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Post by themascura on Apr 15, 2012 16:43:32 GMT -5
The scent of corndogs and cotton candy mingled with the salty-sweet scent of the ocean. The evening blazed with one of the rare, clear-skied days Gotham was occasionally treated to. The warm breeze wrapped itself around Cleo's legs and caressed her bare arms, whispering through the cotton folds of her white sundress.
The organizers of the gem show had chosen the weekend well. Cleo adjusted the brim of her woven sun-hat and smiled at a passing little boy, his infant jowls coated with a smile and ice cream. The tap-tap of her heels disappeared below the laughter always present in Robinson Park and the spirited haggling also present today. She headed into the ladies room that had been built for the park and selected a stall in the back, sliding the lock firmly in place and hanging her tote on the little hook provided. Her manicured hands dipped into the bag, pulling a thin gray-green suit from the interior and replacing it with her hat, glasses, and when she was done changing, her white sundress.
She normally wore black for occasions such as this, but today warranted a special color, more likely to blend in.
The supposed heiress slipped over the top of the stall, leaving her bag behind for now, and navigated her way out of the ladies room, sticking to the shadows cast by the noon sun.
White tents scattered artfully around the park were filled with a variety of metals and gems, ranging from common to precious. The precious ones, of course, were veiled behind layers of rope, tarp and security, hidden away in the larger tents.
And in the largest tent of all, with dozens of watchful eyes aimed all around it, the Rouge's Emerald twinkled flirtatiously, waiting patiently in it's cloth and canvas prison.
Today, in the full light of day, there would be a prison break. Cleo planned on liberating the gem from it's jealous owners and taking it away, where it could be appreciated for the beauty it was.
After all. It was the Rouge's Emerald, and she was a Rouge. It practically had her name on it.
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Post by ananorai on Apr 15, 2012 20:23:53 GMT -5
In all honesty, the one and only real reason Lila was there was that she was procrastinating the training she needed to do in order to accomplish what she told herself could be an "educational opportunity": observing people staring at a very expensive rock. It could help me see how normal people act. Then again, what normal people go out of their way to look at near-pointless objects? So then, I guess my real objective is to see how people of the upper class act, Lila tried to convince herself. She even attempted to go incognito for the trip by wearing the prettiest outfit she had: a plain white shirt with slightly puffed sleeves and a tiered light blue skirt. However, the frays on the skirt, her red backpack and her black, dirty converse shoes probably killed the attempt. Nonetheless, Lila was (for the most part) determined to see what people would do when faced with a pretty stone hidden in a glass case.
Lila whistled quietly with her hands clasped behind her back and tried to focus on her so-called "mission". Being 12, Lila was not very successful with this. Her eyes strayed more than once to the stone itself. Granted, it was pretty to her poorer-than-dirt eyes, but she still saw no real point to it. Not at least to the extent of showing it off to people in a big fancy party in a park. Seeing as how Lila wasn't focused on her task (and how she didn't want to), she decided to change her objective to something more interesting.
Before going to see the jewel, Lila packed her backpack with her costume. If the need arose, she could simply slip into an inconspicuous space, change, and defeat a couple bad guys until help arrived. At least, that was how Lila saw how the situation would go, if it would go. Maybe the Justice League would come and I could see if...but I'm being optimistic and getting ahead of myself. Lila shook her head of all such thoughts and scanned the crowd for anyone suspicious. There was bound to be someone who wanted to take the stone for himself. They were displaying a priceless gem in an open, public event. There might as well have been a sign that read 'steal me! Steal me!' and though the jewel was probably protected by countless precautions and security measures, if Lila knew anything about criminals, they were stubborn and they were smart. Lila brushed her hair behind her ear and walked about, trying to look normal and inconspicuous but still trying to keep an eye out on the Rouge's Emerald.
