Chronicler of Ko-Koro

[iC: New York City, NY] "Gee Bee, I need a diagnostic report, now!" Miles said as he wrestled with the controls. "Unless the laws of physics changed in the last thirty seconds, I'm pretty sure the sky isn't supposed to be upside down like that!"The Cricket spun wildly as it rocketed further into its downward spiral towards the city below; the g-forces slamming Miles back against his seat. The view through the domed cockpit window was filling with skyscrapers, rising up like a pit of deadly spikes to meet the Cricket as it fell."<Thruster 1 refusing to disengage, Thruster 2 is completely dead. Most likely you pushed it beyond its limits and burnt it out, but we won't be able to diagnose it until we're on the ground,>" Goldbug replied. "<Sir, speaking of the ground...>""I know, I know!" Miles yelled back. "Any chance we could maneuver away from the city, maybe make an emergency landing down in the bay?""<I could tell you the odds on that... but I don't think you'd like to hear them. Even if you had enough time to steer the Cricket over water, it's not likely it could survive impacting against the surface at this speed. And you almost certainly wouldn't.>""Alright, let's just save that for Plan B, huh?" muttered Miles as he flipped a few switches and grabbed hold of a lever. "I'm putting the fuel injectors through an emergency restart cycle. That should force the thrusters to shutdown..."He yanked the lever, and true to his word, the thruster sputtered and died. The Cricket stopped its wild spin, plunging downwards into a dive."<Well done, sir. But there is still the slight issue of us falling to our deaths to deal with...>""Gotta let the restart cycle run through..." said Miles. "Then I can guide is in for a landing with the maneuvering thrusters."He glanced away from the controls towards the ground below. In the center of the grey spires, a square of green was rushing towards them. Perfect, Miles thought to himself. Out of everywhere on the city he could impact, and he was going down into Central Park. He supposed it was perferable to coliding with a building, but it was still placing countless civilian lives in danger."Alright, I think we've given the restart sequence enough time," said Miles. "If we're gonna slow down enough to survive before we hit the ground, thrusters gotta fire... NOW!"Miles yanked at the controls, only to get now response from the maneuvering thrusters."...erm... NOW! ...NOW! ...Now?"No matter how many times he tried, the thrusters refused to engage. The ground was fast approaching; Miles could count the number of people on the ground and, unfortunately, estimate just how many of them wouldn't be able to get clear of the impact sight in time. As the altimeter dropped down into the double digets, Miles shut his eyes tight and waited for the impact.The Cricket lurched suddenly, but it didn't take long for Miles to realize it wasnt from hitting the ground. Opening one eye, he saw the ground maybe about fifty feet away, people either running in terror or staring up in confusion. Looking up, Miles soon saw what had saved him. Hovering above him, glowing wings extended wide, was Paladin projecting a massive claw from his suits holographic emitters which had scooped up the Cricket.Slowly Paladin lowered the mech to the ground, its heavy feet touching down on the grass. Miles flicked the switch to open the Cricket's cockpit... only to find himself staring down the point of Paladin's glowing blade."[Alright, just who are you, and what do you think you were doing up there?]" he asked, his voice dripping with irritation at having to make this rescue."I... I'm... I'm the Technician..." Mile stammered."[Last I checked, the Technician was in prison,]" said Paladin. "[And he didn't look like some little punk barely out of high school either. What are you, kid; some kinda copycat?]""No... I'm not... you're thinking of... he was my father..." Miles said, fumbling in his labcoat for his League ID. "I... I'm with the League... uh, sir..."Paladin leaned in to read the ID, grumbled a few choice words under his breath, and disengaged his holographic projectors. The glowing blade fizzled away and vanished into nothingness."[...Fix your little toy, kid, or at least have the common sense not to fly it over populated areas,] he said, glowing wings spreading as he lifted his armored frame into the sky. "[Don't count on me being around to save you next time.]"Without waiting for a response from Miles, Paladin shot off into the sky, becoming a rapidly vanishing dot in the distance. [For Science!]

