[IC] The Paradigm Stone

[betelgeuse]

-The Story Begins-

It was a brilliantly bright day, without a cloud in the sky and a cool breeze that ran through the air, carrying the scent of summer into the city streets. It was early on a Friday, most people were so preoccupied with weekend plans that it was hard to ignore such magnificent weather. Students out of school flocked to the parks, taking advantage of the fact that there was a full weekend of city planned events ahead.

Sanderson Park was particularly busy, nestled between the Boardwalk and the golden Sanderson Hotel, an extremely well manicured green jewel in the center of a sea of glass and steel. A crowd was tightly packed around a stage set near the fountains at the entrance of the park, two loud speakers, scarlet curtain and a massive banner hanging across the center that read 'World Premier!'. A dozen reporters and cameramen craned against the stage for a better view at the podium and whatever stood behind the red curtain.

When Eudora Carver walked out on stage, the small crowd erupted in a roar of cheers and applause. She waved politely to the attendees, dressed to perfection in a nave dress and blazer, pearls and sunglasses. Not even the breeze seemed brave enough to put a hair out of place. The corporate tycoon approached the podium, inspiring the crowd to instantly fall silent.

"My fellow citizens- my friends; we stand together on a revolutionary day." A clear, crisp voice rang out through the park.

"This magnificent city has been a beacon for revolution in design, engineering and pure-and-simple hard work. We've built this old fishing harbor into the biggest social and technological leader in the world; something that isn't done by lying down on the job." She stopped for another sweeping agreement of applause. "Which made me pause and reflect one afternoon: with a population so deserving as this, why are they not able to gain some assistance in an otherwise busy lifestyle?"

Eudora stopped and looked in the faces of the crowd, speaking to them without a speech written in hand, as she always did.

"That is why I went to our top team with an idea. I'm proud to say that today, I can present you, and the world, with that idea." She said, turning and extending her arm as the curtain parted.

In the middle of the stage was a robot, standing at just over six feet in height, holding a small silver serving dish and a linen towel with an "EC" sewn elegantly into place. The robot bowed at the sight of Eudora, then to the rest of the crowd, who again, erupted into applause. Eudora turned back to the microphone and continued with her speech.

"This is The Sentry, a fully functioning personal assistant and the first life sized robot designated for home use." She smiled broadly as a wave of photographs flashed in her face. "It is equipped not only with a wide range of artificial intelligence interfaces, but it is also a centralized home security device as well. With all these new reports on prisoners walking through walls, we can never be too safe with our city's children."

The Sentry took a few surprisingly graceful steps forward and took the lid off of the small silver serving platter to reveal a chilled martini complete with two olives.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll let the top engineer for this program answer your questions- I believe this is for me." She said, jokingly as she took the drink and stepped off stage, the crowd chuckling at her usual humor.

As soon as she was out of sight, Eudora downed the actual martini before dropping it in the hands of the nearest assistant, who still managed to drop and break it on the floor. Her limousine was already pulled up to the entrance of the park, so she waved at the dozen or so joggers and dog walkers on her way out of the small patch of nature. Ducking into the elegant automobile, she reached into her side console and retrieved a cigarette, lighting it quickly before taking a slow drag. Turning her head to the side, Eudora's eyes had finally adjusted and focused on another Sentry sitting in the back of the moving car with her.

"Jesus Christ, another one." She said, the robot completely unaware of what she meant.

The pair rode in the car in complete silence for several minute through the main section of downtown. They approached the tallest building in the skyline and pulled into the entry of The Tower. Eudora waited for the door to be opened and helped out by the driver and poked her head back into the limousine one more time.

"Stay here, you overgrown iPad."

Moments later, Eudora had given her name to the front desk, ridden dozens of stories on the elevator and approached one of the highest floors of the building. Eudora Carver was never one to wait for someone to fetch her, so she was never satisfied waiting in the lobby before being escorted upstairs for a meeting. There was plenty of time before the board meeting was set, but the two had a brief discussion scheduled off the record. Her face sprouted a sweet grin as she approached the executive assistant's desk.

"Now, my little chickadee, I'm in quite the hurry." She began, her tone light and airy once again. "Mind to point me in the direction of the fine Captain of this vessel?"

--------

Across town and fairly different from a corporate board room, Finn Regel leaned against a dumpster in an alley just off of Franklin Boulevard. Eyes closed and banging his head lightly against the metal, it was somewhat soothing considering his state of mind. There would be only a few minutes before his brother would be back and then it would be time to start. Something that, until a week ago, he never thought he would do.

"It's easy." Finn said. "No big deal. Five minutes- tops."

Running hand through his hair, he finally stood and stretched, cracking his back in the process. He wore a black, short sleeve fishnet shirt, black pants and steel toed boots. His hood and mask were pulled down to avoid drawing any unwanted attention, but he still caught some stares as a probably alleyway drug addict. Walking toward the back of the alley away from the street, Finn went over their poorly constructed plan one more time in his head.

For the first time in years, the stress was pushing him to want a cigarette. The fact that he didn't want to be caught on convenience store cameras was the only reason he wasn't puffing away at an entire pack.

At the dead end of the alley, Finn turned and watched the target of the day. Wentworth Bank stood proudly near the center of the financial district; it was an old rough granite building that had been built to last as skyscraper three times its sized popped up around it. Customers walked in and out of the building, happily going along on their business before the start of the weekend. Some of the straggling workers were rushing in late, drawing his attention from focusing on where his brother was. Michael was just supposed to sneak into the alley next to the bank and cut the security alarm's wires. Simple as that.

"Just snipping a wire and coming straight back." He said. "No big deal."

[Sizzlin Bacon]

Pheonix

In a gloomy alley nestled between a skyscraper and an old granite bank walked a man clad in all black, clearly 'Ninja' clothing. A bit of an absurd sight to say the least, but Michael Regel thought it was a cool idea, and it wasn't a good idea to say otherwise. The man in shadows strolled down the alleyway, running his hands along the granite as he sought his mark, taking his sweet time as music blared through his earbuds. A hunched over homeless man grumbled at the shadow as it passed his cardboard home, but it paid him no attention.

Michael had little attention to give to the man he could've ended up as the song sang, 'Burn baby burn...' A bit of an old song in terms of lyrics, but old wasn't always bad. The shadow stopped suddenly, having found his target. Michael positioned his side to the wall, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and swung his left arm back. Flames roared from his palm, became contained in a small whirling inferno, then condensed into a bright white-hot beam of plasma, a shard of the Sun itself. Pheonix gripped the beam easily with both hands, and then, in one fluent movement, threw his body forward, piercing the wall with the sword. He worked quickly, using his body weight to cut laterally across the wall, severing the alarm lines, before relaxing and dissipating the beam.

Pheonix casually started walking out of the alleyway, digging inside his clothing for something. His hands closed around it. Suddenly, the shade threw the homeless man a hundred dollar bill, and then it was gone, leaving an astonished old veteran to comprehend the strange sight he had just seen.

Not long after, Michael appeared around a corner, laying eyes on his brother clearly starting to lose his shit, "Ey man, it's done, piece of cake. Now for the real fun, time to rob this bitch." Pheonix chuckled and forcefully smacked his brother on the shoulder.

The Executioner

Five armed guards employed by the Tower had spent a few hours preparing to transfer a simple briefcase, loading up an armored truck. Unfortunately, they had been instructed to wait for someone, someone who was running late. "Where the fuck is this ass hole?" shouted Damion, a beast of a man and the appointed leader of this particular group. He stood at the back of the truck, pacing as he waited. The guard didn't like being late because then his ass got chewed out because he was in charge.

