[indent][b][u]11 PM; January 9th, 2026
Columbo Building, Downtown Hub City.[/u][/b][/indent]

Littered newspaper flew into the air as Alias' car pulled over to the curb, the wind blowing her coat back as she slid out of the driver's seat and pulled her pistol out quickly. She closed the door, levelling her gun at the windows of the Columbo Building as she wandered her way around to the trunk and pulled it open.

[color=blanchedalmond]"We go in slow and cautious. Well, to be more accurate, I go in normally, you go in slow and cautious, try to get to a vantage point and wait for things to go bad, because I know they will."[/color]

She gestured to the shotgun in the back and turned to the Building, observing cautiously as she waited.

Oscar looked at the shotgun, mulling it over for a moment, before grabbing it. He'd be no good with it, but then again once thigns went south he could just as easily toss it to Shams from his vantage point. Tucking the scattergun under his arm, he pulled his grappling hook out from within his trenchcoat and turned to Alias. [color=darkgreen][b]"See you on the other side."[/b][/color] With those words, he aimed his grappling hook at an open second story window, zipping up to it and climbing inside.

Putting away his grappling gun, Oscar pressed one of the buttons on his belt buckle, releasing his concoction. He took in a few deep breathes of the gas, coughing lightly before closing his eyes. Opening his eyes, the Question began to [b][i]Hear[/i][/b], keeping his ears peeled for any sounds. There was breathing in the entrance hall, where Alias would be coming in from. He walked through the doorway and onto a balcony overlooking the entrance hall. He kept down low, watching and waiting.

Alias walked into the building, gun in hand. It was almost unconcerned, her stride, but she had her eyes scanning the entrance hall the entire time, hidden behind her mask. She didn't know what the hell would go down, but hopefully Oscar was capable of bailing her out if there was any trouble.

She gripped tightly to her pistol, pointing it down every stray door or hallway as she passed. Her footsteps echoing through the empty hall caused her some anxiety, but not as much as the bloody handprints that stained the elevator doors directly ahead of her. She stopped for a second to steel herself. It got easier every time, but only by increments, she still had nerves, fear, all of what you'd expect when facing down armed criminals alone.

Or not alone, as it was this time.

Before she could exhale a creaking door sent her into a spin that ended with a bullet flying into the wood, digging a hole and releasing a puff of air. A limp arm fell first, followed by a pantyhose-covered head.

As soon as skull met floor, the building came alive with noise.

Men burst out of almost every door, some pointing guns, some wielding bats or knives, and one releasing light from his fingertips.

"Goddammit!" he roared, sparks dancing from his fingers as his voice hitched. "He set me up! The motherfucker! Give the bitch every fucking bullet you have and get the hell out before the cops show!"

This was Fisher Brown's partner she presumed. Well, he clearly had friends, friends that were surrounding her, bags on back and with dollar bills in the air behind them. This was a robbery, and clearly a less than successful one judging by the low rigidity of the bags.

This wasn't great. She was surrounded already. Immediately she looked around to consider her options. She could run, but Oscar probably couldn't aim quickly enough to save her if they opened fire. That chandelier was promising, and spotting a hidden Oscar right across from it was equally promising.

She dashed into action, diving to the floor and shooting into the chandelier, shattering a part of it to alert Oscar to its presence. Bullets filled the air where she once was, and her still unhealed bullet wounds screamed in pain as she hit the ground. She should have let Oscar do this.

Gunfire and shouting exploded in the entrance hall below him. Question peeked over the railing, down at the dozen or so men firing at Alias. He noticed the chandlier that she had shot at, and noticed that there were three guys right below it. He lept onto the chandelier, the decoration beginning to swing slightly as he landed. He pulled out his grappling hook and held it in his dominant hand, before aiming at the hook holding the chandelier with the shotgun.

[color=darkgreen][b]"... This is either going to end greatly or badly."[/b][/color] Deciding not to hold off anymore, Question fired at the hook, breaking it apart. Acting quickly, he fired at the railing of the balcony, the hook wrapping around it. He swung down as the chandelier crashed down onto the poor bastards beneath it. Swinging right into one of the men and knocking him out with a kick to the head, Question retracted the hook and scrambled into cover... Right next to Alias.

