nitemare shape

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

The warmth of the morning summer sun hit Scott Hunter's face as he stepped onto the roof of The Hub. Though the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky, Scott was nevertheless restless. With each step he took, his legs felt as if they were weighted. He had things that he wanted, no, needed to do. However, before he could get to tasks at hand, the growling in his stomach informed him that he needed to get breakfast.

The only question was, where should he go? Bea's Diner over on 3rd Street? Maybe a quick trip down to the Cape? Or perhaps he was in the mood for something a little farther away. Red's Place in Chicago? Or maybe even Calypso's in Miami? The truth was, he didn't know what he wanted, but he figured that he'd decide once he was in the air.

With the press of a button, the nanites which formed his suit deployed from the bracelet that Alexa had given him and began to cover his body. His skin tingled as the nanites moved first up his arm, then over his torso. In an instant, his easily recognizable costume had replaced his normal clothes and he had been transformed into his famous alter ego, Icon.

I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to that. Icon thought to himself as he rose up into the Lost Haven sky. As he ascended upward, the city skyline dropped below him, and with a half turn, Icon accelerated away from the city that he called home, westward, toward Chicago. The ground below him was a massive blur of greens and browns which would change to grays and blacks as he rocketed past cities. Though the trip from Lost Haven to Chicago would have taken hours, or even days if taken by traditional means, it only took him a matter of moments to reach his destination.

Once he arrived in Chicago, he touched down in an alley behind Red's Place, a local diner that was known throughout the city as one of the best places for breakfast in the entire Mid-West. With a single press of the button on his bracelet, the nanites which constituted his costume instantly retracted into the device, leaving him in his civilian clothes as he made his way to the front of the eatery.

After eating breakfast, which consisted of a large meat lover's omelet, a stack of pancakes, and a generous side of Chicago's famous breakfast sausage, Scott was ready to hit the skies again. He had a lot to do today before the club opened, and one thing in particular stood out more than the rest. In fact, he hadn't been able to think of anything else for the last several days. So once he had paid for his breakfast, he went back into the alley behind Red's and with the press of a button, again changed into his uniform and took to the skies.

As he flew home toward Lost Haven, his mind drifted to the task at hand, and what he had to do. Though the thought of what he needed to do terrified, he found within himself a steel resolve, and he knew that nothing was going to get in his way, not even the fear that he felt deep down inside. Nevertheless, he was going to take the first step, he just had one more stop before returning to Lost Haven.

It had been awhile since Scott had returned to his hometown, however, today was a special occasion. He landed on Gallows Hill, near the famous water tower the word “Salem” painted above the image of a witch on her broom. Once he had retracted his costume into the bracelet, he began the short hike down the hill and out of the woods, passing a small playground and basketball court on his way back into the downtown area. Although he had been back to Salem infrequently since his father passed away, something about the city just seemed to stay familiar, it was almost as if nothing ever changed. As he walked down Highland Avenue towards downtown, images from his past played in his mind. He could see himself walking this very street with his older brother Brandon, as well as Jenny when they were children. Jenny was always running ahead of them, anxious to get into town and get candy at the comic shop on Essex Street.

Scott smiled at the memory, and kept walking. He walked passed the Ropes Mansion and the Witch House, and crossed the street. As he did so, he looked at the Army Barracks shop at the corner and chuckled to himself when he thought about how around Halloween they would always put a display outside of a man in a spooky mask sitting in a chair surrounded by hay, and sometimes they'd replace the mannequin with an actual person who would occasionally jump up and scare tourists and locals alike as they walked by.

