2012-09-05 Outside The Box 03

In Gotham's Midtown, there is a narrow street that angles between imposing banks and law firms. The stern grey facades hold no clues as to what lies inside each building lining the street, though narrow windows no more generous than a hand's width sometimes slash the granite. At this hour, the displays beyond the glass are empty, showcasing only headless marble torsos and reaching disembodied hands. The names on the heavy doors of each business are no more forthcoming: Alexander and Sons, Finelli Brothers, Lawrence of France.
Even though business hours are long past, a few dark vans are parked in loading bays and the thin passages between buildings. Heavy service trucks painted with Gotham City logos pull up at either end of the street. Sewer cleaning services, it would seem. Yellow-suited workmen set up road blocks and small shelters over the manholes they expose. They work in the near-dark once the lights along the street blink out. The vans open and from each a handful of dark-clad men--goggles flashing in the meagre ambient light--file out, headed to the three manholes open along the street.
Spider-Girl is not happy to be in Gotham. She's heard rumors about what happens to metahumans in the city and she does /not care for that/, no sir. But, here she is, quietly skulking from roof to roof. With Zen taken care of after yesterday, she was free to think, and she realized: those trucks? Came from this direction. And those trucks? Belonged to Klaw.
Spider-Girl is preparing to give up her hunt for the night when she sees the workmen. Yellow. Under her mask, her eye twitches. Probably just being paranoid... but, she lurks in the shadows just the same, waiting. And there they are. The vans.
Jackpot.
Some folks aren't on a team. Aren't really acting in such a heroic faction other than providing security for single individuals from time to time. Heather's one of the folks who doesn't live in Gotham, but she's here so often for work that she's paid a year's worth of rent for a rather luxurious apartment. Maybe not a penthouse but it's still a nice place. As it happens, she is doing bodyguard work tomorrow night for a charity event. The Wayne Foundation does a lot of those events, and she's escorting one of the more prominant folks giving donations. But she barely sleeps, and tonight she was in bed when she realized she had the munchies. So figuring that this late, the odds were that she'd have a reduced number, if any at all... paparazzi out looking for her.
So it became time for a walk to find late night munchies. Maybe an all night diner, or who knows... but she doesn't exactly -look- like the sort of person who should be out on the streets of gotham at such an hour, all by her lonesome. Looks, as we all know, can be decieving, yes?
Laura drops to street level in the shadows, the low light giving her absolutely no problem. One of the advantages to being what she is is excellent night vision, nearly on par with her daylight vision. But what actually calls her attention to the men loading the trucks is the smell. Familiar smells, that she's come across before. Those yellow suits are made out of a pretty specific mix of materials, and they smell of technology and labs and the faint ozone of energy weapons.
X-23 considers plans of action, including going for backup. In the end, she elects to hunker down and creep closer, using her hunter's instincts and assassin's training to slink her way under one of the vans. She' very curious to see what they're after this time. And also get a better idea of what they're packing *this* time.
Normally Catwoman would come to a neighborhood like this with mischief on her mind but tonight she is on 'patrol', the lack of work for her resulting in a tour of the city from the rooftops that give her a vantage point very few ever get to take advantage of. A few of the lower buildings are skimmed, the roofs easily sprinted across, the spaces between them bridged with graceful swings that are aided by the use of her whip. The last brings the van right in view of the van which, for some unexplainable reason, gets her to pause.
City workers often do their thing during this time of night to keep down on traffic, a practice they have used for as long as Catwoman can remember, but there's something about this... it makes her frown heavily. There's no effort made to get closer to the men which means everyone else who has noticed them go without being seen, Selina under the impression that it's just her tonight.
Last night was crazy and this morning Jynn had been working on a few things, like putting that precious cargo they found in a safe place as well as trying to figure out a way to find out more about those damn idiots who messed up the highway. But honestly Jynn doesn't have that type of hook up at all, but with a few of the people he brought in town with him, he figured they would be alright but still he needed to check up on a few things which would bring him into Midtown. With money being strapped right now, Jynn isn't doing well on this secrect identity thing yet. Dressed in black, Jynn moves through the alleyways and now finds himself in oen of the busstling areas of Gotham. He didn't need a map to know where he was.
Looking around and moving down one of the streets, he notices road blocks over a few of the manhole covers and what looks to be sewer cleaning groups, but nah, that was done a few days ago and normally it would be something that would be notified. Shaking his head a little Jynn starts making his way towards where this work is being done, he doesn't pull his weapons yet, figuring using the shadows to conceal him until he's close enough.
Technically, Spoiler shouldn't even be on patrol this late; it's a school night, after all, and she's already behind in a few classes. Criminals, she reasons, aren't dialing it back any to study pre-caluclus; why should /she/ have to? Her route eventually brings her about a block away from the manholes being serviced by workmen in curious yellow jumpsuits. Grinning she, turns her white motorcycle around and finds an alley to pull into; all she has to do /now/ is find herself a place to watch from!
