Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask Update (Part 2)

—Juno Steel

**Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask Update (Part 2)** is the first (or twentieth) episode of the first season of The Penumbra Podcast. It was released March 14, 2017 and was created to replace the originally released version of the episode in the canon.

## Overview

In the hunt for a crime boss's murderer, Detective Juno Steel and Agent Rex Glass have ended up somewhere very peculiar: a game show.

Well, it should be peculiar. But in the house of the Kanagawas, Hyperion City's premier crime-family-slash-entertainment-network, nothing is peculiar so long as it's caught on camera. In the eyes of a camera, you can sell anything: a mad genius' horrific game show; an ancient death mask that kills whoever disturbs it; and even, strangest of all, a Detective and Special Agent who really think they have a shot at surviving this mess.

### Trigger Warnings

* Death
* Some gore/“body horror”
* Sudden loud noises
* Depictions of being chased/pursued

## Episode Summary

Having been bound together to one of Cecil Kanagawa's torture devices, the Throne of Spinning Blades, Detective Juno Steel and Dark Matters Agent Rex Glass are trapped in Cecil's television production studio and forced to participate in one of his many gruesome streams, "From the Jaws of Death." Juno accuses Cecil of having the best opportunity to steal the Mask of Grimpotheuthis from his father, the murdered Croesus Kanagawa, as well as the motive to smear Juno's name on the wall in his blood, as Juno was unable to prevent him from losing his arm the last time they met. Cecil thanks Juno for the opportunity to get the cybernetic prosthesis that his arm has since been replaced with and then tells him his objective is to make Juno a star. As Cecil's mutated Camera Men begin to get ready to film them, Agent Glass asks Juno to move in front of him, as Dark Matters will be upset if an agent of theirs has their face broadcast, but Juno refuses, as his clients won't be any happier to hire a Private Eye who has been made public.

As Cecil's broadcast begins, he announces that the two have five minutes to escape from the elaborate trap before it kills them while the cameras roll. Juno, having had several experiences where he was trapped like this before, pulls a plasma-box cutter from inside his sleeve to start cutting away at their chains, but because he can't see what he's doing, he nicks Agent Glass and drops the box cutter when he flinches away. Luckily, Glass has his own heavy duty plasma cutter in his back pocket, and Juno is able to retrieve it after sifting through everything else Glass keeps in there. Juno complains that it would have been nice to have known that Rex had his own earlier, but he shrugs it off, saying that he believed Juno when he'd said he had the situation under control. Juno manages to cut the two of them free before the Throne's blades descend on them, to Cecil's surprise. As they attempt to escape the set, several of Cecil's Camera Men attempt to get in their way, but between Rex's skill with a knife and Juno's sharpshooting prowess, they manage to fight them off and follow Cecil into the grove of Pear-of-Anguish trees further down the set that he has attempted to hide in.

As they enter the grove, Cecil surprises Glass and Juno, throwing a punch at Rex's head with a set of long, sharp spikes protruding from his bionic fist. Juno manages to push Rex out of harm's way but is injured himself when Cecil's fist makes contact with his own arm. Despite his wound, Juno is able to get a grip on Cecil's arm and hold him still while he lands enough punches for Cecil to fall to the ground. Juno then blasts the data drive on Cecil's arm, frying the footage he had taken of them earlier.

While Cecil is down, Juno confronts him about his father's murder, telling Cecil to discontinue his theatrics and finally confess to the crime. To both Juno and Agent Glass' surprise, however, Cecil reveals that he hadn't even been aware of his father's death until this moment; he breaks down into tears as he asks the two of them how it happened. Juno asks Cecil what he thought they were there for, if not an investigation, and Cecil explains that his stepmother, Min Kanagawa, had informed him of Juno's arrival earlier that morning and led him to believe that it was because Juno had finally agreed to appear on one of Cecil's streams. When Juno asks him for his alibi for the crime, Cecil shows him surveillance footage proving that he had snuck out the night before, disguising himself as his sister Cassandra, and Juno believes him. As he and Agent Glass leave, Cecil requests that they turn one of the cameras towards him, as his anguish over his father's death will make great television.

After questioning Cecil, Juno and Rex take a moment to recuperate and gather their thoughts. Rex catches Juno when he begins to fall, weak from blood loss, and leaves the room for a moment to find a first aid kit. In the meantime, Juno calls his secretary Rita on his comms to check something.

