"You get what you need yet?" The Bear put her hands on her hips. "Let's snap his neck and get out of here."
She swung her head over to the Sewer King. "Hey, uh, Cluny. You got any more shots in whatever that gun is? Maybe we should just pop him."
Easton City Music Hall, Charity Event, Evening
Rather than a limousine, the next celebrity arrived in a sleek blue sports car, handing the keys off to valet as she slipped out from the driver's seat. Wearing a lovely blue gauze dress to match her vehicle, she wore a sparkling sheer veil across her bared shoulders, aiming for a refined and sophisticated sense of beauty that matched her charming smile. With the cheering of her adoring fans, Charlotte Silverberg, media darling and Major's political rival for the mayoral seat, was all smiles and waves as she approached them, signing autographs and answering questions from her loving audience as she made her way to the reporters.
Easton City National Museum, That Same Evening
Adam was damned glad he wasn't on shift the week before when the Neo Nazis and the Conductor exploded into the museum, reading about it on his phone while chilling at the security desk. White supremacists and getting electrocuted were not his idea of fun, and getting pinned for having a bunch of exhibits stolen under your nose was always shitty for your future job prospects. Adam Warren had to hand it to whoever kept the museum in order though - the plane and train that got busted out were brought back, and restored to perfect condition, along with the museum's roof and walls - not a bit of debris in sight! Goddamn miracle workers, probably a super too, Adam wagered.
The security guard was thankful for a slow night, flicking the camera monitors when he noticed... an odd movement just outside the emergency exit. Replaying the tapes, he spotted what appeared to be a bunch of men and women in white just... loitering around the alleyway. Frowning, Adam flipped the silent alarm and with pistol in hand, headed out and around to confront the weird people.
They didn't even bother to hide. Instead, when Adam arrived, they all turned to him in unison, and he was suddenly unnerved when he realized they were all wearing faceless masks, each with a singular giant eye staring over at him. "Who's there? Who're you?!"
One of the men shuffled forward, making Adam back off cautiously, unsure of what they'd do. The strange man outstretched his arms and hands - letting Adam see the eyes on his palms as well. "Greetings, brother. Have you been to see the king?"
Sewage Plant
Sensing Hollowpoint's defenses returning, Mindseye quickly pushed him into unconsciousness. Once she was sure he was asleep, she pulled off a piece of his broken gauntlet for future scrying purposes and stuck it in her pocket.
"You can do as you like," she said to the Bear, "and if you feel comfortable killing an unconscious man, go right ahead. I think I know who Hollowpoint's contact is. Thanks for your help, by the way. If you ever need my help, you know where to find me."
She turned to Joie de Vivre and paused before speaking. She had an outline of what she wanted to say to the time-stopper, but she couldn't actually say it. Mindseye settled for "Thanks for saving my life," spoken quickly and without Mindseye looking Joie in the eye.
She briskly walked over to Sewer King and held out a hand. "Hollowpoint's not going to bother us for, oh, six hours, give or take. Can I buy you a coffee or something and you can tell me what you know about Superior Industries?"
She was the very picture of outward composure, even as she was mentally gushing over how cute the hybrid was and trying to ignore the anxiety of everything that happened that night. The corner of her mouth twitched even as she tried to keep it flat.
edited 4th Aug '16 8:28:03 PM by emilyorthoclase
"Hold up, what'd you learn though?" The Bear stood up, albeit a bit shakily. "If we've got his contact, then we can go after that guy instead. This isn't a one-and-done thing, I'm not stopping until this whole business is torn to pieces." She crossed her arms. This was going to be a big deal, wasn't it? She couldn't back down now. "Broader objective, I'm not stopping until most businesses are torn to pieces, but we can work on that part a bit at a time. So, I dunno, beam me the info and we can get some more exposition about this shit."