(IC - Dixie) "Fantastic, sir," Dixie muttered bitterly. "The rest of my patrol... got hit by an ambush. Probably the same Super Mutants that cleared out this town. I barely made it out alive; armor's dinged up something awful, though. Think I took out most of the brutes, but if there's more in the area... well, here's hoping at least one of those wastelanders has enough brain cells to work a firearm. Hawk out." Dixie grumbled a few choice words under her breath. Defending the people of the Texan Union from Mutant attacks was part of their agreement, but that didn't mean Dixie had to like it. They needed to be out scouring the wastes to find and guard pre-war knowledge, technology, and weapons, not risking their lives to save some flock of simple-minded hicks dumb enough to wander out into a desert filled with monsters and get in over their head. But nonetheless, Dixie did have to concede she herself was presently alone in said desert, and there was such a thing as safety in numbers. She drew her rifle and held it at her hip, slowly moving out into the ruins. First things first, she still had to actually find these wastelanders... (IC - Nil) "Yessir. Stick to him like glue, understood," Nil said with a brief salute, and promptly made himself scarce from the tent. Slinging his gun across his back, Nil marched his way across the NCR camp, whistling the tune that blasted private with his radio had managed to get stuck in his head. He caught up with the freelancer just as he was about to step into the medical tent. "Hey, merc! Yeah, you there!" Nil called out to him as he approached. "The pencil-pushers assigned me to keep an eye on you. Y'know, just make sure you don't steal any office supplies or something. Don't worry 'bout it too much; long as you're on the level, I don't expect we'll have any problems." [For Science!]

Approved by Ra's al Ghul: Username: Chronicler of Ko-KoroName: Cora JensenAppearance: An African-American woman with brown eyes and hair shaved down to a buzz cut. Wears a Followers’ labcoat over a grey shirt, brown pants, and black gloves and boots.Affiliation: Followers of the Apocalypse, NCR civilianAge: 27Specialization: Skilled medic, also possesses limited knowledge of pre-war historyEquipment: 10mm pistol, doctor’s bag with an assortment of medical tools, stimpacks and medicine.Bio: Cora grew up in New Reno, a city located on the far fringes of the New California Republic. Despite being annexed by the NCR, much of the city was still run by cabals of dueling crime families, who made New Reno was a haven for all sorts of vices and criminal activities. Surviving in such a cesspool was not easy without being forced to engage in certain unsavory professions to make ends meet. Addicted to jet and living in slums, she saw no real chance of her life ever improving.All that changed when Cora met a missionary from the Followers of the Apocalypse, come to New Reno to try provide aid to its poorest citizens. The Followers were an organization dedicated to preserving the knowledge of the old world, using it both to try and ensure the cataclysmic war that destroyed it never occurred again, and to help those in the Wasteland sorely in need. The Followers were neither liked or wanted in New Reno, the mob families did everything they could to drive them from the city or otherwise be rid of them, and they lacked the funds and supplies to make significant change in the city even without the pressure upon them. Yet even faced with such challenges they did all they could, with what little they had, to help the poorest souls in New Reno, Cora among them. The Followers helped her to kick her jet addiction, and got her back on her feet. She admired their dedication in the face of such adversity, and when the missionaries ended their mission and returned to safer portions of the NCR, she left New Reno with them.Cora took full advantage of the education the Followers provided, absorbing the Followers teachings like a sponge. She trained as a medic, wanting to help others the way the Followers helped her. Over the next few years she traveled from town to town across the Wasteland, traveling wherever she thought her assistance was needed most. When the NCR started its push into the Texan Wastes, Cora volunteered to lead a small group of her fellow Followers to establish a presence in the region. In exchange for their protection from the dangers of the Wasteland, Cora volunteered their skills as medics out to the NCR soldiers stationed there.Cora hopes to come to an agreement with the leaders of the Texan Union that would allow the Followers of the Apocalypse to establish a more permanent presence within their borders; however, so far she has little success setting up a meeting to arrange such negotiations. She disagrees with some of the Union’s ways, particularly with regard to the Resurgence Church’s influence over its workings, but still feels that peaceful co-existence is a goal worth working towards. As for the NCR, Cora generally sees them as well-meaning if slightly misguided, and while she might harbor some resentment towards them for often leaving the Followers under-supplied and underfunded in favor of their own advancement, she can’t deny that they’ve done the most to help the Wasteland get back on the path towards civilization. Ultimately, political affiliation isn’t Cora’s biggest concern; she worries more about helping the little people in need, no matter which side they might belong to. [For Science!]