"Kind of pointless to ask, don't you think, boss?" remarked Phil, a much smaller man who sat in the back of the truck, and a bit of a smart ass. Damion glared at him and continued to pace, thumping his AR-15 rifle that they had all been assigned. Management clearly wanted this suitcase delivered.

Rodrigo laughed, taking a drag on a joint as he leaned against the nearby wall, "Relax Damion, this shit'll get done soon enough." He blew out a cloud of strongly scented smoke and brought the lit joint back up to his mouth. Only an armored fist snatched it as he began to take another drag, an incredibly deep voice saying, "You know weed is illegal..."

The hispanic man suddenly became pale as he took in the enormous armored hulk of a man standing next to him. The beast made Damion look like a small fry with his armored suit, shotgun over his back, rifle in his hand, multiple bandoliers and webbing with a ridiculous amount of ammo and grenades on them, "Uh... Yeah... It's not weed, man. Promise."

"You our escort? Where the fuck have you been?!" roared Damion, who clearly possessed more balls than brains. The behemoth slowly moved his armored head to look at the boss, "Some thugs sidetracked me..." He pulled out a 30 round magazine from his webbing, letting Damion see it was now empty. The boss finally got the picture and gulped as the hulk ordered, "Now, stop fucking getting high when on-mission, and get in the goddamned truck. You incompetent fucks should've already been good to go when I got here, no wonder they hired me for this job." He threw the joint to the ground and slammed his boot onto it.

They were rolling out within ten seconds, the walking tank sitting in the back with Damion, Rodrigo, and Phil. Henry and Flannigan took up the driver and passenger seats. Sheepishly, Phil asked, "So... What should we call you?"

"The Executioner."

Officer Collins

Elizabeth Collins was having an incredibly boring day, one that was only starting to get worse. Little did she know it was about to get very interesting, but until then, she was running on a treadmill in sweatpants and a t-shirt at one of the city's gyms. This would've been a normal sight, only she was taking the time to literally lift weights mentally. Multiple hundred pound weights floated up and down around her as she ran, training her mind to focus, trying to push herself further and further.

It would've been easier if she didn't have to listen to her sister complain. The sibling was rambling about the boyfriend she'd broken up with and thrown out again, her voice going through the earbuds in Collins's ears, "Uh huh. Worthless. Right. Justified. Of course, Emily. Yes..." Elizabeth rolled her eyes and turned the treadmill up a few miles per hour. Her sister tended to be a drama queen, something she had no interest in dealing with. But family was family, "No, I'm listening. Yes. Why wouldn't I be? Okay. Yes, he was such an ass hole... Lazy, yes." What she would've given to just hang up on her.

A particularly ballsy Alpha Male decided to walk in front of her and start showing off how much he could lift, clearing believing he was being subtle despite smiling at her as he sat down on the bench. He wrapped his hands around the bar, and pushed. It didn't budge. The ripped guy put all his strength into it, and still the damn thing wouldn't move. Elizabeth giggled a bit, saying loudly, "Better luck next time big shot," humiliating the man further as he quickly retreated elsewhere into the gym.

"What? No, I wasn't talking to you. Ugh, no, I wa- Look let's just talk about Finn again alright?"

[Warm Regret]

When thinking of a bar known as “Heaven”, one might picture a lofty upscale social establishment with an angelic staff and euphoric atmosphere but this run down watering hole couldn’t be further from that idea. It was a seedy hole-in-the-wall bar on the not so nice part of town. It wasn’t surprising that the little pub almost never had any patrons. Despite the bar’s less than inviting air, it did have one positive side; the drinks gave you the most bang for your buck.

Troy sat at the bar in his civilian clothes. Today his attire consisted of casual white tennis shoes with blue jeans and a long sleeved white v-neck shirt that outlined the curves of his small yet athletic frame. Taking a sip of his drink, he cocked his head to the side, offering the bartender a smile that would have looked flirtatious to anyone unfamiliar with their relationship. The bartender, affectionately referred to as Papo, was an attractive, older looking Hispanic male, who slid a square piece of paper across the bar towards Troy.

“I got another job for you. From someone called the Architect. This one pays $100,000, minus a small finder’s fee of course.” He said with a grin.

“Of Course.” Troy replied with a snort, taking yet another sip of his drink.

“In any event, it should still pay enough to keep you out of trouble for a while.” The bartender continued.

Setting his drink down, the ice cubes made a chiming sound as they melted further into his drink, taping against the glass in the process. Troy unfolded the piece of paper which only had a street name and a time. “What’s this?” He asked.

“Be at that location at that exact time. “Papo explained further.” There’ll be an armored truck traveling east on that road. The client needs you to stop that truck and confiscate the briefcase on board.”

“What’s in the briefcase?” Troy asked?

Papo smirked. “Does it matter?”

Pressing his knuckles to his lips, a playful smile played across Troy’s face. “I guess not.” He replied. “Well, it looks like I have work to do... Ciao.” He said while leaving the bar and raising his hand to wave, however he never looked back.

---

A few hours had passed since he was given his assignment and currently he sat with his legs folded in the middle of a narrow one way street. He was now dressed in his red and black uniform, glancing over at the clock atop the small bank to his left. ~Hmm…any minute now.~ He thought to himself and almost like clockwork the armored truck arrived just like he was told. Black Jack sat there un phased by the trucks speed or the fact that it was heading straight for him. Instead he stretched his arms up into the sky and yawned, much like a cat awakening from its evening nap.

“Look! There’s someone sitting in the middle of the road.” Flannigan said with urgency.

“What!?” Henry snapped, as he leaned forward to get a better look.

“What should I do?” Flannigan asked.

“Keep going.” Henry said coldly, while settling back into his seat.

“B..but!” Flannigan hesitated.

“You heard me.” Henry confirmed.

Black Jack rose to his feet as the armored truck sped towards him and he showed no signs of moving. Just when the truck began getting too close for comfort, two of the four tires blew out, courtesy of the spiked jacks he scattered across the street earlier. The sudden deceleration of the fast moving and heavy vehicle caused the truck to swerve, nearly crashing into a nearby building but Flannigan managed to bring it to an abrupt halt just before impact.

Two armed guards immediately hopped out of the driver and passenger side respectively, aiming their weapons at Black Jack. “Stop right there!”

Black Jack held up his hands and smiled. “So you guys were just gonna run me over huh? Well that’s not very nice.” He teased.

[FrozenEcstasy]

Gabriel was on the streets at the time, hat on and sunglasses to keep anybody from recognizing the heir to the largest electronics and technology company in the city, Haiyang. The company seal, a blue circle with a drop of water in the center, was plastered over several billboards and buses. But it was rather humble for such a large company. They were the creators of most computers and smart-devices in the city, their only competition really, was Apple, and they've not had much success since Haiyang took to the stores a few years ago. Such as the wireless earpiece connected to Gabriel's cell.

Decked in a dark red and black plaid shirt, and black denim jeans, Gabriel stood out yet blended into the crowds as he walked with some traditional Chinese music singing softly in his ear. He was making his way through the cities as a way to get out of his house, away from people by getting lost in people. A smile flickered across his face as he turned a corner into a coffee shop. He went inside and ordered a coffee, and sat at one of the tables outside and watched the people of the city.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, tapping a button to open it up to the homescreen and quickly cipher through his apps for a police scanner he had made for himself, and turned it on. Today was gonna be the day he debuted Ocean's new costume But first he needed something to get involved in. In the meantime, he was still struggling to decide what ability to use this time, or maybe not one at all. He could not use either ability and show off his blade. That would be fun... Jacob had been daring him to try it for awhile.

Gabriel tapped his phone a few times and opened up a messenger.


