Aberrant: Cognizant Chimera - Cognizant Chimera - The Early Years...

[Archer21]

"Umm, ok, did your 'friends' tell you how many bad guys there are, or where they are standing in relation to the inside of the bank.?"

Standing about 50 feet away, Jimmy clearly hears the question, and after a few minutes of visually scanning the interior of the bank, walks over to the nearest police officer. "Uh..excuse me, officer. I can tell you how many robbers there are, and how many hostages, and where they are if you want to know. Is there someone in charge I should talk to?"

[Asbjørn]

As he gets out of the truck Dog looks the area over. Not really sure what the hell he could - or should - do to help, he remains standing near Martha and the officer she's talking to.

Seriously though, we'd like to help out any way possible - we're strong, tough and some of us are damn near bulletproof.

"Heh. Yeah, well... A lot of good that'll do. Unless we could switch places with the hostages, of course..."

[malkboy]

(The Bank)

Even as Finnegan hops out of the pickup truck, it becomes obvious that the police feel threatened a bit by the sudden inflex of people wanting to help out, so the officer in charge instructs an officer to start setting up a police tape barricade. The rest of the police officers on the scene draw their focus on a pair of glass doors just beyond the matching novas. A few SWAT team members rush forward towards the two Michaels, lifting the barrels of the rifles they hold, and one of them states loudly, “Move slowly towards the vehicles, lay down on the ground, and place your hands behind your heads.”

From above the gray brick and glass building that makes up the bank is easy to survey, although, there isn’t much to see but the rooftop. Andric did however clearly see Jimmy edged ever closer to the building then a few moments later as he approaches the officer who is finishing putting up the police barricade. The airspace around the bank however, gets a bit more crowded as two helicopters hover over the scene, forcing Andric to make a choice, land or move away from the scene.

The plainclothes cop who is obviously in charge looks to Martha and the rest of the group standing with her when they approach, "We received a warning that a group of paranormals were coming in a truck. While we thank you for your offer, since you're not trained to deal with a hostage situation I'm not sure what you could possibly do to assist us. " Just seconds after saying that a uniformed patrolman runs up and whispers something into lead officer's ear, gesturing towards the brick building. He turns back to the group, "If you'll excuse me..."

(On Top of the Parking Garage)

Even as the group on top of the parking garage talks, the smell of kerosene becomes stronger and stronger until it becomes almost unbearable.

[Archer21]

Irritated at being ignored by the patrol officer, Jimmy notices another uniform running over to the plainclothes officer in charge. Zipping over, he rejoins his current companions and stares at the man in charge. He's about to repeat himself when the man speaks.

"We received a warning that a group of paranormals were coming in a truck. While we thank you for your offer, since you're not trained to deal with a hostage situation I'm not sure what you could possibly do to assist us. If you'll excuse me... "

Clapping his mouth shut, Jimmy looks around at the others, then back at the plainclothes officer. Frustrated, he speaks louder than he intended. "Excuse me, sir, but I've got some info that could really help you with your hostage situation! I can tell you how many people are inside, and where they are located. Do you want to know, or should I just friggin' leave?"

[ProfPotts]

A few SWAT team members rush forward towards the two Michaels, lifting the barrels of the rifles they hold, and one of them states loudly, “Move slowly towards the vehicles, lay down on the ground, and place your hands behind your heads.”

Slowly circling over the heads of the crowd, the Michaels look down at the SWAT team, exchange a glance, & shake their heads. One lands in a crouch in front of the heavily armed police, before standing (wings outstretched in a suitable dramatic fashion), & speaking in a deep, but calm, voice,

"I'd advise against discharging your weapons, officers - you don't want to alarm all those armed hostage takers in the bank, now, do you? Don't worry about my 'brother' - he's just going to give those men in there a more appropriate target..."

