Supercape Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 "I take it there's another hero in here?" "I hope I qualify..." said Synth directly to Voltage with a trace of a smile. As she answered, her mind was already working out the best attack. The problem, she had deduced, was not the strength of the assailants, but the civilians. It was chaos in here. She spotted it. A golden window. The katanarchists were positioned in a perfect pattern. With another sidekick to chest of the man who had just cut her, she used its momentum to propel herself into the remaining katanrchists. With amazing speed, her fists, feet, knees and elbows cartwheeled, bounced and struck, as a blur of activity. When she had finished, she came to a complete stop, down on one knee and arms straight and akimbo from the last two punches. Around her, the unconscious and groaning bodies of the Katanarchists.
Eviscerus Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 Spitfire In the space of a few seconds, the rest of the wannabe ninjas were down and Spitfire used the opportunity to survey the room. "Aw, come on pardner! You didn't haveta go and ruin all mah fun didya? I only got to charbroil one o' these here losers!" Despite his protests Spitfire had a wide smile on his face and in his crimson eyes. "Sure are a lotta us in this here bank, I don't suppose y'all are sharin' a 401k or somethin'?" Spitfire took the time between good natured jibes and trash talk to help the different bank patrons to their feet and offer quiet words of reassurance as he moved around the room, binding the unconscious villains before returning to the center of the bank. "I suppose we gotta wait to give a statement to the fuzz? Always the worst part of heroing: the paper work that's the for sure. Name's Spitfire by the way, pleased to make all y'all's acquaintance."
Thunder King Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 Voltage surveyed the room, watching Spitfire clean up. He busied himself by looking out and thinking through the situation. A bad situation, with hostages and problems, had pretty much been taken care of because a group of heroes had, coincidentally, been in the right place, at the right time. That was good. "Hello Spitfire, my name is Voltage." He said. The man in front of him appeared to be a good-natured person. "I'm really glad we were all here at the right time. This could have been much worse." He smiled and nodded his head to the other heroes. He was so bad at talking to people sometimes. "Might as well wait for the police, explain what happened and all that..."
Ari Posted February 21, 2012 Author Posted February 21, 2012 Marceau watched in awe as the strange woman rocketed past him, demolishing every ninja in her path with a few well=placed strikes and kicks. As the vapor cleared, he recognized Voltage from the unfortunate incident at the warehouse. "Voltage!" he called over merrily "Great to see you again, what luck we all happened to be here, eh?" he looked admiringly at Spitfire and Synth, wondering what else they might be able to do! Approaching each in turn he happily introduced himself "I'm the King of Suits, investigator, a pleasure to meet you both and fight alongside you! May I ask what you call yourselves?" he asked eagerly "I'd like to thank you for your qui-" "E-excuse me!" came the interjecting voice of the teller Voltage had spoken with, rubbing her neck where a red line marked the graze she had gotten from the ninja that had attempted her capture before being introduced to his own special imprint on the wall by Synth "I don't mean to be rude, but could you guys PLEASE look into how the living Hell those people got inside the vault? It'd give all of us in Eastern Seaboard Bank a lot of peace of mind if you found that out and helped us keep if from happening again" she gave a quiet kick to the ribs of the softly groaning ninja behind her before beginning to tie him up with his own ropes. The visitors were a bit more concerned with clamoring for autographs, wanting to know what the heroes were, if they were part of the Freedom League reserve, and if they could deal with this problem that was positively tearing their neighborhood apart? Marceau was as gracious as he could at the moment, moving a little closer to the other two he asked quietly "What do you think? Who wants to look into this? I know I do"
Thunder King Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 "Glad to see you too, King of Suits..." Voltage said, nodding. "That is a good idea, investigating exactly what happened here. I'd be happy to lend my talents to this situation." He turned to the crowd with an apprehensive look. He really had no idea how to handle the limelight like this. He was as gracious as he could be, but, even then, he was quite nervous. He immediately began thinking of the computer systems, and, more importantly, their cameras. He'd have to ask about seeing their camera network.
