The Invisible Man

Summer 2021, Week 4, Friday midday

Wellington, The Grove

Zeke Marlowe

This is fine. This is fine. Just don't get caught. Don't be stupid. He walks along the back alley of the bank, somewhat close to where he guesses the safe deposit boxes are. Just in, out, fake ID, and hock the goods. Simple. He tightens the straps on his backpack, puts on a ski mask, and turns invisible. Here we go.

[Invisibility, Minor x1, -1EP (14/15)]

 

Zeke (Invisible)

He takes a deep-ish breath, followed by a cough and groan of pain due to his still-injured rib, and begins to phase both himself and his backpack through the back wall, focusing on his body being able to move through the solid steel-reinforced concrete wall.

[Intangibility, Normal x1, -3EP (11/15)]

  Slowly phasing himself through the wall, he tries to focus on making sure he can move his entire body through, and get out of the wall quickly enough so that he isn't stuck. On his way through, he noted that there was a distinct lack of safe deposit boxes, and quietly curses to himself. Plan B; find an employee and tail them until I have the information I need.   Luckily enough, he was near an office that bore some person's name on the placard, and the job title: Branch Administrator. Reaching to see if there was a mind inside the office to make a link, he feels someone there, but try as he might he cannot make contact until he sees the person, and these frosted windows obfuscated his view of inside the office. Pursing his lips with annoyance, he focuses on simply pushing his face through the window, to get a visual contact to make the mind link between him and this person.

[Intangibility, Basic x1, -0EP (11/15)]

[Pather, Basic x1, -0EP (15/15)]

  Swimming through their thoughts, he tries to focus on sifting through the blurred images and memories, looking for anything, a hint of where they keep security deposit boxes, a vault for cash, anything. I'm wasting so much time.   Then, there it was. A memory of taking stock of cash on hand, a vault one left after 3 intersections, vault door on his right. Opting to keep the link between him and the branch manager still in tact, he moves quickly, trying his best not to cough and wheeze in pain. And soon after, the link fades. Damn it. I was hoping it would last longer than that..

[Pather, Basic x1, -0EP (15/15)]

  Walking briskly towards the vault door, he wastes no time in attempting to begin the process of phasing himself, his backpack and its contents through the vault door, and immediately looks for security cameras. Spying two of them, positioned at different corners of the room, he takes off the backpack and unzips it, rummaging around the front pocket for his small tub of Vaseline and a q-tip buried near the bottom. Popping the top off of the Vaseline container and scooping a small amount of the contents out with the damaged and bent q-tip, he jumps up and smears the gooey substance across the lens of each camera.

[Intangibility, Normal x1, -3EP (8/15)]

  After he successfully smeared the substance on the lenses, he freezes a moment, thinking Okay, now where do I put the q-tip? Can't just throw it, I don't want Vaseline on the inside of my backpack.. I know! before stuffing the q-tip in the tub of Vaseline and replacing the cap, stowing the tub back in the front pocket.   There, laying before him, was the large stacks of cash, bundled and sorted by varying bill sizes. With all this money, I can just go gambling for.. like, a week, maybe? He thinks as he invisibly smiles wryly. He wastes no time as he starts to pack bundles of 20's and 50's into his backpack, trying to leave juuuust enough room to zip up the bag easily. After he finishes, he notices that his body starts to shimmer into view, so he focuses on maintaining his invisibility.

[Invisibility, Minor x1, -1EP (7/15)]

  Right. Time to make an exit. Sliding his backpack straps onto his shoulders and tightening the straps, he readies himself for an escape. I'm in the middle of the building, and in a basement kind of floor. Eh bien, merde.. He invisibly shakes his head and readies his body, ill-gotten gains and belongings for another trip through the vault door.

[Intangibility, Normal x1, -3EP (4/15)]

  He feels the use of his powers taking a toll on him, the dragging weight that came with an oppressive tired feeling. Damn it.. I have to get out fast.. this does not bode well for me.   Quietly walking, each step rolling from heel to toe, Zeke tries to find a way out and spies a glowing red EXIT sign looming in a hallway off of an intersection in this maze. Good. I have a heading, at least. Following the sign, it leads him to a staircase up, with a door at the top that didn't seem to have a lock, at least not on this side.   So close to freedom, so close to escape, when Zeke almost gets knocked back down the stairs by the door swinging open and a few larger people in uniforms rush downstairs. He manages to move to the side just quickly enough, his chest burning with pain as he twists his torso to evade the stampede of security. The door closing quickly after the rush of guards, Zeke had little time to squeak by, stopping the door just in time to make his exit into the main lobby. He coughs with pain, trying to stifle it as the lobby doors and windows have a metal security curtain drop on the inside, preventing any normal means of escape. The situation would normally be fairly effective against a normal burglar, locking down the building as the first wave of security neutralizes any threat as the police are on their way. Bet they never expected a ghost to come in, though. Zeke thinks with a smile as he prepares for one more walk through a wall.

[Intangibility, Normal x1, -3EP (1/15)]

  Making one last push through the curtain and glass with his backpack of spoils, he evades the gathering crowd of onlookers and walks briskly down the street as far as his invisibility would allow him to go before ducking into an alleyway, his body, clothes and bag shimmering into view of any person present in the alleyway.  

Zeke Marlowe

"Quelle folie.. I hope I never have to do that again." He mutters breathlessly. After catching his breath, he walks out of the alleyway as casually as he can, and makes his way back to the metro station to go back downtown. "To the hotel.."