War On Crime

Taiyo doesn't want to interrupt despite hearing everything Thiera is saying. I expected Eve to do that and goddamn was I wrong.

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I would wager they're on their way out or just skip ahead to the parking lot where they're....I don't know how they plan to get around.

A"Uh, no, I don't believe we have anything left to tell you. We'll message you if we come up with something."

Th"Affirmative. Please try not to forget to do what we discussed, when this is all over."

*Thiera has hung up, so Aroma puts her phone away.*

A"I have to make sure that Binah is safe. I'll be back as soon as I can!"

*She turns, but stops dead in her tracks. Whirling around, she hugs Taiyo tightly. Taiyo can feel that she's shivering as she tries not to cry.*

A"Um--stay safe."
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*Aroma calls back over her shoulder.*

A"Then keep up or you'll be left in the dust!"

*She then addresses June while checking on her phone for any kind of photo or video from the crime scene.*

A"So how do we go about getting there?"
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*Once Thiera climbs up, she & Luna climb through the hole in the rubble.*

*Amanda flips her off but runs to catch up*

<Aren't we going to get dressed up or something first? We need to go get some clothes or something. Unless you plan on wearing those.>

*She points at Artemis's new clothes*
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*Eve moves after Aroma*

<You shouldn't go alone. I'll come with you.>

"That's a good point, and it would also be great if one of us had a car," June shrugged. "But I guess there's always public transportation. Does this backwards-ass city even have Uber drivers?"

Taiyo hugs her, surprised by Aroma's sudden assertiveness.

Taiyo: "You too."

She kisses Aroma on the forehead.

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Cloud's bike is still parked outside the alley because they left him in the sewer's to die. Fuckin' bitches.

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I don't know what that is, so I don't know. There is public transportation in general, so....

L"I need to get one of those. I can call it 'The Spectercycle.' But for now, I suppose we're taking Air Azalea?"

Th"That is correct."

*Once her wings have extended, Thiera grabs Luna under the arms & uses her springs to leap high into the sky, making a beeline for her neighborhood. As before, wooden bars grow off of her costume for Specter to hold onto.*
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"I've got all that I need in my backpack."

*Still searching for a bus, or something.*
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*Aroma is too short to equal that feat & unsure if Taiyo will get in trouble for making out in front of the store, so she just nods & starts to pull away with a little sniff.*

"I'll see you soon."

*Eve nods at Taiyo, then heads out the door, waiting for Aroma once she's outside*
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*Amanda puts an arm around June*

<Cars, my friend, are for the rich.>

*She crosses her arms again and looks at Artemis*

<Unless you and predict the future and brought stuff for us, we'll have to stop and get stuff.>

"Yeah, the camera loves me," June agreed casually. "Our pretty faces could be all over the internet."

She can see all those she looks down on mingling away at their lives, blissfully unaware of how pathetic she views them. If I were a worse person, someone would probably shoot her.

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Taiyo waves as they leave, this touching moment brought to a close by that parrot shouting "Shit."

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There is a bus stop as I imagine most malls feature which is good for them as they're the only valley girls in the world who don't have a car bought with daddy's money.

*Artemis sighs as she continues waiting for the bus.*

"Fine. Or maybe you could just meet me there."
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*If Aroma sees, I guess she waves back. She then heads to Binah's house or, if necessary, finds a bus or a taxi. She also checks Google Earth to see if she can see anything obvious nearby.*
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*Heading to her mom's place.*

Amanda:<But we're going to make sure you come back with all your limbs attached. Whoknows what kind of trouble you get in if we left you alone?>
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*Eve walks beside Aroma, texting her mother*

Sitting in the back of a lecture with Thiera and Aroma. Be out in about an hour.>

June checked the time on her phone, "I could just call another cab, but a bus would be cheaper. Probably quicker, too, if it ever shows up."

What she sees is a blur that damn near bowls her and Eve over and feel a gust of wind that could have probably knocked Aroma over.

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If they look at the schedule on the sign they can see what time the buses arrive as set by Big Transport or whoever rather than the buses operating by what a bunch of privileged valley girls think it should run by. I hope the bus crashes.

Unless it's delayed, they got ten minutes.

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At Clanstein, Morrison Sells watches a moniter, tracking Tony Gottfried aka Speedy as he runs through the city, a blond woman in dresspants and a blouse watching over his shoulder.

Tony: "Legs are getting tired."

Morrison: "Remember what will happen if you stop?"

Tony: "How am I supposed to get this off?!"

Morrison: "Find something. Anything. And phase through it."

Tony: "How the hell am I supposed to do that? I've never run this fast before. All I can do is run!"

Morrison: "You're wrong. There are at least two others in this city with abilities like your's, but all they use them for is to run fast. But you, you have potential to do more than just run."

"Fine, fine...ohmygosh, 10 minutes?!"
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*Aroma quickly gets back up, straightening her hair & dusting herself off.*

A"What was that? Was it some kind of threat!?"

*Presumably, Grapevine is in the area. She drops down, setting Mighty Oaky down nearby, then salutes Aroma & Eve.*

Th"Greetings, citizens!"
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*Last I knew, Ven was on a bus headed for Taiyo's workplace.*

"10 minutes is lucky," June sat down. "One of you should get a car."

*Amanda sits next to June*

<I can't afford a car. This is Artemis's idea, she should get the car.>
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*Eve gets up as well, dusting herself off*

<Well, that was very convenient.>

I plain ol' forgot, so logically she should have missed her stop several times the meathead, but I'm more giving than The Giver who wasn't all that giving and the bus arrives outside.

