“I need to isolate, then remove each of these invaders,” Chrysalis stated, pacing back and forth. “To that end, I must know more about them.”

“Well my girlfriend mentioned that there were probably at least four supers, and a couple of low-level henchmen to help with carrying bags and stuff like that,” Cassandra replied. “But reports of their exact number are confusing, with some saying there were dozens of supers to only one or two.”

“Likely the work of this illusion caster,” Chrysalis remarked. “If they are leaving the bank staff alive then they’ll probably cover their tracks by creating as many contradictory stories as possible, reducing the usefulness of any eyewitness reports.”

“Uh yeah. That's probably true,” Cassandra muttered.

“And since supers only have one power, three or four of them would be all thats necessary to pull off such a heist,” Chrysalis continued. “One to block the outside, a second to cast illusions, another to block all electrical signals, and finally one to break into the vault. Though it is possible that mundane equipment could do this job and the blocker may be able to pull double duty depending on the nature of their ability..”

“It sounds like you’ve done this kinda thing before,” Cassandra pointed out, grinning ear to ear.

“Focus Cassandra,” Chrysalis snapped. “Though I’m assuming they are intentionally keeping the body count low they likely don't have many qualms with the use of violence given their occupation.”

“Of course, I was just… never mind,” Cassandra muttered.

“Isolating them shouldn't be difficult, as they’ll split up in order to complete their individual goals,” Chrysalis remarked, pacing once more. “One will secure the hostages, another will break into the vault and the last two will probably remain in a central location in order to reinforce their fellows as necessary.”

“So we take out the leaders and blam-o, they’re done for, right?” Cassandra exclaimed.

“The remaining members of this gang will likely panic, and if that happens I can't guarantee they won't do something stupid,” Chrysalis retorted.

“Right,” Cassandra murmured. “Best not scare the bad men with guns before we have removed the hostages from the equation.”

“Exactly, which is why we’ll target the driller first,” Chrysalis stated.

“Wait, why?” Cassandra asked.

“Because the moment they are through to the loot, they will change their behavior. Also, that group is the most isolated, being that they will be in the basement,” Chrysalis continued. “Even if there are weapons fire, or the use of powers they won't be heard from the lobby, giving me time to gauge their strength.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Cassandra added, only to perk up suddenly and hop off the counter. “That's perfect! We can call for help down there.”

“How would you do that exactly? I thought you said no signals would get in or out,” Chrysalis half asked, half stated.

“Nothing traveling through the air, but this illusionist won't be able to stop a landline,” Cassandra exclaimed, her grin growing wider.

“I thought they got rid of all those,” Chrysalis replied.

“They tried to, but I hid one in the basement next to the vault just in case something like this happened. Who's paranoid now, Larry? Ha!” Cassandra declared victoriously.

“That does not change the fact that such attention is not something I want,” Chrysalis hissed back.

“Think about it. Yes, you’re undocumented but if you save the day, and take out all the bad guys without killing them, you’ll be a hero!” Cassandra proclaimed, throwing up her arms. “All that other junk won't matter. They’ll have to let you go.”

“You are too optimistic for your own good,” Chrysalis spat.

“Oh come on,” Cassandra muttered, rolling her eyes. “Whose going to deport the woman who saved an entire bank and took down a group of robbers that have gotten away with like, a dozen heists? Hey, maybe they’d even let you on the team!”

Chrysalis gagged, the changeling holding back the revulsion she felt towards any group of do-gooders who pretended they were better than everyone else.

“The Sentinels aren't that bad. They sure beat the justice friends at least,” Cassandra retorted.

“I despise them both,” Chrysalis muttered, her voice dripping with venom. “No. We will stick to the plan.”

“Don't be such a stick in the mud Crystal. At least consider it as a uh…” Cassandra paused and tapped her chin. “A backup plan.”

“I suppose,” Chrysalis muttered. “But you need to give me at least a half hour before you call in the cavalry.”

Because by then I’ll be long gone. Chrysalis thought to herself.

Even while she spoke, Chrysalis was concocting her true plan of action. She would do as they had said so far, but after that she would assist the hostages, slipping into their ranks and fleeing the building. From there she would don a new disguise, and attempt to infiltrate some other workplace in a far-off land.

Somewhere warmer. Chrysalis added.

“Okay that makes sense,” Cassandra replied. “You do have the best skill set for taking care of something this delicate.”

“Exactly,” Chrysalis declared. “And once I’ve handled the hostage situation I can see about splitting up whoever is left and dealing with them as well.”

“If you can't then don't worry about it. I’m sure the sentinels could take down whoever it is that's pulling the strings here,” Cassandra exclaimed.

