Banks. Banks can be such grand places to visit on days like today. Places full of interesting people and wonderful conversation and other such things of great intellectual interest. That, and money. By and large, you couldn't find a bank that didn't hold at least some amount of money in its vaults if you tried. That and precious items of great value, whether that value be significant only to the items owners or to the world at large was irrelevant. The point is, banks are fun places to visit. And even more fun to rob.<br/><br/>~~~~~~<br/><br/>"Sir, he's got at least a dozen hostages in there, and SWAT is still thirty minutes out." The cop giving the report cringed as his lieutenants mood dropped three more notches from "sour" to "downright nasty".<br/><br/>"Thirty freaking minutes! What the hell happened!"<br/><br/>"I'm not entirely sure, sir, but it seems that they were out on a call across town when the bank was hit."<br/><br/>"And there was no one closer?"<br/><br/>"No, sir. Apparently not."<br/><br/>"Well isn't that just peaches and cream. We got ourselves a freaking lunatic over here, and one of those supers to boot, and no way to take him down for thirty freaking minutes. That's just perfect." The lieutenant all but spat the last word as he turned back to regard the bank with a glare. If only that idiot inside would pick up the stinkin' phone.<br/><br/>~~~~~~<br/><br/>Unfortunately, that idiot was a little busy restraining hostages at the moment to bother with answering the phone, though that incessant ringing was very definitely beginning to annoy. With a glance at one of the three hostages that remained unsecured, he put his mind to work and lifted the woman gracefully off the floor, higher and higher until she was lying flat against the ceiling. Then he sent five strips of rebar (torn from the bank's concrete floor) hurtling toward her to bury themselves in the ceiling around her wrists, waist, and ankles. No human would be able to break the bonds, and likely no human would want to, given the rather long drop to the floor. The process was quickly repeated with the last two hostages, and Artemis Hart finally found time to answer that infernal phone.<br/><br/>"Hello, Lieutenant. It is lieutenant, right? They wouldn't let a sergeant handle an incident like this, and I'm sure the captain is too busy to bother with little old me. Anyway, how's it going out there? Has SWAT arrived yet?" Silence reigned on the other end of the line for one moment too long so Artemis continued. "No, I suppose they wouldn't, what with that incident across town. It's really too bad all the other teams are occupied as well. Almost as if it was planned this way..." A half-smile played across Artemis' lips. "But that couldn't be, could it? No one could plan THAT well, could they?" There was another pause, undoubtedly so that the lieutenant could regain his composure and not risk the hostages with an angry outburst, then he finally spoke.<br/><br/>"All I want is to get those hostages out safely. After that, we can work on getting you what you want."<br/><br/>"Well see, here's the thing Lieutenant. No. You can't get me what I want. I didn't come in here today to deal with cops. I'm way above your pay grade and if you have any inkling of sense you'll back off and let the heroes do their thing. You can't kill me, and you can't stop me, so if you want to help, then I suggest you do your level best to let this city's heroes know that they're needed. Clear?" *click*<br/><br/>~~~~~~<br/><br/>The lieutenant stood listening to the dial tone for several seconds before the sergeant found the courage to speak up. "So, what now Sir?"<br/><br/>"What now? Now we wait."