425/The Great Diamond Heist Featuring Utter Chaos

The Great Diamond Heist Featuring Utter Chaos
Date of Scene:	16 August 2014
Location:	Southern Urbania
Synopsis:	Miss Clokwerk and Ferham of the Confederacy have gotten their heads together on a heist! Doing a bit of freelance work, Miss Clokwerk has found a report on the shipment of a large, and /very/ valuable magical diamond being shipped to the Detroit Museum of Magical Artifacts. The plan? Fake a robbery outside, and sneak on in. But surely things won't go easily for the pair! ... annndd they don't. For details including (but not limited to) devastating neuroi beams, plasma guns, killer drones, and more, read on!
Thanks to:	Miss Clokwerk for GMing such a lovely little scene. Also to Theo, Metal Man, Ferham, and Neuroi Girl for giving me great stuff to play off of!
Cast of Characters:	11, 183, Theo Morrison, Neuroi Girl, 516, 539

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Miss Clokwerk (539) has posed:
~~ Detroit Megaplex, UCAS. Museum of Magical Artefacts ~~

Set towards the eastern wall of the great Detroit Megaplex that has devoured several states, the seat of Ares Macrotechnology's power has just had a new addition: the Museum of Magical Artefacts. The utterly massive building very nearly bumps up against the wall itself, only street lights and clever design keeping it from being cast in shadows all day long. The architecture is of faux-greek origin, and combined with matrix-sculpting for those using AR to view the building. In meat-space, the building is overly-architectured and pretentious. IN the matrix? It's a flurry of lights, colors, information and advertisements for their newest attraction: The Radiant Gem of Saint Paul, an artifact supposedly carried by the man himself, and imbued with magical powers. The owners of the museum know well the value of such a gem, and thus security is tight. At the front doors, there's detectors for weapons and other contraban, as well as armored security all around the building. A few cyber-mastiffs even walk the grounds of the building amidst the crowd trying to get their tickets at the front door. Inside, several spirits of air patrol the hallways, and lighter security stands guard over where the gem will be held. Right now? The case is empty. Word on Jackpoint is that matrix security is damn tight too. Not impassable, but more than enough to be a problem with so much meatspace security.

The delivery area out back, however, is smaller and thus lesser guarded. A single road winds towards the back entrance where one armored car is currently headed for. It'll have to pass directly in front of the museum to turn in, about fifteen minutes out.

But it's not the only one. Conveniently, the next-door bank is low on nuyen. It's opted for the traditional delivery method of armored car. It chugs along the highway, passing the museum's armored car, and slows as pedestrians cross the street from a Stambucks towards the museum.

Which is exactly when, just as the pedestrians clear, a Ford Titan Humvee slams right into the armored car's cabin, going the wrong way down the street at fifty miles an hour. The armored car goes skidding, slamming into the protective brick wall around the museum's front gate. Screams fill the air as panic ensues, the door to the driver's side opening and a masked woman stepping out, assault rifle in hand. The back door pops open, and a pair of flying drones fitted with similar assault rifles fly out to flank the woman. She fires her weapon in the air.

"ALRIGHT, DREKHEADS! ANY ONE OF YA GET IN THE WAY, YOU'RE GONNA GET FRAGGED! HEAR ME!?"

Then, she opens fire on the armored car's cabin, armor penetrating rounds filling the driver with holes. She makes her way to the armored car as another drone rolls out of the humvee even as local security from the museum try to brush their way past panicking civilians. The new drone, with nothing but a pair of industrial metal claws on them, starts towards the armored vehicle. Even now, Knight Errant police force are headed for the scene.

The museum's armored car, however, makes it onto the delivery route. Despite the chaos, it's managed. But the hell out front now leaves it very vulnerable!

Ferham (516) has posed:
t The few cyber dogs outside the building would find themselves flash frozen before they can react, not destroyed mind you, just temporarily stopped, electronics tended to do that when they reached a certain lower temperature. Slipping into the museum itself, Ferham might be missed by the people running outside and attempting to get clear of whatever is happening, or she just might be missed in the confusion. The metal detectors and the like she can simply hop or fly over, those aren't a real issue. Now all it would take for the armored femmebot was to try and locate this gem and get it out of whatever display it was in, hopefully without setting off alarms.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Okay, so let me get a few things straight:

This is a museum of magical artifacts,
with fake Grecian architecture,
a pretentious atmosphere,
-AND- a new attraction that's a gem?

    Man, it would be weird if Mizuki -wasn't- here! But, well, she's not trying to be all mysterious and surprising today, so. She is here, checking out the newest addition to the not-so-humble collection clad in her own ostentatious ensemble. And she was just looking at said object through a pair of those miniature glasses that you hold up to your eyes via a bar on the rims, absorbing the atmosphere and artistry when she hears a very, very loud noise. Followed by... gunshots?

    As people panic, tossing away their personal effects and scrambling about the room, Mizuki's eyes narrow, and her expression goes... dead. With a sigh to communicate her displeasure to no-one in particular, she daintily walks to the exit just in time to catch the end of /someone's/ extremely loud declaration of miniature war. Double sigh. Summoning a sword into her left hand, the lady muses, 'Are -all- criminals this bombastic?' Though... she looks earnestly thoughtful at her own inquiry, giving her chin a rub. 'Hmm. I suppose someone out there must have some tact, but not this one. Oh no...'

    For now, though, she pulls back. As loathe as she might be to admit it, they've got range... and she does not. If they're crooks at a museum, then they're obviously here to steal, so what does she do? She flies up... and waits. Once they're in range, she's going to swoop down and let this charade run its course... but no sooner.

