Punk Busting (Open)

Jump City, Downtown Bank, 12:45 a.m.

Alpha watched the suspects from behind some bushes approach the bank. They think no one is watching...good. Alpha shifted his position, trying to get a better look at his targets.

Whoever these guys were, they meant business. Armed with laser guns and armor, Alpha knew they would be difficult to beat. Suddenly, he hear a rustle in the tree behind him.

"You can come on out now, whoever you are." he said.

"I'm guessing that you are one of the good guys," said a voice from behind the trees. A man appeared from behind them. He was wearing a blue semi-dress shirt, black pants, steel-toed combat boots, a black mask and a motorcycle helmet. A pair of nun-chucks hung from his belt.

"I am also one of those good guys. Those men trying to rob the bank, however, are bad people. It seems like a conflict of some sort is inevitable. Those men are prepared for a physical conflict. It looks like they have some pretty serious armaments. What sort of action do you plan on taking?"

Alpha looked at the newcomer. "I'm going to take out their guys guarding the door first, silently, and then get the guys inside." he replied.

"By the way, the name is Alpha. Who might you be?"

"I am Mr. Pacific." Pacific sighed. He was afraid that Alpha was going to say something like that.

"You have chosen the path of violence. I am disappointed. Responding in such a way would not be wise. Please, listen to me. Those are not normal weapons that they are holding. Lasers, high-tech armor, and gadgets that even I can't identify. If these men were merely after money, why would they have such expensive weapons? They could have lived comfortably if they hadn't purchased and built those tools. It is obvious that they have an ulterior motive. Those men want you to attack them. That is why they are armed with weapons to fight a self-proclaimed superhero. In this city, money is meaningless. It is only a tool being used in a very dangerous game. If you attack those men, then you will be trapped in that game."

"Imagine if these men getting away. What would the consequences be? They get rich, the bank gets poor. The bank calls their insurance company and gets a full reimbursement for the robbery. Life will go on. Now, imagine if you rush in and fight those men. The battle will likely destroy much of the bank itself, costing thousands if not millions of dollars to repair. Either you or the thieves will be injured and will need medical attention. People could die."

Pacific paused to let Alpha think it over. "I am not suggesting that you do nothing, but that you find a better way to help."

Alpha thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right." he said, finally. He looked at the robbers again.

"You got a better plan in mind?" he asked.

"They must have a get-away vehicle nearby. I can't afford any tracking technology yet, so I'll need your help. I'm assuming you have some exceptional means of travel. Can you run fast or fly?"

This man was definitely a meta-human, alright. Normal people wouldn't charge into a fight with only a sword and shield. He apparently wasn't invincible, because he was carrying a shield. The sword was probably still his main weapon, which meant that he needed to get close to his opponents. Speed or flight would allow that.

"If you can track their vehicle, I can run into the bank and make sure no guards were hurt. You can call me on this..." Pacific handed Alpha a small earpiece. "...and tell me where their headquarters is. From there, we wait for most of them to fall asleep, I drop in some tear gas, and you run in with a pair of goggles to tie them all up. We can change the plan at any time if things don't work out. You game?"

"Course I'm game, and yeah, I can fly." said Alpha. He looked at the robbers again. "So, I'm assuming I follow them after they make a run for it?" Alpha asked.

Pacific smiled. "Yes, and you won't want them to see you, so keep at a good distance. They should be done pretty soon, so keep a close eye on them. They might try to lose anyone following them, so expect a lot of quick turns down alleyways and possibly even a change of vehicles."

He pulled out his small first-aid kit. "You wouldn't happen to know how many guards were around when they showed up, would you?"

"I always keep count. There were seven guards." replied Alpha. Then, the robbers left the building, and shot the wall above the door, making it collapse.

"Crud. Ok, you go make sure everyone in there is all right, I'll follow the robbers." Alpha quickly flew in the air, and began to follow the criminals' vehicle.

"It's a deal."

As the thieves left the bank and got into their escape vehicle, Pacific would sneak down to the bank door. There were the seven guards that Alpha had mentioned. They were all pretty beat up and unconscious, but they were alive. Pacific called 911 and reported the injuries. He also bandaged up the worst injuries and disinfected everything.

One guard woke up and weakly tried to call out to the strange man wrapping up his wounds.

"It's best if you stay quiet," Pacific said. He put a pain-killer pill in the man's mouth before finishing up the large bandage on the man's arm.

With that out of the way, Pacific headed back out to the streets. He walked in the general direction that the thieves had taken off in and waited for Alpha to call him on the earpiece.

Alpha was following the vehicle alright. Unfortunately for him, he'd been spotted, and was now being shot at with lasers. "Hope you can get here quick, the guys saw me." he said quickly before dodging a laser beam aimed at his head.

Alpha raised his shield, only for it to be blown out of his hand by a laser. "Crud! Pacific, hurry up!"

The thieves had seen Alpha? This wasn't good.

"Don't risk your life over it. All they are taking is money. Money can be replaced. You cannot. Fall back. We can still trace them. It just won't be as fast, now."

Pacific started thinking hard. "Memorize every detail you can about the getaway vehicle. License plate, color, model, stuff like that. I'm coming to your position. Let them get away for now. In a few hours, we'll be at their doorstep."

These guys were tough. They had apparently had stronger weapons than Alpha could handle on his own. It was going to take both of them to take these guys down. Pacific started running to where Alpha should be waiting.

Alpha landed at the street corner to see Pacific running towards him. "I hope your idea to let them get away works."

Alpha looked around for his shield. It was no where to be seen. "Not another one..." he said wistfully.

Pacific ran through the streets until he finally caught up with Alpha. He was breathing hard. It was hard to keep up with all these monsters. He really needed to find a better way to get around.

He was winded by the time he got to Alpha. "You're going to have to fly me around for a while. My legs are pretty tired. Tell me everything you remember about their car."

Alpha nodded. "Alright, they were in a big truck, like, an armored truck. It was white, and had some logo I didn't recognize on the side." he said.

Alpha pointed towards an abandoned warehouse down the street, about a block away. "That's where they went." he added.