(IC - Nil) "Do I, sir? I had no idea myself," said Nil. "As far as I'm concerned this is just another day out in the Wasteland; it ain't pleasant, but that's just the way things go sometimes. At the moment, I'm more worried about getting the sick freaks who did this." [For Science!]

[iC: League HQ, New York City, NY] "...Gyroscopic stabilizers operating at peak efficiency, wireless command link response time less than .25 seconds... hmmm, stress levels on left knee servo eight percent above the norm... I'll have to adjust that next time I'm in the lab..."Miles tapped away at the screen of his gauntlet, and in response the Cricket came lumbering out onto the runway of the League HQ's hanger. No jets were scheduled to arrive at the moment; timing was perfect for a test flight on the Cricket. The cockpit opened with a hiss of sliding pistons, and Miles pulled himself up and into his seat. Buckling himself in, Miles started flipping a series of switches, prepping the mechsuit for flight."<Sir, this seems ill advised,>" a feminine voice with just an edge of mechanical roughness about it spoke through Miles' comm. "<The Cricket's thruster system is still relatively untested, after all.>""Correct me if I'm wrong, Goldie, but isn't the purpose of this run, in fact, to test precisely that?" asked Miles, the glass dome of the cockpit sliding down into place in front of him."<But there's absolutely no reason you need to be in the cockpit for this,>" Goldbug replied. "<We could run more computer simulations, or you could fly the suit by remote, or literally anything else->""Bo-ring! Besides, if there is a problem with the engines, I can diagnose it much more effectively in here than from on the ground," said Miles. "Come on, Gee-Bee! Do I have to program a sense of adventure into you?""<Perish the thought, sir. But if you die in a fiery explosion... I told you so.>"Chuckling, Miles grabbed hold of the controls and carefully guided the Cricket into position. With the flip of one last switch, the pair of engines on the mech's back roared to life, slowly rising up above the floor of the hanger. Retrorockets in the legs kicked in, keeping the Cricket in balance at it hovered."Alright, all systems operating within tolerable limits..." Miles muttered as he looked over the info being fed into his visor. "How about we take this baby out for a spin?"Miles pushed down on the throttle and the Cricket rocketed forwards, thrusters spewing twin trains of fire behind it. The mechsuit roared out of the hanger, quickly gaining altitude as it rose into the sky over New York."<Flight system seems to be performing adequately without any major snafus,>" Goldbug informed Miles. "<I advise we test out a few basic flight maneuvers, then return back to League Headquarters.>""Nah, I wanna see how far I can push these thrusters," Miles said, forcing the Cricket to climb up higher over the city. "Better to figure out the bugs now, rather than when we've got some angry supervillain on our tail.""<Miles, I think that's a really bad idea->"The Cricket was rising steadily over the city. Down below, people, cars, even skyscrapers were fading away into tiny, indistinct dots. Inside the cockpit, Miles could feel the mech's frame starting to shake, both from the force of the rockets on its back and the sheer force of the wind at this altitude."Don't worry, when we start getting warning signs on the dials, I'll take us back down," said Miles. "I just need to know how much punishment this system can take-"Suddenly and without warning, the left thruster began to cut in and out. The flames trailing out the engine behind the Cricket began to sputter, then, abruptly, cut out completely."Oh sh-" was all Miles managed to mutter before the Cricket spun out in midair, dropping towards the city below in an uncontrolled tailspin.[For Science!]

