A Bad Case Of The Runs IC

[EternalPhoenix]

January 12, 2016. Freedom City. North Bay. Corner of Osgood and Blake. 1 AM.

 

GM

There was a new band of thieves in town. A mansion had been burgled every night. But the hell of it was, even with the expensive security systems, the perpetrators hadn’t been seen. Well, that was inaccurate. There were slight blurs in the recording. But the known people who were fast enough to pull off the robberies all had airtight alibis. Like being in prison, in plain sight on another continent, or literally a member of the Freedom League. Etcetera. That meant this set had gotten their powers relatively recently, or just weren’t in the system. It was a problem. Fortunately, a few heroes had taken notice.

 

PC

Terrifica wasn’t sure if Miracle Girl had gotten her message. She was a Claremont student, that much was obvious. Both Lucas and Meilin would attend when they were old enough. She was even considering Nicholson for Lucas’s Pre-K. It wouldn’t have been that hard to figure out which one, however she would respect the unwritten rules of heroes. Not that it stopped her brain from working on the problem, like all the other ones. She was seated on her Terrifi-cycle, observing the latest target of the thieves. Or so she had deduced, and Terrifica was never wrong. She may have had incomplete data to work from, but she was never wrong.

Edited January 22, 2016 by EternalPhoenix

[Blarghy]

Cautious and watchful, Leviathan slowly turned down the street and approached the meeting point, already transformed.  He'd been unsettled since the night before when he received Terrifica's note; it started as business as usual, taking down gang members, until he carefully fished through the last one's pockets for a cell phone to call the police (he couldn't carry his own in this form, nor did he even trust burner phones to protect his secret identity) and found her message taped to it.  None of the other thugs had similar notes, so that raised its own questions, on top of how she knew where he'd end up patrolling that evening in the first place.  Such indications of the extent of Terrifica's intelligence left him more than a little rattled.  Were it not for the consistently heroic news stories he'd read as Tristan after their first meeting about a week ago, he would never have considered coming here tonight.  Instead, he spent the entire day crisscrossing the city, went through over a dozen faces, and finally became Leviathan while fully submerged just off the beach.  Let her trace that back to Tristan Delacroix.

 

Please don't let her trace this back to me, the scaly creature hoped. 

 

Unless Terrifica was conveniently underneath a streetlight, she would almost surely spot Leviathan before he saw her. 

[Heritage]

The message was quite small, written in thermally-reactive ink, and placed on the roof of the Claremont dorms; it could only have been left for Miracle Girl by Terrifica.

 

Just to be on the safe side, she scanned the meeting site from the air as she approached; sure enough, there was the woman who summoned her, looking bad to the bone on her cycle. But there was also a huge lumbering beast! Casey's hands clenched into fists as she prepared to drop between the two, but then she caught herself.

 

Don't rush to judgement, Case; think it through.

 

The chances of such a creature arriving at the same intersection as Terrifica by coincidence were astronomical; that meant it was either the bad guy they sought or the mega-genius summoned it as well. It was slinking about and acting cautiously, not the usual MO for something of that size, which suggested intelligence and purpose. So maybe some respectful treatment was in order.

 

Miracle Girl gently landed a few steps away from the Terrifi-cycle and gave the older woman a quick smile and a nod as she approached.

 

"Good to see you again, Terrifica." She inclined her head in Leviathan's direction. "Are we expecting company?"

Edited January 23, 2016 by Heritage

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica smiled. Miracle Girl was coming along well. Possessed of both intellect and forethought. “Yes. His name is Leviathan, and he is being overly paranoid about his secret identity. He assumes I’m looking for it in the first place, when instead I’m teaching a lesson about being unpredictable instead.” She swung her leg and got off her Terrifi-Cycle. She spoke a little louder, so that Leviathan would hear. “There’s no need to be shy. Come and meet Miracle Girl.” The chemical enhancements to the mask of her suit’s lenses amplified the ambient light considerably, allowing her to see both of the other heroes as if it was…well, not daylight, but better than twilight at any rate.

