Corporal Lance

The Paradigm Stone

*BEEP BEEP BEEP!!*

The blonde's eyes slowly opened as her arm fished blindly off the couch for her phone. She drew it up to her face to read it, the harsh glow nearly blinding her. 7:45 stood out on her background of the movie poster from Fast Five. Rubbing her face, she swung her legs over to stand. The pallor twilight filtered in through her blinds, casting illumination over the dinky apartment of wooden furniture, clothes strewn about the floor, and Pepsi cans piled high. Hope had been right. It was an anxious day. And she hoped it to be longer than tonight would be. Got the bottom floor all walled up, second floor's base was almost finished, and she had her inbox flooded with police transcripts, videos, and potential leads. Rising to stretch, a thought hit her.
"Oh shit," she croaked from dry mouth. Hope was finished working at about 3 that afternoon and decided to take a nap... but promised Seeds she'd be up about 7:30. Too late now. She swiped in her code to unlock her phone and was met with 3 missed messages and a phone call. Searching through her contacts, she found the Hax R Us designator she had assigned to Seeds and his friends and tapped the screen to give him a call. One ring, two rings, three...
"Hello?" came the distant echoing voice.
"Yo," Hope cracked, picking up a half-full can of Pepsi from her wooden coffee table and choking it back to relieve her sore throat.
"What happened to 7:30? Thought you gave up on us. Or were dead or something." Hope let a puff of air escape her nose.
"I was taking a nap. Had a hard day at work and I'm probably not going to sleep tonight anyway. You got anything new for me?" Hope hesitated a little bit, peering out her blinds to watch the sun fall behind the horizon. "Actually, give me a round up. Head's still kind of foggy."
"Actor's still not in costume yet, is she?" Seeds taunted from his... mom's basement or whatever.
"No, she's not. Just give me,like, fifteen minutes to gear up. Tops."
"Alright, alright. Once you've suited up, we'll talk. Call me when you're awake."
"Yeah, that too." As always, Hope hung up without saying goodbye. She let out a yawn and began to roam around her shitty little home to gather supplies.

Hope was dressed in a black V-neck T-shirt, a pair of paint splattered jeans (fit around the waist, loose around the legs), a pair of black Vanns skate shoes, and wearing a look as if she had awakened from the grave. A black backpack was slung over her shoulder, already packed up with everything she'd need for the night. Superhero hoodie/cape, snowboarding goggles she got on the cheap from her friend Ryan, neck gaiter from same friend, utility belt from the Army surplus store about ten blocks away, tire iron of great justice with an incredibly handy sling to keep it from falling from her back mid-flight and jacking up someone's car insurance rate, and ultra light paintball vest that could stop... actually, she was unsure what the hell it could stop. Might make punches land a little softer. Looked badass. Whatever, the badass part made it worth wearing. Letting the loose apartment door slam behind her, she trudged up three flights of stairs to make her way to the roof. No one was there but her, as per the norm, when she began to really get ready for action. Vest on, hoodie on, goggles on, face mask on, gloves on, tape around the knees and ankles, shin guards and knee pads strapped and ready to go, utility belt snapped and ready for action. Hope made sure before she left to prepare for the worst, which she stored in the belt. Just the usual gear, zip ties, Leathermann, et cetera... plus her smokes, device chargers, trail mix and a Red Bull. With all her stuff strapped up and read to go, she threw her empty backpack on top of the doorway to the roof so no one would mess with it, slung her ghetto melee weapon over her shoulder, and pulled out her phone. Time to kick it.
"Hello?"
"You ready to rock? I know I am," Wisp stated confidently. She began to pinwheel her arms and hop on her toes, with other exercises to get her warmed up. Sure, the night didn't promise much in the ways of ass-kicking, but as long as she got what she wanted it was gonna be a good one.
"Okay, so here's what we know so far..." Seeds began. Wisp was prepared to be bored to death from his explanations, but whatever. Part of the job. She much preferred the action and left him to the thinking, but a little thinking never hurt anyone. At least to her knowledge... that would be something to Google for later.
"There was both an armored car and Wentworth Bank robbed today, the armored car obviously belonging to the bank. The armored car was hit second, the bank was hit first. What does that tell you?" Wisp thought for a second or two, long enough to prompt Seeder. "Wisp? You there?"
"C'mon, Seeds! I just woke up, throw me a bone or somethin'" she moaned.
"It means that one was a distraction for the other. They wanted all the cops at the bank so that the armored car robber could get away scott-free."
"But then why were there two of them at the bank? They'd only need one as the distraction, right?"
"Survivability, possibly? Didn't want the loner at the bank to get killed." Wisp wrinkled her nose.
"I don't think so. What if there were two things to steal?"
"Then it would have been best to divert all resources to one site, probably the car. Both entities got away, remember?"
"Ehh..." Wisp droned. She hadn't paid attention to all of the information Seeds was trying to shove up her nostril and into her brain.
"*Sigh*... Yes, Wisp. Both of them got away. I'll go over that later."
"Sleeping, remember? Wait, what if it was one thing, but two different people wanted it?"
"Hmm... You may be on to something, there. We'll have to look into it."
"Okay level 90 nerd lord, what else?"

