War On Crime

Iori: "Iori. It's nice to meet you, Aroma."

He puts the newspaper down, to shake her hand. Then they all hear Taiyo proclaim she's ready.

For once she has her hair down and she's probably too far away to see she has on some eyeliner and glittery lip gloss, as well her blouse (sans wrinkles) being somewhat transparent, but her blue thigh high skirt is noticeable.

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On the other end of the phone is a male voice that should be familiar to Thiera.

Deathstrike: "Hello, Thiera. Have you thought about my question?"

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Being hero time, Azuma and Mimiru suit up and head out to wherever the rooftops take them. If only either of them had super hearing.

*Aroma is about to say something when she finds herself distracted. She looks to where Taiyo is entering the room & blushes under the blush she's already applied.*

A"Wow--you look gorgeous."
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Th"I'm afraid I don't know who you are. You sound a bit too old to be a classmate, and I don't recall hearing any job offers lately. I'm fairly busy tonight, so if you could please skip straight to the point. Oh, but if you're selling something, then I don't want whatever it is."

*It ought to strike Slade Ripoff that she has no emotional reaction, almost as if she expected this call. Since there tend to not be windows in dorm halls, she casually leads Ven on their way. Finding this suspicious, Vene begins sniffing the hall, perking her ears, & looking around.*
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L"Near the mayor's office. I want to make sure he's getting the protection he needs."
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*After watching for a couple minutes, Artemis continuing to slouch into the couch until she's practically absorbed into it, an electronic beeping from the kitchen is joined by the sound of the door opening.*

E<That'll be the pizza & your father. I'll get the former, say hi to the latter.>

Art"Kay. Hey dad."

S'bu<Whoa, careful kiddo, don't be too enthusiastic. I'm not as young as I used to be, you're gonna throw out my back if you keep jumping all over me.>

*A man with close cropped hair and a small beard on his chin enters the room. Dressed in similar colors to Euryale, but business casual, he unbuttons his collar as his slightly darker amber eyes sweep the room, eventually coming to rest on his guest.*

S'bu<Oh, hello, Amanda. Teenagers these days still like frozen pizza, right?>

Eve:<Understood. I'll be there by dusk. Anything else I should be aware of?>
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Amanda:<Oh, hello Mr. Rakshashi! Of course, frozen pizza is fine by us.>

Taiyo looks taken back a bit and stammers a bit more than usual.

Taiyo: "T-thank you. You too."

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Deathstrike: "Twenty minutes or Binah Psyche dies tonight."

With that he hangs up.

Th"It seems we'll have to make a slight detour to my mother's house beforehand."

*Ven's head snaps back to Thiera.*

V"Why, is she in danger?"

Th"Of course not, I made sure to provide her with the utmost security. But that means we'll have an arrest to make within the next 20 minutes."
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L"I haven't heard from Grapevine, Aromatic Grass, or Queer Arrow. It might just be us tonight."
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*Aroma blushes further & fiddles with the hair over her right ear, but she now has a big, goofy grin. But some powerful subconscious force keeps her other hand rooted to her stomach.*

"Thank you--oh--it was very nice to meet you."

*As she says that, she turns back to Taiyo's dad.*

Eve:<In that case...I might bring along a friend of mine, if you don't mind. Don't worry, he's trustworthy. I've been working with him for a while now.>

Taiyo: "I uh...guess we should get going?"

Loren: "Do you two need a ride anywhere?"

*She half-turns toward Taiyo when she speaks, but looks back at Loren.*

A"Oh, no, I've taken care of that--but thank you."
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L"As you wish. I'll be with you shortly."
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Th"A moment before we go outside."

*Thiera leads Ven into the bathroom, as I'm sure there's some public restroom for janitors or something. She looks around to make sure it's empty.*

{Alright. See you.}

*Eve hangs up and starts getting dressed for action*

Loren: "All right. Have fun you two and be safe."

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It's empty because only losers want to stick around their dorm on a Friday. Like Thiera. The loser.

A"Of course, thank you!"

*She walks over next to Taiyo, offering the girl her arm. The arm covering her stomach relaxes just slightly.*
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*It's an apartment, but regardless, Thiera turns on the faucet, running her hand under the water before sweeping it through her hair, which becomes vibrantly red & curly.*

V"You're going to have to give me the name of that product."