GoodBlood: Hey bro, you have the bike set up for today yet?
WeeLilDavid: Not yet broski, the AI is almost finished but the AP is still a bit bugged, it'll be an hour.
GoodBlood: God... What if the scanner goes off? I need the stuff in that bike ya know! >:|
WeeLilDavid: Well you'll have to use your Hell GB, sorry, you don't get to win the bet today :P
GoodBlood: You little...
[D/C Conversation]


Gabriel looked up from the phone slightly frustrated and went back to the scanner.

Jacob was a little pain in the kaboose when he wanted to be. When He and Gabriel decided to do this hero/sidekick thing, Gabriel didn't think Jacob would be so ornery with it. Well, jokes on him, Gabriel would find a pipe and use that as a sword... But where would he find a pipe? Godangit, this was frustrating.

[betelgeuse]

-Finn-
-Wentworth Bank-

The first thing Finn heard was Michael's excited tone of voice before a sharp slap on his shoulder brought the older brother back to reality. Even though his brother was dressed entirely like a ninja, they had decided that their strange costumes would look so different from their true appearance, it would make hiding from the police much easier.

"Remember Mikey, no real names and don't hurt anyone."

Finn pulled the lower mask on before stepping away from his brother; the cameras inside the bank were out, but there was no telling about street surveillance and there were witnesses galore. Leaving the alley into the light for the first time since he had gotten changed, he passed the hardware and convenience store on either side. It was 9:05 on the dot and the exact time they had planned to enter the building, so he headed across the street where they couldn't turn back.

Other than emails and text messages, the Regel brothers didn't have much contact with the person who had hired them to rob the bank. They had fifteen thousand dollars deposited into each of their accounts over night, with the other half to be supplied when the job was finished. The pair had discussed it and decided that if they were going to pull a bank heist, they might as well make it count. Finn had big plans for their base of operations, so they would need a lot of cash to pay for a skilled contractor's silence.

The bank itself was massive, the main floor's ceiling over thirty feet high with a barrel ceiling. Floor to ceiling windows ran parallel on either side with teller stations lining the walls in their original, antique woodwork. There were about two dozen patrons and fifteen workers overall, along with two average looking security guards directly at the entrance. As soon as the Regels walked into the bank, the guards raised their arms for the pair to stop.

"Stand aside and show your face." One of them said firmly.

"No can do, sir." Finn said, raising his hand, making a 'tsk tsk' motion with his pointer finger.

The guards reached for the stun guns on their belt, which instantly jumped off and smashed against the marble floor. Their handcuffs snapped around either owner's wrist before dragging them several feet and chaining them to two different radiators.

"You see, we're robbing the place." He added with a smile beneath his mask.

Finn took several broad, confident steps toward the center of the bank. Several patrons who caught sight of what happened began to whisper and talk louder, a wave of panic moving across the room. He half expected his brother to make some grand display, he just hoped that he didn't get a little too wild during the heist. They didn't need to add several counts of murder to their charges.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Finn shouted. "If you cooperate quickly and calmly, this will all be over lickity-split"

The room instantly fell silent, the hostages instantly dropping to the ground without needing to be told to do so. Just as quickly, the silence was broken by a set of heavy double doors on the other side of the room. Five armed guards dressed in swat gear spread out into the lobby with their weapons drawn and aimed skillfully at the two brothers.

"Well, that was unexpected."

[Sizzlin Bacon]

Pheonix, Wentworth Bank

"Yeah, yeah, don't hurt anyone." Michael rolled his eyes as Finn stepped away from him, muttering, "We'll see how long that lasts." He had to admit as they walked in, this bank was pretty spiffy and impressive, no doubt it held quite the amount of cash and other valuables. And clearly just an piss-poorly guarded as most banks, considering the terrible excuse for guards that Finn trolled, causing Michael to burst out in laughter as his excitement built, "God damn you're cheesy, Pulse."

Pheonix casually walked beside Finn, letting the man deal with the situation and hand out the orders until the double doors burst open, surprising Mikey as he whispered to Finn, "Have we just been set up?" Despite his quiet concerns, Pheonix took a few steps forward before stopping and roaring at the guards, "Alright, I'm going to give you guys three seconds to put your weapons on the ground before I come for you. And I'm not going to kill you, no, I'm going to cut your fucking cocks off." He drew in a deep breath, crossed his arms, and then threw them down to his sides, spewing flames from his hands that swirled and condensed into two short sword-sized beams of plasma, "Three..."

Executioner

Angry did not even begin to describe Malcolm's mood as the truck swerved and came to an abrupt halt. Flannigan gripped his rifle as he shouted, "Who the hell are you?" Meanwhile, Henry spoke quietly as he pressed his finger in his ear, his words being relayed to those inside the truck through his earbud, "We got a crazy son of a bitch in a ridiculous costume."

In the back of the truck, Damion repeated Henry's words, causing the Executioner to order, "Tell them open fire. The rest of you, get the fuck out and help them. Stall him as long as possible. And close the damn doors behind you." The trio clutched their rifles to their chest and kicked open the back doors as they piled out, Damion quickly shutting them once all three were out. For the few moments the doors were open, the Executioner stared at the crazy bastard in the middle of the street, resting his enormous armored arms on his knees.

Almost immediately, Malcolm heard the sounds of five rifles going off, and got to work. Grabbing the briefcase, he popped the simple latches off and opened it, revealing a single flash drive sitting in the middle. "Interesting... All this for a little bit of circuitry," said Malcolm as he picked up the drive, examining it for a moment before stashing it in the empty mag he'd used earlier, taking two rounds from another mag to put into the empty one, then returning both to the webbing on his armor.

Outside, the sounds of screams and more gunfire erupted, but the Executioner couldn't give less of a damn about the five guards as he pulled out some C4 and rigged it to two of his detonators, placing the plastic explosives inside the briefcase and shutting it, "A surprise for our new friend..." The shouting and gunfire stopped as Malcolm put the detonators back in their pouches. Picking the briefcase and his rifle up, the Executioner kicked open the doors and hopped down, "You might want to listen to what I've got to say, friend..."

Officer Collins

Collins had continued listening to her sister complain as she ran on the treadmill until her phone lit up, sounding off a loud alert. Muttering, "Sorry, sis, I've got work to do," Collins hang up on her sister and tapped the phone's screen, a robotic voice speaking into her ear, "Bank robbery reported at Wentsworth Bank, all units report immediately, two masked suspects clad in all-black, one wearing "gay fishnet," the other wearing "a stupid ninja costume," presumed to be extremely dangerous regardless, hostages inside."

Elizabeth almost immediately mentally dropped the weights and ran out of the gym, fumbling with her keys before quickly getting into her rusty car. She had to slam the door to get it to shut all the way before turning the car on and opening her glove box, pulling out a pistol. Before she took off, she threw a police light onto the hood of her car and began the trek to the bank, moving as quickly as she could considering she didn't have her cruiser or its siren, grumbling, "Of all times I'm needed, I have this piece of junk... Move, bitch, get out the way!!"

[betelgeuse]

-Finn-
-Wentworth Bank-

"Three" Finn heard his brother begin the countdown as two searing hot blades formed in either hand. It was still something that he thought was extremely impressive.

"Fire!" One of the guards commanded.

A wave of gunshots rang out, more like cannon fire in such unison and proximity. Over the past few days, Michael had fired several dozen rounds at Finn just to test his skills at stopping them. He had never expected a scenario where his younger brother would sit around firing a pistol at him for fun, but was glad for the practice. Instead of stopping each bullet from the armored team, Finn stepped forward and held his left arm forward with his palm facing the danger.

