Gangbusters! (IC)

[Supercape]

Doctor Warp lunged towards the last conscious thug and gripped him tightly, arms bending in a horrible way to ensnare the man. 

 

"Stop that Van!" he proposed to the Eternal Dragon and Bonfire. "I hate Vans. They are almost always driven by high school drop outs and sociology students! And if not, then possibly by criminals! Whatever the case, Stop that Van!"

 

He gave an ugly smile to the crook in his grip. "If you spill your guts, I'll let you go! I'm after the big man at the top, and the layabout driving that Van!" he demanded. 

 

His eyes bulged and he scanned the gauntlets that the three men had been wearing. 

[olopi]

Well, great. A Van. No way of catching up with that thing. Well, maybe if Bonfire had been burning at the moment there was, it made him go a lot faster. But, he wasn’t, and by the time he would be that Van would already have driven away. Maybe the police were able to do something about it, but he was completely powerless to stop it. This had happened too often recently. He’d have to figure out how to deal with runaway cars at some point. He did his best to try and see the van’s number, if there even was one, but otherwise didn’t chase it.

 

All the thugs were out cold, or maybe out hot? Either way, the police was still in the area, chances were they’d arrive soon enough for him not to have to drag around criminals into a nice pile. Instead, he decided to also partake in the interrogation, maybe he’d have to play good cop. So, he quickly flew over and appeared as a more human form, only his head being smoke. This form only wore a plain grey shirt and gray pants, he didn’t feel like putting in effort into his illusionary disguis for now.

 

“No way I can stop that thing. Then again, we don’t need to. It’s probably better if we don’t.”

 

He looked closer at the thug, and the smoke forming his head turned into a cartoon-ish grin where his mouth would be, the rest of his head remaining formless.

 

“It’ll only lead us to the rest of them. I’m sure they’ve got more fancy gear wherever their base is. And the police is right next door, so we don’t even have to arrange these guys in a pile!”

 

He turned towards the still conscious thug, the grin shrinking a bit.

 

“Now, we have everything we need to track ‘em down, I planned for as much. But, that’s still effort. And I think I have something more favourable to you. How about ya just tell us where they’re hiding, and I’ll see what I can do to cut down your sentence due to helping with the investigation? It usually means you get out significantly quicker than if you don’t tell us anything. Hey, maybe the judge even decides to send you into witness protection if you tell us enough, no stay behind steel that way! As far as I’m aware, that’s a lot more fun, right? So, how about it? “

 

Edited April 16, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

"Fat cop, thin cop, is it?" said Doctor Warp, an ugly grin on his ugly face. 

 

"But we can't let that horrible Van get away!" he decided. 

 

He reached out for Eternal Dragon and grabbed him by his costume as if he was but a cuddly toy. 

 

"Get ready for a ride, Kung Fu, and keep hold of your pants!" he called out, and then stretched his arm still further, further, like a rubber band in reverse, hauling the Eternal Dragon through the streets of Freedom City and with a last effort, flicking him onto the roof of the Van. 

[Thevshi]

The crook wearing the ice gauntlets seemed rather shaken about the beating his two companions had taken (and himself to an extent) as he nodded at Bonfire's suggestion to tell where the van was headed.  "We were sent by the boss to test out these gauntlets.  We were to report back to him once we finished, at Club Ice."  The criminal stated, glancing over toward where the police were finally emerging and making their way over. 

While listening to the crook, Dr. Warp also grabbed a hold of Eternal Dragon, stretching his arm hundreds of feet in moments to just catch back up with the van as it pulled away.  With a slight flick of his elongated wrist, Dr. Warp tossed the martial artist the short distance to the van, with Eternal Dragon somersaulting over to land on his feet in a crouch, managing to maintain his balance as the van began to accelerate.  For the moment at least.

[olopi]

Club Ice? That didn’t sound good. Whoever this boss was probably had some less-than nice ice powers. Or it was just a bluff. Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with this Boss of theirs at all, and was just a meetup point. Well, the next station on this journey of crime-fighting had been established. Now it was just a matter of handing these people over to the police. With or without the gauntlets? That Cass was unsure about. On one hand, it was evidence, on the other this would probably be fairly interesting tech, at worst useless, at best worth some money. There definitely were people looking for this kind of tech out there, and some of them even followed the law.

 

And the martial artist that had been fighting alongside Bonfire for the entire fight was now Van-Surfing. Good enough, they were probably headed to Club Ice too. Now a way to contact him would’ve been useful. But considering they didn’t even know each other’s names, that wouldn’t be possible. They’d probably meet again sooner than later, so it was time to exchange names, numbers or something then.