Though these were fond memories, today was not about the past. On the contrary, today was about the future. He made his way down the street, where he crossed at another intersection and found himself in a pedestrian mall. About a half of a block down, across from a new tattoo shop was his destination, Witch City Jewelers. Though there were other places that he could have gone, this was the same store that his father had bought his mother's engagement ring, and just about every other piece of jewelry for as long as Scott could remember. There was something fitting about coming here today. He stood in the doorway for a moment, and for a brief moment, he hesitated. A cold sensation of panic washed over him, and he considered turning around and going home, though, only for a split second. With a deep breath, he pushed open the door and went inside.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

The light shone in the darkened garage, illuminating the large space enough so that work could be done. The man in the garage, the man formerly known as Dr. Jason Miles; had been working for weeks, getting everything ready for the moment that he would finally make his grand debut to the world. The former Dr. Miles stood under the hood of the school bus that he had acquired during the recent crisis with the Hounds of Humanity, making last minute modifications to the vehicle's engine and other systems.

Dr. Miles had once been a leading doctor in the field of sleep medicine. He had made several major breakthroughs in the study of sleep disorders, and had been on the verge of one such breakthrough which would have changed the lives of millions of people, he had found a cure for insomnia, a malady that he himself had suffered from. He had developed a serum that he believed would finally cure insomnia itself and was about to begin human trials on the formula. Unfortunately, the research firm that he worked for, The Nox Foundation suddenly pulled the funding for his project and confiscated all of his research, which forced him to use the only dose of the serum that they had been able to manufacture on himself. Sadly, the serum did not have the desired effect. Instead of a cure for insomnia, the serum intensified the symptoms, rendering Dr. Miles unable to sleep at all.

Days went by and Dr. Miles had been able to get a moment's rest. No matter what he did, he could not get an ounce of sleep. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, with no way to find relief. Days turned to weeks, and as each day passed Dr. Miles began to lose his grip on his mental faculties. He became short tempered and irrational. He soon found himself easily overstimulated, and being out in the world was too much for him, so he stopped leaving his home.

As the weeks went on, Dr. Miles began a physical, as well as mental metamorphosis. As his mind began to fracture, he became almost physically unrecognizable. His eyes became sunken with dark circles around them. He became sickly looking, his skin turned an ashen gray before turning a jaundiced shade of yellow.

Eventually, driven mad by the inability to sleep, Dr. Miles decided that the Nox Foundation was responsible for her current state, and they needed to pay for what they did to him. So he went to the Foundation's main office and forced his way into a closed door board meeting and began ranting and raving at them for shutting down his research, screaming at them for making him what he had become. When he finished berating the Nox Foundation board members, he produced a Glock 37.

Then he opened fire.

The board member scattered from the large round table that they had been sitting at when the deranged former employee had entered the room, however Miles continued to fire until not a single board member was left standing. Only when the slaughter was done, did he leave the boardroom, where he was met by security, who had been trying to gain accesses to the room unsuccessfully, but a contingent of the Crown Ridge Police force, who took him into custody without incident.

He was then taken to one of the best mental facilities in the Northeastern United States, Acadia State Hospital. The doctors there did what they could to treat Dr. Miles, unfortunately, it soon became apparent that he might may just be beyond help. So they locked him away in the darkest corners of the facility, and while they continued to try to help the man, they had little faith that anything they could do would have any effect on his current mental state. However, despite the best efforts of the staff at Acadia State Hospital, they were unable to keep the man who now referred to himself as Insomnia locked away. In a stunning display of brutality and cunning, he murdered several staff members as he escaped the facility.

As demented as he had become, the man now known as Insomnia was still just as brilliant as he had been prior to his transformation. Soon after he had escaped, the Hounds of Humanity had revealed themselves as a true force to be reckoned with, having destroyed multiple American cities with an orbital weapon. With their fevered pursuit of anyone even suspected of being a meta human, Insomnia went underground, waiting until the terrorist organization's downfall to reemerge.

“Don't worry, you'll be just fine.” Insomniac said as he continued tinkering under the school bus hood. “You're going to help me remind these people just who I am.” He said as he slammed the hood down and met the gaze of “Paul,” or at least that's what the man's name tag had said. Insomnia didn't know Paul, the gas station attendant had just been unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now found himself gagged and bound in the driver's seat of the school bus that Insomnia had been putting the finishing touches on. However, Paul wasn't alone. Within the garage, there were five other buses, with five other people bound and gagged in the driver's seat.