With that, the Michael who remained airborne suddenly swoops in low & fast, crashing through the front doors of the bank! Inside he lands in a crouch, wings wrapped round him, then looks up, emerald fire blazing in his eyes, & stands whilst stretching his wings to their full span, & calling with as much force & authority as his deep voice can muster,

"Step forth, sinners, & face my judgement!"

As he does so, he makes sure to take in as much detail as he can of what's going on in the bank - making sure that his 'others' share his thoughts - & generally tries to look imposing enough to distract the gunmen from their hostages.

Back at the mansion, Michael steps closer to the reporter, moving one wing to shelter her from the rain, & saying quietly, but firmly,

"Tell me where your office is, & maybe I'll choose to visit you later tonight."

[ezekiel]

Clapping his mouth shut, Jimmy looks around at the others, then back at the plainclothes officer. Frustrated, he speaks louder than he intended. "Excuse me, sir, but I've got some info that could really help you with your hostage situation! I can tell you how many people are inside, and where they are located. Do you want to know, or should I just friggin' leave?"

Lance can be seen talking with a group of officers behind the yellow tape as he catches a glimpse of Jimmy. Holding up a finger to the group he walks up to Jimmy and the officer.

"Yes, of course we could use any information you can give us. Please come with me sir and I'll introduce you to the chief."

Lance walks Jimmy through the yellow line police barrier and lets him talk to the officers in the group.

With that, the Michael who remained airborne suddenly swoops in low & fast, crashing through the front doors of the bank!

Lance looks up, swears under his breath and addresses the chief

"Keep the SWAT and others out of it for now! C'mon Jimmy, maybe we can use your super powers after all!"

Lance runs to the front doors of the bank.

[Bahamut810]

Cid sighs. The hell are these people thinking?

"Jimmy? Why dont you just tell the man in charge here where everything is. These guys seem to have everything under control. And they are trained to deal with all this after all. IF you go running in like that guy..." he points at the vacating Lance. " Your just going to get arrested for obstructing justice or vigilanteism. Do you really want to be among the first of us arrested?"

He turns to look at the main group. "Guys...I know that we have been blessed with great powers, no matter what we can do. But lets keep ourselves in check, here. We arent police officers, or keepers of the peace. We are a rag tag group of special people. I know that in the comics or on TV groups like us will always win with no one dieing in the attempt. But this is real life. Not the comics. We dont have any strategies, we dont know eachothers limitations. Can we even trust one another? Martha has already expressed that she didnt think she could. I dont know you well enough to know if I could."

Cid puts his hand up in case somepeople try to object in a passive salute for silence untill he is done.

"I know that we all mean well. I know that we all want to 'do our part' to help out. But this isent our part. All we would be doing is putting people in danger, of pissing off these robbers enough to kill someone. Remember the saying, 'With great power comes great responcability'. In doing this, we arent being responsible."

[Archer21]

IF you go running in like that guy..." he points at the vacating Lance. " Your just going to get arrested for obstructing justice or vigilanteism. Do you really want to be among the first of us arrested?"

Letting himself be hustled of by Lance, Jimmy has no chance to reply before he's standing in front of whoever Lance takes him to.

With that, the Michael who remained airborne suddenly swoops in low & fast, crashing through the front doors of the bank!

Doing his best to accurately describe what he saw to the officers there, Jimmy is as surprised as anyone else when Michael goes crashing through the window!

"C'mon Jimmy, maybe we can use your super powers after all!"

"But...but...I can't even take a punch..." Uncertain, Jimmy hears Cid's voice addressing the others.

I know that in the comics or on TV groups like us will always win with no one dieing in the attempt. But this is real life. Not the comics.

Without realizing it, Jimmy whispers to himself, "Not the comics...real life people don't get shot either in the comics. And real life never had superheroes before either. But I don't wanna get shot either..."

His once-chubby face now hardens into firm resolve. "But I can't let those people die if I can help!"

Jimmy the couch potato darts after Lance at incredible speed, passing him easily and entering the bank. Already aware of the robbers general positions, he slams full tilt into the one he remembers as having the warm gun!