*She next begins dabbing her face, which darkens where she touches it, as if she were a habitual tanner.*

Th"I think it best if we travel incognito. Please come over here."

*And so, once she's sufficiently disguised--which also includes spreading a thin membrane of discolored moss over her clothes so they look black--she begins working on Ven. The changes she makes here are much subtler, largely using make up to change the perceived look of her face & cover up her muscles. Once satisfied, they head off, looking for a secluded place a few blocks away for Thiera to shift into her Grapevine attire.*

Th"Since we are short on time at the moment, I'll just make you a mask, & we can head right there."

V"Sounds good to me."
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*Luna is skulking out of the house dressed like some kind of horror movie villain, as she is wont to do. She proceeds toward the meeting place, in the manner she usually travels.*

*Eve, now dressed in her costume, slips ouut of her house, heading towards Cameron's. Climbing up a pine tree, she throws pinecones at the window until Cameron comes to check. Upon seeing her, he turns white and starts scribbling on a piece of paper before holding it up for Eve to see*

M.B. device in neck, remember? Sorry. Jin?

*Eve shakes her head, then heads down the tree before sneaking off to her destination*

Thiera should've spent less time colonizing and whitewashing Ven as they're gonna have less time to rescue Momma Psyche. If only the one speedster they knew didn't disappear.

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Taiyo takes Aroma's arm and sets off with her to the cab or sketchy van or however Aroma got there, saying farewell to her parents because now it is time for Aroma and Taiyo to elope.

OOC: It's more like airbrushing, it only took a couple of minutes, & they can fly.

*Presuming they found a spot for Thiera to whip out her wings, since nobody told me otherwise, they are now flying toward Binah's house. Ven wears a mask similar to Thiera's, & both are in "night mode."*

V"You really need to think of a better way to transport passengers."

Th"Why do you say that?"

*She fidgets slightly in the vine sling that has her suspended below Thiera, scratching where the plants dig into her flesh.*

V"No reason."

Th"Please don't move so much, it impacts my aerodynamics."
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*When they get to the back of the cab, Aroma opens the door & holds it open for Taiyo. The driver, who for some reason is an East Indian beatnik woman, glances up in the rearview mirror.*

<Oh, so this is why you said you didn't need any condoms.>

*Aroma's head snaps in her direction with the unmistakable deer-in-headlights look. Taiyo can visibly see the redness rising in her face in the pale light, as if they were in some cartoon.*
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*Luna is either skulking about in the mayoral parking lot like a creeper, or she's en route to do just that.*

*Cameron heads down stairs, scratching the back of his neck*
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*Eve is still in route*

Taiyo certainly looks embarrassed getting into the cab and just what in God's name has Aroma been saying to people?

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As they fly to potentially watch Thiera's mom die, they might see all those other losers skulking around to do things. How cool would that be if everyone got to see Binah Psyche die?

But they're on a time limit, so they can't stop to chat.

*A mortified Aroma gets in after her, mumbling into her lap something about "just a romantic evening, you misunderstood."*

<Huh? Speak up, I can't hear you back there! Where did you say you wanted to go?>

*Aroma looks up long enough to stammer out the address, then goes back to wringing her hands & watching them. The meter begins clicking as they set off.*
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*They soon land on a roof near Binah's house, the vines snapping so Ven can extricate herself. They hunker low & look around.*

Th"Be on the lookout for anything suspicious. But this is more than likely an ambush intended for myself. One we ought to see coming from this vantage point."
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*Luna enn route, apparently.*
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*The people I absolutely did not forget about are now eating pizza while watching detective shows.*

*Eve is still enroute*
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*Still watching, I guess*

That toll will probably be absolutely outrageous considering the long wait which was not at all Taiyo's fault, but the fault of the one who decided to take a cab and not the bus. I suppose they take in the sights of the city, Taiyo reaching over to give Aroma's hand a squeeze which probably won't make a difference.

They should go grab some xanax.

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Outside of any plants that may be outside the house being dead assuming they can see that kind of detail, everything looks normal. No laser sights on anyone's forehead or anything like that.