Rex returns and asks if Juno had been talking to himself, but Juno dismisses the notion, saying he had just been talking to his secretary to make sure his will was in order. As Rex helps Juno stitch his wounds closed, the two ruminate on the case at hand. When Rex asks, Juno elaborates on his earlier statement about how his mother had never succeeded in killing him—his brother, on the other hand, had not been as lucky. Rex apologizes for bringing it up, but Juno says that he didn't tell him to receive any sympathy: he did so to make Rex drop the subject. Rex agrees and continues to stitch Juno's arm, flirting again a little as he does so.

Now that Cecil has been eliminated as a suspect, Juno and Rex discuss the other members of the Kanagawa family. Juno is particularly suspicious of Min but admits that Croesus' death was far too messy to have been her style, having demonstrated an impressively untraceable MO when she had most likely killed Croesus' first wife years before, although nothing was truly proven. Before they can discuss it any further, their conversation is interrupted by a scream coming from the room where the Mask is held. Juno and Rex run in to see Cassandra confronting Min at gunpoint. Despite her situation, Min greets them both calmly.

Cassandra forces Rex to go through Min's pockets for a piece of paper signed by Croesus, threatening to shoot Juno if he doesn't do as she says, but Rex is only able to find a prescription for anti-hallucinogens, made out to Cassandra. Enraged, she continues to threaten Juno, who tells her he doesn't believe she truly has it in her to be a murderer. He stalls for a moment, telling her that he now knows the video she showed him earlier of her leaving the mansion just before Croesus' death was actually footage of Cecil, until Rex is able to sneak up behind her and knock the gun from her hands. Now restrained by Agent Glass, Cassandra angrily accuses Juno of having lied when he said that he didn't believe she was a murderer, but Juno explains that he wasn't: he thinks Croesus' death was an accident, not a cold-blooded murder.

In response, Cassandra tearfully describes the true events of the night before. Having been promised a spot in the stream schedule for the upcoming month, she had confronted Croesus in the mask's display room after she found a signed contract proving that Croesus had lied and chosen to produce Cecil's new sow instead of hers. Croesus ignored her, accusing her of breaking into the mask's case by tampering with its locks, and Cassandra lost control for a moment, angrily shoving Croesus into the mask and accidentally killing him. However, despite her confession of being responsible for Croesus' death, Cassandra claims that the message on the wall ("YOU'RE NEXT, JUNO STEEL") had been written by someone else.

After Cassandra admits her guilt, Min reveals that she has gotten the entire confrontation on film and has her stepdaughter arrested. Once Cassandra is gone, Juno dismisses Min as she expresses regret over the situation, saying that there are two things about the case that still bother him. The first is the missing contract Cassandra mentioned; how could it have disappeared into thin air? Min suggests that the contract was simply a hallucination of Cassandra's, but Juno says that that is merely a convenient excuse Min has conjured up. He explains that Min is in fact responsible for setting up Croesus' death: her motive was a combination of ending her husband's overspending on relics such as the Mask and preventing his agreement with Cassandra to produce her show, which most likely would have flopped and damaged the network's ratings. Juno also suggests that Min had planted a fake contract for Cassandra to find, knowing that it would enrage her enough to take action against Croesus. It was also Min who must have put Juno's name on the wall, as she knew he would eventually deduce Cassandra's guilt if he took on the case. As it stands, Min is now in charge of the Kanagawa network, no longer obligated to produce Cassandra's show, and about to benefit from the sensational coverage Cassandra's arrest will get, all while she is virtually guaranteed new successful content will continue to be produced by Cecil. Despite having put all the pieces together, however, Juno lacks any concrete evidence to prove her guilt and is forced to let her walk away. Min does not deny his claims, but she does not admit to anything, either, and warns Juno that if he tries to investigate any further, it could be very dangerous for him.

Without any proof to use against Min, Juno and Rex leave together. Juno stops by his office to lock Grim's Mask in his safe, and, after a bit of persuasion, brings Rex back to his apartment for a drink. When they get there, Rex revists the fact that Juno had said two things bothered him about the case, and the missing contract was only one; Juno brushes it off and refills Rex's glass instead.