[Obsidian Shade]

Andric dropped out of the sky avoiding the helicopters and landing on a near rooftop. He was thinking about what to do, as the "Demon" took the initiative. Then Andric decided to stay out of the way, at first. But it seemed to him, that this situation was going to worse and he would soon be involved.

[Heritage]

Martha is torn between her desire to do what's best and her hunger for action; as all hell starts breaking loose, she turns back to the officer in charge with a pained expression.

See? I told ya we'd screw things up proper - it's what we super folks do, I guess. And now I got people inside I don't want to see die today.

She tips her hat and smiles sadly.

Sorry, boys - guess I'm part o' the problem now.

And with that, Martha scoots for the door at high speed, dropping to a crouch just inside the shattered doorway, waiting to pounce on any ne'er-do-wells.

[Bahamut810]

Cid frowns...do super powers make ones common sence go sour? I guess so.

He sees the people bolting for the door, and the moment martha takes off, he is around and off at the building and easily passes martha up (nless you have some good hyperspeed or M-dex that is ::wink ). He tries to get up to Lance, but as I dought he could, he enters after him and quickly takes tole of who all is standing and aggressive in the room.

His hands instantly glow as he takes after the most dangerous ones (i.e. with guns) and with a blinding speed proceeds to destroy any weapon he finds in the hands of anyone.

((going full tilt on this, Claws, all my quickness...everything. called shots to disarm/destroy the weapons))

[Ayre el KaBeer]

*To hell with this, I'm damned sure I'm not bloody bullet proof*

Burnie adresses the officer with upraised hands "Don't worry about me mate, I used to be a coppa' too, I'm not bloody going in". *Especially without a gun* "But if worst comes to worst I make a decent medic, and can deffinately find these boys for you if they get away ::wink ...".

[froggie]

He does not, however, rise to the bait, simply turning on his heel and walking back to Gabriel to cross his arms and lean against the barrier.

Heather Turns her attention from the other man, Gabriel, for a moment as Eddie walks away, then sets her firey gaze back on Gabriel.

"I'd like to believe you, and if I did, I'd appologize. However, the facts seem to indicate otherwise. See, one of my new abilities allows me to see the types of energy patterns people like us, and our abilities, emit. The energy trail of the lava led to this parking garage, and the smell of kerosene from the spot where the trail ended led me down here, where I found you, a nova, or whatever, with power over fire. Now, this could of course all be an incrediable coincidence, but I tend to doubt coincidence as an answer even in the most mundane of circumstances, so I'm afriad I'll be needing that explanation from you right about now, please. "

"Oh! I see now. Because you can now hallucinate the energy patterns that 'people like us emit'(Heather does finger signals for quotes as she says "people like us emit") I must have attacked you! It's not possible that I had a business meeting across the street and came back over here to get into my car..." With this she places her hand gingerly into her pocket and the jingle of keys is heard as she deposits the ligher and removes they keys from her pocket as her hair slowly fades back into the strawberry blonde human hair. She turns the keychains in her hand with some agility but obviously not as much as with the cigarette and presses the button on her car alarm remote to which it responds with a chirp emitting from a lemon yellow MR2 Spyder convertable with a black roof not too far down the garage. "... to drive home to my husband fix him dinner and turn on the television and watch again the chaos at Diamond Dawg's house." With the mention of her husband she looks down ever so slightly and twists her rings again. "But obviously since you don't believe in coincidence that can't be why I'm here. No, you insist I'm here because I threw..." Heather screws up her face in disbelief. " Flaming molten lava at you?!?!" As her tirade continues her hair begins to turn to fames at the ends again but is quashed back to it's normal state just after she finishes. "Besides that smell of kerosene that you mentioned earlier is steadily getting stronger and I have been here talking to you and it is obvious that I do not smell of kerosene and also that I have not moved. So there goes your reasoning. By the way I'm still waiting on that apology....."

