16199/Stick 'Em Up!

Stick 'Em Up!
Date of Scene:	28 October 2023
Location:	Gramercy Park
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Julia Carpenter, Hercules

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Julia Carpenter has posed:
Gramercy is a pretty quiet neighborhood for the most part. It's higher end, tends to be better patrolled, and generally keeps a tighter hold on security. But even the nicer neighborhoods aren't immune to burglars and hold ups from the occasional hardened criminals or desperate people. Not many are so bold as to attempt it in the bright light of day, but this proves to be one of those times!

A silent alarm has been triggered, but before the cops can arrive to the Shake Shack, two others have heard the cries of frightened people huddling inside the shop. Parents with their children, couples out on dates, a group of teens hanging out... and being held hostage by four men in Halloween masks and wielding uzi's.

'Michael Myers' is demanding the cashiers put all the money from the registers in the bag while 'Freddy Kreuger' corrals the manager on shift to get to the safe for the weekly deposits. That leaves 'Pinhead' and 'Jason Voorhees' to corral the employees and customers. One has the employees all crowded into the tiny break room, aside from the two cashiers at the registers, the other has the customers all crowded into the small hall where the bathrooms are.

Arachne arrives at the back side of the building, looking to get in through the emergency exit and get the drop on the two in the back so she can get the employees out the door before making her way up to the front. Luckily, she's not alone.. though she doesn't know it at the time. Carefully, she squeezes the the outside edge of the exit until the lockplate pops and she can pull the door open, slipping inside the supply room. Moving quietly towards the break room, she's pulled to a pause by the sounds in the manager's office. Changing tactics, she heads that way to ensure nobody comes up from behind her... the front of the store is mostly plate glass, the door locked, but that should be no problem for someone like Hercules.

Hercules has posed:
Work.

All work and no play. It's not like the days of Ancient Greece anymore, where Hercules could perform a Labor or some great feat and relax, surrounded by Kings, Queens, Heroes, and more. Ah, but gone are the days of singing legend and joyous tune. Hercules lives a far more...regular life. He's giving life as a man a solid try and has done so for a few years now. Yet he doesn't look a day over his prime, his hair long enough to touch his shoulders, his beard thick and somewhat clean.

He was doing a late shift at a construction company, his great strength allowing him to lift weights others couldn't even fathom...even if he had to hide it a little to not get 'special treatment'. But it doesn't take a blind man to notice that people are frightened. Hercules sets down his sandbags and he looks across the street, watching as people are terrified of horror movie villains come to life!

Does Hercules undertsand these references? /Kinda/. But he hasn't seen these movies they belong to. Knowledge via osmosis, as they say.

"Hnnh." Is Hercules's grunt, stepping down the in-progress stairs until he reached ground level. He was only wearing a t-shirt that was worn tight against his body and some dirty jeans stained by dirt and dust with thick work boots on his feet. He steps towards the door, his fist clenched.

He reaches for the door knob....and promptly rips the door right off of it's hinges in one smooth motion, as if it were easier than turning on a light switch.

"Let them go." His voice rings out towards the would-be thieves. "And I will let /you/ go. Don't make me ask twice."

Julia Carpenter has posed:
Julia manages to sneak up behind the store manager and 'Freddy', quickly reaching out to grab the gun from Freddy's hands even as she slap a patch of psi-webbing over his mouth. The first would-be robber is neatly wrapped in lightly glowing psi webs while Julia ejects the magazine from the uzi and crimps the gun so it can't be reloaded. Putting a finger to her lips tot he manager, she jerks her head towards the emergency exit and and starts towards the break room.

Her plan is interrupted when the front door is ripped from its hinges. Startled as much as the robbers, she's still standing in the hallway when 'Pinhead' rushes out from the break room. The pair stare at each other for a long moment before the robber opens fire. Julia moves quickly, reacting faster than the gunman and running straight up the wall and onto the ceiling before coming down the other side in order to avoid the hail of billets. One hand grabs the gunman's wrist and squeeze until he drops the uzi, the other flashing out in a quick punch that sends the man crumpling to the floor.

Stealth now out the window, she motions the employees out the emergency exit before running towards the front... only to skid to a halt when she sees Hercules dealing with the two up front!

Speaking of which... his impressive feat with the door has 'Michael' shrieking and dropping his gun, hands going up over his head almost before he can blink. Someone has seen superheroes in action before! Or perhaps been on the receiving end of one. The two girls at the register immediately turn and bolt for the back, passing by a stunned Arachne, who is looking on in bemusement.

