WORM (IC - Superhero - Open)

[Rhodevus]

Zaira Dubfeld
Luxe
Legislative Assembly of Ontario,
Downtown, Toronto

“Yes.” Luxe nodded. “Bulwark, Arrows and Impel should be here pretty soon. I was in the area so I got here bit sooner.”
Luxe looked around the area. Police cars with their red and blue lights flickering. It was eerily quiet, when the sounds of people shuffling around and cars screeching were disregarded. “Definitely an experienced shot. Wait, did you say exploding shot?”
The PRT corporal nodded.

“Is that anyone’s M.O.? Might help to cross some names off the list of suspects.” Luxe held up her hands. “Not that I’m trynna do your job. Too many parahuman CSI shows. Mind if I…” she raised her hand. It was a first for her, asking if she could use her power on someone.

She reached for the corporal and let her power hum through her palm and fingertips into the man’s body. Vigilance. “Tell me if you spot anything out of the ordinary. I’ll be whamming a few others” Luxe continued around the area, touching the arms or shoulders of officers; PRT and otherwise.

Damn, I wish I could whammy myself. She thought as she scanned the tops of buildings. The attacker wasn’t going to be there. Of course not. Luxe clenched her teeth and squeezed her fists. Obviously the shooter was going to be long gone. And Luxe, being the first one on the scene might just get the blame once the- speak of the devil. The press are pulling in.

Luxe continued walking, forcing herself to release her fists, lest the press and cameramen took pictures of her walking angrily through the park next to a dead politician. Making sure to not look at any cameras she passed by, Luxe continued scanning the buildings before circling around back towards the body.

“Bulwark, Arrows…” She began, dropping her cheerful expression when she saw them turn to her; grim-faced. “Ah. Yes. Umm, I’m sorry for being out alone?” She tried. Their expressions did not change. She half coughed into her arm sleeve. “Can you pinpoint the direction the shot came from?”

[The Grene Knyght]

Department N Headquarters Vehicle Bay,
Downtown, Toronto
Canada

Narwhal game a simple nod of acknowledgement to the salutes; they were hardly standard Protectorate procedure, but as a sign of discipline and an acknowledgement of one's superiority they were nonetheless a good thing, especially from the newbie.

"Invictus, Setana. Follow me, I'll brief you once we're en route." Silently, Narwhal led the pair into the vehicle bay, the sound of idling engines audible in the otherwise silent bay. Their source was soon revealed; an idling PRT van. Narwhal opened the rear doors and motioned for Invictus and Setana to take one of the few empty seats in the back, the rest being filled with PRT troopers.

After they took their seats, Narwhal taking one right at the back, the van sped off.

"Current situation is that Agony is holding an unknown number of civilians hostage at the scene." Narwhal spoke of the roar of the engine. "We've got troopers and police already on scene forming a cordon around the bank, along with Snowflake, who'll be stalling until we arrive. Our priority is to rescue the civilians first, apprehending Agony second. He's a Blaster 6, so standard anti-Blaster tactics are in effect. Any questions?"

"No questions here."
Setanta didn't need to have had an in-depth examination of case files to recall Agony's powers off hand. A pain-inducing blaster, pretty straight forward. The same with standard blaster protocol. It was basically what you'd expect if someone had a gun: report on their location, utilise suppressing fire, keep them distracted.

Setanta had never trained his AI against a blaster before. He was looking forward to the opportunity.

[The V O I D]

National Bank of Canada
Etobicoke, Toronto
Canada

---

Micah Wellington || Agony

---

Micah was surprised by the lack of response one way or the other from outside. But then there was a scream, as well as smoke starting to cloud his vision. He felt his charged beams were slightly weaker than before, and the cloudy vision made it difficult to fire his beams. Still, he decided to fire his beams anyways - into the smoke as far as they'd go. He heard a few civilians temporarily scream in large amounts of pain before the fact his vision was cloudy made his power wear off.