"Well, the security detail was enhanced at both sites, and they weren't cops. Six at each location, one with a special guest."
"Oh?" Wisp mused. Things were starting to get a little more interesting. Sounded like fun stuff for her to do.
"Yes, they were decked out in tactical gear, and the recorded gunfire was automatic, not something like pistols like the cops use. Also, the police responded to a call at the bank instead of reacting to police radio. It means that-"
"They were private security. Sounds juicy. Who's our special guest?"
"Did you watch even half of the videos I sent you?" Seeder huffed.
"Uh, sleeping. Remember? Some people don't steal identities for a living and have, like, a normal work schedule?"
"How do you know what I do for a living? Didn't think I ever told you."
"You did right now, smart guy!" Wisp laughed, "Okay, so who's behind door number one?"
"If you happened to actually watch any of the videos I sent you, one of the security party on the armored car calls himself 'The Executioner'. He's-"
"A walking tank covered in guns, grenades, and enough bullets to fuel the city of Juarez for a month?" Wisp interrupted, "Yeah, I know 'im."
"You two have met?"
"Ha, God no. I have a very active lifestyle that includes things like, y'know, breathing? I'd like to keep enjoying those kinds of things."
"Riiiiiight... So, the robber of the armored car didn't have any casualties. Fit looking dude in a black and red costume. Kinda like Deadpool, but, y'know... not." Wisp growled.
"Rrrrrr, son of a bitch, Jack-o!" she snapped.
"Jack-o?"
"His name's Black Jack, he's a merc. Ran into 'im a couple of times before. One time I had to fight him to a standstill at the art museum on Lafayette. Next time he actually helped me out against Los Caballaros... until he shot Don Juan drug boss in the head before I could take him in. Pfft, shit always gets complicated whenever he's involved."
"So you know them both? Awesome! Saves me from having to make you watch the helicopter news feed. The armored car was damaged in the explosion right before Black Jack and the Executioner split, so it's been taken in for repairs. I've tracked it down to an impound lot off 3rd and Jefferson. Might be some evidence there, and the license plate never showed up on video. If you get me that, we can trace it back to its origin point and found out where the guards piled in."
"Sounds like a plan!"

Wisp smiled underneath her mask as she sauntered over to the edge of her apartment building and looked down. Five floors. Quite a drop for the less talented. She fished her earpiece up through her vest to keep it in place as she spoke to ArchDork of Nerdsalot, securing her phone snugly beneath the trail mix in her belt so it wouldn't fall out. Taking a few steps back, she sprinted to the ledge and jumped. But she did not fall. Wisp simply kept going, straightening her body to streamline herself in the air as she took to flight. She was a relatively new flier, so it was still a thrill rush whenever she shot through the sky. It was exactly like skydiving... only with no parachute and over building tops. Something Hope could definitely get used to. She kept low to the building tops to avoid being seen from the streets and partly to better master moving up and down suddenly with better ease. It wasn't long before she reached 3rd and Jefferson, maybe just under twenty minutes, but she was pulling maybe 120 back there. Perching herself on a nearby rooftop, her eyes scanned the area through her goggles. The impound lot was easy enough to pick out, but she was looking for the armored car within. And any cameras that would happen to be around. Didn't want to show up on anyone's TV, now would we. She managed to spot two of them: one on one of the street lamps, and one on the building within the compound.
"Seeds, two cameras, got some kind of techie fix for this?" Wisp asked. She kind of hoped not, her method would be much more fun anyway.
"No, I've tried. If you're seeing cameras, it's CCTV. I can't hack those."
"CC what now? I thought you were a Master Haxor or some shit?" Wisp taunted with a deeper voice on Seeds made-up title.
"CCTV means Closed Circuit Television. It's a recording, Wisp, I can't hack someone's cameras if they're not going anywhere. Do you even know how hacking works?" came Seeder's irritated reply.
"Don't feed the trolls, Seeds. Spray paint it is." As Wisp prepared to vault from the rooftop straight to the lamp in the parking lot, Seeder interrupted her.
"Wait! If you spray over the cameras, someone will know it was you. Who else can get up that high? Don't know about a security system, but the records are showing no employment for anyone in a guard position. Break in, find the CCTV terminal, and take the recording."
"Ugh. Fine. I'll break into the stupid building."