::offtopic

Sorry this took so long. Started and lost it and been busy as all get out with work and the holidays.

[Asbjørn]

"What the hell is this? The f*ckin' X-Men or something?"

Dog remains behind the tape, shaking his head for the benefit of those few of the superfreaks that are still there.

"Hell, I ain't got much faith in the LAPD, but this is just plain stupid! You'd think none of these people ever even saw a gun, man! I mean, what the hell do we pay taxes for? We should be picking on someone our own size instead. Like that lava business..."

Dog leans back on one of the nearby cars and watches the circus.

[Nullifier]

Listening to her tirade, her appear about to interrupt a couple times, then shrugs and lets her finish.

"Besides that smell of kerosene that you mentioned earlier is steadily getting stronger and I have been here talking to you and it is obvious that I do not smell of kerosene and also that I have not moved. So there goes your reasoning. By the way I'm still waiting on that apology....."

When she's finally done being dramatic, he shrugs and replies, "You're not going to get an appology just by playing innocent. Just because the kerosene odor isn't connected directly with you doesn't mean you're off the hook yet. It is getting stonger though. That can't be a good sign..."

Sniffing the air, he tries to figure out which direction the smell's coming from, and at the same time cold blue flames burst forth from him, surrounding his body.

[Activating FF, malkboy. ::sly ]

[ProfPotts]

"Hell, I ain't got much faith in the LAPD, but this is just plain stupid! You'd think none of these people ever even saw a gun, man! I mean, what the hell do we pay taxes for? We should be picking on someone our own size instead. Like that lava business..."

The winged man over by the SWAT team turns at the boxer's comments, & calls (clearly enough to be heard by any media in the area),

"If you're a coward, Dog, then just admit it - some of us may wish to use our new found traits to help protect the innocent. Your personal fear of guns is no indication of the intellect level of our newly evolved peers." ::sly

[Alex Green]

Matt stares at his fellows breaking into the bank with horror and strongly thinks about taking cover. *That is exactly what they probably shouldn't be doing. All kinds of bullets are about to fly. This is going to be bad unless...*

Matt tries to turn all the gunpowder in the bank into sand.

(OOC: And even if "gunpowder" isn't the modern word for it, Matt's background would let him know what he is doing).

[Heritage]

He sees the people bolting for the door, and the moment martha takes off, he is around and off at the building and easily passes martha up (unless you have some good hyperspeed or M-dex that is ).

::offtopic Martha's got two dots of Mega-Dex and Enhanced Movement, so she can hit about 85 mph in a sprint. Don't know how fast you are, bro - wanna race ::laugh

"Hell, I ain't got much faith in the LAPD, but this is just plain stupid! You'd think none of these people ever even saw a gun, man! I mean, what the hell do we pay taxes for? We should be picking on someone our own size instead. Like that lava business..."

Dog's words sting Martha as she maintains her position in the doorway; she knows the truth of what he's saying, but she feels the actions of others have pushed her to this. Humanity is in for a bumpy ride, that's for sure.

"If you're a coward, Dog, then just admit it - some of us may wish to use our new found traits to help protect the innocent. Your personal fear of guns is no indication of the intellect level of our newly evolved peers."

This is too much for Martha to bear; she shouts for any and all Michaels to hear.

Dammit, Mike, he ain't scared a guns, he's scared a gettin' someone else shot! Unless their turnin' over a 'new leaf' as we speak, them hostages could be Swiss cheese in a minute!

[Bahamut810]

::offtopic Martha's got two dots of Mega-Dex and Enhanced Movement, so she can hit about 85 mph in a sprint. Don't know how fast you are, bro - wanna race ::laugh,,

((Ok...she beats me there ::laugh , I just skirt around her and do my thing still though))

[phoenix]

Eddie looks irked, possibly either with the rising scent or with the woman's indignance. "Jesus..", he mutters, wrinkling his nose.