[color=darkgreen][b]"Hmph. Wasn't very subtle in my approach, was I?"[/b][/color] he cracked.

Oscar's solution to the problem was both loud and effective. In a moment he had managed to defeat four of the maybe ten crooks with both the chandelier drop and the swinging kick.

He was always the better fighter out of the two of them, but this was just ridiculous, she'd have considered it impossible back when she was just a cop. Oscar was just full of surprises.

[color=blanchedalmond]"You also gave up the high ground,"[/color] she replied in an exasperated tone. She was impressed, sure, but it wasn't exactly a tactically sound move.
[color=blanchedalmond]"Well, I guess you [i]are[/i] better hand-to-hand."[/color]

She just hoped that was enough, she wasn't used to working in a team, but she could work around him.

She popped around the corner that they were using for cover, quickly shooting both of the men who still had guns, one in the head, and one in the shoulder, dropping them both but only killing one. She saw a flash, and immediately spun back into cover as a wave of heat and light washed over her. She covered her eyes and held her breath to stop her chest from hurting.

[color=blanchedalmond]"And there's the magic... okay Oscar, your turn, I'll cover."[/color]

She spun back around and shot wildly as another blast of flame came towards them, she reloaded and stuck her hand out to keep firing.

[color=darkgreen][b]"Keep him busy, I'm going to flank him,"[/b][/color] Question said, before taking off his belt and pressing one of the buttons on the buckle, releasing the last shot of vapor in the canister. He threw it out into the open, the smoke beginning to fill the room. The others couldn't see through the thick fog. But he could [i][b]See[/b][/i] just fine. 

He began to circle around the room, finishing off the one that Shams had shot in the shoulder with a kick to the face while he laid writhing on the ground. Slowly, Question crept up to the mage, before grabbing onto him and applying a chokehold... Only to receive an electric shock as the mage grabbed Question's arms. The faceless man fell backwards from the jolt, shaking it off as he called upon his chi to strengthen his body.

Charging forward, the Question threw a wild haymaker; just as expected, the mage ducked under it and shot forward his hands to shock the Question once more. This time, Q was ready, throwing a palm right into the man's face just as he ducked. The man reared backwards, clutching at his broken nose, and the Question took the opportunity to deliver a dropkick to his chest, breaking the man's ribs and making him pass out from the pain. 

As the smoke began to clear, Question took this opportunity to knock out one last man, before making his way back to Alias just as it faded away. [color=darkgreen][b]"Two left. You got this."[/b][/color]

[color=blanchedalmond]"Of course,"[/color] she responded simply.

She cleared the corner swiftly, firing a shot into the leg of one of the men as he reached for one of the dropped guns. She aimed up at the last man, who backed against the wall and held his hands up in an attempt to stop a bullet she guessed.

She pulled the trigger, and was surprised to find it empty. In all the excitement she'd forgotten to reload, which wasn't great.

She flipped her gun in her hand just as the man rushed forward with an uppercut, hitting her on the chin and leaving her staring at the lights. She looked down just to spot the end of a body blow, hitting her right on her bullet wound and sending her onto her hands and knees.

The man stomped on her head, leaving her scrambling in an attempt to defend it. She managed to keep herself from getting too hurt, and struck the man in the shin with the empty gun, dropping him to a knee. She took the opportunity to grab the man by the throat and push him back against the wall. Blood ran down her chin as she tightened the muscles in both her jaw and hand. The man pounded on her forearm, only to meet a pistol-whip to the head. She hit him with the pistol until he collapsed to a seat, and a few more times to be sure.

Damn her injuries.

[color=blanchedalmond]"Right, we're done here Oscar. Now we just wait for Brown to-"[/color]

She was interrupted by a blast of lightning to the side of her body, sending her sprawling to the ground. The man who had been shot in the shoulder before stood, and his face shifted to the pained expression of an injured Fisher Brown.

