Super Thieves

Carter

The three of us got to work setting up our gear. I changed into your typical robber attire, black combat boots, blank cargo pants, a black shirt and black jacket. Cargo pants are honestly perfect for robberies, plenty of pockets for knives and things you pick up, plus unrestricted movement. I choose to wear a chest holster, so I tucked my pistol into the little armpit socket and threw a few knives into my pocket. Throwing knives are really my specialty, guns are too clunky in my opinion. And too obvious.

Heather walked out of her bedroom in her usual combat boots, leggings, tank top, and hoodie. I started filing some notes that might be useful into my backpack while she strapped her holsters to her thighs and loaded her pistols into them. Andrew came out of the bathroom with his gear on, same as me, and a fanny pack of all things. Granted he wears it across his chest, but he carries exactly what you think he carries in it. If it were used for bombs maybe he'd have some redemption.

"Got your masks?" Heather asked us, slipping her comm link into her ear and throwing her hood up.

"Always," I replied as I inserted my own comm link and slipped my indigo face mask over my head.

"I still want a better color, gold is too attracting," Andrew complained as he slipped his gold mask over his face.

"You look great in it," Heather chuckled before putting on her black mask.

The colors correspond to our alter-egos. Heather's idea not mine.

"Let's get moving," Andrew said, leading the way out the door. Heather grabbed her gadget filled backpack off of a chair and followed him out. I brought up the rear and did one last sweep to make sure we didn't forget anything. Our hotel room was on the ground floor, so finding an emergency exit out would be easy as pie. I took the liberty of crossing the wires in all of the cameras in our hallway. How security hasn't noticed yet is beyond me.

Heather opened a security room for us and we quietly slipped inside.

"No back door but there's a window," I chuckled, opening it and throwing my bag onto the ground below. The other two followed me out and we were on our way to the museum in minutes.

"Review of the plan," Heather said in the car from the passenger seat, "we brake in through the maintenance door. If people are there, I'll throw some gas and knock em out easy peasy. I'll set a few traps to prepare for potential supers and then disable all security from the office."

"Then I go to the offices and grab all the information I can," I replied with a laugh.

"And I will sit in the car and watch the camera feed," Andrew sighed.

"If you see a super, do not engage, if you see Black Ice, do not engage," Heather said. She seemed slightly annoyed, or maybe she was just bored.

"Let's just hope this goes smoothly," Andrew mumbled through gritted teeth.

We arrived and Andrew hid the car nicely behind some dumpsters. Heather and I took our gear and prepared to break in. Cracking the door took no time at all, the two of us rushed in with knives and guns at the ready. Intimidation is key if people are around. Nobody was so I only felt like a little bit of an idiot.

"Let's set some traps shall we?" Heather chuckled as she pulled some strange looking orbs out of her bag. She twisted the tops of them and started throwing them to various spots in the room.

"What are those?"

"I don't remember the name of these damn things. They create an impenetrable wall when armed. Useful for holding off supers while you make a getaway."

"We aren't actually going to fight?"

"People like us would never stand a chance. We fight them by outwitting them and then running like hell. They call us cowards, I call us clever," Heather laughed as she set the last of her orb thingies.

"I bet they're just jealous," I said as I looked around the room.

"When you have power like a superhero, or even a villain for that matter, you rely on your powers more and your brain less," she responded simply, "our best power is our creativity and the tricks we've got up our sleeves, no matter how dirty they may be."

Heather ran off to break into the security offices and I searched for where the archives would be. For once they were on the main level and not the basement, that's relieving. Getting cornered in a dark, dingy basement with an angry super? Not on tonight's agenda.

"Security is going offline in 3. 2. 1," Heather said over comms. I heard a simultaneous click that radiated all over the museum. I wouldn't be surprised if people down the street heard it.

"We've got twenty minutes, get in and get out people," Andrew said back. I nodded at Heather in the office and sprinted down the hallway to archives. We might have to forgo subtly for speed on this heist, but it hasn't been the first time we've broken a window, sprinted in, and sprinted out. Is it hard? Of course. Do supers arrive in time to catch you? Not usually. If you do it in broad daylight of course they will, or if people are still in the building. But quick nighttime raids usually go pretty well if you're quick and know your escape routes.

I got into the archives office and stopped for a moment to catch my breath. As I started my search for anything relating to the Quantum Battery, I kept seeing the name Power Woman come up. How come they have so much on Power Woman but nothing on the battery? While flipping through papers and desks I saw "Power Woman" and "battery" appear on the same page once or twice. A perfectly rational reason to take anything and everything that mentioned Power Woman right?

"Prize is secured," Heather said over comms.

"I've got three supers on radar. Get your asses out now," Andrew grumbled back.

"Who?" I said as I grabbed one last paper and started to head back to the lobby.

"Glow Woman, Gravity Girl, and Birdman," Andrew said.

"Shit. Alright. Indigo, just go with whatever I say, better yet pretend you're a mute," Heather said. I could hear the eye roll through the radio.

We met back up in the lobby and the three supers were there waiting for us in all their glory.

"Pitiful petty thieves," Birdman growled. He really does look like a bird. I thought the whole bird thing was like Bat Boy where he dressed up, but this man might be an actual mutant bird. That's kinda cool, but also a little terrifying.

"I'm gonna make this quick. We've got hostages in the security office. You want us or them?" Heather snapped.

"Three on two? Your odds look bad," Gravity Girl heroically chuckled. I wonder if they rehearse their laughs and stances and chuckles. Or maybe it's all natural. Either way it's annoying. Heather pushed a button on her watch and the security office burst into flames.

"Don't worry the blast won't kill them," Heather said tiredly. The boredom is real.

When the two women made a move at the security office and Birdman made a move for us, Heather sprung the last bit of the trap. A giant wall stopped them from reaching us and we made a break for the car. Andrew drove like a madman when more than half of our bodies made it into the vehicle.

"What the hell were you thinking!" he shouted at us.

"Relax, the hostage bluff works every time," Heather said as she checked to make sure the battery piece wasn't damaged.

"And what if they're following us right now?"

"The shields made the front of the box, and when the security office exploded a fail safe I programmed reset all lock down protocols, so that made the back of the box. Superheros tend to lose brain cells when hostages, boxes, and fire are involved."

The rest of the ride was silent. But I could see Andrew relaxing more and more as we kept driving. We usually avoid heists involving supers or villains so I can understand the concern, but Heather thought of everything. Is it wrong to say that I felt safe on a heist for the first time in my life?