First steps (open)

She Ann steps calmly into the bank, her nerves tightening in her stomach.  All but two of her henchmen were at the movie theater preparing for step two of the plan.  The two she had with her were in business suits, the small pistols they had hidden in the rim of their pants.  Glancing around, the newbie villain spots a water cooler… when things went south she would at least be ready for that.  Taking a breath to calm her nerves she began walking forward.
The quite thunks of her sandals against the marble floor, seem to pound in her ears.  Taking her place in line, she quietly waits to get up to the counter.  Offering the woman a kind smile, the younger woman looks at the name tag.  “Hello there Becky, I hate to inform you but this is a stick up.  If you would kindly hand over any money you have in this building no one has to get hurt.”
Bringing her arms up, Ann watches from the corner of her eye as the tank at the top of the water cooler explodes.  Bringing the water over to her, she forms the liquid floating to her into a whip.  Keeping her friendly smile on her face she brings the wet weapon up and lashes out at a guard with a gun drawn on her.
“Alright boys, I want everyone here tied up and put into a corner.  Now then, Becky if you wouldn’t mind, I could really use that money.”  Ann turns her head back to the cowering woman, watching her run back towards the back of the bank.  This wasn’t going to bad, she could do this all she had to do was get the money… plus the attention of any cops and heroes in the area.

Jayne Bas Chava (my heroine's alter ego) arrived in the city on her moped. She decided to visit the zoo. As she rode in the zoo's direction, she passed by a bank. She stopped the moped near the entrance and peered inside.

Jayne saw the back of a seemingly young woman near a bank teller. Then the teller was running as fast as her legs could go. Jayne left the entrance and turned toward a mailbox across the street.

Even though Jayne didn't know what was happening in the bank, she put on her heroine costume, just in case. When the bank teller spotted what looked like a female Native American warrior straight out of one of those Old West video streams, she screamed...loudly...and pointed with a shaky finger: "A meta! That's a meta!"

"Calm down, miss, calm down", Medicine Woman said soothingly. "What is going on?", the heroine asked the panicky woman. "I am here to help, if there is trouble."

"She has some kind of liquid whip...she hit a guard!I'm out of here!", the teller screamed. A few people, attracted by the screaming, started staring at the bank's rear end.

One "normal" male among the gathered people said in an accusing and loud tone: "A meta...it's always a meta! Your kind should've all been killed long ago!" A woman's voice shouted next: "Hey! They're not all the same!"

It didn't matter. Medicine Woman had to investigate whatever was happening in the bank. She headed to the entrance and went inside.

She said to the girl still holding the watery whip: "Whoever you are...cease and desist!" Medicine Woman didn't know if the girl heard the shouting outside or not, but she made sure she was ready...regardless.

She Ann heard the voice from behind her, she froze for a second all of her muscles went taught.  It was only for a second though, a small smirk comes to her lips as her body goes lax once more.  This is what she had hoped for, draw people to her… well then it was time for the show to begin.  Looking over at the woman behind her, she flips her smirk into a sneer.
“Can’t you see this teller is busy, jump in another line.  I’m sure they’d be willing to help you.”  She says her tone dripping with venomous sarcasm.  Once more she glances out of the corner of her eye, watching the henchmen finishes putting their hostages in the corner.  So at the very least they had some form of leverage.  Turning her head back, she continues waiting for Becky this was a risky move on her part and she knew it.
The water in her hand shifts form, changing from the long and lengthy whip to a scimitar.  She Ann figured there were probably guards about, but her boys would handle them, hopefully nonlethally… a loud bang filled the room, as that thought died just as it was formed hearing the thud that had no other noise accompanying it.  She sighed glancing at the man still holding up his gun, “Get that man's name, we’ll need to find out if he has a wife once we’re done here.”
She was really hoping not to take on a widow so early on in her career, yes a lot of people were about to die.  But tracking their identities were going to be impossible, so she couldn’t really help any of the victims families if she didn’t know who they were.
It was at this point that Becky returned to the room.  Turning her head to the other man that she had brought with her she ordered, “Frank I need the bag.”
Frank, gun still holstered made his way over to the young villainess handing her a large blue duffel bag.  Taking it from him, She Ann slides the bag over to the teller, “Put the money in the bag.”

