Thunder King

"I just want to talk with him. I'm pretty sure he's involved with some sort of illegal experiments." "I know you're just trying to do your job, and I understand that. There could be people in danger, lives, even. On top of that, I'm pretty sure his boss is on his way. Someone who's got less than legal hobbies. He groaned inwardly, but didn't let it show. She was trying to do her job, obviously, but he wasn't about to let that stop his investigation. This situation was crazy. He needed her to listen to him.

Thomas stood, calmly, waiting for the man to leave. He felt stifled, unable to respond to this man the way he wanted to. He gazed down at the money. His fist closed angrily around the bill as he growled. He stared out the door, eyes like daggers. He crushed the money in his hands. A hundred dollars wasn't a small amount of money, but he wasn't about to keep it, not by a long shot. He would not be part of taking money from a, a mobster. He crushed it in his hand, letting current build up in his hand. His mind raced to all sorts of possibilities. Plans, ideas, concepts. He would shut whatever they were up to down. He swore to himself that. Whatever they were doing, was bad news. He wasn't going to let it stand. His hand opened, and small pieces of burnt paper fell onto the floor. Moments later, Thomas was in the back room, putting his Voltage costume on. He'd go talk to this Spiderbite, see what was going on with his brother. He'd have to be careful, he wasn't very good at interrogation. He headed to the back door and took off into the air. It was time to get some answers.

He backed up, and gulped. He was a bit nervous, and acting a bit, too. He definitely did not want this idiot in his face like this. He knew that something bad would go down if he suddenly attacked. Lots of bad things would go down. They might have to go into hiding, for one. "I've never seen anything like it, and I didn't understand what it was, I just do computers, honestly." He said, completely honestly. Whether or not he intended to deduce it's contents was another matter. At the moment, he only suspected the implications.

Social rolls hurt, 10

"No, sir." Thomas said, trying his best to remain calm. He knew that if push came to shove, he could destroy all three men in seconds, but he absolutely, positively did not want to do that. "It was a hardware job, didn't even need to power it on." Still, he had to get to investigating where Sam was, it was essential. He wanted these creepy men out of his store.

"Sure thing Sir!" he said, cheerfully, not wanting to tick off this man. Sure, he could probably blast him out of the shop, but, secret identities and all. Besides, he'd already memorized everything on there that he'd need to know. "It was pretty banged up." he said, walking to the back room. "I have no idea what happened to it, but I was able to save it." He put the computer on the counter and smiled as cheerfully as he could, considering the situation at hand. "That'll be fifty dollars, please." He suspected that the men would try to leave without paying. Still, he planned to investigate the situation very soon. If they decided to try to take it and leave without paying, he'd let them do so without resistance. The incident with Spiderbite yesterday had been a lucky shot, and he was sure these men might be armed with more than fists. He couldn't risk fighting openly with his powers. His secret identity was not worth fifty dollars, and neither was his life.

Attempted murder, guys named Spiderbite, this situation was looking worse and worse. Where was his brother in all of this? Was he involved in some sort of gang? What the heck was going on? He was seriously concerned for his brother's safety, but he'd have to play nice with the men who just pulled up to the shop. Thomas sighed. He hoped these men weren't here to see him about the situation from the previous day. He had only punched the guy, after he wrecked his shop. He even had security footage that would show it was self defense. He stood behind the counter and straightened his clothes a bit. If they were going to question him, he had a sizable alibi to the whole affair. But what if they were here about Sam? He closed his eyes. All he could do is hope for the best.

"Ugh, gotta do cleanup..." Thomas said, bringing out the broom. The guy did a couple hundred dollars in damage. He could call the police, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the data on his computer would give a much bigger judgment than mere vandalism. Besides, the case wasn't that expensive, and his dad could afford it. Still, cleaning glass was never fun. He paused. Why was he looking for Sam? He didn't look like any of Sam's friends. A growing sense of dread came over him. What had his brother gotten into?

Thomas shifted out of the way, amazed at his new-found reflexes. He guessed that fighting crime had gotten him better at getting out of the way. He balled up his fist and went for a strike right to the larger man's temple. He knew, from passive knowledge of anatomy, that it would hurt. The larger man's eyes went wide and he dropped to his knees, before dropping on his face. He wasn't unconscious, but his head was swimming, his vision was blurry, and he was in no position to defend himself. Thomas calmly walked over to the counter and picked up the man's broken, non-functioning computer. "Now grab your broken computer and get the heck out of my store..." Thomas said, dropping the computer on the floor unceremoniously.

"Okay..." she said. "I'll be back soon..." She stood up and walked towards the door. She sighed. She really, really felt bad about what happened, but she was glad that he was going to be okay. She made her way out of the mansion and towards her motorcycle. She would get a quick bite to eat and stop off at the store and buy a few movies she hadn't seen in a while. She'd make a night of it. She also decided to buy a blanket and a small pillow. She remembered to pick up her phone. "Hey, dad..." She said. "I'm staying at Jenny's place, I'll be home at the end of the weekend. Love you too, bye...". She turned it off, and rode off towards the store...

She nodded. "Makes sense, you don't have any muscles to work out, they don't get stronger with use, either. I get it. I guess you didn't do any stretches earlier either." She said, slightly teasingly. "So you fight crime all day? I doubt I could do that, I mean, if I didn't have my movies or my friends, I'd go crazy. But I guess you're different than me. Your mind might be wired to handle that better." This was a crazy night, and it was only getting crazier. She'd already fought ninjas a couple of days ago, and now she had a robot for a friend. What a weird city, she thought.