The natural force field around Pulse doubled in size, surrounding his brother and stopping the hundred-or-so bullets in midair. Finn equated holding his force field to holding his breath; the effects were similar in giving him a light head no matter how much he was breathing. The entire scene of floating bullets took only twenty five seconds to happen, but was a mentally exhausting feat to accomplish.

Dropping his arm to his side with a gasp for air, the entire collection of bullets fell and rang out like marbles crashing to the floor. He looked to his brother, his eyes saying that this was going to be far harder than they had previously thought.

"Have at 'em." He said, allowing his brother to finish the countdown.

Turning on his heel, the shorter of the two headed toward the left wall. Gripping the air lightly with his right fist, the sound of warping metal filled the air as the wrought iron grating snapped from the antique frame that divided the tellers from customers. He let his hand go and the grating fell to the floor like a crumpled piece of tinfoil. With the help of the steel toed boots, Finn pulled him over the counter and onto the other side.

There were six tellers and an older woman who appeared to be the bank manager; according to her name tag, at least. Finn walked over to her casually and put his right arm around her shoulder like two friends catching up at the bar. She was trembling with fear and clutching bother hands in front of her chest.

"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to get out of here without tearing apart this pretty bank- so give me that little swipey card for the vault and we'll be out of your hair." Pulse said , assuming his brother was doing completely fine on his own.

[Sizzlin Bacon]

Pheonix, Wentworth Bank

"Fire!" shouted one of the guards, to which Pheonix replied amid the gunfire, "Two." He had to admit as the bullets poured towards them and slowed in the force field, he felt a twinge of fear that perhaps his brother wouldn't be able to stop them all. Still, he held firm, relaxing when the guards ran out of ammo in their rifles and Finn let the rounds fall to the ground. "Have at 'em," rang in Michael's ears as he grinned under his mask, "One..."

For a moment, the guards stood there, stunned by the display as Finn went on to do his thing and deal with the vault as Pheonix finally roared, "Zero!" He sucked in a deep breath, tightened his grip on the blades, and exhaled forcefully as he swept his leg threw the air, sending a torrent of flames rushing towards the guards. As they withdrew to shield themselves from the oncoming heat, Pheonix charged towards the leftmost guard, planning his assault as he went.

The flames dissipated before they hit the guards but the idea wasn't to burn them alive, no, Mikey had better plans for them as he burst through the torrent, slicing the guard's hands off with one blade while bringing the other up between the man's legs, scorching a path through the groin and most of the abdomen. The poor bastard screamed like a woman as the combination of searing hot burns and pure pain reached his brain, Pheonix pulling the condensed plasma from the guard's abdomen, quickly charging towards the next guard in line.

He suffered a similar fate, having been utterly stunned by the incredible viciousness of Pheonix's assault on his comrade. As his own severed hands fell to the floor, Michael simply continued running, dragging the blade through the man's abdomen and back, entrails spilling out as the guard collapsed.

The middle man and leader had the sense to start to reload, releasing the magazine from his rifle and reach for another on his chest, but Pheonix was simply moving too fast. The guard tried to stop the first blade with his rifle, and it did slow it down temporarily, but Michael simply set the second blade up the man's groin and abdomen as he had the other two, his first blade quickly melting its way through the metal and slicing off the guard's right arm. The man yelled in agony as Pheonix brought the blade further up his abdomen, embedding it deep in his chest. Michael would've spared the man such pain but his colleagues had reloaded, and clearly had no qualms about opening fire on their leader, probably motivated by an intense fear and desire to kill Pheonix before he got them.

Michael callously used the guard's body with its kevlar armor to absorb most of the rounds, clenching his jaw as two of the rounds managed to graze his right calf and shoulder. He roared, "Now you've gone and pissed me off!" as he withdrew the blade from the leader's chest and charged the last two guards.

They started to go for their pistols but it was already too late for the first man, who promptly had his head simply sliced off, the body slumping to the ground as the head rolled. The last man hurried brought the pistol up, his hands shaking as he aimed it at Pheonix, "Stop! We can work this out, man! I've got a family for fuck's sake!"

Michael chuckled as he walked towards his final enemy, "You should've thought about what I said before shooting at me and my brother." The panicked man fired a few shots but his shaky aim only helped Pheonix to casually melt the few rounds that came near him and then slice the man's arms off at the elbows. He fell to his knees as the pain and shock overwhelmed him, "Why?!"

"Why the hell not?" asked Pheonix as he brought his hands above his head, combining the two blades into a single ultra-hot katana. Michael sent the blade burning through the air at the man's neck, yet he felt it slowing, as if moving against force, until he was stuck forcing his entire weight against a blade that wouldn't budge just inches from the guard's neck, "What... the... hell?!"

A voice called out, rather weakly and feminine, "S-top! Surr-ender!" Michael looked towards the entrance of the bank, his eyes coming to rest on some white bitch in green sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She was noticeably strained and kneeling, her arms looking as if they were holding up his blade, as she continued, "Stop... criminal!"

"Who the fuck are you?" called out Michael as he continued pressing his weight into the blade, determined to kill the guard who had shot him. The reply was simple, "Officer... Collins..." Something clicked in his head, a reference he'd heard somewhere in a crowd, about a police officer who had powers too. He relaxed and pulled the blade away the man's neck, "Oh, I'm sorry Officer, I surrender."

Officer Collins breathed a sigh of relief as the stress of trying to hold the plasma at bay was released, but she remained on guard as she pulled her pistol from her waistband, aiming it at Pheonix, "Get on the ground!"

"Absolutely, mam, but first..." The katana of plasma shortened as another blade appeared in Pheonix's other hand, this one piercing the man's forehead. He chuckled at his little deception as Collins yelled, "No!" and opened fire. She emptied her magazine but Pheonix casually cut the bullets in mid-air, "You're gonna have to try better than that, Officer Bitch."

Elizabeth growled as rage flooded her mind, "Have it your way, scumbag." She returned the pistol to her waist and cracked her knuckles. Pheonix simply laughed at this, "You're gonna fight with your fists?" He was answered as she punched straight ahead in the air, her muscles connecting with her mind to send a burst of telekinetic force into his chest, throwing him backwards into the wall.

Coughing as he slid to the floor, his blades gone from his broken concentration, Pheonix muttered under his breath, "Ok... That was better... Get this shit done fast, Finn..." The black-clothed man shakily got to his feet before forming two more blades of plasma and roaring as he heard police sirens in the distance, "You want a fight?! I'll give you a fight!!"

[FrozenEcstasy]

Most might wonder why Gabriel would jump up from his chair and speed down the street like he was being chased. In truth, he was the one doing the chasing. The scanner went off and alerted him to a bank robbery with more supposed supers. He heard one of them has swords of fire, and he immediately took a smile to his face.

He found a fairly quite alley and changed clothes in a quick five minutes, for a moment feeling a bit dorky. A traditional monk's garb and a dragon mask, it was silly, but he was still getting a better costume made, so he dealt with it. Looking like a Dragon Ball Z character was somewhat popular anyway.

When dressed, he threw his clothes in a dumpster and took off for the bank once again, but this time he scaled the building with a pair of conjured ice tools. Coming into a bank from the streets would get the police in his way. They already knew he was perfectly law abiding besides the vigilante thing, but he wasn't always careful and they still wanted to do something with him.

He hopped over buildings with his "super duper Kung-fu skills," until he was overtop the bank. With that... He sat down cross legged and took out his phone.