"I was hoping you would give up peacefully, miss. You would get a fairer trial. But, if it is the hard way you want, it is the hard way you will get!", Medicine Woman said. She grasped her bow & arrow. She shot the arrow at the duffel bag, hoping to pin the bag on the counter and hopefully preventing the robbery. She didn't know that there might be a hostage situation, too.

Watching the arrow sink into the bag, She Ann’s eyes narrow. Her hand on the hilt, she whirled around bringing the blade up to slash the woman. Gesturing behind her to the corners of the room, she gives the woman a sickening smile. “Did you not notice my hostages? Do you really wish to risk human lives all for a few thousand dollars in cash? Cause I mean go right ahead, my men sure don’t have any qualms about killing.”
With that last word she motions over to the guard dead on the floor a bullet through the head. This mostly was a bluff, honestly she didn’t want anymore bloodshed than there was going to be today. Bringing the weapon up threateningly she commands, “So go get your arrow out of my bag, and I won’t have my men start painting the walls.”

Medicine Woman lowers her bow: "Very well, miss, but if there is even just one more death, I have plenty of arrows." (( OOC: Her quiver holds 100 arrows.  That sounds like a lot, but she uses them more often than her tomahawk and knife. The arrows can get used up pretty fast. She can make more, but would need the proper materials...which she doesn't have right now.))  She walked over to the duffle and pulled out the arrow.  She also backed away a few steps, leaving her bow lowered to prove she wouldn't use it again...at least not right away.

Ann smirks watching the woman back away, getting away wouldn’t be easy of that she was sure all she needed to do though was just keep their attention on her.  The bag now free, the teller picks the bag up and begins by emptying any cash that’s near her and working her way back.
She needed to think fast if they were going to get out of here without getting caught… taking one of the hostages wouldn’t work, and their car was at least a block away.  Running was going to be risky, she couldn’t really risk a flare up while running; and that was the point when she heard the cop sirens coming from outside of the bank.
Alright so all eyes were on her at the moment, that is what she wanted.  But now that she did, she wasn’t sure how she was going to get out of this without getting arrested… keep them preoccupied until the bomb goes off, the blast should have some of the cops run off to go coordinate rescue efforts and body retrieval.  Becky returns with the bag of money, opening a door to the back of the teller’s desk as the bag was now to big to fit through the slot.  She was pretty sure that meant there was no back door.
Frank pulled what looked to be a phone and nodded to She Ann, alright so they just needed to distract them for a minute or two longer.  Walking to Becky she takes the bag, before turning to address Medicine woman.  “It appears that my job here is done, Tony grab one of the hostages to make sure little miss bow and arrow doesn’t follow us.”
Tony nods picking up one of the younger hostages, looking to be in her late teens.  As she begins to make her exit from the bank she says what she thinks will be the last thing to her unnamed enemy, “Spread the word, the avatar of Social Justice is here and she won’t be leaving for awhile.”
Walking out the front door, she sees all the guns trained on her and her men, “Don’t shoot or cutey here will get a bullet to the back of the head.”  She reaches back and squeezes the boy's chin shaking his whole face.

A rhythmic thud thud thud pounded out against a backdrop of a quiet mechanical droning. Over and over again Ben's booted feet pounded against the synthetic belt of the treadmill. His hands pumped in rhythm with his feet helping to keep him going at a constant pace. But next to them his chest heaved. He was wearing his full leather getup, sweating profusely. To top it all off he had his gas mask on and set to filter, severely restricting the amount of air he was getting with every breath. And now he was struggling, almost gasping for air as he forced every breath in and out of his lungs. This had been going on for an hour now and Ben was quickly tiring, but the training was beyond necessary. He continued to tell himself that through every suffocating breath.

