Coming to America (Closed) IC

[Supercape]

Professor Quentin Quill sat on the deck of the enormous passenger liner, Fantastico sailing into Freedom City. He was here to start a new life.

All of his worldly belongings were stored below. He had deliberately not chosen much, a mixture of practical items such as clothes, and some sentimental items. He didn't particularly want to cling on to his previous life, so was ruthless sorting out his possessions. On the other hand, he wanted to keep want truly meant something, so amongst his baggage were knick knacks, photo's and souvenir's of his past - things that really defined his history.

Perhaps his most sentimental item, his mother's piano, would be shipped over later. He could hardly play, but it reminded him of her. It was expensive, but he was not poor and in this case, it was worth it.

Professor Quill was wearing a blazer, shirt, and slacks, and wore some small sunglasses against. It was still early morning, but the sun was shining bright.

Yes, a new home awaited at Freedom City, an new job at Freedom University.

He looked overboard, at the sea churning below. With a momentary furrow of his bow, a tiny flash of light appeared under the surface of the ocean.

And, perhaps, a new life as a hero. He didn't relish the thought particularly, but given his power, a heroic life was perhaps required.

[Supercape]

Elsewhere

The four men were sweaty with nerves despite there experience. In the middle of the night, their accomplice had passed by them in a high speed boat, and they had scooped up the luggage they were now inspecting.

Submachine Guns, Pistols, and Kevlar Shirts provided the basics. However, the real prize was several bricks of C4 explosive.

After stripping and checking their equipment, and rigging the C4, the men loaded the submachine guns and explosives into unobtrusive sports bags.

The plan was simple: the Fantastico was loaded with what was probably millions of dollars worth of personal items in the ship safe. Load up the C4 in the bowels of the ship, and order the captain to release the goods or the ship would be sunk...

[Supercape]

Quentin started wandering the ship. At this time of morning, it was relatively quiet. They were still an hour or two from Freedom City, and most people were getting washed, eating, or trying to fight off the hangover from the party last night. A few people milled around, the odd fitness fanatic jogged in laps around the decks.

Hold on, that's a bit odd... He mused. Three men, in jogging gear and carrying heavy bags, looked around suspiciously, and undid the rope to the upper deck, supposedly a restricted area. Crew only, and from the looks of it, the driving seat of the boat.

They didn't look like crew, that's for sure. Perhaps he ought to inform a member of staff.

Yeah, and perhaps he ought to look into it himself, if he was ever going to be a hero.

As they disappeared to the top deck, he decided to follow them. Nobody around, so easy enough top bypass the roped off stairs and creep up behind them...

Quentin could hear shouting, despite the distance. They were in the control room of the Fantastico, shouting, threats, fear.

"Open the safe, Captain, or we will open the hull of this ship. We have enough explosive here to sink the ship in minutes. I have a remote control, and one of my men has hidden the bombs where you will never find it! muahaha!"

[Supercape]

That sounded bad. Extremely bad.

Time to be a hero, then... Quentin Gulped.

He could only assume that there was a fourth man down in the bowels of the ship. Presumably some explosive nearby. Probably some radio contact.

The ship was extremely big, however. It would take a long time to search, and that was time he didn't have.

Quentin crept away, and as soon as he was a safe distance, started to run down the ship, to the lower levels. He barged past a few joggers with uncharacteristic impoliteness, although he did manage a mumbled apology as he did so.

Down several levels, and he was breathing hard. He was in quite good shape for a man his age, but this was some workout. He came to the engine room. Best guess for an explosive, he reckoned... take out the pumps too. With a glance, he fried the lock of the door, and burst through.

A few men where working at some machinery but the deck was large. Damn, he needed some kind of disguise. Like those real heroes in Freedom City. And if he was going to be a hero, he wanted a damn good disguise. Something to hide behind. His eyes met a giant blue tarpaulin. With a flash of light and a burning smell, it was fashioned into a make shift, oversized, cape and hood he slung over his body.

Now, he could fly. And fly he did, swishing through the deck, his huge cape fluttering behind him. The two workmen gasped as he flew past.

There. Same bags. And... yes, a short wave radio He spotted the man, and the two bags by his feet. He spotted the man's sweat. And he spotted the electrical signature of a radio and what he could only presume was a timer in the bag. His senses now extended into more than the human modalities.

[Supercape]

The pirate pulled out his Glock, and started to aim. He was clearly an experienced solider, but the Sight of a flying caped superhero wasn't something he had counted on.

In a fraction of a second, Cape had applied his mind to a few key atoms in the pirate, and with a slight nudge, they changed state, releasing a pulse of purple energy. The sudden heat and power was too much for the pirate, who collapsed, unconscious.

