Aunty Heel had warned me against doing this but since the accident, I haven't been all that good in the decisions department (I blame the vat of green stuff for that). I could curse the accident that gave me these powers but that wouldn't really do all that much at the moment. Really cursing audibly about anything at the moment wouldn't do me any good either.
You know because drones.
The military-type ones with machine guns. To say I was impressed with them is an understatement. You really don't hear about the Power Ponies having this sort of firepower and when the insane idea to infiltrate their base came into my head, the research showed nothing of the sort. The fact that the Mayor of Maretropolis would allow such a thing boggles my mind and makes me wonder if I can get a grant to open up my own mane care shop, complete with all those kookie inventions that keep popping into my head.
I remain flat against the roof of a nearby building as one of the drones whirrs silently close by. The recording I had taken on my phone had shown maybe six or seven of them patrolling the area in a rigid pre-programmed fashion, like NPCs in a game.
They didn't look up or scan differently in any of the recorded passes I had caught and really with all the time I had spent on this roof, I could have already been in the building by now. The only thing keeping me here was the rather legitimate fear of being shot.
Aunty had been rather painstaking in her description and training on the subject of gunshot wounds and I was in no hurry to get wasted by a litany of 556. from drones of all things. I take a calming breath and switch off my phone with a click before storing it safely in my mane (surprisingly this is just an earthpony thing, not a power thing). The bulletproof spandex of my suit is slightly uncomfortable as I crawl towards the edge of the building and hazard a peer over and across. Two drones travel lazily on their pre-programmed journey and if these were the ones that lowered to the ground in the next thirty seconds my goal would be that much closer.
One might wonder why I, The Mane-iac was going to all this effort to raid a hero base. And to be honest the answer isn't all that flattering or smart. You see earlier in the week me and Aunty Heel had gone shopping and had subsequently gotten caught up in another villain's plot for... something... I'll be honest I wasn't really paying all that much attention. I was more wondering how that Hippogryph could stand up straight with the sheer size of her bazonga's. I mean if you had seen those things you would be wondering too. Now I am a straight mare (though local rumours and my chat beg to differ) but even I would be tempted by those, even if just to gauge their weight (a purely scientific endeavour).
I was distracted (and jealous) enough that I didn't notice the more destructive effects of the mares rampage and nearly got flattened. Now normally 'The Twinge' would give me a little hint like 'Locksie you should dodge this way' or 'fuck me, we got a doozy' but my strange talent had been silent at that moment. I had only noticed the debris when Aunty shouted and while my mane tendrils can easily enough take the weight, being out in public makes their use rather awkward (to say the least). As it turns out all my failed preparation was for nought as just when I was about to take a chunk of rebar to the face I ended up getting tackled... by a hero.
Now Humdrum wasn't really on my radar before that moment but considering he saved me (I could have taken it) and ended up with his face buried in my tits, one could say he left an impression. The stallion just a year or two my younger had been awfully apologetic and took the time to chat with me at that moment. Our conversation was strange, to say the least, and ended with a selfie (it seemed like the best way to get him off my back). Auntie found the whole thing hilarious and shared the tale with her partners in crime (my other, non-blood aunties). The subsequent jeering and mocking had led to this point I think (though the mocking mainly came from my efforts in researching this, fun fact they do tours).
It's at this point that I can tell you that I don't really have a plan on what to do when I find Humdrum. I was probably going to threaten him to regain what little standing I had lost in his rescuing of me but even just thinking about that sends a shiver of disgust up my spine. I hated posturing with a passion and more and more I was doubting this plan. I stare over the side of the roof and watch the next patrol go past. A guilty part of me wants to stop and turn back but as the drone gets closer to the point of no return I steel myself. A slow breath leaves me as I thicken my tendrils and prepare for a move practised a hundred times. Two separate tendrils latch onto the edge of the roof as I push myself up from prone. I watch the drone get further away for the briefest moment before slingshotting myself at the Power Ponies HQ.
I had done this manoeuvre so many times before that it's just a matter of following instinct now. My mane tendrils split and sharpen as I close the gap before gripping the brickwork at a hundred different points with thousands of individual hairs. From there it's merely the task of scaling the tower enough to get access to the room I am looking for. The drones don't look up and I being the intelligent and beautiful young lady that I am, don't dare to look down. It's a slow ascent and that is something I can't really change until I get more used to the feeling. And well, better practised with this part of my power (I don't usually scale buildings, It's more a parkour assistant at some points).
Twitch, Snort, Flick. The Twinge provides with little urging and I veer left, avoiding the window above whilst barely catching the silhouette staring out at the city. A close one for sure, who knows who that was or what they could do to me. The Twinge had saved my life on many an occassion to such a point where I trust it explicitly. Auntie couldn't explain where it came from and during the time I was with my mother neither could she. I wasn't sure if it was a power thing or an earthpony thing but given my extensive note-taking on the matter, I'm sure that I will figure it out eventually. For the moment I was just happy to have it give me just a little bit of guidance.