Thud thud thud the sound of his feet continued, the noise bouncing around cluttered garage. This was the place that Ben used for his training and storing his gadgets. All around him sat the tools of his trade, grenades, lasers, an array of radio receivers, a training area complete and shooting range, and of course the bay for Elysium. All of it was within a rather cramped space on Ben's property, hidden inconspicuously beneath his actual garage. It was no bat cave, but it suited his needs just fine.

Thud... thud... thud... the rhythm of his boots against the treadmill began to slow. Lifting his hands to the rails on either side of his body, he would hoist himself up, letting the belt run itself down while his feet dangled, giving them a momentary rest. Then with a slight thunk, he would drop back down to the now still treadmill belt and throw a hand to his mask. An instant gasp would escape him as he got his first deep breath in over an hour. His blonde hair bobbed lightly against the top of his head as he bent over, stabilizing himself as he tried to catch his breath. The break would not last long.

...bank heist in progress, I repeat bank heist in progress. All available units to 24th and Main. One of his police scanners crackled to life with the incoming call. Ben's head perked up, eyes suddenly laser focused on the device chirping out the situation. Possible metahuman involved... Ben didn't even wait to hear the rest. In a flurry of motion he threw his hood and mask back over his face and spun on his heels. Sprinting towards Elysium he quickly sealed up his coat, ensuring that all of his grenades were strapped in tight and his wrist lasers were secure. And in a flash he was inside the modified hearse, slamming it int o first gear and speeding down the runway exiting his hideaway.

He turned the scanner on in his car as soon as he was inside, listening in to the developing situation. It was going to be messy. Just as he reached the halfway point to his destination, weaving in and out of traffic, reports came in that a second masked vigilante, almost certainly another metahuman was on the scene. There's gonna be a confrontation he thought, dreading the idea that he was potentially about to step in between two clashing superpowers. At the same time, he knew he couldn't turn around now. Lives were going to be in danger, and the police despite their training were probably going to make the situation worse. Jacking the wheel sideways he would turn Elysium off the highway altogether, zipping along the grassy roadside to avoid a cluster of traffic. Come on girl he gritted out to the speeding hearse as the situation continued to unfold for him through his scanner.

As he arrived on the scene, the situation went from bad to worse. We've got a hostage situation! an officer cried out over The Veil's scanner. That was not good, but he could certainly help. His tires squealed as he rounded the corner, seeing a police barricade set up on the street leading to the bank. He would pull Elysium down a gear and floor it between the two cop cars, smashing into them and forcing a gap which he plowed straight through. At the end of the road, the police had the bank surrounded guns drawn. Still accelerating towards the crowd of police he would do two things simultaneously. With his left hand he would pull two halothane grenades from his coat, clasping their release mechanisms. With his right hand, he would reach down to the emergency break. As soon as it was pulled he would reach back to the wheel with his right hand, cutting it sharply to the right. Elysium's back end would swing around towards the barrier, generating quite a bit of force. Using that momentum, The Veil would hurl the halothane grenades out the driver's side window. The gas would immediately start to release as they hurtled towards the bank, colliding with the walls and bouncing towards the woman holding the young man at gun point. Each grenade would land within 5 feet of her, spewing halothane in an ever increasing translucent white cloud. Elysium finished it's fishtail, now facing outwards away from the scene at the bank. Reaching back into his jacket, The Veil would produce two smoke grenades, tossing them out the window in the direction of the two police cars he had smashed through. A thick smokescreen would form at the end of the road, blocking vision from the main road of The Veil and the situation at the bank. Meanwhile the cops and anyone else standing in the vicinity of the bank would be feeling the effects of the halothane. Cops stumbled over their words and themselves, some more susceptible falling unconscious immediately as they tried in vain to stave off the airborne drug.

As The Veil stepped out of Elysium, he screwed the filters on his gas mask shut, ensuring that his potent drug would not be having the same effects on him. If you kill the kid he shouted down the roadway as he approached, fists clenching in anger I'm going to make you seriously regret it! He was standing now at the edge of the wall of police cars, and intimidating figure in his mask gloves and long dark coat. His eyes locked on to the woman with the gun through the orange tint of his gas mask. She would no doubt be feeling the effects of the halothane. All Ben had to do was wait for it to completely overtake her in a minute or so.

