The Good, The Bad and The Spandex

Outside the Museum

While trying to push thoughts out of his mind such as 'why the hell did somebody make a flying train anyway' Corvid sped through the hole it left and pursued the train. Now outside, he connected to more pigeons and positioned them overhead, giving him a bird's eye view on the situation.

As the Charge Beak afforded more speed than a locomotive, he managed to catch up to the train and dug his talons into the bottom, tearing through the metal shell. He climbed forwards, digging in new hand-holds each time until he got to the cab. Hoping to salvage some advantage, he dropped down and tried to tackle Freezerburn from above, pulling him away from the controls. He was fully aware of the many ways this could go wrong.

Irving Investigations office

Ilene's research hit a dead end in minutes, but she did discover Superior Industries had a history of shady environmental deals- bulldozing rainforests for grazing land for cattle, unsafe waste disposal, that sort of thing.

She also found out about the benefit at the children's hospital, but didn't pay it much mind.

Her other research- into the time stopping device- proved more fruitful. A few years ago, Ainsworth Tech had been developing a device like Joie de Vivre's, but very little information was available- apparently, it had ended badly.

Was Joie de Vivre a thief who had stolen the device? An employee of Ainsworth trying to use it for whatever reason?

She was having some trouble focusing- for some reason classical music kept playing in her head- but she received the Bear's message and replied quickly with her address before going outside in Mindseye form to wait for her and Joie de Vivre. The stolen- ahem, borrowed phone was safely in her pocket.

A three-way teamup. Okay. She could do this.

Candy Cobbler Co. HQ

"But... nevermind, you're right. I'm just being a worrywart is all. Glad to know people will be donating from their own homes, by the way! That'll grab attention more than a few magazine covers usually do, heheh."

A brief moment of silence ensues of contemplation for any other important subjects.

"We'll be sure to offer a sizable donation for the benefit as usual, so no worries there. And if there's any preperations you advise we do, I'd like to know them~"

Alleyway

Superior Industries? Joie thought, that one company that my parents had been talking about? Are they the manufacturing company interested in the Ainsworth Tech's stuff and the famous annual charities at a children's hospital? God, I hope that this one wrestler shows up again, he's a cool dude if a bit of a shitty actual wrestler.Which one is it anyway? But anyways, that's not really the point on why Joie was mad at the Bear.

"Huh, investigative work?" Joie whined. "It's so boring! Unless you need someone with maths and engineering skills, or punching and time stopping, count me out of this one, I can't understand businesses or economics. In fact, why not just call up the police or a private eye? Nuh uh! Bad start to a first date! Pick again! Preferably something with 1 on 1 fighting in it!"

Sander's Office

"I just need to know if you'll be attending, and if so, at what time you will arrive and when will you leave. The event itself will last the whole afternoon, so feel free to fit in your schedule as you please. The rest will be handled by the Foundation" the lawyer replied to Tabitha.

Irving Investigations

Ilene would get the following message in her phone, from a number she would recognize as belonging to 'Old Joe', a snitch who occasionally worked for her:

"Hey, Miss Irving" it began, "This might be nothin', but you tol' me to keep an eye out for weird things, so here goes anyway. Remember the ol' sewage treatment plant just outside town, the one they closed years ago? Well someone I know saw some unmarked trucks going in and outta there at night, recently. No clue what they were they doin', but it's suspicious, don'tcha think?

Remember to tip me if you earn something outta this."

"Oh you'll be kicking ass alright." The Bear replied. Nevertheless, she was getting a little nervous about Joie de Vivre and regathered the money around herself. "Pretty sure any looking we do's gonna put us in the line of fire of some nasty shit. And math would be useful too, it is... basically 100% true that these fucks are skimming and embezzling every cent that goes in or out. I don't even need to dig to know that, but we will need proof. How's that sound now?"

The Train

Freezerburn pushed the train on ahead, gradually speeding up to test its limits. He wasn't sure where he was going, and he didn't really care. All he cared about was seeing what the silly awesome train was capable of.

Which made it particularly annoying when he heard someone behind him. Turning, he saw a bird-themed character - "Crow?" he wondered, the name escaping him at first - moving in to attack. Freezer spotted him just barely soon enough to side-step. Through the mix of the evasion and Corvid's follow-through, a combination of knobs and switches were hit to change the music the train was playing to something far less suitable.