[Blarghy]

Seeing someone drop out of the night sky brought Leviathan up short, and the inaudible mumbling between the newcomer and Terrifica narrowed his eyes; like most people, he assumed they were talking about him.  Nonetheless, he moved closer at the invitation.  Jets of steam shot from his nostrils in the cold air. He hummed in the back of his throat and thought about where he'd heard that name.  It took him a minute, doubly distracted as he couldn't help being, first by Miracle Girl's general appearance and then by what Leviathan, from a doctor's standpoint, could only describe as a glow of excellent health. 

 

"Hrrmm...plane.  The hostages.  That was a good job," he complimented Miracle Girl gruffly.  Not knowing any more about her than that, Leviathan could temper his usual enthusiasm.  Less so for Terrifica, although in her case, he was instead feeling a little skittish tonight.  He could be certain of her skill; now he was waiting to judge her benevolence. 

 

"So what's this all about?"

Edited January 24, 2016 by Blarghy

[Heritage]

"Oh, thanks! Yeah, that was a tough one; glad we had an expert pilot on hand." Casey frowned in thought. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I haven't heard of you; have you just started operating in Freedom recently?" She normally did a good job of staying on top of local news; not from the local TV news, which she loathed, but from regularly reading all the local papers, as well as the Denver Post, New York Times and Miami Herald every day.

 

She also looked at her informal mentor with interest, eager to find out how she and the big fellow could help.

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

“Yes, he is new. He’s still at the random patrol stage. I’ve taken the opportunity to bring him along for the experience and networking.” Terrifica pointed at the mansion down the block. “As for why we’re here…” There was a sudden blur of motion followed by a gust of wind. Afterward nothing appeared untoward. “There’s a small group of thieves working this neighborhood. I can see them move, but unfortunately my body is not as fast as my mind. Additionally there are three of them. Did you see them?” She pulled out what looked like a knockoff iPad from the saddlebag of her bike. “If not, I have it on video. They’re masked, obviously, or the police would have my recordings.”

[Blarghy]

How's that for timing? Leviathan thought, upon barely noticing the blur.  He filed away the information about Terrifica's apparently speedy vision, leaned over her shoulder to watch the video, and expressed some concern over how he, especially, was supposed to catch people with such an advantage.

 

"Then what's the plan?  Hard to grab somebody you can't put your hands on.  I'm not that fast."

[Heritage]

"But I am," said Casey as she shifted into overdrive; she took a deep breath, and then her outline became somewhat hazy and indistinct, and a low hum could be heard. It was very rare to apply her super-speed like this while standing still; normally, she'd be running all over the place. When she looked around, her head appeared to flicker and dart almost like a hummingbird. "I see them!" she yelled, far too fast for anyone but Terrifica to hear; Leviathan only her a quite splurt of sound. But then she slowed back to normal speed.

 

"There are three of them, I think two men and a woman. The woman's pretty, in a blue and white suit with a sort of lightning design. One man is wearing a costume in purple and bluish-gray, and the other in some sort of power armor; maybe it gives him his speed?"

 

Miracle Girl stroked her chin for a second. "If we're going to defeat them, we need to bring them down to a speed we can all handle, but to do that, we need to know how their powers work. If the suit is what makes the one guy fast, then we need to shut that down." She shrugged."I have no idea about the other two; maybe trap them in some sort of low-inertia fluid?"

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica smiled, pleased with her informal protégé. “Excellent thinking, Miracle Girl. However, your knowledge of physics is decidedly in the high school range. Low inertia fluid doesn’t exist as you named it, for one, and for another it is high inertia that prevents things from moving.” She faced both MG and Leviathan. “I’ve brought both of you long for three reasons, the first of which has already been made clear. Miracle Girl can see them, and Leviathan could use some connections in the hero community. The second is that both of you are considerably stronger and tougher than I am and thus of better use in a fight with super powered adversaries. The third can wait for later, as I have a plan.”