“Let's move already. Someone is no doubt going from office to office, rounding up hostages by now,” Chrysalis replied.

The changeling could sense that just such a thing was happening as they spoke. The emotions of cold detached determination were moving from room to room, occasionally causing a brief flare of fear. This fear remained, though it was soon sublimated by bitter concession and grim acceptance. A combination that told Chrysalis that the hostages were being ruthlessly hunted down but ultimately kept alive as they were led off to some other secondary location in the same building.

“Oh, this is so exciting. I can't believe I’m both part of a real-life super villain bank robbery and a rescue! I can't wait to tell my girlfriend all about this,” Cassandra blurted.

“Less yapping more walking,” Chrysalis demanded, picking the smaller girl up from the counter and setting her down in front of the door.

“Y-yes ma’am!” Cassandra exclaimed.

Chrysalis snorted, pointedly ignoring the spike of arousal and giddy happiness that came when she picked Cassandra up.

“Now, stay behind me and don't make a sound okay?” Chrysalis whispered.

Cassandra nodded dutifully, making a zipping motion over her lips, and then miming the act of locking something over her mouth before tossing away the key.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and stepped in front of the girl.

“Right then, lets give this whole heroing thing a try,” Chrysalis muttered to herself.

Down in the bank’s lobby, a woman paced back and forth, chewing on her fingernails. Beside her sat another female, though she wasn't the least bit irritated, reclining on a stolen office chair.

“Relax, Mysterious. We got this,” remarked the more relaxed human. “We’ve knocked over how many banks at this point? A half dozen or so?”

“Eight,” replied her nervous partner. “And it's never not anxiety-inducing.”

Her partner snorted and leaned back in her chair, kicking her feet up on a piece of abstract art decorating the bank lobby. She had darker skin, and long dreadlocks that dangled down to her waist, while the other woman was far paler, and had short black hair that barely reached the back of her neck. The nervous bank robber continued to pace, her high black heels clicking audibly with every step she took on the polished floor.

Her companion wore army surplus boots tied tight about her ankles while a long black trench coat hung down her body. The other woman wore something far more revealing, and far less practical. That being black stockings, short shorts that were just as dark, a white undershirt, a similarly colored bowtie, and a midnight blue sport coat, and to top it all off, tall top hat like the kind a magician would wear.

The other woman wore a beaten-up, unreadable band shirt under her trench coat and dark blue jeans. The only flash of color on her was the gold chain hanging around her neck and the heavy golden bangles on her wrists. One of the women looked about the empty room with idle curiosity while the other paced back and forth with such speed she barely even noticed her surroundings.

“You know if you wear a hole in the ground it will defeat our whole, leave no trace modus operandi,” the more relaxed of the two remarked.

“I know, but I can't shake that something is going to go wrong,” the nervous robber exclaimed.

“Look, Mysterious, I-’

“Miss Mysterious.”

“Miss Mysterious,” muttered the dark-skinned woman. “You lead us because you are careful, and pragmatic, but right now that pragmatism is straying towards paranoia, ya get me?”

“Yeah, I… I get it,” Miss Mysterious muttered. “Thank you Zap.”

“Someone’s gotta keep your blood pressure under control. You certainly aren't about to do it yourself,” Zap retorted.

“Right, let's get back in the game,” Miss Mysterious remarked, placing her finger against her ear. “Blocker, report. How goes the hostage situation?”

“Almost secured,” replied a distorted female voice. “We’re only missing three people from the employee lists but I’ll find them.”

“That is good to hear,” Miss Mysterious declared. “And don't be afraid to use the goons. It's why we hired them.”

“You got it, boss,” stated the other operator.

“Driller, status report. What's the ETA on cracking that vault?” Miss Mysterious demanded.

“Wait, where did that come from?” Chrysalis asked, glancing around at the layer of unconscious bodies that littered the ground. “I thought I heard a voice.”

“There, the drill guy had it in his ear but it fell out when you kicked him in the head,” Cassandra pointed out.

Chrysalis turned around, her gaze falling on a male outfitted in construction drill and holding an almost comically large drill in his right hand. Or at least that's what it looked like at first glance, as a closer look would reveal that his hand was the comically large drill. Not only that but strange fleshy wires ran from the altered appendage up his arm and into his shoulder. That was the extent of the tanned, middle-aged human’s strangeness though as other than he resembled any of the workers Chrysalis had seen laboring on the many skyscrapers in her newly adopted home city.

“-come in, Driller I repeat-” crackled a distant, staticky voice.

Chrysalis grabbed the earpiece that had fallen from its resting place and hastily fitted it over her right ear.

