2014.06.14 - Tiger Moon

Angela had copied the files, the parts her superiors cleared for release. The police like to leave some things out, to keep down copycats (in Gotham, that is all too likely). She had slipped in a folded paper with a tiger's head in green for a signature, asking for Moon Knight to meet her by the roof sign for Finnigan's Pub in Neville.
She had arrived early, climbed the building stealthily, and then crouched in a shadow while she magically faded into the background, waiting. She should not be noticed until she moves.
no silver clad figures stop by the dead drop that Moon Knight showed Detective Del Toro.. but a yellow cab often swings by with a man in a wool cap who gets out to check it, and one other time a somewhat dingy man with messy brown hair and slumped shoulders checks it subtly. Whatever the case, he must have eventually got word, because at the appointed time that less-than subtle pale figure makes its way from roof to roof near the address mentioned.
The white tiger observes the movements of the silver-white figure checking the area for ambushes, a sensible precaution. Anyone who could have left that message without Angela knowing, would not be someone entirely on the up and up. Patience is high on the virtues of a pouncing hunter like a tiger, she elects to wait and observe.
Moon Knight keeps scouting around, possibly coming quite close to her in his investigations. In fact when he walks past her he hesitates, and takes a few steps away, his hand hovering near the pendant he wears. He waits there awhile more, but unable to see through her camouflage, he moves on. He takes up a position facing the building metioned, and also with her position in sight, perhaps having concluded something suspicious had been there, and waits as well.
While she has considered using a Roar to startle foes, as Moon Knight is presumably a friend, she instead whispers, "Greetings, I see you are prompt."
Moon Knight was inspecting the street when she spoke-- he turns in her direction, though by the time he does she's faded out again. "...I take it this is yours, then?" he flashes the foiled card, cowled head turning as he scans the area she's in.
The White Tiger steps out of the shadows, her eyes seeming to glow with green light, like the eyes of a cat at night. She moves with an inhuman grace and power, like she has the full force of a living tiger trapped in her human form.
Moon Knight stands up from the crouch he was in, nodding. He's standing in a balanced sort of way, hands near his sides, not not overtly threatening. "..That's a nice trick." he observes. "So are you in association with Detective Del Toro, or was this little card your own addition?"
White Tiger purs, "I have met the detective, she is wise enough to know there are things a person of the Law can not do that a Vigilante can. She does not like us much, but when her hands are tied she contacts me." Actually, she had only learned that trick when she got her new costume, Unstable molecules that adapt to her powers.
Moon Knight nods, relaxing, of only very slightly. "Then you're here to talk about the murders?"
She bares her teeth, it is to feral to be a smile, "It seems likely the killer is going to be looking for this," she taps a trio of jade amulets in the form of the head and front paws of a tiger.
"The mystical amulets of the sons of the tiger," she explains.
The other figure gives a nod, though his face shows little but his own glowing eyes. "That explains why she notified you." he hazards. "Given the current theory, you're also at risk to be targeted. For a duty bound cop, she's pretty thoughtful of our type."
The White Tiger replies, "She owes me a favor, I rescued her niece a couple of weeks ago, with a bit of help from Batman." This is true enough.
Moon Knight nods, though his voice sounds not entirely convinced when he speaks, "She must be grateful indeed. Did she tell you about our dead drop agreement as well?"
The white tiger says literally, "She did not tell me where it is, but I know there is one. I let her keep her secrets and she lets me keep mine."
Moon Knight says, "......Really." for some reason, that particular truth seems to make him warier than anything she's said yet. "Will you be appraising her of this meeting, then?"
The White Tiger says, "If I decide she needs to know, some things the police are better left out of."
Moon Knight nods.. "That's true. Justice and the law are not always the same thing, regrettably. I understand you aren't the first to bear the mantle of the White Tiger?"
Moon Knight can only assume that's who he's in the presence of, after having the amulets pointed out, and having read of the fate of Angela's uncle.
"Oh, the title is quite ancient, you see the White Tiger is a mythical figure from ancient China. A spirit of change, if defeated by the champion of order, it leads to slow growth, if not harnessed, it leads to out of control growth. They say, when last it rose, it was not defeated and that led to our modern society, with it's rapid and uncontrolled change," Wite Tiger states, explaining some things she has found out.
Moon Knight says, "An ancient myth relevant in the modern day," he responds with appreciation. "Are you a follower of that fabled spirit, then?"
The White Tiger grunts, "In a sense, you see the White Tiger enters the world through an ancient Jade statue. These amulets were once part of that statue, and if returned to the statue may let the spirit out into the world completely. The spirit of the Tiger touched Hector Ayala enough that, even though he did not know about the story when he found the amulets, he chose the name of The White Tiger when he chose to put on a costume."
Moon Knight nods, seeming fascinated. "..That suggests there may be many White Tigers.. as many as there are pieces of the statue."
The White Tiger shrugs, "That may be. I am told one piece was destroyed beyond usefulness, so that the White Tiger Spirit could not manifest completely. I think there are 6 pieces left, of which I have half."
Moon Knight says, "Does that bother you? Having to share your spirit's affiliation?"
The White Tiger growls, "What bothers me is that someone may have killed the other bearers to get their pieces, and may yet seek to kill me as well. We need to find that person and stop them."
Moon Knight ..pauses. "Are you speaking about someone else with pieces of that amulet, or about this murderer Detective Del Toro is after?" he asks evenly.
The White Tiger says, "It seems likely, from what I was told, the murder is after magic talismans, amulets in particular. It seems possible that, if any other pieces of the statue are in the area, that the murderer Detective del Toro is after would target them."
