November 11, 2015:
A silvery disk of light … SHIELD are called in to investigate
Staten Island - New York
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
Not long ago, SHIELD received an alert - there's a swirling silver 'hole' open near the Staten Island Zoo. The disturbance is causing disruptions to traffic and there's reports that people are being drawn into it.
When the SHIELD teams get there, they find the reports aren't exaggerated - it's a bit wild, really. Not only is the 'hole' (which is vertical to the ground) causing a lot of wind turbulence, people are panicking and the animals from the Zoo can be heard complaining.
Looks like the SHIELD teams have their work cut out for them.
As the SHIELD teams arrive, May steps out of the vehicle she arrived in, turning to look at Simmons who's still in the SUV. "Ready?" Without waiting for the biochemist's reply, she moves to talk with the Agent in charge — because he was the first to arrive.
Captain is wrapped around Rain's shoulders. The not-so-dynamic duo arrived swiftly on broomstick. There's reasons there aren't many dude witches. For now though, she winces, hearing what's going on and seeing what is going on. She's going to start activating her magic senses while Captain has… CAT SENSES!
Agent Dum-Dum climbs off his motorcycle just outside the Zoo perimeter, a half-eaten hotdog in one hand. Swinging his leg up and over the bike, he puts his other hand on his hat to secure it on his head while he jogs over to the rest of the arriving SHIELD team.
"Couldn'ta happened at a better time, could it?" he calls out to Agent May as soon as he spots her. He holds up his hotdog and shrugs. "I was jus' startin' to enjoy this all over…" and he tosses it in nearby trash-can. The LMD doesn't really need to eat anyway. He grins at Rain and Captain.
"That standard issue?" he asks with a pointing hand at Captain.
May is joined by a lizard-cat-thing. Well more lizard than cat. She knows it as 'K'nert'. The little imp scuttles right up to her as she steps out of the SUV and hisses insistently up at her, pointing back. Apparently there's something, or someone back beyond sight of the buildings. Shouldn't take long to guess who.
Melinda May stops and looks down at K'nert, then toward where he's pointing and nods. "Simmons, Dugan. I'll be right back." She then moves to follow the little lizard-cat-thing, knowing that it wouldn't approach her and interact this directly if there weren't a REALLY good reason.
Rain is a bit surprised by K'nert turning up here. But still, Captain looks over to Dugan. "I'd eat that but I get in trouble when I ask for human food," He quips. Then a beat. "Yes, there are many cats like me but this one is hers." He has a rich, deep baritone voice touched by a Gotham accent. And the jowly orange tabby is /sassy/, especially now that he is in a business suit.
Rain lets Captain hop down, and she waves. Smiling at Dugan's grin. "What an odd happening…" She is reaching out with magical senses, looking a bit dazed.
K'nert appears as Simmons exits the SUV and she starts. That imp still manages to freak her out. At least he's stopped asking about her kidney - or at least Jemma thinks he has.
The Agent in Charge recognises May and immediately fills her in "Agent May, we're got TAC teams securing the area and escorting civilians away." Indeed, the cordons are going up and SHIELD agents are escorting civilians away "We've reports of four people lost to that thing…" Agent Martell is speaking loudly to be heard over the wind.
Rain, if she's able, will detect a dimensional portal, it has the feeling of magic that's anchored close to the opening, and if she looks closely enough, she'll see a cube (about 25" tall), black/grey in colour…
As they're talking, one of the TAC team agents approaches that device and short rings out, pinging off pavement near their feet. Dum-Dum should see the form on the roof of a building near by.
Dugan had been about to make further comments, but instead ends up staring after the…K'nert thing, blinking his eyes. He glances at Rain — and blinks again.
But not at Rain.
At the cat.
Lifting a hand to itch his scalp underneath his hat, the 'moustache with a man attached to it' veeery slowly shifts his attention away from the cat and back to Rain. "Hodd nappening," he repeats numbly. "An. I mean, an odd hap — did that cat just talk? Jeepers." He suppresses a shudder and glances at the building.
"Alright. What we got here?"
K'nert nods once to May, glances up at Dugan curiously and then skitters off before Captain can get too interested in the little imp. Does May know what any of that means? Hopefully because it's probably not clear to anyone else. Or at least, anyone else who doesn't speak demonic.
