11466/BREAKING NEWS! BANK ROBBERY IN PROGRESS!

BREAKING NEWS! BANK ROBBERY IN PROGRESS!
Date of Scene:	11 May 2020
Location:	Metropolis First National Bank
Synopsis:	Supergirl stops a bank robbery, saves a ton of lives and finds a quiet voice in the shadows to help guide her along. WARNING: THIS IS DARK.
Cast of Characters:	SpyderByte, Supergirl

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SpyderByte has posed:
Most of the major local news has been in a buzz this afternoon as Metropolis First National Bank has been under siege for the last two hours. A bank robbery did not go as planned and now the small group of masked gunmen are holed up in the bank with several captive customers and workers. Police and SWAT are outside with guns raised and at the ready, with negotiations having failed.

As of the last call into the bank, it was revealed that two people have already been shot, to serve a warning that any further escalation will relate with more deaths. There is the obvious demands. A fully gassed van needs to be out back. Roads clear for a getaway. No tricks! Any deviation from their demands will result in more deaths.

The Sergeant in charge is at his wit's end, arguing back and forth with the negotiator, trying to find a way to manage the situation before another bullet goes off. The doors are locked and blocked, and so far, every window has no clear shot. The prisoners and the gunmen moved deep into the back of the bank, away from eyesight.

Supergirl has posed:
There were things Supergirl was really good at. Stopping bullets. Throwing around cars like they were Hot Wheels toys. Even flying into space and knocking on the door to space craft to visit with her friends. She was a good hero. Not great.

Finesse wasn't her strong suit. Yet this was a situation which was going to call for that.

She landed near the Officer-in-Charge on the scene, giving him a tight smile. "I'm here to offer any assistance I can. I can tell you where they are in the building at least." Thank Rao for x-ray vision. "See the status of the hostages and everyone inside. But I fear if I go in, it will make things worse."

SpyderByte has posed:
"Well, we gotta do something. We've been at this for hours." The officer says to Supergirl as he lets out a frustrated noise. "There's no way they're gonna give these guys what they want. Either we go in, or they come out."

The negotiator tries to call the phone line inside the bank again, listening to it ring and ring and ring without much in the way of response. The officer raises the bullhorn up again and shouts out. "Answer the phone! We're trying to meet your demands but you aren't making it easy!"

There is a loud 'ping' on Supergirl's phone, a message showing up. It's a picture of the back entrance of the bank. It appears to be clear. << Door will unlock in ten seconds. Two prisoners are hiding five feet away. Not injured. Enemy combatants are in the safe. Five of them. Six captive. One injured. >>

The officers don't seem to be aware as they continue to rush about, trying to figure out a clear path to resolution. They are arguing. Do they, or do they not give in to their demands?

Supergirl has posed:
Hearing the ping from her phone, Supergirl glances at it. After all, it might be her parents. They do call sometimes and, generally, it's the worst possible moment. She fully expects it to be them. Yet instead, there is an Anonymous message on her screen and she frowns at it a bit.

Lifting her head, she glances around the area but nothing seems out of place. Then she looks back to the phone. Does she trust it? If so, she only has ten seconds to get to the back of the store.

"Excuse me, officer. I'll be right back." Then in a blurr of motion, she's gone and at the back door. She eyes it suspiciously then looks at the phone again. Head back up to peer through the wall, spotting the people about five feet from the door just as the strange message had said they would be.

When the click of the door unlocking is heard, she blinks owlishly then carefully reaches out to open the door. If a bomb goes off at this point, she wouldn't be surprised. Not that she saw one but still.

SpyderByte has posed:
The door clicks and it creaks open slowly. When the door opens, no bomb goes off. Instead, she can see two young woman cowering behind a large potted plant. As they spy Supergirl, their eyes widen, hope filling their faces. The give a quick, nervous glance back out to the lobby, then back to her.

Ping: << Surveilance cameras are playing back the last ten minutes. Enemy combatants are unaware of your presence. Tell the two women to exit to the right. There is no windows and they can escape unseen. When you reach the safe, I will unlock it. Prisoners are tied up back far left. >>

Ping. Another picture comes through, this one of inside the safe, showing where everyone's position is at. It's not the grainy kind either. This is a full HDR cleaned up shot where distinguishing features can be seen.