And then a woman was lunging towards him. Micah charged a blast, ducking under the swing and firing his blast into her side. “Who the fuck are you?!”


This was not according to plan. Things were not supposed to turn out like this. Micah ground his teeth in frustration as he used the distraction of his blast to move away. Hopefully, the smoke would clear, soon - but he heard footsteps that brought his attention back to the hostages. Some were leaving under the cover of the smoke.


“GET THE FUCK BACK ON THE GROUND!” Micah's voice roared, as he blasted one of the people trying to leave several times in rapid succession. The man's extremely loud screams of pain abruptly cut off in the middle of one of the blasts, and Micah came to a realization - the same one the hostages would undoubtedly come to in a moment.


One of his hostages was dead.

---

Wards Common Area
Department N HQ
Canada

---

Cameron Jones || Indomitable

---

Cameron found himself, in costume, in the Wards Common Area. He was wondering where everyone had gone; he'd tried to get here as fast as he could, but wasn't sure if that really meant anything if it turned out there was a big thing going on.


“Hello? Anyone else home?” Cameron looked around. “Damn it. I'm always late. Oh, well - maybe I should check in on whoever's doing console duty.”


Cameron was about to leave the Wards Common Area to head to the Console Room, deciding it'd be best to try seeing if he'd missed anything there.

[Forest State]

Amanda Dimitrijevic
White Eagle

Amanda went through the process of returning to the Department N HQ and checking in, heading to the Wards section soon afterwards and letting her guard down finally. Well, it was never completely down, and that came from growing up in a tense place and then becoming a cape more recently. One thing that helped her in the field was never having her guard down and always being aware, but being aware was something that she couldn’t just turn off when it was down time. She kept her mask on, like she usually did even when she was only around her fellow capes.

She wondered if anyone else was around the common area, and noticed Cameron, following him towards the Console Room. “Hey,” she said awkwardly. Small talk wasn’t her specialty. “Just got back from patrol, and I managed to not get into a brawl with the people I’m supposed to be protecting,” she added quickly. “Anything interesting happen around here while I was out?”

[The V O I D]

Amanda Dimitrijevic
White Eagle

Amanda went through the process of returning to the Department N HQ and checking in, heading to the Wards section soon afterwards and letting her guard down finally. Well, it was never completely down, and that came from growing up in a tense place and then becoming a cape more recently. One thing that helped her in the field was never having her guard down and always being aware, but being aware was something that she couldn’t just turn off when it was down time. She kept her mask on, like she usually did even when she was only around her fellow capes.

She wondered if anyone else was around the common area, and noticed Cameron, following him towards the Console Room. “Hey,” she said awkwardly. Small talk wasn’t her specialty. “Just got back from patrol, and I managed to not get into a brawl with the people I’m supposed to be protecting,” she added quickly. “Anything interesting happen around here while I was out?”

Wards Common Area
Department N HQ
Canada

---

Cameron Jones || Indomitable

---

Cameron heard Amanda's voice, and turned to smile brightly at her. And then realized he was wearing a mask. Eh, time to put some of his personality to good use.


“Hey, Amanda!” Cameron felt as happy as he sounded. He waved an arm around the Wards Common Area. “No idea what's happened, but it seems kinda empty here. I was going to head to the Console Room to see what's up. Care to join me?”


Cameron looped an arm around Amanda's shoulders, immediately waving it off. “Nah, wait, let's just head in there together and see what's happening. Come on, Birdie, we've got to find ourselves something to do!”


And then Cameron let her go and moved, walking backwards in the direction of the Console Room, not paying attention at all.

[Faal Lot Himdah]

Ad Hoc
Back seat of Mustle's car
Toronto, ON, Canada
Doctor Moira Slaine
Mirage

---

"I'm no animal thank you very much." Mirage said and took her feet off the console, "I don't live in a trunk. That's just plain stupid. Like, if I did then I would surely have some back problems now would I? Unless this trunk was in a larger vehicle... then maybe it would make sense. As for scuffing the console, couldn't you just clean it? I don't know very much about cars... but pretty much everything can be cleaned with the right stuff and enough elbow geese. Elbow geese, that's the right term right? Or is it elbow grease. Grease and geese. Always get those mixed up. Also, my name is Mirage. I have no reason to lie about that. Unless I do have a reason? In that case, my name is Egarim."