Seeing the blur and likely surprised it didn't shatter the windows, Taiyo comes running out.

Taiyo: "Is everyone okay?"

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Yes, Artemis should ask her parents to buy her a car because her life is an episode of My Super Sweet Sixteen.

A goddamn blur rips by them, the gust of wind kicking up all kinds of dust and debris. If Jin saw this, she'd be jealous as all Hell.

They hear an explosion from elsewhere in the parking lot and see the smoke rising.

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Tony: "How am I supposed to phase through anything to get this bomb off?!"

Morrison: "Vibrate your entire body, but don't stop running."

Tony: "What do you know about running? You're in a wheelchair!"

Morrison: "Listen to me, Tony. Breathe. Breathe. Feel the air. Feel that wind on your face. Feel the ground, your feet lifting you up, pushing you forward, and the lightning - Tony, feel the lightning. Feel its power. It's electricity pumping through your veins, crackling through you, travelling to every nerve in your body, like a shock. You're no longer you now. You're part of something greater. You're a part of a speed-force. It's yours. Now do it."

An explosion comes over the system.

Tony: "I did it, Dr. Sells. The bomb's off."

"What makes you think I can just buy a--"

*Having been drowned out by an explosion, Artemis rubs her ears.*

"WHAT WAS THAT?! I'M GONNA GO CHECK IT OUT!"

*Still rubbing her ears, she approaches the smoke.*

"DO YOU GUYS SEE THAT SMOKE?!"
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*Ven looks around, put on the spot.*

V"What? How should I know?"
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Th"Not quite."

*Aroma opens that picture, trying to determine where it was taken from.*

L"I'll scout the alleys."

*So Luna goes to do that.*

A"I'll, uh, just get to safety--Mrs. Grapevine."

Th"That would be best, Noble Citizen."

*She looks at Aroma, confused.*

Th"...Mrs.?"

*Aroma shrugs.*

June jumped to her feet and followed Artemis with a hand on her shoulder, still wincing and with a hand cupped over one ear, "Hey, careful now!"

Eve:<Well, good luck with whatever you're doing...>

*She follows Aroma, still getting dust out of her hair*
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*Amanda's barriers shimmer in the air had the explosion sounds, then fall away a second later*

<YEAH IT'S LIKE RIGHT THERE!>

*She looks at June*

<Oh shit, sorry about that.>

*She follows*

It's a regular meeting of the minds here for something that just occurred, but ain't no one remember it apparently. But as there's no damage even though there should be, there's nothing to fear. Except spiders.

The picture was taken from across the street.

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A crowd is already gathering, mall security trying to keep everyone the hell away while random people look and ask what happened while others swear that their car was blown up out of nowhere.

Also they missed their bus.

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Tony returns to the room Morrison and the blond are in, pulling the mask off his costume down.

Tony: "I never want to do that again."

Morrison: "The General likely has something for you to try."

Tony: "Not after that thing with the needles. That suit that was supposed to protect me didn't help much."

Morrison: "Yes, well you did a good job, Tony. Return the suit and return to your quarters. You'll actually have to walk since the nanites are functional again."

And so Tony goes to do just that.

???: "For someone in a wheelchair, you sure know a lot about the abilities that require of one's legs of little Tony."

Morrison: "I like to be informed, Ms. Amore. And I want everyone ready for what's going to happen. Especially all these young Mutants and aspiring heroes. The events that will transpire won't just effect the city, but the country if not the planet. They need to have full use of their abilities before they need them rather than later when they need them most.

Mayor Ditko's negotiations will fail and he will die which will only be another distraction for them."

Ms. Amore: "Another distraction?"

Morrison: "Yes. The Tyranno Boys are still active so long as their leader still stands. Putting him behind bars did nothing for the larger gang. We need to cut the hydras head off."

Ms. Amore: "But won't a new one grow back?"

Morrison: "Yes. But this will be a head of my choosing. Ms. Amore, we're going to break Raptor out of Schwarzstein Friday night."

*Well of course Thiera looks to see if anyone's there or if there's any place for someone to hide. She also links to her lawn, feeling for any foot prints that don't belong.*

Th"Please do not go near any of the houses until I finish scouting the area. Seek cover instead."

*So Aroma nods, even though Grapevine isn't looking at her, & heads for the nearest cover. Being an admin on The Grapevine, she decides to set it to send her & Thiera automatic updates, something which should have been done ages ago.*
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*As mentioned previously, Luna is going around the perimeter, searching for anything odd either nearby or even atop the nearest buildings.*
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*No matter, Artemis is making her way to the smoke to try to see what caused the explosion.*
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*Ven looks around.*

V"So, where is Aroma? She said she was with you, & I promised to meet you both here."

*She points to where she is standing, in case Taiyo needed clarification.*

"Did you guys see that blur? Do you think a mutant did this?" June asked, looking for the security that would probably be turning them away.

Amanda:<Maybe. Actually, make that probably, since we are in Manderlay.>
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*Eve goes to seek cover next to Aroma*

Taiyo: "She went that way."

Taiyo points in the direction Aroma went although Ven should be able to smell her out. Aroma needs to bathe more.

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Maybe Binah's home. As a lonely spinster, she probably is, but I don't know. As the picture was taken from across the street, ain't no one tramping on the lawn.

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A few cars are destroyed while others have varying degrees of damage done to them from the shockwave and debris and most people in the crowd are either whispering about what they think happened or audibly mad about their car being wrecked.

There's pieces of debris scattered about and being an uneducated valley girl, Artemis likely can't tell what's from what caused the explosion and what's automobile parts.