 

She swiped the camera recording away and brought up another display. “I can track the woman. She’s putting off just enough electricity to be detected by weather satellites with minimal reprogramming. Which, as it turns out, are very poorly secured compared with other satellites. They haven’t gone far. Yet.” She examined the display. “Their hideout is an abandoned manor just south of the nuclear plant. This is where the third reason I’ve brought you both along comes in. The plan is quite simple. These are not heroes. They likely have no real loyalty to each other.”

 

She looked directly at Leviathan. If a monster fresh from the sea invades their hideout, the one in power armor will run. One of the others should as well. Of course, every group has the brave one. Leviathan, that is your role. Smash things and be frightening. Fight the one who stays behind to deal with the big scary monster.” She turned her head to Miracle Girl. “Miracle Girl will be in the air. With her eyes, she will know where they go in the city. Don’t be afraid to fly off if you need to. I’m certain you can find both of us again. If you lose one that will be fine for now. It can only be but so difficult to find one panicked thief in this city.” She spoke to both of them again. “I will be freezing the doors and windows shut with my staff. That isn’t what I designed it to do, but it can be made to fit.” She put the tablet back into her saddlebag and looked at the two heroes again. “Of course, I welcome suggestions on improving the plan.”

[Heritage]

Casey nodded as Terrifica laid out her plan, which naturally was pretty darn solid; she wasn't bothered by the older heroine's correction of her earlier suggestion, as she knew she still had a lot to learn about...well, everything. "I'm guessing they're using some form of radio communication, either just between each other or with someone else they might be working for; while I'm in the air, I'll scan up and down the radio band, see if i can pick up any additional intel."

 

She really couldn't think of anything else to add, so she looked to the super-genius, awaiting further instructions.

[Blarghy]

It occurred to Leviathan that Terrifica probably could've made a plan for bringing down these thieves on her own; the glum feeling settled in his stomach that she was mostly babysitting him.  On the other hand, mentorship had a long history in this line of work.  So long as he didn't inadvertently become her sidekick, he shouldn't complain about the opportunity to learn.

 

"Break things," he said.  "I can do that."

 

But internally he wondered, Perhaps I can get hold of one of their suits.  The technology involved might be useful. 

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

There was nothing left to do but make the trip. Their arrival at the manor was uneventful. Apparently the thieves were not keeping any sort of watch outside. Which, when you can treat the sound barrier as a light suggestion, really isn’t that much of a problem. The manor was old, and well set back from the road with a lengthy driveway. It had been unoccupied for some time, clearly. Although from the street the grounds were well kept, this was nothing more than a façade. Trash and dirt were collected in every available spot and the lawns themselves showed no tending other than a periodic mowing. The building itself looked like it had seen better days. It needed a coat of paint and the windows were filthy. While it appeared to be structurally sound, there was just an instinct speaking to all three that perhaps this was not the case.

[Blarghy]

Any curiosity he might've had about the history of this place was secondary to its integrity.  It's going to come crashing down on my head during the fight, Leviathan mused, though not unhappily.  I can feel it.

 

He peered at the building, seeing what he could of the layout, in particular how it was positioned in relation to the shoreline.  If he could wade out a bit and come in directly from the water, it might both lend credence to Terrifica's cover suggestion and drive any of the fleeing thieves out the front--not that Leviathan thinks they could run on water.  Probably. 

 

"You said you'd lock the doors," he remembered to Terrifica.  "I could just go through a wall..."

Edited February 22, 2016 by Blarghy

[Heritage]

Casey grinned at Leviathan's suggestion. "Ah, the 'Kool-Aid Man' approach!" She shifted her voice into an eerie approximation of the mascot's gravelly intonations. "'Oh yeah!'" However her smile quickly vanished after Terrifica gave her a look. "I'll just, you know..." She motioned upwards with her hands and made a meek 'woosh' sound.