    Honestly, dramatically rushing out there like so many idiot knights in children's stories isn't worth the humiliation. Tempting, though.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man has not come alone a second wily robot is with him, his brother Flash Man, who was one of the more underhanded soldiers in Wily's army. He's smriking and kinda has thier feleing of he's quite full of him self. Metal man does not seem botehred as they are going to be going. Flash has depated from Metal Man without a word as he's making a grab for the cash, after all? Wily could use the money to help fund his war, and good luck another world getting leeway with the Federation. That was maybe the only thing he liked about that.

"Ah memories, still sometimes I find tasks like this distasteful. I'm soldier..."

Theo Morrison has posed:
"This world sucks," Theo opines aloud.

He's been exploring this city for a couple hours now. In that time, he has been propositioned twice, assaulted (unsuccessfully; magic) once, and offered what were presumably drugs no less than four times. A gang even tried to steal Kickotron, which is futile since he can just resummon him. It wouldn't be so bad if he could go anywhere or do anything in the nicer parts of town, but people keep going on about him being a sinner or something? He doesn't really know.

A museum sounds better than anything else he's come across, at least. Especially one full of /magic/. Theo heads in that direction, moseying on down the sidewalk when --

*DRAMATIC CRASH*
*RIGGER ENTRANCE*
*SUPER LEGIT THREAT*

"This world /really/ sucks," he decides definitively.

Theo ends up crouched in an alley nearby, fishing through his backpack for things. Kickotron grabs the tray table he usually carries out of it, getting it into position, while Theo breaks out a deck of plastic-sleeved cards. He shuffles it hastily, drops it on the tray, takes seven off the top and quickly plays two: a land card depicting a metallic coastline, and an old-looking card with some kind of ring on it.

The ring in question appears on his finger. It looks a lot like he's wearing the sun as jewelry. He hastily sticks it into his pocket to try and keep the light down, not wanting to give away his location just yet if they've got all those guns.

Theo immediately wonders when he got it in his head that he has to go save the day whenever he spots a chance. He is /so/ gonna die.

Miss Clokwerk (539) has posed:
The security manage to make some headway amidst the crowd, but it's slow going. One armored ork manages to shove his way through, and aims a shotgun at the exposed elven woman. Cursing, she dives out of the way, clipped in the exposed mid-rift with a loud 'clang' of bullets on dermal plating. There's sparks, and blood, and down goes Miss Clokwerk. One hand whips out a tablet-sized device, and jamming a cable into the side of her head, the leisurely flying drones redirect and fire right into crowd and security alike. Two men in business suits go down to gunfire, while the security ork's brains now paint some poor working mother's face. She faints. Screams increase, and it's made all the harder for the gun-toting security to function.

Meanwhile, the ripper-drone sets its claws into the back of the armored car, twisting and ripping open the heavy back doors like it was opening a tin can. Tearing metal fills the air as it's slowly being opened!

The blare of police sirens fill the air as a Knight Errant patrol arrives on scene, the two cops (an elf and a human) swiftly get out. The Human brandishes a service pistol and gets into a firing position behind the car. The other cop looks at the downed Clokwerk, and says a few words. A bright ball zooms towards her, kicking her into the air right past Mizuki. The mask falls off, revealing the beautiful elven face of Miss Clokwerk in dissarray before she starts to fall right atop the armored car she's targeted. A perfect opportunity for a sword strike!

She screams out as she falls, "GEEK THE SLOTTING MAGE!"

To whom? There's no one else around her...

BLAM! A hole appears in the head of the mage-cop, an ork in tactical gear atop the nearby bank already searching for another target. A sniper.

And then Flash Man is grabbing cash as the drone finishs opening up the armored vehicle. Clokwerk glares back as she transmits via her commlink, "Just get the nuyen, omae! We're gonna get swarmed by Knight Errant if the museum security doesn't frag us first! Grab and go, and be LOUD about it chum!"

Theo goes unnoticed thus far! Another Knight Errant car shows up, giving the young man cover as the two cops file out and join where their fellow cop is, dragging the body of the dead mage. Here, Kickotron is hardly worth notice.

Ferham's entrance is easy enough, what with all of the attention on the front!

~~Out Back~~

The Gem is swiftly unloaded, despite the sudden lack of security. A single guard paces with the delivery woman as they head on into the building towards the display case! It's a simple matter to set it within the diamond-encased enclosure, warded against magical strikes.

~~ Inside ~~ Ferham will find her first obstacle in a T-shaped hallway. A pair of air-elemental spirits materialize on their pre-determined routes. Their summoners are no where to be found. Boudn spirits, perhaps? They don't yet notice the reploid, putting them in prime position to attack as they each turn to patrol one arm of the T each. A matrix-sign, should she be reading them, points to the right for the newest attraction!

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Meanwhile inside the museum Ferham finds out that the interior is guarded as well, due to the floating air spriits that seem to be patrolling the halls. Following the right corridor for the gem, she'd have to try and do something about the air spirit... her attempt is essentially to try and freeze it in a cocoon of ice, merely pointing a finger at it. Her attempts might just fail, depending on the nature of the thing--she has no idea how these magical spirit things work, after all, but at least she wasn't forced to try and attack it with just her bare hands, she did still have her electromag whip, hrm... Either way, the air around the spirit would begin to rapidly freeze, and the femmebot would try to slip by, her heeled boots clattering on down the hallway.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki's eyes go wide as /something/ comes whizzing past her head. She balls up her fists briefly and grips her sword's hilt for security before batting her eyelashes several times when she's sure that it's gone. Once she's had some seconds to collect herself, she turns up her nose and closes her eyes. Hmph! The -nerve-! All of this is making the prospect of rushing out there with her sword drawn almost too tempting to resist, so... she doesn't. She cleaves a hole in the fabric of space time as two girls, one with a coiffure of bright pink and the other sporting silver locks. Both, however, are carrying scythes that would be very, very hard to miss. The former lady brandishes hers and speaks up.

