12250/Finding J.A.R.V.I.S.: The Setup

Finding J.A.R.V.I.S.: The Setup
Date of Scene:	27 September 2020
Location:	National Air and Space Museum
Synopsis:	A Daring Heist! A Funny Story! Rated 'N' for NASCAR.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Catwoman

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Iron Man has posed:
"Yup. It's a quiet one."

"Yup. Little TOO quiet, y'ask me."

Sipping coffee, two nearly retirement-age security guards chat in the middle of their late-night shift. As is customary with middle-aged men, they say very little, avoid too much eye contact, and mostly just focus on drinking their piping hot coffee out of the enviromentally unfriendly styrofoam cups from the break room.

The guards stand in front of a display containing the original plane that Charles Lindbergh made his historic flight across the Atlantic in. Or at least they say it's the original, but who really checks?

Various other famous aircraft are suspended from the ceilings via very thin metal cables, and displays are set up with information and relics from aviation history. Amelia Earhardt's goggles, Pieces of the Apollo spacecraft, even the Marvel 1.

As they make their rounds, the duo pass the newest display in the museum: A collection of Tony Stark's first few Iron Man suits.

Each held in an individual display case, the suits are all suspended in various action poses, and look as if they're all functional. In reality though, most of the tech that made them work has been stripped.

Except for one crucial piece, which forms the center of the exhibit.

In its own glass case, on a pedestal, one of the very first functional Arc Reactors is displayed as if it were a set of Crown Jewels. And for a place like the National Air and Space Museum, perhaps that's exactly what it is.

Still lit up, the Arc Reactor looks as functional as the day it was made.

"Yup. She's a beauty all right, ain't she, Murph?"

Murph nods in agreement, trying to decide just how much something like that would be worth.

Catwoman has posed:
My, my, what do we have here? Lots of big boring planes that she can't fit in her pocket..Ooh, but that pretty shiny arc reactor thingie - whatever the heck that even means - looks promising. She could probably use it as a fancy nightlight, or maybe a giant battery...Or heck, sell it on the black market, make a small fortune, and after all the money she lost to that darned copycat burglar, she could really use the extra cash.

Alright then..

She sticks to the shadows, having slipped in the back door and easily disabled the alarm system long before the security guards had any idea what was happening. As for the cameras, it just took a few simple clicks on her camera jamming device to send those into a loop. Heh, this is too easy, elementary really. Now all she had to do was wait for those guards to turn their backs, and she could grab the arc reactor no problem.

Of course she had packed some sleeping pellets just in case she needed to deal with them. But they didn't look too bright, and for now she keeps one close at hand as she slinks ever nearer to the exhibit, carefully examining the security system that surrounds it. Let's see, she should have no trouble carving a hole in the glass case, although removing the actual device will likely set off the alarm. But these guys don't look so fast either..

Iron Man has posed:
"Hey Bud! How much d'you think that thing there's worth?"

Murph takes another sip of his coffee. His bleary eyes and gray mustache attest to a relatively long life, but it's clear that he also possesses the sleepy soul of a poet. Albeit one that doesn't write poetry and works as a night shift security guard.

"I dunno, Murph. Probably like... a hunnert million dollars."

Bud has the aura of a man who beat his dog, just once, and was filled with a lifetime of regret. Which he tries to atone for, by working the night shift as a security guard.

"You've bumped your head! No way it's worth that much. Else why would Tony Stark have DONATED it? Can't be worth more than ten million, most."

Raising some valid points, the security guards mosey along to the next stop on their nightly rounds. Flashlights ever at the ready, they are out of sight pretty quickly, but not out of easy earshot.

Only a problem if someone were to set off an alarm, right?

As the centerpiece of the exhibit, the Arc Reactor is surrounded by the various Iron Men. The first suit is a dull gray metal contraption, which looks both amateurish and clunky compared to the rest of the suits. A gold version is a bit more streamlined, followed by suits that each look progressively more like the Iron Man that shows up on the news today.

All of them are circling the Arc Reactor, as if standing guard...

