Nathan sighed as he paged through the patrol sheets. He had just about enough of the Wards, and their childish antics. He was 22, so he was lucky to be a PRT official, but he had to babysit these damn Wards from dawn till dusk. Well not quite dawn till dusk per se, since they were still schooled nearby, but the point remains. He had to setup their patrol times, make sure they were eating, schedule their required therapy; The works. Still his salary made the babysitting well worth it, even if capes did make him more then a little uncomfortable. Some of their powers were just. . . Insane. He couldn't put into words the absolute terror he tended to feel when they demonstrated, indirectly, all the ways they could slaughter humans like sheep.
Nathan shook his head to disperse the fear, gathered the files, and walking into the Ward's living quarters. He wore a simple dress shirt, and slacks, with a PRT badge on his right breast, and a name tag pinned on the left. He had a taser, in holster on his right hip, with an actual pistol on his left. He was left handed, and the more perceptive Wards always noticed. He walked over to Chroma's bed, and set down a patrol schedule. A patrol was scheduled for 4:30, where he'd be accompanied by a cape named Scarlet. He put the next file on Scarlet's bed, detailing the same patrol, but with names reversed.
He looked around the room quickly. It was a hexagonal room with small rooms branching off from it. Past the wood doors that closed off these small room was where the Wards slept. Inside was decorated as they pleased, and in total there were 6 doors in this one room. A sign normally hung on their door, spelling out their names and various other things. The room between was a sort of wreck room, with a ping pong table, an old school arcade machine, a tv, a couch, etc. Most things kids liked to do in their free time was stuffed into this room. There was even a bookshelf, filled to the brim with new books replacing read books every week or so.
After he finished putting the various other files on top of the other Ward's bed sheets, he checked the time, noting that the Ward's would arrive within minutes. Those who didn't live at the building would still stop by to check when their various patrols would be. Nathan walked out of the room, shrugging past Scarlett and Chroma, masks already on. Though their faces were known to each other as the Ward's rarely hid that from team members. He didn't meet their eyes, but instead continued staring straight ahead, keeping the relationship with all Wards professional was not only expected; It was a job requirement.
A lot of Wards died on the job after all.
Blackout's HQ
Ryan was absolutely exhausted already. He had his Kevlar gear on, excluding helmet, and was practicing with a knife. The instructor had left for the night, but had told him to train in full gear to get used to the knife's (and clothing's) weight. As such, Ryan was hacking and slashing away at a small training dummy in the middle of the room, shredding it with every strike of the razor sharp weapon.
He was also appreciating the surreal situation he was in. Combat lessons, armor, guns. . . Utilities; Boss provided it all, no questions asked. He gave him all these resources on top of an amazing weekly salary. Looking around Ryan could see a tv in the corner, with a fridge on the other side of a crumbling wall. He had a couch across from the tv, normally sat on when watching said tv. He even had a mannequin to put his armor on when not in use, though it could easily be replaced as it had no insignia on it.
Despite all this Ryan was anxious. He had running water, a shower, a bed a place to live, any luxury, and no questions were asked. The Boss was helping him for seemingly nothing. He had to do a few robberies for the man, and was asked to recruit any parahumans he found, but other then that. . . Ryan lost his train of thought as he realized he'd been resorting to an old habit when he got stressed. He sighed and spoke out loud to himself, as he was taught to do. "I feel anxious, because I am in a situation I don't understand," As he said the last word he stabbed the knife into the dummy's eye, and started taking his armor off piece by piece.
Regus woke up staring at the ceiling as most people did. He hadn't woken for any particular reason. Shutters were closed, no alarm clock, no noisy neighbor in the building breaking something. He didn't have to do anything today. The bank he robbed a few days ago had given him plenty of money. Regus could literally sit around doing nothing for who knows how long and be fine. What an odd thought. He didn't have school, parents to order him around, worse a gang to beat on him, or a job to go to.
No life to worry about at all. Regus sat up a little and lazily clawed for the remote on the nightstand next to his bed with his still slightly gimp left arm and turned on the television, watching the news for a bit, then idly flipping through the channels. In his other hand he held a small rock he'd picked up, squishing it and reforming it like it was play-dough. Maybe some people thought there was more to life than this but right now the gig looked pretty nice. Life was good. Not great, just good.
The courier approached the door to Regus's apartment. He knocked twice quickly, before leaving. He didn't run, but he made it around the corner before Regus opened the door. The package he had left by the door had "From the Boss" on it, written with a sharpie. The contents were very neatly laid out; a black jump suit, kind of loose fitting, but it was the right size of Regus. A black hoodie and sweats were also contained, for warmth most likely. A black mask was found at the very bottom, a simple gold design sat on top of the black base, making it more ornate then not. It would cover Regus's eyes and mouth. A manila envelope was enclosed inside, with three papers. One was a picture of Regus's face from a security camera, with his face circled in red. The next was a document explaining the nature of the crime, with red marker underlining a part of the document that read ". . .reviewing the security tapes did not reveal the perpetrator's identity, despite extensive. . ." and the third document was a simple handwritten letter. that read:
Dear Regus:
I'm not trying to threaten you. I'd like to establish that first and foremost. Consider everything contained in this package a gift, completely free of charge. Though I daresay after your recent adventure, you could buy any of these things easily. Unfortunately, you could hardly buy them anonymously, and therein lies the reason I have delivered these to you. You'll notice from the other two documents that I deleted some security camera footage depicting your face. I have done all of this in goodwill, and to request a favor. I want you to work for me. You will simply call me the boss if you choose to work with me. In exchange for doing the small jobs I request you will gain a sum of money no less then $200,000 dollars a week. Along with this sum of money you will also acquire any resources you need access to. If you prove especially useful you will acquire the right to join a small squad. This elite squad of fellow parahumans will be in the same situation as you, and will never betray you. I can guarantee that.
If you are interested, don the mask in this package, wear the clothes, and rob the the nearest bank. Afterwards, leave through the back of the vault, where a car will pick you up. If you do all this, you will be awarded a base sum of $1,000,000 plus 10% of all money you steal. Thank you for reading this letter. If you reject my offer, tear all the paper in this package in half. If however I have gained your interest, preform the crime I have detailed. Don't bother giving this paper to any Wards, PRT officials, or thinkers. A thinker-precog wrote this, making it impossible to be tracked by any and all personal you could possibly find.
Kindly, The boss
At the very bottom of the package was a brand new laptop.
The courier was killed an hour later while delivering mail. A single gunshot wound to the head.