 

As for now it was time to determine what to do with these gauntlets before the police arrived on the scene again. Considering they still were around and had only retreated shortly, that would be pretty soon. In fact, they were already moving in. So it was time to talk to the third hero on scene.

 

“Hey, do you have any use for these gauntlets? Think they’re worth anything? Or should we just leave them for the police to pick up together with these guys?”

 

“Also, before I forget it, name’s Bonfire. Freedom’s HOTTEST newcomer. Nice to meet you.”

 

At this point he extended a hand towards the smaller man, while watching the police drawing closer.

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by olopi

[geniusostrich]

The helping hand getting him on the van was nice but now ED needed to stick the landing or slip off the vehicle like an idiot. And he wasn't going to look like an idiot in front of these two new heroes. He had a little more pride than that. After slipping a little on the top of the vehicle, Eternal Dragon caught himself and looked around the vehicle. "Either I could ride this thing all the way to where it's going or I could stop it now". Eternal Dragon charged up a Claw to attempt to crush the car but stopped himself at the last second, scratching the top of the car. Thinking for a second, Eternal Dragon decided to wait atop the car instead of stopping it. He probably wouldn't be able to destroy the van anyways (trying not to overestimate his strength) but waiting would be the easiest way to find out where these goons came from.

[Thevshi]

While Eternal Dragon had been unable to damage the van, the driver had clearly heard him land on top, as the van continued to accelerate, weaving as it did.  Suddenly the driver took a hard, sharp turn, which caught the martial artist off balance, sending him tumbling off the top of the vehicle.  Luckily Eternal Dragon was easily able to somersault onto his feet and roll along the sidewalk, getting back to his feet in a moment. 

But the van was already taking another turn down the street and disappearing from sight. 

Back over by the bank the police officers had arrived to take the various criminals into custody.  "Thanks for your assistance."  One of the officers stated to Bonfire and Dr. Warp as the criminals were handcuffed and the powered gauntlets removed from those wearing them. 

Dr. Warp took a moment to study one of the gauntlets, which was made out of a lightweight steel alloy.  But he could not tell much about how they operated by only studying the outside of the devices.

[Supercape]

"Hmmm...excellent metallurgy!" commented Doctor Warp, examining the atoms of the gauntlet. "How the isotopes dance around in a merry Jig! Light, Strong, Shiny!"

 

He paused and gave Bonfire a wink.

 

"I sound like a commercial, right?"

 

"Lets see if we can't get a bird's eye view, my fiery friend!" he asked Bonfire, and, catching him up, elongated his legs. 

 

"Up, up, and awaaaayyyy!" he proclaimed to Freedom City, as the two rose above the City, to see if the Van (and its acrobatic friend on the roof) could be seen!

[olopi]

Wooooosh. It had been a while since Cass had been this high over the city. He preferred to fly low, due to the amount of wind at higher altitudes. Generally, being this high meant he was blazing, made of fire, and barely able to control his movement speed. At that point, flying high was a good idea, to not crash into any buildings and leave some nasty burn marks on them.

 

Finding a black van wasn’t that easy this late at night, no luck with that one. At least with just normal human vision. Considering the martial artist also wore black… yeah, good luck. No way to find somebody here. And then, a bit of movement. Okay, that might’ve been him. Must’ve gotten shaken off the van. Then again, it might’ve been somebody else, it was hard to tell from a distance and with the Fens’ all so great street lights. There was a reason this place was full of crime, and the street-lights certainly amplified it.

 

“Well, I see something moving down there. Might be him, might not be. You’ve probably got a better eye than …eye do. “

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

Doctor warp focussed his eyes and zoomed his vision in. 

 

"Aha! I spy with my fat eyes, a ninja!"

 

He strode on his limbs through Freedom City, doing his best not to alarm or disturb the streets far below. He might have limited the disturbance, but a pair of legs hundreds of feet long walking through Freedom City was alarming. 

 

As he neared the Dragon, he came down, warping back to normal form, and dropping Bonfire (reasonably gently) onto the sidewalk. 

 

"Good-day, gentleman. My name is Doctor Warp, on account of me being so handsome" he said, deadpan.

 

"I hope you don't mind me lending a hand, seemed prudent to do so" he explained. "And it would seem equally prudent to fathom what exactly transpired! Those gauntlets aren't available at your local hard-ware store. And what exactly did get stolen?"

[olopi]

Well, this … stretcher? Probably? Certainly had a sense of humor. He seemed pretty cool from what Cass had gathered so far. Maybe he’d figure out more once he went internet diving, he didn’t really seem like somebody that wouldn’t make it into the news at least a few times. Maybe some idea what his powers actually were too.