Drawn by the sudden noise, Medicine Woman, grasped her bow again. She loaded the arrow she'd removed from the duffle bag...which was now in the girl's possession.  ((OOC: What's halothane gas?))  Then she noticed the male figure outside the bank. He was in the street.  Not knowing who he was, she shot the arrow not at him, but [i]above him...a warning shot.

Medicine Woman called out: "You are either another of that girl's accomplices or a would-be thief trying to steal that duffle for yourself!  Identify yourself immediately, or my next arrow might not miss! You have been warned!"

Then another arrow flew into the air just outside the bank and above both the girl's and the male's heads. It was heading to a flock of sparrows ((OOC:  Which are found in many urban settings)).  They were too far away for her power to activate their "ancestor memory".  Instead she was trying to make them angry enough to divebomb  downwards. The birds might hopefully surround the male and try to distract him and maybe stop the female from trying to escape with the ill-gotten loot, too. The arrow wouldn't hit any of the birds, but rather kind of fly through an empty spot in the flock.

Medicine Woman suddenly felt woozy.  Just before her vision started to blur, she saw some kind of gas that was released by the male.  That was probably the cause of her dizziness.  She slipped down to one knee.  She braced herself very slightly upward, but could go no further.  The street, the people, the girl and the mysterious male who threw the gas, now swam before her burning and stinging eyes...she was seconds from blacking out...[/i]

Standing outside watching the cops, look unsure of what to do, Anne turns getting ready to make her way up the street.  Spotting a car come racing towards her, she silently swears.  Great another hero just had to rear their head.  She could handle this, she glances down at her phone there was still another minute needed until all of her men were out of the blast zone.
Watching the car begin it’s tail spin, she noticed something being thrown from the car.  Seeing the smoke trailing behind the object she changed the form of the weapon to a hollow sphere and using her water manipulation was able to place it on Frank’s head, feeling the arrow fly by her head just barely missing.  Before she could do anything to protect herself, she took a big lungful of air.  Her lungs felt as if two hands had just clamped down on them.  Trying to catch her breath she stumbles back into who she can only guess is Tony, jostling the boy from his grip.  Feeling a pair of strong arms wrap around her midsection, she is lifted into the air by Frank.
Frank now carrying his boss bridal style, the small sphere of water still around his head allowing him to be unaffected by the gas, hurries down the street towards where there van is.  Tony was going to have to sit in jail for awhile, hopefully he was smart and wouldn’t say anything.  The man’s wife and unborn child were safe, and if he was prosecuted they would be looked after.
Ducking into a nearby alley, Frank takes a moment to rest and catch his breath, glancing down at the girl in his arms he sees the attack still in full swing, reaching into his pocket he takes out her inhaler attempting to give her the medicine… whatever was in that canister, was making his boss loopy which was making it so she couldn’t take the medicine properly.
“Come on She Ann,” Frank says holding close her mouth and nose for a few seconds, in an attempt to manually get the inhaler to take hold.  It takes a few more attempts for the small plastic device to work it’s magic, but Ann’s breathing does eventually become normal.  The young crime leader by this time is either asleep or unconscious.  Wit her now knocked out, Frank feels his bubble pop and drop down soaking his clothes.
Great, Frank was now the last guy standing.  It wasn’t like any of them hadn’t planned for this contingency, but still he hadn’t wanted it to happen on their first outing into crime.  Reaching into a pocket that Shee Ann had on her shirt, he withdraws her phone and checks how much time is left… 30 seconds, alright he just had to keep out of whoever was in that car’s clutches for only half a minute.  Getting to his feet, he picks up the sleeping girl, and gets ready to start moving again.
((Ann never had a gun, she had a sword of water until this post. It’s her henchmen that have the guns.))