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Post by doppleganger119 on Apr 18, 2012 4:43:34 GMT -5
Lars pressed himself up against the grimy wall of the dark alleyway, silently observing as the two young police officers closest to him chatted, oblivious to his presence. Although Lars preferred the rooftops of Gotham, where nothing could hold you back and you were free to go where you please, in contrast to the narrow, suffocating alley he occupied, he was thankful for the cover. He had not come clad in full costume, and instead in a simple short sleeved shirt,dark tinted sunglasses and jeans. Not that he had been intending to steal anything, as unbelievable as that was, but the sole reason for his attendance on the fine day (which was uncommon in Gotham, even in the richer, less corrupted areas) was to identify his competition on this end of the city. He had recently, in only the last 8 hours, migrated from the North-Easterly end, seeing as it was more convenient to reside here since the Batman took over the North end a many months ago. He had been doing alright so far, dodging the vigilantes most common perches and lookout spots, but the last couple of nights he had almost, -almost being the keyword- been caught. So from now on, just to be on the safe side, he was not far from here, in a dodgy old building that was sure to collapse at even the slightest hint of an earthquake. Or, more commonly, some fight between the so called 'superheroes' and a random, everyday Gothamite/Sociopath.
Of course it could also be because of the fact that all the rich, wealthy pigs lived around Robinson Park, one of the only clean, bright places in the entirety of Gotham.
Peering over the corner of the building overshadowing him currently, Lars glanced over towards the large tent smack in the middle of the event. The prize of the fair, the Rogue's Emerald, was secured from grabby hands and greedy fingers, by a shield consisting of of metal frame, a blanket of sterile white tarpaulin, buff looking guards and and finally a gathering crowd of awed spectators. Said jewel was what any capable, avaricious thief would be here for, and the means by which he would use to sniff out his rivals.
He was sure though, that any somewhat paranoid, yet tactful league member would be monitoring the treasure; Question, Batman, and the Martian Manhunter to name a few. Lars was not worried though, he and any other decent purloiner knew how to blend in with a crowd of this size. It would surely be a piece of cake.
His plan was to, for lack of a better term, be lazy. He would simply be an innocent passer-by, as he would wait patiently for the present bandit to create a distraction, tail the person, (covertly of course) then disappear, maybe after planting a few trackers he had picked from a police department, while digging up information on various criminals. Though, he would probably attempt to pinch the gem as well, no honour among thieves right?
Lars relaxed his tensed muscles, shoved both his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans, and casually and inconspicuously trotted down the side-walk.
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Post by themascura on Apr 19, 2012 15:12:07 GMT -5
A shadow against shadow, Cleo slipped along through the folds of tents scented heavily with metal and freshly-cut grass. The evening was a symphony of laughter and movement written just for her. She danced to it, sliding through half-twirls and languid somersaults, making her way to the crown of the event.
Behind her, in the fading evening, she left a series of harmless flash-bangs. The devices were harmless little pieces of light and noise. When they went off in... ten minutes or so, the owners of the Rouge's Emerald would no doubt panic and shut down the tent, closing their security around it.
She executed a final, lazy flip and landed in the embracing folds of the largest tent, the gray-green shadows blanketing the movement of their kindred spirit.
Cleo palmed the small, sharp knife that was part of her retinue and gently slit a small hole in the very bottom of the tent. With her other hand she caught the falling fabric and held it in place. It was over in minutes, a small doorway cut just for her, but not quite ready to use. The soft fabric of the tent did not so much as whisper as she broke a small capsule and rubbed it down the flap.
Still holding the fabric in place, she crouched low and ducked beneath it, her nose brushing so close to the ground she could smell the warmth of dirt and grass. The hand holding the flap pressed it lightly against the serrated edge of the tent it had so recently been separated from. The fabric held it's position as she slid in and waited. There would be a moment when almost, if not everyone, would be looking away from the gem.
She crouched, muscles tensed, ready to roll toward the gem's container.
A moment later, a violent cacophony erupted, followed by dozens of small domes of light. To the careless observer, it might even seem that a few bombs had just been dropped on the fairgrounds.
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Post by ananorai on Apr 21, 2012 14:11:43 GMT -5
Lila expected the crook to come with a bang; what she wasn't expecting was that he'd come with a literal bang. Several, in fact.