"Crow...Crony...Corvette...?" Freezerburn said, trying to work out a name that was on the tip of hit tongue. "CORVID!" He said with a snap of his fingers, clearly happy that he'd worked it out.

"I knew I should have frozen the doors shut." Freezer said as he prepared himself for the man's next move, heating up the temperature of the train car as he did. It wasn't a move that he could pull off very often, but in an enclosed space such as this, it was the kind of advantage that might give him a long-term edge.

Having to work quickly against his opponent's powers, possible plans ran through Corvid's head. He quickly brought down his wings to form a more solid barricade and pivoted, trying to push Freezerburn and rotate their positions enough for him to reach the controls. Once he could reach them, he just grabbed a random lever and pulled; he had no idea what it would do but chaos was better than nothing.

Freezerburn looked around as the lever pull failed to produce any obvious results, all he heard was a light click, a ding, and a mechanical noise of some kind from underneath the train, for what he could only imagine.

"Fine, be that way." Freezer said at Corvid's failure to say anything. The room continued to heat up, raising to about as high a temperature as Freezer felt safe going before he would worry about risking causing heat damage of some kind to something important. Even so, the room was getting immensely hot, odds are the hero would be feeling its effects soon, if he wasn't already.

Throwing his arms out forward, Freezerburn let out a high-pressure stream of water aimed at the dead center of Corvid's mass.

Alleyway

"OH BOY! EMBEZZLEMENT?" She shouted while throwing her hands in the air as if she really cared. "I wonder who we're gonna fight? Super Lawyer? Aw man, that would be epic and cool!"

You know that thing where, in the anime, when the rich girl laugh she always held her hand up to her mouth so that she won't show it as a sort of a tradition? Well, Joie did basically that mockingly with a haughty laugh to rub her joke right in the Bear's face. Then, she suddenly stopped her act, gave a genuine chuckle and started to walk slowly towards the Bear.

"Silly silly silly silly! You think I got a superpowered suit for justice? You guys barely even seen as legal in the government's eyes! I know what you're thinking, that beating up bad people feed on my bloodthirst! No! If I want to pick fights with the plebeians, I would just go on with my daily life and do bits of sparring sessions in mixed martial arts! Don't get me wrong, it's fun but nowadays I want an entirely new, exotic kind of fun and you guys have that special variable that'll satisfy that kind of fun. Secretly, I was hoping for something like, say, a supervillain rival that you have trouble getting rid off..."

She stopped briefly, look at herself and gave herself a chuckle. "You get what I mean, right?"

edited 17th Jul '16 7:21:37 PM by sgtpendulum

Candy Cobbler Co. HQ

"THIS afternoon!? Crikes, uh... I'll try to be there for as much of the event as possible, don't worry. I'll try to arrive around three, but might run a little late."

As Tabitha says this she fumbles the phone and tries to reach for her backpack, to the amusement of a few investors around her. One near the back sighs instead, and tries to correct Tabitha that the benefit is later this week instead. Though the effort is moot, as Tabitha is too focused on muttering to herself about having to get herself all gussied up on short notice.

edited 17th Jul '16 7:46:14 PM by NesClassic

"You literally just Ojou laughed and then hit on me while also threatening my life." The Bear's mask betrayed no emotion and her voice was similarly flat and scratchy as always, but she was sort of trying to suppress a grin. She'd been sort of flipping back and forth on this girl; she was clearly some edgelord doofus, but she was also really cute, and she was basically every Utena-Dark Souls-Momodora-Shantae fantasy rolled into one. She had to power through any withdrawal back to reality about this shit, that supposedly this was dangerous or unsustainable or anything else mom would have said.

"I changed my mind." The Bear said. "I gotta get to this address. We can multitask this; you're welcome to try to stop me from reaching my destination. And, uh..." Fuck it, bluntness would be nice too. "Do the Ojou laugh again." A flock of pennies arranged themselves around The Bear's fist and clinked as menacingly as they could. Maybe she was just really turned on now or something but The Bear could feel her mood swinging back to excitement. She could see this working. The Bear flung her hand forward and sent a storm of pennies ricocheting down the alley towards her.

Alleyway

Wait, when did I hit on her? Joie thought, trying to keep her flusteredness in check while she's trying to remember what she said just now that could be interpreted as a flirt but all that goes out the window when the Bear asked her to do that particular laugh again. Wait, does she like me?