You stupid ass! Ben scolded himself as he ducked beneath the first incoming arrow. Why did you think she was alone huh? You heard "hostages" and flew off the handle. Raising his head back up, his eyes scanned for the source of the arrow. You don't have powers asshole, charging in head long like that is how you wind up in a morgue. God, he was angry at himself as his eyes fell on the woman in what looked to be Native American garb, a bow and arrow raised threateningly in his direction. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as the sphere of water wrapped around the henchman's head before he picked up the woman who had moments ago been threatening a boy with a sword. They would not be getting away so easily. But first he needed to deal with this woman. As luck would have it, she would end up dealing with herself.

Watching and listening as the woman spoke, Ben saw that she payed no mind to the gas in the environment around her. A tragedy really, as it turned out that the two of them work working on the same side. Might want to hold your breath he yelled out to her as he began to run around the line of downed cops and still running police officers. After what she had said it was friendly advice, though he was fairly certain that she would already be just about unconscious before she even realized what was happening. Her next action seemed to prove that as she fired an arrow high into the air. Night night he thought to himself, seeing the shot as delusion from the effects of his gas. He had a more pressing issue anyway, the woman and her bubble helmeted bodyguard.

Hot on their heels and no more than forty yards from them, he kept pace with the large man, straining for breath in his mask. Thankfully the man seemed to have the sense to get out of the vicinity of the halothane gas, allowing Ben to open up the vents on his mask, letting the air once more flow normally in and out. Just in time too as he watched the man and woman disappear around the corner of an alley. Pounding against the pavement, The Veil carried himself down the street when he saw something dive bombing above his head. Turning around, it seemed a small flock of sparrows had decided they did not like him very much. I don't have time for this he thought, more frustrated than anything. Lifting his left hand, he would aim in towards the center of the flock and activate his dental lasers. A brilliant bright blue light instantaneously shot forth from either side of his wrist and the sparrows scattered incoherently. As they had been flying in his direction, the vast majority of the flock was blinded, losing all sense of direction and crashing into the pavement around him. And with that problem dealt with, he once more took off to the alley.

As he rounded the corner he saw the man's large form huddled over the limp woman. His gas must have done the trick. But the man was still conscious, drenched in the remains of the water bubble. Interesting power he thought, putting himself at the mouth of the alley, raising his hands to his sides as though he was channeling a ball of energy.

Hey big guy! he yelled down the alley, his voice reverberating down the brick corridor. Immediately he activated the laser in his right hand, blocking it with the left. The intense light given off from the lasers would emanate through the splayed fingers of his left hand while the lasers themselves collided harmlessly with The Veil's left palm. This gave the appearance that The Veil was channeling some sort of intense blue energy ball between his hands. Why don't you put down the girl and the phone huh? I'd hate to have to turn you and your friend into a couple of grease stains on the pavement. He spoke with a certain amount of malice, as though he was hoping the man would instead put up a fight so that he could unleash whatever abilities he had on the two of them.

With what little strength she had left, Medicine Woman removed a herb from her pouch. It was a sprig of mint. First, she smelled the mint to clear her head. She then nibbled a tiny bit of it to ease her roiling stomach. (( OOC: Mint and camomile are both beneficial aids to ease stomach discomfort.))

Medicine Woman recovered a bit. She noticed a trail of water leading out of the bank. She left her moped parked behind the bank. (( OOC: Who'd want to steal something so "retro"? It's not even an antique. LOL! ))

She followed the trail for a while. She finally found the male who threw the gas grenades...but she also saw a large hulk of a man holding the same girl who had the duffel bag. Medicine Woman heard the first man ((OOC: That's you, Thor)) shouting at the second male.

She backed herself against the left wall of the alley, trying to avoid being noticed. There was obviously a standoff going on. The question was: Which male would try to break the standoff? She'd have to stay where she was until someone did...something...or not...

