4070/New Bounce Presents: History's Freshest Sneakers

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New Bounce Presents: History's Freshest Sneakers
Date of Scene: 08 November 2020
Location: American Museum of Natural History
Synopsis: Virgil Hawkins goes to the historical New Bounce sneaker exhibit tour, where Skeleton Ki attempts a heist! As Static, he goes on hot pursuit, but Skeleton Ki's martial arts and mystical ability to unlock things foils Static at every turn!
Cast of Characters: Virgil Hawkins, Alisher Sham




Virgil Hawkins has posed:
Virgil Hawkins is many things. A geek, superhero, D&D expert, WH40K expert, Magic the Gathering expert, math and science wiz... there's a lot of things that could have just ended at 'geek'.

But he's something else, which is a sneakerhead, and when famed company New Bounce decided to hold an entire historical sneaker expo, well, he couldn't resist.

Today Virgil's walking through the American Museum of Natural History alone, as he's still working on the whole making friends in a new city thing. And his first observation, upon finding the impressive display of sneakers behind glass, on pedestals, lined up in rows under various bright lights is... "Woooow really? They're all New Bounce brand?"

But then he sees some on a particularly //fancy// pedestal, and his eyes widen. "The New Bounce Neo Soul 2020s! Wait, I thought this was only for historical sneakers..."

Today he's got on a nice purple jacket over a black Addidas shirt, some blue jeans, and on his feet are some New Bounce Neo Soul... 2018s????

The ones on his feet are purple, they've got a see through plastic bubble on the back of the heel, meant to function as a sort of modern spring mechanism to maximize your basketball jump! "But the 2020s... they've got a //realy// spring, inside the bubble, to make your jump even //higher//, and absorb the shock!"

Alisher Sham has posed:
Early in the morning, just waking up, ALISHER SHAM was lurking in his cheap, perfectly legal apartment in New York City. His routine for the beginning of the day was fairly set - wake up at 4 AM. Out onto the roof for meditation and katas in the sunrise. About an hour of lifting dumbbells that would make most fitness enthusiasts blanch. Breakfast.

Seated at his table, wearing grey sweatpants and an underarmor top (the camera never comes above his neckline), Alisher sighed at his breakfast. Rice and spinach, with some bacon he had around (he stopped keeping his faith years ago). Hasn't had anything hearty in a while.

Checked his back account. The budget is accounted for. Time to take another job. Ate with one hand, phone on voice recognition: "OK Google, new art exhibitions near me."

"...sneakers?"

"I know an oil baron that'll jump at those."

TIME PASSED

Purple cloth sweeps over a rooftop and drops down into an alleyway, stopping partway down a fire escape, a shadowed visage beneath a cowl looking out at the museum that covers most of a city block. He draws in a breath, muting his presence as he runs across the metal, foot on the railing, springing out through the trees, headed straight for a window. Nobody really happens to notice him on the way.

He hits the locked window. Rather than shatter, it simply swings open. The man hangs onto it, stopping himself on the wall, hitting the floor and easing the window closed behind him.

Keeping from people's direct eyeline, he slips through another door into an access closed to the public, cutting a route toward the sneaker exhibition, checking on a printout in his hand. He has a pair circled repeatedly - a pair of sneakers worn by someone while he did something in an Olympic game. Butch Lee?

The man doesn't follow the sport. Not enough combat.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
Virgil pulls his wallet out, looking through his cash. "Okay, I have $20 in cash, $70 in my bank account after rent and food. If I could just get $200 more dollars..."

There has to be a solution, he //needs// those New Bounce Neo Souls... But as currently there's no clear path to his shoes, he instead starts looking around again, until he spots the Olympic sneakers.

"Oh snap!" he notices, these sneakers from the 80s. "The New Bounce Olympic Minogues!" Red, white, blue, and a stripe of neon green. He leans in to read the description. "Butch Lee wore the New Bounce Olympic Minogues in a cross promotion between the Olympics and Kylie Minogue. He says that the experimental memory foam-like design of the soles helped him break the record for solo synchronized swimming. He says that his pre-event training in the sneakers helped him break the record, but no one who actually won any sprinting events wore the shoes. Which makes Butch Lee the most famous person to wear the New Bounce Olympic Minogues! Tight!"

Alisher Sham has posed:
The man, his presence reduced to a flicker, pops out of an access door behind the shoe display and quickly ducks behind an enormous New Bounce logo. in a flutter of purple. He peers out, looking at the sealed case of the sneakers that will buy him a couple of really good steak dinners once he gets them to one of the buyers he's already lined up.

