The pounding of hammers rang out in a staccato, echoing out across the dull neighborhood. Marquette Heights, home to the rich and boring. Well, at least that's what Hope thought. It was a gated community type of place, the type with the manicured lawns where everyone walked their dogs along streets with picked fences with their lawyer wife and gifted kids. Hope kinda hated it. Stupid moneybags didn't know how good they had it, and they were [i]always complaining about something[/i]. Oh, my god! I have to park my car on the street like a common heathen because the work truck takes up the driveway! Can't you hammer just a [i]little[/i] quieter? I'm sorry, you can only work between the hours of ten and two because I don't want my kids around all the construction. Pfft, like they fuckin' knew how hard it got. Rent was almost a week past due for her, and the electric bill was also fighting for her attention, but she could probably skip that one this month. If she managed to finish her dining table side project by the weekend, she might have a little extra pocket change after selling it for a trip to the grocer's. Bologna sandwiches were getting old fast. Buuuut... if Hope had the opportunity, she would trade lives with one of these over-privileged dickheads and never look back. Maybe not as whiny, though. Truth be told, she loved her job, especially woodworking, so it wasn't half as bad as she made it seem. Yeah, a lot of them liked to bellyache, but Marquette Heights always offered work in a safe area with decent pay. Sometimes the nicer folks would buy them lunch or give them some gift cards when they were done. If it hadn't been the rent bill weighing on her mind, Hope would've been in a great mood.

They were working on a kind of town house type of structure, putting a two-story addition together. It was all pretty much just frame at this point, but that was the best part. Infinite possibilities and a lot of laying woodwork. Hope was on the second story working on building the floor in with Marshall, while Meda, Yeung, and Reede were putting up insulation in the wall frames below. Until Hope received a phone call, that is. Laying her claw hammer down, she fished her cheap little ear piece out of her tool belt and put it to her ear.
"Yeah?" she answered, the sharp sounds of construction filling the background as she picked her hammer up again to continue working.
[i]"Have you been watching the news?"[/i] came a familiar, far away voice. It wasn't the best quality, but being put behind more proxies than one has fingers will do that to a phone call.
"No, I'm kinda working at the moment," she replied. Seeds usually called her twice a day, but she couldn't get to everything he'd bring her. Having a life gets in the way of hitting thugs in the face with blunt things.
[i]"Think you might wanna start..."[/i]
"Is this really that important? Like I said, I'm busy," she huffed.
[i]"Wisp, it's that important. Trust me. Make some time to talk. Now."[/i] She could tell by his tone of voice what this meant. Seeder was usually cryptic and almost never demanding. He's not straightforward like this. Hope grumbled and stood up.
"Boss, I've gotta take this. Smoke break?" she asked, looking to Marshall. The older man didn't look up from his own work.
"That's fine. Back in ten, Thomas." Hope took no hesitation in making her way down the ladder, jumping the last few rungs and jogging out to the truck. She produced a half-empty pack of Newports from the same pouch as her phone on her tool belt and pulled out the lighter she kept within.
"Alright, I'm good. Whatcha got, Seeds?"

Seeder, or s33D#r, was an associate Hope, or rather, Wisp, had met online. Someone with some hacking skills and more smarts than she had hair on her dainty little head. He'd become an asset over the past week with his info gathering skills, but he was annoying as hell. Still, she put up with him for the results. Hope Thomas had a particular hobby that needed those skills, a hobby where one dons a costume at night and plays superhero. Although it's not really playing. A couple weeks before Hope discovered that with the passing of the comet that she had been affected along with a handful of other fortunate individuals. Problem was that it was only her, and now Seeds, against God knew who with these other abilities. Luckily, she'd only run into one other, although she knew of a couple more, and he wasn't particularly dangerous at the moment. She'd need all the help she could get, and Seeder was one of those that would help. Even if he was an ultra nerd loser.
[i]"I'm sending you some transcripts and audio of the police chatter, and recorded live video that the news is taking."[/i]
"Of...?"
[i]"You'll find out soon enough. Just watch the first video I'm sending you."[/i] Hope audibly scoffed. He was always like this.
"I don't have time for fuckin' games, Seeds, just tell me what you mean."
[i]"Watch the video, Wisp."[/i] Hope took a drag from her menthol and scoffed again, opening the video that had just appeared in her mailbox.
"Such a fuckin' tool," she remarked. Upon opening the video, Hope was met with helicopter footage above Wentworth Bank, with familiar news taglines such as [i]Chaos Ensues as Wentworth Bank is Robbed![/i] and [i]Live Action Footage of Bank Heist[/i]. It was pretty stereotypical stuff, almost groan worthy. Probably would've explained the sirens they'd heard earlier. But therein lies the problem. The biggest thing Wisp had taken care of at that point was a bust on a meth lab controlled by the Mara Salvatrucha cartel. This was a whole new ball game. Hope winced.
"God damnit. Why can't this shit happen at night when I can, y'know, [i]do[/i] something?" she seethed.
[i]"It gets worse. Listen to the police radio that I've forwarded to-"[/i]
"Fuckin' A, Seeds! I don't have time for this, just tell me!" she interrupted.
[i]"Geez, that time of the month already?"[/i] Seeder teased, eliciting a growl from the blonde, [i]"The guys robbing the bank aren't... normal. They've got powers too, Wisp."[/i] Hope blew the smoke from her cigarette out of her nose before jumping to respond.
"Son of a bitch, okay Seeds, I'll need you to-"
[i]"Just let me finish, there's more,"[/i] Seeder interrupted this time, [i]"They've already confirmed dead inside the bank. These guys are dangerous, Wisp. But there was another site hit, not on the news yet. A lot of gunfire coming from a few miles down from the bank. Not normal gunfire, like pistols. Automatic gun fire. Same time as the bank heist."[/i]

Hope just held her head. Saw this one coming. The city was already going to shit [i]before[/i] the freaks started popping out of thin air. It wasn't going to be easy anymore.
"Alright, okay," she began, gathering herself, "I still have a long day of work ahead of me, so you'll need to be my eyes, okay Seeds? I'll need whatever video and radio talk you can get, any pictures, names-"
[i]"Locations, phone numbers, addresses, blood types, magazine subscriptions, known pets, and fifth grade art projects. Got it,"[/i] Seeder joked, [i]"I'm already scanning for uploaded video and pictures on social media and the news websites and TV. I'll get you whatever video any idiot is stupid enough to take."[/i]
"Thank you sweetie..." Hope cooed in mocking, "You're such a good little boy... Listen, I'll be down to head out tonight at about 7:30. Give me a call about then. It's gonna be a looooooong night."
[i]"I've got a raid tonight anyway. I'll talk to you then."[/i] As customary, Hope hung up without saying goodbye. Great. Just great. Now she had more to think about than just a late rent payment. Hope finished her smoke and crushed it underfoot in the driveway before returning to her work site, clambering up the ladder.
"Landlord again?" Marshall asked. Hope shook her head.
"Nah, it was my dad. Wanted to talk about his new girlfriend. I don't really want to talk about it." Marshall simply nodded his head and returned to work. That was a lie, of course. Hope hadn't spoken to her father in over two years. She checked her phone over again, having more information in her inbox. Putting her headphones in, she began to play some of the police transcripts on a loop, to understand everything being said. Before it became a long night, it was going to be an anxious day.