A couple minutes of poking around bring her to a dumpster sitting in another alley adjoining the work site, and her grin rapidly shrinks away as she searches for alternatives. There's a fire escape, but it's broken, and save for the dumpster, there's little in the way of solid cover; a few scattered crates and pieces of garbage here or there.
Crouching behind the dumpster, she steadies herself against it with one hand and pinches her nose shut through the mask with the other. Homework may not have been such a bad plan after all.
The men in yellow are passing crates from the trucks down into the manholes. Much like last night, they're efficient for the moment. Whatever they're moving is heavy and close inspection by sharp eyes will reveal that the sides of the crates are printed--glossy black on matte black--with the letters A.I.M.. The crates disappear down into the manholes spaced out along the long city block that makes up Jeweller's Row.
Out of two vans lurking in the narrow passages come a handful more of the operatives in dark grey. They scale buildings on either side of the street as the men in yellow prepare to descend. The men in yellow are no longer along, though. There's a lithe, narrow person in a hooded, dark coat who they seem to be escorting into the middle manhole. Under the hood, a gas mask. The hooded person walks slowly, hands clasped before them like a priest.
As the operatives moving upward first swing over the tops of the buildings, one catches sight of Catwoman. There's no shouting but heads go up, weapons are drawn, and the men in yellow pick the hooded person up like a sack of potatoes and shove them down the manhole. Bob, Agent of AIM, missed sensitivity training. One of the operatives opens fire on Catwoman with a sonic weapon designed to disorient her and render her unconscious.
Definitely hit the jackpot. Spider-Girl is not in a very good position to notice poor Catwoman's predicament or read the labels on the crates, but she /can/ see a Mysterious Figure being shoved down a manhole along with the goods. Bingo! She drops back onto the roof a few paces... and then goes /sprinting/ for the end.
Spider-Girl doesn't leap off the roof so much as she executes a swan dive, aiming to drop neatly down through the manhole after the guy in the hood and gas mask. It would probably be a lot stealthier if she did not bellow "GERONIMOOOOOOOOO!" on the way down.
Well, she was turning a corner and suddenly sonic weapons and guys in yellow and... Heather raises a brow. "What the *bleep*?" she asks. Yeah.. she curses like a sailor these days. But guys in yellow, and others scaling walls in this area. That's just bad news. "HEY!" she calls out at the top of her lungs, trying to get their attention. And then the screaming Spider-Girl is on her way down. "Oh... wow.." she mutters before looking back towards the group of guys as she starts stalking forward to look down into a manhole, "I am -not- sewer spelunking tonight... gah."
Well. So much for recon. Laura rolls out from underneath the van she was skulking beneath and neatly to her feet, dashing for the closest manhole. She shoves some poor mook facefirst into the ground, using him as a springboard to cartwheel neatly feetfirst into the sewers. Unlike Spider-Girl, she does all this in so much silence it's eerie. And unlike Heather, she doesn't seem bothered by sewer-spelunking, even though she can probably smell it in far greater detail. At least the black sleeveless bodysuit isn't likely to pick up too much lingering odor-- it was made for abuse like this.
She might not be paying as much attention as she should be so the operatives get the jump on her but while they're fast and quiet they are not exactly going out of their way to conceal their presence and Catwoman is soon clued into the fact that she's not alone. Just in time, too, as she finds herself with a weapon drawn upon her.
At the same time the men fire she moves, ducking below their aim, or so she hopes, moving fast and gracefully as she tries to keep herself safe. Mysterious guns have mysterious effects upon one's body and Catwoman is not wanting to discover just what will happen if they do manage to shoot her. The crouch is followed by a weave and then she tries to leap, the claws on the fingers of the right glove she wears extended and swiped at whomever she manages to get close enough to.
Jynn is moving through the streets, having managed to get a bit closer and crouching now near a car. Watching as the hooded people with goggles and face masks on being taken to the sewers. Looking at the guards and watching them it's mainly the beekeeprs and the other men who were at the site last night. Narrowing his eyes as he watches trying to get an accurate head count, so far there were six people here. But when one of the beekeepers pulls his weapon, that can only mean someone got to close and as he looks he notices a woman in black. Shaking his head a little bit, he starts to make his move, but at the same time he hears someone hollaring as they go into the sewer.
Not breaking stride, Jynn quickly closes the distance on the man who had just fired. Jynn knew what those sonic weapons can do, and he isn't about to let this jerkoff get another chance on the woman in black. Sprinting towards the man, Jynn jumps and does a mid-air kick connecting with the mans head. Upon hitting he spins and crouches low completing the spin, he comes up and starts advancing on the nearest goon he can see near a manhole where Spider-Girl didn't go down.
"Holy--!"
Spoiler's hand is halfway to her camera when Spider-Girl makes her dive. She /was/ going to document the proceedings in case something interesting came of them, but the arachnid has the right idea: why watch, when one can /do/?