Now the question of how I know where to go rears its ugly head and I must admit that my method for procuring that information could have been better. Auntie Heel joined me on this information-gathering trip and when the others heard about it they couldn't help themselves. They thought I was giving in to hero worship and were more than happy to come with us. What followed was the most insufferable tour of the public section of the Power Ponies base and an even more awkward meet and greet with the team of sidekicks that they had kicking about (the tour group also met Filli-second but... meh, fuck her, she punched me that one time). A team that includes Humdrum.
Imagine if you will that you're a young villain with a decent internet following (due to the crimes you live-streamed) and the backing of one of the only all-female groups in the city. Women who are both your family and your worst enemies at the same time. My aunts are a group of thieves, all of whom were horrifically competent in the streets (and by their own words 'in the sheets').
They call themselves 'The Fury's'. And if you don't know them (believe me you're lucky you don't) the group consists of High Heel (my blood aunt, has enhanced bionic legs), Bastet (an abyssinian jewel thief, enhanced reflexes and all that shit), Circus (Kiren, nutjob, acrobat, fire enthusiast) and Wild Leaf (Pegasus, Plantmancer, Animancer???, Basketcase). Now take a moment and imagine how these individuals would react to touring the base of their sworn enemies... I'll let that sink in for a second but the gist of it is. Well. Not very subtly and I'll just leave it at that.
One could only imagine the heckling I received for suggesting the trip and the absolute clusterfuck of teasing I received on the ride back... that is after Humdrum recognised me and pulled me aside for a chat. I don't want to even think about what we talked about or how I had to ham it up as a thankful fan (though I did get a pretty sweet signed collectable from all that ham). Nor do I want to properly acknowledge how genuinely kind and funny the cunt seemed to be. The short earthpony reeked of genuine concern to such a degree that I was nearly speechless, this made my plan to humiliate him even more awkward (maybe I could just slap him lightly?).
I repressed the ride back as soon as I got in the door and shut myself in my room until the next day. I will admit that I probably didn't help matters by keeping the statuette (like I said that thing was fucking sweet) and placing it on my desk next to a folder labelled 'Humdrum' in a slightly unhinged-looking scrawl. I cringe as I continue my climb, Heel had laughed when she saw me slumped over the desk the next morning. Circus and Bastet had been less than kind about it and honestly, I can see where they're coming from. I must seem obsessed and I only recognise now that I probably am (possibly a quirk gained from the accident... maybe).
I continue my climb until I find myself stopping next to a very specific window. A glossy Mane-iac sticker stares back at me (Official Merch, just if your wondering) from one of the few wide windows I could find(wide enough for someone to slip through). I summon forth the thinnest piece of mane I have used tonight and slip it into the vent in the window's lower section. From there, I guide the strands of hair further, slowly but surely adding more hair and length until I had it firmly wrapped around the window handle. I give it a tug and it releases with little to no effort. A giddy feeling builds in my gut as I move through the now open window and shut it firmly behind me.
The familiar hallway of the Sidekick floor greets me. This was the place where all the younger or underpowered heroes gathered (if the tour was to be believed). Sure there are still a few heavy hitters here but the vast majority are those like Humdrum, a base equine with super intelligence or reflexes (though I still don't know his power). From this point, even with my scouting mission, there was still a little bit of legwork to be done to find my personal Nemesis. I had to find his room (If he stayed here) and if that was impossible I had to find the details of where he stays. The more I continue with this the more I'm coming to realise that this just seems like the work of an insane superfan. Of which I am not (if that wasn't already clear) even if he was the kindest hero I had met and his jawline and quick wit are to my liki- I'm going to stop that thought right there.
I shake my head, flatten myself against the closest surface and shut my eyes. I force The Twinge to the forefront of my mind and let it ponder a potential question. Left Blink, Double Blink, Left Blink, Left Blink, Double Blink, Right Blink, Knuckle Crack, Head Tweak, it offers in a vague set of directions and a small reminder that this place had camera's. I reach into my mane and pull out a small handheld I usually use for makeup and continue my journey forward. I peek around the first left with my handheld and upon seeing nothing move straight ahead past the next crossway (a camera getting a slight glimpse of someone in costume probably wouldn't strike whoever was watching the cameras as odd... I hope) and peek around the next left. A camera greets me down the corridor. I glance up at the suspended ceiling and wonder if I can be arsed dodging all these fucking cameras.