GoodBlood: I'm at a bank heist
LilDavid: Good God GB.
GoodBlood: What?
LilDavid: I heard the police thingy too broski, a guy with flaming swords and someone throwing around metal? I hope you realize with as much as I've worked on this bike, you ain't getting it today.
GoodBlood: Eh... Yeah, I guess.
LilDavid: Good Luck, don't get your ass handed to you,
[D/C Conversation]


Gabe stood back up and put his phone away, seeing into the bank as best he could, there were already police cars and fighting going on. He took a few steps back and took a running leap, flying off the building and falling after than should be healthy for a normal human. But a vortex of water was created by utilizing the humidity, and used to soften his fall greatly as he landed right at the banks entrance.

Taking somewhat arrogant steps through the door, he giggle mannishly. The water fountains in the bank blew skyward. A tendril of water Ocean was controlling pulled a fire alarm and the sprinkler system went off, spraying water down in a makeshift rain. He looked at the scene before him, quite ghastly.

"It's not nice taking other people's lunch money kiddos."

[betelgeuse]

-Finn-
-Wentworth Bank-

The vault itself had a twelve inch thick steel door that was over ten feet in diameter; even from the outside, the magnetic super could feel four steel beams running from the vault door through the wall. It would have been an exhausting feat to try and rip the door out of the wall like Michael had originally suggested. During the brief fight between Phoenix and the guards, Finn found himself in an entirely different situation. Standing next to the vault entrance with his brother battling half way across the giant bank, the older of the two negotiated with the bank manager.

"What do you mean they don't normally have it closed?"

"We were paid to have the vault sealed for the day-"

"-So what does that have to do with anything?"

"Even with the security card and code, it's a heavy door."

"Good God, woman, that doesn't matter! Just put the code in!" Finn said, entirely exasperated at how long it was taking.

The elderly bank manager that Finn had come to know as Ethel swiped the card hanging from her lanyard and continued on to dial a five digit number on the security pad; several loud bangs rang out near the teller stations, with the silhouette of a human form that moved past rapidly. Pulse turned just in time to see his brother go flying across the room and slam against the wall near the safe door.

"Ok... That was better... Get this shit done fast, Finn..." Michael said low enough that Ethel or the cop didn't hear his real name.

With a war cry ringing out, Michael jumped up from where he had landed and ran in the direction of the female cop he had been fighting. Finn had yet to place the face, as he turned to the sound of the vault's rolling locks coming undone one by one. Police sirens were ringing through the air from outside, a sign that their time was running far too short. The pair would need to make an escape before too many officers showed up, so with a deep breath, Finn took several steps back while continuing to face the vault.

"Thanks for the help, Ethel, but time to step aside." He said, raising both hands under a considerable amount of invisible pressure.

The sound of warping metal resonated from within the vault like a terrible monster awakening from a long slumber. Inching open with minimal speed, the vault door was the heaviest item he had even moved- far more than even two cars combined. An illuminated room lined with safety deposit boxes was gradually revealed, roughly the size of a shipping container at the harbor. When the vault door had swung open just wide enough for Finn to walk through, he dropped his arms in exhaustion, his fingertips trembling at the use of power.

Running his gloved hands across the safety deposit boxes, the short super could feel all of the precious metals inside each container. Intent on a specific safety deposit box, Finn approached number 706 and pulled the rectangle box from where it had been safely nestled. Holding it loosely under his left arm, the young man snapped his fingers; two water proof navy blue duffel bags for transferring cash flew off of their hooks on either side of the wall while the safety deposit boxes began jumping out of their spaces like popcorn bursting in the heat. Floating one by one over the duffel bags, the deposit boxes lids snapped open and turned over, dumping their contents out before falling lazily to the ground.

"That should do for a while." Finn said, satisfied with the amount of cash, jewelery and gold the bags had been filled with.

The sound of the fire alarm brought Finn back to reality, drawing his attention outside the room full of more valuable items than he had even witnessed in his life. With the box numbered 706 still under his arm, he exited the vault with the two duffel bags floating at waist height. When he made it back into the main hall of Wentworth, Pulse was shocked at what was going on. Two supers against his brother and the sound of police surrounding the building was enough to send his heart racing. Choosing to take care of one problem at a time, he looked up to the ceiling and gripped his fist in the air as if he was reaching for an apple.

Pinching the pipes at the base of the sprinkler heads, the downpour of rain finally halted, although there was a half inch layer of water on the marble floor. Finally assessing the room as a whole, his heart went from racing madly to nearly dropping out of his chest. Although he had only met her for a few minutes twice, Finn had seen enough pictures on his ex-girlfriend's phone to recognize Elizabeth Collins. Luckily he hadn't worn anything that showed his tattoos at the time, not that he assumed she would even remember.

"It's not nice taking other people's lunch money kiddos." Finn heard the strangely clothed man say to them.

"Time to go, Phoenix!" He called out to his brother, hoping Michael wasn't to soaked for his powers to function.

[Warm Regret]

Black Jack grinned and lowered his hands while Flannigan pointed his rifle and demanded a name. “You can call me whatever you like handsome. But most people call me Black Jack.” He answered coolly, adding a subtle wink that either repulsed the armed man or made him very uncomfortable. It was then that he overheard Henry alerting his comrades to the situation. He wasn’t as bothered by the fact that he would have more armed guards to deal with, than he was of Henry’s disapproval of his outfit. “Ridiculous Costume?!” He protested. “Obviously a keen fashion sense is wasted on someone like you.“ Crossing his arms, he cocked a brow and gave Henry a judgmental look from head to toe. “Black on black on black isn’t exactly trend setting you know.”

After receiving instructions into his earpiece, Henry exchanged some dialogue with Flannigan which Black Jack could barely pick up and then without much warning they both opened fire. When the first shots rang out, Black Jack sprinted towards them, vaulting into a cartwheel and then a series of back flips, making it even more difficult to land a hit on such an agile and unpredictable target. Once he landed at a comfortable range, he immediately hit Flannigan with an upwards kick to the jaw followed by a spinning kick to the chest, leaving him stunned. Turning towards Henry, he grabbed the man’s arm and gave it a painful twist, causing Henry to grunt and release the weapon he was holding. Leaning forward, Black Jack hooked his leg like a scorpion’s tail and slammed the sole of his boot into the Henry’s face, rendering him unconscious, the same as his counterpart. “Enjoy your nap boys.”

He wasn’t out of the woods yet though, as three more armed guards quickly emerged from the rear of vehicle. “No one told me it was going to be a party.” He teased, to which the guards responded with a barrage of bullets. Leaping sideways into an aerial cartwheel, Blackjack avoided their gunfire. He easily jumped onto the hood of the armored truck, then climbed onto the vehicle’s roof while the sound of bullets ricocheting off metal rang out into the night. Quickly somersaulting of the truck’s roof, he extended his left foot to strike one of the guards in the face, taking him out without much effort. Landing in a spider-like crouch, he immediately swept the nearest guard off his feet for a nasty fall then quickly fired two rounds from his plasma pistol to knock out the remaining guard who groaned and fell into a heap against the side of the truck.

With a sigh Black Jack re holstered his weapon and began making his way to the rear of the vehicle. As he motioned to open the double doors, he mused to himself. “Now let’s see what’s behind door number one.” But at that moment, The Executioner kicked the doors open and leapt out, his hulking form relieving the truck of its excess weight. Black Jack saw that The Executioner was encased in full body armor, carrying both the briefcase he was hired to retrieve and a loaded weapon. “So let me get this straight. Those guys were riding in a truck with a walking soup can but I’m wearing a ridiculous outfit?” He teased.

‘You might want to listen to what I've got to say, friend...’ The Executioner warned.

Black Jack grinned, raising a plucked brow. “Oh I always make it a point to listen to what people have to say, especially when they’re heavily armed and three times my size…but can we make this quick? I sort of need that briefcase you’re carrying.”