---

Morior Invictus
Protectorate Department N Headquarters
Toronto, ON, Canada
Thaddeus Ryker
Invictus

---

Invictus nodded and followed Narwhal into the van. He listened as she explained the situation, and waited for her to finish.

"A blaster eh? They got the range, but take that away and he should be easier to deal with." Invictus spoke, "Good thing I only have my pistol and knives. Is he alone? Or is he working with one or more accomplices? And I assuming you have a plan that doesn't involve a frontal assault."

[Lunas Legion]

National Bank of Canada
Etobicoke, Toronto
Canada

"What in bloody hell is going on in there?" Snowflake scowled as she squinted at the bank. It had been quiet for barely a moment since the guard had collapsed, but then all hell broke lose. There was a scream, and smoke coming from... Somewhere. More screams followed. She couldn't see what was going on in there through the smoke.

Shouting. She saw faint figures in the smoke, someone shouting, more screams-

The screams cut out.

"Sergeant." She spoke calmly, not turning. "Was that you?"

The sergeant shook his head. "I'm not stupid, ma'am, I haven't ordered any assault. We're not equipped or trained for hostage extraction, we're not special forces."

Snowflake shook her head. "Well, we've got a third party in the mix and I think we have a dead hostage." She paused. "Console, Snowflake here. I believe Agony has killed at least one hostage, no way to tell if it's deliberate. Permission to engage?"

There was no response for a few moments.

"Console here." Saurian growled over the radio. "Narwhal authorises you to engage. Be careful."

Snowflake snorted. "When am I not?" She stretched her arms out. "Sergeant, if you get the chance, foam or shoot Agony even if I'm in the line of fire. I trust your people won't hurt me too badly."

Not waiting for a reply, she walked forwards slowly, towards the bank, the white wisps of her power beginning to circle around her, faster and faster, multiplying in number as she waited until she had a small personal tornado of the wisps around her. Within the tornado, she crossed her arms, and waited. She wasn't about to call out a challenge; not her style.

---

PRT Department N Van 21
Gardiner Expressway
Downtown, Toronto
Canada

"Agony's a blaster, he needs line of sight to use his powers, and from what Snowflake has said over console he's holed up in the lobby. We come in via a side door, make our way through the bank until we reach the lobby, take Agony in since he should still be focusing on the lines outside-"

Narwhal stopped talking, her face forming into a frown and then a scowl.

"Roger that Console. Snowflake has permission to engage." Narwhal turned back to Invictus and Setana. "Snowflake says Agony's killed a hostage and we have an unknown third party involved. She's engaging to try and distract him from killing any more of the hostages."

The situation could probably get worse, but she prayed in silence that it wouldn't.

---

Big Jim's
York, Toronto
Canada

"None here." Saint nodded. "Just don't steal contracts from us while you're in town."

Virago remained silent and nodded.

Lavr just shrugged.

"It's settled then." Faultline and Spitfire stood. "Contracts are to be arranged by phone first, since I'm sure you all have my number, and then meeting in person to discuss the precise details and payment. Good day." With that Faultiness and Spitfire left.

Lavr pulled a vibrating phone out of a pocket.

"Anything?" Virago asked, leaning forwards to rest her arms on the table.

"Just one of the fodder robbing a bank in Etobicoke." Lavr shook his head. "Nothing interesting."

---

Legislative Assembly of Ontario,
Downtown, Toronto
Canada

"Give me time, squirt." Arrows shook his head as he wandered in a circle around the body, occasionally glancing up at the city's skyline. His costume was a simple plain dark green jumpsuit and mask that covered all of his face but his mouth, with a series of red arrows cross-crossing on the mask. His power was creating battle plans, regardless of scale provided there were more people than himself involved. The more information he had on both sides, the better his battle plans were. "I'm trying to figure out what I'd do if I was the assassin, so these things take time."