Lila supposed that it was time to spring into action when the loud bangs sounded. She ran on the edge of the crowd that was fleeing the scene until she reached a nearby alley with a sizable dumpster. Hiding behind the dumpster, Lila hurriedly took off her shirt, skirt, and converse in order to put on her navy blue stockings and leotard and silver shorts and boots. Gulping down a moderate amount of saliva, Lila nervously placed her mask on her face.
Lila peeked around the edge of the dumpster. Half of the security team was on crowd control while the others were on trying to protect the jewelry. Lila considered what would be the better place to go to.
With a hand on her chin, Lila considered helping with crowd control but given the chance the either the guards or the crowd would freak out, Lila decided against it. She then considered going to check out those bangs, but she also figured that security would be all over that. After further consideration, Lila decided that it was best to check out the state of the jewels to make sure that they were okay.
With her mental calculations complete, Lila did her best to crouch beside the dumpster and not be scene. With her eyes closed and her mind focused, Lila turned into the haze in its gaseous form and moved quickly between people’s feet. When she reached the back edge of one of the smaller tent, she reformed herself back into a human. After peering under several of the small tents and seeing that everything was okay, Lila was about to leave. She smacked herself in the forehead, however, thus stopping herself in her tracks. The Rouge’s Emerald! Of course! Lila started running to the one tent she failed to think of checking and hoped she wasn’t too late.
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Post by doppleganger119 on Apr 22, 2012 5:20:32 GMT -5
Lars' sensitive ears picked up the sound of the explosion instantly.
Lars felt everyone on the fairgrounds freeze simultaneously, and he took the opportunity to race past the blinded guards and behind one of the tents, keeping an eye on the middle stall for the Rogues Emerald.
Lars cocked his head in confusion, 'seeing' an oddly dressed individual peering under the flaps of the tent nearest to him. Of course! said person must be the thief here for the precious gems held in the various tents.
Stepping into the midsts of a panicking crowd, he was grateful that his 'lazy plan' had worked. He decided that the crook he was sneaking behind had a certain flare for the dramatics, due to the 'bombs'. Since he could not hear the blare of an Ambulances siren, he realised no-one had been hurt, meaning that the explosions were not harmful bombs. Not that he was affected by the bangs, he probably would done the same thing, except bigger and brighter and he would have to set something on fire. He loved the smell and heat of a raging fire.
Dashing after the person, he realised where they were off to. The thief was making a bee-line towards the massive tent storing the Rogues Emerald. Weaving in and out of the chaotic crowds he manoeuvred his way through expertly, though struggling to keep track of the his rapidly moving target.
Darting to the side opposite from the one previously being headed to, Lars ducked under the coarse security rope, careful to avoid thick defenses of muscle, even with a few guards trying to settle the public. Rolling forwards to the flap, Lars crouched in front of it. Brows furrowed as he felt the small doorway.
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Post by themascura on Apr 23, 2012 19:20:11 GMT -5
((Actually, Dopple, I was thinking that security would be really tight around the tent. Perhaps he could follow Cleo in through the slit she cut instead? She was cutting her way into the tent with the Emerald, by the way.))
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Post by doppleganger119 on Apr 23, 2012 22:27:44 GMT -5
((Sure thing. Also, he wasn't following Cleo, but Haze, somewhat confusing I think, but he can't really describe Haze due to obvious reasons (-u-') sorry 'bout that. He's heading to the side of the tent opposite from the side Haze is running towards, so he won't be seen by her. Said side happens to be the one that Cleo also entered in before, hence him noticing the 'doorway' that she cut in beforehand. ))
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Post by Krepta on Apr 26, 2012 2:53:14 GMT -5
(( Don't forget to use some form of Out of Character indication, please, doppleganger, when you post OOC, even if it's a separate post from an IC post. Thank you. ))
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Post by themascura on Apr 28, 2012 2:56:37 GMT -5
((Excellent, thanks for clearing that up! )) Cleo felt the earth move ever so gently as the flash-bangs went off. Immediately the vibration detectors that comprised the inner security for the gorgeous, winking gem. The lights flickered, just once, as the basic electricity was knocked out by a well-placed flash-bang and the back up generators took over. She rolled, tucking her knees to her chin and flinging herself across the ground, using the soft, moist dirt of the park to muffle the sound of the impact. In a moment she was at the stand, at once visible, but already in the act of snatching the glass from the pedestal. At last, the gem fit for none other than a rogue- herself! - was within her grasp. Nestled on a velveteen cushion, surrounded by beauty-enhancing lights, it had been a gilded cage the emerald had subsided in. Adrenaline sang along Cleo's nerves, ringing in her ears, dancing down her spine. She dropped the glass case carelessly to the floor and reached for the gem. Glass shattered and sprinkled through the air. A half-dozen guards moved, some toward Cleo, some toward their tazer guns. Cleo knew they would be far, far too slow to catch her, however. After all, they had never before danced the dance of thief and prize.