[Sizzlin Bacon]

Wentworth Bank

The sudden pulling of the fire alarm combined with the pouring sprinklers stopped Pheonix and Officer Collins for a moment as both looked up, and then at the strange monk who walked in, "It's not nice taking other people's lunch money kiddos."

Elizabeth groaned, stately loudly as she rubbed her forehead, water beginning to drench her, "Great, another masked nut with superpowers." She pointed at Ocean, yelling, "Get the hell out of here before I'm forced to take you down! Last I checked vigilantes were still arrested too," before her attention was once more turned away as the downpour stopped, towards another voice calling out, "Time to go, Phoenix!" The second suspect, who had clearly succeeded in accessing the vault considering the weighty-looking duffel bags that were floating by his sides. Collins took a moment to notice the twisted metal, as well as the bent sprinkler pipes, before concluding this man probably manipulated metal, a plan forming in her mind.

Meanwhile, Pheonix stood, soaked in water with steam rising off his body, his blades no less hot than they had been before the sprinklers were ignited, "Who the hell are you? A monk who moves water?" Suddenly, Mikey started to laugh, "Interesting!" He sucked in a deep breath, his plasma blades absorbing back into his palms as he cracked his knuckles, "We'll see just how well fire fights water..." For a moment, he locked eyes with Finn, moving his head backwards towards the sword on his back, trying to tell him that they should use Michael's idea of Finn pulling Pheonix around using the metal sword to escape.

His message given, he returned his attention to Ocean, bellowing, "Well, monk, let's see if I can boil your blood!" As he finished his challenge, he charged towards the asian man, preparing to fight using his martial arts combined with his firebender. In truth, he had little intention of fighting for long, but it would still be an interesting, if short, duel.

As Pheonix charged towards the monk, Collins decided to focus her attentions on this other masked stranger, deciding to leave the other two nutcases to fight one another. Elizabeth glared at the man and smiled, a thrill running through her at the prospect of fighting someone with at least a somewhat similar power, "Well, let's see if I'm right about what your power is..." She struck backwards with her elbows, shattering the vaulting windows behind her. Suddenly the glass stopped falling as Elizabeth motioned with her hands as if gripping something. Smirking again, she exhaled deeply and brought her hands forward, sending the shards flying at Pulse with all the mental power she could muster...

The Executioner

"Oh, a smart ass, how fucking wonderful," bellowed Malcolm, "Well, buddy, some bastard thought they could pay me, as if I was some common mercenary, to guard this suitcase, whatever the hell is in it," he banged the briefcase against his leg, "Apparently from you. They said there would probably be resistance, which got me thinking... How exactly did you know to be right here, exactly on the path we would take?"

The Executioner casually started walking in a circle around Black Jack, swinging the briefcase back and forth, his feet slightly shaking the ground with every step, "You know, you might be getting tricked right now. Maybe we both are?" His armored head looked over his right shoulder at the flaming man, "Were you told what was in this damn thing? Because I certainly wasn't. How do you know there isn't someone standing nearby, maybe in a building," he motioned all around him with the shotgun he was holding, "Prepared to kill us both, or maybe just you? That this isn't all a trap?"

The hulking Atlas shrugged, "Maybe I'm just a paranoid old geezer. In any case, I've got a deal for you. You give me a third of whatever you're getting, and I'll let you take the damn thing without a fight." Malcolm held the briefcase out, killing end of his shotgun pointed at Black Jack in case he made a sudden movement, "Deal?"

[Corporal Lance]

The pounding of hammers rang out in a staccato, echoing out across the dull neighborhood. Marquette Heights, home to the rich and boring. Well, at least that's what Hope thought. It was a gated community type of place, the type with the manicured lawns where everyone walked their dogs along streets with picked fences with their lawyer wife and gifted kids. Hope kinda hated it. Stupid moneybags didn't know how good they had it, and they were always complaining about something. Oh, my god! I have to park my car on the street like a common heathen because the work truck takes up the driveway! Can't you hammer just a little quieter? I'm sorry, you can only work between the hours of ten and two because I don't want my kids around all the construction. Pfft, like they fuckin' knew how hard it got. Rent was almost a week past due for her, and the electric bill was also fighting for her attention, but she could probably skip that one this month. If she managed to finish her dining table side project by the weekend, she might have a little extra pocket change after selling it for a trip to the grocer's. Bologna sandwiches were getting old fast. Buuuut... if Hope had the opportunity, she would trade lives with one of these over-privileged dickheads and never look back. Maybe not as whiny, though. Truth be told, she loved her job, especially woodworking, so it wasn't half as bad as she made it seem. Yeah, a lot of them liked to bellyache, but Marquette Heights always offered work in a safe area with decent pay. Sometimes the nicer folks would buy them lunch or give them some gift cards when they were done. If it hadn't been the rent bill weighing on her mind, Hope would've been in a great mood.

They were working on a kind of town house type of structure, putting a two-story addition together. It was all pretty much just frame at this point, but that was the best part. Infinite possibilities and a lot of laying woodwork. Hope was on the second story working on building the floor in with Marshall, while Meda, Yeung, and Reede were putting up insulation in the wall frames below. Until Hope received a phone call, that is. Laying her claw hammer down, she fished her cheap little ear piece out of her tool belt and put it to her ear.
"Yeah?" she answered, the sharp sounds of construction filling the background as she picked her hammer up again to continue working.
"Have you been watching the news?" came a familiar, far away voice. It wasn't the best quality, but being put behind more proxies than one has fingers will do that to a phone call.
"No, I'm kinda working at the moment," she replied. Seeds usually called her twice a day, but she couldn't get to everything he'd bring her. Having a life gets in the way of hitting thugs in the face with blunt things.
"Think you might wanna start..."
"Is this really that important? Like I said, I'm busy," she huffed.
"Wisp, it's that important. Trust me. Make some time to talk. Now." She could tell by his tone of voice what this meant. Seeder was usually cryptic and almost never demanding. He's not straightforward like this. Hope grumbled and stood up.
"Boss, I've gotta take this. Smoke break?" she asked, looking to Marshall. The older man didn't look up from his own work.
"That's fine. Back in ten, Thomas." Hope took no hesitation in making her way down the ladder, jumping the last few rungs and jogging out to the truck. She produced a half-empty pack of Newports from the same pouch as her phone on her tool belt and pulled out the lighter she kept within.
"Alright, I'm good. Whatcha got, Seeds?"

Seeder, or s33D#r, was an associate Hope, or rather, Wisp, had met online. Someone with some hacking skills and more smarts than she had hair on her dainty little head. He'd become an asset over the past week with his info gathering skills, but he was annoying as hell. Still, she put up with him for the results. Hope Thomas had a particular hobby that needed those skills, a hobby where one dons a costume at night and plays superhero. Although it's not really playing. A couple weeks before Hope discovered that with the passing of the comet that she had been affected along with a handful of other fortunate individuals. Problem was that it was only her, and now Seeds, against God knew who with these other abilities. Luckily, she'd only run into one other, although she knew of a couple more, and he wasn't particularly dangerous at the moment. She'd need all the help she could get, and Seeder was one of those that would help. Even if he was an ultra nerd loser.
"I'm sending you some transcripts and audio of the police chatter, and recorded live video that the news is taking."
"Of...?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Just watch the first video I'm sending you." Hope audibly scoffed. He was always like this.
"I don't have time for fuckin' games, Seeds, just tell me what you mean."
"Watch the video, Wisp." Hope took a drag from her menthol and scoffed again, opening the video that had just appeared in her mailbox.
"Such a fuckin' tool," she remarked. Upon opening the video, Hope was met with helicopter footage above Wentworth Bank, with familiar news taglines such as Chaos Ensues as Wentworth Bank is Robbed! and Live Action Footage of Bank Heist. It was pretty stereotypical stuff, almost groan worthy. Probably would've explained the sirens they'd heard earlier. But therein lies the problem. The biggest thing Wisp had taken care of at that point was a bust on a meth lab controlled by the Mara Salvatrucha cartel. This was a whole new ball game. Hope winced.
"God damnit. Why can't this shit happen at night when I can, y'know, do something?" she seethed.
"It gets worse. Listen to the police radio that I've forwarded to-"
"Fuckin' A, Seeds! I don't have time for this, just tell me!" she interrupted.
"Geez, that time of the month already?" Seeder teased, eliciting a growl from the blonde, "The guys robbing the bank aren't... normal. They've got powers too, Wisp." Hope blew the smoke from her cigarette out of her nose before jumping to respond.
"Son of a bitch, okay Seeds, I'll need you to-"
"Just let me finish, there's more," Seeder interrupted this time, "They've already confirmed dead inside the bank. These guys are dangerous, Wisp. But there was another site hit, not on the news yet. A lot of gunfire coming from a few miles down from the bank. Not normal gunfire, like pistols. Automatic gun fire. Same time as the bank heist."