A Street Unknown, and Eventually, An Abandoned Warehouse
@solokolos Serephina wandered up and down the city streets with her beloved feline padding behind her, occasionally running off to chase a moving something she saw out of the corner of her eye. "Come back here you!" Serephina yelled with a smile. She loved this cat more than anything or anyone in the world. Odette was all she had left. The speckled gray and black feline obeyed her master's commands and came running back. As she always did, Odette sat down at her feet and waited for Serephina's command to jump and be caught in her arms. "Get up here." she said softly. Immediately, Odette jumped straight up and was caught in a cradling position. They continued to wander the same direction until the buildings got more and more sparse. She was on the more dangerous side of Chicago. This place's crime rate was sky high so she was a tad scared wandering through this area with nothing more than a cat and a small, rusty hunting knife. She only needed to move fast, and stay out of sight, two of the things she was best at. Her plan was to get out of town but stay close just in case she needed something important from a store. She never stole money or any large value items. Her criminal instinct wasn't that strong and she always felt guilty stealing the food she had to. But she had come to grips with the fact that it needed to be done and she couldn't change her situation. Not easily anyway. It wasn't worth going back to her grandparent's house which she hated so much. She could make it on her own just fine. She had for a long time. Odette had fallen asleep in Serephina's arms, as she always did, and was purring loudly. In the quiet of the empty streets, her purr sounded like a tank rolling over a gravel road. That sound had never failed to calm her. She hadn't realized how far she had walked untill she looked up, and was approaching an abandoned warehouse that looked a little scary. This was however, too good to be true. Here she was wandering around with her cat, with no place to go and she should stumble upon this? Things seemed to be going better than they normally did for her. She woke Odette with a gentle tap on her forehead and ordered her to jump in the open pouch of her backpack where she always hid when she needed to be out of Serephina's way. She jumped in without hesitation and poked her head out in excitement about the new scenery around her. Serephina crouched low and ran up to the right side of the building and looked behind it. Nothing. She peeked her head around the corner where the front door should be. She was expecting to see a big, heavy door that looked like what belonged on a barn but there was no door at all. Could this get any easier? Serephina scoffed at the simplicity of the situation and sauntered into the place with confidence. It looked exactly like an abandoned warehouse should: cold stone floors that were cracked from time without renewal or purposeful damage and walls that were so rotted and old that they looked like they could collapse on her at any second. However she was confused as to why the wooden supports were in such good condition. How does that work? She then noticed there was a flight of stairs in one corner of the room that ascended upward. She wondered what was up there. . . "Odette, go see!" she whispered and pointed in the direction of the stairs. As commanded, Odette jumped out of the backpack, crawled over to the first step and bounded up to the fifth. Her mouth was wide open to check for any scents. Her ears were fully extended and turning every which way to pick up any sounds but she found nothing. She looked back at Serephina and uttered a small squeak to let her know the coast was clear. Serephina grabbed her backpack and walked rather quickly over to the stairs. These things looked like a death trap all on their own. She wasn't even sure they could hold her weight. Thinking she could make it if she didn't stay on one step for too long, she decided now would be a good time to use her speed. She closed her eyes, preparing to use her power and felt the ground sink under her feet as she gathered the energy she needed. Then she released it with an explosive gust of air and the next thing she knew, she was at the top of the stairs. Her powers came in handy in situations like this. Odette gracefully climbed the stairs and came to a rest at Serephina's feet. She meowed loudly. "Hush! We don't know who or what could be in here. Do you want to be caught and eaten?" Serephina whispered harshly. Odette laid down and tucked her paws under her in a nonchalant manner as if she hadn't done anything wrong. Serephina wandered around the new floor she was on and noticed that it was in a tad bit better condition than the first. There was however, different gangs' graffiti on the walls. She admired graffiti. To most people, it was idiotic vandalism, but to her, it was art. As she was taking in the scene around her, she noticed a rather large door. She approached and examined it while Odette watched her. Whatever was behind this door, she wanted in.
Regus jumped a little at the knock. Nobody knocked on his door. Nobody knew him. Was it because of the bank? Regus threw on a shirt and shorts and cautiously walked up to the door peeking through the peephole. Just a package? Still highly suspicious Regus grabbed it and ducked back inside, setting it on his bed rummaging through it. Whoever the 'Boss' was it seemed he'd taken an unhealthy interest in Regus. He set the clothes and the nice mask aside and opened the envelope.
A cold chill ran through him at the sight of his face circled and the careful documentation of the crime. Then the last piece of paper, the letter. 200 thousand a week!? Not to mention the literal million bucks if he completed the job. This 'Boss' had far too much money to be throwing it around like that. The brief thought that this was a set-up quickly left. If this Boss had wanted him in jail it looked like it wouldn't be very hard for him to have it arranged. Regus read through the letter again, looked at the clothes, examined the laptop.
Too good to pass up. All he had to do was rob a bank and do some odd jobs? Heck he'd already robbed a bank, though like the letter said, spending his money without drawing attention might be difficult and he hadn't even tried it yet. Regus booted up the laptop and googled the closest bank. Last time he'd been desperate and had gotten lucky and even then he'd gotten caught by the security cameras. This time he'd go in with a plan.
It was getting close to that time of day. The time of day when the Wards would be given their schedules for their duties as para-human protectors. It was Alex's least favorite part of his job, however. He would like nothing more than to have unrestricted freedom to patrol and pursue criminals as he pleases, something he would abuse to maximize his "showtime" if left up to him. But instead there was a much more weighted responsibility for the teenage Wards. They were given rules, regulations, orders, schedules. It was a pain, especially so for Alex due to his current probation status, but it was the price to pay if he wanted to play on the world stage. If he wasn't with the PRT, the "good guys", then he was a bad guy. And Alex couldn't be the bad guy. He defeats the bad guys.
And so here he is dressed in his costume that goes with his superhero alias, Chroma, heading back to his dormitory after a day of classes. Apparently the PRT values education. One of the men in charge, a guy who was barely in his 20's, was leaving the Ward dormitories as Alex entered. His eyes watched Nathan as they passed, waiting for him to show some sign of acknowledgement. But it never came. The teenager stopped and turned around, watching Nathan's back as he departed. "How rude," he grumbled aloud, letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "I guess those officials aren't friendly under any circumstances after all." As he walked into the main recreational room of the hexagonal dorm, Alex removed the masquerade mask from his face and held onto it with his left hand. "So let's see who gets to be my sidekick today..."
Once inside his room he was quick to set down his mask and pick up the sheet of paper that detailed his instructions for the day. "Four thirty, huh. Traffic hours. Bor-ring! But it seems Phoebe will be coming along. I suppose I should be calling her Scarlet, actually. But this might be a problem," Alex continued to talk to himself, sitting down on the bed as he continued glancing over the paper in his hands. "She isn't much of a sidekick type. If anything does happen she might try to steal my thunder. Not to mention that she'll get more attention than me naturally for being a girl. The people love heroines. What to do, what to do..." The teenager began rhythmically tapping his left foot on the floor as he contemplated how he would orchestrate today's patrol. "I suppose my only option is to be vigilant and enthusiastic. I just have to outperform her if the need arises."
"But we're gonna be watching rush hour traffic... Nothing is gonna happen..."
A rapid burst of three beeps, along with all three red light in the corners of the room flashing alerted Ryan to a trespasser. He froze and turned to the trapdoor while he pulsed his power twice. The pulse would disable any powers that required concentration, and would give him a bit of an advantage if it was a parahuman in the building.There was no padlock on the trapdoor. . . "Shit," He mumbled, confident he wouldn't be heard. The door was sound proof after all, and even insulated. Ryan pulled the knife out of the dummy, as he walked, slipping it into the holster on his left hip and covering it with his shirt as he moved towards the door. He knew right as he reached he door, he had to do it. His power swelled within him and he activated it as he opened the door.
To the mysterious girl he met the eyes of his presence would be known before he even opened the door. His form would be glowing through the door, his body visible and demanding recognition. The door then opened and he stood in front of her, seeming normal, no longer glowing now that she had direct eyesight. If she tried to activate her powers now, it would be useless. It'd be the equivalent of trying to reach through a brick wall. The same would happen with words; All forms of communication would escape her completely.
Ryan eyed her, and deactivated his power quickly to speak. "No funny business. Tell me why you're here. Don't use your power, if you have one, or I will disable it and kill you." He waited for her response in a non threatening stance, the knife hidden by his stance. Warm air rushed out from behind him, and with it the scent of pizza and coffee. The girl's angle would allow her to see a training dummy and a bed behind him, if she took her eyes off him.
