Super Thieves

Heather

I threw my backpack into the trunk of the taxi, along with Andrew's and Carter's, and joined them in the back of the car. The museum isn't too far from the airport and I had already thought up a plan to get in and out. Our flight landed at 6 am, and the museum opens at 7. We have an hour to get there, grab what we need, and get out. It's much better than the thirty minutes Andrew gave us in Seattle.

"I'm surprised our faces aren't plastered everywhere," Carter said as he examined the billboards lining the streets.

"They don't want to cause panic among the public," I said, scrolling through my tablet. I tunneled into NSL systems last night and managed to pass an encrypted message through to Glow Woman. That's how I got them to agree to meet us. There were no new messages, so I'm assuming everything will continue to go as planned. Getting betrayed a second time isn't really on my to do list today.

Our taxi arrived outside of the museum about twenty minutes after we had left the airport. Andrew tipped the driver while Carter and I grabbed our gear out of the trunk. The cab drove off once we had all of our things and the three of us just stood staring at the front doors to the prison that held our battery piece.

"The piece is being kept in their Hero Villain War exhibit," I said quietly as we walked along the side of the building.

"I'll get us a car," Andrew said as he put his comm link into his ear, "be back in fifteen minutes."

"Carter, you grab the piece and I'll head to security. We meet back here in twenty minutes," I mumbled. The maintenance door opened for me and the two of us stepped into the museum.

Carter ran off down one end of the hallway and I went down the other. The security offices were separate from the lobby, overlooking the main floor from a room on the second level. I could hear people talking and walking around as I got closer and closer. Hidden behind a display case, I slipped my bag off my shoulder and pulled out two chloroform bombs and my gas mask. I fastened the mask around my mouth and nose then tossed the bombs, one right out into the lobby area and the second up where the office must've been. Security guards started screaming and shouting before several loud thuds echoed through the hallways. I made my way upstairs, entering the master code into a security terminal and shutting off any alarms or systems in the museum.

"Everything is offline, get in and out Carter," I said over my comm link, starting to make my way back to the maintenance door.

"Package is secured," Carter replied over the radio.

Carter and I met back up where we had broken in and exited the museum. Other employees were starting to gather in the parking lot around what looked like a group of superheroes. Andrew's car came down the alley way and the two of us quickly climbed into it to avoid being seen.

"I don't remember telling Glow Woman to meet us here," I said quietly as I slipped my gas mask back into my bag with the rest of my gear.

"I did a drive by, she's out there with Birdman and Gravity Girl," Andrew replied, "do we go meet them?"

"Just pull out and roll down the window," I said. The car slowly moved out into the parking lot and all three heroes were in clear view. Sure enough, Glow Woman, Birdman, and Gravity Girl stood there talking to the crowd of people that had gathered around the museum entrance. Carter loaded up pistols for the three of us and set them on the ground next to his feet. Andrew rolled the window down and waved to Glow Woman before starting to drive away. She saw the signal and the three heroes flew into the sky.

"Find somewhere quiet," I said to him as he drove. I started going through my bag and sorting through all of my anti-hero weaponry. I've got a few wall generators left, and maybe some electric nets. We slowed down and drove along a mostly deserted alley way. There were a few cars parked along the sides, but it didn't seem like anybody would be coming to this area any time soon.

Andrew stopped the car and the three of us got out. The three supers landed in front of us.

"Here to do business?" I laughed, pulling the chip Glow Woman had given me out of my pocket.

"So, you have the last two pieces of the battery?" Birdman growled. Glow Woman put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back a little.

"And we have your master control ship. It sure would be a shame if I were to drop it down the gutter," I said with a smug smile on my face, "we're running out of time to Black Ice. So, are you going to refrain from arresting us this time?"

"We could just take the artifacts and the chip right now," Gravity Girl snapped. She looked ready to launch an attack before Glow Woman shot an angry look her way.

"You could take the chip, but there's no way you can break the encryption on it. Not unless you have my password," I replied with a small chuckle, "you want your chip back? Help us stop Black Ice without declaring an all out war."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Birdman sighed. I'd finally broken him.

"A careful, calculated approach. The three of us and a small team of about ten supers," I said, "do we have a deal?"

Birdman glared at Glow Woman, then me, then Glow Woman again before letting out the most beautiful sigh of defeat I've ever been blessed to hear.

"Deal," he grumbled.