Sniffing the air, he tries to figure out which direction the smell's coming from, and at the same time cold blue flames burst forth from him, surrounding his body.

"Holy sh-!" Eddie leaps backwards slightly before calming immediately and turning to Gabriel.

"What are you doing? You'll ignite the kerosene." The point is made with impressive calm, but a small degree of sarcasm leaks in to emphasize the obviousness of the second sentence.

A puzzled expression crosses over his face. "Why haven't you already, for that matter?"

[Nullifier]

"What are you doing? You'll ignite the kerosene." The point is made with impressive calm, but a small degree of sarcasm leaks in to emphasize the obviousness of the second sentence.

A puzzled expression crosses over his face. "Why haven't you already, for that matter?"

Calmly, yet with a slight note of urgency in his deep voice, Gabriel replies, "Defending myself as best I can, and I suggest you two do the same. As to the second, I'm not sure, except that the 'flames' that you see around me are merely a representation of a merging of the energies of fire and ice in an energy shield type thing, that and they're not hot at all."

He continues to sniff the air around himself as he says this, still searching for the source of the smell.

((Edited for syntax.))

[phoenix]

"Defending myself as best I can, and I suggest you two do the same. As to the second, I'm not sure, except that the 'flames' that you see around me are merely a representation of a merging of the energies of fire and ice in an energy shield type thing, that and they're not hot at all."

Eddie raises his eyebrows, and approaches Gabriel to run his hand through the flames admiringly.

[Asbjørn]

"If you're a coward, Dog, then just admit it - some of us may wish to use our new found traits to help protect the innocent. Your personal fear of guns is no indication of the intellect level of our newly evolved peers." ::sly

Dog actually gives a wholehearted laugh at Michael's comment. Grinning widely, he chuckles

"Hey! ::biggrin That ain't half bad, kid! Nice touch with the 'coward' and 'fear' thing. I liked that. I really did. More classic than original, of course, but it was pretty cool..." ::wink

"But if you think that's gonna be enough to provoke me into joining that cowboy stunt of yours, you gotta think again. I've heard way worse... Hell, even if I did get the bastards to shoot at me instead of the hostages they wouldn't be safe. There'd be bullets bouncing off my chest and ricocheting all over the place, man!"

Dog remains where he is, a little surprised that there haven't been any shots and screams of death from the building yet.

[malkboy]

(At the Bank)

"Step forth, sinners, & face my judgement!"

As Michael breaks through the double doors of the bank, glass scatters across the smooth floor of the lobby all the way to the dividing wall for tellers to stand behind. Most obvious in the lobby are the three standing men, two holding up shotguns after obviously having been startled by Michael's entrance. One of the men is standing just on the other side of the teller wall, the next furthest one was standing behind a counting desk calmly packing bills into a briefcase, and the furthest away is standing next to the door to the vault has a shirt covered in blood, none of the men’s faces are obvious behind the masks they wear. The few doors on the side opposite the teller wall are all shut, but the door to the vault behind the teller wall is standing wide open. A murmur of sound can be heard from behind the wall, making it obvious there must be hostages back there.

Jimmy moves speedily into the bank, over the teller wall, and to the man standing next to the vault. Martha gracefully comes rolling into the bank, coming to a stop effortlessly on her feet in a crouch. Following her by just a moment is Cid, his eyes perfectly reflecting the glow his hands exude, he moves across the lobby in a blur gracefully jumping over the wall and destroying the shotgun of the man standing there as he starts to bring it to bear towards Michael in response to his entrance. Lance is the last to get to the door, but just in time to see the pieces of the destroyed shotgun fall to the floor.

"Hell, I ain't got much faith in the LAPD, but this is just plain stupid! You'd think none of these people ever even saw a gun, man! I mean, what the hell do we pay taxes for? We should be picking on someone our own size instead. Like that lava business..."