Frank looks down at his phone… twenty seconds. Placing the phone back in She Ann’s pocket, he starts a mental countdown. Looking at the man who had spoken, he notices the other meta approach the alley. So he was outnumbered, the male of the two was holding something that looked like it could kill him and the woman was armed with bows. Catching site of a dumpster to his left.
Taking a calculated risk, Frank dives behind the large green metal box. All he would have to do is sit tight, and in twenty seconds he would be able to escape. Glancing down to the young woman in his arms, Frank tries shaking her awake… no luck. Damn it, actually making the getaway was going to be hard. Glancing down the alley he thought of the map of the city that he had read through, if he was remembering correctly the escape car should just be right down the next turn in the alley.
Ten seconds
Placing she Ann on the ground, he pulls his gun from the ground. Raising the gun he looks to the man, “Look mister, we don’t want any trouble. My boss is just a lost and confused kid, her parents were anti meta and she’s looking to strike back at the injustice of the world. Just let us go, I’ll give you the money and make sure she get’s the help she needs. I swear to you that this won’t happen aga-”
Mid sentence Frank gets cut off by an explosion coming from further south in the town. Well the good news is they ran out the clock, now all he had to do was play the part.
“What the hell was that,” he asks diving behind the dumpster once more. Picking up She Ann, he runs hoping to make it look like he was using the confusion to make a break for it.

Ben watched as the man made a mad leap for the dumpster to his left to try to conceal himself. If that's how we're gonna play it then fine he thought as he lifted his left hand, pointing it down the corridor of the alley while simultaneously deactivating the laser in his right hand. With the man behind the dumpster, he'd be unable to fire a laser off and hit him directly in the eyes, blinding him, and there was no guarantee that he'd look near enough to it if he fired it down the alley. This meant that blinding him would not be an option. The application of more halothane however seemed perfectly feasible.

Reaching up to his mask, he once more sealed the canisters in preparation for the halothane. From inside his coat he withdrew two halothane grenades, putting the first in his still outstretched left hand and clenching the release on the second. And just as he saw the man's head peak up from behind the dumpster the canister went flying in an arc down the alleyway, landing about ten feet away from the man and woman all the while spewing the anesthetic into the cramped alley.

Then came the sob story. She had been a child in a less than nurturing environment and because of that wanted to punish the world. He even went as far as to try to bribe the Veil with money. He was throwing literally every excuse he had all packed into one wrapped up little package. This was desperation, it had to be. The man caught out in a bad situation begging for his freedom when he knows he's been had. A fly caught in the -- BOOM!

An explosion rocked the street. Ben could already see the smoke rising in the distance. Fuck! he muttered under his breath, annoyed as the situation just continued to seem to go south as the man behind the dumpster tried to use the explosion as cover to escape.

I'm not done with you yet! he yelled, dropping the second canister into his right hand and hurling it above the gas from the first grenade. This second grenade would land at the end of the alley, further filling the tight space with a hazy white cloud. And without a second thought he charged headlong into the mist, his feet pounding against the ground. He was running at a dead sprint directly for the man.

STOP! he grunted out, adrenaline coursing through his system. He knew what was coming next and no matter how many times he did it, he never quite got used to the pain. As the three of them neared the spot where the cloud from the first grenade mixed with the cloud from the second Ben prepared the lasers on both of his wrists. If the man did not stop immediately he'd trigger the lasers, igniting the halothane and engulfing the group of them in a fireball.

Ann’s eyes slide open taking a glance in front of them, bouncing in Frank’s Arms she saw the gas cloud ahead of them. Thinking back to before her attack, she remembered a cloud just like this. Exerting herself as hard as she could, she pulled the water from Frank’s clothes, and the puddles in the alley surrounding them in a wrap of water around both of their bodies with just enough room to breathe.
Her head began pounding from pushing the limits of her power pulling the water off Frank’s clothes. Taking a few deep breathes, she stays focused on staying conscious, she needed to make sure they made it through that cloud without passing out.
Frank for his part kept running, feeling the water surround him. All he needed to do was remember how far the turn was. It was twenty feet wasn’t it? Escape was so close he could taste it.
Taking his first step into the gas, Frank felt an intense heat fly over his shoulder igniting the gas. Beginning to run, he noticed small bubbles forming in the water as it boiled. Pushing himself to his limits he burst down the alley and around the corner pushing himself through before the water got to hot. Stepping out into the clear air, he spied their getaway vehicle and continued his run over to it.