But... someone's looking at them. And monologuing about them! He reaches into a little pocket and pulls out a cellphone in a protective case, punching in a few notes. That piece of information should help him keep from being too fleeced.

He puts the phone back into his pocket. Kid's still there. The man makes a rotating 'move it along' gesture with his hand from behind the display, waiting.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
Virgil looks over briefly when the ping of a //phone// distracts him, mostly because the ping comes from behind the large New Bounce logo. He tilts his head, probably a security guard. "Okay, but I need the Neo Souls, so what can I do..." He reaches for his own phone as he continues to stand near the same case, sending texts.

Virgil: "Frieda I need the New Bounce Neo Souls what do I do?"
Frieda: "Get a job."
Virgil: "I have a job, I'm under the oppressive thumb of a minimum wage too low to support a decent living wage!"
Frieda: "You don't even know what that means."
Virgil: "I NEED THESE SNEAKERS!"

He stops texting and puts his phone away, groaning and pulling his hair.

Alisher Sham has posed:
The kid's looking down. Perfect.

Assuming the teen will be at that for a while, with a brazenness only enabled by supernatural prowess, the man slips up to the sneaker case. The case has numerous redundant security features, the hardened glass secured to the podium by several pressure locks, electronically controlled with no apparent external means of opening it.

He lets out a slow breath as he touches the case, waits for a heartbeat, and simply lifts it up, reaching forward with a bag of sand, smoothly switching the sneakers with the sand just in case there's a pressure plate.

Unaware that the kid texts fast and hard with the power of modern youth, he turns around and starts to skulk back to the service door, sneakers under one arm.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
Virgil senses a //number// of things happening around him. He typically ignores most things as background noise. But then the same phone signal gets //very close// to him and he looks up.

Is security about to start following him around?

But then he notices the sneakers under this guy's arm. "Oh boy, here we go."

He continues to pretend that he hasn't noticed anything, and instead slips off through one of the side doors, texting.

Virgil: "There's a dude literally in here stealing sneakers. I don't even get how he got into the case!"
Frieda: "You should stop texting and stop the guy."
Virgil: "I'm doing it damn!"
Frieda: "You're still texting."

After about a minute of costume change mishaps, //Static// is standing on the roof, wearing his incredibly large yellow coat, floating on a metal trashcan lid with a New Bounce cap on.

He's tracking the cellphone, waiting for it to reach //him// rather than pursuing it.

There's a lot of quips going through his mind, so he's a bit giddy as he waits.

Alisher Sham has posed:
Of course people leave through the roof, right? You sneak your way up there and can go out from any direction and don't have to worry about people noticing you.

So Static may be surprised when the cell phone signal doesn't come up near him. Rather than make a clever escape, the man goes... right back the way he came, undoubtedly walking past a few people without being noticed despite his garb, jumping out through a side window, out into the trees around the museum.

Those windows... could open?

He's just walking away! He just walked into the museum, snatched some sneakers, and he's walking away! Signals are only now starting up from inside the museum as people realize the theft, security contacting the police.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Hey!" Static shouts as he leaps from the roof, a streak of electromagnetism trailing behind his trashcan lid. "First, this is a //dumb crime//. You could have stolen the sneakers when the place was closed, or in transit. How is a thief this good, this dumb?"

Then, the thief's phone rings, but it doesn't wait for an answer, Static just immediately starts talking very loudly from it. < Second, this is some high disrespect! The sneaker economy is a respectable community, and we don't need lame ass grifters selling stolen sneakers and ruining it for everyone. You're about to go right to Depop with that shit, aren't you? >

Alisher Sham has posed:
The man wheels around, startled.

At that moment, Virgil realizes he had to work a little to focus on him before, but now he snaps into sharp relief. A well-built man of average height walking around with a bright purple cloak in broad daylight, in a black bodysuit printed with a skeleton with solid white gloves and boots. His helmet is mostly featureless, with space for his eyes and several vertical lines over his mouth and chin, like a minimalist skull.

He looks at Static for a moment, and when his phone just starts speaking, he pulls it from a pocket on his tights, letting him finish as he mentally catches up.

"Time," he begins, "is a lock fashioned by man to tell him the proper moments to do things. I laugh at locks, and do as I will, when I will!

"Because I am... Skeleton Ki!"