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman grimaces as she listens to their idle small talk, and she freezes in the shadows, not moving until they have passed along. She creeps closer to the arc reactor, carefully examining the positioning of the other displays around it with a slight frown. Interesting..Was it just an artistic choice, or were they part of...No, she's thinking too hard. Just grab the reactor and go. Okay..

She focuses on the pretty shiny object, pulling down her goggles and toggling some switches to peer around the display case. Were there any hidden laser beam lines? motion sensors? Whether there are or not, she moves carefully to avoid them, stepping up to the glass and using her fashionable yer functional razor sharp cat claws, she gets to work quietly carving a hand sized hole in the glass case.

Of course she is careful to examine the case for any wires or electronic devices that may trio an alarm too, feeling under the table holding the case. Let's see how advanced this security system is? She licks her lips in anticipation, holding her breath in case her movements are too loud.

Iron Man has posed:
This is the part where virtually any other thief on the planet would be surrounded by guards, or running for her life with alarms blaring and the cops closing in.

But for someone like the great Catwoman, it's just another puzzle to solve. It's too bad that nobody is watching this professional at work, because there's an admirable amount of artistry to the way that she methodically breaks down all of the display's defenses, until there's nothing standing between her and her prize.

At least, let's hope nobody is watching, right?

Off in the distance, Murph and Bud's voices can still be heard. But kind of far away and muffled. They seem to be talking about NASCAR, which they both are enthusiastic fans of. And who can blame them? It's a white-knuckle thrill ride, that NASCAR. A true testament to the endurance of the human bladder.

Any motion by the Iron Men is surely a trick of the imagination, though one could be forgiven for imagining that they could be there to stand guard. Their poses are pretty lifelike, and they were designed by one of the foremost designers of artificial intelligences.

But, no, they're all dead still, and as silent as the Spruce Goose hanging from the ceiling.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman chuckles softly to herself, senses completely peeled for..Anything. She still had her ears pricked for the sounds of those silly security guards, although she's primarily focused in her latest prize. Those iron man suits are pretty impressive, pretty lifelike..So much so that she pauses once or twice, staring at them for a moment or two..Had that one moved..?

No, no way, she's just being paranoid. Probably just a truck of the light. She slips a clawed hand into the hole she made in the glass, after she ensured there were no traps to be sprung, and slowly carefully she lifts it off its platform. "Mmmm.." she purrs, I sue ting the beautiful little artefact, "Come to me,my pretty.." she slips it carefully into a pouch and peers around, plotting out her escape route.

Ahh yes, those air shafts will be a nice short cut to the outside. She freezes again, scanning her environment, making sure she wasn't heard, then carefully uncoils her whip as she judges the distance from her position to the ceiling.

Iron Man has posed:
This is the other part where any other thief would suddenly be in Big Trouble. But the shiny is swiped without any real incident at all. Anyone who expected it to go otherwise has clearly never watched Catwoman at work.

Tony Stark will probably just be grateful that she didn't swap out the Arc Reactor for some sort of joke item, or a crassly-worded poem about his mustache.

Safely inside the pouch, the Arc Reactor continues to glow same as ever. But, perhaps invisible now that it's inside a pouch, a very tiny red LED begins to pulse softly. Not exactly an alarm, and no security get alerted. But now that it's been removed from its original location, 'something' seems to be happening to the device.

Let's hope it's something great.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman probably should have brought a dud device, but didn't have the time to make one. Besides, she would be in and out before anyone even noticed. That led light...She didn't notice it, not yet. She's too busy planning her escape route, snagging her whip on the ceiling grate, pulling it out and catching it before it hits the ground.

Then it's just a matter of swinging up into the air duct, replacing the grate and moving quietly through the ducts, checking her ogles for the quickest route out of here. This may take a couple of minutes but she is already familiar with the layout. Let's see..Down this vent, right at the next fork, another right and that should take her to the outside vent of the building..

A bit of careful climbing and she's nearly home free..Just a bit further..She lands lightly, easily on firm ground and makes a run for it before the backup cameras and alarm systems - if there are any - can kick in.

