February 7th, 2011 - Monday
Afternoon
We've got a job to discuss. Dynamic's picking you up in an hour.
Taylor put her phone back in her pocket and turned towards the market's exit. She could make it back to her apartment with about ten minutes to spare, if she kept a pace that wouldn't draw attention. Shame I didn't get to eat, though.
Dynamic was his usual quiet self, and the ride passed without attempts at small talk by either of them. When they stepped into the warehouse's office, neither Jennifer nor Cameron were in costume. Not moving out soon, then?
"Good, you two are here. Lim's almost here too, he just got into my range. We'll start once he's here."
True to her word, Lim showed up a few minutes later. He nodded to everyone in turn.
"So what's the job that has you so excited, Jen?" Cameron asked once that was done.
"One of our colleagues, Blueblood, has been outbid in a black market auction by a Brockton Bay villain, Coil. The cargo's due to arrive in Brockton Bay early tomorrow morning - we're getting fifty grand each if we intercept the trucks and bring the cargo to a local long-distance driver Blueblood hired."
"What's the cargo?" Martin asked. Figures the Tinker would be most interested.
"Tinkertech laser weaponry, Coil's presumably arming his mercenaries - the man has no capes working for him that we know of, and is a Thinker of some sort himself as far as we can tell, so he's going to feel the sting if we steal it. This also means no cape escort for the cargo - Blueblood's betting another fifty thousand on no guards at all to try making the truck as inconspicuous as possible. Any more questions?"
Taylor raised a hand.
"This isn't a classroom, Taylor. Out with it."
"Fifty grand each. I know it's Tinkertech lasers, but are they really worth that much?"
Lim picked that moment to cut in.
"If the name doesn't give it away, Blueblood has a bit of an ego problem even by Thinker standards. He's probably more interested in making sure Coil doesn't get the stuff at this point than getting his hands on it himself."
"...And the guy who'll throw away a quarter million out of spite is allowed to have that much money under his care... why, exactly?" Cameron questioned suspiciously.
"Because he's already raking in the kind of money I'll be making if I can convince Parian to work with us, that's why," Jennifer answered with a smirk.
Her phrasing caught Taylor's attention.
"If you convince Parian? You didn't seem to doubt whether you'll get me on board even after I refused the first time, Jennifer."
Jennifer shrugged.
"Your only options were join us or get out of the city. You had already made enemies, and crook hunting was bound to make more. Parian's managed to remain neutral for long enough that she won't join us unless we can prove we're strong enough that it doesn't make her a target, and even then it's just getting a chance to convince her instead of getting rejected immediately. Any more questions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Alright then, let's call a vote. Everyone in?"
Four hands in the air. Jennifer smiled.
"Excellent. Now, here's what we know about the route the truck will take..."
~o~o~o~
February 8th, 2011 - Tuesday
Early Morning
Taylor, Vortex and Jigsaw were hiding out in an alleyway closest to a stoplight the truck would have to pass. Dynamic had come earlier in road worker clothes to mess with the stoplight, and was changing into his costume behind a corner. The morning rush wouldn't start for at least half an hour, so only a few cars had passed, and with Webweaver on the lookout through her bugs they hadn't been seen. The earbuds crackled to life.
"Truck incoming. Get ready to move. Eris, do the honors."
Taylor pressed the button on a remote Dynamic had given her just in case the truck showed up while he was still getting in costume. As the truck passed the opening of the alleyway, it started slowing down thanks to the rigged stoplight turning red.
Then Taylor grabbed Jigsaw's hand again and ran towards the truck. When she stepped next to the driver's side door, the man was startled, but before he could think to hit the gas, she pushed anger into him. He grabbed the door and swung it open, and Taylor let go of his mind while tossing Jigsaw's hand past the driver's head into the passenger seat. Jigsaw reappeared and pressed the stun gun to the man's neck.
"Nice and quiet. We don't need to hurt you, we're just taking the truck."
The man nodded.
"Phone and keys," Taylor said and raised her hand. The man quietly put them in her hand.
"Now climb out."
As the man climbed down and turned his back to Taylor, a gold widow jumped on him and bit. The man yelled.
"There's no need to panic. You'll pass out a few minutes from now, and wake about fifteen minutes later. There should be a comfortable and hidden enough spot in the alleyway," Webweaver calmly stated, backed by the voice of her swarm. Dynamic and Vortex were following behind her. The man didn't seem convinced, and collapsed.
"...Oh. Might've overdone the intimidation angle there. Check his pulse, someone?"
Vortex crouched to put her fingers on the man's neck, and nodded after about ten seconds.
"Pulse is fine, he just fainted. Eris, put him behind the dumpster in the alley while we check things out here?"
Taylor did so, checking the man's breathing as she set him down. He seemed to be breathing fine, so he'll probably be fine if no criminals find him while he's out. No other criminals, at least...