Inheritor of the Wing
Charity Concert
"Well, first of all I want to say to everyone attending, my fans or otherwise: thank you so much for being here, it means so much to the children of the hospital and we shouldn't forget that that's why we're here in the first place. I certainly haven't- so that's why the Candy Cobbler Corporation is donating $5,000,000 to the Easton City Children's Hospital Benefit." Tabitha took a breather to allow for applause before continuing. "To my fans in particular, though, I can say I'm happy to see you all out here tonight. We're also providing concessions for the concert tonight, and all proceeds from those will go to the hostpital as well. Let's make tonight the best benefit yet!"
With a smile on her face, Tabitha waved to the crowd and camera before heading inside the building. In the back of her head she only hoped no one would bug her about that, but it's been long enough that people should have the courtesy to not bring it up every few seconds. These fellow snobs had higher priorities to stick their noses in, anyways, so as far as Tabitha was concerned she really had nothing to worry about.
🏳️⚧️she/her | Vio Rhyse Alberia
A Fast Food Restaurant near the Charity Event
Simon Jones was having dinner, consisting of a hot dog and a pepsi.
The bad side of being an Interdimensional Explorer is that he could only bring himself, his clothes, and anything that fit into his pockets with him; which usually meant he only had a few dollars at best. Even less if his money was of no value on a given world.
Since he arrived on this world, he had lived in homeless shelters and done a few menial jobs for money. But he had survived worse.
He picked this restaurant so he could watch free TV for a while. Apparently there was some major social event going on in the city tonight.
It turned out there was a flier available for it, so he began reading about it. Ah, a Children's Hospital Charity. Nice. He too would often donate to good causes if he earned anything valuable (besides he could not take it with him anyway.)
Most of the celebrities he either didn't know or didn't care about; but then he noticed Tabitha Cobbler, the girl with the power to control sugar. He had read about her on a magazine. Now there's a power you don't see everyday, and from him that was thinking something. Next was The Mayor Major-Something Something, who besides having a ridiculous name was also a super. Coincidence...? Let's hope that not too many show up. That usually spells trouble.
Sewage Plant
With a curt nod, Mindseye sent the Bear the memory she had picked up from Hollowpoint.
"It might not be of much use to you at the moment. I was hoping to use my position with Superior Industries to find out more from the inside, since they don't know I've turned against them yet. Then again, if we get access to Hollowpoint's secret account, we could likely implicate Superior if records show them paying him to assassinate someone."
The Fantabulous
Easton City Music Hall
Saliha spent a considerable portion of the ensuing conversation defending her busy schedule preventing her parents from watching her shows more often as well as her choice of 'stage name'. These arguments were nothing new and in a lot of ways she agreed with their sentiment, but it was all to protect them. Naturally, that isn't what she told them, "Bābā, I don't have a problem with my name. 'Sally Bowles' is just more... Catchy, okay?" She pleaded to her father as she secured one of his legs back in the wheelchair, it having slipped off at some point. While he could no longer walk her father, Akhan, still looked quite fit thanks to his enthusiastic participation in 'murder ball' following his release from jail and managed not to look too out of place in his tuxedo. Devi, her mother, was wearing a traditional Bangladeshi Hindu dress whilst Sally had thought it best to stick with a simple, black number for the show.
Before any more arguments could flare Reverb heard Tabitha Cobbler enter the hall as well as a few other celebrities apparently tiring of the endless screech of their fans. "Mātāpitā āmi ēkhana yētē habē..." She explained, realizing the performances weren't far off and hugged them again before making her way across the hall. Sally was trying not to stumble in her high heels, unused to wearing them and her injured leg making balance a little harder. Unfortunately this distracted her enough to nearly knock over young Miss Cobbler on the way to the backstage, "Aaga!" She swore, fortunately in Bengali, "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there..."
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
I have a plan.
Sewage Plant
The Sewer King took Mindseye's hand and shook it. Thankfully, his hands were dry, as he found that a clean grip was best for handling firearms. He was also struggling to keep a straight face, and his nose and mouth kept twitching. "Coffee sounds nice, yeah. I've actually been building up s-s-something of a case, a case file... on Superior Industries."