'Jason', however, seems to have a bigger set of balls... he grabs up one of the teenage girls, gripping her tight around the waist and pointing the uzi at her. "Back off man! I don't give a fuck who or what you think you are! You come near me and I'll paint the wall with the chick's head!" The rest of the hostages shriek, cry, or otherwise cower, clinging to one another in their fear while the boy she'd been with calls out the girl's name.

Julia is separated from the last robber by a wall and a few shake machines. She looks to Hercules and offers a quick grin. Holding up a hand, she starts to form a few lightly glowing web tendrils behind the last gunman, letting them drift down from the ceiling, giving Hercules a nod to go for the gunman. Apparently quite confident in her ability to grab the gun before 'Jason' can shoot the girl.

Hercules has posed:
'Michael' has his hands up.

Smart man.

A jerk of Hercules's head towards the door behind him implies that the man can run as fast as he can out, he won't be stopped. He can start a new life, maybe have some kids, get a simple job at the bank...the works. No need to get violent until there's a need to get violent. The two girls at the register seem to immediately follow suit! "Wise decisions." Hercules retorts with a serious look in his eyes.

The old killer himself. Slayer of the Nemean Lion, the Lernaean Hydra, the Erymanthian Boar...

The list goes on and on. If it's big, if it was deadly? Hercules killed, captured, or rode it as a steed. 'Jason' seems to grab one of the teenage girls and reaches for his uzi at her head. Hercules seems to frown at the cowardice. "Cowards. Never willing to fight like the older days." He lifts his head then, noticing that Julia is clinging to some glowing web tendrils behind the last gunman. She's confident.

And he's MUCH faster than he looks.

"It's going to be alright." He tells the young woman.

Then suddenly he's bolting forward with STRENGTH, his foot leaping off the ground hard enough to shatter the fine floor material underneath him, his hand reaching to simply shove the man into the column behind him. But with Hercules's strength...that's ICU material right there if he manages to make contact. THe other hand is moving to cover the young woman's ear in the slight event that Julia is unable to reach the gun in time.

Godlike strength? Godlike Invulnerability.

Julia Carpenter has posed:
Julia moves as soon as Hercules does. Or at least, the webbing does! Two lines grip the gunman's arm, one at shoulder one at wrist, both squeezing and pulling. The third yanks on the uzi, jerking it straight up into the air before tugging it away from 'Jason'.

The gunman manages a single three round burst before the gun is yanked from him, all three bullets slamming harmlessly into the ceiling before the uzi itself is pulled away. The gunman himself is definitely going to be breathing through a tube for awhile, and probably in traction for longer.

Hercules hits him and he goes flying like a rag doll, slamming into the wall (and the machinery behind it). Julia is quick to move out of the way, the tendrils dissipating as Herc collides with the final robber. The young girl shrieks and immediately runs to her boyfriend, hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder.

When the dust settles, all four gunmen are down and disabled, the hostages are scared but safe, and a few of the patrons even let out a cheer for Hercules! He saved the girl!

Julia smiles to herself and moves to slip out the back before the police arrive.

Hercules has posed:
Gun gone? Not a problem! Hercules makes quick work of the gunmen with help from the mysterious Arachne, his dark eyes looking around as the young girl bolts for her boyfriend. No more attackers, all combatants are down...some even strung up in those strange webs!

No one was hurt?

Phew. The Gods still smile on Hercules. Though ehat if his help? He looks around for the woman, and he seems to try and move for the back exit, lest the police try and detain him for assault. The criminal could still technically press charges....

...weird as that sounds.

But as he exits, he looks around for his savior. Who was that?

Julia Carpenter has posed:
It's a strange world these days, and stuff like that is exactly why people wear masks and disappear before the cops arrive. When criminals can press charges against heroes, and win, the world has officially become 'too much'.

He's able to move out the back way, the same path the employees took, that Julia took, too. He'll be able to notice the crimped steel around the lockplate that suggests someone forced the door. The woman? She doesn't seem that strong... but then, weird glowing webs aren't exactly normal either.

Arachne has made it to the top of the building opposite the alley from the back of the shake shack, peering over the edge and offering a soft whistle down to Hercules. "Hey, if you aren't one of the sanctioned heroes, you might want to come up here. They'll check the alley." She forms up a webline and dangles it over the edge for him to grab onto, if he wants the assist.