“They said I'm insane, but the truth is, everyone else is asleep at the wheel. I'm the only one who is awake. I'm the only one who knows what's really going on.” Insomnia said as he checked the C-4 explosives that were backed into the passenger compartment of each bus. He then pulled what looked like some sort of remote control from his pocket and presses a button. With that simple press of a button, each of the six school buses roared to life and began to roll out of the garage into the city of Crown Ridge. “But soon enough, everyone will see the truth.”

***

Officer Jim Dawes had just finished a long shift and was getting ready to call it a night. Once he put the finishing touches on the report that he was working on, he would finally be able to go home and see his family. To Officer Dawes, it couldn't come soon enough. He had been on a long, sixteen hour shift dealing with all kinds of low-life's and gang bangers, and he had had just about enough for the day. In fact, he had wanted nothing more than to get a job somewhere else, Crown Ridge had always been a dangerous city, but between the organized crime syndicates and the costumed freaks, as he referred to them, the city had gotten even worse than it ever had been. Officer Dawes had finally finished his paper work and filed it for the night and made his way toward the department exit.

“G'night Jimmy.” Leslie Jenkins said from behind the reception desk.

“ Night Leslie.” Dawes replied as he stepped toward the door. However, he did not open it.

As Jim looked out the door, he was blinded by headlights coming straight toward him. He stood frozen in shock as he looked upon the school bus that raced toward the entrance of the 16th Precinct. Though his brain was screaming for him to move, to get everyone away from the front of the building, he feet refused to move. Finally, he was able to snap out of his stupor. He turned back toward the reception desk and started to run toward the back of the room.

“Everybody move!” he yelled. However, it was too late. The bus crashed through the front door of the precinct and ran into the reception desk before anyone had time to get out of the way. Upon impact, the explosives in the back of the bus detonated, sending a fireball ripping through the 16th Precinct.

***

Kyle lay on his side, holding Sam tightly against him. It had been a hard couple of months for them. Sam was still having a hard time dealing with losses suffered during the Hounds of Humanity attack at LHU. Thought she had been on her way to the school when the attack broke out, one of her favorite professors had been killed in the attack, as well as several acquaintances. Fortunately, the attack had occurred during the school's summer session, which meant that only a fraction of the student population was on campus that day.

Then there was the Sammy incident. Kyle had been shocked to find that she had come to Crown Ridge from Upstate New York under the impression that Kyle and she were engaged, snuck into the house and into the bed that Kyle and Sam shared, ambushing him while wearing nothing but a tee shirt. Kyle had immediately contacted Sam to fill her in on what happened, and even though they both were able to laugh about the situation, Kyle could tell that it had bothered Sam. However, that was all in the past.

Kyle squeezed Sam, pulling her closer against him as he leaned in and kissed the back of her neck. She turned and craned her neck slightly, meeting his gaze and smiled. He leaned in to kiss her, and just as their lips met, the entire house shook. They lay in bed for a moment longer, shocked by the sudden commotion, before a second explosion rang out. Kyle jumped up and ran to the window, even as more explosions could be heard in the city. He was horrified by what he saw, multiple burning buildings in close proximity to one another. Though he didn't know exactly what was going on, he knew what it looked like, a coordinated attack.

He ran over to the closet and opened the door, then put his hand on a black panel on the side wall of the closet. A green light on the panel flashed, and the back of the closet opened, revealing another small closet. It was a security measure that Ash had installed soon after Harry had brought her in to replace him, and although he thought that it may have been overkill, he was gratful for the added security. When Kyle emerged from the closet, he was dressed in his Lyger garb. He looked to Sam as he put the mask on.

“You need to go.” Sam told him.

“Yeah, I'll be back as soon as I can.”

“I know. Just be careful.” She told him as he threw himself out the bedroom window, rushing headlong into danger.

“I love you.” She whispered as he vanished from view.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

hoping to have something posted within the next day or so

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Okay I finally made time to make a post thank goodness!

@Liseran Thistle

Well...it's about time!