(IC - Dixie) Dixie trudged along the side of the ruined highway, laser rifle slung across her back. She hadn't encountered another soul so far along the road, but as far as she was concerned that was a blessing. Most wastelanders had the common sense to stay out of the way of the Brotherhood's patrols, but a lone Knight in damaged power armor might make a tempting target for raiders.Every step she took confirmed what she'd first suspected down in the canyon, that one of the locomotion servos must have been damaged in that explosion. They were what gave the suit enhanced strength enough to overcome its own weight; without them, it was no better than the laughably overencumbered suits the NCR had foolishly stripped down and slapped on the backs of their Heavy Troopers. Dixie couldn't quite pin down where the break was without extensive examination, but she could sense a minute delay in her movements. There was only a second or two of delay, but in the situations she often found herself, those few seconds could be a matter of life and death.Dixie could see the crumbling ruins of a town ahead. A sand-worn road sign informed her that the town had been called Kyle, but Dixie wasn't sure that particularly mattered anymore. She was pretty sure you couldn't call a place a town if there were no people living there. Either way, there had to be more than a few abandoned stores in those ruins, and this far out into the wastes there was a better chance other scavengers hadn't gotten to them first. Dixie figured she'd find some food for the road; she had a mighty craving for a pack of Fancy Lads snack cakes... (IC - Nil) "Eh... I'm a soldier, not a doctor. I don't exactly get paid to stop people from bleeding, now do I?" Nil muttered. "Might be they wanted this guy to suffer, and they weren't gonna let him get out of that by dying. Heck if I know. You'll forgive me for not wanting to speculate on the mindset of whoever did this..."Nil was keeping his eyes trained on the windows, looking for any sign of movement on the street outside. It was the most likely spot for anyone to show up; an assassin hoping to finish them off might sneak in a window or some back entrance, but as Hanlon pointed out, whoever did this needed them to deliver their message. No, the Union would be coming in the front; more official that way, plenty of room for plausible deniablity.[For Science!]

(IC - Nil) "Far as I'm concerned, every lowlife in this stinking city is a suspect," muttered Nil. "No way am I letting a single one of 'em in here."Nil unslung his carbine and loaded a fresh clip. He marched off towards the main entrance to stand guard. Guilty or innocent, nobody from the Union was going to step through that door. They might be just as interested in finding the killer as they were... or they could be there to "accidentally" destroy vital evidence before the NCR could investigate. That wasn't something Nil was willing to risk. --- (IC - Dixie) Dixie ran between the canyon walls, praying none of the Mutants would land a lucky headshot as she felt the impact of bullets bouncing off her power armor. Even with the added protection the suit would give her, eventually one of them would get a lucky hit in the joints or hit a worn point in the armor, and then it'd all be over.She looked back to try and count how many Mutants were after her; halfway through her headcount, Dixie realized that maybe she didn't really want to know. She fired her laser rifle at them as she retreated, but she knew she'd bleed her supply of microfusion cells dry before she'd killed them all. Dixie wished she'd thought to snatch a few grenades off the corpse of her fellow Knight; as much as she disliked the idea of looting her fallen comrades, he was hardly using them at the moment. But no, his body was all the way back by the car, which now had Super Mutants swarming over it......The car...Dixie spun around, dropping to one knee and taking careful aim with her laser rifle. She aimed past the hoard of Super Mutants charging towards her, towards the bullet-riddled automobile lying at the bottom of the ditch."Sorry 'bout this, gorgeous," she whispered, and squeezed down on the trigger.The laser bolts ripped through the metal frame of the car, flames sprouting and licking away at the engine. Then the entire car went up in a blast of light and heat, a miniaturized nuclear explosion that vaporized most of the vehicle and any Super Mutant unfortunate enough to be standing too close to it. The canyon walls were perfectly shaped to amplify the force of the blast, the shockwave ripping through the hoard of Mutants like paper. Even in her heavy power armor, the force of the blast was enough to knock Daisy off her feet, throwing her back about ten feet before she hit the ground, a spasm of pain