Steeling herself - she is going to have to beg Oracle for state of the art noseplugs, or something, if she keeps having nights like tonight - she scurries out from behind her cover to hop the barricade and join the commotion around the sewers. Lacking Laura's strength and speed, she has to settle for grabbing one of her shiny new batarangs and hurling it at the first beekeeper who gets between she and the manhole Laura and Spider-Girl disappeared into; the others, she'll have to try and dodge through as best as she can.
Hopefully, the batarang is still there later; those things are probably /expensive/.
It is -on-. Spider-Girl disappears into the manhole after the Mystery Guest and, jackpot, lands in the half-dark under the street, breaking her fall with one of the goons in yellow. Even at first glance, something is up down here in the archaically spacious Gotham sewers. Greenish lamps hang from the top of the tiled curve of the massive half-pipe she's landed in, A.I.M. operatives are moving like ants all along this stretch of sewer.
As Spider-Girl takes it all in, something really huge steps across the sluggish current of sewer between the catwalks along the side and raises its arms to tackle the far wall. Interesting, but also interesting is the person in the mask thrashing as they sink under the surface of the wretched river... as are the operatives about to fire on her down here. Laura arrives at her end to the same scene, a giant... something... starting to work its way into the wall, and a half-dozen sonic weapons pointed at her.
Bob, Agent of A.I.M. is about to make history... by firing his gun instead of bailing. He takes aim at Heather and fires off a huge volley of energy blasts. What he lacks in skill, he makes up for in absolutely peppering her area. At the same time, the driver of the truck--far more competent--leans out the window and fires at the back of Heather's head with a sonic weapon.
Best case scenario with those weapons--as Catwoman finds out--is to catch the edge of them and end up dizzy and slightly ill. Worst case scenario is complete unconsciousness and your choice of embarrassing side-effects. Ulysses Klaw is a jerk--he designed these.
Jynn, down at the end away from Laura with Catwoman, gets the attention of a handful of men in yellow who have yet to descend. The ground around him lights up with scattered bolts that he can evade as he wants. For now.
Spoiler wings the first target in the head with the batarang and the guy goes down like another sack of yellow potatoes. Not only that, but there's some kind of protective shield under the yellow hats. The batarang whirls off and wedges in the cracks of one of the building facades. She's fast enough that she can get between people and dive-slither down into the manhole. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition or a purple hero crazy enough to run -into- gunfire.
Spider-Girl looks up from a trademarked, patented, perfect three-point landing on the back of some poor beekeeper, free arm stretched out behind herself. Aw, yeah. /Nailed it/. Too bad nobody down here has a camera, because that was /sweet/.
Spider-Girl looks up at the continued commotion, debating briefly before she grits her teeth and starts racing after the guy in the hood. Well, the armed goons first, obviously. She does not simply run along the ground; she uses the walls, the ceiling, leaping from surface to surface to avoid the sonic blasts, until she can plant a fist or foot into the attackers' persons.
"This is getting really old!" Spider-Girl grumbles, planting an elbow in some poor slob's gut as she whirls around to try and keep track of the guy in the hood. "I don't wanna swim in this! I hate you guys /so much/!"
A spray of energy bolts zings towards Heather and she takes a half step back, "Hey! Watch it! Careful... you might hit something!" She yells before an energy bolt burns through her left leg, and another strikes her in the right shoulder. The effect of this is immediate, as she goes to one knee. The bolts burned clean through her body of course and just as she drops down... that sonic gunner fires and sends the blast right where her head -was-.... She feels the fringes of it and shakes her head as she feels something with her fingers. She glances down and grins as she picks up that manhole cover. She turns and whips it -hard- right at the driver... aiming at the door/window of the truck with all of her prodigious strength, "I just wanted a snack! But no! You idiots can't let a girl eat!" She yells as she turns to face the guys who shot her... the wounds closing visibly.
Oh. Hello, nausea! Selina's slowed as her stomach rolls and lurches but she manages to keep what is in it down, the ill-feeling and disorientation enough to put her off her game for a few seconds. But the Cat does not get taken out of the game entirely and soon she is back in the fight. A small pellet is pulled from her belt and swiftly thrown towards the operatives where it cracks open, spewing forth a thick fog-like gas that will at the very least provide her with some kind of concealment and just might also sting their eyes and throats if they're not wearing protective gear like goggles and gas masks. Once the gas billows around the goons enough the fists and claws truly start to fly, Catwoman soon taking out the jerks who almost ruined her night.
With dropping the one who fired on Catwoman, he only seen a woman in all black before he got in and started fighting. But now that the others are now firing well towards him but basically trying to keep him from going down the sewer. Feeling that there is way more going on beneath his home Jynn narrows his eyes, these fuckers are in his home and whatever they are doing or bringing in is going to end here tonight. Diving forward seeing as the men are trying to keep him away, he uses that against them and he quickly throws an open palm strike to the closet mans throat, but as he moves towards the next he hears something crack on the ground. Jynn quickly rolls to the right as the smoke from the pellet fills the area. He doesn't have anything to cover his face but his shirt and he quickly brings that shirt up over his mouth and nose and his gun quickly comes out of it's holster.