As an instinct, she immediately looked around for her cat. Odette was nowhere to be found and Serephina got pissed. She glared at this egomaniacal asshole with complete disgust and decided not to even give him an answer until her pet was found. "You scared away my cat you freak! I'll tell you whatever you want to know as soon as I find her. She's all I have left. Don't kill me, I won't use my power." Serephina said with a combination of caution and annoyance. "Come back baby it's okay, come here." Serephina called in her most comforting voice. Odette heard her calls and came bounding up the stairs again and jumped into Serephina's arms burying her head into her chest with her tail curled over her body. "Now. I'm only here because I was looking for a place to rest and I happened to come upon this place. I didn't know anyone was here. Can I sleep here for the night? On the first floor? We will leave in the morning and not bother you again." Serephina wondered what this guy's problem was. She had never seen anyone be so defensive over an abandoned, worn down warehouse. But maybe this was all this guy had too. She had no idea that there were others like her. She didn't know whether this guy had super speed and a hologram or not but she knew that he had some sort of power. He was able to make his form seen through the door so it must be a body-heat recognition thing. She looked past him and saw that he looked pretty set up in here. Maybe I should have come here sooner. Then this whole place could have been mine. She saw a couch, fridge, TV and other standard living appliances. She wanted to use her power and be gone before this freak even knew what happened but she decided she would rather talk her way out of this than risk getting killed. But maybe this guy was just full of shit and trying to make himself sound more powerful than he was.
The knife's holster poked into Ryan's hip as he stood like this. Despite the momentary distraction, he still heard her say it. "I won't use my power." He didn't make a very noticeable reaction, but with her having the eyesight she did she might notice his eye twitch when she said that. The rest of the words weren't processed. She had powers therefore he should kill her. The cat made him pause, and retrace his mental steps through the conversation. A sigh caught in his throat, before he could display the reaction he paused. He was happy though. . . He could tell she wasn't lying. She was homeless, harmless, and cold. He started to examine her, though it was hard to see her very well as he was covering her in a shadow. He was also probably a bit hard to see, but unknown to him, her night vision let her see him perfectly.
He took a step back, and mimed a relieved expression. "God you scared me. I'm sorry for the less then warm greeting, but you have to understand. . ." He realized he didn't know if she would understand, "Or I hope you can. . . Not trusting people. I have a good thing going on here, and I don't. . ." He sighed again, realizing he was rambling. "Listen. Come in, get warm, and as long as we're not attacking each other we'll be fine. I will even get rid of my weapon. It's more a symbol of goodwill then anything else, cause I won't let you search me." He smiled for the first time since he had seen her, "Sorry to disappoint," A sound resembling a laugh came out, before it was cut short by him coughing loudly.
Ryan turned around, and walked farther into his base. He unclipped his now visible holster and tossed it to the side, with the knife inside of it. His clothes were tight enough that it was obvious he didn't have another weapon on him. He didn't reactivate his power. Ryan was cautious but he also didn't like murdering, even if they were homeless girls no one gave a rats ass about.
The hallway was quiet, save for Phoebe's soft footsteps. A quick check over her shoulder confirmed she was the only one in sight, prompting her to lift the paintball mask she wore up off her face, just enough so she could slip her hand under and rub her eyes. The mask was, of course, a part of her costume, which she wore to school, excluding her red hooded cape. The stares she had gotten when she had first begun attending the school had made her uncomfortable, stupidly enough, despite the fact that her face was covered. And then all the questions she got from the students had been worse. That had been when she learned to be politely dismissive, sending the message that she was annoyed without saying it out loud. It had taken a few months, but, eventually, the student population began mostly leaving her alone, minus the odd autograph request or jeer.
Heavier footsteps from around the corner brought Phoebe out of her thoughts, and her mask was quickly slipped back on.
Nathan passed by her, neither of them even remotely acknowledging the other. While she knew his reasons for doing so, and also knew that her reason -- simply being shy -- was far worse, she couldn't help but feel a small sting of resentment towards him. It happened every time anyone would dismiss or ignore her in such a way. It was a stupid thing to feel, as she purposely worked towards having people stay away from her by being all scowly-faced all the time. And she did that because she was too uncomfortable to talk to people. But she still wanted to talk to people. Sort of.
She was stupid.
With the softest of sighs, she entered the Ward rec room, immediately making her way over to the door that lead to her personal room. On the way there, she heard Chroma talking to himself through his door, though she couldn't make out what he was saying. Par for the course for him, really. He was a little out there, a definite attention-seeker.
By her bed, Phoebe found the details for her patrol. Traffic duty. The girl let out another inaudible sigh. It was silly to expect something exciting every day, especially since she was only a Ward, but she couldn't help but hope.
She noted that she'd be with Chroma for the job. A small smile grew behind her mask. She didn't mind him very much. Sure, being on a team with him, she knew of his egotistical ways, but it didn't really bother her. He had a good heart, at the end of the day, and the desire of his to be recognized by all for his exploits helped him do his job. As long as his flamboyant personality lead to him protecting the city, she'd be content with working with him. And if he ever began to lose his way, whether through endangering missions for want of taking all the glory for himself, or seeking attention through less legal acts, she'd gladly beat him into the ground until he either shaped up or broke.
Besides, she found his antics amusing.
Taking her cape off the hook that was on the back of her door, she threw it on, completing her costume and fully becoming Scarlet in her mind. She then left her room, closing the door behind her, and moved to stand behind the couch, turning on the TV to kill time as she crossed her arms.
Regus walked into the bank like anyone else, walking with a purpose, but not like he was scared of something. Just act like you know what you're doing and everyone else will. Regus was wearing simple clothes, just a red shirt and a pair of jeans. His change of clothes was in the sports bag that he carried with him. Suspicious? Hopefully not. See he couldn't really be in his disguise before he robbed the bank or it would kind of ruin the point, and look hella suspicious wearing all black with a mask on and a bag walking anywhere. It just screamed villain. Then he entered the bathrooms and entered a stall, making sure it was locked. From what'd he seen there hadn't been any abnormal amounts of security. He just had to hope there weren't any PRT solider or wards wandering too close. Regus took out his laptop and opened it again. One more time. He was here and he needed to...
Serephina looked down at her cat and smiled at the fact that she had calmed down. Odette was batting at a stray part of Serephina's hair that had fallen away from her face. She then looked back up at the boy and half smiled at the offer. She was after all very thirsty. She walked into the room and set Odette down gently on the couch. She plopped down lazily and swatted at her tail which had landed on top of one of her back legs. She wouldn't show it, but she was very grateful for the boy's offer to let her stay and get warm. She hadn't really realized it but she was in fact cold, hungry and thirsty. The adrenaline she had felt from entering this place and first seeing the boy had distracted her from her bodily needs. She then thought about her cat. She was sure she must be hungry and thirsty as well. Serephina didn't know whether or not she had caught a mouse or something while she wasn't looking or not. She sat down on the couch next to Odette and stroked her speckled head. She purred in delight at her owner's touch. She wasn't sure where the boy had gone but she decided she needed to speak to him at least a little bit. She felt bad now that she had gotten so in his face. He was nice after all. He was generous enough to let her into his space and somewhat care for her. She owed him something. . . At least a thanks. So she called out to him. "Thank you for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it. And I completely understand the whole not trusting thing. I've never had anyone I could trust my entire life except my best friend. But she's not my best friend anymore so, that went up in smoke. What do you do here anyway? Do you just steal food and stuff like I do? Or do you actually have a job and money like a normal person?" This boy was younger than she was. He looked about 17 or something like that. But then again, there were people in this world that looked WAY older or WAY younger than they actually were and completely throw you off when they confess their age. She was 18 but looked like she was 22. She used to buy alcohol without being carded when she lived with her grandparents because people just assumed she was in her 20's. She guessed that was a perk of looking older than you were.
