December 26, 2015:
SHIELD are moving some 084's and the truck is highjacked
Hell's Kitchen - New York
Characters
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
About an hour ago, an unmarked truck carrying a container of 084's (an object of potentially alien origin, for those who aren't up on SHIELD lingo), left the Triskelion, travelling through New York, via Hell's Kitchen.
About ten minutes ago, Agent May from SHIELD got an alert,someones, are trying to hijack the vehicle. There's at least of three someones and they're fairly heavily armed. The three SHIELD agents in the vehicle are taking heavy firing, the vehicle standing up to it … but they're not going to last long.
To say that the street is a bit of mess at the moment, would be an understatement, and there are civilians everywhere, getting caught in crossfire.
And when SHIELD has trouble, who're they going to call for rapid response? Well, usually they'd just call SHIELD. They're territorial like that, see. But when lives are on the line, then it's time to compromise, at least a bit. Civilians in trouble yields a call to the JLA. And that yields a glowing golden streak falling down out of the dark heavens above, streaking through the rain without much of a care for how wet she's getting, resolving into the glowing, sparkling form of Captain Marvel, hovering over the scene.
"OK. That should be enough of that." Carol Danvers doesn't cotton to people shooting at civilians. She drops herself into the line of fire, covering the SHIELD vehicle's cab, helping to hold off those shots while she works to draw a bead on the shooters … so she can return fire with blazing photons. Captain Sparklefists to the rescue.
High above the fray below, a sneering Daredevil listens to the mayhem, trying to allow the flow of his radar sense to spread out so that he might get a better 'view' of the situation. He has no idea about the technology that rests within the motor vehicle, or the SHIELD agents who hope to chase it down. To him, it's just a carjacking occurring in his neck of the woods.
It doesn't take long to ascertain how things are unfolding. Abruptly, like a striking snake, Daredevil flings himself into action, vaulting off the edge of the building in a spread-armed pose, nose-diving towards the ground below.
At the last possible instant, the button upon his billy club is depressed and the grapnel explodes out off to the side. With a hard yank he swings in an arc, headed straight into a tackle towards one of the gunmen.
Said alert went something along the lines of: "I need my Nanny. It's getting way too hot over here."
Agent Lewis, having been asigned to drive the truck, is in the truck with the other two SHIELD agents. They're armed, but unless they're going to pop out of their cover to return fire, they aren't doing anything. And Darcy had to abandon the driver's seat to prevent herself from being a target as the glass begins to buckle under the barrage.
"Also, we got a gaggle of civvies out here with three gun men," Darcy is adding into her communit. The question in her voice about hte number of gunmen is easy to hear. The bright blow has Darcy risking a peek out of the windows. "I think we've got company. Can't see who, but they are shiney. Tell me it's just Tinkerbell you sent!"
"Perimeter teams, lock it down. I'm taking Strike Team Gamma in." The quinjet that May is piloting banks and dives, having been trailing the convoy from well above news helicoptor range. "ETA, twenty seconds." She's also got one of the strike team in the copilot's seat, minding the weaponry and lining up a shot for the moment they're within range.
Detective Hammerman and Detective Crowley heard the word on the radio chans and was already en-route; the flash of red and blue parting the seas of Hells Kitchen, even hopping up upon the sidewalk to drive their way towards the gun battle. The gloves were off then, peeled away and tossed upon the dash as one mentor looks to his student. It must be on like donkey kong. With her hands pressing against the dashboard, her eyes closing, brows furrowing slightly as the scene they were intending to rush into played out in flashes in a multitude of ways..
"STOP THE CAR!" Lillith shouts out, causing it to swerve in the middle of the street.
"Where the hell are you going?"
"Park the car here. I'll call when I'm ready."
The door was kicked open and Crowley steps out, stopped by a crack of a whistle from her new mentor, shotgun taken from it's place within the cruiser and tossed towards the detective which was caught and cocked. She takes off at a mad run that takes her immediately to the scene, since they were only around the corner.. approaching the attackers from behind with a glance upright of those people getting into the fray. Yeah.. those people.
"You mutherfuckers are going to put us out of a job." Gone to the vigilantes, words which make her cringe. "Everyone, clear the streets!" Lillith was going to handle the evacuations, badge and shotgun held high into the air as she tries to form and shield a few to get to safety.
It's a sad state of affairs that a person can't simply enjoy a day out and about without getting shot AT. Then again, for Keith O'Neil that is not something that is entirely unique or unusual- the chaos node that makes up the center of his being often thrusts him into situations just like this one.