 

The blonde powerhouse dutifully took to the air as she'd been instructed, ever the team player; she took the opportunity to not only monitor radio frequencies, but also scan the property with both her telescopic and infrared vision, looking for anything that raised any red flags.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Heritage

[Blarghy]

...Wish I could do that, he thought as she flew away.

 

Had Leviathan known about Miracle Girl's vision, he would've asked her to tell him which parts of the building were occupied, back on the ground.  As is, he watched her leave in a bit of a daze, unsure of what to say, between her appearance and personality.  The hulking creature would've expected a protege of Terrifica to be more subdued, and her affability made him feel a little silly for his own forced grimness. 

 

"She's...cheerful," he managed to Terrifica.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Blarghy

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Terrifica smiled, amused. “She is at that.” There was a brief pause. “I don’t encourage my associates to be grim specters of the night, Leviathan. I glared at her because the pun was awful.” She smiled a little more. “There’s nothing wrong with being cheerful about our work, as long as it doesn’t get in the way.” She took her staff of her belt and shook it open. “Now, where you come from is up to you, but I will point out it will be much easier to seal a damaged door than a hole in the wall. My staff will be transferring heat to freeze shut possible egress points, not shooting adhesive to bond them shut.” She took a breath and let it out. Hopefully today’s starting plan didn’t immediately disintegrate upon contact with the enemy. “Whenever you’re ready, Leviathan.”

[Blarghy]

It occurred to Leviathan that locking down the building might impede the plan of allowing some of the thieves to escape, if their only talents were speed and not strength, but he assumed that Terrifica had a plan for that.  His interpretation of their strategy was that the sole remaining opening--perhaps the one he used himself--would be left open to funnel them out directly into Terrifica and Miracle Girl's waiting arms.  But if none of that worked, he saw no reason to complain about having all three villains to himself on the inside.  He plodded away, choosing the front door for simplicity, and gave the knob a rattle. 

 

Finesse wasn't entirely beyond his capabilities, but applying just some of his immense strength was tricky, and so when the door failed to open easily, he jostled it until the whole thing came off in his hands.  He sheepishly turned around, backed through the open hole, and tried to fit the door more or less back in place.  From there, the great beast stalked into the hideout. 

 

"Fee fie foe fummmmmmm..."

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Miracle Girl could sense that the one in the power armor was in the middle of a cell phone call. In fact, she could see all three of them, outlined neatly in her infrared vision. The woman was upstairs, apparently showering. The other was pacing near the power armored one. Unfortunately, Casey couldn’t quite tell the contents of the call, just that it was being made. The call came to an end just as Leviathan entered the manor. She saw the male not in power armor flush in panic and race outside. The man in power armor chased after him. The armor’s functioning made it shine like a beacon to Miracle Girl. Him, she could follow relatively easily. Especially since she had the telescopic vision on top of it.

 

Meanwhile, the woman had blurred downstairs. Apparently she’d both dried off some and dressed along the way. “Hey! What did you do with them?” Upon closer examination, she was a black haired and blue eyed Caucasian. The resemblance to a young Angelina Jolie-Pitt was uncanny. However, it was extremely doubtful that Mrs. Jolie-Pitt could throw lightning bolts, as this woman did to Leviathan. “Whatever. I’ll fry you and find them.”

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Good, Leviathan was in. Spare moments later, two speedy blur raced out of the manor. So far, so good. She whipped up her staff and pressed a button. It was made to transfer heat on a person sized scale, but in a pinch it could be made to work for a building. How effective that would be is something Terrifica didn’t know. Not for sure. A white hot beam of heat raced into her staff and out the other end into the chilly night air. Hopefully Miracle Girl was not looking in that direction, because that would’ve been rather bright for her infrared vision, though not quite Dazzling. The Terrifi-Staff was too hot to hold, so she dropped it with a curse. However, the results were stark. The house was encased in two layers of ice. It was as if one of the worst winter storms in recorded history had passed through…twice. Terrifica smiled and picked up her cooling staff. She inspected it, her mood most excellent. The staff was undamaged, though…she did not want to think about what the results would be in the middle of July or August.