Ping: The names of each gunman and mugshots show up on her phone next.

Supergirl has posed:
When there is no explosion, Supergirl can't stop herself from grinning. Maybe this is legit! She looks over to the two women as her phone moves in her hand. She'd moved it to vibrate so there would be no noise once inside. But she feels the alert and glances down. Then she looks to the women. A motion with her hand to the right as she moves in, putting herself between where the women will travel and where the gunmen are hidden in the vault. While there might be no windows, she's not chancing them getting shot if she can block the bullets.

Once they have moved, she glances to the instructions again. The information with the positions of the bad guys and the hostages. Then the new notification with names. "Tiberious? Seriously?" she whispers as though the phone is going to answer her.

She moves quietly toward the vault, floating just above the floor so there is no sound from her footfalls. At the safe door, she flattens herself to the wall beside it like she's seen done in all the cop movies. Which is kind of silly since they won't be shooting through the vault door.And if they did, she's bullet proof. She rolls her eyes at herself and takes up a hovering position by the door instead.

SpyderByte has posed:
Vibe: << His mother gave him that name after James T Kirk from Star Trek. He grew up with no father and has on-going anger issues. His last three hundred text messages point to his daughter sick and in the hospital with cancer. This score is to pay for the hospital bills. He is in over his head. Scared and pancking. Jesse, the guy in charge shot the prisoner. This was supposed to be a clean grab and go with an inside man. >>

So, Kara now has a talking cell phone who seems to know the life story of every bad guy in the bank.

The phone now has a count down: Three .. Two ... one...

Beep-Beep-Beep! The panel on the wall gives off a few flashing lights, then codes /green/. The bolt can be heard unlocking.

From within the vault someone is heard shouting in surprise.

Supergirl has posed:
This part she knows how to handle. As the vault door unlocks, she yanks it open and is inside in that blue and red blurr. It is too fast for the men inside to track. Her intention. To disarm all the bad guys before they can even squeeze the trigger. If they do manage to get off a shot toward her, it doesn't matter. If they fire toward the prisoners, she will put herself bodily in the way to protect the innocents.

Once disarmed, they should be a lot easier to deal with since there will be no danger to the civilians. At least from a distance. She has no intention of letting them get close.

SpyderByte has posed:
There is blood on the floor and an older security guard clutching his arm. A flesh wound. The rest of the prisoners are in the back, crying and mumbling to themselves. As the door is flung open and Supergirl blurs her way in, the gunmen pull their rifles upwards, but it's too late. She is too fast, too strong, and they are disarmed and knocked out in two seconds fast, before a single bullet even goes off.

"Oh thank God! It's Supergirl! Thank you! Thank you!" A woman bursts into tears as she scrambles to her feet shakily, hauling her young son up with her. "They shot that man!"

The security guard tries to wave the woman off with his bloody hand as he rises to stand. "I've had worse in the Army. It's fine. Thank you."

One by one, each of the prisoners give their thanks, making their way out as the cops come storming in. The one in charge looks bewildered, eyes wide. "Great job, Supergirl. Not a single shot went off. Damn. This city owes you a world of thanks!"

Supergirl has posed:
As everyone thanks her, Supergirl is shaking her head. "I just was the one at the gates. This wasn't me. But I'll share your thanks with the one who orchestrated all this."

She does move to the officer in charge, giving him some information about it being an inside job and who was responsible for the actual harming of the security guard. She also gave him information on why it was being done, giving a sad look toward Tiberius. If he had just tried another way. While she felt for him, this just wasn't the way to fix his situation.

Then she pulled out her phone as she walked away from the officers doing clean up. She typed. <<They all thanked me but I couldn't have done this without you. You're the hero here. Thank you for helping with this. You're amazing. Who are you?>>

SpyderByte has posed:
Vibe: << I'm not a hero. I'm no body. >>

That's it. That's all it says. A few seconds later: Vibe. << Just call me Spyder Byte. I guess. >>

As the officers lead the customers out, one of them, a young girl who is still crying stops to give Supergirl a quick hug, her face a mess of tears. She looks to be about college age. The prisoners are handcuffed and dragged out as they won't be waking up any time soon after being knocked out by a revved up Kryptonian superhero.