"So much for my frickin' soufflee…" the grocery bags are hastily abandoned, and there is the tinkling of glass and the sploosh of splattered vegetables as Keith ducks behind a car- a conveniently parked one that allows him to see his eyes in the rear-view mirror, perfect for a transformation.
A second later, the cheshire cat is leaping over the car in a fury of movement unique to those of the feline persuasion. It is a zig-zagging, leaping and running attack aimed at tackling one of the gunmen- preferably not the one Daredevil is trying to tackle, otherwise a spectacular collision is abut to ensue… "Language! Do you kiss your papa with that mouth?" Vorpal shouts in the direction of the insult just as he closes in on his target and attempts a leaping tackle…
Carols photons knocks the assailant she was aiming at, flying… and they land heavily on their back… not out, but down for the moment… although they're starting to get back up, aiming their weapon at her and firing …
Daredevils arc, certainly does put him into the right trajectory, and he hits the gunman … who grapples with him, trying to swing his gun at his head.
Vorpal finds himself the recipient of gunfire, having been seen by his target … bullets spray everywhere, peppering through the crowd.
From her position in the van, Darcy can hear something trying the doors and when she checks the mirrors, she'll see another six people surrounding the back of the van.
The gunmen, were as much a distraction as anything else.
Lillith will see this from her position, and she doesn't need her sense to tell her what they're about to do.
In the Quinjet with May, Jemma sits at the back. Happy to let the strike team do their thing. She'd been worried about an attempt on the 084s… and had sort of insisted on riding along.
"Bullet. Proof. Moron." Carol responds sharply as her target is fool enough to get back up and /still fire at her/. Thankfully, that does mean he isn't fool enough to be shooting at anyone else. But she has had enough. She just about blurs over to him, reaching out to crumple the weapon into so much scrap. Of course, that'll be about when she manages to spot the other six moving in on the van she was protecting. "So annoying." A couple of photon blasts are sent their way discouragingly.
Daredevil struggles with the rifle for a moment, partially discouraged that the man he's in fisticuffs with is stronger than he is. No matter. Daredevil brings his knee up hard, attempting to drive it in the groin of his adversary with cruel intent.
"Make it ten, please Es-oh!" Darcy chirps into her communit as she spies the men congregating at the back doors. "Oh, hell no," she mutters to herself as she turns to rush to the back of the van. A fire extinguisher is pulled from the wall of the van as she goes. The pin is pulled and tossed away carelessly. The junior agent tells one of her interns (fellow agents, but Darcy's just going to think of them as interns because…. of reasons!) to open the doors in three, two, one! No sooner do the doors open then Darcy lets the group have a facefull of foamy carbon dioxide to go with their photon blasts.
"Get off my lawn, ya whipper snappers!" Darcy crows at the six in the worst 'old man' impression EVER.
The Quinjet abruptly changes targets and fires at the six toward the back of the vehicle as the three in front have already been engaged by people with powers. The jet's weapons only fine one short burst before the jet pulls up rather abruptly and begins to hover while the back loading ramp opens and the members of Strike Team Gamma start exiting hurriedly. You know, that thing with the ropes and a barely-controlled fall to ground level. Kind of one of the most dangerous jobs out there, but these guys are the best of the best.
As the few citizens that Lillith corral get into position, she ducks them behind a nearby vehicle, pulling the larger man to her first. "Stay behind the cars. Count two seconds, then go. Second car, count three, then go. Fourth car, count five.. then run towards the alleyway and DO NOT LOOK BACK!" She waits, her eyes closing as she draws her hand upright then points towards the direction in which they were to follow. "GO GO GO!"
As she stands, she could see from her position where the six were, her gaze looking around wildly, shotgun placed carefully upon the ground as she reaches for a garbage can top. It wasn't the best shield by any means but it was going to provide for a buffer. Pension be damned, it was going to be a good way for her to get killed, luckily she knows she wasn't going to die this way.
She takes off at a running start, Darcy's attack providing the necessary distraction as her hand grips the can handle, lifting it up, bracing with her shoulder as she intents to force-push the attackers at the back of the van clear and out of the way from Darcy, even if she has to dive-tackle them all to do it.
The Rabbit Hole opens as soon as bullets start flying- and in goes Vorpal- his aim being to come out of the Rabbit Hole that opens up behind the shooter. Unfortunately one of the rounds impacts him- right on the chest- before he reaches the hole. Fortunately for Vorpal, he did remember to summon up his construct armor- but the impact from the bullet causes the cheshire cat to fall to the ground, badly-off course. And from the feel of it, one or two ribs aren't in top shape. What's worse… he's a sitting duck as he lays on the ground!