 

Bonfire was fixed on Doctor Warp for a few seconds, before speaking in deadpan, much like the doctor before. His smoke head flickering a bit in the wind, but otherwise not moving a single bit.

 

“Uuuh, actually, I don’t have the slightest clue. I don’t even know what kind of building that was. I just heard alarms and came flying in.I usually figure things like that out afterwards, when the crime's dealt with. “

 

Now this was an interesting situation. At least they knew where to go after  the criminals, but not who to go after, or why.

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2016 by olopi

[geniusostrich]

Eternal Dragon stood up and brushed himself off. "Well, we don't really have much option. Can't just let those maniacs attempt to steal or hurt anymore people." Realizing that might have sounded ruder than intended, Dragon continued, "Glad to be working with you two".  Dragon thought quite hard for a second on what they might have been stealing. "Money is always the easy answer but I have a bad feeling about what it actually was. We should hurry."

[Supercape]

"This calls for some detective work! Does your utility belt carry a magnifying glass?" he asked them both, although no he could see no such belt. "You both have such magnificent costumes, shows off your six packs magnificently, just like mine!" he said happily, punching his flabtastic abdomen. 

 

He waddled up to the tyre marks on the road, peering at the tarmac with his own amazing "Warp Vision". 

 

"Club Ice? Anybody know it?" he asked the two heroes. "Obviously I am too cool and hip to know of such places". 

Edited April 25, 2016 by Supercape

[olopi]

This was quite the way of getting around. A lot shakier than flying, but it had it’s charms. And a lot less exhausting too. Back to the crime scene it was. Now, looking through the debris could have worked, but the group already knew where they had to go. It was time to figure out what would expect them there. And that was where Cassidy Bauer’s online research skills and friends came in handy. This was his domain. Figuring out something about this Club Ice, if it even existed, would not be too difficult, hopefully. Any reputable club had a website nowadays, and all others just required some more advanced searching.

 

“Never heard of it before. I’m probably too hot to fit in there. But give me one minute and I’m sure I’ll know a lot about them. Maybe I can even dig up a blueprint of the building or something.”

 

And so Bonfire grabbed a phone from a non-existent pocket on his pants, before sitting down on a piece of debris and clicking around, actually making a quick 20 second call too. This was what he was good at. This was what he loved doing. This was probably just as good as fighting. And only slightly worse than fire-fighting and saving lives.

 

Edited April 25, 2016 by olopi

[olopi]

The mob? Oh yay. That would totally be fun, and totally not backfire later on. Then again, fighting organized crime was a lot more interesting than some guys without future raiding banks. If nothing else it’d be something to brag with. Nothing spectacular, but nothing too small either. And the club was pretty popular, so any news involving him would spread quickly. Probably a good thing, unless this would lead to the club being shut down. Last thing Bonfire would want to deal with was walking into a bar and having somebody try to smash a chair over his head in anger. Not that they’d succeed, but it would mean less trouble.

 

And he was trailing off again. For now it was better to stay focused on the case at hand. After a good minute or so, he stood up again, put his phone back into a pocket that seemed not to be on his pants, and walked over to his allies.

 

“It’s pretty close to here, theatre district. Rather popular, might be affiliated with the mob. And also it’s closed tonight, so we don’t have to worry about fitting in. Which, in all of our costumes, is probably a pretty good thing. “

 

Edited April 27, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

"What? with this face, I fit in everywhere, my boy" replied Dr Warp, pulling a face that wobbled in quite the wrong places. 

 

He swept his cape dramatically over his body. 

 

"Well then, to dear old Club Ice. It sounds rather cool!* Shall I bring my sunglasses?" he asked, his arms and legs starting to warp. 

 

"I can be there in a jiffy. Anyone need a ride, I can spare an arm!" he offered, his arms elongating several feet...

 

*

Rimshot!

Edited April 27, 2016 by Supercape

[geniusostrich]

ED was a little embarrassed that he had to do this with the help of a hero he just met but he grabbed on to Dr. Warp's arm so he could quickly make it to Club Ice. Running along the rooftops was also a possibility but not nearly as quick a mode of transportation as Warp apparently was. That reminded him, he needed to buy something faster to get around the city.

[olopi]

“Always glad to hitch a ride!”

 

This would make travelling there a lot quicker, and less exhausting. Bonfire wasn’t the quickest flyer, after all. It wouldn’t have taken him more than a few minutes either way, but arriving at the same time as the others was a good idea.