"O-o-oh! Ojou? That's what the weebs calling it nowadays?" She said, even though she's a weeb herself, trying to keep her toughness intact as she tipped her blindfold down when in reality she's trying to hide her blush with said blindfold. "That's a nice title, maybe I should have my army of maids addressing me as Ojou. Hell, I should have the entire world address me as Ojou Joie De Vivre...Ojoie De Vivre! Ohohoho-"

She went ahead with that request, though this time her lines were hammier and and her poses sassier. And then she saw the coins richocheting around the alleyway. "-hohoHO SHII THE SUMMER ENDS!"

She barely did it just in time, the pennies stopped just inches away from her face. The funny feeling in her arms made her look and, indeed, the Bear managed to touch her, albeit barely enough to penetrate her forearms skin deep. She smiled like no other.

She quickly removed the coins in her forearm, the coins around her and then along the way to the Bear as she sprinted hard at her. "Nice to see that you've fulfilled my own wish as I did the same to yours! Let's have a wonderful evening! THE SUMMER BEGINS!"

As soon as time resumed, she dropped all the coins she collected into the dumpster at the right. Meanwhile, she threw a quick left jab near her face. This, unlike the elbow she threw earlier, that wasn't meant to hurt. Instead, once that jab was near her ear, she snapped her fingers, hopefully to shock her at the sudden loud sound.

Sky Train

Whatever he just did, it may have been a bad idea. Well, he never claimed to be a train hero. It was heating up rapidly and his suit wasn't ventilated great so he couldn't last for long but he could still go a little while. The water managed a glancing blow but Corvid flipped vertically, jumping over Freezerburn's head and grabbing onto the roof of the cab. He grabbed onto the edge of the roof and dragged his claws through it, hoping he could loosen some of the metal.

Sebastian Park, five miles from the Museum

Xy didn't have a reason for being in the park at this time, much as she never did any other time. Despite the logical, observable routines and sub-routines that maintained the operations and functions of her cyborg body, she had no idea why she was doing anything here at all. Every day, she'd find herself wandering into the park, finding a seat at an empty bench, draping her sleeveless, army-green jacket beside her, and just sitting there, legs crossed, gazing through the random trees without any real surface thoughts. For just a short moment, she thought she felt annoyance at the thought of doing anything habitually.

Unknown to her for the moment, however, was that she'd heard the initial explosion at the Museum, not but a few miles away; even though it'd be later in the day before she'd realize her error in observation, she definitely heard the second, especially since the explosion was bursting out from the building this time. She stood up, sighing; she'd been enjoying the quiet afternoon, and although she'd tempted the idea of continuing her solitude, eventually curiosity and concern got the better of her.

Thankfully for Xy, then, that the buildings between the park and the Museum were low enough for her to spot the Conductor's Train flying out of the new hole in the wall. Her eyes narrowed, and she spent only a moment assessing the the objective presented; without wasting more time she plotted what direction the Train was going and bolted, pushing herself to try and get ahead the vehicle. Her eyes darted across the buildings ahead of the Train's path as she looked for any that would be tall enough...

That's how she'd ended up in the Kessler Law Firm building, bounding up the stairs beside the elevators as fast as she could, skipping most of the steps and using the walls to rebound and redirect her momentum. The building itself was only a few stories high, but Xy's enhanced reflexes and strength pushed her upwards like it was only a couple high. The sounds of the Train were becoming deafening as she bolted towards the emergency rooftop exit, flinging the door of the hinges entirely as she shoulder-rammed her way through it.

She glanced to her left, never slowing down for a moment as the Train roared past the neighboring building and began crossing in front of the Kessler building. Deciding 'now or never', she pushed off with her feet against the rooftop, using as much strength as she could put herself airborne; thankfully, despite buckling that section of the rooftop, it held enough for her to reach the flying monstrosity.

Having no other choice, Xy had chosen to leap over the Train, and at the first opportunity she reached out with both hands to grab whatever she could attached to it. Thought she succeeded in that attempt, she was yanked from her perpendicular momentum by the Train's superior momentum, and was slammed face- and front-first into the machine. She groaned quietly, pain registering in her now-sore, and likely bruised, arms,chest, and face.