A quick burst of emotion unleashes a minor Chaos Wave in the direction of the shooter, hoping that whatever effect it unleashes will buy him enough time to make a comeback….
Daredevil doesn't play fair and as his knee connects, his assailant crumples to the ground, keening in pain but still holding his weapon which he raises to the man, shaking as he does.
Vorpals off course trajectory has the shooter aiming and firing at him, bullets flying in his direction… bullets that are caught by the chaos wave and turn into little butterflies… the barrel of the shooters gun turning into a caterpillar.
Darcy's fire extinguisher blast take two in the face, the others falling back, two into Lilliths path. Of the two remaining, one seems to just morph … and become a 10ft Lizardlike creature, with long, nasty talons and it lunges for Darcy, just as Carols photon blasts hit it - causing it to take one step in a stagger and then turn to face her.
As the strike team rolls out of the Quinjet, Jemma's already moving, opening a case with 12 silver orbs in it. A few taps on the screen on her phone and the orbs lift off and fly out, to circle the area. The Seekers start to sample the environment and send data back to Jemma's phone …
"Dibs on tall and scaly!" Captain Marvel calls out, indulging in a moment of pure whimsy as she streaks across the wet pavement, a rainbow of colors behind her as her golden glow is twisted through all of the failing misting rain. She comes to a halt as her big glowing fist reaches out to connect with said lizard. "Back off, toothsome. These folks are off the menu."
Daredevil finally liberates the rifle in a vicious way; by kicking down hard upon the elbow of his adversary. The bone comes out the wrong way, sending the assailant into a screaming frenzy. It's quickly quieted, however, as Daredevil uses the but of the gun to smack his foe right in the head!
"HOLY FUCKING GIANT LIZARDS OF SHITBALLS!" Darcy verbally vomits as a 10ft lizard morphs into being and lunges toward her. She has enough wit to let out that string of curses… and brandish her fire extinguisher like a club. The blast the liazrd takes has Darcy flinching, and then holding still as it turns from her toward Captain Rainbow Sparklebrite. Lizards track by motion like dinosaurs, right? Because Jurrasic Park is totally the authority on this sort of thing! She watches a half second as Captain Marvel engages in hand to hand with the lizard thing, before turning back to the two who might start trying to recover from CO2 to the face. Darcy swings her fire extinguisher twice to try to crack each of the goons covered in white foaminess on the help with her makeshift weapon.
Melinda May nods to Simmons then waits for the strike team to fully hit the ground and the Seekers to be deployed before moving the quinjet up and away to hover above a nearby building. She doesn't set the jet down on the building because she's not confident that the roof of the structure will take the weight.
Strike Team Gamma — a four-man team — promptly spread out. Two move to start herding civilians away from the area, two take precise shots at the hijackers, aiming to hit the enemies any way they can without putting anyone else in the line of fire. They, um, try to not look like they have no idea how to deal with those giant lizards.
POW!
The three go to the ground in a slight roll, the can tossed to the side and immediately crunched by the 10foot tall lizard that.. thankfully had no eyes to eat her. Ayep! "All yours!" Lillith calls out to Captain, there was no chance in hell she was going to go up against that. Nope, no way. Wasn't worth it. But the two that she remains tangled with all make to grab for her, one drawing her into a headlock, her fingers tugging and pulling at the attackers forearm as the other tries to scramble away which was soon lashed out with a forceful kick towards the flee-er's face.
With a shift of her chin, Lillith opens wide, chomping down upon the forearm of the man who lets loose a hellish scream.. and.. one would think that she'd stop as soon as she heard it.. nope. Her teeth were a vice-grip and the curled fist and elbow to the ribs were repeated, angry blows to his person.
Another set of angry blows is what awaits the man who shot at Vorpal with butterflies. The cheshire cat gets to his feet and runs towards the man, a glowing purple flamingo mallet manifesting in his hands as he swings that baby, preparing to give the man a lesson he won't forget. "HEY! Dunkin' Donuts!" the cheshire calls out to Daredevil, "top this!"
And yes, that flamingo is swung right at the shooter's safe deposit box.
Daredevils foe is totally out, arm bent at an attrocious angle. That leaves the one that Carol had been dealing with, sans weapon (that got crumpled by Carol!)… and hearing his 'comrade in arms' scream, he's heading away from the fight, in a path that takes him near Daredevil, as he tries to avoid the civilians.