 

The only part of his body currently made of smoke was his head, so Warp grabbing on would not be a problem. The doctor would probably realize that Cass wasn’t actually wearing any clothes, if he hadn’t already. Chances also were he’d feel a bit warm when carrying Bonfire around, but neither of those were too much of a problem. Cass readied himself for another trip across town of the more exotic variant, and was ready to go.

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by olopi

[Thevshi]

Once the decision had been made, Dr. Warp quickly moved through the streets of the Fens, carrying the other two heroes as he made his way toward the edge of the Theater District.  A short while later, they arrived on a rooftop just down the block from Club Ice.

The street the club was on was much better lit than most of the Fens, although not quite as brightly as the streets toward the heart of the Theater District.  Given it was an off-night, most of the establishments along the street were closed, including Club Ice.  The nightclub was in an old three-story building, refurbished to look newer and trendier.  It was hard to tell how much of the upper floors were for the club, or for offices and storage.

[Supercape]

"So, in this fine establishment resides the mysterious boss, the master of gauntlets" said Doctor Warp, examining the building from afar with his telescopic vision. 

 

"Now, we don't have the faintest idea of whom this gentleman is, what he looks like, or if indeed he is a gentleman at all. Could be a pan-dimensional sentient clove of garlic, for all we know..."

 

"What we need is a cloak of invisibility. And I don't mean a cloak that is invisible, but one that makes you invisible"

 

His patented invisi-cloth had, in his opinion, been a fantastic invention. But some had, rightly, complained, that whilst it technically was cloth, and technically was invisible, its marketing had been somewhat misleading in that regard. Most people, it seemed, didn't like going to work apparently naked, even if they, technically, were not. 

[olopi]

And here they were, on a roof, looking down at Club Ice. Quite the heroic scene, three people standing on a rooftop and looking down. Yeah, Cass could get into this. The club didn’t look that special so far, one of many buildings, nothing that stood out too much. Most likely at least one level of basement too, possibly more. Maybe all the less legal stuff was hidden behind some kind of hidden door. They’d see soon, probably.

 

“Ask and ye shall receive, one cloak of invisibility coming up.”

 

A cloud of smoke burst out from the smoke making up Bonfire’s head, quickly expanding outwards and covering both him and his two allies. And just a second or two later, all the smoke disappeared, and alongside it, the three of them. Only from vision, they could still be heard, but it was better than nothing. And technically, it was invisibility!

 

“Okay, they can still hear us, but here you go, all of us can no longer be seen. “

 

Edited May 5, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

"Smoking stuff!" said Doctor Warp, looking at his hands and the others. 

 

Normally, he conceded, the mysterious smoke would have rendered the visible, invisible. But his eyes...his eyes were as warped as his body, seeing the smallest things, and smaller than the smallest things too. The imperfections in the atoms, the distortions in the quantum foam...he could see the warped figures of the three heroes. 

 

"Well then, let us take a look through the windows!"

 

Picking up the Eternal Dragon and Bonfire, he stretched himself to the upper windows, floor by floor, for the three of them to peer into...

[geniusostrich]

Eternal Dragon sighed at the painted over windows. "Guess we're going to have to do this the hard way".

 

He looked up towards the roof. "Can you get us up to the roof, Doctor Warp? It might be a good entrance point."

 

ED was a little weirded out by the strange smoky invisibility but any advantage they might need is worth the weirdness.

[Supercape]

"I think I could stretch to that" replied Doctor Warp. 

 

Technically, of course, it was not stretching. It was just that everything else was contracting. 

 

But he fancied that lectures in spatial relativity were best saved for another day, another audience. Or, another quantum reality. 

 

With a relative contracting of space via dimensional lensing, the mighty massive Doctor Warp elevated himself and his two new friends to the roof, and promptly returned his body to its "normal" shape. Of a short fat man. 

 

He felt his weight on the rooftop. Not all surfaces or roofs could take him. 

 

"I hope this is reinforced..." he commented. 

[olopi]

It’d be a way to make an entrance! Just breaking through the ceiling. Cass wasn’t sure why this was a problem, the doctor wasn’t the thinnest, sure, but he didn’t seem like he’d be that heavy. Maybe related to his stretching? Cass would have to look it up after this was over, would probably be easy enough to find out things.

 

Now it was time to get in somehow. Maybe case the place first? They still couldn’t be sure this was actually what they were looking after, so breaking through the ceiling probably wasn’t the best idea? Getting in would be easy enough for Bonfire, but he wasn’t sure about the others, they probably weren’t able to slip through a window.

 

“Well, here we are. What now? Do we get in somehow, preferably not a whole in the ceiling? I can get in fast and clean, but what about the two of you?”

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by olopi