[Blarghy]

Matters progressed so rapidly that Leviathan hardly knew what was happening until he suddenly found himself under attack.  He assumed the plan was working so far, even if he hadn't actually seen the other thieves leave--a jumpy pair, although on reflection, who could say how much time seemed to pass for them as they analyzed the situation?  Regardless, Leviathan had more pressing business anyway, unexpectedly jolted by a potentially lethal level of electricity. 

 

He shuddered with brief muscle spasms, but these soon stopped, tense though the creature remained, right to his narrowed eyes.  Pacifistic thieves, modern-day Robin Hoods, he might've felt some sympathy for.  No longer.

 

The old floorboards buckled and cracked under the pressure of his leading foot, when Leviathan slammed it down and shot across the room, a low shout building in his throat.  He lunged with both arms extended.  If he didn't hit hard, and hold on, then this woman would have no problem evading him, even if she could only run throughout the large mansion.  Although, this assumed she didn't have more tricks, right up to meeting him head-on in combat.

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Sara Thorton, alias Spark Comet, was good and grabbed by this…thing. It has shrugged off her lightning like it didn’t matter and surged into her. The blow had rattled her teeth, even through her forcefield.  She had to get it off of her. So she pumped some extra juice into her patented Taser Punch. It would cost her some accuracy, but this close she’d never miss. “Get the hell off me, freak!” She slammed her charged fist home. The house had suddenly gotten colder, too. Not by much, but enough to be odd.

Edited April 5, 2016 by EternalPhoenix

[Blarghy]

"Little bit of hypocrisy there, lady,"  Leviathan grumbled.  He locked his massive arms around her and squeezed, undisturbed by the punches she managed, or the strange force behind them. 

 

Effective as he expected this clench to be, Leviathan wished he could let his enemy go and count on a stand-up fight that tore down the mansion around them.  His first real supervillain, not like the mundane thugs with guns and knives...even with his "cheap" tactics, he still cherished this fight, to the point that he failed to notice the temperature change. 

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Spark Rocket managed absorb the crushing hug, Leviathan could feel a slight tingling as her forcefield absorbed the blow. Grappling was so not her forte. But something else was. This thing spoke English. It wasn’t so random monster, it was a superhero. She wasn’t fighting for her life against an unknown monster. This…changed things. Okay then, new tactic. Instead of wriggling around trying to get free or attack, she squirmed to emphasize the fact that she was a fit and attractive woman.  She even moaned slightly, as he’d really hurt her with the bearhug. “Okay, I give up. I’ll go to jail like a good girl. Just stop hurting me.” She let his arms support most of her weight. “Don’t believe me? Hah, of course you don’t. Why would you?” She put on her best pouting martyr look. “Fine. Drench me in water. It’ll short circuit my powers and knock me out. It hurts a lot, but what else can I do? It’s not like you’ll let go of me.”

[EternalPhoenix]

PC

 

Did…did the roof just…shimmy? That…can’t be good. Terrifica eyed the manor warily. Miracle Girl was already gone. She was just waiting and watching the manor for signs of life. There, it did it again. Is its structural integrity already compromised? That doesn’t make any sense. Anyone with enough money to live here could easily afford proper maintenance and minor repairs. Unless… She ran to inspect the edge of the manor’s foundation. Sometimes, I don’t like being right all the time. Weather had distorted some of the signs, but this home had a termite infestation. She kept walking around the manor. It was not a small one. Oh, how bothersome. Well, Leviathan is sturdy. He’ll…probably be fine. I, however, should pull back to a safer distance. It’s not like she could contact him anyway. She ran back to where she started from. Still, I do wish I could at least spare him the surprise.