Moon Knight says, "..If he targets others then, it would be to your advantage."
The White Tiger snarls, "Think so? These amulets, each one that is carried doubles the strength, speed, and agility of the wearer. Do you think I relish meeting someone who could kill the bearers of the other three, and is thus likely more than my equal?"
Moon Knight seems unperturbed. "When he's a wanted criminal, yes. You'd have the backing of the police force, as well as people like myself on your side, without any extra effort on your part."
The White Tiger says thoughtfully, "If we meet in public, or while I am under guard, certainly that is true. If the other seeks me out alone, as he has each victim so far, it is less likely to be useful."
Moon Knight nods. "...True enough. For that matter, do you have reason to think the other pieces are in the city? As far as I've read, the attacks have all been here."
"That, I do not know. I have not heard of them being mentioned. It is a worry...but what concerns us now is the killer will no doubt come looking for each of us, in time," replies the White Tiger.
Moon Knight nods. That is the most pressing matter at the moment, isn't it..? "Is that why you asked me here? Did you want to coordinate some sort of defense?"
"It would seem a reasonable suggestion, though we may also need to decide wat to do about the other two investigators who were at the crime scene, besides Detective del Toro."
Moon Knight hmphs.. "The detective with the scarf, and the man with golden eyes..?"
"So Detective del Toro described them anyway. She says that the one with the golden eyes is some type of shape shifter who can detect magic, while the other has a powerful magical aura and may be a Norse god, or a reasonable imitation," Replies the White Tiger
Moon Knight nods slowly. "Yes, that was what I had gathered, as well. What's your impression of the one who detects magic? If he's an ally, he could be of great use in locating others who should be on their guard. If he was able to detect the items stolen on the thief, that would be better still."
"I can only go on Detective del Toro's impression, which is that he was honest with her and intended to be helpful. He could be useful, as I have no way of detecting the magical thus far," The Tiger Amulets are supposed to have powers she has not tapped, like her recently learned Nightstalking power. There may be other things to learn.
Moon Knight sighs, and nods as well. "..I can sometimes get a sense of strong auras in the area. But it's not always reliable, and I doubt I could track anything that way. But if that man can track them...well. Short of that, the only tactic I see open to us aside from waiting to be targeted is to -make- an inviting target.
"Which would be easier to do if we happened to know where other magic items the enemy might be after are," the White Tiger points out.
The knight gestures one hand between them. "We know the location of two, at least. The last young man who was killed was wearing his amulet on his belt, if I recall. It was visible.. it's possible this killer is only going after artifacts they randomly encounter, or that they know the location of. If we were to make it publicly known where one was, in a place that was suitably tempting..
The White Tiger explains, "The tiger amulets are things of Chi, as well as of magic, they need to be placed near one of the Chakra to be effective. Other amulets of the east may be similar in nature. I wear mine near the 64 fold chakra, what you might call the belly button. Hector wore his near the 16 fold chakra, at the base of the throat."
Moon Knight nods, knowing the very basics of such philosophies, anyways. "You're saying you don't think they'd register as powerful if they weren't near a person."
Moon Knight says, "Well..that still leaves me, or at least.. one other idea I had."
The White Tiger notes, "They would still be sensed as magic, but there is a feedback loop involved, unless they are used by a person they are mainly dormant." 
She inquires, "What idea did you have?"
Moon Knight says, "..Truth to tell, I have a statue as well. It's definitely magical even with no people nearby, but it's..not something I want to risk. And it might not even work; it's hardly an amulet, and it's not impossible the killing is part of our criminal's goal, considering the bloody rune. It may have to be a person and an artifact to draw them."
White Tiger notes, "Detective del Toro seemed to think that the other one, the one who might be a Norse god, had knowledge of the matter. He might be able to tell. He gave to he a card with a contact number on it."
Moon Knight is interested by that. "He left a means of contact..? That's certainly more than I can say." this last said slightly acerbically. "..Did she pass the number on to you?"
"She certainly did not tell me the number, however either one of us could find out. That would be something the drop box would be useful for," replies the White Tiger. She hopes she is skirting round the questions that are close to home, without actually lying.
It's hard to be sure. The man's face is entirely shrouded, for whatever reason. However he does pause slightly longer than necessary before replying, "I hope she doesn't mind you inviting yourself to use her contacts so freely."
Moon Knight says, "Not that it might not be useful, and I admit, neither that man or I are official police anything, but."
"Minds, almost certainly, but also understands. The man's ID she did show me, it identifies him as an Inspector from another precinct of Gotham. It is a very good forgery, but certain things are lacking on a background check of that precinct. Oddly enough the people remember him, but the records do not," she had checked into it, or rather Angela had.
Moon Knight says, "Mind magic, then? Wonderful.." he says sarcastically. "I hope he's really here to help and not simply to meddle.."
"So, we contact Detective del Toro, and ask her to contact the fake Inspector, and tell him what," Inquires White Tiger?
Moon Knight says, "It sounded as if he had insight into the killer's nature and goals. If our own goal is to catch the killer, the more of that we know, the better; is he after the items, or the victims, or both? Is he after only amulets, or is it the bond between the item and the victim that these crimes have in common? Have there been other thieveries without killings we haven't linked to this, yet? How is the killer choosing which magic item to pursue next? There have been gaps between the killings.. does this mean the killer happens upon the victims by coincidence? The runes, the motif..the more we know about all of this, the easier it would be to find our culprit, or at least set up an effective trap."
Category:Log