shooting up her back. Dixie winced, spitting up the mouthful of sand she'd had thrown in her face by that blast. But she couldn't complain, she'd survived after all. She'd faced off against a hoard of Super Mutants alone and she......She couldn't get up.Dixie cursed loudly as she struggled to pull herself up, weighed down by her own power armor. One of the locomotion servos must have been busted up by the explosion, because somehow the suit didn't have the strength to lift itself up. Suddenly, Dixie became aware of another sound in the canyon; the sound of pained grunts and labored, limping footsteps. Dixie strained her neck to look up; less than twenty feet from her was a Super Mutant, badly burned by the explosion, clutching his super sledge in what remained of his hand.The Mutant looked down at the Knight, struggling to move under the weight of her own armor, and laughed. He limped closer to Dixie, raising his sledge up over its head. No, Dixie thought to herself, I am not going out like some turtle on its back. I am not dying like this. In desperation, she swung out her power-fist clad arm at the Mutant's knee; she felt the gauntlet connect, heard the sound of crunching bone, saw the Mutant's leg twist in a very unnatural angle. The Super Mutant roared in pain and started to fall. Dixie grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled herself to her feet, at the same pulling the Mutant down to the ground. Dixie wrestled the sledge out of his hands, and with a ferocious yell brought it down on the Mutant's head, splitting it like a melon.Breathing a sigh of relief, Dixie dropped the sledge and took a moment to admire her own carnage. Assorted bits of Super Mutants were scatted about the canyon; the spot where the car had once been was now the center of a crater of molten glass. Dixie was thankful she'd taken some Rad-X as a precaution earlier; she didn't want to think about the kinds of radiation she might have been exposed to. She could see signs of movement among the corpses; more than a few of the Mutants had survived, but after that blast it'd be a while before they were in any condition to come after her. Still, it was probably not wise to stick around anymore, a column of smoke was rising above the canyon, which would surely attract all kinds of attention. Dixie picked up her laser rifle from where it had landed in the sand, and slowly started climbing back up the ridge. Her patrol hadn't been too far from the old I-35 highway when they'd found the car; if she got back to that, at least she'd have a road leading back in the direction of civilization. She'd taken note of a few ruined towns along the road on their way out, With any luck, in one of them she might find supplies to last her the long, long march back to the Brotherhood.[For Science!]

(IC - Dixie) Dixie poked her head out from behind the rock, lining a target in her sights and squeezing down on the trigger of her laser rifle. Three bursts of light flared through the air and struck a Super Mutant dead in the chest, flesh and bone burning away into ash. Nearby, the Knight ripped the pin from a frag grenade and hurled it up the slope, exploding in a blast that felled two more of the brutes."Get out from behind that car!" Dixie shouted towards the Knight, ducking for cover as bullets pinged off the boulder just inches from her head."Why?" he shouted back. "Safer than anywhere else right now, isn't it?""Yeah... but it's also got a nuclear reactor in the trunk!"As another round of bullets hit the automobile, it instantly clicked in the Knight's mind why being next to it might be a bad idea. He rose to try and join Dixie over behind the rocks... when a super sledge came down on him with a sickening crunch, the helmet of his Power Armor crumpling like a tin can. The Super Mutant the hammer was attached to came bounding over the car towards Dixie; she dropped him to the ground with a burst from her laser rifle, leaving a burning hole in the mutant's chest.But more still were descending the slope, faster than Dixie could shoot them down. Her laser rifle illuminating the canyon walls with red light as she fired in a wide arc to slow their advance, looking for a position to fall back to before she was completely overrun.(IC - Nil) Nil didn't waste too long taking in the gruesome sight; living as long as he did in the wasteland, he'd seen enough awful sights that even this wasn't enough to phase him. He drew his service pistol and slowly advanced across the room, eyes sweeping every corner of the room. Whoever did this could still be in the area."I recommend we sweep the building. Make sure whoever did this ain't still around," he suggested to Hanlon. "Don't suppose that writing means anything to you? I'm drawing something of a blank here..."[For Science!]