Rain blinks. "There's a dimensional portal, anchored close to the opening by magic. There's a - is that a cube?" How odd. Then Captain laughs softly. "I'm a familiar, man. And you're a talking -" Pause. Captain eyes the imp. SKITTERING. Ahem.
Agent Martell ducks as the shots goes off and gestures towards the sniper. "Take a TAC team, Agent Dugan, and stop that sniper shooting at us." As that instruction goes out, two more shots are taken at the TAC team trying to get near the device - from different vectors and one from near the direction where K'nert is heading.
Jemma has joined the group by now and heard the brief and something Rain says has her heading back to the SUV … whatever she's doing is going to take a moment or two… which gives the TAC teams time to deal with the other threats.
May doesn't have a clue what K'nert is actually saying, but he's got a distinct destination in mind. She ducks and moves behind a vehicle while pulling her sidearm as another sniper shot goes off, and then nods to Martell when he sends people to deal with those snipers. She'll see about the one that K'nert is leading her more or less toward. Rain's magic is decidedly helpful — she's got a working spine to prove that — but right now she kind of wishes Zatanna were here to snap that portal shut before anything else untoward happens.
"Swell."
Dugan wastes little time once the shots ring out and bullets ricochet off the ground near the other agents. "You lot, with me," he barks at the nearest few agents and draws his sidearm, heading in the direction of the building.
Upon getting closer, Dum-Dum signals two of the agents with him to approach the sniper's perch from a different direction, and ducks behind a wall before dashing across an open area to his own point of entry. "Here goes nothin'…" the man mutters to himself, and disappears inside.
Not far away Jericho lays on a rooftop and adjusts his sights. He's seen the SHIELD tac team take fire and while he doesn't know where the sniper is he does know that good snipers generally work in pairs. One is somewhere off to his ten o'clock. Where's the other? The hacker checks the wind and then his eyes glow red as he sweeps the area for thermal. "Come out come out wherever you are…" He murmurs. Do me a favor and try not to shoot the building to your left. He sends to May and Simmons phone.
Simmons is still going through the SUV and the shots from the two snipers keep the SHIELD teams at bay.
Dum-Dums approach will take him up a set of firestairs and out onto a roof, the other teams approach from fire escapes on each side of the building.
Jericho will sight the second sniper, on top of a building near his two o'clock … laying prone and laying down covering fire to keep the SHIELD teams at bay. Of interest may be the low body temp that he detects.
Simmons finds what she's looking for and starts to make her way back to the Agent in Charge.
"Flank th' bas — Flank the target," Dum-Dum whispers into his comms to the other two agents in his team. The moustached man gingerly pokes his head out through the door of the stairwell that opens onto the roof to get a better look at the sniper in question.
Waiting for an affirmative response from his team, Dugan carefully steps out of the doorway to try and duck behind a large air-conditioning vent — when one of the support beams of the external fire-escape ladder rattles under the weight of his team-mates.
Dugan swears silently and takes a quick look with his gun drawn to see if he can get a shot off at the sniper before the latter does instead…
Melinda May takes a second to glance at her phone, then looks at K'nert. "We're out of time. Go." And she'll follow the little demon at a full run if need be. She's still wondering WHY he's leading her to Trent, when he's clearly still able to communicate via text if nothing else.
As it turns out, K'nert is not leading her to Trent. The little imp ducks inside an alley and runs over to a trash that he shoulder checks at full force. Which spills with quite a clatter most pertinently spilling a device that looks like two compact iron tubes with a several wires, a battery and a timer.
No points for guessing what that one is either.
Jericho watches as the other sniper spins his rifle toward the sound of the spilling trashcan. His finger tightens on the trigger just a hair and he starts to breathe out. Just… one… more… second…
PAK! Suppressed rifles don't make very dramatic sounds.
On Dugan's side the sniper looks over their shoulder, spinning their weapon to aim at the agent who rattled the ladder, giving Dugan a clear shot at them.
Jericho gets off his shot … but not before the second sniper aims at and fires on May… Jericho's shot though, takes the sniper down, leaving May looking at the device that K'nert just uncovered.