Wisp leaped from her two story perch and overtop the ten foot high fence with ease. Razorwire might stop someone from climbing over, but it didn't stop anyone from skydiving into their parking lot. Wisp landed softly and marched over to the building. Simple wooden door. Piece of cake. Pulling her tire iron from her back, she gripped it with both hands and sent it into an arc, increasing the weight on it and smashing it into the doorknob. The metal knob hit the concrete step with a few violent clinks as it bounced around and the door lazily swung open. Wisp produced her flashlight from her built and clicked it once, lighting up the dark interior.
"Alright Seeds, what am I lookin' for?" she asked quietly. No one was there, but it was a force of habit.
"Something with monitors, DVD player hooked up to it. Start turning on TVs, when you see footage of the impound lot, you've got the right one." Wisp skulked around the building, opening doors and turning on TVs. From her third room and second monitor, she could see a picture-in-picture broadcast of the lot.
"Bingo," she whispered. There was a DVD player hooked up to it, with the recording light flashing. With a press of a button, the machine spat out the disc for Wisp to pocket.
"You got the disc?"
"Yeah, no problem."
"Good, now let's see that license plate."
Wisp waltzed out into the impound lot uncontested. The armored car was simple enough to spot. It was both the largest thing there and the only one that looked like it was hit by a fucking mortar shell. All of its tires were shredded, the grill was mashed in, windshield cracked. Explosion sure did a number on it. Wisp grabbed her camera and started taking pictures: of the exterior damage, Wentworth Bank markings on the side, tire damage, and license plate. The front one was shredded, but the back one was completely fine.
"Bomb went off in front of the truck, huh?" Wisp commented.
"Yeah, the Executioner took a hit from it, but footage shows that he simply lumbered away."
"Now do you know why I don't want to fuck with him?"
"Hey, is the dash cam still intact?" Seeds ignored. Wisp opened the side door. No interior damage. Bulletproof windshield must've done its job. She noticed the digital camera on the front and pocketed that one as well.
"Yeah, I'll let you pull whatever off of it when I'm done her. I'm gonna check in the back really quick." Wisp threw open the back doors and took a few photos as well. Nothing. As expected. But it was better to be safe than sorry. She pulled her phone out of her belt and connected it up to her camera with the charging cable.
"Sendin' you the photos of the truck first," she announced as the pictures began to show up in her gallery.
"Alright. How about the camera?"
"Hold on a second, this takes time." After sending him the pictures she'd taken of the armored car, she linked up her phone to the camera and started pulling the video on to it, only to send it to him afterward. The entire process took about six minutes, but it felt a lot longer than that. Wisp used this opportunity to pull her neck gaiter down and light up a cigarette.