[OOC] Yeah, I freely admit my posting here has fallen a bit on the wayside. Blame college for taking up most of my time, and independent writing projects for taking up the rest. Also, I'm sure Netflix figures into that somehow. I am trying to see if I can't break back into this RPG; I'd say if anyone wants to interact with Hivemind to feel free, but best as I can tell, everyone is pretty firmly tied up in their own plots at the moment, so... yeah. And in the interest of getting back into this, I think I'm probably going to retire Mystic from PC status (cause, to be honest, she was kind of boring and didn't do a lot), and start out a new (well, new in the sense they weren't a PC before) character:Real Name: Miles AndersonAlias: The TechnicianAppearance: A youthful and energetic teen, with blonde hair and green eyes. Wears a bright green supersuit trimmed with white and gold patterns, a white labcoat with gold cuffs, and a green visor. Right hand covered by a small silver gauntlet.Power: None, relies on his technological prowess. The Technician's arsenal at present consists of: -- His visor, equipped with identification software linked with League and police databases, and a built-in comm system. -- The Power Glove, a small, lightweight metal gauntlet worn on his right hand. Possesses a targeting sensor that allows him to remotely send commands to the Cricket and call it too him, along with what Miles insists upon referring to as his "near-death ray" - a small laser weapon that delivers unpleasant but typically nonlethal damage. -- The Cricket, a small mechsuit, colored green, white, and gold, standing at aprox. 3.3 meters tall. Armaments consist of one variable-strength laser cannon mounted on the left arm, a bladed pincer-claw mounted on the right, and two missile pods containing four missiles each. Possesses flight capabilities thanks to a set of thrusters on the mechsuit's back and stabilizing thrusters in the legs, but its maneuverability in the air is limited due to the suit's bulkiness. -- Goldbug, Miles' robotic assistant and companion. One of his earliest creations, it has the appearance of a mechanical beetle, covered in polished gold plating, about 25 cm. long. Houses a simple AI system that Miles has tinkered with over the years to the point it can successfully imitate conversation with few errors. Goldbug possesses flight capabilities and a small 'stinger' laser beam, but her primary tool is the set of sensory equipment mounted in his pincers, which help analyze a threat and provide Miles with tactical information. Attaches to compartment on the back of the Cricket for storage and to recharge her power cells. Allegiance: League of SalvationArea: New York CityBio: Miles Anderson comes from a long line of scientists; he is in fact the ninth in his family to bear the mantle of The Technician. Unfortunately, the science practiced by The Technicians that came before him was strictly of the “mad” variety; a lineage of supervillains stretching back even before the word “supervillain” was thought up. Despite the wishes of his father that he continue with the family business, Miles secretly wished to put his mechanical knowledge to a more practical use. With the help of a superhero named Fade, Miles was persuaded to help bring his father to justice, and shortly thereafter decided his talents would be best applied in service of the League.Miles had developed quite a few creations under his father's tutelage, but insisted they all be either destroyed or placed into storage, wishing instead to start over fresh. The only exception to this was his robotic companion Goldbug, who for most of his adolescent life was close to his only friend and companion. The scope of his creations has been smaller since doing so, due to the limits on what the League is willing to fund (and secretly, Miles suspects they are reluctant to allow an almost-supervillain to build something big enough to level a city block), but he has managed to put together a mech-suit he feels is sufficient towards the task of fighting evildoers. With the aid of the League, Miles hopes he can help to balance out the wrong the previous Technicians have caused. But with eight generations of evil looming over him, this