Meanwhile, outside the building the police and SWAT have backed off a bit from Michael and the rest of the paranormals Lance's words seem to be taking effect. The red-headed Finnegan walks up beside Dawg, glancing up at the news helicopters as he says, “This is the very mess that I was saying I didn't want to happen. If people see us acting like superheroes, it'll set a precedent that society might come to expect. How can we live up to that precedent? Because, after all we're not comic book heroes, we’re just human beings." Finnegan takes a close glance at newest person to join the group before speaking again, “Even if we don’t all exactly look the part.”

(Back at the Mansion)

Not even the rain or the sounds of the firefighters in the background can dampen the reporter or her mood, as she beams a large smile ::bigsmile at Michael, “The address is on my card. It’s on the third floor and the office number is 3307. I’ll be there probably until 11 o’clock this evening, preparing a proposal or two for my boss. I’ll let security know to expect you so they don’t give you a hassle. Just come anytime, okay?”

[Bahamut810]

Cid keeps a grim look on his face as he spins around, sweeping the now shotgun-less man off his feet, then does a hand-stand backflip (leaving a black scorch on the floor from his hand) over to the other shotgun wielding man, aiming for his gun as well.

[ProfPotts]

In the bank Michael grins as the others rush in to follow his lead, although it takes a little effort on his part not to act totally 'out of character' & reveal his amazement at the speed & abilities demonstrated by his 'changed' peers. In an instant, the winged man sprints a few paces, then leaps over to the second shotgun-wielding man, aided in the leap by his wings. As he does so a long whip appears in his hand, it's pommel shaped like a demonic visage, & the whole appearing to be made from emerald fire that matches Michael's eyes. As he nears his target the whip lashes out towards the man's gun (to either pull it from him, or simply slice through it). Of course, if that target is already down, then he'll attack another in a similar manner or, if any bystanders seem about to be shot or otherwise hurt, he'll try his best to get between them & the attack in order to shield them.

Outside the bank...

"But if you think that's gonna be enough to provoke me into joining that cowboy stunt of yours, you gotta think again. I've heard way worse... Hell, even if I did get the bastards to shoot at me instead of the hostages they wouldn't be safe. There'd be bullets bouncing off my chest and ricocheting all over the place, man!"

Michael grins at Dog,

"We'll let people decide for themselves how to view your inaction in that case. I'm guessing that most will remember that some with the power to act acted, whilst others sat on the sidelines. Maybe you're better off back in a ring where it's safe."

Back at the mansion...

“The address is on my card. It’s on the third floor and the office number is 3307. I’ll be there probably until 11 o’clock this evening, preparing a proposal or two for my boss. I’ll let security know to expect you so they don’t give you a hassle. Just come anytime, okay?”

Michael smiles & brushes a damp strand of loose hair from the woman's face,

"That's fine."

Smiling again, he takes a step backwards, then crouches low, & leaps incredibly high into the air. Once airborne, the winged man slowling circles the area, looking first to see if the emergency services need any specific help, then trying to spot where the other's, who aren't at the bank, flew off to.

[Archer21]

With a snarl, Jimmy claws the man's gun out of his hand, then slams him bodily against the wall. Enraged at the sight and scent of blood on the robber's shirt, Jimmy's eyes and body begin to glow...

[Heritage]

My God, we're a bunch of show-offs. Martha shakes her head in amazement at how natural all this feels - maybe too much television can get you killed.

She nimbly hurdles the dividing wall, landing lightly on her black cowboy boots before backflipping into the vault to check on the hostages. She lands just inside the vault, eyes darting around looking for any more armed men waiting inside.

Olly olly oxenfree! Can anybody play?

[Prince of Boredom]

David, having been content until this point to watch all of the others rushing in, decides to calmly follow them in at a brisk walk, and walk around to the other side of the teller wall to check on the hostages. He seems completely oblivous to any of the criminals, simply shooting a glance at them if they happen to aim a weapon at him.