With one final sigh, Alex stood up from his bed and returned his mask back to his face where it belonged. "Maybe we'll get lucky and there'll be a bank robbery or something," he mused to himself before marching to his bedroom door. He was about to open it when he heard the TV click on in the living room. He didn't notice anyone come in. But then again he was talking to himself the whole time so it wasn't impossible to assume he just didn't hear them. Alex already guessed it was Scarlet by the time he opened the door, letting his eyes confirm it.
"Hey, Scarlet," he greeted casually, holding up his hand that was still holding the patrol schedule. "So you and I will be working together today. We got a terrible time for actually fighting crime, but should the need arise just remember not to steal the limelight. I'll let you capture the small fry but if something big happens then I've got dibs." Alex, or rather he was Chroma now, knew he was being immature. But he did feel threatened by Scarlet and had to put some kind of damage control on the patrol situation. She did have the potential to outshine him when working together, something that Chroma didn't like in the slightest. The young Ward lowered the schedule and ran his free hand through his blonde hair, slicking it back with ease despite not having any gel. Now he was completely in costume. "I'm gonna get a quick snack before we head out. I like to start my patrols early; punctuality is an important part of being a hero. The hero that doesn't show up in time is the hero that doesn't save the day."
Ryan walked to the fridge, the adrenaline slowly wearing off. He started walking slower and breathing heavier. He had definitely exerted himself well past his normal limit, and he started to get a bit dizzy. He actually stumbled a bit and had to grab the fridge to keep his balance.
Serephina heard the bottles and containers made of glass in the refrigerator clash together and raise her head sharply at the noise. She saw the boy stumble and raced over to him to stop him from falling, accidentally using her power. She grabbed onto his shoulders to hold him up and said, "I'm sorry I used my power but I wanted to help."
He smiled slightly at her apology, and stood up a bit straighter, "I'm fine, just. . . Exhausted. See that shredded dummy? I started today," he said, gesturing to the dummy. "And no I don't normally steal, it's just. . . Complicated. Really complicated." He shook his head as if to dismiss the thought. He moved, wincing a bit when he crouched down to open the fridge. It was pretty much packed with food and drinks filling every shelf.
She looked over at the dummy with widened eyes. He must have been battle training or something like that for that thing to have so many slash marks on it. "Wow. For just starting today that's some pretty good work. Wouldn't wanna piss you off would I?" she asked with a smirk and a chuckle. She then wondered what he meant by "complicated."
"I just started my training today actually. But you have a powerful weapon yourself, huh? Super speed?" Ryan said, with a curious look. He didn't wait for an answer before handing her a water, and asking, "Something you want to eat? Fruit? Pizza? Ice cream?" His smile growing wider.
Serephina loved fruit. Specifically pomegranates. But that was a really weird fruit to ask for because not very many people had them. "Thanks for the water. Yeah I have super speed, better sight and hearing than most people and...." She was scared to give away her other power. She trailed off and acted like she had forgotten what she wanted to say. "Do you have a banana or something? I love fruit of almost any kind." Her hologram was her strongest power and she wasn't sure she wanted to give that away to this boy she just met.
She trailed off, and of course Ryan noticed. He noted to himself that this would be give and take, not as easy as he wanted. "I have a trump power, personally. So. . . Do you know what that means? Or are you out of the loop when it comes to that kind of information?" He asked, remembering halfway through that she was homeless. He reached into the fridge and grabbed an apple, the first thing he got his hands on. He gave it to her gingerly and closed the fridge door, listening for a response.
"Um to be honest, I had no idea that there even were other people like me. I just thought I was a weird special case. There's classifications? Wow. This is more in depth than I thought." She bit into the apple and relished the sweet juice that came from it. As she walked over to the couch, she cracked open the seal on the bottle of water and Odette's head came up. She knew that sound. She always drank out of water bottle caps. Serephina would pour some water into the cap of the bottle and she would lap it up until it was gone and ask for more. Suddenly getting curious while Odette drank, she curiously asked the boy, "What class would I be?"
"I don't know," He admitted gingerly, not wanting to lose her interest. He continued, drawing attention away from the fact he didn't know the details himself. "A trump power means I can manipulate others powers. Specifically I disable them." He explained, making his voice soothing. He didn't want it to be a threat. "I could give you a rough classification if I knew the details of your power," He said, trying to make it sound like he wasn't trying to make an evaluation of a possible threat. It was though.
Serephina could tell that he felt threatened and she didn't know whether or not to embrace that or defuse it. She didn't wanna seem like a bull head but she didn't wanna seem like an easy target either. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to show him or even TELL him about her hologram. That was her most vital power and she didn't know if she wanted to give it away. She nodded and tried to look like she was pondering what he said. Then she spoke up. "Well I basically have defensive powers. Super speed, temporary invisibility, heightened hearing and sight, stuff like that."
"Stranger, mover then, huh. As in you move fast and are hard to notice," Ryan summarized with interest, smiling now. He seemed very satisfied with her answers and didn't even consider she would deceive him. He walked over to the dummy, thinking quietly to himself. "So what are you planning to do after. . . This?" He asked, his interest now piqued again.
She wondered what a "mover" or a "stranger" even was. Wow this was more complicated than she had thought. In response to his question she had no answer whatsoever. She just sighed, looked at him and shook her head. "I don't know. I've just been wandering for years now. I ran away from home and have just been committing small crimes to get by ever since. Stealing food, water and supplies that I needed along the way. My cat follows me everywhere I go and that's about it. I have no plans yet. If I wanted to go to college or something I would have to change my name and make sure no one found me and recognized I was the girl that ran away." She glanced at Odette who had fallen asleep after her long drink of water.
Ryan laughed a bit, smiling at her response, despite the serious nature. "I meant tomorrow. Do you have a plan, or. . ." He trailed off, feeling bad for laughing at her plight.
Serephina now felt foolish. She had just given away her entire life to this guy in what she thought was a genuine response. But to be fair he hadn't specified as to exactly what he meant. . . "Oh; That's what you meant. I'm not sure. I was thinking about just moving on and finding somewhere else to crashfor a while. I don't know anyone around here so I'm kind of lost." She took another bite out of her apple attempting to shrug off her mistake.
"Sorry," He interjected, thinking for a second. Ryan sighed, and walked over to the fridge, turning everything over in his head. She was used to crime, she had strong powers, she was, arguably the perfect candidate for what the Boss was having him do. He got a banana out of the fridge, and walked over to her, handing it to her and not moving away.
Serephina smiled up at him and took the banana gratefully. She would save that for later. He was standing very close to her and she didn't know why. She then noticed that his clothes were very tight. He was wearing all black and his hair fell in his eyes. She tried not to notice how attractive he was. Starting to feel awkward, she looked away at her cat who was still sleeping. She stood up and was VERY close to his face. She then smiled and activated her super speed and winked across the room to lean against the opposite wall. She smiled at him when he saw her again.