Hope just held her head. Saw this one coming. The city was already going to shit before the freaks started popping out of thin air. It wasn't going to be easy anymore.
"Alright, okay," she began, gathering herself, "I still have a long day of work ahead of me, so you'll need to be my eyes, okay Seeds? I'll need whatever video and radio talk you can get, any pictures, names-"
"Locations, phone numbers, addresses, blood types, magazine subscriptions, known pets, and fifth grade art projects. Got it," Seeder joked, "I'm already scanning for uploaded video and pictures on social media and the news websites and TV. I'll get you whatever video any idiot is stupid enough to take."
"Thank you sweetie..." Hope cooed in mocking, "You're such a good little boy... Listen, I'll be down to head out tonight at about 7:30. Give me a call about then. It's gonna be a looooooong night."
"I've got a raid tonight anyway. I'll talk to you then." As customary, Hope hung up without saying goodbye. Great. Just great. Now she had more to think about than just a late rent payment. Hope finished her smoke and crushed it underfoot in the driveway before returning to her work site, clambering up the ladder.
"Landlord again?" Marshall asked. Hope shook her head.
"Nah, it was my dad. Wanted to talk about his new girlfriend. I don't really want to talk about it." Marshall simply nodded his head and returned to work. That was a lie, of course. Hope hadn't spoken to her father in over two years. She checked her phone over again, having more information in her inbox. Putting her headphones in, she began to play some of the police transcripts on a loop, to understand everything being said. Before it became a long night, it was going to be an anxious day.

[FrozenEcstasy]

Ocean couldn't help but take small offense to the phrase "... Make your blood boil." He grew a smile behind his mask as the stranger charged forward, looking rather like a ninja. Oh the culture clash. Monk against ninja, two of the most powerful oriental fighters in history. Monks have been said to cause avalanches, and ninjas take forever and a day to train, and then they're untouchable. China and Japan don't like each other anyway, as ironic as it is. There was that Rape of Nanjiing and whatnot.

The thing here was this, however. Ocean was a legit monk, this poser was a knock-off. Ocean was water, this kid was fire. There could only ever be one outcome with this fight, scuffle, blah. That outcome, would be the victory of Ocean... So with that in mind.

Ocean laughed at the charge and feint end to his right as the ground under his attacker was turned to ice. Ocean quickly bent over to retrieve a shard of something and cut his thumb. Blood immediately poured out, enough to make a makeshift blade in his hand, then the cut closed. Ocean had about fifteen minutes until he was hit with Nausea, then another five to be normal again.

Structural holes appeared in the crystallized blade of blood as to make it longer without using more blood, and it curled and straightened slowly and undulating like a crystalline tentacle before he focused and hardened it to it's strongest state, then rushed back towards the stranger but had already shifted his footwork so he would immediately fall away from the man if he needed to.

[betelgeuse]

-Finn-
-Wentworth Bank-

It was astounding, really, how quickly the brothers' plans had gone straight to hell. What would have been a 'quick in and out job' according to Michael just hours earlier, had suddenly turned into a power struggle between four super powered humans. The building itself was damaged far more than he had ever intended- not including the dead bodies that he seriously needed to have a talk with his brother about. Time to consider it was cut short by the sound of his ex-girlfriend's sister speaking up from twenty feet away; window panes from either side of the hall shattered, the noise echoing against the marble walls.

Completely caught off guard, Finn threw his arms up into the air and pressed his forearms together by pure instinct to protect his face. His face and arms were slashed repeatedly with small slits similar to an attack by an exact-o blade; the shards that made blunt impact didn't pierce his skin but created instant welts and felt similar to air-soft gunfire. Both bags of loot fell to the floor, splashing loudly at the heavy impacts, mirroring the short super's state of mind. Only half way through the onslaught, the origami steel baking dish connected to his back hip flew forward and bloomed like a massive flower, catching most of the glass in the metallic basin as they fell uselessly to the floor.

"Listen, Señorita Dramático, you need to chill out." He said, holding his palms forward in a 'don't shoot' gesture.

Shocked and shaking from adrenaline, Finn willed the steel plate back into the small form it had just grown from as he stared the officer directly in the face. He and Michael had gotten this far and there was no way it was going to end in the back of a cop car. Raising his arms slowly as if they were chained to the floor, the air rang out with the sound of warping metal- the open vault door began to sway back and forth like a flag pushed by the breeze. Sure, Elizabeth could manipulate a wide range of materials with fine motor skills, but magnetic force could even the playing field by pure weight. The tremendous weight of the vault door was enough to create ringing in Finn's ears out of exhausting his powers, when he heard the hinges ripped in half and boulders of granite hitting the floor behind him, he could taste a coppery nosebleed that accompanied it.

Throwing his right fist, the entire vault was launched forward like a massive quarter knocked into the air. Bank customers and employees scattered like mice, the gigantic disk making impact with the back corner and knocking one of the aesthetic marble pillars out of place. Pulse fell to his knees in the water covered, chaotic lobby- he just needed one second to rest his fuzzy vision. He wasn't sure of the fate of the vault door, but knew that between the falling pillar, customers in the way and the heavy piece of falling security, the two heroes had more than enough work to keep them busy.

"Phoenix!" Finn shouted, holding his hand out, his ears ringing loudly. "Take it. . ."

Safety deposit box 706 remained in his left hand, but he knew that with Michael in such close proximity, he was safe to clear his head. Rubbing his eyes repeatedly, Finn stood shakily and assessed the closest way out. The older of the two Regels felt as though he had just finished a five mile marathon, but knew that there was one final home stretch before the two were safe. With the glass windows already shattered, Finn lifted him and his brother into the air, although the duffel bags continued to bob unsteadily beside them.

"Keep 'em off us." Finn instructed Michael as they moved slowly through the air.

It wasn't an extremely fast escape, but ninety-nine percent of the city was unable to perform the same act and follow them. Their only threats were the two supers bent on stopping them, but the Regels had pure determination to survive. Nearing the windows, he hoped that his brother was enough to keep any retaliation from stopping them.

[Sizzlin Bacon]

Wentworth Bank

"Eugh, you're one weird muthafucker, you know that?" yelled Pheonix as he clothed his feet in flames, melting the ice the monk had tried to against him and watched the freak use his own blood as a weapon. Summoning a deep hatred within him, Mikey planted his feet as the monk charged, boiling the water that touched him to steam. The rage flooded out of him in a great roar, flames encompassing his body before he thrust his hands forward, unleashing a torrential wave of flames. That should slow him down a while, went through Mikey's mind as his body returned to its normal self, just in time for him to see his brother send a god damn vault door skyward into the bank wall, smashing into a pillar.