The weapon looks impressive but Jynn knows that it doesn't have any lethal ammunition at all. As he sees the woman in black moves in as the smoke starts to clear, Jynn quickly fires two shots one right after the other both on the same target where one is going for Catwoman. From what Catwoman may notice, the shooting is covering her and after a third shot that Jynn fires he clips the man letting him fall to the fate of Catwoman. Jynn then moves to flank her to cover her back. The shots he fires are hardened gel rounds which hits hard but doesn't pierce the flesh but has the power to knock someone out when fired.
There are a few sharp shoves and thrown elbows as Spoiler threads through the men in yellow--nothing truly dangerous, given their protection, but she is desperate to keep them getting a good shot off at her. When she reaches the edge of the manhole, she pauses for a second to catch her breath - and tauntingly flash the science-goons a pair of 'V' signs - before diving into the sewers.
Unlike Spider-Girl, her landing leaves something to be desired; she lands on her feet, sure, but she lingers in a hunched posture for a painful moment before the sounds of combat spur her onwards. Her first few steps are awkward, but she manages to break into a full-blown run soon enough; it helps that she only plans on running long enough to tackle the knees of one of the operatives tangling with Spider-Girl.
"This is /so/. /Freaking/. /Terrible/," she grumbles as she pushes herself off of the guy to edge a little closer to Spider-Girl. She keeps her fists up, but since she's stuck with the proportional strength and speed of a sixteen year old, she has to settle for throwing the occasional kidney or stomach punch when openings present themselves, and being ready to throw herself to the ground and avoid nausea beams otherwise--counterproductive though that may be in this particular environment.
Energy bolts. In a half-pipe lined with smooth, sleek, damp tiling. This right here is why the grunts in yellow are not generally invited to join in any reindeer games. They're only down here to watch the Mystery Guest and that one's slowly sinking in the sewage. The air is alive with yellow bolts that bounce, zing, and sizzle. One operative--with really good aim--tracks and takes a shot at Spider-Girl. Whatever misses her hits the far wall and bounces off, setting up a nauseating resonance in the half-pipe.
Poor Bob. First time he shoots someone and it doesn't take. That's okay, his buddies are enraged on his behalf and on behalf of that poor driver. The manhole cover shears into the front of the truck with a crunch. The driver's still in the driver's seat. His head, however, is now riding shotgun. There are now six beekeepers with energy rifles arrayed some twenty feet from Heather, all opening fire, and three operatives have scampered across the roofs opposite Catwoman to fire on Heather with their sonic weapons.
Laura makes her mark, with extreme malice. The effect is interesting. Not the effect where the operative grabs his throat and goes down with a gurgle. Totally expected. No, the one where a weird stillness spreads out around Laura. Yes. She went there, people. HOLY CONSEQUENCES, BATMAN. Suddenly, no one wants to shoot at Laura. In fact, all these guys in yellow have somewhere else to be... and the operatives are backing away to regroup. The big things--they look a little like the power loaders but they're making short work of the walls with some kind of thin beam--are carrying on, oblivious.
Catwoman rallies and in moments, the area around her is still as the smoke slowly dissipates. The last operative sails into the alley below with a trailing holler and lands with a thump on the roof of the van he came in. She can see Heather and what's left of the cab of that one truck, the men firing on her.
Jynn wipes the floor with the beekeepers at his end. They're so severely outmatched that A.I.M. may have to rethink its entire training strategy. In spite of being angry, he manages to keep his equilibrium enough that he does damage without killing. It's harder to do than one would think: some of these guys aren't all that tough under the uniforms.
Spoiler is actually surprisingly effective. This is a closed area full of friendly fire, weird light effects, and heavy machinery, she's small and her costume blends into the shadows well. If she keeps her head, she can do a lot of damage--even collect some loot--as she bobs and weaves through the chaos.
"Literally the worst!" Spider-Girl calls back towards Spoiler, even as she twists through the air to avoid the shot... which then ricochets off the wall and gives her a whammy of a headache. Ugh. THE. WORST. Resisting the urge to web the shooter in the face -- she doesn't want to leave /any physical traces/ that would tell the Boogeyma--BATMAN, that she was in town -- she races for him instead and throws a punch at his jaw. JERK.
"Can you get to that guy?!" Spider-Girl calls towards her compatriot in purple, pointing towards the sinking man in the hood. "I dunno who he is, but they want him bad!"
It is... probably a good thing that Spider-Girl is too distracted to realize what Laura is doing. They would have a very uncomfortable conversation if she knew. For that matter, if she finds the remains of that truck driver on her way out...