Bulwark wore a full set of dark brown armour, vaguely reminiscent of hockey padding, with her face unconcealed but for a brown domino mask behind the cage of her helmet. She said nothing, and instead simply sat down, legs crossed, giving Luxe a brief look as she did so.

Impel just shrugged. His costume was purple body armour and a mask that was more like a motorbike helmet given its bulk and how much of his head it covered. "I'm gonna go take a look around. Call me on the radio if needed."

Bulwark simply nodded, and Impel burst off at speed.

[Auphelia]

National Bank of Canada
Etobicoke, Toronto
Canada

---

Micah Wellington || Agony

---

Micah was surprised by the lack of response one way or the other from outside. But then there was a scream, as well as smoke starting to cloud his vision. He felt his charged beams were slightly weaker than before, and the cloudy vision made it difficult to fire his beams. Still, he decided to fire his beams anyways - into the smoke as far as they'd go. He heard a few civilians temporarily scream in large amounts of pain before the fact his vision was cloudy made his power wear off.

And then a woman was lunging towards him. Micah charged a blast, ducking under the swing and firing his blast into her side. “Who the fuck are you?!”

This was not according to plan. Things were not supposed to turn out like this. Micah ground his teeth in frustration as he used the distraction of his blast to move away. Hopefully, the smoke would clear, soon - but he heard footsteps that brought his attention back to the hostages. Some were leaving under the cover of the smoke.

“GET THE FUCK BACK ON THE GROUND!” Micah's voice roared, as he blasted one of the people trying to leave several times in rapid succession. The man's extremely loud screams of pain abruptly cut off in the middle of one of the blasts, and Micah came to a realization - the same one the hostages would undoubtedly come to in a moment.

One of his hostages was dead.

White Rabbit rolled to the side as the beam hit her, though as it was weakened and she had on her costume it felt more like an aggressive tickle than pain. Either way, she didn't want to get hit too many times as she didn't know what kind of long term consequences there might be from getting hit. He asked who she was, but he didn't need to know. He just needed to know that she was the one that would bring him to justice.

Quickly teleporting several times until she was a few metres behind the villain, she saw as he fired several desperate shots into the smoke, managing to hit a few people in the process. Then she heard one of the louder screams immediately end. The villain had killed a man. That made this more than a simple robbery, this was a murder.

Jumping and teleporting again to be right behind him, she activated her taser gloves and grabbed the man's head, hopefully knocking him out. If that didn't work, she always had her knives.

Outside she could hear a commotion, probably the local capes rallying to enter. They could wait him out for robbing a bank, but intent to kill hostages warranted a more direct approach. If they did come in White Rabbit would have to be careful not to get caught in the fray. And maybe in her exit she could grab one of those bags of money. College hadn't been cheap, and neither was this costume.

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

Joseph Hariba
Etobicoke, Toronto

It's close enough. He forgot something, so he went back to the office, to took something. His phone, of all things. He checked on his phone, and realized that there is an ongoing bank hostage/robbery situation. A perfect opportunity, but it took time from here to there. He wasted no time in riding a motorcycle of his. Helmet on head, he rode ahead. It took time, and he almost wasted his gas in the motor, but it was worth it.

Of sort.

Since he actually brought in his...equipment, let's just say he stayed inside a parking lot where he parked his motor and the now-fully restored gas of the motor. He watched the scene, as it unfolded from far. He could intervene, but that's going to attracts lot of unwanted attentions. At least if someone bad moves towards him, he's going to do something.

[Segral]

Michael Westing
Muscle


Michael was now gritting his teeth in fury, his knuckles turning white from gripping the steering wheel so tight. This woman was so absolutely infuriating. Not only did she take a nap in his recently purchased car, but she took every opportunity to make the longest, most convoluted answer out of anything. He seriously wanted to ask her if she liked jazz, just to see what she would say. Probably something about her opinion on a style of music containing African and Latin influences, combining ragtime, swing, and brass instrumentals.

