Knowledge Should Be Free [Scheme]

"Hey, Big Martin! Check this out!"

Some distance away, Big Martin looked up. He usually kept in touch with cats in the area around him when he went about his daily business, just so that he could keep an eye out for trouble. If one was contacting him, they'd probably found something interesting.

He checked his watch. He wasn't in a particular hurry, right now... Okay, taking a look. Hold still for a moment.

The cat sat down, training her eyes on the student store, so that Big Martin could get a good view of the light show going on inside. It was fairly evident that a super was up to something in there, and the boss had asked his minions to keep an eye out for those.

Sure enough, Big Martin came through, his tone grateful. Thank you, Miranda, you've been a very good kitty. If he was remembering right, this was Sanduleak, from Pandaemonium. The affiliation alone might have been reason enough to help him, but the plot looked fun too. For a moment, the master of cats debated whether he should intervene, whether moving in now would disrupt some delicate and extremely elaborate plan that Sanduleak had no doubt spent days working on... but then, what kind of stupid plan would it be if the introduction of hundreds of cats as allies made things worse? Smiling to himself, Big Martin gave an order.

All forces in the area, converge on Miranda, and prepare to fend off law enforcement! I'll be deploying reinforcements momentarily. Try not to hurt anyone, and make sure not to damage anything valuable- yes, those stupid chunks of paper are valuable. No, you can not scratch them! No treats for any of you if you do.

Supporting: Your friendly neighborhood catomancer is always up for a good robbery!

Limen’s recent adventures at the grocery store had left her with two angry holes in her arm courtesy of Ms. Awesome Eyepatch and a large bruise from Wolf Friend’s final attack. This was why she never did her shopping at actual stores and why, today, she had a one-handed paintball gun strapped to her hip in place of her bow.

It was not why, however, she happened to be in the university district today. No, that was because she was planning on finding a nice rooftop to sit on and pretend to be cleaning staff atop of while she watched the milling students below, trying to pick out anyone she might know.

Basically she was bored and in the area.

Today was destined to be a good day, however, as she did indeed come to recognize someone in the area. Just not as she had expected. Granted, he would’ve been a little hard to miss; the black costume, the people running in terror from him - regardless, Limen now knew exactly where she needed to be and what she needed to be doing.

One of the high windows along the store’s side shattered as it was the recipient of a hard kick. Limen dropped down from the roof to a crouch on the thin sill outside, and surveyed the scene within. She was coming a little late to the party, but better than not showing up at all, right?

“‘Sup, Cat Lord’s cats, Bloodbath. Hey Alan Dukes, you okay? You’re looking kinda dazed and confused in the limelight there.” She paused, feigning startlement and clapped her hands together. “Don’t tell me, you don’t know what to do next? ‘Didn’t think I’d get this far’ or something like that?” She clicked her tongue. “Here, Dukes, let me give you a hand.”

Limen jumped through the broken window, knocking more glass out of the shattered pane as she landed gracefully on the floor. While the last of the students fled the bookstore, Limen strode up to Sanduleak, not stopping until she was far within what most people would consider ‘personal space’. She had to crane her head upwards to meet the eyes/mask of the super who had more than half a foot on her.

Her voice had quieted to where, had the bookstore not been empty, only Sanduleak would be able to hear her. With the recent vacancy of the place, her voice carried a little farther. “You see, Sanduleak, the trick to being a good Pandaemonium and villain is to make a good show. You can’t falter, you can’t stutter, you can’t not know, and you sure as hell better shout at the top of your lungs. Whoever stands out the most is the one who gets all of the credit, and the rest, well,” she shrugged and let her voice trailed off.

Limen took a step back and began messing with her sleeves. “So, Dukes, you want to know what’s next? The police’ll be here in, oh, four minutes. Maybe less if they’ve had their coffee.” The speaker system in the bookstore clicked on and hung, droaning on a single note. Limen put her hands on her hips. “Panda rules this city now. I say we give them a show.”

With a snap of her fingers, a choice rock song began its opening bridge, loud over the speakers. Limen took a couple more steps backwards threw her arms out to either side and gave a wide, toothy grin. “May the best showman win, Dukes.”


OPPOSING: The “?” you’re looking for is clearly a dance off.

While most of the bystanders had cleared out of the building, two students decided to stay behind. They crouched behind one of the checkout counters, silently watching the events unfold. The first to speak up was a tiny blonde in a cheerleader outfit. Due to her cheerful disposition, everyone called her Sunny. After taking a moment to peek out from their hiding place, she leaned over to  whisper to her sister. "Gotta say, didn't see that coming."

