opening their doors. This area catered towards the nightlife. Crow listened to Karima's response as she walked, working through the reasoning behind Fury's offer. It seemed straightforward enough, and if the girl suspected anything else, she wasn't admitting to it yet. Yeah, there was definitely more at play than the robot realized. Fury never did anything for just one reason.

It was true that a SHIELD uniform was excellent for opening doors. Crow could attest to that herself. Speaking of which, she needed to get a new one at some point. Hers had gotten blown up, along with the rest of her wardrobe. Acquiring a new one would be interesting; SHIELD had stopped sending people after her some time ago, and actively hunting down and killing one of their agents would probably ruin her careful truce with them. Easiest option would probably be getting some agent out of their uniform the nice way, and then just walking out with it after. Crow glanced back to Karima contemplatively, looking her over. Nah. Hers probably wouldn't fit. They were about the same height, but the robot was significantly heavier.

“You know, they don't usually let consultants wear the uniform,” she remarked, tone deceptively neutral. “Even if it makes dealing with the public easier. SHIELD doesn't care about 'peace of mind' as much as being able to deny working with anyone that isn't under their direct control. I can't recall them using consultants much for recruiting, either.” Let Karima figure out what that meant. Crow was sure she'd come up with the most logical reason behind it, after all; she damn well wasn't going to hold the girl's hand and walk her through the significance of her situation. Besides, it was very possible that the robot knew exactly who Crow was. She knew her SHIELD file listed her as having paranoia; there was no reason to come off as a conspiracy theorist. She'd just make sure Karima was thinking along the right lines.

They were getting close, maybe a half-block away. Crow sniffed the air again. Now that she was on the lookout, she noticed a faint trace of burnt flesh. There was no sign of any alarm from anyone on the street, although a few people were giving Karima odd looks. It was pretty obvious that no one had gotten word that there was another killing, and the hooker herself had probably cleared out by now. That was fine. The girl would still be close. Crow scanned the street, spotted a motel sign, and jerked her head towards it. “That'll be the place. Corpse is still pretty fresh; maybe a half-hour old. Should be a trail.”

[Karima Shapandar]

The only person more intimate with Shield than Karima was at this point was likely Nick Fury himself, after she'd had her hands on so much of their digital finger prints. Of course not everything Shield did was listed in a conveniently scannable hard drive, so Karima's entire vision of shield was still obscured and filled with holes and Karima assumed that as well, there were a lot of holes in reports that some one without the computing power and detail tracking that Karima has would over look.

"Of course asking me to do this mission isn't for the sole benefit of the lone mutant suspect's recruitment or detainment. Nick Fury is a man of sterner merit. Unfortunately, everything I do is backed by numerical statistics, every action I make is planned, premeditated, logical and sound and Director Fury will learn soon enough that he can not manipulate me. This is part of the reason I refuse to join his organization, though when he approached me, I told him it was because I refuse to end the life of another, it is also because I am not a weapon and refuse to be used as one and my calculations conclude largely that if I agreed to work for Director Fury, that is exactly what would happen. Ah Yes, I see. Please do not put yourself in any unnecessary danger."

Karima kept up the pace and when they entered the area, Karima's senses picked up exactly what crows did. Karima could not tell how fresh the corpse was, but with a single drop of blood she would know. Still there was not time to waste. She moved past Crow and quickly crossed the street, she didn't bother waiting for the cars that were coming and going, she jumped over one and narrowly dodged another as she went. She navigated the busy street as if it were pre-choreographed. When she got to the door, she simply snapped the lock open and burst in through the front door so she could quickly analyze the setting.

[Crow]

Crow gave a miniscule nod at Karima's response. Good; she knew what game Fury was playing. Hopefully she could keep that up. The director was very good, but he wasn't infallible. The most interesting part, however, was the girl's mention that she refused to be turned into a weapon. A robot who refused to take lives? Hilarious. Probably best that Crow didn't point out to her how misguided that belief was, or she might decide to join SHIELD after all.