The combination of the vault, the wall of flames, and the pillar, along with everything else that had occurred, really riled the crowd up, finally convincing them it was time to get the hell out of dodge. Pheonix chuckled as he let the people run by him, melding with the crowd temporarily.

Collins, meanwhile, had other problems. She's quietly levitated the glass that had struck Pulse off to rest on some counters, but the man's show of pure strength immediately after had astonished her, forcing her to watch awestruck as the great metal door was heft through the air. She came back to her senses as the people panicked to avoid the falling debris, forcing her to quickly use of her strength to slow the falling pillar and door as much as she could, the effect bringing her to her knees.

Her efforts were cut short by a man bellowing at her from behind, "Surprise, Officer Bitch!!" Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder, recognizing an airborne ninja bringing his fist down towards her head. Instantly, she made the split second decision to close her eyes, keep her focus on the debris, and take the hit.

Pheonix, however, was thoroughly enjoying the moment, laughing as his fist crashed into her jaw with such force that Collins' body half-spun itself onto her back, leaving her lying unconscious on the inundated bank floor. Michael took the time to stand over her body and laugh even more, "You got knocked the fuck out!"

His fun was stopped by the sound of his brother yelling for him, ordering him to take the safety deposit box, "Well, see you later, Officer Bitch." With that, he ran through the crowd over to his brother, snatched the box and hid it within his clothes. Suddenly, he felt the sling of his sheath tighten on his chest as he was pulled into the air with Finn, his brother manipulating the metal blade, "Keep 'em off us." ordered his brother, to which he replied, "With pleasure."

Digging as far into his mind and strength as he could, Pheonix summoned everything he had considering they were almost done. His brother had sent a vault door flying, and he wasn't about to be shown up by his short little brother again as Mikey felt the rage flooding his veins again. He could almost feel the heat boiling up from within him as he roared, sending swirling torrents of flames from his mouth and hands, the flames attacking the crowd itself. If this 'monk' was a hero, he'd doubtless use his waterbending abilities to save them.

The heat was such that the bank quickly became full of steam as the water from the bender and sprinklers vaporized, an added bonus that would probably slow Ocean down. In any case, Pheonix turned his attention to the countless police cars that had finally reached the bank as they floated outside the shattered windows, the police officers beginning to get their pistols out and spew orders Mikey never heard. He replied in anger, ramped the heat up a notch, and practically began setting the street itself on fire. The assembled crowd of people began screaming and scrambling to escape as the resolve of the officers broke, forcing the cops to take cover or start stopping, dropping, and rolling.

Mikey started laughing at their fear as he continued bellowing fire, focusing a few tongues into plasma that melted through the metal gas tanks of many of the police cars, igniting the fuel within and causing them to explode with fury, "Haha! You can't stop us!" He looked over at Finn, feeling exhaustion mount, "Now let's get the hell out of here."

[FrozenEcstasy]

Ocean was extremely pissed that his opponent had decided to use fire in such a cowardly manner. People with no skill to wield the power they've been given should never have it in the first place. The blaze vanished in a flash as steam rose from the spot Phoenix had tried to throw fire at him. He turned to see the vault and the pillar and with a flick of the hand the pillar was frozen into place by a chunk of ice.

"Idiot children." Ocean muttered under his breath as he watched the duo leave with the money. When Phoenix's blaze went crowd ways, Ocean once again made it disappear in a flash as a shield of ice was obliterated and turned into steam. His blood WAS boiling in anger at such recklessness and disrespect of life. Power did not make one immune to the natural order, and that had him pissed off to the extreme

Ocean ran outside and made quick work of several fire hydrants in order to counteract Phoenix's blaze. The water shot skyward and doused the streets, but the exploding cars where out of his control, he wasn't a GOD of water after all.

He ran back into the bank to where the telekinetic cop had been struck by the mock ninja idiot, cutting his hand with a piece of glass to absorb his sword back into himself and holding it away from him to heal as he knelt down to see if the damage was bad. It didn't seem all that bad, but just in case, Ocean gathered a little moisture on her scalp and froze it just a tad to her hair so she'd have a mock ice pack to dull the pain when she awoke.

[Warm Regret]

A light smirk crossed his lips as he listened to The Executioner speak. There were several quips he could have made between pauses but instead he remained silent for a change and absorbed what he was being told. Folding his arms over his chest, he kept his eyes glued to the behemoth as it circled around him. Feeling the slight trembles in the earth with each footstep, he quickly realized that this guy’s size wasn’t just for show.

The Executioner had given him something to think about as far as his assignment was concerned, not to mention the unexpected offer. The proposal was that if he gave The Executioner a cut of his pay, he could take the briefcase without any resistance. Black Jack immediately weighed his options. A one on one fight with The Executioner was probably not a good idea. He was heavily armed, heavily armored and was probably as strong as an ox. The guy looked like he could twist a steel beam into a pretzel.

On the other hand, he wouldn’t be much of a specialist if he didn’t complete his assignments; it wasn’t good for business to return from a job empty handed. Still, Black Jack had to consider what the Executioner had to say. Was this all a set up? Perhaps someone’s twisted sense of humor or was it the SXM’s way of hunting him down? Maybe The Executioner was lying to him? He didn’t know this guy, what reason did he have to tell the truth?

At the end of his speech, The Executioner pointed his rifle at Black Jack, an act that didn’t seem to bother the much smaller man. Seductively tracing a gloved finger along the barrel of The Executioner’s gun, Black Jack flashed an alluring smile, cutting his eyes towards the hulking figure on the other end of it. “You make an interesting argument Mr….umm…what was your name again?” He asked curiously. “But unfortunately I don’t have any reason to trust you. How do I know you won’t double cross me? Don’t take it personally, it’s just something I’ve learned over the years. I also find it hard to believe that you didn’t peek inside that briefcase, considering you had it all to yourself for at least a few minutes. No one’s that indifferent.” He grinned.

“ I’ll tell you what. Open the briefcase and if the goods are there I’ll take it and give you your cut of the pay. From the look of ya, it should keep you knee deep in grenades and ammo for at least a few weeks.”

The sound of sirens could soon be heard in the distance and Black Jack sighed. Little did he know the commotion was because of a botched bank robbery nearby. “It sounds like our little rendezvous is going to be interrupted soon. So let’s make this quick…or take it to somewhere a little more private.” He winked.

[Sizzlin Bacon]

Executioner

"Son, could you be any gayer?" said Malcolm with a bit of a sigh as he countered Black Jack's suggestion, "Look, you don't know what you're looking to steal, and I don't know what I'm supposed to be protecting, nor do I really give a rat's ass what it is. These pansy ass corporate types can piss off for all I care, they're all just criminals in suits. You can open it if you want but whatever's in there is yours if you give me the cut." The Executioner tossed the briefcase to the ground in front of Jack, absent-mindedly scratching at his armored hip while still pointing his shotgun at the man.

"So? We got a deal or what?" Malcolm's 'scratching' had taken the safety off the detonator inside one of his pouches, and then pressed the switch. The C4 in the briefcase exploded with such force that it sent the behemoth flying backwards, skidding along the street. Hopefully that killed that idiot, or at least made him think this was all a trap. Finally, the enormous man came to a rest as Malcolm said loudly, "Fuck, what the hell was in that thing..." Slowly, he got to his feet, patted some of the black dust and metal shrapnel off his chestplate, and looked to see if Jack had survived. That, and whether or not the man was pissed and coming at him.