Despite the pain, Xy knew the train HAD to come down, and so she began pulling herself towards the fore, hoping once there to find a way inside.

edited 19th Jul '16 9:49:03 AM by Reservoir

Easton Arts Centre

Saliha Zaman, more widely known in the metropolis of Easton under the alias of 'Sally Bowles', was having a rather busy day thus far albeit not for the reasons one may expect for a mercenary. Some weeks ago the pianist for the Easton Symphony Orchestra had broken his arm and she had been hired to cover for him while he healed. To be offered the position was quite an honor however they were expected to play at the Annual Easton City Children's Hospital Benefit, meaning she had to be at the top of her game. As a result she had been taking a but of time off her usual mercenary jobs to learn the required repertoire and get a little more cohesive with the other players. In some ways it was relaxing, a sort of holiday from her usual villainy and she had even gotten a chance to let her parents see her play - they would be at the benefit in the afternoon. True, the benefit was largely a pathetic facade for the myriad of fat cats and corporate criminals trying to save face but it was't an opportunity Saliha often had.

If she hadn't been playing their today she might have even considered staging a little even of her own, preferably involving violence. Regardless, she and the orchestra were following the conductor - or rather a conductor as opposed to The Conductor, with whom she also worked - through an arrangement of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for the night. It was one of Saliha's favorites by perhaps her favorite composer. A few hours before the performance was schedules they broke off from the rehearsal so as to allow time for lunch and a little relaxation. Sally was bidding her fellows farewell and on her way out when the first violinist mentioned something most interesting, "Well, I hope you don't get caught up with that neo-nazi mess before the show..." The mercenary slowed and turned, a quizzical expression, "Wait, neo-nazis? What are you talking about?" She laughed, a terrible feeling that a 'friend' of hers was involved.

"Oh, at the museum some crazy neo-nazis were making a fuss, trying to steal some sort of... flying train. My girlfriend sent me a text about it, I wasn't sure if he was joking or not!"

Sally laughed and pretended that her interest was not piqued as she exited, "Well, I'll be careful stop at all sky-train crossings. " She waved off the players and shook her head as she climbed into her car, a lime green Ford Falcon Station Wagon with not little rust and grime. She drove off, trying to convince herself it wasn't worth missing lunch to save The Conductor's wrinkly ass. But, despite or perhaps because of his amusingly delusional state, she was rather fond of the old ham and found an alley way to change into her mercenary gear. It didn't take long for Reverb to find the museum and spot The Conductor causing a scene with some new hero.

The Museum

Reverb was glad the police and general public were already scattered, along with the museum walls, by the war-train as she sped past them and straight into the museum floor. She turned up the stereo, blasting a Queens of the Stone Age song as she aimed her car straight at the would be hero. Either he would move or he could take the hit, so far as she was concerned though she did decide to take the Canadian approach, "Sorry!" She yelled through the open window, voice distorted by her powers and face covered by her distinctive mask.

edited 18th Jul '16 6:26:08 PM by Lt.BGob

Simon was about to check if his blow had knocked out The Conductor when he heard music blaring AGAIN. Was the old man awake and making some kind of music-based attack now??

But then he saw the car, barring its way towards him through the by-now-ruined museum entrance. He barely had time to see it was being driven by some costumed woman. What now, another villain?

He didn't really have anywhere to dodge in the narrow museum hall, but thankfully he was still in his rubber-form. So he allowed himself to be struck.

WHAM!!

Of course, this sent him bouncing all the way to the end of the hall. [1]

But at least the only thing hurt was his pride.

-Meanwhile, in another part of the Museum-

The last standing member of the Fourth Reich squad ran around desperately trying to find an exit where no heroes, villains or police were waiting for him.

Along the way, he passed by an exhibit of a wooden statue of a woman with markings on her body -most notably, a moon- but paid it no attention.

edited 18th Jul '16 6:54:44 PM by Sijo

Reverb was at first a little concerned when she saw the would-be hero slam into the hood of her car but this was soon overtaken by astonishment as he went bouncing across the floor. The car screeched to a halt beside The Conductor and she quickly removed her seat belt and keys, leaving the radio on to cover up some of the other villain's cacophony albeit unsuccessfully. "Well, these heroes' powers are getting sillier by the day..." She laughed, stepping out of her vehicle and quickly checking the hood wasn't damaged. Sally looked at The Conductor with a mixture of pity and concern, apparent despite her featureless mask by her posture as she crossed her arms, "Amadeus, I take a few weeks off and without even calling me you start blowing up museums...." She shook her head.

The mercenary chuckled a touch, "You never do disappoint but you should really hop in the back of the car." She looked towards Simon, "I'll make sure the traffic is clear before we leave." With that Reverb began sauntering her way towards the hero, unsure if her was unconscious yet, "You alright there?"

