i've got a hard time believing this is just some obsessed psycho.
you'd be shocked by how far some obsessed psychos can go.
..but i think you're right.
even joker sometimes has some method to his madness. its never just a laugh.
no, it's not. and i don't believe that someone this obsessed, angry, and petulant would be working alone or be this coordinated.
too much of an emotional charge?
among other things. joe had memory wrapped up in this, so some version of this has happened before. just the details have been changed around—someone involved from before has to be involved now.
so we've got some pieces, but we're just missing the pin.
....here's a pin: how did candy get the names? how was she sure she found a mutant?
mutants and metahumans share a lot of commonalities—one of them being that not all of them have obvious mutations. so how would she have known? someone had to have remembered, and told her.
she'd have to find out from someone or stumbled upon some information somehow she shouldn't have.
and i don't think a stumble is in the cards. there's too much precision. and failing that—it's like terminator with the phone book. names match sometimes, and they're all mutants. they had to have known they were mutants.
hold on. i need to ask joe a question.
i’m sure detective works gets you going, but not the time for an angelic booty call.
please, i'm not that young. joe is from that world; he'd know better than us how to tell a metahuman from a mutant from a human.
young enough! so… it isn’t the daffy costumes? really though, i’m not even sure you’d be able to.
big words from someone who dresses up as a bat, no?
listen. mine has some vast improvement from kevlar padding with space for nipples.
b. wayne & j. warren (iii)
joe? are you awake?
this on the assumption i sleep at all. yeah, i’m awake.
that makes two of us. i've got a question for you, about your world. terry and i think we're onto something with candy—in your world, how do you tell a mutant apart from a human?
unless there is an obvious mutation, you really can’t by appearances. mutants are usually born with their abilities, sometimes with a trigger event and sometimes not, but usually around puberty. in the case of shifters, it’s anyone’s guess especially.
alright. thank you—were there methods of spotting mutants long distance or through other means? something we're trying to figure out is how they were absolutely sure that the child they found was a mutant. people have matching names, and not all of those children had obvious mutations, right?
telepaths sometimes can. there may also be other mutants who can track them, just like there are some that can turn off powers or amplify them. beyond names, it could very well be the way.
were any of those mutants who could track people—was one around during inferno? or knew candy or cameron?
there was one… caliban, but i haven’t seen him around.
...do you think he could've had a hand in this?
assuming he somehow exists here like the rest of us.
let's assume that he does. he would?
would be able to find us? yeah, because he’s tracking a genetic marker that’s different from, i assume, metahumans. would he? if he’s the caliban from before, yeah, and probably for better intention than it’d be used for.
thank you. i think that actually answers a big question of how. what does — did he look like?
pale and bald, as if he hadn’t seen the light of day since being put into existence and lived underground.
thanks, joe. i'm going to start looking for him, see if i can get lucky. are you at home?
no, not yet. i’m at the office.
looks like we both are. i'll come to you when i'm done, if you want the company.
i wouldn’t mind. it’ll be my turn to fall asleep on you.
m. pryor & j. warren (iii)
warren. it's maddy.
to what do i owe the pleasure?
i can't stay for too long but you're one of the only people here i trust who won't fly off the handle. i've got some information on something i think is connected either to another inferno or to mister sinister.
both bad things. i'm listening. what've you got?
those fertility clinics i've been going into have been visited by our old friends, nanny and orphan maker. they're tracking down children, and i know they've taken at least eight as of a few weeks ago. they've been looking for borderline humans or babies that could be used for the inferno spell. i still don't know which of those two bastards they're working for, but they're getting perilously close to thirteen.
suffice to say it could even be both. in this environment, there's no telling who is working for who. what can i do to help? we're without a team, so to speak, but not without resources.
that's why you're my favorite x-man. i'm going to reach out, give you everything i know psychically. i thought it could be the both of them or that there's a third party involved—nanny's not that clever, someone has to be directing her. we need to keep eyes on a few clinics i've narrowed things down to being the next target and look for the kids who are already missing. they didn't choose the good kids, you know? they stole kids from troubled homes, where cops don't look too hard or the family's are in turmoil already.
i'm inclined to agree. i don't think she's behind the helm of this even if she's doing legwork. i'll get some security implemented at these sites, see if we can catch something in progress and respond accordingly.
thanks, warren. now just hold still, this will maybe tickle a little bit.
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