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Post by ananorai on Apr 28, 2012 9:23:26 GMT -5
Lila turned herself back into a haze as she approached the big tent and "flew" under the flaps of it. She materialized just in time to see the thief take the glass off the gem. From what Lila could tell, no one had noticed herself yet. Surprisingly (to Lila at least) the thief was a woman, not a man as she had expected.
Lila stood, then, and tried to look tough. She was unable to see if her effort was successful, but she sure as heck wasn't going to ask anyone if it was.
"Hey, you," Lila said to the thief, "it's not nice to take what's not yours." With this, Lila put her hands several inches apart and managed to concentrate a baseball sized ball of solid haze, which she threw at the thief's middle. It wouldn't matter if she hit the thief or not; the point of it was just to get the thief's attention away from the emerald. Of course, now Lila had to deal with a criminal with unknown abilities who managed to throw an entire park into chaos.
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Post by doppleganger119 on May 1, 2012 6:49:26 GMT -5
Calculating eyes narrowed as Lars heard an audible crash inside the housing of the gem. His mind whirled with this new found information, the outcome being two main, different possibilities: 1. One of the current individuals inside the tent was a hero, 2. They were both thieves but fighting for the treasure. Of course, there WAS always the uncommon case where two villains would battle just to draw the attention of a particular hero, laying out some kind of trap-
His thought processes were interrupted by the loud call of a rookie cop not more than a hundred meters from Lars and the Emerald. The cop was currently motioning for his older looking, but reluctant partner to make sure all the goods in the various stalls scattered through-out the park, were safe. Lars remained calm, his brain telling him not to panic- though he did lean deeper into the folds of tarp', halting his movement at a 25 degree angle, careful not to cause too blatant of a ripple.
Sighing at the grunts inside, Lars tallied a mark next to the currently unknown names of the persons behind him on his mental 'People who owe me one' check-list. Lars felt the viable power surge bloom in his chest, as he willed a flashy red Ferrari to smash straight into another, more dingy, beaten up vehicle. The reaction was instantaneous, and the exploding gas drew the attention of all passer-bys. Crackling flames ate at both cars, the drivers rendered unconscious, as tires melted and people screamed, fleeing from the scene. Lars smiled at the enjoyable chaos, as the two police officers immediately went to assist in the collision. He then realised, with this new dilemma, he could determine the alliance of both beings in the tent.
Brilliant.
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Post by themascura on May 5, 2012 2:08:14 GMT -5
Cleo heard the swish of the fabric, the footsteps on the deep-green grass. When the pretty blonde girl burst into the tent, Cleo had already launched herself into a forward flip, snatching the emerald off of it's pretty pedestal and landing on the other side. Almost immediately as her feet touched earth again, she felt a small missile coming at her middle. She tucked and rolled, coming upright again three or four feet from the girl. What she found astounded her and amused her.
"Oh my, you're not one of the regulars, are you?" She cradled Rouge, as she had privately named the emerald, against her hip in the palm of her hand.
"You're so young, though!" She paused as another explosion- not one of hers- thundered above the park-ground noise. The tell-tale scream of car alarms erupted soon after. She arched an eyebrow at the girl.
"Hm. Sounds like something worse than grand theft is going on out there, lady hero. People could be getting hurt." The elder blonde mused out loud. Actually, she was a little worried about that herself. While there generally were no children around a gem show, a busy parking lot outside of one of Gotham's busiest fairgrounds was a different matter altogether. A small child could easily be trampled in a panic.
