2014.01.02 - Bad Santas

Once the presents are unwrapped and family-time had, what is one to do before the egg nog is served that evening? For some, they go to movies. For those that Oliver Queen considers to be 'family', it means donning a costume, grabbing a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and gallivanting around the city.
Right now, Green Arrow is grinning as he moves from rooftop to rooftop as he calls back, "Come on! SHIELD's makin' you all soft! What, do they have you pushing papers? Making the coffee?" Because, of course, goading is a sure way to show affection.
"Soft, my butt," Roy returns, as he picks up the pace. "I'm just taking my time because I was pretty sure all that time you spent at the flower shop was making -your- muscles soft and flabby." 
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Roy flashes a grin as he keeps moving along. "You settled things with Dinah once and for all, or...?" 
Wake up!!
"Oh, all that time, huh? You mean the sleeping hours?" Green Arrow pauses on a rooftop and grins at his once-sidekick, "You should ask Dinah herself. Not one once of flab on me." His grin widens, "Besides. 'Once and for all' is a long time. We seem to be in a good place right now and I plan on keeping it that way." Granted, his plans have been known to change if a particularly stunning woman crosses his path.
He's about to head over to the next rooftop with a sound catches his attention. It's the sound of a truck backing up. A gloved hand is held up for conversation to cease as he leans over the edge to get a better look.
The streets are pretty quiet this Christmas Day so a delivery truck does seem to be rather out of place. It has pulled up alongside the front of line of shops -- not super high-end shops, but they still carry items of value. A group of about half a dozen Santas are currently cleaning two of those shops out of their wares.
 
"He is good at pushing coffee..." The voice interjects from the sky above them, hovering there those pupilless emerald eyes watch down at the duo, a single red brow arched to go hand in hand with the amused smirk that tilts up one corner of her lips. Clad in that typical purple armor, it's a nary-there strapping that seems to suit her well enough in contrast against the 'scape of dusky huen skin. Playful in her jab, despite not knowing Roy's "friend" she twists in the air above them as if moving to lounge where she is in her hover. 
 
Pausing at Ollie's gesture she bothers to look -further- down, her demeanor shifting ever so slightly. "Robbing from the rich to give to the poor?"
"Ewww, man, I don't -want- to know all about what you get up to with Dinah." He pauses. "Though maybe if you were telling me what -Dinah- is... no, wait, I really don't want to know what -you- do." 
Like Ollie, Roy had no problems changing plans when a particularly stunning woman crosses his path, and the plan to apparently jump down into the crowd of Santas suddenly gives way to a broad smile as Roy brings his arms wide open. "Kori!" 
Looking back down at the Santas, Roy grimaces. "Well, I'm good at pushing coffee for -her-, not anyone else. Old man, this is Koriand'r. Kori, this is Green Arrow. Don't mind him, he's the old man who raised me through puberty. So if there's a problem, blame him, I'm highly impressionable. Speaking of which, want to impress yourself?" 
"Pushing coffee...like a drug? You back to that?" a narrowed glance is given to Roy but when he turns to look at the speaker, his jaw just drops and all words just flee his mind. "Uh." It takes him a moment to recover before he jerks a thumb towards Roy, "And you -know- this yokel?" Roy, however, gets a thumbs-up! Nice going!
But right, they have a situation at hand. Dirty Santas. "They're probably robbing for the sake of robbing. Resell the stuff for...well, practically anything, and they make a profit. I don't think that the folks who own or work in those shops would be happy with a present like this. I say we interrupt their Grinchy moment." Kori is given a grin, "Feel free to join us, toots."
"I think you're offering to bite off more then you can chew. But now I know..." Kori's eyes lack a truth in direction, but she is glancing between them while slipping closer to touching down on the rooftop behind them so as to not give away their location to the Santa's that are likely close to being caught red-mittened? How cute. 
 
"Old man, so you must be the one who taught him no inhibitions." Pausing she walks softly across the small spanse on the roof to the ledge and peers over it from between them, her breath forming a fog before her lips that peel back once more into a smile despite the sight, "Bravo." 
 