Just kidding lol ;)

I'm actually about to sit down and get to work myself

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

The sun hung high in the sky bathing the city of Lost Haven in it's warming rays. Despite the dark clouds that had threatened the city with rain earlier in the morning, it had turned out to be a perfect day. Scott Hunter walked along the sidewalk with his head down, watching his shadow as he made his way toward the waterfront for a lunch date with Alexa. The last few days had been hectic for the couple. Between board meetings at Winstone International, and last minute preparations for the Hub's grand reopening, it had seemed that there just wasn't enough hours in the day. In fact, the young couple had barely seen one another, aside from fleeting moments in the early morning and late at night. They had decided that today, they would make time for lunch at a new diner on the waterfront called “Captn's,” which boasted a broad selection, but was becoming well known for its seafood.

As Scott walked through the glass front doors of the restaurant, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took his phone from his pocket only to see that he has a new text message from Alexa.

“I'm upstairs.” It said, indicating that she was waiting for him on the rooftop deck. So Scott made his way up to join her.

He found her sitting at a table at the edge of the deck, giving them an unobstructed view of the harbor. When he approached her, he placed a hand just below her shoulder and leaned in and kissed her on the top of the head before taking a seat in the chair beside her.

“What looks good?” He asked as he opened the menu.

“Everything. She told him, before adding. “I ordered the fried calamari.”

“Great...” He said, his tone indicative of his dislike of the appetizer.

“Relax, I ordered you the nachos.” She said with a grin.

Once their appetizers arrived and their orders were placed for their meals, Scott and Alexa did something that they hadn't been able to do since they were in Paris, talk. They got each other caught up on what they had been up to in the days since they returned from their vacation. Scott told her about the difficulties that he and Eric had run into while getting the club back up and running, and Alexa regaled him with stories from the boardroom. Major deals that were in the works and the acquisition of several smaller tech firms that would give Winstone International the leg up on the competition, primarily Avalon and Midas Industries.

“Speaking of which...”Alexa said as she reached into her purse and produced a small box which she handed to him. “Open it.” She said eagerly.

“Alexa, what is this?” Scott asked, perplexed by the sudden gift.

“Just open it!” She exclaimed, her anticipation was palpable.

Scott pulled the lid off of the box and looked at what was inside. It looked like some sort of bracelet, about the size of a Fit Bit which was matte black with a pair of silver buttons which were outlined in cobalt blue, which lay flush with the device. It was sleek and somewhat futuristic looking, but at the same time it looked like something that could be purchased in any electronics store.

“What's this?” Scott asked, appreciative, but slightly confused by the gift.

“This,” Alexa said with a grin. “is just a little something that the R and D department and Winstone has been cooking up. It doesn't have a fancy name, but it's a nanotech deployment apparatus.”

“A nanotech...” Scott said, slightly confused.

“When you press THAT button,” she said, pointing at the device's top button. “the nanites will deploy from the device and cover you in something of a protective shell. I pre-programed it to the specs of your uniform, but it's completely customizable.”

“That's...that's amazing.” Scott said, completely taken aback by the gift.

“You like it?” She asked.

“I love it.” Scott confirmed as he leaned in to kiss her. However, the sounds of police sirens in the distance interrupted the moment.

“Well, no time like the present to give it a whirl.” Alexa said.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Hello folks, a little new here to this whole website, but not to roleplaying. The title of this roleplay in particular really did catch my eye, due to my love for superheroes. So, just wondering if I can simply make an OC and jump right in or is there something else I must do in order to join?

@HotDogLad

Hi and welcome.

As others have said, it could be helpful to read up a bit on what's been going on. We recently finished a pretty big worldwide arc. If you have any questions we're always happy to answer them. You may also want to check out our discord chat linked on the first page.