    "Man, we've been gettin' a workout lately, Mimi!" She smiles a toothy smile. "Not that I mind or anythin'. So, what's on the agenda today~?" Mizuki gestures outside. "I need you both to create a distraction, like the one you made in Ivalice. They have access to a bevy of projectiles and I -believe- robotic assistants, so proceed with caution... and keep moving." Each of them puts a pair of fingers to their foreheads - some semblance of a salute, naturally - and depart shortly thereafter. And then Mizuki... thinks. Glancing out the window again, she contemplates.

    That woman whose helmet just flew off it their leader, yes? So, if these goons have any integrity at all, they'll cease their attack if she is compromised. She could either gamble that and go on the offensive now... or stick with the caravan leading the most priceless treasure here until they get to it. Both pose risks, but the latter gives them more time to hurt innocents... so she ultimately goes with the former.

    But not before those crazy girls with scythes have their say. The arriving confederates would definitely know something was up -- there are two blurs darting from this place to that all around the museum grounds, steadily approaching. And if no one blasts them out of existence before they can get there? The girls rush up, soaring into the sky to strike at the mechanical drones that flank Clokwerk. But no sooner have they begun their assault proper than has another blur - this one with a sword, and wings! - come bursting out of an open museum window, headed directly for the boss herself. Though... before she reaches the woman in question, she stops, levitating before them.

    "HEAR ME... you who would challenge this institution of the arts! I care not of your motivations, and I care even less to hear your impending rejection of my courteous invitation to spare yourselves the pain of defeat, but know this! If you persist in your attacks, it will be no more than an exercise in futility!" Once she's finished, she links eyes with the leading lady, awaiting her reaction.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man is not seeming too troubled by thing he's hused to getting shot at he's making for the cash at the moment he does not say anything why should he. Most small arms unless an elite has them pose no issue to him. He doubts any elites native to this world woudl eb working for the face of law enforcement they have here. This world was a nightmare Metal Man mused, a very dark one od a different ortder form his world. For now he's going to drab the Newyen.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo is pretty relieved that the cops (or, well, so it seems) are showing up as quickly as they are. He is the opposite of relieved that one of them gets taken out just as quickly, and that it's the mage. Of /course/ it's the mage. He swallows the lump that just formed in his throat basically immediately.

So, he plays through while he's got the chance. Theo pauses for just a second when he feels space get torn a new one nearby, twisting to look in that direction. Scythes? He shakes his head. Don't worry about that unless it comes at you! Just make a note, and keep going!

His Abstractum remains asleep, silently affixed to the tray table. He really wishes it was awake right about now.

"Second Seachrome Coast... imprint a Sharding Sphinx onto a Semblance Anvil..." He murmurs as he plays cards. An actual honest-to-god anvil appears at the end of the alley he's sitting in, gleaming metal with the reflection of some kind of winged creature visible on the surface. Theo glances between his land, his hand, and basically drops the rest of it. "Etherium Sculptor. Brass Squire and Whispersilk Cloak drop for free."

A tall, robed man, thin with narrow, bluish and metallic features materializes behind Theo. He mans the anvil, watching passively, barely visible from the street. A much shorter figure appears behind him, a birdlike machine in brass, hunched over and looking around. It's like a slightly differently-shaped Kickotron! Myr are really similar-looking.

Theo grabs the cloak that falls out of the air in one hand, tossing the shimmering cloth over his shoulder and... not sending things to die. This situation is so weird. He fiddles with his equally-weird tablet thing, one eye on that and the other on the street, trying to get his radio working. Why use so much firepower on one bank, and be so loud about it?

Miss Clokwerk (539) has posed:
The air spirit gets caught up in the cocoon of ice, though only partially! It lets out a shriek as half of its body is caught in freezing ice, wiggling and struggling to get free! It waves its free hand, and a cutting blast of magical air zooms towards the retreating femme-bot! There's no alarms yet, but the other air spirit swiftly starts off after Ferham even as its twin becomes a frozen statue. There's sounds from down the other hallway! Booted feet strike in a run.

Up ahead, Ferham would see a bunch of old Native American totems. They're described as genuine magical ones, and would thrum with power to any shaman or mage. They're inert, however, for the moment. The diamond case lay in sight now, just beyond, only the case itself, and roped off area keeping it from being immediately seized. There's also the matter of the remaining security guard and delivery man off in the distance!

It might be odd, that Clokwerk hardly seems to be going for the cash, for all the effort they've put into getting here. Maybe she's just muscle and driver. Or maybe something else is at work. Like cops, a sword swinging kid, and two maids cutting at her drones.

"...Oh frag my luck!" Curses poor Clokwerk. This might have been a bad idea. She can only hope Ferham's end is going better.

These drones are /tough/. One goes flying by the force of one of the maid's slicing, the drone firing wildly. Clokwerk ducks as she's nearly shot by her own drone. Two more cops die in the shooting. Another drone drops altitude, nearly to the ground, and starts firing with its brother at the second maid.

Meanwhile, the cops keep firing, causing Clokwerk to be neatly pinned down against the vehicle she's technically robbing. Metal Man is working the cash, and cops fire at him as well. Security are now hopelessly lost against the screaming crowds. It won't be long before tighter security show up, though, likely from Knight Errant's stronger forces.

And then Clokwerk has a kid in front of her. The elf scowls. "...Who the frag are you kid? Stop? HAH! What do ya want me to say? OH, I'M SO SORRRRYYY MISS FLOATY MAGE? Sorry for shooting all those civilians and cops, and putting bullet holes into a museum so I could hijack some cash? Nope! Not happening kiddo! So why don't you TAKE A FLIGHT BACK HOME, CHUM!" Clokwerk doesn't have much in the way of morals. She doesn't, as a rule, kill 'kids' though. Beating them up however?

