Henchman for Hire [Custom Superhero world, you are a Mook]

Thinking over the inheritance race, I personally rather hate it, like sure it is a lot of money I guess, but I was perfectly happy with my job as an office worker, ok that is a lie but I was at least satisfied.

Then I was dragged back into the race as they realized I was still alive, and I can't even drop out of it willingly, due to the magical ritual my grandparents did, everyone's lifeforce is bound to it, and will only acknowledge the last one alive, I don't think they expected it to turn into a battle to the death.

From what I remember the last time I checked the ritual circle, there were six glowing jewels left, one being my own.

Geoffrey, the oldest one and my… third cousin I believe?

He is large, strong, and he has the power of Magnetism making conventional forms of firearms worthless against someone like him, he tends to carry metal on him to cause more discreet forms of harm though.

Elizabeth, my older sister is next and she has a cruel and vicious streak, she is more book smart though and runs a semi-successful business, she unlike me inherited the family's main magic of shadow manipulation, I know she has blackmail on all sorts of important figures back home.

Tyrone is an adopted son of my uncle, yet my grandparents also included him in the ritual, he is more of a free spirit at first glance, but it is common knowledge he is a fairly dangerous mercenary, who accepts odd jobs for any price, his power of hydrokinesis allows him to kill targets before they realize what is going on.

Sonia is Tyrone's step-sister, and actual blood unlike him, her control over fire and air magic makes her a very dangerous foe, thankfully she is one of the less dangerous ones now that I am so far away, though I do remember she always did have a temper.

Lastly, Drake which isn't even his real name, it is Frank actually, but he decided to change it when he delved into the modification of the body and began fusing himself with various lizards and other creatures so he could make himself into a pseudo-dragon, I am not sure how far along he is, but I know that his experiments have been nothing but successful.

And lastly, there is me who has somehow survived by just sitting out of everything and trying to live a normal life, no powers unless you count my slight skill in blades, but I have been training since I was a child and it is an old family tradition no one really practices anymore due to the fact magic and superpowers are a thing.

I am not even focused on fighting them, but surviving instead, I know eventually, they will track me down, but I have time to hide and build up influence and power so hopefully, I can send someone much stronger than I am to deal with this for me.

---

Roll 1d100 got 52, Melee rises by (.2*5) = 1.
After a brief period of settling in, I figured the best thing to do is focus on is my skill with Melee, for now, I can always practice unarmed some other time, and if I have gotten into unarmed, something has gone very wrong, to begin with.

Walking into the gym, it is fully furnished unlike the rest of the base, top of the line workout machines, fighting rings, even high tech machines meant to heal any injuries sustained from training, doesn't get rid of fatigue, but it will at least make you not feel horrible after a harsh day of training.

Ignoring the chatter, or the sounds of combat, I walk over to a wall of weapons before grabbing a simple dueling sword, time to see if you still got it in you, Fred.

Taking a rusty stance, I start by trying to getting used to my footwork first, then doing some basic slashes, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal as I hop around the training dummy, slash, parry, slash, sidestep, repeat.

As my body starts to remember old motions, I throw in some moves more for flair than for actual combat use, some spins which barely add momentum, some flashy swordplay such as jumping strikes which are absolutely horrible in combat, really just anything to make my training more fun.

By the end of the second hour, I am an utter mess, I am heavily panting, my body feels like it is on fire, and I have swapped between a variety of melee weapons, the dagger I am now holding feels like lead in my hands.

But I feel that my skills regarding weapons have improved, even got some tips for heavier weapons such as sledgehammers, it is not about how often you hit, but if you can land a powerful hit to take someone out of the fight, or seriously injure them.

---

Roll 2d100 got 93, 31. Tactics rises by 1.8, Stealth rises by 0.6.

Heading to the library after following directions on my phone, it is rather standard looking but quite large, the outside walls are made of marble, a large staircase leading up to the door, two lion-like statues on either side as you reach the top of the stairs.