Iron Man has posed:
Daring display of athleticism, as anyone who's ever attempted to crawl through a ventilation shaft can readily attest to. Certainly nothing that the Arc Reactor's designer would ever be able to pull off.

It's only after the Arc Reactor is completely outside of the building that the device suddenly starts to vibrate in a pulsing fashion. Almost like a cellphone ringing.

Suspiciously like a cellphone, in fact.

Fortunately, there's no accompanying ringtone, or that might make her getaway a bit more conspicuous than she'd prefer.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman doesn't stop til she's a safe ways away, leaping onto a nearby rooftop and surveying the scene below. Only then does she turn to the device, pulling it out of her pocket and frowns. "What the hell, it's a fancy phone..?" uhhh okay..? She turns it over, inspecting it more, Did it even have a mouthpiece? Well here goes nothing. "Hello?" she feels rather silly doing this.,

Iron Man has posed:
Once held, the device stops pulsing, and instead begins to emit a blueish glowing holographic field directly from the bottom of the Arc Reactor. There, hovering about a foot above the palm of her hand, is a miniature version of Tony Stark, about the size of an action figure.

A hologram that's wearing a suit, and holding an... arc reactor?

The same one that Catwoman is currently holding in her hand.

"Congratulations!" The Holo-Tony says, seeming to actually mean it. Or, at least he's smiling his best Stark Expo smile, for whatever that's worth.

"You've just stolen a very valuable piece of Stark Tech from a very secure location! You must be VERY proud, and well on your way to a life of riches!"

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman just..Stares at the device as a holo-Tony appears. "What the helll..." she sighs as she watches, wondering if he's watching her now or...She glances around nervously. "Dammit, what *is* this thing? Guess that's Tony Stark, the pompous twit.." her eyes narrow. Was this a set-up?! only one thing to do, out as much space between herself and the museum where she stole it from.

She peers around, still holding the device, curious to know more. Can he hear her? Can he track her down? Even so, Cat woman is on the move again, searching for a secure location..

Iron Man has posed:
"You're probably wondering 'Why is Tony Stark, the World's Most Eligible Bachelor, talking to me through a booby-trapped Arc Reactor?' And that's both a very good question and... kind of a funny story."

It's fairly clear by now that Stark isn't actually there, rather he's delivering some sort of prerecorded message to the very Arc Reactor that Catwoman has stolen. Hence the holding it in his holographic hand.

"The funny story is, I was having drinks with my buddy Chad, you probably don't know him... anyway we got to talking, and we figured that if I put this Arc Reactor up in the Air and Space museum, SOMEBODY would steal it. So why not leave 'em a message?"

He seems to think that this is funny, but suddenly his brow furrows a bit.

"You probably would have had to be there. We were knee-deep in Rusty Nails. Real problem drinker, that Chad."

"But later, I started thinking, 'If somebody steals this, they're probably doing it for money... why don't 'I' just offer to buy it back from them?' So... that's what I'm doing right now."

Adjusting his tie a bit self-consciously, Tony looks a bit more serious now.

"So, if you're interested, I'll be glad to pay you a finder's fee for testing out the security sytems I installed, and a fair amount for the safe return of the Arc Reactor. All you've gotta do is bring it back to any Stark facility, preferably the one in New York, but I'm not picky. And, hey, you're clearly a gifted individual if you were able to get past MY security so... maybe we can even discuss a little retainer situation?"

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman blinks slowly as she listens to the recording. Okay..,So this was all a setup. But was he really so naive s to trust such a valuable device in the hands of someone like herself? "Tch, what a fool." she murmurs. But then she gets to thinking. Okay, so Stark is rich, probably could give her a good price for this, and she needs money quickly.

"Okay then..Guess its time to head to Stark enterprises..And this had better not be a trap." its a good thing she's desperate and short on time, or she wouldn't have even considered it.

Either way, Catwoman carefully replaces the device and then swings and climbs her way to the nearest Stark facility..