Oh, and she hated ACDC.

"Since when did I say you were an animal?" he coolly responded, keeping his eyes locked on the road. "Lots of people sleep in trunks. Hobos, for one. And yes, I could clean the console. But god knows where you've been, and this is a new console, so I'd rather keep it as pristine as possible for now. And, last but not least, what kind of name is Egarim? Sounds like some weird dragon creature."

As the radio turned to commercial breaks, he flipped the station, to please his very rude and intrusive guest. Sofi Tukker, RHCP, Soft Cell, Taylor Swift, Black Pistol Fire...ah. Arctic Monkeys, that would work for now. The pleasant sounds of Alex Turner's soulful voice echoed through the car as he continued driving. "Are you gonna complain about this station, too? No? Good." A long pause ensued. "My name is Michael by the way. Luckily, I'm not named Egarim."

[Nachfolgia]

Quiet kept her eye on the target as they both weaved through the crowd. The thug was obviously in a rush to get somewhere, but it didn't seem that he noticed the black clad girl following him. Her eyes, filled with anger and purpose, narrowed in focus, making sure to not lose the man. After walking two blocks, the man stopped to look at his surroundings before darting into an alley.

Quiet quickly walked to the alley that the thug disappeared into. Peaking around the corner, she spotted the thug standing with another guy. By further examination, Quiet noticed that the two were engaged in a drug deal. She watched them for a few moments as they exchanged goods. Ducking back around the corner, Quiet pulled her mask up over her face. She turned towards the wall and pulled out her pistol, discreetly screwing the silencer to the barrel.

Ready to confront them, Quiet stepped into the alley and walked towards the men. The two men didn't notice the girl walking towards them until she was a few yards away. By the time the turned to look at her, Quiet had already pulled the trigger, downing the unknown man before her knew it.

" What the fuck?!" The thug yelled, not fully knowing what just happened. Before he knew it, the man was staring down the barrel of Quiet's gun.

" Whoa whoa whoa!! I-I don't know who you are, but take the money...and the drugs if you want it. Just...just don't kill me, man." The thug begged and pleaded.

Quiet simply pulled out a cellphone and began typing with one hand, keeping the gun trained on the man. After a few moments, she showed the message she typed. It read; What do you know about the killing of Attorney Anthony Hopkins a couple of years ago?

" What? Why the fuck do you want to know about that?" The man said, looking confused. His answer was met with a quick pistol whip to the head.

" Fuck! Alright alright...yeah I remember. We kid napped his little girl and threatened to hurt her if he didn't drop the case on one of our boys. The asshole didn't drop it so we deafened her. We paid him a visit later and blew him away." The man explained.

Quiet typed another message on her phone, this one reading Who deafened the girl?

" Why the fuck are you asking all these...? Oh shit, man! You're her, aren't you? You're the little bitch we kidnapped! " The man exclaimed, unable to believe what he was seeing. Quiet's anger overflowed and she began to hit him again and again with her gun, knocking out some teeth.

" Ugh!! Fuck!! Please man...we...we didn't want to do it, man. It-it was Havoc! He was the one calling the shots for us that day! T-the Dogs of War, that's who we are! We ain't as big anymore, got fucked trying to take on the bigger gangs. Havoc was the one who did something to your ears. He's the one you want! N-now...please just let me go , man. I've got a kid, man. Have mercy." The man said before pleading for his life on his knees.

Quiet didn't respond or ask anymore questions. She just stood there in silence. Her anger reached a boiling point again, having looked at one of the men responsible for ruining her life. She had nothing but contempt for the grovelling man. He was absolutely pathetic, begging and pleading like a helpless child. He was weak and nothing more than a shell of his former self.