"Talk to me, Seeds. What've we got?" Wisp inquired, crushing her finished cig out underneath her shoe. Twenty minutes later, still no cops. Guess there wasn't a security system after all. Why would there be? It was just a ratty parking lot, and it already had razorwire fences around it.
"Sorry about that. Had to trace the video back to where the car took off from and had some Paladin trouble."
"What's Paladin?" Wisp asked, expecting some kind of high-tech answer she probably shouldn't have asked the question to.
"A Paladin's a holy warrior of the gods bent on smiting evil. They've got really high defense and-"
"I'm investigating two robberies and multiple murders, breaking into buildings no less, and you're playing fucking World of Warcraft!?" she screeched into the phone.
"I told you I had a raid toni-"
"Get the fuck of your videogame and give me my goddamn sitrep, Seeds! Lives could be on the line you dumb fuck! Jesus fucking Christ!"
"Okay, okay! Geez... poured through the video, here's what I got. The tires were popped before they ran into Black Jack, so he must've known they were coming beforehand. And with morning traffic, he couldn't have set up the trap more than ten or fifteen minutes beforehand."
"Yeah. What else?" Wisp inquired, her tone very aggravated. If it were possible to bitch slap someone through the phone, she'd do it right now.
"After a little bit of driving, they took a left on Duluth Way from 29th, out by the docks. A place called Loche Security is situated there. Private security firm, bad reputation. I didn't think they were still around. I'm sending the coordinates to your phone." Wisp took no hesitation in taking off again, vaulting over the busted up armored car with a handspring and flowing straight into flight.

The docks weren't terribly far, only around ten minutes when Wisp landed on one of the buildings. She checked her phone again. 9:12. Not bad. She'd go check out the bank after this. Hopefully the security would be a little lighter by the time she got there. Her phone had told her that she was about seven or so buildings up from Loche Security. She bounded from rooftop to rooftop as if she was on the moon, sailing over the alleyways gracefully until she found herself on what her phone designated as the right place. Peering over the side, she could see that it wasn't marked. No sign, no building number, no nothing. It looked like all the other crappy buildings around it.
"You sure this is the right place, Seeds?"
"I'm tracking you with GPS, and yeah. That's it. I couldn't get anything on this place, though. They've done a lot of record hiding, everything's probably local. See if you can get me some documents or a hard drive, would you?"
"With pleasure," Wisp retorted as she stepped off the building, floating to the ground below. She was going to take some more pictures. If they didn't have anything to do with her investigation, she'd always be able to taunt the police with them. If all else failed, at least Reddit would love them. After walking across the empty street and pulling out her camera to snap a few pics, Seeder spoke up in her ear.
"Shit! Motherfucker!" he exclaimed.
"What?" Wisp hushed, concerned. She kept her eyes peeled for any threats as she backed out of the clearly lit street.
"Fucking Death Knights! So OP! Why don't you try a real class for a change?!"
"Seeds, I am gonna fucking strangle you if you don't turn off that damn game and start hacking bank records or finding me more videos... or... or fucking something! God! It's like I'm working with a fucking preteen!"
"Hey, Wisp. ...Wanna see my Yugi-oh cards?" Seeder taunted.
"UURGH!! It's like you're fucking five!" she growled, only to be met by his laughter. "If you're not gonna help me, then shut the fuck up and let me focus. I've got real people to save." Wisp lifted off the ground with a powerful jump, landing on top of the roof of Loche Security once more. No roof entry. Okay, she could deal with that. She worked her way to the back of the building, facing the docks and walked down the wall. One of the windows had to be open. As luck would have it, the first one she tried was unlocked. Made sense, who would lock a window three stories off the ground? She clambered into the office, dimly lit by the light of the moon, and took out her flashlight.

The Paranatural Countermeasures Conglomerate

I didn't forget, Tatsu! You haven't introduced your character yet! I can't send her on a mission until I know she's in the game and what she's doin' y'know?

After Holobunny didn't post for a while, I moved any character in Mr. Deed's lecture to liberty, meaning they could do whatever, so you're at free reign to introduce her in any way you please so long as she isn't currently on a mission. All characters not on a mission when the missions start going will be integrated or given one at one point or another, so no worries!

The Paradigm Stone

Sweet! Wisp will make her debut at night... but I'll wait for someone else to start the evening portion. Maybe a little something from our glorious Betel with his fairy Godmother...?

I'm just clutching at straws here. I'll wait for the round up, but if everyone thinks it a good idea I'll open up with Hope gearing up as the sun goes down.

EDIT: Nice use of luck! I guess I could continue... but I've only got about 6 hours of sleep before I need to be up tomorrow, and I won't overexert myself. Feel free to continue without me, I'll catch up tomorrow with Wisp's evening antics.

The Paranatural Countermeasures Conglomerate

Unrelated, I assure you. >_>

On that note, got something up finally! I think we're waiting on cunfuzzler for the tactical team, but if nothing happens by the time my weekend hits (see: Friday afternoon) I'll get to work on something for everyone else.