Glad we piqued your interest and looking forward to seeing your CS

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Unfortunately, he passed away on Saturday. I'm taking a few days to kind of get my head on straight and then I'll see about posting

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Alright, I'm hoping to be able to get to work on a post tomorrow. As of late I've been helping a co-worker who's health has been in steady decline over the last couple of months with stage 4 cancer, which has been a strain on me. My boss and I have both been going to check on him to make sure he's still alive, and helping him with appointments. This is part of the reason for my lack of posting as of late. Again, it's taken a bit of a toll on me emotionally and physically.
Today he was taken to, and checked into hospice care where he will spend the rest of his days. As you can imagine, it's been a rough couple of months and my posting (both frequency and quality) have been affected. I am hoping that with this now being taken off my plate, I'll be able to get back on a more steady posting schedule.

Thanks

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Finally got a post up. I've got a couple more things in the pipeline.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Amanda was exhausted.

The day that she had spent at Leanna's farm was a day of firsts. Never in her life had she gone into a chicken coop to get eggs, and if she had her way, she'd never go into another one. She had never realized how nasty chickens could be, until today. As she went around the coop gathering the eggs like she had been instructed, a large, red chicken had approached her, it's chest out and its wings back, squawking as it kicked at her with its surprisingly sharp talons. Fortunately, it backed off enough for her to get the eggs without much of an incident, because she didn't know what the older woman would do to her if she had slipped up and dropped one of the eggs...but she knew that whatever it was, it wouldn't have been good.

She had somewhat better luck with Shelly and Gwenyth, the two cows that she had been tasked with milking. It was a surprisingly easy job, once the two cows had decided to stand still in order to allow her to do the task. If Amanda hadn't known better, she would have suspected that the animals were secretly trying to test her somehow. Though, she knew that the very thought was ridiculous. The work was hard, and she knew that it was just the beginning of whatever was to come. She was just glad to be home now, and was looking forward to an evening in with Izzy, Gemma, and some friends. Whatever fresh hell awaited her in the morning would just have to wait until then.

Suddenly, the smell of Gemma's famous nacho casserole wafting down the hall brought her out of her quiet reverie. It had been hours since she had last eaten anything, and with her hyperactive metabolism her stomach was not just growling, it was roaring.

“Oh...that smells so good.Amanda said as she watched Gemma take the dish out of the oven.

“Don't touch it.” Gemma replied, her tone mockingly snarky. “Company's coming. It'd be nice if they got some this time.”

“That happened once.” Amanda countered. “Okay, maybe twice.”

“Twice?” Gemma asked in an exaggerated tone.

“Okay, okay, three times.” Amanda conceded. Before Gemma could respond, the apartment's buzzer sounded, indicating that their guests had arrived.

“You gonna get that?” Gemma asked sternly, as she stood in front of the dish with her arms folded, almost daring her to make a move on the food. However, as Gemma and Amanda had their standoff in the kitchen, Izzy had opened the door for their friends.

“My God, what happened to your face?” Izzy's words echoed throughout the apartment, which caused Amanda and Gemma to make their way into the living room from the kitchen. When they arrived, they saw that Mike was sporting a black eye.

“Yeah Mike, what happened to your eye?” Gemma asked with a hint of concern. Then she began looking around the apartment and noticed that it was just Mike and Andy who had arrived. “Where's Karen?”

“Karen?” Mike asked. “Oh, that's a funny story. Karen won't be coming by today...or, like...ever.”

“What'd you do?” Amanda asked.

“Why'd it have to be something I did? Why couldn't it have been her?” Mike protested as Andy tried to hide a smirk.

“Because I know you.” Amanda said. “Seriously, what happened?”

“She decided that we're at different places in our lives and that it was better to call it quits.” Mike told his friends.

“Bullshit.” Andy chimed in. “Tell them what happened.” He finished while stifling a laugh.

“Fine.” Mike said, clearly annoyed.

“Well, Karen got her hair done, and let me tell you, it was hideous.” He started. “And when she asked me what I thought, what came to mind was, 'Honestly, it looks like you got caught in an explosion at the basic bitch factory.' However, what I said was, 'Baby, it looks gorgeous.'”

“So, what's the problem?” Amanda asked.

“The problem? The problem is that she knows me too well. She ignored what I said, and slapped the shit out my expression.” Mike told them.

“Damn...”Izzy said.

“That's rough.” Gemma added.