The Sewer King was obviously thinking about more than a coffee. Finally! A date!, he thought.
The Sewer King looked at Hollowpoint, with a pointed glare. "I really should finish this guy off. But you know what? He's not worth the buckshot," he remarked to the Bear. "This gun can't even shoot the floor without missing. What was I thinking, trying to make a piece out of rusty pipes? Ugh!"
The Sewer King looked to address the heroes that had assembled to stop Hollowpoint that night, placing his shotgun back into his coat. "Oh, and, uhh, thanks, guys. You really saved my tail back there. I think I owe you all one."
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
FLASHBACK - Charity Event
From the sidewalk, homeless individual extraordinaire Don Joe wandered towards the charity event. With the mistaken belief that Jennifer Lawrence would be one of the guests, he glanced over the heads of the crowd to get a better look at the limos and cards dropping off their passengers."I LOVE YOU JENNIFER!" he shouted from the sidewalk.
Kerensky's Korner Koffee
Unbeknown to Xy, Isaac sat across the other side of the coffee shop. As he sipped his absurdly sugary iced coffee, he quietly seethed with rage; partly at the Conductor and Freezerburn for causing the train crash, partly at himself for not managing to stop the prison break. There was no value in this anger but Isaac wasn't really one for emotional stability and he just wanted to see those who did wrong punished. A friend of his had offered to get him into the charity event but he wanted justice, not relaxation. Except, frustratingly, he had no leads whatsoever. So, for now, he just stretched his network of birds across the city and he waited.
edited 5th Aug '16 2:01:04 AM by FerrousMaelstom
Sewage Plant
"Well then I guess I gotta..." The Bear crouched over Hollowpoint and placed her hands on the side of his head. "You think that the masks help us be more violent, too? Like, we don't think of each other as human beings, which makes this..." Her hands shook. "Makes this a lot easier. I mean, he's done. We don't need him anymore. We've got his employer. He was..."
Lenora sat down. "Aw fuck, I can't do it. Ugh. Dammit!" She stood up and threw her quarters away like bullets, shattering the concrete. "Goddammit! It's—it's gotta be so easy! But he's also just a, a tool of these bigger guys! Fuck! He's a fucking victim like us! Aaaargh!" The quarters tore out of the ground and smashed into the ground again and again. "Fuck all this! Fuck him for not being hateable! Goddammit!"
A former adventurer...
Kerensky's Korner Koffee
Xy squinted down at her cup, still frowning, and annoyed at how only one small remaining sip was left at the bottom. She glanced back up to see not another limousine, but a sleek sports car — 'a Forzari Model V?' she thought to herself — arrive in front of the Music Hall. An attractive woman stepped out, handing her keys to a valet as she glanced and waved those present, smiling at adoring fans as her blonde bob waved in concert with her head.
'Well, at least she can dress well, too,' she thought again, taking the last sip of her coffee while admiring the lady's fashion sense. It bugged her a little that she couldn't remember who she was, but she did remember she was the current Mayor's political rival in the coming election. She realized he was probably present, too, which brought her back to her irritation about the music situation. Groaning, she stood up and wandered back over to Kerensky himself, hoping to snag another one of those Sergei-approved black coffees with what few dollars she had left in her pocket.
edited 5th Aug '16 9:04:56 AM by Reservoir
Sewage Plant
He thought this was a date? Mindseye almost panicked, but calmed down at the mention of an entire portfolio on Superior Industries' illegal activities.
After the Bear couldn't bring herself to kill Hollowpoint, Mindseye walked over to her and laid a hand on the Bear's shoulder before withdrawing it; awkward physical contact had certainly never made her feel better.
"Do you want to throw him into the sewage system and let the ocean deal with him?"
edited 5th Aug '16 11:06:41 AM by emilyorthoclase
Sewage plant
Out of all the victims of that shockwave, Joie was hit the hardest. She was accepting of the fact that maybe she got the Americana wrong when her opponent can wiggled his arm out like that but then she screamed "What the fuck?" when he started to pull out his grenade and threw it out. What the fuck is he trying to with it when she still on top of her? To deal with her? But even then he would take himself out with it as well.