In that singlular moment of him pleading, Quiet pulled the trigger, silencing the thug. As blood poured out of the man's head, mixing with the other man's blood on the pavement, Quiet put the gun back in her pocket and walking away. Having closed this latest chapter of violence and murder, the girl went on to go find the next subject of her story, a story written in blood.

[Faal Lot Himdah]

Ad Hoc
Back seat of Mustle's car
Toronto, ON, Canada
Doctor Moira Slaine
Mirage

---

"You didn't say I was an animal." Mirage said, and smirked under her veil, "At least not with your words. You implied it. After all, only a small part of communication is verbal. Most of it is tonal, and non-verbal. As for God knowing where my feet have been, I doubt if he was actually real that he'd consider that important to keep track of. And if you are wondering where they have been, I can give you a full run down. But that would either bore you, or enrage you even more. Egarim as a dragon name.... Umm.... Maybe I'll use that in the future. As for this station, you are expecting a long winded answer are you not? Well sorry to disappoint Michael, but I doen't really have an opinion."

---

Morior Invictus
PRT Department N Van 21
Toronto, ON, Canada
Thaddeus Ryker
Invictus

---

"Well, that complicates things." Thaddeus said, "Though coming in the back would still work... the third party is going to make protecting the hostages along with catching Agony a pain in the ass."

---

Sic Vita Est
Some Fancy Restraunt
Toronto, ON, Canada
Taji Chayse
Kagenotsuki

---

There she sat, at a table, enjoying a rare fancy meal, in celebration of a job well done. At this moment she was just Taji Chayse, her ASP Mk II armour was safely stored back at her home along with the Longinus. It was just her, and whatever she happened to have in her purse. As she finished her meal, she took a look at her phone.

They should be finding it about now she thought to herself.

What was it? Well, it was her calling card. She always left a single item behind, it was not enough to trace back to Taji, but it was more than enough to tie the killing to Kagenotsuki. And that's what she wanted. She always wanted her killings to be credited properly, as every kill added to her fame or infamy, depending on who you asked. Anyways, her calling card was something she always hand made, a small metal disc. The metal disc had two things on it. One side had a black crescent moon, and the other, the Japanese characters that spelled out Kagenotsuki.

Taji left the calling card where she shot from, always. So, if they had anyone competent looking into the shooting, then someone who have probably made it to where she shot from and would be finding it any minute.

[Forest State]

Amanda Dimitrijevic
White Eagle

The arm around her shoulders made her jump, because it wasn’t something that she was used to. If most people did that to her, they would get an elbow to the face. Even if it was someone that Amanda was on decent terms with. Putting your arm around her was just something you didn’t do, because it contradicted her paranoia.

Maybe it was because of her upbringing in a war torn country, but she imagined that every person who came too close to approaching her was packing a knife or gun and an intent to use it on her.

Cameron didn’t get that elbow to the face because she knew him somewhat already and knew that this was just how he acted, and she was able to tolerate it even if her preference wasn’t hanging around people that did stuff like this.

Her internal discomfort didn’t break the usual look of confidence on her face, and she managed a smug smile.

“I could give some ideas on things to do,” she stated, before chuckling darkly. “But I don’t think upper management would be happy about us using some police brutality on gang members.”

She paused. “Especially if it’s to settle someone’s personal vendetta.”

[Segral]

Michael Westing
Muscle

"Er..." was all Michael's response was to Mirage's little communication 101 seminar. He hadn't meant in any way, shape or form, so help him God that she was an animal. What he had been suggesting that she was a hitchhiker or hobo. According to that stuffy science teacher in middle school, humans were animals, so...she had a point, he had been implying she was one. Which was true. And that revelation just left him more confused.

"Ok, um...I don't need a full run-down on where you've walked, ran, or galloped, just please don't scuff my damn console. I have a feeling my mood would probably shift to extreme anger and tear-your-head-off ferocity if you did give me the full story. I'm no reporter or biographer, that's for damn sure."