Close. Too close. Ryan resisted the urge of stopping the inherent threat that was apparent. Was it a threat though? Ryan paused after asking himself this, preventing himself from disabling one of the "threat's" weapon. Then she disappeared and he panicked. Almost without his consent his power activated again, and he quickly scanned the room. He saw her smile when he recessed his power wholly and made the connection. She wasn't threatening him. He sighed a breath of relief, relaxing visibly. "I just realized I don't know your name," He said, trying to move his body to a more relaxed position. He sat down next to the cat gingerly, looking at her for an answer.
Serephina walked normally back to the other side of the room and took a seat on the opposite side of her car facing him. "Serephina. Serephina Mayhem." She hoped that she hadn't freaked him out. She liked to show off every once in a while.
"Do you, uh, know what Seraph means?" Ryan asked, trying not to smile. He didn't immediately reply with his name, mostly cause he forgot to.
She looked at him curiously and tilted her head to one side in a cat like manner. "No? What?" If this guy's name reflected anything about his personality, it sure as hell would be interesting.
"Angel, roughly. Your name means Angel's mayhem," He said, fighting off the smile even harder now. It was. . . Strangely fitting. "Please tell me that's your cape name and not. . . Ya know, what your parents put on the birth certificate," Ryan said cautiously.
Serephina laughed and tried to decider if that was an insult or just a innocent question. She decided to tell the truth like she had done this whole time. "No that's my actual name. I've always loved my name. Why? Does that sound dumb to you?" She wasn't trying to be defensive, she just wanted to know if her whole life she had seemed like an idiot thanks to the name her mother gave her.
"No, no," Ryan said, raising his hands defensively, "Just. . ." He scrambled for words and found none. He shrugged dully, seeming suddenly uncomfortable.
Attempting to make this adorably awkward boy feel better, she decided to finally ask for his name. "Well what's yours then? I doubt I'll be able to tell you what it means but I would like to know." Odette woke up and blinked at Serephina slowly. This was a sign of love from cats.
Ryan widened his eyes as he realized she'd expect him to tell her. "Um. . . Have you seen any news reports, wanted ads, or PRT criminal reports for a villain named Blackout?" He asked cautiously.
She wasn't sure whether that was his real name or something else he had come up with for himself. She responded carefully, "No. I haven't had TV since I left my grandparents house. Why?" She knew this guy was who he just asked about. He couldn't be just a normal person. He was one of her.
"I'm. . . Just that. I'm the super villain Blackout. I kinda lied earlier, I'm not just a trump. I'm also a stranger. They nicknamed me Blackout because I stop the use of powers and I stop communication. Completely. No hand signals, no winks, nothing. I'm a walking communications Blackout. Unfortunately I also reveal my exact location whenever my power is active." Ryan explained slowly, knowing it was a lot to take in. He stood up and walked over to the fridge while he talked, kneeling out of sight. He took a gun out from below the fridge and slipped it into his waistband, while opening the door. If he heard her get up he'd disable her power, shoot her in both knees, knock her out and drag her far away from here. Ryan realized he could be seen as a threat to her again, and he was honestly scared.
Then his phone rang. The loud ringing sharply cut his tension, and he quickly stood up and took it out of his pocket, his fears forgotten.
The Boss was calling.
Ryan flinched visibly as he answered the call, knowing this timing was not a mistake. "Uh, yeah, Boss?"
"We have a situation, bring the girl, give her the box in the room behind you. The one in the corner. Before you ask, yes we have a precog. Now get your costume on, and be ready to mobilize in twenty minutes,"
Ryan nodded dumbly, ending the call with a prompt, "Yes sir," He looked up at Seraphina, and sighed. "We have a job. Yes I said we. My boss just called. Come with me you'll make an easy million if not more." He offered carefully, knowing if she declined the Boss wouldn't. . . Take kindly.
Serephina wasn't sure she wanted to be forced into something so suddenly like this. Job? What did that mean? She grabbed her backpack and yelled after Blackout, "Where are we going? I'm not gonna go with you unless you tell me!" She called to Odette to follow her.
"Making this house I'm living in possible. Making a living. That's where we're going. We're going to be picked up by an unmarked van in about twenty minutes. We'll be given the details on scene and run defense for a crime. Then we'll leave after getting paid. One million dollars each. Then we'll return here, and you will get your own base operations if you so choose, along with any supplies or services you need," Ryan walked and talked. He retrieved his knife and gun holster. "If you wanna participate go get your temporary supplies from the next room over. I'm gonna change into costume. No time for modesty, we need to hurry." He said, obviously tired of explaining. He slipped off his shirt quickly, and grabbed a Kevlar vest. He had multiple scars scattered across his back and his left breast had a huge circular scar. He put on the vest, glancing over at her to see if she was listening yet.
Serephina scooped up Odette and gathered her things. She had no idea what Blackout was taking about or whether or not she should get into s strange van just because she was told to... But a million dollars? How could a poor, homeless 19 year old pass that up?
"The box in the other room. Change into the costume so they don't know who you are," Ryan said as he slipped the Kevlar chest piece on, then a black shirt over that. Then he took off his pants and slipped on some sweats. He secured some Kevlar plates over his kneecaps, and his shin. Then he worked on putting his wig on, carefully aligning it to conceal his blonde hair. As the finishing touch he slipped on the Kevlar riot control helmet. All in all he was basically bulletproof, and very well disguised.
He slipped a belt on over the sweats, putting magazines into each slot, then slipping his knife and gun into their respective holsters.
Serephina smiled slyly and asked "Why would I need a mask? Nobody knows who I am. I haven't been seen for years!" She laughed loudly because of the ease she felt at committing crime. Whatever was about to happen, it would be easy.
Blackout shrugged and smiled at her laugh. She was perfect for this job. "Lets go then," he said and began walking over to, and opening, the trapdoor. He lead Serephina outside, his gait a little rushed. He reached the first floor stairs, and walked confidently down them. Despite their rugged appearance they were sturdy.
Blackout crinkled his nose a bit as they walked outside, the smell not the least bit enticing. It reminded him of meth, and bad whores; But not on a personal level.
Blackout glanced back at Serephina, his look concerned for a moment, but then switched to something else. A look of supreme confidence. He knew how this would end now. Same as it always did.
To top it off he was also a bit less lonely.
Blackout shook his head again, and turned to watch a van approach. It slowed to a stop after it passed them and its back doors opened. Inside was a thin man typing on a laptop, sitting in a chair that was against the far wall of the van. There was one more seats on the left side of him and two on the right. The seat on the left was occupied by a thicker build man, wearing military grade equipment.
Blackout grabbed Serephina's arm and dragged her into the van, sitting on the seat nearer the thinner man.
"Seth?" Blackout asked, and the thin man looked up, confused that his name was beind said.
"Oh. Blackout. And. . . Friend?" Seth said carefully, and Blackout automatically nodded.
"Anyways, the rundown. So a bank robbery is going to happen in about 5 minutes. 4 minutes actually. Anyways, you guys are going to run support, Ryan your usual stuff. And. . . The girl is going to run distraction. All the major heroes are out of town." Seth said, checking his computer every so often to confirm the details. Blackout nodded, slipping his knife out to play with it. As Seth was explaining things the van started to move.
"So more then our normal pay?" Blackout said smiling widely.
"Double." Seth said simply.
"Let's go then," Blackout nodded again, completely battle ready now.
