Yesterday
Today Alan decided to be much less casual and wore a decent brown suit. Checking himself in a mirror in his bathroom he made sure that everything still fit correctly. He hadn't worn it in quite a while, but then again it had been a while since he had been out of laundry. Deciding everything was nice he jogged down the stairs to the office and called Luke.
Luke was by himself getting high as usual, he liked to stay high. He had three percocet pills in his hand which he downed with some soda a little earlier, and was starting to relax. His powers, and his vices were all he needed. Luke decided to wear some business casual attire if he was gonna be committing heists he didn't want to look the part. He was out in a field he'd found and was practicing lifting various things with his mind from heavy rocks to a struggling to lift a torn down tree just as his phone buzzed he released his mental grip of the tree and answered." Wassup Alan."
Alan wasn't terribly thrilled about Luke's manner of speaking. Perhaps the cultural difference was going to be a harder hurdle to jump than he thought. regardless it wouldn't do him anything he wanted if he dwelled on silly things like this. "We're going to go car shopping" he told his young recruit. So grab anything you need that won't get you busted in some random traffic stop and meet me at the library. I've got a particular vehicle in mind."
Truth be told Luke was done with his mental weightlifting, tv always made TK look so effortless. But it was like a mental muscle, he had to keep practicing and exercising and that wasn't exactly easy. "Shopping huh" Luke said the last part sarcastically, it reminded him of some of the people he knew that where into car theft and the funny ways they liked to label their activity. "Alright I catch your drift I won't have any bud on me, trust me I know all about not breaking two laws at the same time..it's my major." Luke left the forest and headed to his car, starting it up then driving to the library.
Alan was on the steps of the Library waiting. When Luke drove up Alan walked up to the driver's side and got luke's attention. "We're going to leave your car here" he stated matter of factly. "Ordinarily I'd take a van out of the junkyard or something and paint it up how I wanted, but that well dried up a long time ago." He paused remembering some older and slightly easier times. It didn't take too long for the cops to get the idea that they needed to monitor the junkyards for suitable getaway vans back in Alan's twenties. "But yeah if you'll come with me I'll show you what we've got." Alan straightened up and started slowly down the street.
Luke just nodded in agreement, he figured it was best to leave his car anyway. He could use his mind powers and just get a car, really just steal a car but he wanted to see Alan in action and he didn't want him to know about his mind control powers. Luke parked his car and made his way out to follow Alan. "Shit..if only it was that easy huh, shit would be smooth, so what exactly we looking it man?" Luke asked wondering what type of vehicle Alan intended to snatch.
"A van for starters" Alan vaguely explained trying to keep his voice low, but without whispering. He didn't say anything for a moment before they got to the end of the street. "And that van in particular." Alen pointed across the road to a green pest control van that read in big yellow letters arrayed around the image of a boot stomping on a mosquito 'Marty's Crushers.' "Still keeping his voice at a low conversational level Alan continued "I may admit I sorta lied when I said that I we were getting just a getaway vehicle. You see we're also stealing our way in and our disguises." He turned to smile at the younger man. "How good do you think you are at knocking people out cold?"
"A Van, hmmm I feel a kidnapping vibe more so then a heist vibe but it's all cool with me." Luke didn't care what vehicle they had as long as they could avoid getting caught up. Seeing it was a green pest van made him think back to his days of watching breaking Bad in the episode where Walter and Jesse used a pest van for a scheme although it was for drugs not robbery. "Eh… I didn't figure you were being 100..percent anyway..okay..well I can move things with my mind hmm...but I don't have X Ray vision. Are there people currently in the van, how many, I can use my powers to knock them out from a distance by bashing them against something perhaps..perhaps I can even get the wheels to move pull the van into a discreet location, then we snatch the people out, and the vans ours problem is only a matter of them before they wake up and report the shit stolen right?"
"Madison is going to take care of the police reports when they get around to calling this in" Alan explained. "She's amazing that way. That said I' a little more prepared for the here and now than you think. See this is Tyler- He's the guy who showed you to my office the other day. This is tyler's grandmother's house. We called these guys up and right now they should just be setting up in there. We had the place sound proofed ages ago so when we're in there we just knock them out and take their stuff. Simple as that." Alan handed Luke a clown mask. "Put that on right before we go in."
"Madison.." Luke didn't know who that was but figured it may have been the hacker or whoever. "Never said you were dumb you don't look like the kind of guy to just do something on impulse and I appreciate that I don't like working with people who think otherwise." Luke looked at the mask and sighed. He reluctantly put it on, drug dealing was cool but he wanted big money, he wanted to drift away from selling drugs completely."Never thought I'd dress up as the Joker, alright let's go, I'll follow your lead."
Alan lead Luke up to the door where he put his hand on the door and paused a moment. For one he needed to put his own mask on, but first he wanted to feel out the exterminators through their electrical impulses. Feeling around for a bit and judging the distances with what he knew of the house already he found all of them. "There's two of them in the kitchen on the far side of the first floor" Alan said coldly without looking back at Luke. "I can take care of them." Now he turned back to his young protege. "You will take care of the third one. He's up the stair in the bedroom. The stairs are right behind this door and the bedroom is the first door to the left on the far wall when you come up." With that Alan threw on his mask, quietly opened the door and began creeping through the house.