"First you hit me with a car, then you worry about my condition?" Simon said, as he picked himself off the floor. "You're lucky I'm tougher than I look". And that I was already transformed, because cars aren't covered by my powers he secretly thought."Who are you, and why did you do that??" he demanded.

The Bear stumbled into the street with a "JESUS CHRIST!" followed by a powerful cackle. "Wow, okay, the voice telegraphs definitely help me there." She threw out a hand at Joie de Vivre with both legs spread wide. Dollar bills began floating out of passing civilians' wallets. "Speaking of which..." The dollars formed a single long whip and lashed out at Joie de Vivre's legs in an attempt to trip her. "THE FALL BEGINS!"

Sally had to admit the hero had a point and smiled beneath her mask, "Well, I'm afraid that's an occupational hazard but it doesn't mean I have to be rude about it, hmm?" She shrugged, looking over the man apparently composed of rubber, "Besides, you're a big boy - I knew you'd bounce back." She used her powers to make the rim shot sound effect at the last pun, perhaps a little ashamed of how corny it was. She was impressed he survive unscathed.

The mercenary then answered his most pressing questions, "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! You can call me Reverb, sweetheart and that old fart-" She gestured towards The Conductor, "-is a friend of mine. I thought heroes had better manners than to assault your elders?" Reverb chuckled as her right arm began to vibrate rapidly, "Speaking of which, I'd really prefer you didn't follow us so..." With that she released a powerful, broad sound wave towards Simon with the intention of knocking him down and/or disorientating him.

Simon could not help roll his eyes at Reverb's remarks. As if the temperature-guy had not been enough, here was another sarcastic villain he had to deal with. Oh well.

"Most senior citizens don't join Nazi cults... or go around blowing things up" he responded, then proceeded to walk towards her, with an air of confidence that he didn't really have. He didn't know what to expect from her yet, but appearing intimated wasn't going to help.

Then he was hit by the sound blast. While it didn't hurt his rubber body, it did knock him back *again* and it made him groan in pain as he desperately tried to cover his ears. Dizzied by the din, he actually lost his balance and fell to to the floor.

edited 18th Jul '16 8:28:32 PM by Sijo

"Well, it's a good thing he isn't a Nazi then..." Sally chuckled, walking up to the hero as he was suffering on the floor but calling back to The Conductor, "Don't tell me you've been playing with Neo-Nazis again, Conductor?" She goaded, playfully before turning back to the man. He didn't seem like an asshole, as many superheroes were, but it was still best to put him out of commission for a bit. Reverb was a little impressed he wasn't more hurt, "Nothing personal, buddy." Her arms shook again and she released another burst at Simon, closer now.

Perhaps the neo-nazi should have been paying attention. If anything to save him from the vengeful rage of an old pre-colonial god, channelled through he body of an experienced warrior. He'd had noticed the moon-faced warrior's statue's eyes light up. He'd seen wood turn into flesh, cloth and other materials. He'd seen her coming. A hand grasped harshly upon the mooks shoulder, as he could hear the calm fury of a primal language being uttered. Although the neonazi may have not understood the language, the meaning marched into his minds eye; "Stop" simply, calmly yet with understated menace and a commanding edge.

Museum entrance

Unfortunately for the villainess, the hero didn't hear anything she said.

He wasn't unconscious; in fact it took him only a a few seconds to recover.

The first thing he noticed was the silence.

Huh? is it over?

But then he opened his eyes, and saw her speaking to him.

But couldn't hear a single word she said.

Aww hell, don't tell me I've gone deaf! (You bitch, if you hurt my ears-) he tried to say-

but no sound came out of his mouth.

-?!-

It was then he looked at his hands. They were back to his normal color; he was no longer jet-black, or rubbery.

Oh, I adapted again he realized. Soundproof, probably. Which also meant he was deaf-mute for the duration, but beggars can't be choosers.

He could see her gesturing at him, but felt nothing. This was his chance.

As quickly as he could, he did a leg sweep, trying to knock Reverb off her feet.

Elsewhere

"VAS!!!??" The Nazi screamed. He had no idea what was going in but he wasn't going to go down without a fight. He struggled against his attacker and fired his uzi, though he couldn't aim it at her in this position.

edited 18th Jul '16 9:00:52 PM by Sijo