task might be beyond even Miles' capabilities... --- [iC: Miami, FL] Dislodging into a flurry of wasps, Hivemind poured through the slot in the teller's window, reforming herself together on the other side. Picking up the device from where the teller had dropped it, she slunk over to a nearby computer and plugged it into the USB slot. With a few taps on the keyboard a window popped up, displaying a series of progress bars slowly filling as they went through the banks servers.A familar sound caught Hivemind's ear; the wail of police sirens drawing closer. Glancing out the window, she could see several police cars forming a perimeter outside the bank's entrance. Hivemind sighed. The cops themselves weren't likely to be trouble; unless someone got a swelled head and tried to play a hero, they would probably just hang back once they realized they were dealing with a metahuman. They simply just didn't get payed enough to deal with that sort of thing.But they would inevitably run crying to the League once they saw how sorely outclassed they were, and that was when things were likely to go pear-shaped for the whole operation. Spotting the teller trying to crawl away, Hivemind buzzed over to him, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against a desk."Did you forget what I told you about silent alarms?" she asked in a low hiss. "Well, now we get to play a fun little game. I like to call it 'lets see how many cicadas can crawl into your ears before the noise drives you completely insane'..."A sudden DING! broke Hivemind's train of thought; she dropped the man to the floor and glanced at the computer. All the progress bars were filled up with green, the transfer completed. Hivemind smiled, ripping the device from the computer and throwing it to the floor. It crumpled into broken plastic and crushed circuitry under her boot as she stepped over it, making her way towards the exit. She paused at the door, turning back towards the terrified teller struggling to pull himself off the floor."Looks like you're saved by the bell, old man," she said. "By the way, I hope you understand that whole cicada thing wasn't personal. I mean, if I let you off easy, what would the rest of the hostages think? So... no hard feelings, then? Cool."Hivemind strode out of the bank, throwing the double doors open wide. She took a few steps towards the wall of cops standing in front of her, her swarm buzzing around her. Shotguns and pistols raised cautiously, just in case she got too close. Some suit with a bullhorn was shouting something about getting down on the ground with her hands over her head, but naturally Hivemind wasn't bothering to listen to him."Y'know, you guys... I'm not sure you appreciate just what an amazing world we live in," she said. A few of the police looked puzzled, unsure why the bank robber was suddenly trying to talk casual with them, but Hivemind paid them no mind. "I mean, just like five years ago, if I wanted to rob this bank, I'd have had to take it all out in bags with cartoon dollar signs on them. I'd have to carry that all out myself, which I don't know if you know, but that's hard to do as a giant cloud of insects."Hivemind grinned, her swarm starting to buzz louder."But everything's online now; if I wanna steal some money, I can just do it digitally. Which, most relevant to you, means I'm unencumbered enough to do THIS!"Hivemind burst forth into her swarm form, buzzing between cop cars. A few officers who lacked the common sense to take cover from the stinging insects opened fire; the shock from the gunshots stunned or killed the few bugs unfortunate enough to get in the crossfire, but it wasn't enough to stop Hivemind. The swarm buzzed past them, rising high up into the air and buzzing across the Miami skyline.[For Science!]

(IC - Nil) "I'll stick close by, if it's all the same to you," said Nil, following Hanlon down the street. "I was sent here to guard an ambassador, not some high-tech tricycle." Plus, if what he'd heard about the Resurgence Church's treatment of Ghouls was true, Nil didn't want to spend much time alone in this city alone. Not that he'd ever verbalize those fears, but he understood the importance of safety in numbers either way. [For Science!]