Ryan inadvertently shows Serephina around his base, but offers her a place to stay for the night after realizing she's homeless. They make the standard pleasantries, as Ryan tries veiled attempts at getting information about her power out of her. Serephina bites at the bait, but doesn't reveal her strongest power. Ryan admits later that he also didn't give her all the information about his own power, and also reveals his super villain identity, while keeping his real name hidden. After exposing this, Ryan gets a call from the boss, informing him about a job, and telling him to bring Serephina with him. Ryan and Serephina get into costume and head towards the bank that Drho is currently robbing, getting informed about the mission along the way.
Regus took out the mask and carefully placed it over his face. He really hoped there weren't any wards that happened to be close by. He could stall the alarm going off for a while but when it did if a ward squad or any major heros showed up he was probably screwed. From what the web had provided this bank was about the same as the last one he robbed. Basic containment foam that activated on alarm, not a problem with his power luckily. All the personal had key cards that were required to get anywhere helpful, so in interest of doing this most efficiently he needed to swipe a key card. Last time he'd just powered through it and gotten lucky. Desperation did that to a person. Counting on lady luck twice was asking to be let down. How to get a card though? He couldn't just ask nicely. Probably. Maybe?
What if he BSed his way through it? The mask combined with the rest of his black clothing would probably be pretty intimidating, maybe he could pass himself off as FBI or something, like a ward or a PRT officer. Which was most likely to work? Probably a ward, he could show off his power to make it more believable. Call himself a transfer. Regus closed the laptop and stuffed in back in his bag. He quickly left the bathroom and cut in front of a line of people waiting to talk to a teller and spoke quickly. "I need to get into the vault, I'm a ward, precog said it had a 78% chance of getting robbed so I got sent to deal with it, got backup if I need it." The teller looked sufficiently unimpressed.
"Name?" he asked simply. Well feces. Regus passed off his apid thinking by looking skeptically at the teller and buying time by saying, "What do you need my name for?". Now it was the teller's turn to look at him skeptically, "I need to enter your name if I'm going to let you into the vault, even if you are a ward." Got it, school was helpful for something after all. "Sorry I'm a little new at this, transferred yesterday. Name's Drho." The teller typed some stuff and a warning sound came out. He squinted at it and sighed,"Freaking behind on the paperwork as usual. Whatever, Nick cover for me, I've got a ward to take." Apparently this wasn't unusual. Perfect. Regus followed the teller deeper into the bank, watching his card periodically swipe through checks. He couldn't tell if this was more or less than nerve-racking than last time he'd done this. This time he had a plan, on the other hand he didn't know how well it would work and he wasn't running on pure adrenalin now.
They entered a fairly small room, able to fit about ten poeple in it tops, with a bunch of electronic stuff in the walls and beeping lights. The teller turned to him and said, "Basic anti stranger protocols, we ask you some questions and cross check it in the databanks." He turned around and began typing something onto a keyboard placed in a wall with a small monitor above it. "First question is-"" The teller's statement was cut off by Regus slamming his head into the wall, knocking him unconscious, at least. Almost immediately alarms sounded and the room was sprayed with containment foam. This would have been soo much harder if that stuff worked on him. As it was Regus barely had to tap the foam with his power and he could tear through it with ease. The building sounded and looked like it was going into lockdown, but given how close Regus was to the vault already he should be able to get there and out before any real trouble started. Still, if any PRT buggers were hanging around they'd doubtless be getting called in right now, he couldn't afford to waste any time. Then there was the nigggling doubt in the back of his mind that the Boss may have set him up after all, and when he opened up the back of the vault he'd be met by a life in prison.
Scarlet simply gave Chroma a nod, snorting inaudibly beneath her mask at his words. "Of course," she replied simply, allowing him to decide whether he thought she was agreeing or being sarcastic.
She afforded herself amused smile as he continued on, nodding once again to show her agreement. She was definitely content to be working with Chroma. He had no issues carrying conversations, which suited her perfectly. She did sort of wish she was able to say more, maybe come up with some kind of quip in response to the things he said. Her being quiet didn't seem to bother the boy too much, at least, which made him easy to be around.
A few minutes after he left, Scarlet followed suit, heading out to start their patrol.
On Patrol
Scarlet let herself fall behind Chroma as they walked, mainly to make their two-man patrol a little more effective. She didn't do much other than let the population see her. The presence of two wards was enough to ensure that nothing illegal was happening. In their line-of-sight, at least. He masked-face exaggeratedly scanned her surroundings, her gaze stopping on the occasional shady-looking person for intimidation purposes. Which was really all patrols were. A show to get the population to think twice before doing something they'd regret.
A distant alarm brought Scarlet out of her thoughts. She wheeled around to pinpoint the direction, while still moving to catch up with Chroma.
"Alarm. I'll check," she said, in case he hadn't heard it yet. A moment later, she crouched down to jump, pushing on herself from below with her power, sending her leaping high enough into the air to land on the lip of a small store. With a small running start this time, she did it again, though pushing more horizontally to give her extra distance. This sent her over to the next building, red cap flapping behind her. As she approached the roof's floor, she pushed against herself to decelerate, landing as softly as if she had jumped normally.
She loved the feeling -- it wasn't quite flying, but it was close. And some day, she knew she'd have enough control over her power to fly. Due to the mechanics of her ability, it was incredibly hard to keep herself balanced in the air by pushing on herself consistently from below; it was delicate work that took her full concentration, but even then she could only hover in place for a few seconds. So flying wasn't going to happen yet for her. But she'd keep practicing.
Several super-powered leaps later, she had eyes on the source of the alarm: a relatively small bank. Possibly a false alarm. If not, it was likely a robbery, though she couldn't be sure. She studied the area a little longer, to wait for Chroma. She touched her earpiece to communicate with him. "It's a bank alarm. If there's anyone robbing the place, they're already inside. All I see are civilians in the lobby."
Scarlet prepared to jump down from the building to meet up with Chroma, cracking her fingers with her thumb deliberately, one at a time. First one gloved hand, then the other. It was a habit she had picked up to deal with anticipation. She could focus on the somewhat painful, relieving feeling, along with the satisfying sound. It kept the butterflies away.
With tight lips, her eyes were locked on the bank.
Mitchell entered the bank through the front doors, humming a vague, jazzy tune. He wore his ordinary clothing - blue jeans, a pale shirt, and a dark grey jacket - and had a backpack slung over one shoulder. As his attire would indicate, he came to the bank straight from school, intending to make a quick withdrawal before heading home. He joined the short line in front of the ATM, thinking about the recent changes in his life as he waited.
Yesterday had been one of the afternoons when he volunteered to transport emergency medical technicians to emergencies - when he donned the mask of Gateway and spent a few hours making portals between the emergency room and various 911 callers. The first call they'd had was from a woman whose husband suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, it had occured in a neighborhood he used to live in, so Mitch had been able to make a portal directly to the street in front of the caller's house. He'd felt like something of an interloper among the EMTs, standing around uselessly in his costume while they carried an unconscious man onto a stretcher and into the ER, but the words of gratitude he received after his shift convinced him otherwise. According to a physician, the man had been in cardiac arrest - if the paramedics had arrived just a few minutes later, as they certainly would have if they traveled by ambulance rather than instantaneous portal, he would have been dead. The knowledge that Mitch had saved a life still burned warmly in his heart, and his smile grew wider as he recalled it. It made him wonder how much else he could do with his power - what untapped potential did he have? He knew that there were more ways he could help, if only he could think of them.