Regardless, Joie gave up on making Hollowpoint submit and focused on not getting her face blasted off by covering her face with her forearm and trying to get as far away from the grenade as possible. She got blasted away and landed on her back, her ears were ringing, she felt disoriented, yet she put her feet to keep Hollowpoint away should he want to counterattack by ground and pound.
It took a long while before Joie realized that the fights are already over and the duo was talking to a...rat thing? Whatever, the job's done, she should get going. But before she do...
"So the job's done," She mentioned to the Bear. "Now you have to hold your end of your bargain, Bear. Thanks for the contact, by the way. Meet me at the charity event, find the best looking dress for me to enjoy looking at. See ya there."
And with that, she's out of the plant, not willing to be around anymore then she should.
http://www.last.fm/user/sgtpendulum Yo, check out what I'm listening, it'll be heat, brah :^)
Inheritor of the Wing
Easton City Music Hall- Backstage
"It's... no problem."
Though she was annoyed by Sally's stumbling about, Tabitha decided something so minor wasn't worth getting in a huff about. It was an honest mistake, anyways, not something with underlying ill intent... though she couldn't help but be a little snobbish about it, and the mere thought of snarking off made her smirk.
"Besides, in heels that drab I'd have trouble walking too." The young confectioner stifled a giggle at herself upon saying this, in spite of its forced delivery killing any hostility or humor the statement might've had otherwise.
🏳️⚧️she/her | Vio Rhyse Alberia
Sewage Plant
"Sounds good." The Bear said to Mindseye. "No way the cops could successfully hold him, to be honest, so letting the guy live—and know we let him live—might be a good idea." The Bear shot double finger-guns at Joie de Vivre as she left too. "I'll def see you there. I'll try to have a different mask by then."
Charity Concert
The Bear would be impossible to miss. She'd elected to keep her face hidden with a significantly smaller bear mask over only the top of her head, more a classy masquerade thing than a fursuit head. She also chose a nice little purple blouse and a frilly black skirt; nothing fancy, but brightly colored enough to grab attention and at least look expensive. She had actually chosen not to make a super grand entrance, instead electing to just walk into the crowd from a couple blocks away. Once she was fully immersed in the crowd she held her phone up high, took a selfie, and tweeted out, at the charity concert tonite. w8ing for my d8, @joiedevision. Find us!
The Fantabulous
Easton City Music Hall, Backstage - Rip Her To Shreds
Any further apologies or general remorse were quickly fading as Reverb realized exactly who she had run into and her snooty little quip. The musicians eyes narrowed for a moment and she subtly cocked her head to the side, suddenly imagining all the ways she could make sure she'd never walk again. But, she reminded herself, it was just a kid - barely a teen. A very rich, very entitled teen with questionable fashion sense but a teen nonetheless. Sally couldn't hurt her, especially not with so many witnesses. Her posture relaxed but a trademark disarming smile lit up her face, "Your handlers must be so proud - walking and talking all by yourself, just like a big girl!"
Saliha was remembering exactly why she hated these sort of events and why she often decided to attend in a mask with firepower, if she attended at all. But, she could see her parents were smiling from their seats - it was worth the nauseating elite. The pianist gave a bow somewhere between polite and mocking, but did remove her heels - it did little to reduce her height and almost added to her natural grace. Sally held the shoes over a shoulder with one finger and began to walk towards the piano. The orchestra was on first with two songs and a sort of intermission between with Ms. Bowles herself engaging in a solo piece. Tabitha would be at the correct angle to notice the large, recently stitched slash across her left leg.
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
Sewage Plant
Mindseye pulled Hollowpoint into a sitting position and realized quickly that this had been a very bad decision- the armored man's upper half was far out of her weight class.
"A little help?"
I have a plan.