Lilliths own battle is … just dirty fighting … the one who has her in a headlock, grunting at the continued pounding to the ribs… the other one, he's gripping his face - getting boot stomped does that …
Vorpals flamigo to the safe deposit box has the desired effect, the gunman crumpling in agony …
Which leaves one unaccounted for … now where is he … ah, there… slowly creeping away from the truck and Darcy's swinging extinguisher.
As Carol moves towards the Lizardman … she might be surprised, it blurs and comes right at her with fangs and talons … its speed? Might be faster than hers. What might also be a suprise, as she takes a swing at it … it phases, and shifts, and appears behind her. This isn't going to be an easy fight.
Well, well. Very fast. And it phases. That's going to be annoying. One thing phasing doesn't help? Flash blindness! Carol doesn't even turn, she just raises her sparkling fists and lets them explode with light right in the creature's eyes. Then she takes a chance at trying to punch it again before those nasty-looking claws and teeth get hold of her hide. Chances are if it is this fast, those can probably do a number on her. It's in the job description, but that doesn't mean she has to make it easy!
Without even 'looking,' Daredevil senses the approach of the runner who unfortunately is getting a little too close to the Man Without Fear. Hornhead, still with the rifle in his hands, pivots and turns into a left-handed, baseball style swing, aiming to crack the man right in the face as he runs down the street, like a player aiming for a homerun.
Oh, lookit! One's trying to run! Darcy, needing to check the tired anyway, hops down from the back of the van and beans the retreating goon on the back of the head with her fire extinguisher. "And stay down," she tells the guy.
While May is calling in to SHIELD that there's a Daemonite here, the two members of Strike Team Gamma that aren't getting civilians clear move toward the vehicle and one starts zip-tying the downed gunmen who aren't completely incapacitated while the other moves to secure the perimeter around the vehicle, including keeping a close eye on Darcy. Sorry, Darcy, this guy seems to have as much of a sense of humor as Agent May.
Lillith strikes true with every blow that she delivers, tearing the mans arm from around her neck and rolling over in a swift movement that brings her to a knee to slap the cuffs upon his wrist. She even drags the other over by the scruff of his hair, cuffing him to the other person as well, standing to her full height (which really ain't that tall, lets be real here), to issue a final curb stomp motion to knock two of her attackers out.
Then.. she gives a thumbs up to Darcy. Good job kiddo.
Vorpal sits down once the gunman is a crumpled and tied-up mess on the ground, to catch his breath- and to make sure his ribs are alright. He does have a good view, though, of all the insanity going on. He'd be up for tackling the lizardstrosity, but he gets the impression he shouldn't move too much just… yet.
He winces when DD strikes again. "Ow… that's gonna leave a mark…"
Carol releasing her sparkling light of doom, allows her to land a punch … she soon finds out that this thing is incredibly durable and strong! The punch barely having an effect. With a rake of talons the creature is soon moving … past Carol, past the Civilians… if anyone is really watching, they loose sight of it in a hurry. Where did it go?
With the gunman and would be hijackers taken care of, Simmons recalls the seekers. She's got data to go through now … hopefully this will give her something. "This … is getting serious, Agent May." she murmurs from her seat at the back of Quinjet. Something of an understatement perhaps?
Carol takes a gashing slice from those claws, before her blurring, phasing opponent is past her and gone. She gives chance, but loses him before she can catch him, much to her consternation. Those claws were - as she guessed - sharp and dense enough to do her damage. She's far from dead or dying, but most any normal human would have been. She's going to want to learn more about that guy, for sure. "Hey …" she calls out, though the SHIELD folk seem to be ramping up to depart in short bloody order. "Alright, let's get everyone back on the road to recovery, shall we."
Daredevil'd stay and chat but with the police on their way, and some of them here already, he knows it's time to hit the road. He ducks into an alleyway and disappears from view, leaving a trail of moaning assailants in his wake.
Now that civilians are cleared, the lizard thing has fled (damnit), and the other attackers are down for the count in some way or other, May moves the quinjet in closer, landing the jet in the middle of the street with a surprising delicacy considering how little clearance there is. "SHIELD support teams are en route. Get the truck repaired and moving again." Maybe hearing May's voice is what's made Darcy quit panicking and trying to brain people with a fire extinguisher.
And it was the right thing to do for the Titans to stay and provide paperwork. It's partly why Vorpal is staying, to assist the authorities… and partly so he can get a ride back to the ER to get a quick X-ray on his ribcage. Just, y'know, in case. He'd rather do it now and not have Gar freaking out back at the base…