Walking inside, the library gives off a rather dark vibe, the few windows in the building along with the multiple lights scattered around make me feel… comfortable, a place where I can hide away from the world and a place no one is likely to find me.

Looking around the library, I grab some historical texts regarding wars, though finding books about stealth is much harder, as if they don't exist, I find a small text on Ninja, but really, I will take anything by this point.

Heading to a small wooden table, far away from the other souls inhabiting this library, I sit down and begin reading, trying to absorb the text, and learn why certain tactics worked, and why others failed, be it the terrain, element of surprise, overwhelming numbers, strategic chokepoints… a lot to be learned here.

As for the Ninja text? More of how they wore darker colors, preferably a darker shade of blue as shadows are not pitch black, almost, but not completely.

Maybe I will have better luck another time.

---

As I sit around the main room of the base, I look around before releasing a slow breath and walk up to a random pair of guys, the first one has short brown shaggy hair, glasses, and blue eyes, slightly chubby but by no means fat, very pale skin which makes me wonder if he has some medical issue, or how often he sees the sun, he is wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants, neither with a design, he is slightly shorter then his companion.

The second one has darker skin, a man with a high and tight haircut, unlike his companion, he is more on the muscular side, not a bodybuilder, but more of a football player, he has a silver ring on his left index finger, wearing a crimson tanktop and blue jeans, a five o clock shadow on his face.

"Hello there gentlemen, my name is Fred Addams it is nice to meet you two, I am new around here and thought I could make some friends or at least allies."

The taller one speaks first.

"Nice to meet you, Fred, I am Greg, and this here is Vincent."

The now named Vincent speaks up.

"I prefer Vinny if I am, to be honest."

"So how long have you two been working for Calculator? This is my first week."

Vinny speaks up first, relaxing on one of the few chairs in the room.

"Me? About half a year so far, I am mainly in the control room or mechanics workshop working on stuff for people, I specialize in information gathering and organizing."

Greg follows up after.

"I am more of muscle if you can't tell, or when Vinny needs to gather information that can't be found online or by phone he comes and gets me, I've been known to be a smooth talker."

Vinny snorts at that.

"Last time I sent you out, you started an entire bar fight and almost got arrested."

"Hey now, that was not my fault, I didn't throw the first punch."

"You sure as hell picked it though."

"Can't argue with results, I still got you the information."

"Barely, but that is a moot point."

Greg looks at me as he takes a sip of some sort of energy drink.

"So what about you Fred, you good at anything?"

"Well… I am decent with melee weapons and persuading people, I am also good at creating strategies."

"Someone good at tactics? You might be well suited for a commanding role assuming you impress Calculator enough."

I laugh at that.

"Well one can hope, can't they? Just have to not get caught first."

As I continue to talk with them, I become more well acquainted with them, might be useful to get to know these two in the future.
Greg and Vinny rise to Acquaintances.

---

Heading into the command center, there are dozens of people working on computers, speaking into phones, typing up reports, and more, at the center table behind a locked door are what I assume are higher ranked people discussing secret plans, walking over to what I assume is a receptionist, he looks up at me.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I was wondering where I could gather information, or is that not available for Henchmen?"

As they speak they turn and point at a door I didn't notice before.

"Ah! A newbie, well into the room back there, find an open computer, you can search up stuff after."

Heading into the back, it isn't too difficult to find an open computer, sitting down and booting up what looks to be a custom operating system based on the fact it said: "Made for Henchmen by Henchmen".

Seems I can search up quite a lot, what should I do first?

Pick 2.
[][Research]
-[] Let's learn about other safehouses in the city.
-[] Some Hero Profiles? Could be useful. Gives you an additional bonus for recognizing a hero including what their powers and potential weaknesses might be.
-[] Fences, where I can sell stolen goods might be useful.
-[] One of the local black markets, could be useful.
-[] Some local places where I can buy goods that would normally require a background check, extra funds to buy them, but no paper trail leading it back to me.
-[] Who the other villains in the city are, that could always be useful.
-[] Suppliers of goods? Not drugs mind you, but of materials, weapons, medicine… all of that can be useful and people can be bought for a price.
-[] Write-in? Clear with QM first.

