Freakin Ninjas IC

[Cube]

As the man made one final, desperate attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, his hand met nothing but cold, unwelcoming air.

A cold voice whispered into the criminal's ear. Calm... certain... and the one thing the warrior dreaded to hear.

"You missed."

With one swift kick, Shrike's burst from his's nanite cocoon, the black fabric unfurling behind him like the inescapable shroud of death as his shin collided with the criminal's gut. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the air rush from the kingpin's lungs, his eyes opening wide with shock from the impact.

'Man...' thought Shrike, as the aformentioned melodramatic monologue played out in his head. 'That was cool...'

[Thunder King]

"Hehe, that was fun." Crimson Tiger said, running her fingers through her hair. "I'll call the cops, they'll take care of this."

She plopped down on one of the nearby chairs and sighed. Her shoulders sank a bit, she was tired. Fighting ninjas was fun, but man was it tiring. And their Master! What a fighter. She'd never fought a ninja before. She wondered if her grandfather ever fought ninjas. "Invisibility cloak? That is sooo cool. I almost want one." She grinned. "That guy was pretty strong, but I doubt he ever fought anyone who could go invisible before. "What fighting style do you use?"

[Cube]

Shrike took a moment to revel in his victory.

The enemy lay defeated on the floor. His cloak billowed dramatically in a wind only it could feel...

...And there was some girl asking him a question about his fighting style and cloak.

Well, you couldn't have anything.

"Oh, it's uh... a nanite swarm in the shape of a cloak actually, and... I don't really have a fighting style, but... thanks. Person."

Note to self: Download fighting style immediately. Or make up a name. Like... Cloak-Fu, or something that doesn't end in "Fu". ...Shrike No Jutsu? Way of the Invisible Metal Fist? Man, this stuff is hard when you actually have to think about it. Why was he programmed with the capacity for embarrassment, but not a name for his fighting style?!

[Thunder King]

She laughed. "Crimson Tiger, my name is Crimson Tiger. It's okay if you don't have a fighting style. Some people are naturally gifted fighters, others train. I train a lot, constantly really."

She got up and stretched, before cracking her neck and her knuckles. After that, she dropped down and began performing stretch routines.

"Ah, better, feel much more limber now." She said. "What's your name? Your superhero name, I mean."

[Cube]

"The Steel Shrike."

This girl was really enthusiastic. Was it all like a game to her?

Actually, it being like a game would be a welcome change to being a stalwart warrior of the knight. Maybe he should...

//ERROR: INVALID THOUGHT PROCESS//

No... there was still too much to do. He had a legacy to uphold. ...Also that error was really annoying. Sheesh. Stupid programmer dad...

"...Mind if I ask you how you found this place? I've been investigating for weeks now to track this group down. I wasn't aware anyone else was on this trail."

[Thunder King]

"I just spotted a bunch of ninjas and followed them here. I mean, I'd never fought any ninjas before. Why not see where they were going? Then I ran into you, and got into this fight. It was a good night, I gotta say." She smiled. "Why were you following them? Were you following a case about art theft? We should stay until the cops arrive, wouldn't want to save this art and then have it stolen by someone else..."

[Cube]

"You just followed them here?"

First she shows up his fighting and then she comes out and says she literally just stumbled onto the case?

...Why did he have an insecurity subroutine too?! For the love of...

"...Yes, I was following a case on art theft. This has been going on for some time now. Stuff has been stolen from museums and private collections all over the city. At least now we can put this guy behind bars..."

At least this case was wrapped up now, even if the potential murder lead was a bust.

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger nodded. "I'm really glad I could help, and I'm glad you were here, too. I don't think I could have taken that guy down by myself." She shook her head. "Guess I still have a lot to learn about fighting."

This Steel Shrike person sure was strange. He wasn't a bad kind of strange, he was an uncertain kind of strange. He was trying to act all mysterious and cool, but she knew he was as much of a newbie as she was, or at least she thought he was. He had a super power, at least one, maybe more.

He seemed to be a decent enough fighter, but he wasn't as practiced or efficient in his movements. She considered offering to teach him, but that seemed a bit mean. Oh well, maybe he'd practice more.

"Well, I'm certainly up for fighting more ninjas..."She said with a grin. "If you ever need more help, well...we'll be in touch I guess."

[Cube]

Shrike paused...

"...I'm glad you were here as well. It was amazing what you did with those ninjas earlier."

...Okay, humility subroutine also works. That's good.

"I'm sorry if I've been cold to you during all of this, but your assistance is greatly appreciated." he smiled. "Perhaps we could team up again sometime?"

...That wasn't so bad. He hadn't exploded or experienced a fatal system crash, anyway.

"If you ever need any help, just drop me a message."