They drove in silence for some time, the hazy night washing over the car, only light coming from the dashboard and the nearby red and green traffic lights. His hands had been clenching the wheel so tight out of anger that his knuckles were pale white. Slowly unclenching them, letting out a small sigh of relief as blood flowed through them again, he slowly felt his whole body loosen up a bit, fury running out of him.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, eyes still on the road and rearview mirror. "Why did you choose my car of all cars?"

[Lunas Legion]

National Bank of Canada
Etobicoke, Toronto
Canada

A few moments passed as Snowflake waited outside the bank, tapping her foot impatiently. She hadn't exactly tried to conceal herself, but it seemed he was going to wait for her to come to him. Smart, under the circumstances.##

With a sigh, she began to move forwards, her eponymous 'snowflakes' orbiting around her, moving up to the piece of wall on the right side of the door, careful not to expose herself too much to the open doors of the bank. She wasn't about to make an easy target of herself.

She glanced around the edge of the wall; the inside of the bank was still hazy with smoke; she couldn't see Agony, but that didn't mean he wasn't in there. He had to be; they had the place surrounded, and there hadn't been anything on comms about a breakout attempt.

He'd know where she was from her 'snowflakes' poking out into the doorway, but equally, that gave her options in turn.

With a mental twitch, she fired off a full quarter of her 'snowflakes' as their orbit placed them in the doorway, breaking off from their orbit around her and streaking off into the bank with a low whistle.

They wouldn't hit; they never did. Her 'snowflakes' had some form of anti-heat seeking; they'd aim for around anything warm, guiding themselves but never quite hitting. They were quite useful for suppressing fire, however, and while her barrage was in progress she advanced, moving through the doors into the bank proper, occasionally unleashing more of her 'snowflakes' as suppressing fire into the bank, taking cover behind a row of chairs.

The interior of the bank was, well, horribly open; except for a few tables and chairs around the edges, and a pair of rows of chairs across the middle of the room, there was no cover whatsoever to speak of, bar the hostages.

Finally, she spotted Agony; he'd taken up a position behind the teller desks; good cover, a good field of vision over the entire floor of the bank. But did he-

A streak of orange over her head answered that question. Yes, he did know where she was.

Now, where did she go from here? Her 'snowflakes' were slowly replenishing, but to actually hit him with them she'd need to get close. And given how Agony both knew her position and as a blaster had free reign to unleash as much suppressing fire as he wanted, well, that put her in a difficult spot.

Shuffling along behind the row of chairs to the other end, she reversed the orbit of her 'snowflakes' and fired a short barrage off towards Agony, breaking into a sprint to make it to the next row of chairs; slightly closer to the teller desks, but all progress, no matter how small, was still progress.

Agony didn't duck for cover this time however; she saw the bright orange beams out of the corner of her eye and dived for the row of chairs. The beam struck home for a brief moment, and everything was pain; and then as suddenly it was gone as she slammed to the ground behind the chairs, out of his line of sight.

While he'd been focused on her, however, a few of the hostages closer to the door had decided to make a break for it, getting up off the floor and making a run for the exit. One screamed as Agony turned his focus to them, and Snowflake vaulted over the row of chairs, breaking into a sprint as she rushed for the teller desks, firing off all bar a few remaining 'snowflakes'.

Agony turned his attention back to her and another bright orange beam struck home and once again pain flared throughout her body, tactics and strategy going out the window in the haze of pain. Her rush turned into a skid as she dropped to the ground, slamming into the front of the teller desks with a crash and a wince of actual pain. But she'd done it. She'd closed the distance.

She heard Agony swear in pain and the muffled sound of footsteps as he fell back out of the range of her orbiting 'snowflakes'; they were like a wind of knives when she had enough of them, but for now there simply weren't enough to do a great deal of damage.

More and more hostages, on seeing Agony withdrawing deeper into the bank, made a run for it. Beams of orange flew overhead, and hostages collapsed in pain briefly, but she stood, firing back the last few of her remaining 'snowflakes' as a counter-barrage, keeping Agony pinned down as more hostages escaped the bank. She could see out the door that the PRT troopers had moved into flanking positions around the door from the ends of containment foam sprayers barely visible, poking out into the doorway.