Outside, bystanders break into applause, calling out Supergirl's name and cheering loudly. One can feel the energy in the air. Metropolis just loves a good superhero, especially those with a red cape and an S on their chest.

Supergirl has posed:
<<You are a hero. Even if you don't believe it. You saved these people.>> Supergirl typed in.

As the young woman gives her a hug, Supergirl assures her all will be well and sends her off with the officer. Then she moves to the door, already hearing the sounds of the crowd outside.

<<SpyderByte, if you are still there. Since you can access a phone, I'm guessing you can access a camera. This is all for what YOU did. Never doubt you're a hero.>>

As she walked out, she held the phone in front of her so the camera would pick up the crowd and their wild applause. Then she gave a quick wave, rising into the air and quickly leaving the scene. Once at a safe enough distance in the sky, she pulled out her phone as something struck her.

<<I am guessing you know who I am now. Will you keep my secret?>>

SpyderByte has posed:
Vibe: Several pictures from different angles pop up on her phone next, showing Supergirl at a three-sixty degree angle. << This city has a camera, both city issued or security based, every fifteen feet. I saw the crowd. Thank you though, for complimenting my services. I really am not a hero. I am just a kid who is putting off homework by watching the news. I have not invaded your privacy, SuperGirl. I would not wish to anger you. I am only accessing your phone through your IP. I promise, I will not look deep into it. The less I know, the less information someone can beat out of me. >>

Supergirl has posed:
As Supergirl read, she smiled brightly at him saying he was not invading her privacy. There was no way to know, of course. He might have all her information and be putting it out on the web for all she knew. Yet, she felt like he was telling the truth. For some reason.

Until that last line. That made her smile disappear. The idea of someone hurting someone for information about her. It proved what Kal was always telling her about the importance of a secret identity. <<Thank you. If you ever want to help again, even if it is to avoid homework, feel free to reach out. Can I reach you through my phone again in the future if I need help?>>

That's right. Supergirl wants him on speed dial.

SpyderByte has posed:
A few minutes go by of flying before an answer comes through.

Vibe: << I don't know. I really am nobody. >>

Vibe: << I guess .. you can have my number. >>

Vibe: A small picture of a digital spider shows up on her phone, under it some text reads: Press Me.

Supergirl has posed:
Reading that makes her grin again. It reminds her of a story she read and movies she has seen. "Curiouser and curiouser," she murmurs in a low voice to herself as she reaches out a thumb to push the image as instructed. "And down the rabbit hole we go."

SpyderByte has posed:
When she presses the spider on the screen, a digital voice can be heard: Connection Complete. Bridging Firewall.. complete. Routing traceping in three .. two .. one.. complete. A series of code scrolls along a black screen quickly, thousands of lines before it reaches the end. 618-412-8032. It pulses in lime green text at the bottom of her screen.

If she touches the phone number, it will add a contact to her phone with an image of a green cartoonish looking spider. There is no name. No address. But .. at the bottom... @SpaceInvaderZ.

A handle.

Supergirl has posed:
SpyderByte. SpaceInvaderZ. Two possible handles for this person on the other end of her phone. Seeing the phone number, she automatically touches it to create the contact and finds it done for her in an instant, the green spider marking who it is.

<<You prefer I call you Spyder or SpaceInvader? Or some other name like... I dunno. John. or something. Maybe Thomas? J/K. I'll keep my secret and you can keep yours. You mentioned homework. High school? College?>> Yes, she's fishing.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Spyder Byte is fine. Can call me whatever. I am anonymous. I am legion. >> A picture of a crying laughing emoji pops up afterwards.

<< High school. Sophomore. Sorry, I'm too young for you if you were hoping to get me to dinner. >> That's cheeky.

<<But if you wait two years, I'll give you the most awkward trip to Happy Burger ever. >>

Supergirl has posed:
The bold joke makes her laugh though. "Smarty pants," she mutters. Again, she's aware he is able to see everything she is doing. He made that abundantly clear with the picture from the surveillance cameras. Throw in he likely can see her through her own if he chose to while she's looking at the phone. Rao help her, hopefully he isn't looking up her nose. That would be embarassing. She adjusts the position of her phone self consciously. If he is using her camera, he probably can hear her too.