[iC: Miami, FL] The mid-day sun was casting down bright shafts of light through the glass facade of the bank, and the loud humming of the air conditioning unit told the teller that it was about to break again. He sighed, wiping beads of sweat off his brow. He didn't know how many times he'd told his boss they needed to replace the old thing. They just didn't have the money for it, his boss would say; the teller wanted to ask just what sort of bank didn't have money, but he didn't because he wanted to keep his job.The line moved up, and a woman in a bright yellow sundress approached the bank window. She had a large bag slung over her arm, her short reddish-orange hair almost covered by her large, floppy hat and a pair of almost comically oversized sunglasses took up most of her face. The teller grumbled under his breath; bank policy forbade people from wearing hats or shades or anything like that which could conceal their face from the security cameras. But in a town like this no one ever bothered, and his boss would yell at him about it even though there was nothing he could do to get them to listen."Welcome to BankSun, how may I help you today?" the old man asked, with the sort of forced helpfulness that completely failed to conceal the weariness in his voice.The woman leaned in close, flashing the teller a bright smile. She lowered her shades just enough to fix a pair of vibrant green eyes on him."Hi, there! If it's not enough trouble, I'd like to make a withdrawal."She reached into her bag, and slid a small object through the teller's window. The old man picked up and looked at in confusion. It looked like a small silver box with a series of blinking lights on the side, a small cable connecting to it that looked like it was supposed to connect to a computer."I... I-I'm sorry... I don't understand what-""Oh, don't worry about it. It's a really complicated science thing, you don't need to know what it's called, but what it does is hack into all your accounts and transfer out all their money, bounce it between enough dummy accounts to baffle anyone trying to trace it, then deposits it into my own offshore account. If you could just plug it into your computers, that'd just be peachy."The teller simply stared blankly at the woman, holding the device at arms length as if unsure what to do with it."Oh... I'm sorry! Did I forgot to mention? This is a robbery. That's probably what I should have opened with..."Tensing slightly, the teller placed the device down on the counter. As inconspicuously as he could, he slipped his hand beneath his desk, feeling around for the little red button that would alert the police of a robbery. Suddenly a sharp sting shot through his arm; the teller jerked it back in pain, a few wasps buzzing out from under his desk and flitting across the room."Aww, were you trying to pull the old 'silent alarm' trick on me?" asked the women in the same voice one would use on a misbehaving toddler. "Just don't try it again, and I won't let the next one to sting you be poisonous."She suddenly turned away from the window, facing the other people gathered in the bank."...And the same goes for all of you, too!" she shouted. "You know what happens to people who want to play hero? They either wear garish tights, or they wind up dead! Both fates all of you should want to avoid!"A security guard rose from his chair in the far corner of the room and approached the woman, his hand reaching down towards the holster on his hip."Ma'am... I think it'd be best for everyone if you came with me, please."The woman glanced over her shoulder at the approaching guard and flashed a mad grin."You're right, it probably would be for the best," she said. "Heeeeeey, speaking of bees..."She swung around, hurling her bag into the air. A horrifying buzzzzzzzz filled the air, and bursting forth from the bag came a swarm of very angry bees. The guard screamed, dropping his gun and swatting in desperation as they stung at his face. The other patrons ran shrieking for the exit or ducked down low as the swarm circled over them. The woman was enveloped in the cloud of swarming insects; when they dissipated the sundress and hat were gone, replaced by a sleek black-and-yellow supersuit and a pair of small, orange sunglasses. Hivemind let out a delighted cackle as bees swarmed around the bank, covering the handles of the doors to discourage anyone from leaving."Alright, now if I were one of you schmucks, I wouldn't move!! Bees tend to take that as a sign of aggression, y'know! Now me, I've got business to take care of! Try anything clever, you'll be up to your eyeballs in insects, got it?"[For Science!]

(IC - Nil) Nil extended his own hand and shook Hanlon's firmly. "Most folks just call me Nil. S'pose you can too." [For Science!]

(IC - Nil) "It's my impression that certain people down in that town... don't take kindly to my sort of people, sir," Nil said, holstering his weapon. "Mind you, they're probably none too keen on NCR ambassadors either, but it's still something you should take under consideration. Now, me personally? I'm keen to go, if just to ruffle the feathers of those Resurgence Church whackjobs." [For Science!]