Skeleton Ki throws the burner phone at Virgil's face, turns on his heel, and starts sprinting out toward the road.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Oh yeah? Time... is what you'll be doing for a little while since the system is broken, but screw it let's gooooooo!!!" Static is in quick pursuit, right in time for the burner phone to pelt him in the face, which stops him for a moment. And then he immediately holds his hands out to lock Skeleton Ki's electromagnetic field with a nearby car, trying to trap him.

"Unlock //that//!" he challenges, wiping his nose on the back of a gloved hand.

Alisher Sham has posed:
Ki is fast. He almost gets out of range of Virgil's stunt, lightly touching a car roof with one hand as he vaults over and past it, only to be dragged back against the door, clutching the sneakers to his chest.

"And besides," he yells back, "if I stole them tonight, that hardly pays for tonight's dinner!"

No time to figure out exactly what's just happened. He shifts the sneakers to his other arm and holds one hand out, focusing for a moment before striking the car door with his elbow, relatively gently. It swings open, with him still attached - another strike and the hinge 'unlocks' apart. Nothing broke - it just disassembled, flashing with a ghostly yellow light.

The thief dashes out into the road, flipping casually over another oncoming car (driver leaning on his horn), trying to get into an alley. The car door is still stuck to his back for now, but Ki is pushing on it experimentally, figuring something out.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Wait, what the--" Static flies after him, realizing the bizarreness going on, but barely able to make sense of it. "This isn't even science!" he yells, though perhaps it's a science he hasn't figured out? It's hard to tell at this point.

That car door is heavy, and this guy is obviously extremely skilled, so Static has to figure out how to approach taking this guy down without getting caught in some insane judo bullshit. "Wait... of course!"

"Hey! Do you even lift?" he calls out, before suddenly turning the magnetism of the car door on Ki's's back //way// up, and it starts attracting all kinds of crazy stuff. Pennies, silverware from a random dollar store, a //manhole cover//. They all start flying at Skeleton Ki's back in an attempt to weigh him down. "That should do it..."

Alisher Sham has posed:
Skeleton Ki fled into an alleyway, and alleys are famously full of all kinds of bullshit. A dumpster shifts and falls over at him, disgorging metal scraps to join with the loose change and silverware, along with several roughly stomped-on blenders from a recent right-wing protest. The packaging for the identical replacement blenders is fortunately non-magnetic.

"Aha!" he says, "Magnetic force!" A cool thing about a helmet is that when you glance behind you and see a manhole cover whipping toward you, nobody else can see you sweat. He turns around, blenders rattling, taking a stance as though he's going to swing on the manhole.

His feet shift, hands moving through a strange pass, something like an aggressive tai chi routine. That ghostly light shimmers on his hand.

"I can release these locks at an atomic level!" A palm strike over his shoulder. Virgil can feel the fields he locked together just... go. Effectively one-handed, he makes a big, leaping step back, throwing the laden door up and away from him, the manhole cover diverting into it with a loud crash.

Ki then leaps forward. His foot barely clears the wall next to him as he swings a wheel kick into the door/manhole/blender tangle, launching it back toward Static with a sharp kiai!

Keyai?

"Don't worry, kid," he calls out, "they're going to someone who's going to pay much better than a secondhand marketplace!"

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"What the actual--" Static suddenly covers his face as the heap of garbage flies at him, electromagnetic shields stopping the heap of garbage inches before it can collide into him. But at the same time, he's thinking, and saying, "That's impossible! This is //literally impossible//!"

"Okay, you wanna spit in the eye of Tyrone Hayes and everything he believes about biology and science??? Let's do this!" He of course has no room to be talking about the physics of biology, but he finally scatters the trash in front of him, immediately looking around for Skeleton Ki.

Alisher Sham has posed:
The garbage stops.

Shortly after that, Static's world is full of purple, as Skeleton Ki followed it up with his decidedly non-conductive cloak to buy himself a little extra time. The thief having no intention to have a standup fight here, by the time he's gotten the cloak off of him, the alleyway is empty. A little searching reveals a keypad-locked gate swinging open, gently creaking in the wind.

Some time later, a man (the camera never reaches his face) in grey sweatpants is walking down the street with two big shopping bags from a Goodwill, one carrying a pair of old-looking shoes, the other with a bunch of black fabric. "Hey, how's it going," he mutters to someone as he passes, in a mildly Uzbeki accent. Thinkin' about a steak dinner.