<<You're safe. I've given up dating. Guys are too complicated. I'll stick with focusing on other things. Like becoming a better hero. Superman would've known how to deal with that bank thing.>> A little bit of a down on herself comment there but she moves past it quickly. <<Still be willing to buy you lunch as a thank you though. Not a date.>>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< You would have handled it perfectly. Probably used x-ray vision to see through the walls, then you would blast through the right wall opposite of the bank to catch the bad guys off guard. It would have looked cool on the camera feed. >>

<< Don't worry about what Superman would have done. It's like trying to compare yourself to your very successful and rich dad. You stepped up when he was dead. The city knew it. You are the city's hero, Supergirl. >>

<< We can do lunch. I guess. Just don't get your hopes too high up about me. I'm not special. >>

Supergirl has posed:
<<That's where you are wrong. You are special. You have this skill to be able to get into all this tech.>> It reminds her of someone else but they use a different handle. <<We can do lunch sometime then. I'll be showing up in costume so hope that's not too weird for you. Oh I know! We can meet and I can take you to the place with the best shakes on the planet. If you aren't scared of flying. Are you scared of heights?>>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I'm a mutant. I am not special. People are afraid of me. They aren't afraid of you though. Probably because you look like a super model. But everyone looks at us like the enemy. >>

Another ding comes thorugh. << I am afraid of heights. I am afraid of drowning. I am afraid of fire. I am afraid of being bit by a dog. I am afraid of the cops kicking my door down and taking me away from my mom. I'm afraid of a lot of things. >>

<< We can just get burritos somewhere. Nothing fancy. Don't need to come in costume. I'd feel silly. Everyone would watch. They would take pictures. They would try to figure out who I am. >>

<< Then they would try to beat information out of me. >>

Supergirl has posed:
Supergirl considers, frowning as she reads it. Especially the part about being taken away from his mom. Then he continues, mentioning that she could show up not in costume. That could be problematic. She doesn't want to reveal her secret identity, even though he could apparently get it at any time if he wanted.

Wait. He didn't say she had to come as Kara Danvers. Just that she didn't have to come in costume. She could just be her. Might get a few double takes but probably could pull it off. Just another blonde, right?

<<That's twice you have mentioned people beating something out of you.>>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< That's because I get beat up a lot. I'm in high school. I went to Juvie once because I got lazy and the FBI traced me. You probably saw what I did on the news. I won't leak it, but I know you saw it. Everyone saw it. >> A hint. A breadcrumb. The start of a trail.

<< They just did not know I was a mutant. No one knows. Not even my parents. It would be over for me. For us. What I did tore my family apart. Bankrupted us in legal fees. I don't want to lose her. >> But he lost his dad? He doesn't mention his father in any of this.

<< High school is about predator and prey and I am a tiny rabbit surrounded by lions. Every day is just another easy meal for them. >>

Supergirl has posed:
High school. That's telling. She attended herself. There, she had been in disguise. A mousy young woman with brown hair and glasses who was too good at science. While she didn't get beat up, she was not one of the in crowd and she had faced her own share of bullying. After all, she could never let on who she really was.

That was over for her now. She had graduated last year. Which wasn't really a graduation. With Superman being missing at the time, she had been spending all her hours trying to cover Metropolis. To make it look like he was still there. Her family had her taken out of school to be homeschooled. She got her diploma because, honestly, she already had the knowledge she needed to pass the classes. But she didn't attend graduation ceremonies. No cap and gown. No celebrations. She'd been too busy. Then when Superman was gone...college got put off as well. Now that he was back, maybe she could get things back to normal for her alter ego.

<<I understand. I just got my diploma last year. I was a rabbit there myself. I just didn't get beat up thankfully. Wish I could help but I know having someone come in to try to would just make it worse when they aren't around. >>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I don't know. They always say in those 'It gets better' videos that if you stand up for yourself, or if you ignore the bullies, it goes away and your life gets better. Those campaigns are written by middle aged single women who never got punched in the face and had their jaw wired shut. My left shoulder still hangs awkwardly. Did you know when you break your shoulder just right, you don't get a cast? You get a sling and you get told to not move your arm. >>

<< Then kids at school claim you are faking it for attention and yank your arm out of the socket to see if it's true. >> This got dark real quick.