"Hey look, its a cape!" shouted one of the workmen. As they came closer, Quentin opened up the bag. The timer, and radio control were wired up to the explosive. He was no bomb disposal expert, but this was not a masterpiece.. and he could sense the flow of electricity through the wires. A simple disentanglement of the atomic bonds, and the whole device fell apart in his hands.

"Wow, that's... well, that's SUPER, cape!" exclaimed one of the workmen.

Quentin pulled the hood over him and the oversized makeshift cape fluttered magnificently around him as he stood up.

"CItizens, tie up this man. And disarm him. I will deal with the rest of them above." He intoned.

The workmen looked suitably impressed. Perhaps he could be a hero after all. A name would be nice. Hmmm... what kind of name. What had that man said...

Supercape?

[Supercape]

Well, it would do. Quentin was hardly the impulsive type... but between the adrenaline, excitement, and the practical need to actually have a name, it would do.

"The name's Supercape, citizens" he intoned, before flying off.

Supercape? he asked himself - well, it was probably a safer bet than letting the media or the workmen come up with a name for themselves... it might have been Tarpaulin man.

With his brand new alias, he flew up to the top deck. He could dimly see the figures of the crew, captain, and three pirates through the windows of the ship. They looked armed.

Even with the element of surprise, this could be tricky. He concentrated and instant, and formed the lattice of quantum events over his body - he had made sure he had got his practice in for that trick. Hopefully it would stand up to the gunfire.

Wit the explosives disarmed, perhaps the pirates might listen to reason. With the blue-green forcefield glowing, he descended onto the deck, and boldly strode into the main control room.

Three submachine guns swivelled on to him. The captain and his two mates might conceivably have taken the initiative at this point, but they weren't that foolhardy.

"Stay back, or we shoot" snapped the leader, an asian man who looked somewhat older than his two mercenary subordinates.

"Put down your weapons, and nobody is going to get hurt. I have disarmed the bomb in the engine room, and your man down there has been arrested. The game's up, gentlemen."

The leader clearly didn't want to parlay. Which, to be frank, would mean a long stretch in jail. Piracy wasn't a crime that lead to a small fine and a parole order. He grabbed the captain and put the submachine gun to the poor man's belly.

"We aren't going anywhere. This ship is turning round, and you are staying right there hero. One false move and I blow captain family man here into mincemeat!"

This looked a bit tricky, but with a little concentration... zap! and the weapon splintered and fell apart.

[Supercape]

The pirate leader yelped in surprise, and a little pain, and shouted at his underlings to open fire. Which they did.

Quentin started to roll to one side, but knew that at this range, they where likely to hit. He gritted his teeth, expecting the pain...

...which never came. His lattice had held, slowing down, stopping or even evaporating the stream of hot lead that spewed forth from the two blazing weapons.

My turn he thought to himself. And the centre of the room exploded in a pulse of intense light, as a simple oxygen molecule became the source of a huge pulse of energy.

Whilst Quentin was unaffected, modulating the energy as it hit him, the light had effectively blinded the two gun toting pirates, as well as the ship officers.

The leader, however, had shielded his eyes and could apparently still see. He pulled out his Glock and gave a panicked shot at the Captain. He was still fighting the glow in his eyes, and the shot whizzed past the officers ear, shattering a window pane.

[Supercape]

"That's quite enough fun with that little toy." Said Supercape, anxious about the near miss. He wanted to save the hostages, not kill them.

"Sounds like you need a cage." and with that, he concentrated on the air molecules around the criminal. There was a whooshing sound as they collapsed, and new air was drawn in. Within a moment, the pirate was encased in a transparent and impenetrable cage, one that shrugged off the bullets he spewed out in rage and fear.

With this last trick, the last two pirates quickly capitulated, barely able to see. They threw their guns down and knelt, starting to babble about how the leader had forced them into doing it, threatened their loved ones, and their own lives.

One for the lawyers to have a field day on, no doubt. Thought Supercape. Well, let them sort it out.

[Supercape]

With a cheery wave, Quentin flew off and up to the skies.

Oh. That's my ship he realised.

This "secret I.D" thing all those heroes use was actually pretty complicated. And he wasn't even in costume, just a makeshift and slightly ragged tarpaulin.

"Super...cape" he muttered to himself, as the embryo of an Idea formed in his mind.

His mind whirring, Quentin discarded the tarpaulin to the wind and made a sharp dash flying straight down. It took but a few moments for a man of his intellect to find his cabin window, and just a few seconds to teleport himself into the cabin with a blurred aura of purple-green light.