Supercape Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 "I'm the King of Suits, investigator, a pleasure to meet you both and fight alongside you! May I ask what you call yourselves? "Synth" replied Synth, frankly. It really didn't do, she realised, to have a name like that when she was trying to maintain a low profile, but it was the only name she was given. Perhaps she should get another... "What do you think? Who wants to look into this? I know I do" Synth nodded after shaking his hand in greeting. "Certainly. I don't know how, but I do know why...they operated like some kind of gang...and there may well be more. And what where they doing here? something must have driven them to this. The money? maybe, but would they have not thought out something better than just jumping in swords waving? this looked more like a distraction, or show, than anything else...making a statement?"
Eviscerus Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 Spitfire Spitfire nodded at each of the heroes in turn. "Nice ta meet ya Synth, King, Voltage, let's do as the nice lady asks and find out what's what so to speak." Spitfire followed the rest of the heroes, although he wasn't much of a brain himself, perhaps his time spent at a circus might offer a unique perspective into motives or plan of attack for this little botched robbery.
Thunder King Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 "I'd like to see your camera system, Ma'am." Voltage said, turning to the teller. "I can check for evidence of tampering and the like." He turned towards the rest. "Does anyone have any talents that could be used for an investigation?" He asked, curious. He was not trying to take the lead, he just wanted to get the investigation underway. He figured the teller would direct him to her manager, and from there, would give him access to the cameras. Unless, of course, he were turned down, which was possible. He'd just have to see.
Ari Posted February 21, 2012 Author Posted February 21, 2012 GM Marceau nodded and called over to the teller "We'll be right on it Mz.! On our way" and with that he turned with a swirl of his cape that was second-nature by now, and walked confidently into the vault. The scorch marks on the floor and the lightly-burned ninja the only flaws of the otherwise totally sterile metal chamber...which was also completely empty, and showed no sign of either door, holes in the wall, or even a portal. Startled, he answered Voltage's question nonetheless "I'm trained in detective and investigatory techniques..and I will most likely need them, nothing in here that I can see, no money, no doors, nothing. I'll take a gander, maybe there's some clue..." he put the burned ninja across the doorway as a pseudo road-block, and after rolling up his cape began to carefully examine the metal vault, eyes primed for the least disturbance of the smooth metal. The teller smiled at Voltage's request and directed him to the security room, her smile fading a little at the sight of an unconscious man in a grey security uniform slumped against the controls in front of him, nearly falling out of his chair, and a thin trickle of blood sliding from his short red hair from a lump on the back of his head. After he was moved and 911 had been called to collect the captured ninjas and the recently-discovered injured man, perusal of the security camera footage was entirely opened to the lightning computer genius. What the two learned surprised them both: the ninjas had simply appeared in a cloud of red smoke, which had come out through some unseen aperture at the back of the vault.
Thunder King Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 "Well, unless they managed to get some sort of editor on this footage...they seem to have used some form of teleportation." Voltage said, perplexed. "I don't think I like the idea of bank robbers being able to pop in from inside the vaults. That is, well, bad." He scratched his chin and leaned against the wall. They just popped in? He would have to think on this fact more. They were ninjas, and, well, ninjas were occasionally known for superhuman feats. Did that include actual powers? Did the Katanarchists have someone teleport them in, or did they all have that power? "Has anyone else found something out?" Voltage asked.
Ari Posted February 21, 2012 Author Posted February 21, 2012 The King of Suits had found something, or rather three somethings: three tubes just about at the ceiling of the vault, on the rear wall from the door. They were neatly set in a row, bore the marks of vaning been carefully drilled in, and filled with a fine red dust. Careful not to disturb it he collected some in a plastic capsule hooked to his utility belt, picking up grains of the dust with a pair of tweezers. That collected, he turned and called to the other three heroes "I've found three tubes with red stuff in them, not sure what they might have done, but definitely not part of the bank's architecture, what have you got?"