Clokwerk moves with the speed of elven heritage and a pair of damn good cyberlegs. She leaps a dozen feet into the air, dodging and being knicked by bullets. Another loud shot, and the sniper kills another cop. Then, she tries to plan her booted feet right into Mizuki's face.

Booted feet with hydraulic jacks. A sound of water pressure, and she attempts to kick the girl straight back into the building itself. With luck, straight through the wall.

Thus far, with Theo neatly hidden, no one's assaulting him! There /is/ the sound of a door to the alleyway pushed open. A huge, drunken Troll stumbles out. "'Eh! HOIIIIII! Yuz got any nuyen, kid!? Needa drink! So gimme!" Comes the stumbling troll, breath utterly /horrid/.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man takes several shots which bounce off his armour, or fail to brech it. He does however turn about and flicks a few blades at them. No he's intending to cut their guns up not then and says "Your not being paid enough to die."

he goes back to getting the last of the cash, he knows the ones with heavier weapons will be showing up sooner or later too.

"We should not delay too long, heavier fire power will be coming out way."

Ferham (516) has posed:
     The red winged femmebot's cryogenics are strong, however she's not been battle tested against these sorts of entities before. She's thrown off her feet partially by the gust of air that's shot from the half frozen air spirit, gasping in surprise. She is however able to use her flight to cushion herself mostly, though there was a definite stumble and being tossed against the sides of the corridor. Once she stumbled out into the area with the totems and the diamond, she discreetly seals the corridor behind her for the moment with a sheet of ice several inches thick.

     She however notices the security guard fortunately, and so she decides to distract him with a little act. "Hey there," she stalks up to the man, not realizing the deliver man is there also. Those thigh high booted feet of hers carry her gracefully up as she has a hand on her hip, smiling at them. She stands there with said hand on her hip, striking a little pose. Oh god, is the femmebot actually trying to use her wiles against the two security guards with a fire fight going on outside? Yes, yes she is. At least, she wants to get close enough so that she can handle them without hurting them. She leans forward in the direction of the display with the big diamond, putting her hands on her knees as she bends over.

     "Ohh, is that the diamond?" she cooes, as if she's never seen one before.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki narrows her eyes at clockwork, her hand tightening even more around her blade. "Tsk, tsk," Her eyes narrow. "such impertinence." You know? Truth be told, Mizuki doesn't have much in the way of morals either. Rather, she just relishes any chance she can get to slash her sword at people who she considers to be loud and obnoxious. In fact, there was this one time when... oh sh--

    If this were a comic, there would most certainly have just been a huge WHAM plastered on the page. Miss Clokwerk's boot sends Mizuki hurtling back and, thanks to the angle, almost spins her around. As the woman had hoped, she slams into the wall - no, THROUGH the wall - and clatters back into a mess of mist and stones. Using her free hand to clutch at her cheek, Mizuki lifts herself from the rubble, her expression suddenly twisting in ways that would make freaking -Bowser- envious.

    "I don't demand apologies," Mizuki retrieves her sword and lifts herself back into the sky, raising her gaze to meet Clokwerk's own. "I demand RETRIBUTION!" She brandishes her blade in the woman's direction. Is she legitimately pissed or just trying to be cinematic? Who can say. Who can /ever/ say with her, man? "Callia! Palora! Do NOT spare these poor fools your judgement!"

    And sure enough, the girls mobilize. Palora deftly dashes out of the way of the bullets raining from the bot that she knocked off kilter... but is caught a bit of guard by the one that swoops in after it; a few bullets graze her right cheek, leaving some evidence in the form of blood. "Ggghh..." Lifting a finger to inspect the damage, Palora grimaces, barring her metaphorical fangs. "Oh, it's ~ON~ now, you glorified trashcan!" Once again becoming a blur, she sprouts wings of her own and dashes into the sky, pulling her scythe back like a baseball bat. And then, with the blunt edge of the thing, she SLAMS as hard as she can.

    Oh, but she isn't alone. Callia, who had just recovered from a close scrape of her own, rushes into the sky at the newly appearing drone. She gets into a position not at all unlike Palora's own and quietly intones, "Though the dragon's skin cannot be pierced by a blade of any regular make," She places her hand at her chest briefly, demurely, "it may be by a weapon made from its same flesh." What exactly did that pertain to? Noobody knooows but her as she brings back her scythe in parallel with Palora, attempting a hard strike.

    And should both of them be successful? They'll send the bots hurtling toward -one another-. Evidently, that's what Callia was going on about.

    But their 'boss' doesn't just stand idly by! Any magically attuned in the area would feel a sudden... shift. And Clokwerk? Well, suddenly, the girl is right in her face. She's a mage alright -- she probably didn't even see her move! Trying to take advantage of any surprise she might've accrued with that maneuver, Mizuki grabs her sword and attempts a thrust in the lady's direction.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     After all the attention she got last time she was here, Evangeline was actually looking forward to coming back here. And hearing combat chatter on the comm got her moving. As the shoot-out continues, the 'Amazing drone girl' appears in the sky. "...it is you..." she says when she sees Clokwerk and Metal Man.

     "...please stop your criminal activities..." she says. And that is the only warning the two get before Neuroi Girl opens fire. Her sleeve-like arms stretch out toward them, then she fires a pair of her red Neuroi beams, one for each. She hasn't picked up on the fact that there is a third villain yet.

Theo Morrison has posed:
A troll stumbles over. Theo turns and looks, blinking. He fishes around in his backpack, pulling out what looks like an actual physical piece of nuyen. He definitely doesn't have the electronic kind. He looks up at the Etherium Sculptor, holding it up for a moment.

