Faye Shida's Story

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Zoe glanced up at the branch above her, trying to decide if she was going for it or not. It was within her reach, but barely, and if she fell from this height, she'd draw attention to them. But it would also provide a much better viewpoint, and besides, the branch she was on appeared to be sturdy enough. She wrapped her hands around the branch and pulled herself up, using a nearby branch to give her a boost.

Settling herself on the branch, she pressed a thumb to the communication unit in her ear. "This is Hecate. I'm in position and have a perfect view of the office. It's currently empty... and whoever uses that office is messy as hell. I can count at least three- no, four- coffee mugs on his desk."

They were currently on a low-risk mission, attempting to get some information about how the attack had been orchestrated. It had been decided that getting as much information about their tactics was their first priority- and then finding the location. The heroes had rushed headfirst into it, and it had ended badly for them. Zoe had always preferred playing the long game anyway.

She kinda wished that she was actually in there, trying to get the info- but when they were half-expecting an ambush, she'd agreed to stay on surveillance. That, and she'd been promised that she'd been inside next time, as long as she didn't royally screw up.

"I'd be careful before you enter the office, though, I can still see sheets and everything all over the desk. There's probably some kind of security system in place."

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Sam sat against an alley wall, far enough away that she could contribute but far enough that she wouldn't risk the others spotting her. Hey, just because she's on the team doesn't mean she needed to break her mysterious facade, right? Anyway, she had her knees up, a new sketchpad resting against them and a sharpened pencil balancing on her upper lip.

"This is Hecate," said the small pod in her ear. "I'm in position and have a perfect view of the office. It's currently empty... and whoever uses that office is messy as hell. I can count at least three- no, four- coffee mugs on his desk."

[clor=#612185]"They should cut back,"[/color] Sam replied sagely, catching the pencil as it fell off her face. "Might end up like Mr. Gonzalez. Could you imagine having to deal with two of that guy?"

Jokes at the resident speedster's expense aside, Hecate's update meant it was now Sam's turn. She flipped open her sketch pad, bouncing her pencil's eraser on her cheek as she considered which construct to go with. Obviously something small and fast, with an eye so she could see. An eye-bat? she was feeling kind of "eye-bat".

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This... was not an eyebat. What was this thing? Some kind of eyeball dragonfly sperm gremlin? Regardless, it served her purposes.

She let her breath out slowly, and the color drained from her surroundings. She heard the familiar burbling sound and a quick glance downward revealed a rapidly growing pool of ink next to her. A slow inhale, and the paint formed into a three-dimensional photo-realistic duplicate of what she'd drawn. The world returned to full color, and she pressed her finger to the communicator.

"This is Chiaroscuro," she said,waving the small creature off in the direction of the office. "Edd-Es-Gee inbound. Now taking bets on that ambush situation."

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Edd-Es-Gee grabbed playfully at Havouvi's hair as it flew over him and into the building, its wings a blur of translucent white. "That's okay, buddy," Chiaroscuro said through the earpiece. "She's just there to let us know when you finish talking." And then, wry whispering. "And just FYI, not everyone likes a quick finish."

Sam thumbed her nose, trying to get comfortable in her seated position. One more quick sketch had a wall up at the end of her alley, indistinguishable from the grey cement on either side. It wouldn't do to have anyone get the drop on her, would it? Settling back against the wall, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and the world fell away.

When she opened them again, she found herself looking down on three familiar faces in an apparently empty office building. She felt her stomach drop, followed by a feeling of weightlessness; had she remembered to give the construct ears, she imagined she'd hear the oh-so-faint whine of beating insect wings. Phase two of her part in the plan was a go. Somewhere far away, she felt a hand raise to her ear and heard her voice speak. God, this dual-consciousness thing when she was controlling a construct directly always gave her motion sickness.

"Hope you don't mind if I join you for a bit," she heard her voice say into a communicator she could-yet-couldn't feel.

The small, white paint creature she was piloting flitted around the first-floor lobby of the office building before darting off through a separate door. Surge may have taken care of the electrical security, but not all locks were electrical, and she felt it would be better to finish this without unnecessary vandalism. After all, an electrical glitch could be believed; finding half the doors smashed was less subtle.

She discovered exactly two locked doors along the intended route, and each was conquered in the same way: land on the door, release the construct's solidity, ooze through the cracks, reform on the other side, turn the handle and push as hard as tiny Edd-Es-Gee could. With the way clear, she had it land on the desk to wait for the others and pulled her consciousness back into herself.

"Way's clear, guys," she announced over their comms. "I didn't see any guards? Maybe they're playing hide-and-seek. Or poor Edd is nearsighted."