Just Beneath The Surface (IC)

[GranspearZX]

GM

Friday, May 6, 2011

3:45 p.m.

Midtown on a Friday was always busy, and this Friday was certainly no exception. With so many people who kept early hours finally getting off work, the streets were filled with the sounds of the city. It was more or less normal for this particular time of day, especially around the Midtown branch of the Eastern Seaboard Bank. Despite rumors of small tremors around Midtown, there didn't seem to be a whole lot going on. The bank itself was a little more crowded than usual; several businesses had likely paid their employees that day, and with the bank closing in an hour, most people were in a hurry to get their finances in order before the weekend. Freedom City's diversity was readily apparent in the bank's lengthy teller lines, and nobody paid much attention to anyone else.

[trollthumper]

Joe Macayle would've been fine with a day off. Just not under the circumstances. He'd been out last night breaking up a bar heist by some drunken members of the Death Road Ministry, and one of the yahoos had shot him point-blank in the butt with a shotgun. Normally all this would've done was harm his dignity a little... but they'd pulled the heist when he was having a few drinks, he'd had to change in the bathroom, and in the chaos, he'd forgotten to take his wallet out of the back pocket. So, after telling his boss he had to deal with an "identity theft" issue, he went to the Southside branch of ESB to fill out the paperwork on a new debit card -- only for it to be closed to renovations, resulting in him getting pointed to the Midtown branch.

There's gotta be someone out there who makes impervium wallets, he thought to himself. He bristled a little; the security guards were staring at him. It was probably the duffel bag. He was still carrying around parts of his costume piecemeal, some under his clothes, some in the bag. I've really gotta look into those Atom clothes. I'm getting good at this, but there's only so good I can get. Just gotta hope nothing stupid happens today...

[Semi-Autogyro]

John glanced up as he stepped out of the cab to read Eastern Seaboard Bank carved into the marble above the front security doors of the bank. I'll use the branch in Riverside next time I have to get cash from the account, he thought as he paid the cab driver. He had picked up his backpack and was about to close the cab door when a harried looking woman was somewhat rushing towards him. "Excuse me," he said stepping aside and holding the door open for the woman. The woman smiled her thanks at John, and he closed the cab door behind her.

He slung his backpack over one shoulder, idly thinking that he should probably spend some of the cash to invest in a better way to tote his uniform around. By the time he walked through the bank doors, John was pondering about seeing if he couldn't find a set of night-vision goggles somewhere as well. He did a quick mental survey of the bank lobby to get a feel for the place as he stepped through the security sensors. I wonder how long this will take, he mused as he got in line behind a man wearing a leather jacket with a shoulder patch.

[Quinn]

Morgan nodded at the security guards as he entered the bank, noting with some inner amusement that he wasn't the only guy lugging bags around today. His usual duffel was slung over his shoulder, and he could almost feel the subtle hum of the runes in his head. He'd taken some time after that run-in with Marinette and her walking fleabags down in the West End to reorganize a few of the runes with his dad (knowing mages who could do long-range teleports was awfully handy sometimes). Hopefully the new orientation of the few runes he'd managed to unlock would make it a bit easier to lay the smack-down if need be.

He shuffled forward into line, patting his hip briefly to reassure himself the wallet was still there. His dad'd sent a care package up from Boston, mostly some snacks and fresh clothes, but also some cash to work with while he was living around here. Crow pondered asking Nick about sending him an eldritch gift in return, maybe some magic broomsticks or something to help clean up around the house. A hero Red Hand might be, but his dad was still a bit of a slob sometimes.

Crow stretched his arms and took a book out from the bag, idly flipping to the page he'd left off at. Hopefully he could make it back to Claremont without ending up neck-deep in trouble this time. Heh...yeah right.

[Griffalo]

Evander stepped off the bus just in front of the Eastern Seaboard Bank, looking up at the building. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, though he'd wisely left all of his important documents safe in the kangaroo pocket of the hoodie he was wearing. He hoped he wouldn't have to step through any metal detectors - he was wearing his armor underneath the garment, which had necessitated it being several sizes too large. It was giving him something of a 'homeless' look, but he had to roll with it. He'd briefly considered coming out without it, but he was starting to think that being constantly prepared for action was the better bet. The last few weeks had certainly been crazy.