"Got you."

He turned his head up towards the cover where Oscar was seated, staring over at him as he shot lightning into the head of his partner, causing smoke to fly from his now deceased body.

"Didn't expect her to bring a friend, I thought miss Alias and you had parted ways, Question," he said, stepping towards his position. "Well, I suppose I have to finish this no matter the case. Come on out," he said. Sparks danced from his hands, and he unleashed a blast of concussive force and electricity into the wall, smashing it.

Question's chi enhanced body managed to take the brunt of the concussive blast, though it still shook him up a bit. He kept low, slipping away from the wall he and Shams had been using as cover and around the reception desk. He tried to [b][i]See[/i][/b], but unlike his (now dead) partner, somehow Brown was invisible to his eyes. Instead he listened closely, trying to [b][i]Hear[/i][/b] Brown... Who was keeping his eyes peeled and looking around the room for the faceless vigilante.

He'd have to do this the old fashioned way.

Question began to slowly walk around the room, using the bits of cover and shadow to keep himself concealed from Brown. He still had the shotgun, but the weapon wasn't good at range, not like it mattered considering his reputation as a lousy shot. Still, if he could sneak up on Brown, he could finish the bastard off quickly... Of course, that was far easier said than done.

Brown continued to taunt him, trying to suss him out, and the gangster's voice was enough for Question to keep track of him. Question finally made his way behind Brown, and continued to sneak forward, slowly but surely. He raised the shotgun, tensing his finger on the trigger as he aimed it at the unaware Fisher Brown...

"There you are," came a voice behind him.

Question felt a sharp shock, sending him flying a few feet forward and through the Fisher Brown he had snuck up on, who vanished in thin air. No. There was no way. How could he have fallen for a magic doppelganger? Stupid, stupid, stu- [color=darkgreen][b]"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"[/b][/color] His mental beatdown against himself was interrupted as the mage shot out lightning at him again, singing his clothing and burning up his chest.

The mage continued to shock him as he spoke. "Gotta say, took me a while to find you. You're one sneaky son of a bitch. But now I've got you. Don't worry. This isn't going to hurt a bit." As the Question writhed about on the floor in pain, he could only think one thing to himself: Brown was right. It didn't hurt a bit. It hurt a lot. As he began to fall into unconsciousness, he felt the shotgun slip out of his grasp and slide a few feet away...

...Right in front of a seemingly unconscious Alias. Her eyes were blurred horribly, but she managed to spot the black shape of the shotgun right in front of her, and the silhouette of Fisher Brown standing overtop of Oscar's form.

He wasn't even looking at her.

He raised his hand for one final blast of magic, those same dancing sparks on his fingers. As his body tensed for one last spell, Alias fired, blowing the man's arm off of his elbow.

Fisher Brown collapsed, letting out horrifyingly loud screams as he did. Alias managed to hoist herself to her feet and limp over to his prone form. She levelled the gun towards him.

Then he disappeared into a circular hole. A popping sound behind her alerted him to his teleportation, and she turned, by instinct throwing up a hand, catching the wrist which lead into the lightning-coated glove of an animalisticly mad Fisher Brown.

"You [b]bitch[/b]!" he roared, pushing hard against Alias' defense. She held up the shotgun, trying to press it against Fisher's chin, only for him to catch it between his shoulder and jaw.

In that moment her guard fell, and Fisher's hand met her shoulder. Thousands of volts of electricity entered her body, and she felt her body fail her...

...as the electricity travelled up the metal barrel of the shotgun, entering Fisher Brown's neck.

He screamed as they stood there, a closed circuit of magical electricity.

Alias managed to retain enough ot her faculties to shift the gun, barrel meeting Brown's forehead. She pulled the trigger, and Fisher Brown's head exploded in a shower of gore. The electricity stopped, and both fell to the ground in a cloud of smoke.

Alias felt her body shutting down, but managed to spot Oscar, unconscious right behind her. She managed to smile a weak, twitching smile.

[color=blanchedalmond]"We always were a great team,"[/color] she said, then gave in to unconsciousness.