Andy and Mike, along with Mike's now former girlfriend where friends of Gemma's from UC Pacific Point. She had met them while hanging out in the lounge in the Student Union and they had been pretty close ever since. Mike and Andy were the ultimate odd couple. Mike was a classic nerd. He was obsessed with comic books and playing roleplaying games. If there was a game of Dungeons and Dragons or Shadowrun anywhere on campus, it was more than likely that he was playing.

Andy on the other hand, while deep down was as much of a nerd as Mike, he was also a gifted basketball player, and had lead the UC Pacific Point Sharks to consecutive division titles and even a birth in the NCAA tournament. Though he and Mike seemed to be the last people on Earth who would associate with one another, they had become inseparable since freshman year. He was, in fact a bit of a chameleon, able to traverse effortlessly through multiple social groups, making it nearly impossible to peg him in one versus another.

“Well, why don't you guys come in and take a load off, we got a ton of food.” Amanda said she locked eyes with Gemma and mouthed “I'm getting that casserole,” with a grin.

***

Meanwhile

Minerva Cross stood outside of Pacific Point's First National Bank. Her legs felt like jello and it felt as though she had a belly full of butterflies. She had never done anything like this before, and she really did not want to be doing it now, but she had no choice.

Up until the night that she got caught up in one of those meta domes during the Pax Metahumana crisis, she had been a normal twenty-something making her living working as an assistant in a real estate office. She hated her boss who was a lecherous man in his fifties who could be considered what her father used to call a snake oil salesman. Although she hated her job, and she died a little bit inside every single time that she went into the office, it paid the bills, barely. Even after she had been granted these powers, she tried to live a normal life. She had no intention of going out and becoming a criminal mastermind, and she had not desire to become a superhero. She just wanted to live her life, and be left alone.

However, that all changed last month when her boss, Greg came back to the office after a long lunch. He had an odd swagger about himself, which was probably due to the fact that he reeked of cheap booze. He had been somewhat aggressive with her, making comments about her clothes, and how she really should wear shorter skirts to work, as he explained,

“You'd be a lot more comfortable, this is Southern California after all.”

Although she found him repulsive, she could deal with the little comments. However, when he crossed the line by reaching up her skirt and grabbing her, she had had enough. She turned on him and slapped him across the face with as much force as she could muster. Then, she stood frozen in fear as he rubbed his face, which burned from the slap. Time stood still as he just stood there, looking down at the ground, his face began to turn several shades redder.

“That was a mistake.” He had said finally as he brought his eyes to bare on hers. Then he stepped toward, his arms outreached as he attempted to grab her.

As he reached for her, he was suddenly hit by a white light, the impact felt like a punch in the gut which lifted him up and flipped him over a nearby desk. And with that, panic set in.

What have I done? She thought to herself as different scenarios raced through her mind.

What if I really hurt him?

What if I killed him?

Then she saw him begin to move as he tried to get back to his feet, and decided that she did not to be there when he did, so she turned and ran.

She ran away from her office, and in doing so, she ran away from her life.

The following month was a difficult one for her. She had tried in vein to get a new job, however, her former boss, Greg Aleworth had done his best to smear her name all over the city. Despite being one of the most repulsive human beings that she had ever had the displeasure of encountering, he was well connected, and she had found herself essentially blackballed in the city, unable to find a job in any field, much less in real estate. In fact, she hadn't even been able to land a job flipping burgers in a fast food restaurant.

Here, a month after “giving her resignation,” she found her self with no money for food or rent. The only thing keeping her from being homeless was the cities renter protections, and the fact that it took months, and sometimes years for someone to be successfully evicted. That notwithstanding, Minerva was desperate.