I shut my mirror and hold it in a tendril as I decide that no, I can't be fucked with all that. The ceiling tile shifts with ease and I wrap my tendrils around the steel frame three feet above said tile. From there it's simply a matter of proper traversal (something my perfectly conditioned mane does rather well). Pleased with myself I let out a small, near silent whoop into the darkness as I punch my fist in triumph. The LED on my phone makes a good substitute for a torch (something I have been meaning to pick up and keep forgetting) and makes traversal of this hidden space a hell of a lot easier. Another left, straight ahead, take a right and... stop, hold your breath, LED off.
The sound of garbled voices greets my ears and with my curiosity peaked I suspend myself using the metal frame above and lower myself closer to the tiles using my mane and tail. The voices are female, one college age and the other a teenager. "You know you can't go around snooping like that sis" One grumbles in a country accent.
"Weren't my fault they left their window open like that!" The younger exclaims and the Mane-iac feels a sense of deja vu.
"That don't mean you have permission to enter some place like that, Matterhorn was a mite pissed when I had to drag yer keister outta there!" The older grumbles as the voices become harder to hear.
"But s-s I -as -u-- tr--ng -o h--p ---" The voices peeter off and barring the older of the two raising her voice nothing much else of note happens. I shrug and don't even attempt to ponder what the hell just happened and instead choose to lift the nearest ceiling tile and lower my mirror down to get a gauge of the hallway. A camera on the far side, facing the spot I would drop in and... doors... doors with names. Jackpot. First camera, then figure out what to do with Humdrum. I move through the void up the hall, lifting tiles every once in a while, orientating myself with the mirror before finally finding and lifting the correct one.
The bulky white camera pans back and forth in a small arc. It's a newer model, something used by office buildings and considering the drones outside it just screams cheap. I can't fathom why they wouldn't have gone with the bulletproof self contained ones if they were so flush with cash, really it boggles the mind. I slide a slim hand into my mane and fumble about. I grumble as I work out a knot and fumble further past various bits and bobs. This may be an earthpony thing but I think my power may enhance it somewhat. My hand clasps a cold metal tube and I bring it out to look at it... when did I pick up a fountain pen this fancy (damn is that gold). I sigh and reach in again to continue my grasping until I find another cold metal tube.
The slim body of a worn switchblade greets me. A gift from Circus (it even had blood on it, when I got it) that sent Auntie Heel into a fit of rage. I shrug, In the end, it's just a tool... one used for stabbing things but still a tool nonetheless. I press the little button and smile at my faint reflection as the blade shwicks out of its casing (they make such cool sounds). I grasp it in a tendril of my mane and with a small and violent swipe, cut cleanly through the wires. There is a crackle and a slight smell of burned plastic, I watch the camera sag. The little red light goes off and just to add insult to injury I find a screwdriver in my mane and take it off the wall(cool free camera).
Now for the slightly more dodgy bit of this venture. I move back through the void, lifting and placing tiles as I go until I find myself about where I had started. I take a calming breath as I slowly lift the tile and glance downward. An unremarkable but pristine laminate floor stares back at me. There are no footsteps, no voices, just the dull hum of electrics and fans. I straighten my suit as I slide everything but my phone into my mane, I double check every zipper and prepare for my descent. My hoof is halfway out when my phone decides to ring. I'll be honest when I say that it slips from my hand and plummets towards the laminate.
My mane works as quick as a whip. Three focused green tendrils of hair shoot down after it. I catch it just in time, merely a few inches from meeting the floor. I stare at the caller ID with a small amount of irritation before answering with a sigh. "What?" I growl down the microphone.
"Luscious Locks I don't very much like your tone" My Aunt replies with a growl of her own, I gulp slightly. She was in one of her moods, one of the others must have done something dumb tonight. I slide the tile back into place as I will myself to be suspended just that little bit higher.
"Uhhmm how can I help you, Auntie?" I whisper while shooting a nervous glance down at the thin ceiling tiles.
"Dinner will be done soon, you wouldn't happen to be with Bas would you?" She questions stiffly, I shake my head before resisting the urge to slap myself.
"No, you know I don't really hang out with her," I mumble absentmindedly. There was a bloody good reason that me and Bastet didn't get on and Auntie knew that. "Has she wandered off again?" This was a bad habit of hers, that cat would disappear for days at a time without any form of contact. It's both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because there is no Bastet and a curse because Circus has no one to annoy other than me or Leaf. And Leaf threatened to grow an apple tree in her stomach, so you can imagine who one of our resident nutjobs likes to annoy at such times. Bastet is a bitch but Circus is a vindictive cunt and if I was in a room with her and King Sombra with a loaded gun. I would empty that thing into her... and then ask for a selfie with Sombra (he seems like a cool dude in his TV interviews... if you ignore his history of murder and enslavement).
"Something like that, she managed to drag Leaf with her this time" Auntie Heel grumbles as dishes clatter in the background. "Our resident animal lover was mumbling about dogs so I have no idea where they could be, Leaf didn't mention anything to you did she?" The sound of footsteps below makes me freeze suddenly and a squeak nearly leaves my lips.