Eviscerus Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 Spitfire "I seem to recall that this here bank was built on the site where a super baddie lived. Now which one I can't say, but it might have ta do with why these peeps could just hop on into the vault. Perhaps that old supervillain was into secret passages and what not? Or maybe there's somethin' left over underground that these ninja boys were after. I bet if we get ahold of both the blueprints for this gig and the one that used ta be on this site we might find something. Or mayhaps you can tell us which villain, if any lived on this spot miss?" With the last question he faced the bank manager and raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer.
Ari Posted February 22, 2012 Author Posted February 22, 2012 GM The teller who appeared to have some authority had gone for the actual manager, and finding them also insensible and lying on the floor between the halves of a wooden desk that had been broken from the force of him being thrown onto it. Assuming command for the time being, the visitors had quickly gotten back to their business after piling the unconscious ninjas up near the door for easy retrieval by law enforcement. Looking up from a deposit she was putting through she answered Spitfire "If you want the blueprints, they're probably stored in the city hall somewhere, I sure don't have them here. Never heard about that, I'll have to ask around about that one" she went back quickly to her work.
Thunder King Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Voltage, still maintaining his connection to the internet, closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. He searched through the internet, sifting through the records of the city like grains of sand. His powerful mind worked over the data, searching for what he was looking for. What could this all mean? He mused over everything, thinking it all through. "Ah, I've found it." He said, to no-one in particular. "Do the computers in here connect to the outer internet? I need to access something I found online." He looked to the teller.
Ari Posted February 23, 2012 Author Posted February 23, 2012 GM One of the other tellers handed over a laptop from a bag they had under the desk. It had a wifi connection, and quickly brought up the requested files, which were luckily publicly available. They quickly answered the question asked by Spitfire, as the house that the bank had been built over was indeed the home of a former villain, namely the first Sky Lord, who had lived there before his political views led him to take to the skies. Rumor had it that the place had become a veritable fortress before his departure, and the demolition of the place had taken so long that the holders of such a view felt entirely vindicated.
Supercape Posted February 27, 2012 Posted February 27, 2012 "Seems to me" said Synth, eyeing the old records and blueprints "that there is more to this bank than meets the eye. Did the Sky Lord leave something here?" she asked. It was an obvious question. "How far down does the bank - or the vault go?" she asked "no - better still, why don't you show us. I would very much like to see what's down there, right at the bottom. If indeed, it is the bottom..." She stretched her arms in a limbering pose, twisting right then left. Then, with her normal precise movements, she took of her trainers and stood barefoot on the bank floor, closing her eyes for a moment to attune herself. Her synthetic body was very sensitive to vibrations. And possibly, just possibly, with some gentle - or not so gentle - tapping, she could pick up if there was any sub- structure beneath the bank.
Ari Posted February 28, 2012 Author Posted February 28, 2012 In the meanwhile, the King of Suits was busy examining the grains of red dust he had collected from the pipes. It hadn't taken much to determine what they were from, a chemical compound that was noted to interfere with soundwaves as well as blocking sight. That coupled with the hollow panel in the vault told him pretty much everything he needed to know: the gas had been pumped into the room, under which cover the ninjas had carved out their secret passageway that let them strike silently into the rooms far from their origin. Seeing no real reason to hang about he called over the other three "Synth, Spitfire, could you help figure out how to open this? We need to get through that, and I don't want to blow it in or have it melted or anything"
Supercape Posted February 28, 2012 Posted February 28, 2012 Synth padded over to the King of Suits, inspecting the red dust that the costumed detective showed her. She could feel the resonance of the passageway behind when she tapped the panel. "Other than brute force?" she asked the King of Suits. She gave the panel an experimental shove. "I'm stronger than I look..." she explained. And this was true, her synthetic metabolism and structure far more efficient than a humans. And she looked pretty strong too. "Other than that, I don't know...I can't see or feel anything...no secret button or handle to open it, no lock, no keypad, nothing like that. Maybe it was only meant to be opened from the other side...maybe force is the only way!"