And that is why she found herself standing outside of the First National Bank. Her stomach fluttered and her knees grew weaker by the second. She knew that she should just walk away now, she knew that it wasn't too late. However, she also knew that if she didn't do this , she faced another day of being hungry. If she didn't do this, she faced another day of uncertainty. She knew, that if she did not do this, she faced another day of fear. She took a deep breath to steel herself, and she made her way to the front doors of the bank. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, forcing the butterflies from her stomach and she concentrated on what she had to do. Suddenly, an iridescent light begins to emanate from her hands. As the seconds passed, the light grew brighter and brighter, until it reached the point where it would have appeared that her hands were miniature spotlights. Then she pushed forward, and the doors of the bank exploded inward, clearing her path inside.

***

Amanda's Apartment

“So, I'd marry Iron Knight, screw Icon and kill Voyager.” Izzy said giggling.

“Iron Knight?” Amanda asked. “Why him?”

“Why not him? He's funny, and guessing by the amount of tech he's got, he's probably got more money than God. I mean, the guy must be Midas rich.” Izzy defended her choice in the infamous Marry, Screw, or Kill game that they had somehow found themselves playing. “So Amanda, you haven't weighed in at all. What say you?” Izzy asked, goading her roommate.

Amanda did not answer. She just sat on the coach between Andy and Mike shooting Izzy a look that screamed “How can you ask me to play this stupid game, I actually work with these guys...a lot.”

“Yeah Amanda, please, I'm dying to know.” Gemma chimed in.

“Well...I guess if I had to choose...” Amanda started.

“...the scene from the First National Bank on Bolsa Grande Avenue. As you can see, police have made little headway getting inside where the intruder has barricaded herself in the vault.”

Saved by the bell. Amanda thought to herself as she got up off of the couch.

“I just remembered, I have a meeting about a gig tonight. I should probably head out.” Amanda said as she made eye contact with Izzy and nodded toward the television.

“Oh right, was that tonight?” Izzy asked, playing along. “You should hurry, you don't want to be late.”
With that, Amanda jumped up and headed to the front door. Once she closed the door behind her, she zipped off down the road toward the First National Bank.

***

Moments Later

As Slipstream arrived at the scene of the break in at the First National Bank, she saw that the entire area had already been cordoned off by the police. They had set up a parameter of at least a couple of blocks in each direction around the bank, which meant that the thief had nowhere to run. And that would mean that in light of that, the thief would be desperate, which meant that they were dangerous.

Slipstream raced through the police line and up the stairs to the bank, a sudden burst of wind was the only indicator that she had been in the area. She searched the bank, racing from room to room, floor to floor searching for any potential hostages. She was also searching for potential threats. As she went room to room, she kept an eye out for anything that could pose a danger to her or any bystanders. Bombs, traps, and additional accomplices were all potential problems that she was keeping an eye out for, none of which materialized.

Once she had made sure that there were no hostages or other threats inside the bank, Slipstream made her way to the vault, where the intruder was said to be holed up. Once inside the vault, she found a young woman, probably close to her age throwing fistfulls of money into a pair of backpacks.

“You know, I'm pretty sure that you'll need a withdrawal slip for that.” Slipstream said as she leaned against the wall behind the woman.

The thief jumped, dropping one of the bags to the ground and spun around to face the new arrival.

“Back off. You can't stop me.” The woman said in an almost scalding tone.

“Yeah, I hear that a lot.” Slipstream said. “Why don't you just put the bags down and make this easy on yourself?”

“Not gonna happen.” The woman told her confidently.

Slipstream wasted no more time bantering with the woman. Instead, she rushed at the woman, throwing a right hook right at her chin. However, as she reached the woman, there was a flash of light and the punch connected with nothing but air.

“What?” Slipstream said, unable to believe that she had missed.

“I told you,” the woman said from behind her. Slipstream turned to face the woman, who thrust her hand forward, and a flash of blinding light came forth, and hit her like a freight train, sending Slipstream crashing through one of the massive columns which stood in the vault area, causing an explosion of plaster and debris.

Slipstream lay there amidst the wreckage of the destroyed column, the woman's attack had left her dazed, however, she had more fight left in her. Unfortunately, as she got to her feet, she realized that the woman was gone. Then, the pain in her back and ribs...and everywhere else overcame her and she went back down to one knee to catch her breath.

“Yeah...I'm definitely not telling Leanna about this.”