Holobunny, I'll have to work something in for you, but it'll come with the tactical team stuff. Might be doin' one solo this time.

Neried, SixSmith, I'll have some more detailed info PM'd to you about the Doppleganger incident when I have the tactical team's post up. You can go ahead and post without it, but it'll just be a little more official information to add to you repetiore of knowledge with a little government agent flair thrown in.

For everyone else, thanks for waiting! This week has been killer on me, and I was honestly lacking inspiration up until this moment. It was originally going to be just a mirror portal, but I spiced it up a little. I think I'll flow off of it into the weekend, get the ball rolling.

The Paranatural Countermeasures Conglomerate

PCMC HQ North Arctic - Intel Block G14

Large monitoring screens glared at the two from the stifling grey room, displaying slowly scrolling pictures of varied horror. A dilapidated mansion, lost in time and surrounded by the cold embrace of snow. The empty rooms within, forlorn and empty. Agents with scanning equipment, paired with a side screen of the results of such scans. The soft glow of the monitors offered the only light in the sterile room of metal chairs, filing cabinets, a single computer, and a wooden table. The table was strewn with documents and dossiers, all gibberish nonsense and technical jargon that only trained scientific professionals could make heads or tails of. There were none of the comforting false windows with artificial light in this room. Nothing but the warm glow of computer screens. The subtle beeping of a door code and card swipe announced the arrival of a third party, although the unhinging of the door was almost deafening to the dastardly silent room. In walked a man, at least that was what it appeared to be in the low lighting, but his features became subtly more apparent as he strode toward the edge of the table, wingtips clacking on the tiled floor. A vaguely Asian man of indiscernible age stood before them, a gangly man of above average height with hair shined with pomade and slicked back on his scalp. He was done up in a fine Italian suit, as grey as the room around him, just as his collared shirt beneath that was. Only two articles popped out from his dark motif: a blood red tie, and an identifying badge. It read "Chin, Ai Fang, Section Head, Intelligence Department."

"Good afternoon, agents," he greeted, resting both hands on the table. His tone was less friendly and more expectant. A tone of business. "Adams, it is nice to see you again," he addressed the MI6 prior alumni with a nod. Head Chin had had the pleasure of working with Agent Adams before on a few different occasions, one of which he had made a critical insight into the study of Purgatory and the laws that governed it. Since then he asked for his assistance whenever possible, but the man was such an asset that he could rarely be found for work with the Intel Department, especially his own. No doubt he would do good work.
"Bowen, it is... an interesting outfit you have chosen to wear here today," the Asian man stated, his voice raising an octave quizzically. He had only had Agent Bowen under his charge once before. A routine mission on tracking the positions of hidden spacecraft in northern Russia with the assistance of PCMC HQ East Europe. She had not stood out in anyway, but had still performed admirably in her duties. He caught himself ogling and cleared his throat to bring himself back to the task at hand.
"So, as you both are aware, we have had an incident in Husavik, Iceland," began Head Chin, pronouncing Husavik perfectly despite his own slight accent, "And I'm sure that is all the two of you know. If you would please take a glance at the documents before you as I speak." The suited man gestured to the table before himself, stood up off the table and began to pace about the room.
"An urban legend, one of the Doppleganger, stems from many sources, but remains the same in each. I am sure you know the legend, but I love the sound of my own voice and the telling of stories, so I will elaborate." Head Chin flashed them a tight smile before continuing to pace again. "A Doppleganger is a copy of a person, said to look just like them, act just like them. to be just like them. It is said that if a man were to see his Doppleganger, he would be marked for death the very next day. We have encountered many such kinds of doubles in our field, as you both are aware. Skinwalkers. Shapeshifters. Polymorphs. Devilish entities. We have found another truly worthy of the title, 'Doppleganger'." Head Chin halted his pacing to lean on the table once more.

