Super Thieves

Heather

"I hope you know we don't operate like heroes do," I chuckled, putting the battery pieces back into my bag.

"I hope you're fast learners, because you will be joined by a small team. And we expect you to work the way we do," Birdman snapped back.

"You're in no position to make demands. The Shadow Broker made it very clear as to what was expected of you, and I trust you know the consequences of failing to meet said expectations."

He glared at me and seemed to be chewing his tongue a little. It was as if he were playing Black Jack and was unsure of whether or not he should hit, stay, or fold.

"Find us the artifact first, then we'll negotiate how to retrieve it," the bird grumbled as he stomped around the conference table and down the hallway behind us.

If we were playing a real game of poker I'd consider that a fold. Of course, it's impossible to win if the deck is rigged. I think I've planned for every outcome of this super thief, super hero team up, but you can never be too sure. Heroes have a way of launching surprise attacks on you when they've got you on their side. I doubt all of them are corrupt but the ones at the top definitely are. There has been a shift in power since before the first Hero Villain War. And I think the heroes at the top of the food chain are getting a little too comfortable in their colored underwear and flowing capes.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you three the operations center as well as your quarters," Glow Woman said softly, leading the way back to the elevator. We rode down a couple floors and stepped out into the most amazing control center I've ever seen. The walls looked like they were made of server stacks, with glowing wires running up and down in a beautiful messy pattern. Cords connected hundreds of consoles across the room and in the center there was a gorgeous central hub. Several heroes were standing on the platform in the center of the room, each of them working from computer to computer as they went about their duties. There must have been thousands of employees manning the consoles and interfaces spanning the room. This place is a hackers paradise.

"You three will have unrestricted access to this level, and we will provide the pass codes needed to access a few selected databases. We obviously can't provide total freedom when it comes to information, but you will have more freedom than most heroes here," she said as she herded the three of us towards the command hub.

"Will we be monitored?" Andrew asked through gritted teeth. He's been tense ever since we arrived, as if he's just waiting for a hero to grab him.

"Every single one of these terminals is connected to the main hub and monitored, so I suggest contacting your employer through a secure database."

That's good information to have at least. I just hope they know I'm going to be searching through more databases than they're giving me access to. Carter seemed to be just as in love with the tech in this room as I was. The two of us paid to mind to the three heroes standing in the command hub as we started looking over all the buttons and switches. They definitely gave us dirty looks, and I definitely was too busy drooling over the beauty of their terminals to notice.

"Before you get started you'll need these," Glow Woman chuckled quietly as she handed the three of us specially made badges that looked to double as a key card.

"What are these?" Carter asked as he put it around his neck.

"They're your identification badges. Please wear these at all times when inside of the base, they act as both your room keys and security passes," she answered with a somewhat nice smile.

"We'll be getting to work then," Andrew said, a slight shimmer of cautiousness in his voice. He hesitated to but on his badge or even really touch anything. It's like breathing the air in this base is going to electrocute him or something.

"Report whatever you find to Birdman, Gravity Girl, or myself," Glow Woman said with a now warm smile, "happy hunting."

Carter and I walked down the stairs of the command hub to the main floor where all of the consoles and interfaces were located. Andrew trailed behind as the two of us claimed some unoccupied computers and logged into their mainframe.

"She seems nice," I said once I felt Andrew's presence behind me.

"Nothing too risky, Heather. I don't want them to arrest us the day we arrive," was his only reply.

"Would you please relax Andrew? I know what I'm doing," I snapped before letting out a sigh and turning to Carter, "see if you can find the third artifact, I'll look through their reports and see what they know so far."

I clicked and swiped through a few windows and was greeted by two reports. Only two reports on Black Ice and these artifacts. There's either something we don't know, something they don't know, or their just idiots who have literally no information on Black Ice. My gut tells me it's a mixture of all three. There was no new information in the reports, Black Ice has been attacking museums world wide looking for something. They believe they know what artifact he wants is but they have no idea why he wants it. It doesn't look like they even know what the Quantum Battery is. One report is from Tokyo, reporting that Black Ice had attacked it. The second is from Jamaica, reporting that three masked thieves had made off with the artifact that Black Ice seemed to be searching for. Two males and one female. No known powers, but technological expertise. Black Ice attacked after the thieves escaped.

"I found a dossier on Black Ice, take a look at it," Carter mumbled as he kept scrolling through his computer. I said nothing and opened the document he'd sent over.

Robert Victor, aka Black Ice. Male, black eyes, white hair, approximately 6 feet and 2 inches tall. Able to manipulate ice so cold it causes blistering and burns. Suspected to have killed Power Woman during the Hero Villain War.

"That's literally all they have on him?" I asked in disbelief.

"He's a relatively new villain, and they have yet to apprehend him. Even if most villains end up escaping, the NSL is usually able to put together a decent dossier," Carter replied with a small chuckle.

"We probably know more than they do about everything."

"Except for Power Woman."

"At this rate I doubt they have anything on her or the weapons base."