Almost as soon as Crow nodded towards the right building, Karima took off towards it. Really? The robot wasn't waiting up for her? Not even a thank-you? One of the cars she dodged screeched to a halt, and got rear-ended by the one behind it. Up until now, there hadn't been anyone paying much attention to them. It had been nice. Now, all eyes were either on Karima or the cars. So much for not making a scene. Someone would probably call the cops soon, given that the girl was now breaking into a motel room. Crow gave an irritated huff, shifted into the form of an owl, and flapped her way across the street. Can't take her anywhere.

She glided back down towards the girl, shifting back to human a few feet above the front step, and dropped silently to her feet. She stepped past Karima into the room, glancing around. She was hardly concerned with 'contaminating' a crime scene, after all. There had been enough others. The lights in the room were off, but that hardly mattered; her eyes were more than capable of getting enough light from the window and open door. Lying on the bed, in a somewhat...incriminating...pose, was their dead guy. Middle-aged, white, slightly overweight. Completely naked. As suspected, he was eyeless. There were some gnaw marks on one of his feet, but the rat had disappeared as soon as the door opened. She could still feel its presence behind one of the walls as it waited for a chance to resume its meal.

Crow's stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten for a while and there was grilled meat in front of her. She ignored it. She wasn't above eating humans—especially ones freshly roasted—but she had a feeling that Karima might object. If for no reason more than ruining the evidence. She found the man's pants on the floor, pulled out his wallet, and looked through it. Cash was still there. Sniffing the air in the room, Crow frowned, and then leaned in towards the body to repeat the process. There was an unidentified female scent that she could only assume was their hooker. Heavy perfume, obviously cheap, interesting hormonal and diet spread. And... “She's young,” Crow commented, frowning at the body. “Maybe fourteen. No wonder that older prostitute's protecting her.”

[Karima Shapandar]

As the action was taking place, Karima knew she had made a mistake, she heard the breaks screeching, she had calculated incorrectly and now she had caused an accident. No one had to call the police, because Karima was already dialing them. She had hoped to catch the girl still there, she could smell the mixture of scents and knew it was fresh, but not by how much. It wasn't very often that Karima made mistakes, and after she snapped the door open, and saw that only the body was present, she glanced over her shoulder at the traffic accident. Unfortunate, but worth the risk. Now that she was in the presence of a recent incidence, she could very clearly smell the girl and had her scent committed to memory fairly easily. After Crow moves into the room, Karima does as well.

"Please do not touch anything. It makes logical sense that she be younger since most mutant abilities begin manifesting around this time, but I am curious how you can tell that. I am also curious how you knew this scene was here."

Karima made her way around the room, looking at this and that, from the way the blankets were strewn across the bed to the location and shape of the victim's clothing, Karima was reconstructing the most likely way the crime took place. She leans over the bed and moves things ever so gently, when she finds what she's looking for, she picks it up and leans back. A hair, much to long to belong to the victim, she analyzes it visually for a moment, then puts a portion of it into her mouth. You can't really see it, but it's pretty obvious to tell she is tasting it in some kind of way.

Afterwards, she simply discards what's left of the hair back onto the bed and pulls a small container from one of the pouches on her belt. The contain has dust inside it, the dust they use for fingerprint lifting and starts moving around the room to dust for prints, 7 of the nine places she checks have finger prints, making her conclusions about who touched where rather accurate. She doesn't actually lift the prints once she's dusted them though, she just dusts, glances, and goes on.

"I should be able to conclude the investigation now. I have the girls scent and can track her. You may continue to assist if you desire. Her name is Donna Castor, she has a criminal record. There are several addresses listed as known residencies, unlikely any of them are correct."

It wasn't quite a 'get lost kid' but may as well have been. In general Karima did not object to Crow's presence, but she did not want to risk Crow being injured. Karima has a small container in one of her other pouches that contains five tranquilizer darts, these are normally fired from an air gun of some kind, but Karima can throw them with just as much precision and velocity that she didn't bother with the gun, giving her the ability to take the girl down if she refuses to cooperate without risking herself harm. At best, she'd be knocked unconscious by a lethal blast of electricity to her systems and would wake up several minutes later, at worst, it would destroy what little remaining organic neural system she has and kill her for real.