“Uh hello,” she began, her voice quickly modulating until it sounded thicker, more masculine. “Yes, hello.”

“Driller! Why does your voice sound so weirdly high-pitched?” Replied the female voice on the other end of the line.

“Just give me a second here uh-” Chrysalis began, pausing to massage her vocal cords. “There we go, is that better?”

“Yes but… whatever it doesn't matter. Status report, now.”

“Things are going smoothly here. The uh henchman have the place locked down and I am continuing on schedule there uh… boss?” Chrysalis replied.

“Boss? Really?” Retorted the voice. “Didn't you make fun of Blocker for saying that?”

“I’m trying it out. Some of the guys call me boss so uh I thought it fit,” Chrysalis exclaimed somewhat awkwardly.

“Just call me Miss Mysterious or Mysterious if you must,” declared the leader.

“Right, sorry about that,” Chrysalis muttered.

“Why are you apologizing- you know what never mind. Keep on it, we’re on the clock. Mysterious out,” stated Miss Mysterious before the line went dead.

Chrysalis tossed the earpiece on the ground and slowly exhaled as if she were expelling every last bit of stress that had built up over the last few minutes.

“That was so cool,” Cassandra blurted, weaving through the groaning, semi conscious bodies of the masked henchman. “You are like, a super good fighter! Where did you learn all those wicked moves and how are you so flexible?”

“It just comes with shapeshifting,” Chrysalis half lied.

“But-”

“Now is not the time Cassandra,” Chrysalis stated fimrly. “Need I remind you that these miscreants had guns, and tried to murder me?”

Chrysalis gestured to the bullet holes that riddled the walls of the vault entry room.

“Err right. I should probably fangirl after we aren't in the middle of a warzone,” Cassandra muttered to herself.

“Exactly, now where is this landline you mentioned?” Chrysalis asked, glancing around the room.

“Over here,” Cassandra replied.

The woman jogged over to a small janitor’s closet and reached through the wall of mops and other cleaning implements.

“What are you- ooh,” Chrysalis muttered.

One of the walls in the small closet fell away to reveal a panic room only a few feet wide. Though tiny, barely as large as the closet itself, there was just enough room for a canister of air, some water, and what looked like a payphone straight out of the nineties.

“It's a panic room I installed during the last remodel,” Cassandra explained, stepping inside. “It's even got a mini bar, see?”

Cassandra pressed an unseen button and caused one of the walls of the panic room to slip into the ceiling, revealing a small fridge filled with various kinds of cider as well as a few energy drinks.

“How did you get this past management?” Chrysalis exclaimed in a mixture of shock and admiration.

“A few bribes here, several greased palms there, and in no time at all, my slightly altered plans for the building are in the hands of the foreman without anyone realizing there had been a switch,” Cassandra explained, grinning from ear to ear. “Why do you think my office is so big, and has a vending machine directly outside of it?”

“That's…” Chrysalis shook her head. “That doesn't matter right now. Seal that entrance, and don't forget what we talked about.”

“Wait thirty minutes before calling the sentinels, I remember. Augh, don't treat me like a child I’m like twenty or something,” Cassandra whined.

“Or somethin-” Chrysalis paused and shook her head. “Thank you for remembering, and Cassandra?”

“Yes, Crystal?”

“Thanks for everything,” Chrysalis replied somewhat somberly.

“Uh, you’re welcome? I think,” Cassandra muttered. “Not really sure what I’m being thanked for here, to be honest.”

The secret entrance to the panic room slammed shut, and Chrysalis was alone in a small mound of mostly unconscious bodies.

“I’ll miss that girl,” Chrysalis muttered. “Her company was… surprisingly enjoyable.”

A groan broke Chrysalis’s train of thought and the changeling turned and blasted the moaning male with a beam of magic, knocking him out completely.

“Now to get out of here before the cavalry arrives,” Chrysalis declared to herself.

Chrysalis slipped away, ducking down a side hallway and for the first time in a very long time, shedding her human disguise. Now in her natural, base form, Chrysalis felt free, but also strangely naked in a way that she couldn't explain. She didn't dwell on it for long though, transforming into a dragonfly and slipping into the ventilation duct.

She knew the entirety of the building like the back of her hand and was able to climb four stories in only a few short seconds. Here she could feel a great number of people had gathered, their collective fear and anxiety falling over her like a shroud. Following the source of these emotions led Chrysalis to the cafeteria and the holding site of the hostages.

“I said quiet down,” hissed a balaclava-wearing, gun-toting robber standing near the entrance. “Crying is not going to do anything but piss me off..”