There was the minor issue, however, that now she was out of her 'snowflakes'; she'd need to wait to regenerate them, and she couldn't exactly advance after Agony without her power, especially given how he was likely now digging in even further or making an escape plan with whatever loot he had.

"Console, this is Snowflake. Have forced Agony back, he likely still has hostages. I'm pinned down and out. Requesting additional backup if you have any."

"Roger that Snowflake. I'll get Scalder on it right away."

---

Legislative Assembly of Ontario,
Downtown, Toronto
Canada


It was barely a few minutes before the blurred figure of Impel returned, skidding to a halt a short ways in front of Arrows, Bulwark and Luxe, something gripped triumphantly in his left hand.

"Arrows, catch."

Arrows fumbled for the small object that Impel threw at him, failing to catch it in his hands but managing to get it to land in his arms. Picking it up, he quickly glanced at it.

"Bloody hell, it all makes sense now." Arrows shook his head. "She shoots from up there-" He pointed a finger at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. "Not the best location for a shot at that time, that'd be over there somewhere," Arrows waved a hand off in the direction of the various Ministry buildings off to the east of the park. "But it's still a good enough location for a shooter like her."

For the first time that day, Bulwark spoke. "Roger Console." Standing, Bulwark turned to the rest of her team. "Snowflake's run into some trouble. Impel, grab Luxe and make your way to the National Bank in Etobicoke, myself and Arrows can hold down the fort here."

"Alright. So..." Impel turned to Luxe. "How'd you like to hold onto me?"

[Rhodevus]

Luxe
Zaira Dubfeld
Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Luxe glanced around the area, letting her eyes flicker to the faces and bodies of as many people as her software allowed. She felt her vision go blurry for a second. She tapped her temple with her palm, shaking her head slightly. While the computer built into her contacts was powerful enough to list so much information, her eyes and brain were being overwhelmed.

She turned back to Arrows and Impel, who had tossed something at him. Luxe could not quite see the object, raising her hand, she began to speak, “what do you got there-” Her voice dropped as she felt the glare of Bulwark on her back.

"Alright. So..." Impel turned to Luxe. "How'd you like to hold onto me?"

Luxe smirked, cocking her hips, “now wouldn’t you enjoy that. Come on, let’s get out of here, I need some action in my life.”

[Indo-pasif archipelago]

//Ayesha Benett|Warden
//York, Toronto
//Big Jim's Parking Lot

The indigo women spun around her lance around herself. She watched intently, and patiently, at the collection of men and women inside of the building. In a glance, one might mistake the place for your everyday restaurant or diner, and while it serves fine and tasty food, it is not especially notable compared to some other restaurant Ayesha knows. It is however, infamous for its service. And not the kind you would expect either.

The Warden shifted from her position on top of the nearby building and crouched to hide herself when a pair of masked women walked out of the restaurant. Ayesha touched her visor and opened up some files that have been sent for her. It was hard to see it from such distance, and even harder with her visor blocking some angle of her vision, but she could confirm the recent reports: Faultline is in the town.

Walking as silently and as gracefully as she could, Ayesha turned around the building and watched as Faultline and Spitfire got inside a car and revved the engine on. Inside Big Jim's, Warden could see some member of the Bratvas and their leaders, along with another mercenary. She quietly prayed that the meeting was just another ordinary conference in accord with Faultline's Crew's arrival. Criminals might be bad and all, but an organized and controlled evil is far better than the other, more chaotic, alternative.

Ayesha reached for the phone hidden between the panel of her armour and contacted the Protectorate. Around the same time, Faultline had started to drive away, who was followed by Warden behind her. She routed the communication with Protectorate to her visor before she increased her speed. "This is Protectorate Warden. No, not one of the wards. Warden. Yes, I'm reporting an information from the Neutral Zone. Faultline and her crew is visiting the town, I am in pursuit to figure out her place of stay. Affirmation to continue?"