She smiled. "I don't think you eat, do you?" She asked. "I've never met a robot before. I can go get some food, but an inflatable mattress and some blankets, and be back here in less than half an hour. I could sleep down here and keep you company. Sounds like a plan to me." Her cheerfulness was beginning to return. She decided that this Shrike guy was pretty cool. Imagine, a super hero robot! That was awesome. She leaned against the wall. "So, do you sleep, do you eat?". She was curious, genuinely curious.

"I'll clean up this place for you, if you want me to." She said, smiling. "I'm just glad you're going to be okay. It's kind of cool that you're a robot, though. I mean, wow, you look mostly human in your costume, you know? Muscles and stuff..." She blushed, slightly, remembering that she thought he might be cute. Cute! He was a robot, probably no more interested in girls than she was machines. She chuckled to herself for her silly thoughts. She felt relieved for the first time in a while. He was injured, yes, but he'd be okay. He'd be alright. "Do you want my company until you're all better? I can do that. It's only a phone call away. I'd have to leave to get something to eat, but, I can stay with you until you recover, in case you get lonely."

"Are, are you going to be okay?" she asked, head still buried in her knees. She hoped he would be. Still, she had a sliver of hope. Maybe she hadn't done all that damage herself. Maybe this machine could fix him like brand new. Maybe, after a few days worth of repairs, he'd be good as new. Still, it sucked, and it hurt. "I...I wanna stay with you..." She said, smiling sadly. "I got you into this, so I'm going to help take care of you, watch over you, try to keep you company. It's the least I could do for you. Unless you'd rather I leave. I would understand if you wanted me to leave, never come back."

She nodded and, as gently as she could, put him down where he asked. Once that was done, she sat down on the floor beside him, relieved to be rid of the weight of him. She sighed. "I, I'm really sorry..." She curled up, her arms wrapped around her legs, burying her head in her knees. "I never knew, I...I didn't expect this would happen. I'm so sorry." She started to cry. Why, why did she hit him like that. She kept saying "I'm sorry..." over and over again. Now that she was able to put him down, able to stop riding or carrying, the weight of her actions hit her. She'd nearly killed someone, someone she might call a friend. It sickened her.

Crimson Tiger was no detective, that much was obvious. Still, the dried blood, absolute lack of cleanliness, and the general disrepair lead her to believe that no humans lived in this house, and perhaps hadn't in a long time. She was curious as to exactly how or why a robot superhero came to live in such a place. Was his creator here? There were many questions in her head, questions she dare not ask. She knew, deep inside, that he was risking a great deal bringing her here, and that she had given him no other choice. She sighed inwardly. This was not the way the evening should have gone. She followed his directions diligently, hoping to put him down soon and see what was going on with him. The uncertainty was the biggest problem.

"Okay..." She said, bringing the Tigercycle to a slow stop. It rumbled gently, and then shut off. She climbed off of it and, very carefully, helped Shrike off of it as well. She didn't say a word as she started walking with him towards the doors. What could she say? Sorry for nearly killing you? No, she'd make this right, as right as she could. Right now, though, there wasn't much she could do or say, the situation was out of her hands. She just hoped he knew what he was doing.

"Oh, o-okay..." She said, cranking the engine. She built speed slowly, being very careful not to make any sudden movements or turns. She had to make sure he was safe, that he would be okay. She continued to curse herself for her stupid actions, for getting her friend this badly hurt. What was worse, she didn't even know what was wrong with him. This could be a minor injury, for all she knew. He was a robot. It finally dawned on her. This guy, who she thought was kinda cool and maybe cute, was actually a robot. Oh, well, she thought, that was a strange thing to suddenly discover. It wasn't like it was a world lacking in such things. Heroes, robots, aliens, all of these things were now common knowledge. But she'd met an honest to god robot! She shook her head, it was full of too many bad thoughts. What happened to him, what could happen to him. She went faster, as slowly as she could build speed. She made her way towards her destination, hoping he would be okay...

As gently as she could manage, she wrapped his cape around his neck. "I'm going to carry you down the ladder, you're not too heavy." she said, gently. "Wrap your arms around my neck, get a solid grip. This will be over soon." She slowly made her way down the ladder, her eyes still teary. She didn't know what was going to happen. Gently, she lifted him onto her motorcycle, securing him the best she could. "Wrap your arms around me..." She said, quietly. "How fast should I go? Do you think it'll hold together if I go as fast as possible, or should I go nice and slow?"

Somewhere deep inside, she realized that her friend was actually some sort of robot. That thought did not come to mind. His safety was by far her biggest concern. "God, I don't know what to do!" She screamed, crying out. Tears poured down her cheeks as she walked around him. "Where can I take you? Can you be fixed? What should I do? My motorcycle can carry us both, but I don't know where to take you! Please, help me..."

Crimson Tiger's vision fuzzy for a moment, from the strike, before countering with a snap kick to the head. She cursed herself the moment the strike went out. She knew this would hurt, a lot. "Oh my god!" She shouted, suddenly, backing off. She suddenly panicked. "Oh, god, are you hurt? Please don't be hurt that bad. Please, be okay!" She shouted, running towards him. She was trying desperately not to attack. What had her father told her? Hopefully the kick to the head wasn't too bad. "C'mon, Shrike, we need to get you somewhere safe where you can recover, should we take you to the hospital?"

26, a hit

rerolling this 8 with a hero point, lol 18, much better

Crimson Tiger swings and misses with a 12

Crimson Tiger moved quickly and efficiently out of the way of his attack and went for a snap kick to the chest. To her surprise, however, the strike went wide. "Shoot!" She said, under her breath. Still, she was grinning like a demon and loving every minute of it. The chill of the evening air didn't affect her, the warmth from her warm-up and the spar kept her plenty warm. It was an interesting evening.