Thiera's phone goes off indicating she has a text message which if she reads says time's almost up. Of course whether or not Binah is even still alive is another story. Do you think someone who kills for money is going to be the honest type?

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Azuma: "You ever think we'll be cool enough to have walkie talkies like those other people in the costumes?"

Mimiru: "No."

The cool kids and their walkie talkies are probably staring at each other by now. I'm doing nothing to stop them from meeting up.

OOC: If I regret this, you shall pay the toll in blood & flesh.

*Aroma looks over & smiles sheepishly, & for the first time that night, Taiyo can probably catch a glimpse of her stomach.*

Annoying Cabbie<D'awww.>
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*Thiera furrows her brow.*

Th"Something's wrong...my plants shouldn't be so easy to kill."

V"Hey, wait a...! Minute...."

*As Thiera had flown off on her own, Ven sighs & starts climbing down the house she's on, using her claws to get a good grip. For her part, Thiera lands on the road just outside of the house, a root from her shoe snaking into the sidewalk, where it will travel underground until it connects with the pipes, forming a sort of sonar system that will detect foreign objects in the house or under the yard. Meanwhile, she looks around to see if her plants activated before their untimely demise.*
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*Specter shows up out of the darkness in a manner I imagine is utterly horrifying, looking around as he does for any sign of increased security.*

L"Where is this partner of yours?"
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Art"So...we were planning on hittin' the town after dinner. That alright with you?"

E"Oh yeah? Where are you going?"

Eve:<They couldn't make it, unfortunately.>
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Amanda:<I though we might go for ice cream or something.>

Taiyo likely notices, but Aroma's frighten easily and would probably have a massive heart attack if Taiyo were to do something at this moment and really just doing things in a cab is a bad idea. There'll be other opportunities.

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They were not. Like a big ol' off switch was hit before they were murdered in their plant sleep. Plants sleep now. Deal with it.

There are others in the house besides Binah. Two other people for that matter. She should hurry up before there's only those two in the house.

*Thiera reaches out to touch one of the dead plants, probably doing something to it, & then points to a window on the upper floor. She then enters through the kitchen window like a prowler, picking the lock if necessary. She pauses briefly to grab a handful of knives, securing them to the inside of her coat with sap, as well as some bug spray & a lighter, which she slips into her pockets. The result is that, by the time Ven has already jumped off of the wall & scurried after her, she can just barely see the hem of Thiera's outfit disappear as she creeps off after the home invaders. With a huff of annoyance, Ven begins climbing to the window she indicated.*
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*I don't wanna be in this cab forever, so after a few minutes, the driver parks & looks back.*

Driver<Alright, this is the place.>

*Aroma hands her some kind of card to pay with, & outside of the window, Taiyo can see a squat, black building with a green strip at the top displaying the restaurant's name. It's dominated by windows & glass doors, & inside looks something like this, only with white table cloths & chair cushions, because holy shit, break up that wooden look a bit. There may also be some paper lanterns, because it's such a pretty stereotype. Once Aroma has been charged, she deposits the card back into her purse, getting out & trotting over to help Taiyo with her door.*
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Art"Sounds good to me."

E"I'm tempted to ask you to bring me back something."

S'bu<Y'know it won't survive the trip. Besides, we don't want to rush 'em back inside. We can pick some up tomorrow.>

Art"I'll have to take Amanda back home at some point. Maybe I can stop at the corner store on the way back."
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L"The same seems to be said for the mayor's security."

*She pulls out her phone & starts calling his office.*

*Eve nods, waiting beside Luna*
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Amanda:<Come on Arty, I can walk myself home later. I don't need you to protect me.>

*She rises and puts on her jacket*

Amanda:<Thanks for the meal, I really appreciate it.>

Taiyo thanks the cab driver and Aroma as she exits the cab. I bet Aroma thinks if she pulls Taiyo's chair out, she'll totally put out.

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Thiera's phone goes off because she's getting a phone call. For not only her sake, but Binah's it best be on vibrate. Which was the thing I meant to ask about, but forgot.

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It rings a few times before a mechanical female voice say she has reached the officer of Mayor Steve Ditko where she gets a rehearsed message about the officer being closed and the hours and please leave a message or call back during officer hours yadda yadda yadda.