As she got into the truck's back with Webweaver and Vortex (Dynamic had taken the driver's seat again, hiding his costume under a heavy jacket), Jigsaw jumped in and closed the door, having exchanged the truck's rear license plate with a fake.
"Well, that was easy. Now just to get paid," he said cheerfully.
It was then that Taylor learned both Webweaver and Vortex could glare through face-concealing masks. Pinned by their gazes, Jigsaw visibly gulped.
"Never, ever, use the words 'too easy', 'too quiet', or 'what could go wrong' on the job. Are we clear?" Webweaver ground out through gritted teeth.
~o~o~o~
February 8th, 2011 - Tuesday
Late Morning
They managed to cross most of the city without incident and were just under a block away from their destination when Webweaver's tapping fingers suddenly stopped. She pressed a button hidden on her helmet, near her ear, and spoke.
"Dynamic, pull over. I think there's company waiting for us."
He seemed to hear her, since the truck came to a stop nearby.
"What have you got, Web?"
"More people than should be here before working hours. Don't distract me, if they're really here to ambush us and know who we are, having bugs just fly at them might tip them off." Taylor could almost hear the frown in her voice. After a few tense moments, Webweaver cursed under her breath.
"Assault and Battery. Assault's examining the truck, Battery's talking to the driver - they'll figure out he was here for our special delivery soon enough, if they haven't already. Then the whole thing's a bust. We hit them fast, but make sure you don't cause too much damage - they have Panacea, but excessive force against heroes is still likely to bring down more heat than necessary. Jigsaw, leave a piece behind in the truck, just in case. Let's move. Quietly."
"I blame you for this, Jigsaw," Vortex whispered along the way. A glare from Webweaver shut her up.
Everyone got out of the truck and crept towards the truck depot, trying to avoid line of sight. When they finally got in range, Webweaver sent her gold widows in first to try and bite the heroes. Unfortunately, the driver noticed one of them before it reached Battery, and his panicked scream alerted the heroes. Both were outside the swarm's reach in a few seconds.
"Eris, Vortex, go after Battery. Keep her moving. Dynamic, Jigsaw, keep Assault busy, don't get taken down. I'll try to get bites on them both."
The team went after their assigned targets. Taylor interrupted Battery's charge with a surge of anger, and Vortex tripped the heroine with her field. Taylor pinned Battery to the ground as gold widows skittered across the pavement towards their target. When the first was less than a foot away, she was thrown into the air as Battery jumped out from under her, and chased after Taylor, punching her straight in the stomach with the remains of her charge. The armor helped a little, but that merely meant the impact and subsequent landing felt like belly-flopping into water from too high up twice instead of a worse version of what Taylor would once expect to experience whenever Sophia was having a bad day at school. As Taylor leapt to her feet, she saw the heroine trapped in the center of Vortex's field, unable to leave it without being pulled back to the center.
After a few seconds of thrashing, Battery stopped struggling and seemed to be trying to save her energy. Another second later, Taylor realized the ruse.
"Vortex, watch ou-"
Battery dashed out of the field, and even if she had to expend most of her charge for it, the rest carried her far enough to reach Vortex. The following punch to the solar plexus and throw to the ground were done with seemingly human strength, but Vortex wasn't nearly as heavily armored as Taylor and was still dazed when the heroine readied a kick.
Taylor charged with a yell, getting Battery's attention for the split-second it took. Another burst of anger caused Battery to leave her target and go after Taylor again. Their anger having already nearly completely undone the effects of the last hits received, Taylor managed to grab Battery and toss her towards where another of Webweaver's swarms was approaching. A few widows jumped on the heroine and one of them managed to bite her exposed face. She shrieked and started frantically trying to knock them off, but the variety of insects Webweaver had called to the battlefield overwhelmed her in a few more seconds. The swarm's master chimed in over the earbuds.
"That should keep her distracted long enough. Eris, Jigsaw, switch targets."
Taylor turned to Assault while Jigsaw tossed his hand towards Battery and followed it. Dynamic was locked in melee with Assault, the kinetic rifle's broken halves on the ground a few feet away.
Dynamic was fast enough to dodge Assault's blows or block them with his gauntlets, but his return hits were having no effect. Taylor sent some rage Assault's way, and shouted at him.
"Lure him into the spiders!"
Assault was too angry to back off at that, but that still left Dynamic in close combat against a stronger and now angry opponent. At least he seemed to go along with the plan. However, a few feet away from the spiders, a red blur swooped in and solidified into a man in a red bodysuit with racing stripes. He shoved Dynamic towards Assault, tripping up his defense. Taylor managed to stop pushing anger through fast enough that Assault only settled for twisting Dynamic's shoulder and throwing him to the ground. The Tinker hit the ground with a loud groan.
"Velocity," Webweaver reported through the earbuds. "Enhanced speed, but the faster he goes, the weaker he is."
Taylor saw Jigsaw in her peripheral vision. He spoke quietly.
"Battery's poisoned and tasered. It's just the two of them for now. Let's do this, Eris."