Now tilting her head to glance more fully at Ollie, hands grip the ledge of the building in a momentary brace she listens to his insight on the scene below and pushes forward to clear the ledge in a jump that sends her sailing up and over to plummet downward in a trail of that long red hair behind her, enflamed streamers to be the ending of a landing on solid boots, putting her in the middle of a few of those Santas. One hand on her hip she peers towards the truck. "That's going to all the good little girls and boys, right?" Let's clarify this.
"Man... no, I'm not back to that. But coffee... coffee's a hell of a drug, man." 
Flashing a wide grin at Starfire, Roy shakes his head. "Oh, but Kori, I promise, I chew a lot before I swallow," the archer grins. 
He winks at Kori when she mentions lack of inhibitions, regarding her outfit with an arched look, before returning the thumbs up at Ollie. And then he watches Kori goes down and give a pointed lecture with a hand on her hip. One look towards Ollie, and Roy shrugs. 
"What can I tell you? Lady's a looker -and- is about as impulsive as I am." And then Roy stands up, firing an arrow with a line. With a whoop, he swings down, just as the Santas spin around on Starfire, shouting already forming as the Santas in the truck pull out sub-machine guns... 
Oliver Queen growls, "I'm not that old!" He doesn't answer her question about Roy's impulsive nature, but is pretty much happy to admire the view as she flies down to chastize the Santas. "Wait..." he then looks at Roy, "You mean, you...and her?" He reaches back, almost lazily, and nocks two arrows at once. Both are fired at the truck's two visible tires, "That's my boy!" Using Roy's line, he also slides down the makeshift zipline and calls out a warning, "Guns!"
The Santas don't seem to really hesitate in trying to defend their right to the loot. All of them seem to be heavily armed.
 
Starfire might be a bit headstrong, and love to rush in, but the reaction is what gets the adrenaline flowing and the direction chosen. She also does not forget things she heard before the cocking of weaponry drowns out much else save the whispering of bodies zipping down lines to join her. 
 
"I'll take that as a no." Tsking with tongue to cheek and clicking behind teeth she shakes her head, raising her hands upward as the weapons are aimed, almost like a white flag of surrender emphasised with the flash of teeth, but one hand flips palm out towards a Santa to her right and the bolt of energy that omits is aimed to knock him off his feet if not blacken the snow and ground in front of him, her other hand coming forward to aim palm out towards the ones in the truck taking aim. She laded in the midst, only because she could, and be a suitable distraction... 
 
"Me and....Roy?" Delayed response, but it came! Now's not the time....
Tumbling out of the way quickly as Ollie takes advantage of his zipline, Roy is up and firing arrows at the people trying to nail Kori with a hail of hot lead. 
In between gunfire, Roy's reply is short and sweet: "Not till she says yes! What're you doing here, anyway, Kori? Looking for action in this town?" 
Dodging a bit of Bad Santa gunfire, as the truck begins to roar, and then skiids along the road thanks to Ollie's arrows, Roy adds, "We'll just wrap these guys up, and then we'll talk about getting you some action!" 
Green Arrow ducks into a nearby alley, nocking and firing arrows in succession at the Bad Santas. "She blasts?" he calls to Roy, "You didn't tell me she blasted things!" As if that makes any sort of difference. "You mean she hasn't yet? What're you waiting for, boy?" More arrows are fired -- never to kill, of course. At the mention of getting action, he can't help but grin, "I think Dinah would have my head. Damn shame though."
 
The hail of gunfire sweeps out, wide to the two archers, not ignoring the Tamaranean in the slightest, though once it started the succession of rounds does not ignore her and her blatant stance in the midst of them. From grounded to flight Starfire rockets back, mowing over one of the Santa's in reverse as he fires in Roy's direction, leaving him face down and sprawled. 
 
Stopping she hovers over the Santa roadkill with one hand over her mouth as if aghast at what she had done. "Oops!" 
 