She doesn't mind healing, and the pain reminds her that she's still alive but... there's a difference between accepting wounds when it's necessary, and allowing them when there is little reason to. So it is that Heather decides that spelunking might be a better choice. As the gunmen start shooting at her ceaselessly, she starts running for the manhole, "Seriously?" she calls out, "Do you have any idea how expensive these designer jeans are?!" Then she snorts, "This is going to stink..." she mutters as she dives into the hole, taking another shot along her back that burns and finally... "Gah!" She cries out as a blast burns through the backside of her jeans and sears a burn along her rump. Good thing she heals fast!
There, look how easy that was. Sometimes Laura just has to be herself. She doesn't hang around to pat herself in the back, though-- Laura scurries her way to one of the oblviious mechanical contraptions and pops her claws again. This time, though, she sets about cutting... well... hydraulics, wires, articulators... basically anything where a more Spider-like person would say 'this looks important!', she runs sharp adamantium through it.
"That is for almost making me sick," comes a gruff, almost emotionless statement, Catwoman putting on her best Batman when she drops her voice to a husky whisper. A sweep of the roof has her feeling a bit better about the situation but then she notices another figure, one who is apparently fighting with her. A brow arches, obscured by the frame of her goggles, but she doesn't allow herself time to pause and talk. What she does do is make with the rapid egress off of the roof, the leather-clad sometimes-do'well'er swan diving off only to then turn it into a swing once her whip is unholstered and lashed out where it curls against the support strut of a lamp post.
As soon as her feet touch the ground Catwoman gets the leather unwound even as she bolts, looking for more AIM thugs to take out.
"What?!" Spoiler shouts as she jams her knee into the midsection of a goon trying to get a solid bead on her. It's all ricocheting lasers and guys with no fashion sense, as far as she can--
--oh. She squints at the mysterious figure a ways down the half-pipe. /That/ guy. The one sinking into the sewage.
"Oh my G--aahk!" She stumbles forward when one of the goons takes advantage of her distraction with a rifle butt upside the head; now there are /two/ hooded men who she really doesn't want to have to go after. A sloppy forward roll takes her under his next blow, and once she has pushed herself upright, she's clutching a felt pouch in one hand. She gives it a little toss to make sure it's as full as it oughtta be, then turns it over and lets its contents tumble out: ball bearings - more cost effective than caltrops and less likely to evoke questioning in the unlikely event of her mother finding them - bounce and roll as they hit the ground, echoing throughout the tunnel. The devilishly tiny things keep spilling onto the walkway as she resumes moving - albeit with the help of the tunnel wall, thanks to her rifle butt-induced dizziness - towards the sinking man.
Spider-Girl swings over to smash her tormenter in the face. She used Sucker Punch! It's highly effective! The guy's head rocks back, his goggles fall off, and he goes down in a heap of limp limbs and high tech equipment. As though that was a signal, suddenly the stillness Laura bought spreads further.
One of the wall-breakers cuts through into the safe it's aiming for with a loud crack, down at the far end from Laura, the one closer to Heather. There's a shocking lack of alarms going off. The driver of the breaker jams both its arms in and opens the gap enough for a few well-equipped operatives to slither through. As more operatives and a few beekeepers follow into the gap, others are heading up through the manholes again.
The machine Laura slashed up spews hydraulic fluid and... seriously, is that baby oil? It feels like it... all over her as it grinds to a halt. That doesn't stop the driver from suddenly pivoting the upper half around 180-degrees, arms out to knock aside anyone in its path.
The driver of the middle machine abandons the cutting. He's skillful--he's positioning himself to defend the gap. He backs up toward the successful breach, firing with his cutting jets. It's some kind of oily substance but it's coming out so fast that it's a knife for about two feet beyond the massive, dangerous arms.
Thug time for Catwoman... and for Jynn, who's effectively dropping beekeepers one after another. His shots aren't fatal, but they sting, man! That's enough for this paygrade. They're booking it. The operatives on the roof drop down into the dark between the buildings, taking cover.
The manholes suddenly belch out a dozen yellow grunts and a few operatives, all told. From the shouting and the wild gestures, the operatives are trying to regain control--it's like watching ants try to herd confused bees. A number of the men seem to have wounds from what look to be their own weapons. Did they turn on each other down there? Some of them are heading for the vans. If Klaw were here, there'd be trouble.
Spoiler lives up to her name once again. Honest, it's comedy time right now as some of the A.I.M. goons take an amazing series of pratfalls. When Spoiler gets close enough, the person in the gas mask has managed to flounder closer to shore. Hard to swim with your hands tied in front of you. Those hands reach up and grab onto Spoiler as the person's head goes under entirely.
The entire sewer is emptying rapidly... of A.I.M. garbage. Not sewage, sadly. There's three machine drivers left, and two operatives holding the gap.
Spider-Girl is learning. As soon as the guy goes down, she swipes his rifle. Hers now. She whirls around to train it on another beekeeper, and... finds... none? "What the heck. Go team, I guess," she muses, eyeing the rifle a moment before she breaks her self-imposed rule; she fashions a web slings so she can strap the gun to her back, freeing up her hands so she can rush to help Spoiler. "You okay, purple?"