[ezekiel]

Lance's jaw drops as he witnesses the antics of his "colleagues". Performing beyond his expectations Lance simply looks on and will order anyone raising a weapon to drop it if the need ever arises... ::nervous

[malkboy]

(At The Bank)

"We'll let people decide for themselves how to view your inaction in that case. I'm guessing that most will remember that some with the power to act acted, whilst others sat on the sidelines. Maybe you're better off back in a ring where it's safe."

Finnegan steps towards Michael and speaking with a cold tone says, “So yer calling me a coward then? That I won’t take risks outside the ring? Because if you’re accusing him of being chicken than you might as well be saying that to me.” Finnegan stops his tirade, looking over to Matt whose body is covered with sparks of energy that appear for a few more seconds and then disappears as fast as they appeared.

Inside the bank, a sudden burst of light explodes into the room and moves outward in a perfect circle that continues on well past the walls of the bank to just past the first line of officers surrounding the bank. Not letting the almost blinding light distract him, Jimmy shoves the shotgun to the side as he slams his body into the shotgun-wielding man. The force of the hit lifts the man off the ground as Jimmy continues running forward until the robber collides with the vault door with bone-crunching results.

Cid performs a perfect sweep of the robber; his golden eyes catching the first glimpse of the hostages tied up and placed up against the inside of the teller wall. Michael propels himself towards the last man going unopposed, using his emerald whip with a practiced hand to wrap the shotgun barrel that’s hanging just off the table, and yanking the shotgun to the floor.

Martha launches herself gracefully across the teller wall starting her back flip, but Cid however does his back flip towards the vault at almost the same moment, and they collide into each other, going to the floor with a firm thud. David calmly walks past Lance and around the teller wall, gauging the situation carefully.

(On The Parking Garage)

"Defending myself as best I can, and I suggest you two do the same. As to the second, I'm not sure, except that the 'flames' that you see around me are merely a representation of a merging of the energies of fire and ice in an energy shield type thing, that and they're not hot at all."

A fair-skinned man slowly lumbers up the parking garage in a slowly strolling towards the gathering. His green eyes fall upon the lady and he shouts to her in a deep rumbling voice, “Are these men bothering you, Heather?"

(At The Mansion)

The reporter watches the sky as Michael leaps into the air, then turns to look at the house a moment shaking her head as she walks to the waiting news van. The firefighters have managed to bring the fire down to one section of the house with the help the heavy rainstorm is providing. Within 10 minutes the fire is completely extinguished and the rescue personnel start walking through the mansion’s rooms…

(Back to the Bank)

The last man, who was packing away bills into a bag, slowly turns around to face Michael. His voice seems cold as ice as he says, “You can put away your toy already, I surrender.”

[Bahamut810]

Cid hands instantly lose their glow as he lands with a dull thud. He quickly springs up and looks like he is about to take off again when he hears

“You can put away your toy already, I surrender.”

He looks a bit unbelieving, but then turns to help Martha up.

"You ok? I am really sorry about that, I didnt see you coming."

Once Martha seems ok Cid walks over to the man that he sweeped, and helps him up. "You, my friend, are going to jail now. I wish you had chosen another way, may god forgive you. Now I advise that you sit in that corner till the police enter to come get you." He indicates a corner away from teh hostiges.

((Command roll there I would think))

He then looks at Jimmy. "Make sure that guy is ok, I heard something crunch. I hope you didnt hurt him too badly. If he is ok, then escort him to sit with his friend."

He looks at the man Michael just disarmed. "You...go to the corner with your friends. This will all be over soon."

He looks at michael. "Good job. I was detained on my way, but I guess I wasent needed here."

WIth everythign hopefully squared away, Cid walks over to the hostages and checks on them. " Is everyone alright?"

[froggie]

A fair-skinned man slowly lumbers up the parking garage in a slowly strolling towards the gathering. His green eyes fall upon the lady and he shouts to her in a deep rumbling voice, “Are these men bothering you, Heather?"