He produced a pen and notecard from his utility belt, and quickly jotted down an IP Address before tossing it to the martial artist.

After all, you couldn't always work alone, right?

[Thunder King]

She smiled, "It's totally okay! You're one of those dark heroes, mysterious, aloof. I totally get it. I'm not, you know, anywhere near like that, but...anyways. I've been practicing fighting since I was, I don't know, five? It's been a long time since my dad started teaching me. He didn't have a son, so he taught me how to fight. Thanks for the...erm, what is this?"

[Cube]

Fighting since she was five? At least she had 4 or so years of NotFighting. Shrike hadn't even had one.

...Of course, Shrike hadn't even had one year period, so why was he even complaining. Maybe someday he could set up his own private server and retire to Second Life.

"It's an IP address. Whenever you need the help of a stalwart warrior of the night, you... just enter that into a browser and then I have this little javascript form set up."

Wow, that sounded lame. Why couldn't he have invested in a big spotlight? Or a hotline? Even an email address was more practical than that.

"It's not practical, but a warrior of the knight has to be cautious, you know?"

'...Note to self: Open a Gmail Account when you get home. Pronto.'

[Thunder King]

"That actually makes a lot of sense, I mean, I'm sure you've protected it." She ignored his clumsy language. Being good at fighting and sneaking didn't mean he'd be good at talking.

She looked at it. She'd never seen numbers like that before, she'd have to make sure it stayed in a safe place. She had a sneaking suspicion it would be a bad idea if that information got out. She held on to it tightly, resolving to put it in her motorcycle.

"The police should be here soon. Think we should stay long enough to make sure they come to clean up?"

"Hey, not that you're a bad fighter or anything, but if you ever want to spar or anything, just ask. I can always use the practice, and who knows, maybe I can learn a thing or two from you."

[Cube]

"Probably a good idea, I don't know if this guy will come to anytime soon." He idly prodded the fallen ninja with his foot.

As for the offer of sparring. Well... it would be interesting. Not to mention easier than surfing through the complete works of Bruce Lee with a motion capture algorithm running.

"I'd like that. I think we could learn a lot from each other. Though... I'd have to keep the costume on. Have to protect my secret identity and all."

'Not that I have any other identity...'

...Oh God, did he just agree to another meeting with her? Alright. It's fine. As long as they met somewhere neutral, and he didn't break down or something. Yeah...

[Thunder King]

"Awesome!" She shouted. She was already making friends with super heroes. She looked down at the guy. He was kinda roughed up. Would take a few hours to come to properly. She imagined his head would ache for a few days, and so would the rest of him. She shrugged. Shouldn't have stolen.

Still, as much as she liked fighting, she didn't like to hurt people. She felt kind of guilty. She shook her head. This is why she got into heroing, to stop bad guys from doing bad stuff. She was confident that in a few days, after some ice and such, he'd be okay.

[Thunder King]

GM

The sound of sirens leaked into the empty factory. Two police cruisers and a couple of paddy wagons pulled into the parking lot. The police politely asked the heroes to leave the scene, and thanked them for recovering the art. The entire place was bustling with activity as several police officers woke up, cuffed, and sorted through the crime scene. The police did ask the heroes to stick around on the off chance any of the ninjas tried to escape.

It was now quite dark, and the open road stretched before them.

"We've been tracking this case for weeks..." One of the officers said. "This isn't even the only group of them, similar thefts have been all over the place. Well, thanks for stopping them. We should be able to clean it up from here. You guys can go home."

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger sighed. She was hungry, sore, and tired. The energy from the fight had worn off long ago, and now it was time for her to go.

"You're pretty cool, Shrike...". She said, smiling as she walked towards a nearby bush. She walked out, directing a black and red motorcycle. It was clearly a custom job, very expensive looking. She dusted it off slightly, and smiled.

"There's my baby, all clean. Nobody messed with her." She grinned and started her up. A smooth, low sound filled the air. She revved the engine a bit. It was a loud, lean and efficient machine. She swung a leg over the bike and fixed her helmet over her head.

"Seeya later!" She said, clicking on her lights and hitting the gas. She was going for a meal, some rest, and a relaxing night of television. Still, it had been a very productive night.

[Cube]

So this wasn't the only ring of thieves involved in this. He'd have to investigate further once he got back to base, but at least he made a potential ally in the process.

As he climbed up to the top of a nearby building, Shrike watched as the Crimson Tiger rode off into the sunset. She was a good fighter, if a bit of an odd one, and she didn't seem to suspect a thing about him for the moment. That was good.

In fact, if he didn't know better, he'd think she...

...Nah. That'd be silly.

Although...

'She did said I was pretty cool...'

From beneath his cloak of invisibility, The Steel Shrike smiled. Maybe this superhero team-up thing wasn't so bad after all.