The supervillain caught the revolver with ease, wasting no time to brandish it and instead immediately pointed the business end at the back of Celia's head. To be extra sure, in case it was single-action, she cocked the hammer back with her thumb. But despite the speed at which she seemingly prepared to execute her hostage there was no gunshot. She could already feel Furnace truly complying to the situation and toning back his power. Aside from the air directly around him, which was still under a slight deviation as he reduced his temperature, Sonika had complete control over her environment again. She felt a strangely shaped presence approaching, something she couldn't recognize. As such she had to turn her head to see two young men arriving at the rooftop on the back of a large wooden housefly. These kids seemed familiar to Sonika, as she had likely read about them before or seen them on TV, but she couldn't immediately identify who they were by appearance alone.
However one of them levied a threat at her.
She narrowed her eyes at Artificer. A piercing, angry stare that felt like it could kill at a glance.
"I think there has been a misunderstanding," Sonika finally spoke, now returning her gaze to Furnace.
"I am only outnumbered by how many hostages I now have." The blonde woman was about to slam Artificer, G4MER, and the Ebony Fly onto the floor of the rooftop but stopped herself as an idea occurred to her. Underneath her bandana she grinned and gently un-cocked the hammer on the revolver. At this point she felt yet another presence nearby, further down the side of the building. Someone who intended to retain their stealth, likely allied with the two young men who arrived. This skyscraper was getting popular, all because Sonika was on it. But she wouldn't be for much longer.
"I have more important things to do than play with children. I'll leave them to you, Furnace."With nothing interrupting her powers now, a concussive blast of wind burst from underneath Sonika with enough force to affect everyone on the rooftop. Sonika herself was launched almost perfectly vertically into the air, away from the rooftop, while others would be thrown backwards away from where Sonika was standing. Celia, most notably, would be just as easily taken off her feet and tossed off the building like a ragdoll. Furnace would likely be knocked off the roof as well, though Sonika knew he had a glider and would bear no ill effects from the battering air or any potential fall. The Ebony Fly, with G4MER and Artificer still atop, was close enough to bear the force of Sonika's attack and would be pushed back and shaken quite hard. Hopefully enough to knock the kids off so that they too can be on a course to the cold, hard ground. With potentially three people on an express trip to hell, Sonika was confident that Furnace would be unwilling to chase her further. There was the issue with the mysterious intruder on the side of the building, but Sonika had launched herself high enough to no longer have that one in range so there wasn't much point to thinking about what to do to them. Instead it was time to actually leave.
With multiple people not only closer to Furnace than Sonika but also falling to their deaths, there was no benefit for the supervillain to remain a second longer. As her momentum began to decrease from her jump and gravity began to win the physics equation, she straightened her body out to be as narrow as possible and created another burst of air from her feet. This time it remained continuous, allowing Sonika the gift of flight as she rocketed even further into the sky. Her speed began increasing substantially and it would only be a few seconds before she would be too high up to even attempt to shoot at, should any have weapons on them. Of course Sonika had to also keep in mind her speed for several reasons. Primarily that if she started going too fast she would have to create a pocket around herself and hold her breath, so as not to harm herself with the friction and g-forces of air resistance. But if she also went too fast, especially at extreme heights, she knew that she would show up on the radar at the Denver International Airport. If that happened she wouldn't have really
escaped, just delayed her capture. With that in mind she kept her speed under 100 miles-per-hour. More than fast enough to leave the foolish heroes but plenty slow enough to avoid unwanted attention from air traffic control. These independent capes were a problem in their own right, but Sonika wasn't about to get the PRT involved.
Cassidy Hendricks - Macavity's Batcave Bunker
While she had been the one to ask Macavity so many questions, the actual answers to them hardly registered to her. He could be lying or making a joke for how outlandish it all seemed. But then again the proof was right before Cassidy's eyes. They were in a secret underground bunker. They hadn't been found out yet. It was loaded with goods. And clearly millions of dollars and thousands of man hours went into it. But his answers to the more important questions, about why he did what he did, were far more interesting to the young girl.
His story was very relatable to her. Perhaps he had the intuition to sense that and that would explain why he's been so nice to her so far. His mention of drive-by shootings brought back terrible memories and reminded her that her family (and supposedly herself) had all died. But she kept her emotions in check as Macavity continued his story. He wanted to be a thief to feel powerful or successful, Cassidy figured. But it wasn't quite that simple. He certainly didn't do it maliciously, even though stealing is a crime that certainly has victims. Yet it wasn't quite just a hobby, as judged by the luxurious hideout they were presently in underneath Denver.
"No, I don't think I have any more questions," Cassidy responded after a moment, setting the bar of gold back atop the pile. She made extra sure to stack it properly so that it looked like nobody had touched it at all. The thought that she could just take it and Macavity probably wouldn't care briefly crossed her mind but she ignored the idea. She didn't want to steal, even if it wasn't really stealing. She was better than that. Besides, committing crimes would only hinder her in the long run. Having a rap sheet makes it impossible to get into college.
Her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered her education. She was still a student who had to attend school. Her grades weren't looking good and if they dropped any lower she wouldn't be allowed onto the track team this year. Yet none of that mattered anymore because she died. The young girl let out a grumble of frustration as she fell backwards onto the bed.
"Ugh!" Now that she was laying on the bed it was pretty comfortable. As tired as she was it felt like she could fall right asleep within seconds. Just as she closed her eyes, caving into her exhaustion and willing to postpone all her terrible thoughts she would surely be having, a familiar and awkward sensation came over her again. Cassidy sat upright and jumped onto her feet, at speed that probably surprised Macavity.
"I'll be right back." Without waiting for any directions to the restroom she took off to the nearest door on a pure guess.
Her instincts were correct and she returned a few moments later, now fully relieved.
"Sorry about that. Been in a box for a few days, had business to take care of..." The attempt at light humor was genuine but just mentioning it was a reminder of the terrible week she's been having so far. Once again she flung herself on the bed, this time collapsing face-down against the comforter.
"Do you have any food here?" she spoke up, her words somewhat muffled from the bed. Apparently she was unfamiliar with what the MREs were that Macavity mentioned.
"I feel like I'm dying..." With a drawn out sigh, Cassidy finally lifted her face up from the comforter.
"But... Nevermind, it wasn't important. Actually... Okay, I do have another question. Do you think I should call the cops? Like... would it be okay if I did? I don't want to get you in trouble. I also don't want people to know that I'm parahuman either. I don't have any secret identity or costume or anything. I don't even have a home anymore, let alone a secret hideout... I'm on the track team too and I don't want to be disqualified from running because I have superpowers." It was only fair that she could explain a little bit about herself, after her savior had done the same earlier, yet it still made her feel nervous for even mentioning such a slight detail about her personal life. She was starting to wonder if she was getting too comfortable with Macavity, whom she's only known for less than an hour and knows only a little about. Then again she's already cried in front of him so it wasn't that exposing to talk about athletics.
"Like, if I called the cops what would I even say? If they tried to look me up it'd say that I died. But would they think I'm trying to steal my own identity or would they take my side? I dunno. I'm just not used to working with police, I guess..."
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