Sewage Plant
The Sewer King quickly assisted Mindseye as she tried to carry Hollowpoint. Putting the mercenary's arm around his shoulder, the Sewer King's inherent strength made carrying the man merely an exercise instead of possible. The Sewer King helped drag Hollowpoint over to an open drainage system that had been left unattended now that the facility was long abandoned.
"Maybe a little dip in the tunnels will teach him a thing or two about respect. He should be grateful he even lives in a city with a working sewer system."
edited 5th Aug '16 5:30:23 PM by TailsDoll
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
Sewage Plant
"Inside his mind," Mindseye said in between huffs of exertion, "I saw someone from Superior Industries hire him to kill you specifically."
Shoving Hollowpoint down the drain, Mindseye exhaled loudly.
"You- you might have to relocate. They know where to find you, they want you dead. Even if you are rather strong for someone so small, you can't take down every mercenary they send, not on your own. Exposing Superior's environmental violations could take months."
edited 5th Aug '16 9:56:48 PM by emilyorthoclase
I have a plan.
Sewage Plant
The Sewer King paused, aghast by what Mindseye had told him. "Superior Industries knows about me? I guess I haven't been staying low-profile enough," he sighed.
He placed his hand on his furry chin. "Honestly, it doesn't matter if they send more guys after me or not. Superior Industries already flooded my home with a bunch of that toxic crap. But all of my pets still live down there, the ones that are still alive, at least. I'm going to have to find a way to move everyone out of the sewers and find a new home for them..."
He groaned. All the time spent evading taxes and robbing people had given the Sewer King an impressive amount of cash over the years. The cost of moving his piranha tank from the sewers and up onto the surface world alone would put him back several years. And then he had to worry about finding a new place to hide, and none of the options he could think of satisfied him.
"I think I might have to leave town for awhile, too..."
Mom and Pops will be so disappointed in me, he thought.
The Sewer King made a weak smile. "Don't worry about me. Wouldn't want you to get dragged into this mess. I mean, uhh, I can take care of myself."
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
Sewage Plant
"Superior Industries hired my agency to make the Bear stop robbing them because of potential bad publicity, and I teamed up with her to discover that Superior has been doing this. I'm already dragged into it.
"And for what it's worth, I don't think your parents would be ashamed of you. You're one person fighting against an immensely powerful corporation- not to mention that you have all of your cousins to think of."
She paused and snapped her fingers. "You might not have to move! If Superior thought Hollowpoint succeeded in his mission..." Mindseye trailed off, her smile larger and a bit more manic than she usually allowed it to be. "How do you feel about undercover missions?"
I have a plan.
Sewer Plant
The Sewer King clasped his hands together. Whoever this heroine was, she was a lot smarter than most of the costumed topsiders running about in Easton City. "I'm a master of disguise," he said boastfully. This was despite the fact his disguises almost never actually worked.
"Superior Industries, I never really had the guts to actually get anywhere near them. Everything I know about them is stuff they threw away in the trash or flushed down the toilet. I really ought to get some real dirt on them."
The Sewer King rested his hand on Mindeye's shoulder. He didn't think he was being intrusive.
"So, what's the plan?"
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
Sewage Plant
In her mind, Mindseye saw images of the masked man -who apparently never thought of himself as anything but 'Hollowpoint'- addressing some man she didn't recognize, but was obviously a middleman of some kind. "We got a job for you" the man said. "We need you to accompany two of our men as they dump some stuff. Never mind what. Your job is to kill a Rat-Like monster who might show up. Don't kill anyone else, we don't want to attract attention. You'll receive the usual pay afterwards, to your secret account." That was all she could discern from that one scene; if she probed further, she might find more about his personal life. However, he was recovering fast.
Charity Concert
Before the Mayor's arrival, Mike had reached over to Tabitha for an interview. "Miss Cobbler! So great to see you again! The Charity just isn't the same without you. Do you have anything to say to your fans? And how much will you donate this time?"
edited 4th Aug '16 7:55:29 PM by Sijo