“Relax Steve,” remarked the other robber, shifting his assault rifle, resting it against his shoulder. “You’re only making it worse by harassing the poor woman.”

“Dude you’re not supposed to use my real name,” spat the first robber.

“They didn't know it was your real name until you told them that. Idiot,” retorted his companion.

“Shut up back there!” Bellowed a dominant voice from the back of the room. “We are still missing two people. This is not the time to be dicking around!”

“Yes sir!” the pair replied, giving a stiff salute.

Chrysalis followed their gaze to where a rather garish individual outfitted in form-fitting tights stood at the back of the room. He wore a gold helmet that resembled the kind a medieval knight would wear, covering the entirety of his face. The man also wore a tight blue spandex suit highlighted in gold with similarly bright shoulder and knee pads. The thing that stood out the most about him was the large, pointed kite shield he held in his right hand, as it was the only weapon he seemed to wield.

Between Chrysalis and him were dozens of men, and woman all sitting on the ground with their hands around their backs. Most were bound with zip ties, while the few who were not were in the process of receiving said bindings from one of the robbers. Who numbered about twelve from what Chrysalis could tell, though she could sense that a few were on other floors, likely searching for her and Cassandra.

The room itself was not optimal for combat for a multitude of reasons most obvious of which was the presence of so many hostages. Even if Chrysalis took out six in a single instant the ensuing collateral damage would be immense. She only really needed to take out the spandex-wearing loser at the back, but the thought of leaving all her former coworkers to such a fate didn't sit well with Chrysalis.

“Alright, everyone. Hold down the fort. I’m going to go interrogate our little birdie,” declared the shield-wielding robber.

He then ducked into the kitchen and vanished from sight, leaving Chrysalis with an idea.

The changeling followed after the male, buzzing past the guards in the form of a fly, to which neither bat an eye. As Chrysalis passed by the humans she had worked with for the past few months she couldn't help but empathize with them. She had taken prisoners before, but it had always been a quick, bloodless affair before they were tucked safely into a pod. The ponies she had taken spoiled quickly if they felt too much fear, while these poor humans were absolutely marinating in it.

Dismissing such notions for the moment, Chrysalis flew through the gap in the door and into the kitchen.

“I thought you said they would be up there,” hissed the robber, leaning in close and glaring daggers at a rotund male Chrysalis immediately recognized.

“They should have been there,” he whined, holding up his hands. “Those two always hang out on that floor in that break room. I have the security footage to prove it.”

“Yet when my men went there it was empty and there are no sign of these two anywhere in the building,” growled the robber, leaning even closer.

“I don't know what to tell you. They were there last I checked. Are you sure your men didn't miss them?” Exclaimed the flabbergasted bank employee.

“Yes, we checked I- hold on.”

The robber turned and placed a hand to his ear, listening to an unknown speaker.

Chrysalis didn't care for him however, and focused on the nervous, shuftling man standing near a stove. The large, pasty white male was stuffed into an ill-fitting suit, his tie eschew, and sweat stains slowly growing from his armpits. Though he was likely trying to grow facial hair the only thing that sprouted was a neck beard that ended at his just above his jaw. Young, he looked to be in his early twenties and had short cut hair that was long and curly on top.

Noah, that turncoat. I knew the double dealer had to be you. Chrysalis thought bitterly to herself.

“Alright, that was the boss. We need to wrap up the last of these stragglers and quickly or we won't have time for the misinformation campaign,” declared the spandex-wearing robber.

“I mean, is it really that big of a deal?” Noah muttered.

“Yes, it's important. If we don't muddy the waters they might figure us out and to do this successfully we need every employee present for it,” growled the larger man.

“I mean come on it's just two people,” Noah replied.

“Two people is all it takes to unravel our operations and for you to get caught. So unless you want everyone to find out that you were our mole I would suggest you start being useful to me,” declared the robber, jabbing a finger into the chest of the smaller man.

“Alright alright, jeez. Lay off me, Blocker. Look, I’ll try and call Cassandra. Maybe we can get lucky and she hasn't put her phone on silent,” Noah offered.

“Good thinking. I’ll let Zap know to let your call through,” Blocker added.

“Okay I’ll wait for like three minutes or so and call her,” Noah muttered weakly.

“I’ll notify the guys,” Blocker replied. “You stay here.”

“I uh, I got it,” Noah muttered.

Chrysalis watched as the super left the room, the door slamming shut behind him. Once gone, Noah pulled out his phone, and dialed the number, though he didn't hit call, at least not yet anyway.

You may be a spineless nitwit. Chrysalis thought to herself while glancing down at the male. But I have a use for you Mister Noah Fritz.

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