14972/Heists by Night

Heists by Night
Date of Scene:	21 May 2023
Location:	Midtown - New Troy
Synopsis:	When criminal element Riptide is trying to rob a bank in Metropolis, none other than STARFIRE (Koriand'r) arrives to convince her to stop. Riptide is convinced to stop, and narrowly escapes.
Cast of Characters:	River Banks, Koriand'r

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River Banks has posed:
    Cents Bank was a small chain of low-charge banks in the tri-city area, usually marked by their friendly blue signage, simplistic design and ease of access to their ATM.

    Now, most people probably wouldn't try to rob a bank in Metropolis, especially not on a beautiful clear night where one would be able to see anyone in a super cape coming from miles away.

    Should the alarm sound, anyway.

    In this case, the alarm might not sound. There's a hooded figure outside the bank, holding a sign scrawled on a cardboard sign with 'NEED $$$ FOR KARATE LESSONS - NINJAS STOLE MY DOG', leaning on a five gallon jug of water.

    Which has spilled down the sidewalk, and a bit beneath the doors to the bank.

    The door alarm fizzles a moment, sparks, and then goes dead as it's shorted by water.

Koriand'r has posed:
Sometimes luck is a thing, good and bad. A choice here and there, someone can find themselves coming across the wrong place at the wrong time.

This was not a patrol for Koriand'r, not a day out as Starfire, but a day as Koriand'r as she comes towards the direction of the bank. Dressed in a pair of shorts and a white shirt with the NASA logo emblazoned on the bust, the orange-skinned woman had a small takeaway coffee cup in her hand.

She doesn't know there's a robbery, doesn't know what's intended, she was headed on by from her 'day job'.

River Banks has posed:
    Luck sometimes doesn't work out in anyone's favor.

    There's an additional click. The lock on the bank's door disengages, and the person with the sign goes to stand up, cracking her back a little as she stretches her left hand out, and as Koriand'r comes in the direction of the bank she's given a very curious look as a card is swiped through the lock. There's no beep of the electronics accepting it, but the person gives a pause, leaning against the ATM and watching Kori pass by -- before she opens the interior door.

    There's a loud sound of a security system whrring to life, before an electric pop. The cameras drip water, and beneath her shirt, Riptide takes out a dufflebag.

    -- and that's when the alarm hits. A bell rings at the bank as an alarm is tripped before it's dulled, and the alarm clock ripped off the wall and thrown through the doors, skidding across the floor of the little ATM lobby!

    Someone is trying to rob the Cents Bank!

Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r isn't exactly easy to miss. Her orange skin and her glowing hair did tend to stand out.

Moving her way onwards she was mid-sip when the alarm rang out and she was made to turn around, a frown on her lips. She moves to discard the container in the bin effortlessly, already making her way towards the broken doorway of the Cents bank, her eyes glowing bright green.

"Hello?" she calls, "If someone is breaking in here, you should surrender without a problem!"

River Banks has posed:
    Yes. Kori stood out. A lot, which is why when she comes to the doorway, glowing eyes and all, she gets to regard a figure wearing a threadbare hoodie and denim with holes in the blown-out knees. Indescript, with little in the way of identifying features. The hoodie has a bit of black-out fabric sewn in to help hide the identity, but there is a very female voice that squeaks out:

    "Hold up, ain't you a Titan? What're you doin' respondin' ta a bank robbery?!" the figure asks, the duffle bag was half full, and she shifts her weight, looking to the extremely tall Tamaranean.

    Today, Riptide's luck has felt like it's run out. She takes a step a little to the side, eyeballing Kori through the black-out fabric as she exhales.

    She knew she'd eventually have to face a superhero, a vigilante, but she appears to have picked *hard mode*.

    She raises her hand, a bubble of water forming beneath her palm.

    "Warnin' you. I'm powered. You don't wanna mess with me!"

Koriand'r has posed:
Hard mode? Maybe. As friendly as Koriand'r was, not to mention the distinct lack of a uniform...she was also probably one of the better known alien heroines of the planet. Still, she gives a little blink as she spots the sight of the apparent villain before her.

"I was walking by," she offers lightly, almost conversationally before Riptide ventures towards threatening and makes that demonstration of her powers, earning a little light lift of Kori's own hands to her sides and a threatening glow of starbolt energy dancing around her orange digits.

"It is my belief that water in here will do a lot more damage to the paper money than it will to me."

A shrug, she lifts one hand to beckon. "I really would prefer it if you surrender, but you can find out if you want..."

River Banks has posed:
    There's a tense moment. Riptide breathes out. She feels nervous sweat run the back of her neck as she regards Kori, and her shoulders draw tightly, her fingers curling along the nylon straps of the duffle bag.

    Her eyes dash to the window of the bank, and she takes a deep breath.

    "I don't wanna fight ya. Might not be the sharpest cookie, but I know when I'm outclassed."

    Sirens in the distance, time is up.

    The figure slings the duffle towards Kori as a handy distraction, because that water ball has a different job -- that she slings towards the window, shattering the glass and providing her with an escape route. The alarms get louder -- now that the window's tripped as well.

    And the litany of curse words coming in that thick Deep South accent gets muffled as Riptide tries to make her escape!

Koriand'r has posed:
Well, not quite a surrender, but a hasty retreat with a little water damage to the building!

Catching the bag with a little sudden startled noise, that glow on her fingers was immediately erased as she made to catch the bag before setting it down lightly and taking to the air through the shattered window.

Starfire was giving chase from above...and River had to hope she had a good enough headstart!

River Banks has posed:
    The chase is on! River had to escape not just the Metropolis Police, but Starfire as well. The young heist runner goes as fast as she can, eyes wide behind the blackout material before she looks behind her, and spots Starfire in the air.

    "-- all the things I friggin' planned for none of them involved /A Fricking Superhero/!" she hisses to herself, and finding a window of opportunity, the slender thief baseball-slides under an SUV to take some cover, breathing hard, and looking to the side, tries to wriggle her way into a storm drain!