Once she's sure Spoiler is okay, Spider-Girl's hands joins hers in latching onto the sinking man -- woman, actually -- and she helps haul her up out of the muck. Between the two of them, she comes up easy. "I wonder what's down there," she asks rhetorically, even as she tries very hard not to breathe with her nose. Ugh. Sewers. "You both okay to run? We should get out of here. I think the others have the rest covered."
Down there on the floor of the sewer.... Heather didn't land wish any sort of grace. She actually hurt her shoulder in the process. When she notices there's more down here, she immediately starts into character method acting. "Oh my god! My shoulder! Oh god! They shot at me!" She is trying her best to just look like some panicking mundane person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then she -appears- to see the armored guys and she lurches to her feet, staggering through the sewage to reach them. What she will suffer for the acting craft!... But she is just trying to get close to the armored units, "Help me please! They're crazy up there! They're trying to kill people." Her plan is to get close enough to reach out for one and then reach up with a powerful blow where the head of the pilot would be, trying to knock the guy inside unconscious, and yet keeping that frame between her and the other armored units.
Laura is covered with goo. Slippery goo. Not precisely her favorite turn of events, but it has it's uses. He ducks the swipe in response to her disabling of the machine-- she's short, so it's not hard-- and after a moment's thought, takes a diving leap past the defending machine in pursuit of the... theives? Probably-- it's what they've done everywhere else. The oily stuff all over her helps, especially since it lets her slide when she gets to the other side of the hole. She comes up claws-out and ready for action. If, in fact, there is more action to be had. Failing that, tailing some goons could prove useful.
Fools. They can't think they'll get away, do they? Okay, one doesn't as he gets tripped up by a brilliant bola throw, the weighted length of which twines its way around his ankles and sends him sprawled on the ground. If Selina's lucky he'll be nice enough to crack his chin on the pavement and knock himself out for her when gravity takes hold. This is why you do /not/ get on her bad side. As for the rest of the fleeing people, they're left alone, allowing for anyone else who might want a piece of them. Gives her a chance to catch her breath.
Watching those he shot and noticing the men on the roof dissappearing only to get behind cover down below? That was hella fast. Jynn moves to the other side of the van to keep them from drawing a bead on him. He holsters his weapon, now it's tiem to get up and close. But before he gets up to move, Jynn sees many of the AIM men climbing up and out of the sewers. Narrowing his eyes, what the hell is going on down there. But thats besides the point, Catwoman may need a bit of help with all those yellow goons and their operatives. Jynn doesn't take away anything from people who aer skilled, but one don't need to fight alone and well Jynn scopes one of teh operatives who just came up from the sewer, too bad the guy has to go back down. Jynn throws an elbow to the back of the mans head allowing him to drop back into the sewer, but a second one comes up, and Jynn throws a hook kick which he kicks at the mans head and then spins about him and drops him to teh ground. "Move we got three taking aim at us." he says to Catwoman as he starts to move towards the sewer. "Shall we." eh asys as he looks to her.
"I need, like, a bath," Spoiler mutters to the wallcrawler. She squats down beside the sewage stream to offer the mystery woman her hand. "/Two/ baths: ice and bubble. And--"
Spoiler feels her grab on... and then she feels her /sink/, pulling the suburban vigilante along for the ride. Fortunately, Spoiler is only in about forearm deep when Spider-Girl lends her muscle to the task--or, rather, when she just takes over completely because the purple-clad girl can't muster up the strength to do much but stare in shock and disbelief.
Some individuals thrust into surprising, undesireable situations experiences almost seem to experience them from afar, as if watching a stranger in their body suffer disaster; not Spoiler. It's all a little too real for her; she can /feel/ the realness seeping down into her gloves, even after Spider-Girl hauls them free.
"/A million baths/," she shrieks. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my--" Beat; she quickly looks between the other two women.
"... yes," she mumbles; the OMG chorus continues in her head.
As soon as the gas mask is off, Spoiler's and Spider-Girl's prize is definitely a woman. She sucks in air without making a face--all air is good now--and then gasps, "We have to get out of here. Please." Something scary must have gone down when--faced with masked people in the dark--she looks relieved.
The fellows in the suits are momentarily baffled by Heather's arrival and display. Trying to kill people? -They- are trying to kill people only their damn stubby little cutters don't shoot over to where Heather is.
Then something odd happens... they bail. Into the sewer water. All three machines. The half-pipe echoes with shrieking machinery as they fold in their arms and light up their jets. It's a tight fit, but they're off into the sewers. What they're going to do from here remains to be seen, but they did break down into parts.
Laura jets through into a very fancy storage area much like a safety deposit vault only few of the drawers are locked. One that was, a small vault, stands open with something large and black attached to the face. At first sniff, it's not explosive, it's electronics. Upstairs, there's the slam and bang of a very thick door shutting on her and at least six massive bolts shooting home.