"Murders are being committed across a small area of Iceland. Small to start with, we have only encountered two in this manner since this time last year. The peculiar notion of these murders is that the people murdered are discovered not to be dead. As you are both aware that is a nebulous concept in our field, and I shall explain." The Asian man turned to one of the monitors, producing a remote from his pocket. With a light press of his thumb, he flicked through a small album of photos showing a smiling man and his family.
"This man is Arnar Sigrioursson. As you can see, he is very healthy, happy, and fortunate to have a beautiful wife and happy baby girl." As Head Chin flipped through a handful of other, normal photos, another photo appeared to contrast. This one was one of Arnar lying in a pool of blood, throat slit, face and chest riddled with deep gashes.
"This is his body." With another changing of the slides came more normal family photos, with a non-disputably older child. Arnar appeared to be fine. "And these photos were taken after the discovery of his course. This is the same man in every way. The same blood type, fingerprints, even memories." More clicking led back to the original pictures up on the screen of the old mansion. Head Chin faced his audience with his hands clasped behind his back.
"The Dopplegangers are normal human beings in every way, identical to the real thing. They are physically parallel to normal humans and interviews show no psychopathic tendencies. However. We have discovered that these Dopplegangers have a subconscious desire and motivation to seek out the original who they are a copy of, violently murder them, and assume their lives as if they had lived them in their entirety, even gaining memories in which they could have never had of the original." Chin turned his back again to flick through more slides. "We have traced the appearance of the Dopplegangers to this house in Husavik, and to this-" one more picture appeared, "-mirror." Stark on the screen was a full length silver mirror, around seven feet tall. It was surrounded by an ornate wooden frame with a curved and curled design. Although perfect in every aspect, the reflection of the multiple angles the photos were taken as they appeared upon the screen were warped, as if the mirror were one of the carnival attractions. It held a sense of foreboding, even through its pictures.

"The Dopplegangers appear through this recently discovered mirror, stepping through unannounced. Since our investigative team has arrived, they have had three come through the other side. One is in custody. The other two were of our agents on site, and were shot as soon as their faces emerged." Head Chin let out a sigh through his nose and turned back to face the two. His face was grave.
"Your mission is not an easy one, agents. Although we have a team on-site to monitor this mirror twenty-five hours a day, eight days a week, we have no one available to perform... field work, with the mirror. You see, agents, the upon inspection, this portal works in two ways. One of our agents, Agent Lowell, made an attempt to step through the mirror upon discovery. We lost communications with him within half a minute. He is still somewhere inside the mirror." Head Chin licked his lips, his tell when he was uncomfortable. "And I ask you to succeed where Agent Lowell had failed. I will stress, agents, that this mission is entirely voluntary. If you refuse, we have other available agents, other available methods of testing. But I am asking you both because I am confident that you two will be able to survive, with a detailed report, and possibly with an explanation of Lowell's disappearance, if not the man himself. If you wish, you may walk out the door and pretend that I did not speak to you today. But I have faith that you will succeed, faith in your skills. Please, read over the dossiers once more and think of an answer." Head Chin turned to the monitors for one last time and switched them off. The room was bathed in darkness for a moment or two, but the sound of wingtips on tile were heard until the overhead lights beamed on, flooding the room in their harsh shining luminescence. Head Chin calmly walked to the end of the table where he had stood and pulled out a chair. He folded his hands over the wooden tabletop and hunched his shoulders as he stared past Sean and Jade.

The Paradigm Stone

Heh. Atlas shrugged. I just caught that one.

The Paradigm Stone

betelgeuse said
The intro for hope was worth the wait. Very well done!

Thank you! Not my best, though. It was kind of rushed. Look out for when night falls, guaranteed to have some more quality stuff then.

The Paranatural Countermeasures Conglomerate

I know... I couldn't get anything up after I posted that, and I was exhausted today and slept all day instead. Only had time to get back to one RP, and I went with another one because my reply was better formulated in my head than this one. C'Thulu is displeased.

I'm hoping to shoot for sometime tomorrow, but that's a toss up depending on how the day goes. I'll find time at some point, don't worry, but it'll be a little slow in going.

The Paradigm Stone

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.

The Paradigm Stone

Cool concept. And yeah, I was planning on posting after the next one. The hunt begins...

PM'd betel about the info that Wisp would/might know or would/might discover, with helpful suggestions from myself. I think it's safe to say that Wisp is going to fight this war for the city with information and alliances. Thought up a metric shit ton of things that could tell her more about everyone involved in anything, from who's making the shipping run in the first place to possibly discovering how the other players are involved. S'gonna be fuuuuuuuun...