<< If it ever got out that I was a mutant, I would kill myself. I don't want my mother to hate me. >> Real dark.

Supergirl has posed:
Supergirl winces as she reads that, shaking her head and wanting to go punch someone for treating anyone that way. Which isn't going to help matters. <<Sounds to me like you should be in a different school. Mine wasn't at all like that. There were bullies but they didn't do things like that. I can get you there if you wanted. Or ...something. No one should have to deal with that.>> She frowns a bit more.

He's concerned about his mother, not his father. So father isn't in the picture. Divorced or was never there in the first place. No way to tell which. <<Always know that there is hope. A light at the end of the tunnel. I know it sounds like bull.>> She has to backspace when the autocorrect tries to turn that into a bad word, making sure it stays just as bull. <<But I can tell you from my own experiences it does. If you ever feel that way, you reach out to me, okay?>>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< It's easy when you are invincible, beautiful and the champion of a city. Life would always get better for you. I just need to survive two more years, then I can get out of here. Go to college somewhere. Hide. >>

These are probably things he never would have got off his chest if she wasn't a superhero. They don't narc, right?

<< I'll be fine. Long as I don't make noise, or quick movements, I'm practically invisible in school. I should probably stop unloading on you. Don't worry, I'm fine. Long as I have my Internet service. >>

<<It was fun having a team up with you. I'm glad I got to help you out, even if you really didn't need it. >>

Supergirl has posed:
<<That's the thing. I did need it. You think I have it all together but you're wrong. I have fears. Doubts. All the things anyone else has. I could've gotten those hostages killed. If I had crashed through a wall, timed something wrong. I learned while Superman was gone that I'm not ready yet. I thought I was but that taught me a lesson. But I plan to work harder, get better.>>

She considers a moment then types. <<You aren't unloading. Sounds like you need a friend. So now you've got one.>>

Then she smiles a little. << I'm putting together a team. A group to learn to fill the Big Boots of the Justice League some day. Your skills would be invaluable. So, care to join? Be a hero from the comfort of your own room and breaks from homework?>>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< You are joking, right? I can't join a superhero team. You can't depend on me. I will screw up. I know I will. If I screw up and people get hurt, or worse, I could not live with that. I'm not like you. I'm not a hero. I'm a chickenshit loser who can barely tie his shoes. You don't even know me yet. You can't make an offer like that so quick. I could be .. a bad guy. You don't know me. You don't know me. You don't know me. >> It's almost as if he is broken as the messages pour through the phone.

The poor kid is probably crapping his pants in the middle of the living room. This was unexpected.

<< I should go do homework. I can't be a hero. I'm sorry. >>

Supergirl has posed:
<<Not all heroes wear capes. I don't think you're a bad guy. You wouldn't have helped me. You wouldn't be respecting my privacy and protecting my secret identity.>> Hopefully he was being honest.

<<I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. I'll let you go do your work.>>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Okay. Cool. I'll text you tomorrow if you want. I don't want to bother you. >>

<<If you get into a situation, you can text me whenever. I don't really sleep anymore. >>

From within their apartment, Jeremy is currently tapping away in the middle of the air, watching the messages float around his room in colorful candy coated binary. He plucks one out of the air, responds to it with a thought, then lobs it to the side with his fingers.

Supergirl has posed:
<<You won't bother me. If I don't answer right away, I'm getting a kitten out of a tree or something.>> After all, never know when she might be dealing with an emergency situation.

<<And if I get into something where some tech savvy is needed, I'll hit you up.>>

SpyderByte has posed:
<< The world is my eyes. You are always surrounded by the signal. Ping me whenever. Maybe I will give this superhero thing a shot. Trial run.. maybe. I guess. After we meet for burritos. >>

<< It was nice meeting you, Supergirl. You are way prettier in person than the magazines and posters show. If I wasn't gay, I would have a crush on you. >>