Anyone who's ever watched Ocean's Eleven knew that heists were not an easy thing to do.
Sure, the average theft was rather easy, a simple sneak and snatch usually got most lesser artpieces. Such methods let her get repaints of The Scream as well as The Potato Eaters, on top of various postmodern art pieces. But some treasures were far more protected than others, treasures such as the Mona Lisa, the Sword in the Stone, or the Golden Apple of Discord were often far more protected. They usually were not just surrounded by guards, but also by complex security systems and cameras that'd catch a person before they even came into the building.
Often, heists required multiple people to pull off. For example...
The mastermind, who came up with the plan and ordered people into action.
The backer, who pays for everything in case things go wrong.
The hacker, who both coordinated everyone via a call network while also breaking into cameras and security devices, in order to try shutting them off.
The conman, who gets to the place before everyone else and settles in before making the prime distraction for them.
The bruiser, who got into struggles with bodyguards when plans inevitably went south to clear the way for the theft.
The burglar, who goes into position to actually steal the damn thing.
And finally, the Driver... yeah that's self-explanatory.
This technically wasn't the first heist she had participated in. Last year, she took part in a heist to steal the two surviving Great Spears of Japan, working under orders by the organization known as WHISK. Back then, she was just working as the burglar to physically grab the spears and replace them with phonies, causing her to come into conflict with multiple guards and some kitsune in power armor known as Kuzunoha.
One of the spears was destroyed cause of the conflict with said kitsune, due to Calico trying to pierce it through Kuzunoha's power armor to no avail. However, thanks to a last minute save from the hacker known as Harinezumi Uta disabling the power armor for a full minute, she was able to somehow get away from such a talented hero. The sole remaining spear, the Tonbokiri is now in possession of WHISK's second in command, Kasutādo because of that act.
But now, while she had gotten funding from Gundercorp for a new heist... she was no longer just the burglar, but now she was the mastermind as well. She was the person who needed to put together the plan as well as choose what she was actually stealing. She had never done such a thing before, but at least thanks to her well-needed rest following the theft of that wine cistern she was at least in the right state of mind for planning such a thing.
She at least knew what she wanted to steal: the Girdle of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazonian Tribes that by the modern day have been subsumed entirely into Greece's population. A incredibly expensive treasure that was blessed by both Ares and Artemis over the years, she thought that if she managed to nab it and wear it for herself that she'd probably finally clear that softness on her body and finally get her abs back for good.
This came with both good and bad news. The bad news was that it was owned by Roxie Blaze of the Volcanus Twins, who used it to hide her own potbelly and still appear relatively thin and threatening. The good news though was that she didn't wear it all the time, rather only wearing it during public appearances and placing it in her vault when at home, chilling with food and video game.
Granted... said vault was still in a volcanic lair at Hawaii. Surrounded by volcanic magma, this treasury of the Krakatoa Syndicate's goods were protected not just by highly trained guards and magically bound fire elementals, but also deadly laser beams, pressure plates which could flood a room with tear gas, and something known as the Bottomless Keg of Dionysus. What a wine keg could do to protect a vault was beyond her understanding, but the rest was very much a great concern.
As such, she had to assemble the right team for the job. On top of the usual roles she needed someone who could help the group handle the heat, both by making a heat-resistant uniform and possibly putting out all of the flames. She had already hired the dividing Multiplicity as a conman, the goat-themed Billy Hardhead as a bruiser, a private Gundercorp employee for the driver and the supergenius Dr. Bones as a hacker, but now she needed to make one last call for the last person.
*Riiiing* *Riiiing* *KLICK*
"Hey, welcome to Casmere Creamery. What kind of ice creamy goodness are you in for today?"
Checking her notes, she'd pause a bit before repeating it into the phone. "A pint of rocky road, and two scoops of chocolate ice cream."
"...please stand by."
For a whole minute Melanie waited by the phone, nervously pacing around as she waited for the answer from the Antarctic Mafia's don, Emperor Penguin. A human with metahuman traits giving him the flippers of a penguin, the mafia boss wasn't who she wanted. Rather, she wanted to talk to his wife, a woman who simply went by the name Yuki-Onna. Not much is known about her, but what she did know was that she was what singlehandedly kept the Antarctic from melting down despite global warming everywhere else.
Eventually though, she heard the raspy voice of the Emperor Penguin on the other line. "Ah, to hear the passcode for the first time in weeks! I hate how slow business is this time of year, I just wish that more people-"
"I'm... I actually want to hire your wife, if possible?"
"...This better not be for prostitu-"
"It's not a sex thing, I swear." Calmly sighing, Melanie adjusted the bottom of her leotard as she finally stopped pacing, before sitting down onto a low office chair. "I need use of her ice powers, for I plan to hold a heist on the Volcanus Twins and their-"
"Volcanus Twins? Say no more!"
"What?" Melanie questioned, wondering what was going on.
"Oh, you don't know? Their father was a huge pain before his tragic end! Twenty years ago, he stole a special Jewel that I use to power my Glacial Cannon, designed to drop a glacier on any city in the world! I could never get it back, but if you are trying to rob that vault I'll help you by any means necessary! Hell, you need any funding?"
"Well I'm already being paid by Gundercorp so-"
"I'll pay you double what he's offering! So long as you get the Ice Sapphire held in there, I will pay as much as you need!"
Melanie was absolutely silenced by the words that had just come out of the mafia don. She had just gotten an offer for double what Gundercorp was offering, all just to nab some special crystal alongside her actual target of the Girdle of Hippolyta. And this was all on top of getting a guranteed support from the Yuki-Onna in order to help cool the volcanic lair. This was completely unplanned, and yet it had gone all in her favor!
Except... Gundercorp didn't exactly like it when someone backed out from a deal. Money may not have transferred out of anyone's hands just yet, but just going against their word was enough for them to send a hitman on someone's ass. She was very cautious on accepting their offer, as she didn't want to deal with both the Volcanus Twins as well as a Gundercorp hitman. Especially if they sent the Phantom, who was strong enough to nearly kill someone like the Celebrant.
And yet... if they were offering to pay double of Gundercorp, and they were already offering 10 Million for the heist...
"Well, in that case I guess I could accept your help. Are you fine with me borrowing 10 million in exchange for that Ice Sapphire?"
"10 million, plus I can let you take the Iceburg Cruiser. It's a top of the line cruise ship, perfect to have a bit of a vacation while getting close to their island! Trust me, you'll need it cause those Blaze Twins love tourists. They do make the best people to scare after all, and you could even hide among the cargo they will likely pilfer to get a ride directly into that damn vault!"
"Thank you... now if you need me I'm gonna start planning everything."
"Have a good day... what's your name?"
"Just call me Calico Cat." Melanie clarified.
"Well then have a good day, Calico Cat! And I'll call you tomorrow for your bank information, so I can make sure that money gets to you safe and sound!"
*KLICK!*
With that, Melanie hung up and immediately crossed out the helicopter on her note pad, replacing it with a cruise ship. She was not one to keep up with villain trends, so she never knew that Volcanus and the Emperor Penguin had a sort of rivalry. Still, getting the Yuki-Onna was a major boon to her plans. Now, she could directly deal with the immense heat of their volcanic lair, and on top of that she had someone who was likely powerful enough to protect her from the Twins if they ever caught wise!
All she needed to do now was plan away...
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