Jemma returns to the agent in charge and starts to open the case that she's now carrying. Anyone who's worked with Fitz before will recognise the 'Portal Buster'. Getting help to put the backpack on, Simmons settles her goggles over her eyes and arms the wand of the device at the mouth of the portal … "Get the team in there, Agent Martell, to remove the device once the portal is closed." she calls over the wind.
Melinda May blinks at what K'nert almost literally uncovers, then reholsters her sidearm and pulls the small Leatherman that has been her constant companion for decades. She glances up at the very faint sound that most would not pick up on but she knows well enough, and that's when the sniper gets her. Twice in two days. This is getting particularly annoying. At least this sniper didn't seem to learn from the SHIELD school of distance assassinations, and hit her center mass — where she's wearing kevlar.
Getting knocked to the ground in a filthy alley surrounded by garbage is on her list of things she REALLY dislikes, but after only a second or two she's grimacing and moving to get up and check that bomb. "K'nert," she grates out, "go tell Trent to warn everyone to get clear. At least two blocks." And then she's reaching to try and disarm the incendiary device before its timer runs out.
Dum-Dum fires.
One shot to the sniper's right arm, his trigger arm. The bullet catches the target a couple of inches above the elbow, causing the arm to spasm with both the force of the blow and likely the pain of the wound inflicted. Whatever the injury, the rifle itself flies wide just as its own bullet leaves the chamber…
The shot disappears into the sky.
"Got 'im!" Dugan mutters with a grin, and charges the gun-man. "Move in! C'mon, with me," he tells the rest of his team.
K'nert vanishes from May's side and moments later the emergency broadcast system starts to go off. The hacker stands, packs in his rifle and sprouts wings, himself preparing to relocate to a safer venue. Hopefully people will listen to the broadcast and get the hell out of Dodge. Or rather, hopefully May will be able to disarm the bomb quickly. Either way he needs to move back. Crowding May won't help any.
With the snipers down, the TAC team is able to approach the device but they hold back from touching it until given the all clear.
Jemma might look a little like something from Ghostbusters - don't cross the streams! - as she depresses the trigger on the wand and aims at the centre of the portal.
The lights on the wand dance, trying different combinations, as the combination of tech and magic works out how to shut the portal down. When the lock is achieved, Jemma holds the trigger and braces herself … she's seen Fitz knocked flying by the back lash this device can deliver.
When Dugan and his team converge on the sniper - they're gone… seemingly vanished into thin air. If Jericho checks his target too, he'll find the same … very strange.
May recognises this device, it's a standard bit of SHIELD training, it won't take her long to disarm it when she picks herself up off of the ground.
Dugan blinks.
As if just to be sure, he scuffs at the ground — right where the sniper had been — with his boot, and even crouches down to run his fingers across the surface of the rooftop. "Uhh…" he says into the comms. "Scratch that. We got nothin'. Zip." He says the word 'zip' with a distinctive popping sound on the 'p'. "No target. No rifle. No signs o' blood either."
The man stands up.
"I gotta admit — if I hadn't winged him myself, I'd say he was never here." Dugan walks to the edge of the rooftop and peers down at the rest of the SHIELD teams on the ground. "Any one else copy that?"
"Kind of busy right now." It's not like May to brush people off, but when she does, she's got a reason. Despite the still very present pain where the sniper hit her vest, she focuses on the incendiary device. Luckily it's a very basic set up so disarming it is easy enough, if persnickety and time consuming.
"Acknowledged, Agent Dugan. Return to the Agent in Charge." Dum-Dum receives his orders. There's not much else for him to do there.
Time consuming and persnickety for sure, but May remembers her training. By the time she disarms the device, the Portal Buster locks in and a beam of energy hits the silvery circle making it pull in on itself and wink out.
Unlike Fitz's experiences, Jemma gets off very lightly … the backlash from the portal is minimal and the TAC team with a SHIELD scientist can now start cleaning up the site …
It seems that whatever these devices are, whoever is using them, is getting closer to their goal. Whatever that is.
Melinda May sits back once she's sure the bomb is safely disabled. And she winces. And then she speaks into her comm a bit breathlessly. "AIC. Get a bomb squad out here. There's a disarmed incendiary to dispose of." And of course, since K'nert skittered off like she told him to, she can't even tell the little punk thanks for pointing it out. Well, she'll just have to get him some Haagen Daas for next time.