Eviscerus Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 Spitfire Spitfire walked over to inspect the panel and frowned. "No meltin' it? Yer jus' takin' the fun outta everythin' ain't ya?" Spitfire said with a smile before bending in closer to take a look, trying to find anything that might resemble a hidden catch, or push button to open the panel before turning back to King. "Yer absolutely positive ye don't want me ta melt it? I got some perdy fine control and I could simply cut the panel out ya know, least amount of damage possible and all that. But barrin' that I don't see nothing that would indicate a secret lever or nothin' either. Mayhaps if it's got hinges, and Synth here can locate em, I could just slag those areas, leave the thing mostly in tact."
Ari Posted February 29, 2012 Author Posted February 29, 2012 GM Max's inspection of the hollowed-out section of wall quickly revealed something: a clear pair of parrallel grooves that when pressed slid back a thin piece of wall to reveal two buttons. One black, one red, positioned horizontally.
Eviscerus Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 Spitfire Upon finding the buttons Max's eyebrows shot up. "Well I'll be a possum at a trash convention! Lookee here fellas, looks like I'm good fer more than just cookin' ninjas!" Max carefully studied both the buttons, not daring to actually press one, but he contemplated the implication of their colors. "If I were to venture a guess, I'd say the black one opens it up whilst the red one makes somethin' bad happen. Can't say fer sure however, so I'll leave it to the rest of you folks. Which button, if either, do we press?"
Supercape Posted March 1, 2012 Posted March 1, 2012 "There really isn't anything else to go on..." said Synth, as much to herself as anybody else. She stood, cross legged, with her chin in her hand in thoughtful repose. "But we may as well do this as safely as possible" she added "stand back, please!" Standing several yards away, she took of her jogging costume to reveal her athletic gear with the "S" she had found. It wasn't perfect, but it did as a superhero's costume, was cheap, and allowed her to grow extra limbs without tearing a hole every time. From her midriff, a hand grew. Not a limb, just a hand. And then it dropped off, and scuttled up to the panel completely independently. When it reached there, a finger extended, and extended further, growing all the way to the black button. Which it duly pressed.
Ari Posted March 1, 2012 Author Posted March 1, 2012 GM With a slight creak, the larger hollow in the door was revealed, the covering plate sliding back on a pully like a garage door's opening to view a narrow, quite clean and well-lit passageway, with another door at the far end, only four meters from the opening. The red dust lay thickly on the floor in streaks, having drifted down through small holes in the three pipes visible running along the ceiling. A single, but superlatively luminescent, light bulb haning bare dangled through the network of rafters that extended for several feet above the passage way, which sloped gradually underfoot.
Ari Posted March 4, 2012 Author Posted March 4, 2012 Marceau looked in surprise at the opening door, his left hand falling from its instinctive grab for his grapple gun. Peering at the narrow tunnel he announced simply "I don't trust the look of that. Far too neat and easy to my mind. Needs to be tested for traps" he turned to Synth "Mz, thank you for doing that, I won't ask you to perform that same act with this chamber though, no need for you to grow hands to no purpose, just so we know where the razor wires are" he turned back to the tunnel, which he approached with care and stooped beside it. Drawing out three thin cards, he tossed them deftly into the passage. One flew upwards into the slim tangle of rafters, the second slid through the air straight for the door, and the third landed edge-first in the middle of the floor. He hoped to activate whatever security system might be in place, so they could at least know where it was to disable it. He hoped fervently it wasn't a bomb.
Eviscerus Posted March 4, 2012 Posted March 4, 2012 Spitfire Spitfire watched King of Suits send the cards deftly down the hallway and whistled. "Remind me not to play cards with you pardner, ole Spitfire's rather fond of his money." Spitfire peered down the hallway and made a cursory inspection of the area, his crimson eyes narrowing in concentration. If there was a trap, as King of Suits feared, it would fit with what he knew of villain home planning.
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