He stepped through the doors, looking around for someone in the banking hall that might be able to help him. He knew that Friday afternoon wasn't the best time to open a bank account, but it had to be done some time and this was the first chance he'd had to get away from school. Laying a hand reassuringly on his documents against his stomach, he smiled politely to the smiling young woman in the pantsuit that approached him.

"Hi, I'd like to open a checking account?"

[Aoiroo]

Carrie always took her own sweet time doing things, but as it had been two weeks since had in fact gotten her check from Mona, and the fact that her account was getting a bit bare she took the time to actually get out to a bank just far enough out of her side of the city so that she wouldn't get held up at gunpoint at the ATM. She had a job in Midtown anyway, so she had two checks to cash into her debit account instead of one, and apparently so did everyone else in the business district which she just took in stride as she casually read through a paperback novel as she moved in line, though moving wasn't really accurate discription as,

Huh, I wonder what's considered slower than inching, centimetering, that sounds stupid. But geez is this slow, maybe I should of come in on a Wednesday instead.

Shrugging her shoulders she kept her pace quietly as she bent the spine of the book once more. After all, boring as it may be, standing in line wasn't gonna kill her.

[GranspearZX]

GM

"Hello! Welcome to the Eastern Seaboard Bank. One of our account representatives will be more than happy to help you with that... just sign in right over there."

The woman gestured to a small counter off to the left side of the bank. It was easily the least crowded place in the building--the main desk, with a small touch screen terminal for customer use sitting on top of it. "Just type your name in there, and have a seat right there," she explained to Evander, pointing off to the right side of the main desk area with an oval-shaped wooden table covered in magazines. It was surrounded by two couches on its longer sides and an armchair on either end, with no one occupying any of them.

The bank's lobby was packed--it wasn't especially crowded, but it was very busy. There wasn't a whole lot to be seen or heard besides the usual business of the day; hushed conversation and the sound of heels and loafers tapping against the white and blue-tiled floor filled the air. Lines were pretty lengthy despite there being five tellers inside, all processing transactions as quickly and politely as possible.

One in particular seemed to be having a little more trouble than the others--a mousy, brown-haired young girl with round glasses at the furthest end of the curved counter of teller windows. It was difficult to see her behind the large, stocky fellow standing in front of her on the other side of the counter; he was wearing a large coat and a hat that obscured a great deal of his bulky form. The conversation seemed hushed, but the way the man was gesturing with his right arm suggested that he wasn't liking what he was hearing.

[trollthumper]

Joe kept his eyes on the line ahead of him; it seemed to stretch on and on. Damnit, he thought. It's always thickest when you've gotta be there. Shoulda brought a book or something. Only thing I can really do is people watch --

And that was when his attention was drawn to the man in the coat, gesturing fiercely at the beleaguered teller. Could just be card trouble... but knowing this town... Joe leaned his head towards the sound of the commotion, trying to pick up on their exchange.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John kept to himself as the line seemed to be stuck in stasis. Well, I guess I'll have to run errands tomorrow as well. Seeing as this would probably take a bit, he fished out a magazine from the backpack and opened to where he had marked a page earlier. He was about to to start reading where he had left off when the his peripheral vision caught the pointed gesturing of the large man.

Glancing over at the source of the problem John frowned slightly. Why do people seem to think that getting angry solves a problem faster than being polite and professional? He wondered to himself as he split his attention between the article and keeping an eye on the situation.

[GranspearZX]

"...check it again."

"Sir, I've checked twice, and it still says..."

"No. NO." The burly figure leaned forward and slammed his fist down on the counter. The teller windows separating customer from employee across the entire counter top shook with the force, and those who could see the altercation had a good view of the man's large, three-fingered metal claw of a left hand. The teller gasped, glasses askew as she recoiled. She managed to squeak something out that sounded vaguely like 'sorry'--which only seemed to make the situation worse.

"What the @$%@ am I supposed to do with your 'sorry', huh?! You think you can pay rent with a @#$@in' sorry?!"