Luke nodded taking note of the information Alan had given him. He almost paused to think that this was too easy a task even without powers, then again it was never good to get too cocky at any time. Luke followed the directions Alan gave him, and crept up to the door listening in he pushed the door open and used his powers to zip the man's mouth shut then lifted him in the air and focused on a new skill he'd been practicing. A Blast of telekinetic force slammed into the man smacking him into the ceiling, but instead of allowing him to the floor with a thud he lowered the unconscious man down slipped off his uniform with his mind then set him on the bed. "Perfect" Luke said quietly then slid out of the bedroom.
Down the stairs Alan was coming back from further in the house with two green exterminator's outfits over his left shoulder. He had shocked his two as he entered the dining room fairly trivially. He threw a key up to luke. "Get in the van and I'll tell you where we're going.
Earlier Today
Alan was not particularly happy about this little... interruption, but he didn't let it show and just patiently waited for Wash to do his thing. "I was just walking around with my friend" Wash answered while waving his hand at Alan. Don't drag me into this kid. this is your problem. Wash stuck his hand out offering to shake. "My name's Kurt. What about you?"
Julia beamed at Kurt between her natural love of people and the trip she was currently on she was more than a bit over excited to meet Kurt. The first person I've met since coming to Atlanta! She thought as she reached out to shake his hand, forgetting to temper her strength on the shake, she squeezed a fair bit harder than any woman of her size should have been able to, even a firefighter. Her mouth went slightly agape as she realized and loosened her grip. "I'm sorry!" She blurted out unthinkingly hoping she hadn't hurt him.
Kurt's face contorted in pain and he loosened his own grip as Julia pressured his hand. Kurt had learned pretty on in his dealings with Alan the importance of a strong handshake and good eye contact for making a good first impression, but this girl seemed disproportionately strong. So much that he couldn't maintain either until she relented and apologized. Still he tried to take her apology in stride. "Oh its fine, my hand will be okay." he reaffirmed his grip, but looked around the shitty neighborhood. "I was going to tell you that this was a pretty dangerous place" he said scratching the back of his head with his other, less hurt hand. "Especially recently, but I'm much less sure that you're in danger right now."
Julia let out a stifled laugh at his comment as she returned her hand to her side. "Oh, I can usually handle myself pretty well, especially lately, but I really do appreciate the concern." she paused for a moment to collect herself it took quite a bit of focus to keep her eyes on him and not wandering off to the weird hallucinatory goings on that inhabited her peripheral vision. "The name is Julia by the way, and I doubt I could be of much use to ya, but one good turn deserves another!" She nodded towards him before continuing. "I'm not from around here, I don't know the area, I don't have much money, and I don't expect I'll be here long, but I reckon I oughtta offer should ya need any help while I'm in this neck of the woods."
Alan hadn't taken much notice of Julia's powerful handshake until she said, until recently, which really caught his attention. He hit a button on his phone still in his pocket and up on the roof across the street Tyler received a red warning. Be highly alert. He couldn't get out more than the generic message before he stepped into Kurt and Julia's conversation. "Hey, Kurt" he said with some disdain in his voice when he said Kurt. It probably wasn't a problem to break cod names at this very moment, but they were technically on the job. "Could you you run ahead and get Madison's gift for me?" Kurt turned to look at his boss at first a little dumbfounded. Alan leaned in. "I would like to speak to the young lady." Suddenly Kurt understood and rushed off into the apartment to meet Madison. "So miss" Alan began while stepping into Kurt's spot. "Define why it was exactly that you can take care of yourself recently. Answer honestly and I can make it worth your while."
Julia let out a hearty laugh at Alan's query. "Well aren't you Mister dark & foreboding!" Julia wasn't typically a woman of inhibitions, but even still she knew she wouldn't have made such a comment sober. "But you don't need to twist my arm. Not that you could." She tried to wipe the smile from her face, but just couldn't manage it, she was too damn happy. "Now, I'm not really sure about any exact date or anything." She walked to the nearest parked car as she spoke. "But I know that a month ago..." She crouched down beside the car and looked under it for a moment to make sure she grabbed ahold of the frame so as to not damage anything. "I couldn't do this." She rose once more, lifting the passenger side of the car with one arm as she did so, holding it for a few seconds before gently lowering it back down to the ground. "Now, I gotta wonder..." She spoke with a newly present confidence in her voice. "Why are you so curious?"
Alan furrowed his brow again. Super powered people sure were casual about being, well, more than human. Alan had adapted well enough to it sure, but he was quite a different cut from most of society and here this seemingly normal if intoxicated woman had also become quite used to her own powers and wasn't freaking out in a ditch somewhere. Maybe three weeks give or take was more than enough time to get over the shock and get on with life. Super strength would be useful. Also highly dangerous. Alan would need to avoid getting hit if they came to blows. At least long enough to shock her or for Tyler to shoot her. If either of those things would even do anything to this particular super. It was best not to get on her bad side in particular for now. Besides, she may become useful. "I'm curious because I also have an ability, but let's take this inside. It'll be best not to attract too much attention."