Heather turns and looks at the man, "Not too badly sweetie. This one..." Heather points to Gabriel casually with her thumb. "...reminded me that we never expect the Spanish Inquisition." Heather grins goofily at the tall, pale man and holds out her arm to pull him to her side. She adds with a wry grin, "He is firmly convinced that I threw molten lava at Diamond Dawg's house where he must have been otherwise he wouldn't be so pissy about it. All my attempts to assure him otherwise have fallen short of his overzealous standards." Heather shrugs and then wraps herself around the new man's waist if he allows it.

[Alex Green]

Matt thinks, *Was I was slow there? Was most of it was all over before I made my move? Maybe. On the other hand, if someone pulled their trigger and nothing happened then I wouldn't know. So... do I take credit for it or not?*

Matt eyes the police and doesn't say anything, at least not right now.

[Heritage]

Martha launches herself gracefully across the teller wall starting her back flip, but Cid however does his back flip towards the vault at almost the same moment, and they collide into each other, going to the floor with a firm thud.

OOC: So I guess Martha actually said "Olly olly- oof!" ::biggrin

He looks a bit unbelieving, but then turns to help Martha up.

"You ok? I am really sorry about that, I didnt see you coming."

Martha staggers to her feet, sucking in air and shaking her head to clear it.

Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, honey. Thanks

She looks at him and just laughs, a big, deep belly laugh.

Wow! We really are good, aren't we? We sure put the fear of God in them, by thunder! I think next time we hit, we should try an' have someone in the middle. Y'know, make a hero sandwich.

She smacks her hands together with a formidable crack.

Might actually hurt the other guy next time.

Then Martha turns her focus to the hostages.

Anybody hurt? I'm a wiz at first aid, if ever a wonderful wiz there was.

[ezekiel]

Lance walks out of the bank and lightly jogs up to the police

"Problem's taken care of, you can send your guys in and cuff them. One of them had a bloody shirt so you may wish to send in paramedics as well."

[Archer21]

He then looks at Jimmy. "Make sure that guy is ok, I heard something crunch. I hope you didnt hurt him too badly. If he is ok, then escort him to sit with his friend."

Jimmy's feline eyes are wide and staring. His breath is coming in pants, with his mouth hanging open. Regardless of his earlier demonstrations, he doesn't seem to be hearing a word Cid is saying.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

One of them had a bloody shirt so you may wish to send in paramedics as well."

Overhearing this Burnard raises his hand "Oi! Point me to that guy, I can 'help' with that". Burnard goes in the dirrection of 'That Guy'.

When he finds him "Calm down mate, I'm here to make sure you're not going to bleed to death" Burnie outsretches his hand and concentrates for a second and the man's injuries begin to heal.

(OOC: I heal him as much as I can, then leave him for the paramedics)

[Prince of Boredom]

David calmly walks past Lance and around the teller wall, gauging the situation carefully.

David takes stock of the situation and helps any hostages that may need it, pointing out any that seem to need medical care to Martha.

[ProfPotts]

“So yer calling me a coward then? That I won’t take risks outside the ring? Because if you’re accusing him of being chicken than you might as well be saying that to me.”

Michael looks the boxer over in a rather dismissive manner,

"Let's see - the gunmen have been dealt with, the hostages are out of danger, & you're still out here blustering at me instead of doing anything at all productive to help. You figure it out, genius." ::rolleyes

“You can put away your toy already, I surrender.”

Michael grins wickedly at the man,

"Maybe I'm not going to give you the option any more..." ::devil

With a flick of his wrist, the whip [hopefully] coils around the ex-gunman, & Michael pulls it tight, dragging the man to the floor. The demonic-looking man snarls as he bends close to his captive,

"Do you really think I'm with the police?" ::angry

Suddenly Michael sprints outside, dragging the captive man behind him, & leaps high into the air, opening his wings when the two of them are far above the city. Calling to the man dangling from his whip of emerald fire he asks,

"Still want me to put away the 'toy'?" ::sly