---

Luck Check: Roll 1d100 got 30+6. Nothing.

Wandering around the city, I can't help but take in all the amazing sights here, it is so different from back home with all the people flying around with magic or flying carriages, here there are flying cars, teleportation booths assuming you can pay for them, a subway system that connects the entire city, and more.

I start with Uptown as I explore the city, which is mainly filled with factories and where a majority of the city's production is done, Downtown is where all the corporate businesses exist, with the massive skyscrapers, the Warehouse District is right next to the Commercial district, both of which have standard stuff, though I am certain if I look around I could find more… less then reputable stores who have lax standards or break the law, the Warehouse district also being where the docks are from what I remember of landing here.

Finally, you got the giant park in the center of the city, Strongarm Park, which takes up about 3% of the city really, and is the only place in the city where you can see real plants, the park is dedicated to a Superhero who died 150 years ago Major Strongarm, a man who was a genius with cybernetics, and sacrificed his life to stop a meteor from hitting the planet.

---

Getting into the back of the van, I count four others, an older man with a serious look on his face, blonde hair that is starting to turn grey, and a small scar on his left cheek barely missing his eye.

The driver who is wearing a ballcap, I can't see his face from here.

A woman with bright red hair and dark yellow eyes, she honestly just looks rather pissed at everything based on her expression, and I swear I see electricity spark off of her.

Finally, a young bald man with green eyes is sitting quietly while munching on some chips, as the driver begins moving, the older man speaks.

"Alright, we don't need names here as I don't want any of you slipping up, call me Commander, Driver is Driver, Sparky is the girl, Monk is the bald one, and lastly Goth."

Goth… really?

"This is an initial job to get your feet wet, it won't be difficult and Calculator gave us a rough goal, their plan is for this to go silently but as you are all new they are willing to accept loud as long as we are fast."

Monk speaks up.

"So what is the job Commander?"

He rolls out a piece of paper showing a very rough layout of a building.

"We are robbing a Jewelry Store, our goal is to break into at least one of the three safes which I will be handling, we have the choice of stealth or loud, here is what we have for gear."

He opens up a few duffle bags showing four baseball bats, two laser pistols, an electrician's outfit, four sets of body armor with masks, a small disguise kit, a box full of tools, and a singular grenade.

"If we go stealth, Goth you are heading inside and acting as an electrician after putting on the disguise kit and outfit, try to head to the back and pop open the backdoor where Sparky will be waiting to help you control the people in the back, once Sparky is inside Driver will inform me and Monk who will walk in the front and control the hostages and get them settled, then Goth will swap with me so I can work on the safes, you and Monk can decide who is going to loot the store, Sparky you will control the hostages in the back, I suggest moving them to the front so you three can keep an eye on them."

He looks around and I just nod my head along with the other two.

"Now if we go loud, we storm in the front, Monk is with me as Goth and Sparky start filling up as many bags as they can with jewelry, casualties are acceptable, and allowed if one is being unruly, don't be afraid to show an example, now keep in mind if we go loud at any point, we have ten minutes or less before the cops show up, it will take me about two minutes per safe, maybe longer if they are higher grade then what our information said, regardless once we finish our job, we are rushing back to Driver, loading up and getting the fuck out of there, any jewelry grabbed will be sold and divided five ways equally, any questions?"

Sparky speaks up glancing at the grenade.

"And what is that for?"

"In case things turn FUBAR, any other questions?"

There is silence in the van and he nods.

"Good, now we are putting this to a vote, and I will abstain, are we doing this quiet for as long as we can? Or loud?"

Monk votes for Quiet, while Sparky votes for Loud, Commander turns and looks at me and I end up voting…

[][Heist]
-[] Quiet, you won't start with a conventional melee weapon but you can make do with a hammer if it comes down to it, you feel confident in your persuasion skills.
-[] Loud, in and out, fast as possible, raid the store and leave before the cops show up.
--[] Any suggestions? Commander may or may not listen to you.