The altercation didn't go entirely unnoticed; as a security guard strode across the floor, his right hand moving defensively for his weapon, there was a brief rumble as the entire building shook. Everyone heard it; most of the bank had gone quiet as the bass in the man's voice increased.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises. Immediately." Despite the obvious size difference, there was a definite authoritative tone in the guard's voice. It didn't seem to sway the customer at all, and he turned from the teller to face the guard fully. From the side, his hood didn't cover his face quite as well as he might have liked, and his profile revealed a lower jaw that looked just as metallic as his left hand.

"I ain't leavin' here without my money. NOBODY'S leavin' until I get my money!"

The guard began to draw his weapon; before he could get it out of the holster, the customer's metal hand shot across the distance between the two, nailing the guard in the face and knocking him cleanly off his feet--at which point the entire bank erupted into a clear panic, leaving many customers bolting for the door, not wanting to get involved...

[Quinn]

One customer started sprinting as well. But not for the door. Instead, he hauled ass to the nearest washroom, ducking inside and into a stall.

Living the stereotype, Morgan. Really.

Within a few seconds, a boot kicked the door open, and a teenage-sized figure walked out. The figure was dressed in a long black coat, covered in strange, flowing runes, a pair of heavy black combat boots, black jeans with odd white runes up the legs, black gloves with steel plates across the fingers and the back of his knuckles, a huge hood tapering up to a point with the same runes surrounding the edge, and a bandanna obscuring his features. Emblazoned on a black shirt underneath the coat was the emblem of a bird in flight, a recognizeable sight to any agents of the Fomorians or the Tuatha de Dannan. With a crack of his knuckles, the young man vanished into thin air. Crow was going to work.

[trollthumper]

Joe made a great show of freaking out and screaming, conveniently "fleeing" towards the bathroom. Once he was inside and sure the cameras were turned away, he ran for the handicapped stall. "Really should've known," he muttered as he tore open the duffel bag and pulled out his jacket and helmet. "Things never go easy when you hit the bank in this town. Maybe I should just start doing all my money stuff in costume. It'd be a hell of a lot more convenient."

Changed, as he was, into his costume, Cannonade surged out of the bathroom and back onto the main floor. "Goddamnit, do you guys ever do anything original?" he yelled to the would-be robber.

[Aoiroo]

Carrie very nearly banged her head with the new predictament. Now she'd never got to deposit the check, even after waiting in line. Why did this always happen, in fact why the heck were villians so stupid to even try and start something at a bank in Freedom. Rolling her eyes, she didn't need to run, there were plenty of others doing the same. She didn't go to the bathroom though, cause quite frankly, more woman sought it as a place of refuge in such a situation. So janitors closet it was, which wasn't hard, in all the fuss no one noticed her unlocking it from the inside and slipping in.

Tossing her bag into an empty cleaning bucket, she flattened and slipped through the door cracks quietly as she stuck to the wall and simply examined the situation, it seemed like Joe had also been in the building as well. That was fortunate, because if this was a heavy hitter she might of had trouble putting him down. Though she really wasn't sure who or what this new angry person besides stupid.

[Griffalo]

Evander ducked behind a podium when the trouble erupted, already yanking the hoodie over his head to expose his tunic and breastplate.

"Honestly, all I'm asking for is five minutes of peace..." He balled up the garment, shoving it in his backpack and then stowing it somewhere out of the way so he could recover it later. He really hoped it didn't go missing.

Others called out from within the banking hall - apparently he wasn't the only hero with transactions on his mind today, which was good. He also recognised the voice of Crow, which would come in handy - at least one other person he'd met before...

[Semi-Autogyro]

John scanned the room for possible changing locales. Bathroom no. One way in or out. Closet no. Door had a lock. Podium no. Not enough cover. Aha.

John slid underneath a loan officers' heavy oak desk, unzipping his backpack as he slid on the balaclava first and then proceeding with the rest of the armor. Note: Find better solution to having to change in public. The seismic activity also troublesome John noted, as it probably was connected to the irate man ordering the bank around. John took a deep breath and exhaled as he buckled the last few straps on the armor and vaulted back over the desk. He landed in a low crouch, summoning a staff in his hands.

Other heroes had appeared interim, most notably Crow. Well, that made things easier.