Jynn and Catwoman are in the midst of a rapidly clearing area and--finally--an alarm goes off somewhere. It's a store alarm one block over, the kind of thing that'll have the police in the area in no time. Except for the truck with the decapitated driver, there's only a single van that's not being loaded and taking off. Everything is weirdly still.
"My thoughts exactly. Let's go, gals." Baths, getting out of the sewer with the quickness -- it works for both. Spider-Girl decides the rescued woman probably won't mind if she gets her action hero on and scoops her up, and then she sets off for the nearest open manhole for clean(ish) air and safety, trusting Spoiler to follow. Because the sewer? Sucks. And is lame. And awful. And terrible.
Only one thing stops her before she climbs up the ladder, and that is seeing Heather. What the heck? Even down here, Spider-Girl recognizes her. "One sec," she says quickly, then sets the woman down... so she can pull out her phone, and snap a photo. No idea if it'll turn out without a flash, but man, you don't see a supermodel in a sewer and /not try to photograph them/. Hello, Instagram.
::: the_spider_girl: You never know who you're gonna run into in this gig... *IMAGE ATTACHED*
Then, she scoops the woman back up and scurries up the ladder, back out onto the street.
"...wow. Whoever stayed up here did good work," Spider-Girl says approvingly, glancing around. Aha! Jynn! She waves towards him and the lady in the catsuit on her way towards one of the trucks. Luckily, /not/ the one with the corpse in it. "Hey! We're boltin'!"
Well, the picture is more than just her in the sewer. Heather is caught on camera burying her fist in the armor of one of the armorsuits as it tries to flee, ".. And don't come back!" she remarks. Then the camera snaps and it's amazing... her ears have been trained to hear that clicking shutter sound and she looks up. Both brows raise and then she glares at the scurrying Spider-Girl, "God that better not get all over the damned web." she mutters as she reaches for the ladder herself, her dislocated shoulder healed by now and she starts climbing out, "I need a shower, and half a dozen chili dogs, and then another shower. Then maybe... a bath." she mutters as she climbs out onto the streets and just starts trotting off to get back where she can wash up or maybe... just hose down.
Too thick, from the sounds of it. Laura gives a rage-y little snarl and pivots on her heel. She starts to stomp back out the way she came when she changes her mind, and scurries over to pry the device off of the small, open vault. THEN she takes off, eventually catching up to Anya, where she finally pauses to work out what exactly she's acquired. Electronic lockbreaker, of course, but as to what kind... poke poke.
It's the sudden stillness that worries Selina. It's eerie how quiet everything is save for the wail she picks up on. "Time for us to go!" The bola is retrieved and then she turns around, pointing a finger at Jynn. "Get out of here now," she orders, the command barked almost. She's not sticking around to see if he complies however. No, Catwoman's already sprinting off, heading towards one of the shadowy alleyways.
Jynn looks around noticing the stillness within the area as the alarms go off from a nearby store. Jynn sighs a little bit one thing he knows about GCPD is how quickly they respond when they want to and in this area, yea that can be pretty quick. Turning to look at Catwoman, who barks an order at him, he quirks a brow at her, and nods. He turns around and notices Spider-Girl, Laura and some blonde headed woman all piling into a van. Quickly rushing over to them and opens the driver side door. "I'm driving, you all are in my city." he says as he gets in.
Spoiler would be right there playing paparazzi alongside her fellow heroine if she weren't dead set on getting the hell out of the sewer now now /now/.
Besides, getting a picture would involve touching her gear, and that ain't happenin' without some serious washing up.
"Are we /taking/ that?!" she calls out as she hops over unconscious terrorist-geeks on her way to the truck. "Shotgun if we're taking--" She's nearly there when Jynn's arrival and announcement give her pause; she starts to stammer something incredulous, but before anything comes out, she remembers that she still has a batarang to account for. Once she's spotted the building-embedded thing, she hurries over to retrieve it, and then it's back to the truck to take her rightful place on the passenger side.
"This can't be /everybody's/ city," she complains as she slides in. She starts to fold her arms indignantly, but the squishiness between her fingers reminds her not to, so she just settles for sighing with all the exasperation she can muster as she peers his way. "I'm from here too, maybe it's /my/ city. /God/," she mutters.
"They're thieves, they don't get to whine if we take their truck!" Spider-Girl says reasonably. Logic: she has it. She takes a moment to tear the plastic binding the ex-hostage's wrists before offering her a hand up into the back of the van, completely happy to let Jynn drive and Spoiler have shotgun. It means she gets to hang in the back with the nice lady and Laura. Once they're both in, she climbs in as well, looks around for any remaining friendly faces, and closes the door. "All right, Chewie! Punch it!"
What? Spider-Girl doesn't know Jynn's name. (Anya does, but Spider-Girl doesn't.)
Spider-Girl drops down to sit, giving the device Laura swiped a curious look before she extends a hand towards the ex-hostage. "Spider-Girl. Hi. You okay?"