Rex shifts focus and comments that Juno is quite attractive when he's "morally outraged." After a few flirtatious comments, Rex kisses Juno, but when they pull away, Juno handcuffs Rex and accuses him of having stolen the keys to his safe out of his pocket, as well as having attempted to steal Grim's Mask, for which he is under arrest. Juno explains that the second thing bothering him was that the mask's case had been tampered with before Cassandra had ever come into the room to confront her father; he had noticed a tool in Rex's pocket when he'd been looking through it earlier that could have been used to force open the case, which is what he had called Rita about to confirm earlier.

It is revealed that Rex had broken into the Kanagawa mansion the night before to steal the mask, only to be interrupted by Croesus. He then confesses to having posed as a Dark Matters agent as a way to get back into the mansion and finish the job. Juno demands that he tell him his real name, but Rex refuses, saying that he never tells anyone his name, and it would take someone very special for him to break that rule. Juno continues to question him and asks if the Dark Matters agent who had originally called him about the case was in on Glass' scheme, but he dismisses Sasha Wire's involvement, saying that as far as she knew, he really was an agent: he has powerful friends that helped him establish his alias and cover.

With that out of the way, Rex points out that it is likely that the Kanagawas will now attempt to retaliate against Juno, making Hyperion City unsafe for him to stay in now. He suggests that they sell the mask, run away together, and use the money to "live a life of thrills and decadence across the Galaxy." Juno says that he wishes he could but declines Rex's offer just as the HCPD show up to arrest him.

After Rex is arrested and led out by the officers Juno had called, Juno finds a piece of paper tucked between his couch cushions with the following message:

```
Juno,

If you wish for one last glimpse of me,
watch the public access feed for Route 742.
Somewhere around Mercury Drive, I suspect…
but no farther than Vulcanis Way. Get a
good look, detective: it may be your last.

I do hope it isn’t, though. I meant every
word I said, Juno. It will be quite an
adventure. I’ll be waiting for you to
join me.

Signed,
Your Better Half,
Peter Nureyev.
```

Realizing the significance behind the note, Juno turns on the live feed to see that Nureyev had overpowered the two officers who had picked him up and escaped exactly where he said he would. Not only that, the keys to his safe have also gone missing again. The smell of the Nureyev's cologne would linger in Juno's apartment for weeks afterwards, and he misses it after it's gone.

## Cast and Crew

### Cast

Starring

* Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel
* Kate Jones as Min Kanagawa and Rita
* Sophie Kaner as Agent Sasha Wire
* Leslie Drescher as Cassandra Kanagawa and Cecil Kanagawa
* Noah Simes as Peter Nureyev

### Crew

* Kevin Vibert, Co-creator, Lead writer, Recording engineer
* Sophie Kaner, Co-creator, Director, Sound designer
* Grahame Turner, Script editor
* Ryan Vibert, Composer and performer of original music

## Quotes

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> | JUNO: | I looked to Glass, and his eyes were waiting for me. They said a lot, those two dark eyes: “was I sure?” they wanted to know. And who could blame em? I wanted to know, too. But this was the way it had to go, and he saw that in me, and he nodded. Effortlessly. Like trusting me was the easiest thing there was.
> Wish I had that much faith in me. Feels like you could fix the whole damn galaxy, with someone looking at you that way.
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> | JUNO: | Has anyone ever told you...
> *(HANDCUFFS CLICKING)*
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> | REX: | A name? Is that what you’re after, Detective?
> *(LAUGHS)*
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## Trivia

* Fans often shorthand this version of the story as "2 Mask 2 Murderous" or "2m2m," patterned after the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious.
* Writer Kevin Vibert has alluded to the fact in a Twitter Q&A that the Kanagawas are loosely based around the Kardashians. This was also alluded to on the official Tumblr.

* + In The Penumbra Podcast Live!: Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask, the Kanagawa family drama is featured in a show called "Catch Up at Casa Kanagawa," which is similar to "Keeping up With the Kardashians."
	+ Additionally, with the exception of Min Kanagawa, all of the Kanagawas have first names that start with the letter C. The Kardashians all have first names that start with K.

## References

1. ↑ This is the remake of the second episode of the series. It was released as the twentieth episode, but has since been moved to the beginning of the feed
2. ↑ https://thepenumbrapodcast.tumblr.com/post/151049560796/where-did-you-find-inspiration-for-writing-the

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