The Sculptor looks at it, and then down at Theo. He gestures at the other wall.

"Those guys have truckloads of it," Theo says, pointing at the bank robbers. "This is all I got." He flicks the measly old coin up into the air with his thumb -- and then points at the drunken troll, declaring, "/Unsummon/!" There's a flicker of blue mana and a sound like a snap as the spell goes off. If all goes well, it /should/ deposit the troll back in his domicile -- or, well, the last place he spent the night. He can't use the stuff he summoned on a random drunk, but he /can/ do that.

Theo draws, taps, plays. "Stoneforge Mystic." A white-skinned, white-haired woman appears, wearing plain brown leathers and sitting with her eyes closed and legs crossed. "Fish fooor... here we go. Heartseeker." He holds up a card featuring a wicked-looking, slightly-curved dagger with a blade wreathed in jagged blue light. Then he puts it down. "Annnnd play." The weapon in question materializes on the Semblance Anvil at the mouth of the alley, practically radiating magic.

Cautiously, Theo peeks out from the alleyway. He pulls his head back, nodding slightly. "Tap Brass Squire to equip Heartseeker to the Etherium Sculptor." The myr dutifully picks up the weapon, then turns very deliberately and presents it to the artificer at the anvil. The vedalken man takes it gingerly, weighing it in his hands. "Annnd..."

"Tap, unattach Heartseeker to destroy target creature. Let's take care of that sniper." He fiddles with his play area.

The Etherium Sculptor takes a step suddenly and hurls the dagger expertly into the air. The heavily-enchanted weapon spins, abruptly gaining speed as it tumbles end over end through the air. It leaves a faint blue trail as it ascends at stunning speed, rising at an angle and rate that would be impossible for someone to just /throw/ it at. It's weaving around people, objects and buildings as it flies.

With a name like 'Heartseeker,' it is probably not a difficult guess where exactly it is aimed.

Miss Clokwerk (539) has posed:
~~ Outside ~~

The cops find themselves without weapons, as they're slashed apart by the Street Samurai of the group. They look to each other, reach to their badges, and toss them aside.

"Frag this noise!" "I've got /kids/!" "Retiring next week, I'm going home and getting drunk."

Three cops pile into the car, and head off. Cue one win for Metal Man. The money's neatly piled into the back of the Humvee. The ripper-drone piles in next to keep the cash secure.

There's an almost tank-like car getting off of the highway, sirens blaring and Knight Errant Security logo on the side. As it arrives, it fires upon the humvee, hitting its own armored hide and sending it skittering. A big dent, but no holes yet.

~~ Inside ~~

The ice wall does its job, as spirits slam against it. There's some cracking but it holds for now. There's the smell of fire, and slowly, ice is melting. There's a voice muffled beyond!

The trio of delivery girl and security guards are met with Ferham. One guard is about to question her, when she zeroes in on the attraction. /Oh/. The men smile. One steps forward, and the other flanks her. The delivery girl too idly gets closer to admire the 'cyborg's chrome.

"Heeeey, there Miss Razorgirl~. Well, we're technically not open to the public yet. For a cutie like you? Look all you want." Oh yes, they're hitting on her. And right in range of the woman, too.

"What do you say we go and have a private viewing of the dia..."

The other guard glares, and he shuts up.

"Uhh. Another time. So, what's your story? Kinda chrome'd out to be an Awakened."

Ferham might be able to see a door beyond the case! The back door, leading to a holding area for more artifacts, and the delivery point. The armored car idles out back.

~~ Outside ~~

In the chaos, eyes turn up. Gasps fill the civilians and cops alike.

"IT'S THE AMAZING DRONE GIRL COME TO SAVE US!" Several fans scream out in joy. The cops fire with renewed vigor.

Clokwerk gets nailed with a Neuroi Beam right in the chest. Again, she goes flying, making an elf-shaped dent in the armored car. She just kinda hangs there a moment, bullets from the Knight Errant forces pinging around her.

"H...hey kiddo! Drek, we gotta stop meeting like this, chum! Cut me some slack, 'Amazing Drone Girl!'! Ow. Oh, jesus, what /is/ that gun of yours. And where do I get one, HA!" Somehow, she sounds in better spirits with N.G. here. Strange when you're getting shot, and her dermal plating is nice and singed.

Thanks to Eva, Clokwerk now can't concentrate to control her drones. Hence, autosofts built in. They're not as good as when Clokkie's on the job. Callia and Palora batter around the drones, the pair going flying and spraying bullets haphazardly. One hits a Knight Errant car, and it promptly explodes. Then, the drones smack into each other. Two fused hunks of metal that once were expensive drones fall to the ground.

Clokwerk gets a sword to the chest, and an angry mage right in front of her.

Stab! Clang! It's like trying to stab through a block of solid metal. But it slides in, and there's the sound of electrical popping and then soft flesh beneath. The rigger chokes up blood, some of it looking black.

"H...Hoi! Retribution? What the drek are you on, kid?" She's woosey now, pinned to the truck as she is. A thought, and her cybernetics go to work. There's a small hiss, and her features slacken as the pain fades.

"Ahhhhhh! Muuuuch better." Comes the voice of one Miss Clokwerk almost lethargically. Chemicals course through her veins, and her eyes seem to fog.

Both arms wrap around Mizuki. In a hug.

"You're a good kid, fighting the good fight, stabbing drekheads like me. Really, kid, I like you. Buuuuut, see, I've got a /rule/. I finish a run when I start one. Soooo..."

Another hiss. Her skin goes red, eye bloodshot.

"IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY THE KNIGHT, KID, I'M GONNA BE THE FRAGGING DRAGON!" Roars the woman, the effects of Frenzy and Bliss mixing. Metallic hands and fleshy arm

Miss Clokwerk (539) has posed:
"IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY THE KNIGHT, KID, I'M GONNA BE THE FRAGGING DRAGON!" Roars the woman, the effects of Frenzy and Bliss mixing. Metallic hands and fleshy arms try to grab Mizuki around the neck, pull her down, and a metalic kneecap tries to slam its way right into her face. The strength in her arms is suddenly much, much greater, and her pain from the stabwound seems to be utterly gone.

"SORRY I AIN'T GOT ANY FIRE FOR YA KID, BUT I SURE AS HELL GOT CLAWS!" Her blows from here are fists, and feet, powered by combat stimulants and utter recklessness.

Theo's spell deposits the troll away! He blinks back home, and falls on the couch. Meh. He's got a nuyen. Zzzzz.

The sniper stands, lining up a shot against Neuroi Girl. Blam! Then, the knife hits the sniper in the heart. Looking down, he gasps. Slowly, he teeters, and falls over. Right off the building. Splat.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     "Why thank you," Ferham said in a yellowy voice that was a bit above her usual deep feminine purr, doing a decentish job of acting apparently as she now stood so close to the case. Reaching over she'd try to put an arm around the closest security guard hitting on her. "Oh really? I think I'd like that," however, before the man can likely move to try to return the gesture he might find his arms and whatever weapon he might have on his person frozen over, with her arm unwrapping from the now half ice covered man to do the same to the other security guard with a gesture that was alike a kiss being blown, frosty air shooting from her lips to cover his midsection in frost and ice. It shouldn't be fatal, though he might incur some minor frostbite.

     "Unfortunately I'm told I can be a real icequeen sometimes," she smiles at the two girls, not wanting to get into fisticuffs with them of course so her attention is turned instead on the diamond, moving to smash the case and make off with the gem, though likely with taking a look in the back first before she leaves. She doesn't seem to realize the ice she sealed the corridor with is being melted through...

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man looks up to see the Neuroi for a moment his optic snarrow as he reaches for a blade and makes it ready.

"I don't think so."

Getting turned over to the federation and scrapped is not his idea of a good time. HJe also gets some more serious hits from the alien robot girl. He's got the money and is getting ready to move, however he opens a channel.

<Flash man get ready to do you thing when it's time.>

<Under stood>

Flash Man makes ready powering his weapons but does not come out of hiding yet.

He also notices something else coming in as he looks at them.

"Heh, I'm afraid I'm far better than that then you!"

Metal Man leaps into the air right up just getting out oharms way he's not able to counter attack however.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The next few moments are probably some of the weirdest in Mizuki's life up until now, I'll have you know. She may be pretty old, but she's also understandably sheltered. A God, a noblewoman... all of those archetypes combined make for one pretty 'innocent' person in the grand scheme of things. Mix that together with someone 'uncouth' like Miss Clokwerk and the results can be as explosive as mixing fire and gasoline. As the girl hacks up blood - black blood?? - she bats her eyelashes a few times. "Some variety of cyborg, I take it? Then this should be a good learning ex --" She's cut off suddenly as she is hugged. Her eyes go wide.

    "Wh-What in the name of...?" She's too stunned to struggle for a few minutes, but when she recovers, she most certainly does! She trashes about, wriggling and wiggling for freedom. "U-Unhand me! What manner of grotesque indiscretion is this?!" And oh God, then she starts talking. And she's asking /her/ what /she's/ on? She seems all too eager to respond to that remark about 'fighting the good fight' - some manner of correction she has for her, I'm sure - before... she starts screaming. Mizuki ducks in her head slightly as she starts getting as analogical as Callia! Not as analogical as -HERSELF-, thank heaven, but close!

    Not time for critiques right now, though! Before any of it has a chance to register, she's struck in the jaw. Hard. Like, really freaking hard. She arcs up into the sky, the blue glitter that appears when she's hit forming a parabola in the sky as she plummets to the Earth. But before she has a chance to land, she spreads her wings and arms, letting them automatically right her. And then she turns to face her opponent again, giving one of her bangs a flick.

    After that, everything happens very, very quickly. The last thing Clokwerk would see is the girl retrieving a .44 seemingly from out of nowhere. Then, before she should have had the time to pull the trigger even once, bullets hail down on her from all directions, though most of them are concentrated directly above and behind her. Soon after, though, Mizuki comes in close, finally giving a verbal reply: "I am not the knight, NOR am I the protagonist. I am the AUTHOR! And if I must, I shall engrave my edicts into you by FORCE!" Now, if she has the time, Mizuki might get in a horizontal slash across Clokwerk's back. A rapier it might be, but apparently it can do more than just thrust when Mizuki wants it to.

    From their vigil a few clicks away, the two girls glance in the direction of their master. Palora snickers. "/Yep/. She's gettin' into things alright." Callia nods in reply. "Then we must show the same zeal and endurance. Come come~." After some wandering, the two dart their way over... somewhere else. Where? Well, I can't say for certain, but Metal Man might see more than just a tank on the horizon. Are those two... light blips? Or... no. They're getting bigger. Lots bigger.

    Oop. There are two girls right in front of him now. One says to the other, "You think he's on our side, Callia?" The girl 'hmmms'. "Judging by those departing law enforcers over there, and that arriving tank...? I would wager against that prospect." That earns a smirk. "Cuttin' time then~." At once, both girls look to him, charging forward with their scythes raised.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline looks around at the crowd and guards as cheers go up. If she could blush, she would be. She doesn't really respond, just floats there, her featureless face scanning the area. Until that sniper bullet impacts her. Her shields flare automatically, a few hexagons of blue appear, but even with the shield, she is forced back a good distance as her shield disperses the energy.