While he'd been absorbed in thought, the line had moved forward. "Sorry," he murmured softly to the person waiting behind him, and stepped towards the ATM. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure in all black, with an ornate mask - another cape? The figure cut in front of a line to speak to a bank teller, and the two left the lobby area together. Mitch did the mental equivalent of a shrug; it was probably none of his business. He stifled a small yawn as he fumbled for the debit card in his wallet. While volunteering with the EMTs was rewarding, it was also exhausting, and the hours of sleep he'd had last night didn't feel like nearly enough recovery time.
At that moment, alarms sounded throughout the bank. Mitch hastily put his belongings away and looked around for signs of the disturbance, but the only people in the lobby were other civilians. They were agitated by the alarm and the lockdown, and he could hear fragments of their conversations: "Hey, what's going on?" "Ohmigosh, is the bank being robbed?"
Mitch recalled the person in the black clothing. It seemed like too much of a coincidence for the alarm to have sounded mere minutes after someone in a black mask entered the bank, and his curiosity compelled him to investigate. Prudence, however, dictated that he should remain in the lobby with the rest of the civilians. Mitch didn't have combat experience and never intended to gain any; he'd probably just get in the way of the trained officials whose job it was to deal with these things. Nonetheless, his thoughts turned towards the mask and taser hidden away in his backpack, and he felt the urge to fight, to use his power for destruction instead of preservation. Mitch resisted the temptation and hoped that circumstances wouldn't force his hand.
It was just as he had predicted. Boring. Patrols rarely saw any action because people tended to actively avoid committing crimes when they knew there were Capes in the vicinity. Especially PRT Wards. If there were no bad guys to handle then how could Chroma make himself look good? He had already resigned himself to low expectations, but at least Scarlet was accompanying him so he wasn't completely bored. He had someone to talk to, though he probably would talk to himself if she wasn't there. He seemed to be less vigilant and more talkative, hardly looking anywhere but forward unlike his partner. "So that's why the modern American doesn't appreciate the value of studio art as much as they did back in the-"
"Alarm. I'll check."
The interruption worked, prompting Chroma to shut up and turn around. He didn't even hear the bank alarm until Scarlet brought it up. "Ah, so we get to be first responders," he remarked to himself, deliberately pausing a moment to let Scarlet get ahead of him and lead him properly to the source of the alarm. She was much more mobile than he was anyways, being able to leap and bound over the rooftops while he was forced to run along on the ground at the speed of a normal human. It wasn't until she contacted him over the radio earpiece he had that he had a good grasp of the situation. "A bank, you say?" Chroma responded into the radio, chuckling to himself over the irony of his earlier gripes. "I guess it's about time for me to paint us a picture, wouldn't you say?"
He wasn't as quick as Scarlet but Chroma was still able to make it at a decent speed, arriving in front of the bank with the alarms still blaring. There was already a small crowd starting to gather outside it, rubber-neckers trying to see what was going on. And with the arrival of the costumed heroes it became apparent that a robbery actually was taking place. "Alright, Scarlet," Chroma began to talk, running his hand through his hair again and taking a relaxed posture with his body. "Let's get the civilians out of here so I can work my magic. I can't make any art if there are innocent people who might get in the way." He made a spinning motion with his free hand before bringing both together in front of his chest. "First thing's first, I need to prepare a canvas."
The entire bank before them suddenly turned white. All the colors had been completely over-ridden by Chroma's power. The floors, the walls, the ceilings, the desks, the plants, the furnishings, everything had changed to pure white. The people inside, their clothes, and any glass remained unaltered. The new building before them appeared almost surreal in this blank state, but this change actually made it much easier for Chroma and Scarlet. Any movements would be easy to see. There was no way to hide or blend in. This blank canvas would make identifying and targeting enemies that much simpler. "Alright. Now I can make a masterpiece out of this crook." A cocky smirk took Chroma's face as he stepped towards the bank, holding open the front door for the rest of the civilians inside to flood out before he and Scarlet would enter. Surely his entrance wouldn't go unnoticed by the man in the vault, as even there all the colors had changed. There was no question about whether or not a Cape was in the area. "We shall arrest this criminal," Chroma declared to Scarlet, "and we shall do it with style."
Regus had just entered the main vault when everything turned white. Which was very bad. First off, it meant he was as visible as, well a black spot on a clean canvas. Second, it meant a cape had shown up, that one color guy and worse yet, capes rarely traveled alone. Chromatic? Was that it? He'd busted several of the smaller gang operations before and Regus didn't know much about him other than that he had a flair for the dramatic and used colors. Whatever, he should be able to get out of here before anyone caught him. Regus began stuffing wads of pure white bills into his bag, as much as he could reasonably fit, a little more actually. No time to zip the bag, Regus ran straight to the back wall and applied his power. He waited a few moments for the feeling of control to spread throughout the wall. Weaken the edges of a block of it, feel it detach from the surrounding walls, then make the middle less solid, but still solid. Then he shoved as hard as he could. A block of the steel and brick, about the size of a large door, was shoved out into the street, sliding across the pavement, road, and crashing into a car.
The ride was relatively smooth, and Blackout spent most of it smiling to himself. It probably was more then a bit creepy. Regardless, he was mentally preparing himself, wondering who he'd fight, if anyone. The main plan was obvious; Asisst and help escape, but Blackout knew it was more then that. He wanted to hurt them, the Wards, the Protectorate, anyone who he could just. . . Make feel his pain. Waves upon waves of euphoria washed over him as he thought more and more about it. On the outside he was just fidgeting, playing with his knife and grinning widely, though it'd be hard to see that through his helmet.
Blackout blinked in surprise as a small display lit up the helmet, and jumped a little, quickly exploring it. "How long has it been able to do this? Is this Tinkerfab?" He mumbled, looking at everything it displayed. At the top right was a small signal bar which showed four bars. A small circular loading bar was next to that, and at the bottom left it said "Searching. . ." in small gray print. Suddenly a quite beep of confirmation played making Blackout jump even more then the first. He probably looked crazy, but that wasn't deceiving. He was more then a little bit off kilter. In his ear he heard a static filled radio signal which said, directly into his ears, "PRT officials are on their way, Wards are already on scene. Set up an ambush, this isn't just a bank robbery, it's a statement. We're going to make the Protecterate fear us. Blackout, you've arrived." as he listened, he slowly put the pieces together. He now had radio contract with who he assumed to be The Boss.
At the last word, spoken by The Boss the van stopped, and Blackout jumped up, and pushed his way out of the van. He opened the doors quickly, and a little ways behind them a large block of steel, brick was pushed, hard, into a car, almost completely destroying it. "Shit. Serephina, our backup is here," He said to the girl behind him, the grin still stuck to his face. It then came to his attention that the entire bank was stark white.
Regus was panting a little, partly from exertion and partly from adrenaline. He ran out the hole he had created and saw a large black van pull up and someone jump out. Either it was the FBI or the Boss, though given that the one guy that jumped out didn't have a heavy duty rifle or containment foam and wasn't charging him, it was the latter. Regus ran over, lugging the heavy bag, several of the color-less bills spilling out on the way, and tossed it into the van. "What's the plan?" He hoped there was a plan. There better be a plan.
Serephina jumped out of the back of the van not sure whether to feel scared, excited, or both. Odette was once again nestled into the bigger pouch of her backpack and let out a small, high pitched sound at the new noises, smells, and people around her. This whole scene around her was quite a sight and now she decided to feel excited. She had obviously committed small crimes before but she had never been involved or knew anyone who had robbed a bank before. "So exactly what is going on here and how am I going to help? How CAN I help? I'm literally just a cape with a cat. . ." She fingered her small knife in the waist of her pants and realized that she would probably need a WAY better weapon if she was going to get anywhere with these people. These people were obviously criminals that were doing this for one reason or another she just wasn't sure if she wanted to be a part of it yet.