Although they were related, the two looked nothing alike. For example, the second was at least a foot taller than Sunny and looked like she belonged on the school's basketball team. Her title was Chariot but, partly inspired by her flaming red hair, most people shortened it to Cherry. She couldn't tell if they were talking about the sudden cat horde or the random invitation to have a dance battle, but it wouldn't affect her response. "This changes nothing. Our orders are absolute."

They both knew how important this test was. For once, Arcanum trusted them to handle this situation alone. Their creator never really specific how they were supposed to pass, but that must be part of the challenge Most likely, she was still nearby watching their performance, ready to assume direct control if anything bad happened. Failing this task might restrict their new found independence before it could even take off.

If a bunch of Pandas wanted to fight in the middle of the store, then they might as well contribute to the chaos. Today could be considered an audition to prove they can be trusted to cause a distraction at any moment. Seeing how the Lemon girl challenged everyone else here by name, it seemed safe to assume she was alone in this. The Doctor might end up helping her by accident, but you can't expect a hero to be all that useful in the end. Clearly, two slime girls were worth more influence than he was.

Besides, joining the side of the underdog sounded like more of a challenge. The two nodded to each other and began their mission. They moved a little closer to Limen before Cherry finally stood up dramatically. "It appears you are outnumbered, young ones!" She approached the Panda girl from behind, stopping by her right-hand side.

Sunny cartwheeled out from behind the counter, and eventually flipped her way to Limen's left side. She flashed a smile towards the Bulwark man and gave him a wink. The four of them could handle this, no problem. "Don't worry guys, Sunny and Cher got your back."


Opposing: Because Sanduleak can't have nice things.

Sanduleak glanced around, jeez could he not do one thing without a small army of supers invading his area. Well at least one familiar face, was going to help him pro- or not, shoulda saw it coming that she'd attempt to steal the show...and act like she was the mature elder who knew better. The competitive aura that Sanduleak's body radiated at that moment was palpable in the store, this was what he needed. No moral dilemnas or trauma, just a stupid brawl that he was going to win while rocking out to The Black Keys apparently.

"Now Lime, I'm hurt that you gotta be sour bout this. I mean challenging me is one thing...but challenging me on who the flashier panda is and well we've got a massive problem."

He took a few steps back, but it was clear he was doing more than just that if the particles of solidified light surrounding him said anything. He raised his arms and did a come here gesture with both his hands.

"Now if we're giving them a show, it's clear who's gotta be the star here."

Several more supers had quickly burst onto the scene. Not surprising, really- Emerald City had an absurd density of powered individuals, so many that even Big Martin, whose power gave him eyes virtually wherever he wanted them, could keep track of them all. Some of this bunch was known to him, but the two girls and the guy with the hat were new. What kind of madness might they be bringing to the table?

The majority of his cats held back, driving civilians away from the bookstore and forming a barrier against any police or security forces who might try to interfere with the robbery. A small contingent, however, shoved their way through the doors, arranging themselves around Sanduleak and listening in as he and Limen exchanged words.

They stayed silent for most of it, but as the latter gave her challenge, one of the cats stepped forwards, snickering. "You really think you can put a stop to us?"

Reinforcements inbound in five...

"We have an army- and a hulk!"

A massive, roaring lion crashed through the storefront, followed by a tide of accompanying house cats, which swarmed over shelves and cash registers as they closed in on the opposition. Limen and her allies would have mere moments to act before the furry squadron and its powerful leader leaped upon them- would they prove themselves strong enough to weather the assault, or would they be buried beneath enough fuzzy bodies to fill a humane society?

Oh no, oh boy there were a lot more people involved in this than he could have thought! He waved sheepishly toward Limen before she revealed her intentions, something about putting on a show, which Sanduleak apparently agreed with.

Another man and two girls followed, really unfamiliar even as Bloodbath committed them to memory, they looked dangerous. The man's threat for them to stand down landed on deaf ears, if anything, even Bloodbath seemed to scoff at his attempt of control.

Instinctively, he spread out the bloodstream with the intent to defend himself. I'm-I'm not t-they flashiest..." He stammered as he weaved the blood like threads, "B-but I'm going to try my b-b-best!"

Plague Doctor was shocked to feel his coat become punctured. Worse yet; he felt his power slipping away from him. He knew it had no effect on the big guy. Wonderful. Great. Now he needed another way around it. And worse yet; now his blood was floating around a dangerous psychopath. He felt it quite literally in his blood. These people weren't planning on going down easy. Better yet; they wanted to fight him for it. Alright. Fine. They wanted a fight? They'd get one.