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Post by doppleganger119 on May 31, 2012 2:26:02 GMT -5
Lars swept up a young boy off the street, hauling him over onto the pavement, -and barely flinched when a blazing pile of sparking metal crashed down from the sky after being blown to bits. He loosened his grip on the child, who thanked him by running away screaming his head off, and being lost from Lars' sight by merging with a rapidly growing mass of hysterics.
Yes, he was out here dragging ungrateful children of the road, which he knew was incredibly heroic of him, but just because he was villainous, didn't mean he liked to see innocent human beings getting slaughtered or killed, either way ending up dead. The main reason was of course not because he was all sentimental and compassionate, but because these people made money, which was then deposited in a bank, who stupidly stuffed it in an ATM machine, which they would then place outside a bank, in the open, leaving him free to whiz in and borrow it. Permanently.
Observing the people scattering and stampeding around like head-less chickens with obvious delight, he then remembered the tedious task at hand, and though he would much rather stay here to enjoy the show, he had to himself an obligation to fulfill.
Cartwheeling and flipping unnoticed over panicked heads, Lars landed in a deep crouch not too far away from his target, then, with his telekinetic power, pushed up clumps of fertile dirt and lush grass as tiny hills that encircled the shelter. The purpose of this action is to hopefully trip up one of the persons, which would give him just enough time to snatch the jewel if he was fortunate to encounter the individual that was in possesion of the emerald. Thinking over this plan, he glanced over to the enclosure that hid the thieves or heroes, whatever they were, from prying citizen's average eyes. Though it was not the case with him. He was aware of every small movement and all extra pressure being pressed onto the ground with the soles of their feet. Right now, it told him that they had paused in their small quarrel, perhaps to talk or maybe one was being held at gunpoint... he was unable to define every detail of their faces, due to the panic around him confusing the motion receptor in his brain, with so much information to process it was not fast enough to identify the details as well.
Ears picking up the whir of police sirens, Lars swore under his breath, now thinking it would've actually been so much more logical and undetectable to simply dispose of the two nosy police officers. Now the original number of two would septuple to about fourteen. He would have to evacuate the area, though the sole purpose of his outing was not yet fulfilled. The only way to accomplish that now would be to interrupt their showdown, as his motion detecting ability's main receiver would automatically lock onto the forms that were so close to him, analyzing and scanning their bodily structures. His senses were not unlike a machine, as it was also not overly elaborate, and as the device's controller, he could also simply lock onto them from here, but because of the distance between him and the intended destination, doing so would dull his acuteness to any objects around him, and the scene would blur and become somewhat unintelligible.
Pushing off from his temporary refuge behind his current tent, Lars decided to-
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Post by themascura on Jun 1, 2012 14:36:09 GMT -5
Seconds ticked by. Precious minutes. Cleo grew antsy. The girl was clearly conflicted, but really! Cleo didn't have time for this!
"Here." She snapped suddenly, tossing a small satchel at the girl, "Take it!" She threw herself to the side immediately after, tucking her legs to her chest and rolling through the improvised hatch she had used to enter the tent.
She slid a little as she exited. A light mist sprinkled on the exposed portion of her face. Sprinklers. And the haze from fire-hoses. What a shame. Some exquisite works of art were going to be ruined by the water, if not the smoke... trampling feet... people were such animals when they got frightened. The woman heaved herself to her feet and sprang toward the parking lot. There was a chance there were still children out there, children lost, separated from their parents, in imminent danger from the raging flames that lapped at filled gas tanks...
And, after she made sure to rescue any children, she could make her way home with the emerald swinging comfortably in the large pocket on her thigh!
The rank smell of burning rubber and heated metal made her nose want to curl in on itself as she raced toward the fire. She dropped a little lower, running in a near-crouch, and then, suddenly a flash of something raced across her mind.
She froze, trying to grasp the cold, slick feeling that had struck her suddenly. Someone was watching her. How in this mess could they even begin to see her? Was it Batman? No. He had an entirely different feeling. This was a stranger. She rolled behind a tent and frowned, confused. Why, with burning cars and tons of valuables scattered around, was someone watching her?
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