... Just kidding. Picking up Santa it makes one of them firing at her hesitate a moment, perhaps enough for her to openly launch his co-worker at him. "You dropped something, I don't think these business owners want your trash." 
 
Hovering higher she is looking for more... 
 
"If sex is what you mean, I'm not in the mood right now."
"For one... the right -mood-!" Roy retorts, as he tumbles away from Ollie and Starfire, looking to make it difficult for the Bad Santas to decide who to shoot. If they had any sense, they'd be shooting at the most dangerous one, which, judging from the way Starfire was being targeted, meant they weren't -that- stupid. 
As another Santa gets smart and starts shooting -lights-, making it more difficult to draw a bead, Roy retorts, "Honey, it's -cold-. Even lil' Roy wouldn't be up for any of -that- action unless you want to use those hands of yours! And old man, don't even -think- it!" 
Green Arrow never seemed to have trouble getting into the 'right mood' so he's not even going to touch any of that part of the conversation. As Starfire seems to take the brunt of their attacks, he helps to work on incapacitating the Bad Santas. A quick call to the authorities is made with their location and that the criminals are 'armed' between shots.
"Wait. You seriously wouldn't be up for it even in this cold? Have I taught you nothing?" He couldn't resist.
"You... Do you call it lil' Roy?" Kori is staring down towards Roy now, her eyes taken off the Santa's for long enough to put the look of profound puzzlement on him and the hail of gunfire that comes at once upon her makes her hovering flight falter, her eyes darting back to readjust to the flickering lights they are using making her bring her palm up again and blindly take aim in a main move of self defense and to give her that split second to regain. 
 
....Lil' Roy??
That the lights were getting shot out and making it hard to draw a bead didn't seem to bother Roy. For one, you could still make out enough, and for two, Starfire was generating plenty of light with her bursts. 
Still, Roy has to allow, "Well, 'Lil' Roy' hasn't been little since I hit puberty," as he fires more arrows. "You can name it anything you want! Secret, if you want! Strong enough for a man, made for a woman!"
Light...who needs light? Wait...archers need light. Well, that sucks. Green Arrow makes a note to get everyone infrared glasses for a late Christmas present. He uses what little light is left as well as sounds to continue to aim and prevent any of the Bad Santas from escaping before the authorities get there. "Is this how you flirt? Seriously? No wonder she's not in the mood!"
"I wasn't even trying!" Roy retorts. 
Starfire, though, seems to have everything covered. With an audible sniff, she blasts the remaining Santas. And then as she opens her mouth to make a reply, a beep comes in. "Hello?" 
There's a quick communication between her and her ship, and then Koriand'r turns those large green eyes on the others. "I have to go. We shall talk later." 
And then she's blasting off, heading spaceward.
And Roy is looking around at the rest of the battle, before he looks at Ollie. "... not a word, old man." 
"All right," Green Arrow agrees, "Not a word. But I expect a full report once we've knocked down these idiots." Another takes an arrow to his leg even as his own green eyes look out. "How many more do we have? The cops are on their way...don't really want to be interrogated by them, you know? Gotham cops...not a favorite of mine."
"Well I think we just need to make sure they don't escape, now," Roy mutters, as he fires a net arrow. "You want to make sure they're nice and comfy together?" 
Waiting for the net arrow to catch most of the guys, Green Arrow pulls out some plastic zip ties to cuff all the Santas that they caught in the net. Any who aren't and might be writhin in pain or unconscious are dragged over to the rest. Each Santa is cuffed and then tied to one of the other Santas to make retrieval easy. "I don't think they're goin' anywhere now."
"Right. So, uh, old man..." Rubbing the back of his head as Roy considers the situation, the fuss, and the holidays, he finally asks, "What say we get some egg nog and... uh, watch that movie of yours?" 
Oliver Queen also looks out at the caught perps and then back at Roy, "All right, but don't you dare think that you're getting out of telling me about that lovely woman there. Just...maybe tell me before we get back home." See, he wouldn't want Dinah to overhear.
Category:Log