     But, the assailant is dealt with already, so Neuroi Girl looks toward Miss Clokwerk. She doesn't really know what to say. She looks at her sleeve-like arms, then over at Clokwerk again. "...they are...Neuroi beams..." she says softly, then goes still a moment as Clokwerk is run through, or close to it. Evangeline is not keen on human art, so Mizuki's words are lost on her, too.

     And then...Mizuki is getting clawed and kicked and all around roughed up. Evangeline is a bit unsure for a moment. Clokwerk keeps calling her 'chum' and things like that, but...openly admits to being a 'drek'. Well, if she is a drek, Evangeline doesn't feel bad at all firing again. This time, she focuses all her force on Clokwerk. One, broad, solid beam is fired at Clokwerk. Wherever it impacts, there is a pretty powerful explosion, not to mention eating into whatever it hits (which is really what causes the explosion).

     Metal Man and Ferham are both going unnoticed for now.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo is honestly totally surprised that worked.

The Heartseeker comes back bloodied, teleporting to the anvil. He stares at the weapon, wide-eyed. Don't freak out, he thinks. Don't freak out. It did what it was supposed to. He already killed a guy, maybe more.

Deep breathing doesn't help much when the alley smells like stale beer and vomit.

He gets back to it, pulling another card. He stares at it for a solid six seconds, and then starts laughing. Theo puts it down, pays to equip it, and points the Brass Squire towards a side entrance to the museum to check it out. He's getting pretty sure this is a diversion. The myr, with its newfound weaponry, charges off heroically.

MOMENTS LATER

Something suddenly runs straight into the slowly-melting ice wall from the far side. It doesn't matter what's melting it; whoever is over there has the sudden and distinct urge to /get out of the way/. The wall buckles and breaks, and a short shape holding something much larger than it barrels through, spraying droplets of now-warm water in every direction.

The shape -- the Brass Squire, that short, birdlike robot -- is holding what is best described as a vat. It might be a black iron cauldron, but it's way too big to be practical to carry around. A green fluid sloshes around dangerously inside of it, waves of it splattering outward. It's boiling hot. The myr is even wearing oversized oven mitts to handle it.

It actually makes a noise like a metallic bird's honking as it rushes forward, running towards Ferham, the guards, and the diamond. The urge to get out of its path is incredibly strong for no apparent reason, except for the common sense kind.

Unless you're both hungry and fire resist, anyway.

Miss Clokwerk (539) has posed:
~~ Inside ~~

The two guards find themselves on thin ice. The cold and pain makes one with his arm frozen faint. The other is so encased he can't move. Goodbye security! The delivery girl smiles, and puts her hands up.

"...I've seen this trid, omae! I don't get paid enough for this, anyway!" She inches back, and then flees.

The strike cracks the diamond, but it holds. The case, however, goes tumbling. They didn't get to secure it yet. It's barely bigger than the gem, so, it'd be easy for Ferham to tuck it under an arm and head out. Behind her? Ice shatters. Two air spirits, and one grumpy looking elven mage looks at her. A bolt of pure magical energy zips towards her, even as a small bolt of wind aims for her backside!

In back, one object stands out. A solid gold vase, engraved heavily with egyptian writing. That might go for a pretty nuyen to the right fixer.

~~ Outside ~~

Miss Clokwerk looks horridly pleased as Mizuki sails off in an ark. It's probably the drugs coursing through her veins, but it's a /good/ sign here. Then, bullets everywhere. Strange, that a kid would prove more of a threat than an armored vehicle. The thought is let go as she's forced to duck, dodge, and weave to avoid getting shot in the head and heart. More metallic thuds, and sounds of bullet upon flesh. One arm falls to the side uselessly. Clokwerk bleeds heavily, and she stumbles back to land against the humvee.

She's alive, but hurt. She bleeds from the strike to her back, which she didn't even register. She's on her last legs as she crawls into the car.

The sound of a cable slotting up, and a pair of miniguns pop out of the sides of the humvee. The distinctive 'whirrrr' of the weapons, and a total of four thousand rounds of swiftly spent high-calibre ammunition gets shot towards Mizuki. She might want to duck.

Then, the vehicle peels out, the rigger looking back.

"GET IN THE FRAGGING CAR!" she yells out to Metal Man and his accomplice. Slot this, they're out.

Neuroi Girl fires upon Clokwerk, and she's missing a window in her car. Wham! Right in the face. Humvee and Clokwerk alike are going to need some serious time in healing, as there's burns upon her face that obscure even te tattoos. Ow. It's amazing that she's still alive, or conscious enough to rig.

Blood and burnt skin can easily be scented in the vehicle as it rolls over a compact car, and off towards a waiting safehouse.

"...Heh. I'm a fragging terrible dragon. SEE YA NEXT TIME KIDS! MISS CLOKWERK IS BACK IN BUSINESS, AND MAKIN' THE NUYEN CHUMS! OWE YOU TWO BOOZE, TEA, AND WHATEVER THE FRAG YOU EAT DRONE GIRL SOOOOOOOOON!" Zoooooom! Off they go, Knight Errant trying to chase them down.

Except for one armored car. With a swipe of her cyberdeck, Clokwerk performs a few commands. ICE shatter. The armored knight errant vehicle's gun fires upon Neuroi Girl with the angry power of a god. Or just a very, very big explosive round. KABOOM!

~~ Inside ~~

The guards get out of the way of the Brass Squire, thudding to the ground in their icey holdings. The delivery girl is long gone.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man is not going to argue with Miss C, He orders Flash Man to get out on his own. Metal Himself takes some mroe damage but he's moving to get the heck otu of here he gets in the fragigng car with a crunch and away he goes as he yells.