Laura settles with Spider-Girl and the rescuee in the back. While the former makes with pleasant greetings, Laura gets to the point, still determining the workings of the lockbreaker. "Who are you and why did they want you?" Typical Laura, but one could chalk it up to being coated in grimy oil stuff.
"I'm okay, thanks," the woman says. "I'm Doctor Marjorie Phelps. A mining and minerals engineer." She pushes back the hood to reveal silver-streaked brown hair. "Those... goons. They took me because they needed me to analyze some sapphires."
Jynn quickly looks to Spoiler who once gets in speaks her mind, "Ok it's our city, we know it well." he says compromising with Spoiler. It's just like hearing that this is Batmans city. He's heard that enough himself. Jynn quickly takes off once everyone is in the car, he doesn't really care if the car is stolen. Jynn quickly drives down a few streets to help with keeping them from being spotted by the cops, then he starts to drive towards an area he knows well, "She may need medical attention, we should take her to the hospital."
"Whatever," Spoiler mumbles, leaning an elbow against her window and watching the city rush by. She doesn't really care /whose/ city it is, as long as there's a shower for her somewhere in it. "We should probably drop her /off/ at the hospital, too." Beat. "Not--not in like a 'holy shit she's OD'ing better drop her off' kinda way," she quickly corrects with a sidelong look towards Jynn, "but--y'know--"
She gestures at her mask.
"Like a /hero/ would do it."
"She says she's fine," Spider-Girl says dismissively up towards the front. "What we need is a place with some showers. Like, desperately. You know anywhere that'd work?" Like a rec center that is, at this point in the day, closed?
Spider-Girl gives Laura a flat look for a moment before she just shrugs, nods, and turns her gaze back to the nice lady. Doctor, as it happens. Cool. "Sapphires? Don't suppose they said why?" she asks curiously, folding her arms and frowning in thought. "They've been showing up all over the place lately. They've got to be up to something bigger than we realize."
"They needed Yogo sapphires in particular. They have a particular clarity," Marjorie explains. She's chafing at her wrists where the plastic dug into them. "And, yes, I hate hospitals. Clean clothes would be ideal. Anyway, I can tell you that I was in some kind of laboratory setting outside of town before I was here. I don't know why they were going to break into three establishments. Alexander and Sons specialize in collections of Yogo sapphires. They were very specific about the size and clarity they needed, too. I wish I could help more than that."
Laura just shrugs as if to say 'What? We needed to know' and goes back to mucking with her new toy. "We've got their com. Head out of town, listen," Laura notes.
Hearing teh vote of no hospital and needing showers, he sighs a little. "Alright, relax we are actually near the rec center." he says as he slows them down and turns down a street. After a few minutes Jynn is turning the car into a alley and driving down until pulling into a empty lot. He takes out a cloth and wipes down the steering column, "Alright out." he says as he gets out and waits for people to file out then wiping their prints from stuff. "We have to walk to blocks but I will get you into the Rec Center, you can wash up throw clothes in the washer, and there are a few spare workout sets of clothes that we were going to send back you can put on or something." he says. Yup looks like Jynn is taking people to his job. He starts walking down the street hoping peole will follow.
Once at the rec center people will note they are in the back of the place, he unlocks the door with a key then steps inside and presses a few buttons which beeps, "Come on." he says. Once in he closes the door and locks it back after making sure they weren't followed. "The showers are off to your right of the main gym, just walk towards the back." he says.
"Yeeaaaah," Spoiler murmurs when Jynn mentions walking to the rec center, "the thing about that I--kinda--have a bike?" She starts to flash a sheepish smile his way, but there's a mask in the way; she just looks down and slides outside instead. "And, like, a hou--se--quarters," she tentatively adds, grmacing as she thumbs in the direction they just came from.
"So I'm gonna just--like--go to it." Beat. "My headquarters, I mean, which is also my--house." She starts to rub the back of her neck, but--sewage; she just gives an awkward fingerwave while backing towards the alley mouth instead. "Great, uh, job." Beat. "Team." Beat; she glances towards the back of the truck and quietly adds, "Sorry you got, uh, kidnapped." With that, she turns and takes off running towards Jeweller's Row.
"Bye, purple!" Spider-Girl calls after Spoiler, waving in her wake. She may not know her name, but she likes the cut of her jib. Whatever that means.
Prints are not a problem, for Spider-Girl. She has gloves, after all. She takes a quick look around in the van before piling out as directed, and even with the mask hiding most of her face, her amusement is clear. "Oh, sure. I'll just walk two blocks, I don't stick out at all," she muses, looking down at her costume and the sonic rifle strapped to her back with webbing. To say nothing of the booty she hauls out of the van, to distribute between herself and Laura; two Beekeeper uniforms, one of which she tucks under her arm. A pair of night vision goggles that she pulls onto her own head, for lack of hands. And a first aid kit with A.I.M. on the front. Yoink! "I'll meet you guys there. Thank you for the help, Doctor."
Category:Logs
Category:Events