Julia found herself curious and more than a little bit excited by Mister dark and foreboding's words. She did wonder if there were others like her out there and had admittedly never really thought to hide her power, though she also hadn't had much cause to use it either. Apart from a wrecked sleep schedule, and significantly extended hiking excursions her life hadn't changed since she discovered it. She could understand though why others would want to keep it secret, especially if they were more exotic abilities than her own. Still a sliver of doubt crept into her mind at his request, but she shook it off immediately. Remembering that she was taught from a young age to embrace every opportunity no matter how strange it might be and to certainly not distrust someone without cause. Accordingly she stepped behind him ready to follow. "Alrighty then! Lead the way!"
Alan lead the super up to the third floor where Madison could be heard chewing out Kurt for something. Alan wasn't really listening. When they got to her apartment at the end of the hall he fished out a key and through open the door to see the dwarfed Madison staring down a clearly intimidated Kurt. Around them was a fairly clean apartment, especially compared to the surroundings, but in particular there was a bunch of glass shards on the floor of the kitchen left of the door. "I'm sorry pf I'm interrupting anything in here, but I need you two to calm down so I can blow your worlds open a bit"
Julia glanced around the apartment wondering what she had gotten herself into. Noting Kurt and some lady she had yet to be introduced to seemed to be at odds with one another. If she wasn't so damn curious about what seeing what this guy could do she would have been long gone. But now she was committed for better or worse, so she just smiled and waved at Kurt and the new woman.
Kurt and Madison sighed. One in relief and the other in exasperation. "What is it boss?
"I was planning on telling everyone a bit later when everyone was at the meeting, but some really strange things have been going on that have drawn me back into this life." He put his hands a distance apart as he had with Luke the other day and sent electricity across the gap between his fingers. "In particular my newfound powers." Yes this does mean that all the stories you have been hearing about super powered people is true and for the record. This lovely lady is another such super."
Julia stared in awe at the electricity arcing between the man's hands, it was probably in reality just normal electricity, but to her intoxicated mind it looked extremely pretty as it shifted colors from blue to red, to yellow and every color in between. She was so engrossed in the sight that she only picked up a vague interpretation of his words as he spoke. Only snapping back into reality as he referenced her as a fellow 'super'. She didn't like the term, but she wasn't going to contest it, instead she just spoke towards the new woman and Kurt. "Hi, I'm Julia, and I do other much less cool things!" She gestured towards the other 'super' as the reality of the situation finally set in, if he could control electricity, and she was super strong, it stood to reason that there could be any number of others out there with innumerable possible abilities.
“Alright…” Madison breathed. “That’s a lot to take in for such a little display. We’re going to have to go into detail about just what you can do later. Gonna be a whole category to file. People and their powers…” She stared off into the distance for a moment before collecting herself. Kurt for his part kept his mouth shut. “So sir” Madison continued. I get why you’d need to tell me about your new abilities, but why did you bring this woman along?”
“Well” alan started. “I was hoping that I could introduce her to some face and ask if she was interested in making a little extra money while she was in town.” He then looked at Julia as if that had actually been a question directed at her.
Julia crossed her arms and looked at the electric man who she had come to realize was something of a boss to the others. "Hun, money doesn't mean much to me, I already have all I need. That said, if you need a refrigerator moved or semi push started." She paused for a moment wondering if semis could actually be push started, she was in a unique position to find out, she made mental note try it some day. "I'll gladly do it for five bucks. I get the feeling you have something more exciting in mind though don't you? In which case let's hear it, if it sounds interesting I'll do it, but uh... This is my time off from work, so I'd prefer to not make it a job. Okay?" She pulled the paper container out of her jean pocket and ripped a paper filter from it before placing it back in her pocket.
Alan handed her a cheap phone from a pile on one of Madison’s desks. “If you’re interested. Before you leave town I may call you on this if i need someone of your talents.” He leaned in close to her. “I assure you though that it will be dangerous.” Alan allowed his voice to become much more grave. “Illegal dangerous. Are you up for that?”
Julia sighed deeply, miming the word 'dangerous' along with mocking hand gestures after she grabbed the phone. She had already quite an overconfidence when it came to 'danger' due to her job, and her newfound powers did nothing to help her take the word any more seriously. ”Ya already know I’ll answer that call, and as long as it sounds like a worthwhile experience I’ll be there. Just know this...” She paused for a moment purely in an effort to build dramatic effect. ”I won’t hurt anybody for you, or anyone for that matter. That’s about all there is to it.” Julia winked at him and smiled, realizing she didn’t wink enough in day to day life, it was fun. She then promptly turned away and exited the apartment, the trip hadn’t gotten her a new supply, but perhaps she’d found something much better… Hopefully.