"DRIVE FASTER!"

Ferham (516) has posed:
     The case by itself was easier to smash, and simply try to pocket the large diamond rather than lug it around, so Ferham did so, but just as she was coming out of the back with the solid gold vase, all hell breaks loose in the room. People are running around screaming, the air elementals, as well as the man carrying what looked like a boiling cauldron are careening through the room. It's as if things went from Sly Cooper to complete madness. A bolt of wind comes her way and throws Ferham back against a wall, thankfully out of the soup man's way as the former display and ropes for the diamond's case are bowled over and run down. Sliding down the wall, she manage sto block the energy blast with one of her red wings, leaving a scorch mark. It was close, too close.

     Noticing the open door to the delivery armored car however, Ferham decides it's best to cut and run at this point. Diving into the air, her wings fan out and she beats a hasty retreat out of the loading door, likely running up the front of the running armored car as she zooms out. Whoops, hope she didn't dent the hood too much...

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    You're freaking right she ducks! But since she's in the air, she does it with a bit of flair; she throws out a stasis field to pause (most) of the bullets and does an aerial flip to get herself closer to the ground. While this still allows a number of bullets to graze her legs - quite painfully, I might add - she still manages to land on the ground with a grimace on her face.

    And when she does? She immediately folds her arms and narrows her eyes, angrily blowing an errant lock of hair out of her face as the band of riotous something-or-others departs in a cacophony of shouts and bangs. In attempt to calm herself, she closes her eyes and exhales slowly. She inwardly muses on how thankful she is not to have a biological blood pumping crevice that can be adversely affected by all of this... erm... 'activity'.

    Meanwhile, as Metal Man beats a hasty retreat to the car, Callia and Palora regroup. "Awww... are they running away?" Callia puts a hand to her mouth, giggling. "It seems that way, yes." Palora looks her way. "Then what are we gonna do~?" Callia returns the glance. "Pursue, yes~?" The pinkette smiles, one of her miniature 'fangs' showing.

    "Hell yes we're gonna 'pursue'~! C'mon!"

    And so, two blurs take off against the backdrop of a waning sun, zigzagging their way in pursuit of Clokwerk's gang. At that, Mizuki just sighs, shaking her head. That zeal is part of what she loves them for, though.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline is fired upon! That explosive shell impacts her shield just like the sniper bullet, but this time the shield shatters from the force of the blow, and much of Evangeline's left side is shattered. It falls away in a shower of sparkling silver dust, and she goes spiraling down a moment. Then, she stops, floating upright on her two plane engine legs and holding her remaining arm to her side.

     And as she floats there, a silver glow starts moving outward from the damaged area. It flows over the shape of her body that was there a moment before, and in its wake it restores what was destroyed. "...that was not nice..." she says. She fires on the humvee again, again a solid beam of Neuroi energy. She fires just in front of it, so that the road is destroyed and if the humvee keeps going, it will hit the beam as well. And explode.

     Once the humvee is destroyed, Evangeline flies in to survey the wreckage.

Miss Clokwerk (539) has posed:
~~ Outside ~~ "I'M SLOTTING TRYING CHROMEARSE!" Yells back Clokwerk, drugs and adrenaline making her rigging rather reckless. A cop gets ran over. She narrowly avoids hitting an old grandma crossing the street. Knight Errant cars skid out of the way and smash into buildings. Chaos reigns in the corporate world of peace and control.

Miss Clokwerk /loves/ it, laughing her hoop off.

~~ Inside ~~

The mage and his spirits run after the fleeing Ferham with all due haste. The car's dented, but intact. It'll, in fact, get into gear quite quickly. It's a good car, this one, and rather fast despite the armor.

But there's a problem. Namely, the two spirits and mage as they step outside. A literal tornado follows Ferham as the three concentrate. She should get going before she's blown away with her twin prizes!

~~ Outside ~~

A hit from the hacked car or not, the humvee barely avoids Neuroi Girl's blast. It hits the side of the humvee.

Clokwerk narrowly avoids dieing by jacking out, a wave of dumpshock hitting her. Spitting up more blood, by now, she'll need a doctor.

The two maids' target goes up in a partial fireball right into the air. Just before she goes unconscious, Clokwerk hits a button.

The humvee's roof opens up, and the framework of the vehicle goes flying sky-high. Several money bags go flying, sending nuyen scattered across a good mile. Half of the money is gone, but there's still some for Metal Man. The rest of the humvee explodes, even as the framework containing driver and accomplice ends up in the Detroit River. A VTOL-equipped jet soon picks up the unlucky Runners, more bullets offered in parting from whoever's been hired as emergency getaway to the maids and Eva.

The media's already on fire, as the amazing rescue of the populace by Amazing Drone Girl, The Power Maids, and The Great Flying Mage circulate. Already, Mizuki, the two maids, and again Evangeline are swarmed by media attention. There's book deals, interviews, and now a joint movie deal offered. Welcome to Detroit, ladies.

Ferham, for her part, is home free in the chaos.

Theo Morrison has posed:
The soup-laden myr basically misses that there's anyone in its path as it rushes through. It knocks over rope stands, bounces off walls and splashes display cases with the soup in the cauldron-vat during its mad dash towards the back door. It exits shortly after Ferham does, running into the parked car and spilling delicious dinner all over the front.

Then, undeterred, it turns ninety degrees, charges down the street, and promptly runs directly into a lamp post.

Theo collects his stuff and pokes his head out of the alley. "Hey, did they get aw-" He stops when he sees people rushing over. Theo, unwilling to get connected to the scene of the crime ala Spider-Man, pulls his hood up, retreats down the alley, and tears space-time a new one to make his escape.

Definitely need to invest in that armor. Stupid bullets.