Chapter 104 - Unfortunate Fridge

[It's all well and good that you got to enjoy a snack, but you just lost some GDV from the destruction caused by her recent shot into traffic. Also, Jonathan is nearby now, but he's swamped with tasks for aiding the growing number of victims.]

'Bah, I wouldn't have stopped her in time regardless. Tch, you'd think we should swap tasks, dealing with her would have been way easier for him.'

[...You're nearly there, it won't be much longer now. Miss Calculated will probably be stopping you just a little way into the next room. If not, maybe speak up to ask when.]

'Right, would be too weird if I suddenly veered off through the wall without her say-so.'

Lucas resumes his charge, clapping his hands together twice to knock off the sugary powder from the recently demolished donut.

The middle-aged female employee across the room takes another sip from her coffee before elegantly standing up from her chair.

Once Lucas's companions have all resumed following him towards the far wall, she sets down her coffee cup and cellphone on a nearby table. Afterward, she starts walking over to the remnants of the decimated all-in-one printer.

Taking a deep breath, she begins stomping on it aggressively.

"PC LOAD LETTER THIS!!!" Venting her own accumulated frustrations, she somehow manages to further destroy what few cohesive pieces remained of the machine.

Hearing her antics, both Lucas and Miss Calculated start laughing again, further enhancing Lucas's image of a lunatic as he smashes down the next wall.

Bursting through not just the wall, but also a multi-leveled shelving system covered in office supplies, a snowfall of printing paper promptly fills the room. The impacted metal shelf falls across the narrow space in front of it, affectionately joining a similar shelf on the other side, starting a domino effect of metal intimately crashing upon metal.

'Uh, whoops.'

[...That just cost you .1 gdv]

'Eheheh…'

Since the damage is already done, Lucas just finishes clearing out the opening in the wall, kicking the nearest collapsed shelves as well as their contents off to the side to make a path.

"...Hey, while you're at it, you mind taking out that fridge too?" Still standing among the scattered remnants of the all-in-one printer turned one-for-all satisfaction machine, the female employee points directly at a noisily humming finely-aged all-metal refrigerator a few feet away from where Miss Calculated is currently standing.

"Unreliable, but management refuses to replace it?" With a smile, Miss Calculated turns to face her while asking this. Getting a smile and a nod in response, she starts laughing.

Before Miss Calculated even has a chance to say anything else, Miss Masher has already ripped the door off of it, laughing as well.

[...The three of you keep finding creative new ways of earning GDV, I'm actually impressed.]

'Hah! Hey, speaking of GDV, do I need to actually be the one to off the girl for it to count as successfully finishing the task?'

[...It's not based on who physically executes the final strike, it's determined by legitimate intent and effort towards the goal. ...Just what did you have in mind?]

'Well, what if I bust through the wall as a distraction, holdin' something to help block her attacks, and Mash gets to go have her fun once we know the girlie doesn't have a shot lined up for her?'

[Hmm, yes, intentionally distracting the target in that fashion so as to run interference for an assisting teammate is completely valid for full credit. Were you just looking for an excuse to use the fridge when running through the wall?]

'...A little.'

[...Even after being killed by her once, you still don't want to kill the young woman, hmm?]

'...Yeah.'

[You're still going to be complicit in her de-]

'Shush, I know! I just don't want to be the one to do it if I can help it, okay!?'

[...As long as it doesn't stop you from completing the task.]

Lucas is a bit more aggressive than necessary as he continues clearing a path through the disaster of a supply room. Partway through his progress, Miss Calculated leans through the opening to look at him.

"We're just about there by the way. Even though we're going to be surprising her and will be fairly close, she's still a few feet away from the wall you're going to be going through. Do you have any familiarity with her power? I don't want to just recklessly assume you'll be safe thanks to your enhanced endurance. You seemed a bit too eager for action for me to watch a few shots of hers to estimate her speed, accuracy, and destructive power, so I'm not entirely confident in what exactly we're dealing with." Miss Calculated not only updates Lucas as a trusty GPS, but also expresses legitimate concern for his well-being.

"Well, sure it was only the three shots, but I'm pretty sure I could handle what I saw. I was thinkin' though, maybe I could mess with that fridge a little, play it a bit safer, make sure she doesn't have any shots ready, and then Mash could go rearrange her face, or somethin'?" As Lucas proposes this course of action, Miss Masher looks at the fridge door in her hands a bit sheepishly. Once he finishes asking, Willy promptly barks once in approval of this slightly more cautious approach.

"Nah, that's good, you keep the door, I'll use the rest of it. You'll want something to push through the wall an' keep yer hands safe, yeah?" While addressing Miss Masher's guilty look, Lucas gingerly steps over an up-ended box of staples as he heads back into the break room.

Miss Calculated looks thoughtful for a brief moment before nodding.

"Right, Since we can't see or hear her attacks from here, we won't know how recently she fired a shot, we should probably be prepared just in case she's ready to attack immediately. I assume you're fine with that, Mash?" Giving her approval as well, Miss Calculated turns to look at her sister, although she is already fairly confident she knows the answer.

"Hells yeah! So, you gonna go through the wall a bit further over, so she doesn't even know I'm about to come out at her?" Double-checking her understanding, Miss Masher has started heading around Lucas to go enter the ruined supply room. Miss Calculated follows after her, getting ready to indicate exactly where her sister should break through the wall.

The confused employee has gone back over to her coffee and phone, admittedly curious about what in the world they're going on about.

A brief social media search brings up current news about the marble maniac, as well as her current location of… The alley next to the very building she's in. Putting two and two together, she can't help sneaking a few more glances at the scheming supe strangers across the room.

Scrolling a bit further, it isn't long before she comes across a picture of Lucas, complete with text bearing his name. Glancing up at him and then back down at the picture, she starts looking him up.

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Lucas kills this chapter: 0

Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas deaths this chapter: 0

Lucas total deaths: 11

Lucas current GDV: 10.34 (-.05 +.01 -.01 -.1 +.01 +.01 -.01 = -.14 net change)

Lucas's fame level: 4* (Beyond just local, viral meme tier. Local levels are fairly high.)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 2* (More than just passing suspicion for only a few paranoid individuals)

Jonathan kills this chapter: 0

Jonathan total kills: 6

Jonathan deaths this chapter: 0

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 2.87 (+.1 +.1 +.1 = +.3 net change)

Jonathan's fame level: 2.5* (Mostly just local)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 2* (Only paranoid people)

Willy's fame level: 1* (Anonymous meme fame, local fame as 'Xenoclast's dog')

Supervillain social circle size: 11

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Little character theater:

Jonathan has been busy helping people out of the wreckage, and his actions have not gone unnoticed. At least no one has been documenting it, but there is still some gossip.

Willy has decided to join in on the fun, walking over to lift his bandaged leg and urinate on the lingering remnants of the printer.

Lucas, casually going over to sneak another donut while the final details for the plan are being hashed out: OMG how was there still a Boston cream left this long?

427, once again torn between laughing and crying: [Seriously, stop it, you're burning so much GDV.]

Author, pointing back over their shoulder with their thumb: I just want to point out that Mash is making an even bigger mess in the supply room, just because she can.

Mr.. Quacks, with a large tangle of paperclips balanced on his head: Quack.