"You know she barely talks to anyone but her faustdamned birds" I whisper a few decibels lower than my last answer. I can feel my heart thundering in my chest as the steps become louder. Muffled words are being spoken below but I can't make out much of anything.
"Locks, why the bloody hell are you whispering?" I open my mouth to answer but at that point, the thump of the hoofsteps stops right below me. I silence a whimper and reach into my mane for something to help if this all goes sideways. "Locks. Be honest with me are you somewhere you shouldn't be?" I thumb to my messaging app and send a simple 'Yes, restricted area'. She swears under her breath and a slight clatter of dishes can be heard. The talking below rises in volume so I crane my head downward in the hope of hearing something more concrete than mumbles.
"I tell you it's those damn, shifty twins or the phasing one. They just love giving us more work to do." Voice one says with his shrill voice, like nails on a chalkboard.
"Come on Larry, don't be an ass their just teenag-" A thump and a yelp follows from the second voice.
"What the fuck did you just say, you think because I'm a donkey that I hate kids." The now named Larry retorts with an obscene amount of venom.
"Now Larry you know I didn't mean it like-" A thwack, a burst of fire and another yelp follows. This yelp is slightly more feminine than the last.
"You know Taylor I could drag your useless changeling hide to HR for shit like that.
"Now who's the fucking racist." The conversation devolves from there on out with the good news being that it seems to be getting quieter with the clunking and clattering of hoofsteps. I put my ear back to my phone.
"Sorry about that, had to be quiet for a bit" I whisper over the near silent line as I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. My other hand rests lightly over my heart which still thumps at an accelerated rate from what I guess it should do.
"Locks I don't see a stream you haven't broken into a random person's home again have you?" She answers with an audible sigh of what seems to be frustration.
"No, and that was one bloody time" I croak out, my throat suddenly dry.
"So there's no stream tonight, your somewhere with security and uhh-" She stops her pondering after seemingly having a brainwave. "Oh fuck me, you haven't gone with that braindead plan of your's have you?" I don't respond but that is enough for her to continue with her voice slightly raised. "No stream so the whitehats don't know you're there, You got in the building somehow didn't you."
"Mhmm" I reply with barely any volume.
"You went and did the one plan I told you explicitly was a bad idea." She continues her voice void of any and all discernable emotion. Yeah, she's pissed it seems. "That nonsensical idea that some hero has made you look like even more of a joke than you pretend to be" I don't have proper words to respond to that, yeah sure it sounded dumb but It was the only thing I could think of. With the group's constant joking and ribbing what else could I have thought of? I attempt to force out words, anything I can think of at this point.
"I'm so close I can fe-" I mutter without any feeling only to be cut off.
"Your close to getting a fucking prison sentence that's all." She screams loud enough that I have to turn the volume down "Do you even have a plan?, an inkling of how you might escape or did you lose all your bloody brains in that damned little fall you ha-" Her voice quietens as she seems to recognise what she just said but I don't give her a second to even scrape up an apology. My phone crumples under the sheer amount of earthpony strength baring down on it. I store the ruined electronics in my mane and stare down at the ceiling tiles again. My arms wrap tightly around myself as a violent and painful memory comes forth. I'm crying, I know I am but there is nothing I can do about it.
So what if I didn't have a solid plan, it's not like any of them even offered a tiny piece of advice other than 'stop being a dumbass Locks'. Auntie knows I can't help it sometimes, I get ideas for machines and take apart the microwave or obsess over something and rush bullheadedly towards it. I can't stop myself and every realisation, every moment like this just makes those moments so much harder to recognise and rationalise. Had I been so distracted by an idea that I didn't realise when a single bad day for me became a week? I gently lift the ceiling tile and stare down at the name on the door. I am conflicted.
Clearly, this is an obsession taken too far and I should stop... but the door is right there. I'm staring at it now unblinking as my mind runs in circles, I can feel the mixture of tears and makeup smearing my cheeks as I do so. I could turn back now, slither my way back to the window and escape. The name on the door beckons me forth in a way I do not understand and even as I attempt to convince myself to leave I just can't. What was I even hoping to accomplish here again? I was going to threaten him and possibly record it. My gaze turns to the the void of metal and wires leading back to the window even though my goal was right there.
My goal was right beneath me. That impossible insane idea was nearing fruition and here I was utterly indecisive as to whether I should go along with it. I draw my hands slowly across my eyes to wipe away what tears I can. A dark streak of mascara stains my gloved hand. The rest of the gang didn't help me and Auntie chose now of all times to remind me of things I would rather not ponder for long. I turn my gaze back to the door and sniffle. It would be a waste to turn back now.
You know what, fuck it. This is now a kidnapping.