Maybe she would take part in this mission and decide from there. She kind of liked being on her own but at the same time, she loved having a system of comradery and friends among her. The guy that had just done the majority of this bank robbery was clearly not stable and may be quite dangerous so she may want to keep her distance from him. But Blackout didn't seem much better. If she sat there and thought about it anymore, she would probably begin to question why she was putting herself in this much danger then chicken out and activate her invisibility to flee with Odette in her arms, go back to Blackout's warehouse, steal his things and never be seen again. But this could be fun if she did things right and she may even get thousands of dollars out of it.
She then caught a glimpse of the dollar bills and lost all hope for this mission when she saw that they were completely blank. Nothing on them. She didn't know if the others knew this or not but in the real world, blank pieces of paper couldn't get you anything. In all reality, these people and this mission was looking more and more unstable and pointless by the minute. She turned and said to Blackout, "So what are we even doing this for? There's nothing on these bills. We can't do anything with them!"
Blackout seemed surprised by her sudden hostility."It wears off, silly," He said smiling widely, "They'll return to normal soon enough, but for now-" He cracked his gloved knuckles "-we beat the shit out of some wards. You," He pointed at the new kid, his grin widening, "Can you give me some sort of disguised cover? I need to get close to use my power. I'm Blackout by the way." As he spoke he started walking back towards the bank, his grin growing wider as his plan started to come to fruition in his head.
Blackout? Like the Blackout? He was here with Blackout and the plan was to fight the wards? Regus had signed up for a bank robbery, not a brawl. However he had a feeling that 'no' wasn't really an answer in this case. It tended not to be in the case of big money like this. Regus had been a bit worried about the whole blank bills thing, but if they were going to change back that was fine. How was he supposed to do disguised cover again? His power wasn't really that subtle. Uh, he could harden his clothes but that would limit movement. He could reach his power through anything he was affecting, so he could give Blackout something he was controlling and activate his power reactivately? Regus snatched a small rock off the ground and tossed it at Blackout, the rock clung to his clothing like it was glued on. "Got your cover." he said simply and cautiously started after Blackout. As long as he was fast enough he should be able to block practically anything short of concentrated gun fire. Maybe. Regus hadn't gotten into a fight since he'd triggered so he wasn't sure the extent that he could harden something as basic as clothes. Of course it would've been far better if they had just left without fighting, but Regus was willing to do a lot of things for a million dollars.
Serephina trailed behind the two slowly trying to think of what she could do to help this seemingly unorganized process. Odette padded alongside her quietly. She wondered if she could use her powers as a distraction when the wards came. Maybe she could carry some money and disappear to a location she was told to head towards. That could be VERY helpful with multiple trips.
She then began to wonder what this guy who had robbed the bank was all about. What was his deal? He had acted like Blackout was some sort of celebrity when they showed up but then chucked a rock at his head out of nowhere? There must have been some reason but she didn't quite understand what it could be. This guy must have had some issues no one knew about, but then that's the backstory of most capes in general.
"So what am I exactly needed here for? You told me the Boss was going to use me for something but never told me what. You're lucky I came in the first place. But then again, I need the money. So whatever you need me to do, I'll gladly help as long as we have a plan. I'm not comfortable going into a dangerous situation like this with no sort of escape plans or backups." She said to Blackout, who seemed to not be paying attention to her at all. He seemed to be completely lost in his own world and not even considering the situation around him in present time. Odette mewed up at her softly, wanting to be picked up. "Come here." she said with a smile and waited for Blackout's response slowly stroking Odette's soft grey fur.
Blackout glanced down at the rock looking very confused. "No, cover. Ya know. . . Something to hide behind, so I can surprise the Wards. Since I can stop them from using their powers. They probably aren't well trained in close quarters combat. Also stay away from me if you wanna use your powers. We're gonna try and isolate them, then incapacitate them within-" The voice in his head said ten minutes "-Ten minutes!" As he spoke he pulled out his handgun, loading a magazine into it. "Oh you, Ms. Angel, three things. One, I want you to sneak around the building and get behind them. Two, stab them in the hip if you get the chance. Three, stay quite the entire time, don't stop being invisible till one of them is unable to fight. Don't kill, yet." He explained, testing his sights, and waiting for Regus to do something productive.
Regus frowned under his mask, did he want like, a wall? Cause he'd asked for something disguised and he couldn't disguise a wall really. His eyes went to the now loaded gun, dang Blackout was playing for keeps, even if he'd told Angel not to kill anyone, the key word was yet. Regus gripped the road and took a deep breath. Detach, lighten, solid but less solid. Regus rose upwards, a good section of the road coming with him, about four people long and two people tall. Regus wasn't good at measurements. "Will this do?" He asked roughly, hefting the section of road like it was made of cardboard. Some of the edges piratically dripped off, like they had been melted. If Blackout'd wanted a wall to hide behind he should've just asked. Hopefully when Blackout did... his thing, the chunk of road didn't go back to normal, or else that could get very bad very fast.
"Definitely!" Blackout said, grinning widely, and looking like a kid in a candy store. He walked behind it, and signaled for Regus to join him, then signaled the driver in the van. He spoke into the mic on his helmet saying, seemingly to himself, "Leave when the Wards appear, driver. Circle the block, and come back when I say so." After he finished talking, he turned to Regus and quickly said, "Radio silence when my power is active, otherwise you will just confuse yourself. I'll give a pretty distinct signal when it's about to activate."
"Angel girl? Should have known you would take advantage of a name like that Mr. Broken Telephone Wire. Considering we're working together for now, I don't care if you insult me but when we aren't, you should probably watch your step." The impending battle being so close at hand, Serephina commanded Odette to jump into her backpack and zipped it shut completely. She had used her knife to tear holes in the sides to act as air holes a while ago. She would be completely fine in there. If something happened to her cat, she didn't know what she would do.
She planned to activate her power as soon as the van left and stay invisible as the wards came by her and then attack as they passed. Her knife was not very strong but the rust on the blade would act as an even more devestating factor in the stabbing. Although she didn't understand why she was not being ordered to KILL them, Blackout was the one giving orders right now and she wasn't going to go against them if she wanted her money. She leaned against the wall Regus had made and spoke to Odette quietly. Her adrenaline had begun to build as she waited and she happily said to Odette, "By the time this is over, you will have all the wet food you could ever eat okay? We won't have to worry about a thing." A smirk spread across her face.
Regus, Blackout, and Serephina meet up outside the bank and are ready to fight the wards.
Staying in the bank after some Ward sstarted barking commands at the civilians inside, compelled Spencer's breath to speed up as she fearfully cast her eyes around the crowd. She spotted a parahuman aura from the corner of her eye. "okay maybe they're not after me," she thought as she tucked the roll of money she had just recently received from a Teller into her combat boot.
Looking back up at the cape, her eyes drank him in, letting the aura stretch and touch her. Parahumans had such beautiful auras, if only she could see hers. . . She'd never look away. They had these silver strings made of light that waved as if they were flowing in the breeze. His normal aura was red-orange, which meant excitement. Obviously he was the cause of all this shouting that would give Spencer a headache later. The red-orange was grossly incandescent and mixed with a light green and aqua blue. That could only mean guilt and apprehension. She smirked as she began feeding him more guilt with her power, her plan she hoped he'd turn himself in.
