Super Thieves

Heather

"Unfortunately, there is literally nobody in the world who wants to buy this item or knows what it is," I said plainly as I joined the boys on the pull out couch they were sitting on. Carter has a million papers sprawled out in front of him. I'm assuming he ripped them straight out of the books we stole.

"The museum didn't have a clue what it is either," Carter replied quietly, buried in his notes. He slid the capsule towards me and I picked it up, "no seams, no cracks, no anything that would suggest it could be opened."

"All of that hard work for a stick?" I chuckled as I took a closer look at the finer edges and markings on our newest prize. I saw a series of numbers printed down one side but they made no connections in my brain. We know it isn't a password to more buried trouble at least.

"We're guessing that there are more of these things lying around. It looks like it has a serial number printed on it," Andrew said, getting up from the couch and walking into the kitchen, "I've been needing a new blackjack anyways."

"I did come across reports of Black Ice looking for something. Apparently he's been raiding museums across the world for weeks," I said as I handed the rod back to Carter.

"The National Superhero League have been trailing him, whether or not they're searching for the same thing or not is beyond me," Carter replied before returning to his notes.

"Black Ice was at the museum and looked like he was heading straight for where you guys were. What if he was looking for this rod?" Andrew said, sipping a glass of orange juice he had poured himself. Andrew and his damned orange juice. He can gurgle up a thousand bottles of orange juice but can hardly stomach a shot. Typical Asian lightweight.

I'm kidding of course, I love Andrew to death. Even if I do wanna pop a cap in his knee sometimes. This guy tried to kidnap me from my high school when I first met him. Some mercenary was in need of a pretty little blonde servant I guess and he thought I'd be an easy target. He locked me in a cage with a padlock in the trunk of his van. I still remember the look on his face when he saw that I had escaped within 15 seconds of him driving away from the school. Then he tried to "subdue" me by forcing me back into the cage and threatening me. Being the rebellious and gutsy teen I was, I opened his lock right in front of him while he just watched in amazement. Apparently I proceeded to give him a long lecture on how kidnapping was wrong and how superheroes would "beat him up real bad" for it. He must've known that I would've just escaped whoever had hired him to take me, so he took me home with him instead of deliver me. He taught me how to shoot a gun and how to fight and the rest is history.

"Why don't we just sell it to the NSL? They want it so let them have it," Carter said after a long, awkward silence.

"Can't trust heroes, they'll want a face to face deal. They have a habit of arresting black market dealers after they get what they want," Andrew said with a laugh, "I have lost too many messengers doing deals with the NSL."

"Black Ice then? He'd pay great money for it," Carter suggested.

"Bad idea. He'd kill the messenger and take the rod," I responded simply, "and do we really want to entrust this to a super villain? We don't even know what the hell it is! It could be a weapon for all we know."

"Hasn't stopped us in the past," Andrew chuckled.

"We only sell items to villains when we actually know what they are. And if Black Ice and the NSL are looking for it, it's probably a weapon of some kind."

"I'm sure that piece of metal would give you a real nice concussion."

"Oh shut up and drink your orange juice smartass."

Andrew laughed and chugged what was left in his cup. I joined Carter on the couch and started sifting through the papers with him. What the museum knows about the rod's history seems only a little bit fabricated. It dates back to 8 years ago in 2025, but some very serious world events are mysteriously absent from their report. 8 years isn't nearly enough time for something like this to naturally become an unknown entity. The museum is hiding something from us.

"Why do they just leave out the first Hero Villain War?" I asked Carter as I read.

"I've been trying to figure that out. Everything else I've read strongly suggests that the rod was used in it in some shape or form, but it is never clearly stated," he replied.

"How safe is it to assume that it was a piece to a weapon of some kind?" I said as I took another look at the rod.

"That would make sense. The serial number suggests that there are more pieces," Carter said before getting cut off by Andrew.

"And the absence of the first Hero Villain War suggests that it was a piece to some weapon."

"Or even a suit of armor."

I thought for a moment and set the rod back down. Maybe I could put it on the market to probe for information. If the right people recognize what it is we could figure out what the rod went to, or even where the other pieces are. Having the NSL and Black Ice notice it is always a risk, but they could provide vital information.

"I'll put the object up for sale tomorrow, maybe a potential buyer will be kind enough to tell us exactly what we've found," I said to the boys with a small smirk.

"I'm going to try and piece together what I have here. There looks to be enough information to get a definite answer on whether or not there are more pieces, or if the rod is from the Hero Villain War."

"And I will just enjoy my juice and watch quietly," Andrew laughed. He had started drinking straight from the bottle at this point.

"You know we have to pay for that right? The hotel doesn't just give away orange juice," I said without looking up at him.

"Has money ever been a problem for me?"