8962/City Fall: A Calculated Contaminant

City Fall: A Calculated Contaminant
Date of Scene:	26 August 2019
Location:	Midtown, Manhattan
Synopsis:	Venandi is sent on her first big mission. To locate and steal a vial for Shredder. Little does she realize that Leonardo and Pippi are on partrol in the area...
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Leonardo, Pippi, Venandi, Fiona Glenanne
Tinyplot:	City Fall

---

Shredder has posed:
    The darkness of Midtown is always bright compared to most places in the continental US. Lights blaze advertisements on the main strips. Flashing billboards declaring the latest products people should purchase.

    Just off the main strip, though, are many buildings that have a bit less attention late at night. Offices are dark, a few stray lights shining out of the large windows on various levels. Inside one of those windows is something that the Foot desires. A chemical compound known to interact with the human brain in a way that it makes them more susceptible to suggestion. There have been some in Gotham that have been difficult to crack, and because of this, Shredder has grown impatient, and is looking for a quicker solution.

    Taking this experimental chemical could allow the researchers working with the Foot to reverse engineer and weaponize it, a serious boon for the operations not only in Gotham, but globally. Who better to lead such an operation than Venandi, assigned finally to a larger mission. Shredder had overseen her preparation and training, but now, it was time to test her in a higher level of trust.

Leonardo has posed:
Patrol times are usually good times. If there's nothing going on, it's a few hours of relative peace and quiet depending on who Leonardo is partnered with, but inevitably it's quieter than staying in the Lair all night long. Sometimes there's trouble, but usually it's so small-time that a minimal amount of effort is needed to dispel it.

Leo's path tonight brings him through Midtown, keeping to rooftops and using buildings of a similar height. Occasionally a leap down a story or two is called for, or a climb up a fire escape ladder for twenty or thirty feet. No great elevation gains or losses. It'd be a waste of time. He's not alone, however. They rarely are these days.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi's tailing behind Leo, up and over air conditioner units, skidding around obstacles and ducking wires. Ducking and rolling with the drops, and only fumbling one catch against a fire escape that required a helping hand a few blocks back. Viewing it as a game of 'follow the leader' -- in this case, quite literally -- helped her keep her focus in spite of all the restaurants and food places they passed -- but it was good to get out and stretch her legs and get out of the lair, the dog mutant's ears up and nose twitching on full alert.

Venandi has posed:
    The metal jungle was her playground in these late hours. A figure moves in the shadows with speed and grace. Little effort spent leaping and balancing with ease over narrow pipes, rails, and ledges.

The quickest way would be directly through the window in question, but there could be alarms that might set off. That would cause unwanted trouble. Unwanted attention.

Venandi would not lie to herself, she was nervous. Her feet came to land on a ledge not far from the target building. He large toes snared down on the stone work, as her hand claws dug in as well where she was crouching. Her tail gently sways, as her gold eyes pierce the darkness.

With a low rumble in her throat, she inhaled deeply, before pushing off to jump for the building. Her claws snatched the edge, before she flipped herself over, landing on the roof and then making her way for the roof-top access.

It was there, she stayed low and started to work on the lock. Her eyes looking for a camera she may need to avoid as she works to get in. Unaware for the moment that she may not be alone on the roofs of the large city.

Fiona Glenanne has posed:
Fiona's out and about tonight, she's not bothering with subtle things like picking locks. This is the value of being good at what she does, a former IRA member, short and punching things very well. She's got a sole lockpick on her, but that's more to hit people with...than use. Currently she's running up the stairs of another building with a good vantage point, the roof access door is ever so slowly, evr so carefully being pried open. Fi's wearing all black tonight. She's like some high school kid during the ancient times of the 1990s, all black, she's even, amusingly, painted her nails black to blend in more. Then put black gloves on. She's however left her hair alone, so brown hair, black clothing. She's such a 90s kid.

Fi is, right now, opening up a roof access door. She's trying her best to open it slowly enough so nobody will notice. If she just kicks it open, dead giveaway. If she's too slow opening it, she's totally failed. Yet if she opens it too quick? That could well arouse suspicion, really.

Shredder has posed:
    The impersonal structure is silent, as is the backup that has been provided. Koya has never been known to be the most subtle of operatives, so Shredder has ordered her to stay on overwatch tonight. This is Venandi's show. The dark shadow flies overhead as she watches what is happening below, but she hasn't spotted any of the other visitors yet tonight, wrapped in her own annoyance at being ordered to simply act as overwatch.

    "Can't you get in already?" she asks impatiently over her comm device.

    There are cameras about, one facing the roof access of the building, but is pointed in such a way that would allow one to approach undetected if they stayed pressed against the building properly.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo is always there with a hand when needed, keeping watch over Pippi's progress in matching his pace, or him needing to slow it down a bit for her. He says nothing of the other night in the Lair, and is in fact one of few words so far. It may give him a sense of being distant, but he's helped out with a brief pointer or something for her to focus on when he's seen something worth noting. Little things many in their position might miss, mainly.

One thing she has over him is hearing, so as they come up to the edge of a building that overlooks a few others nearby, including the office building that is the target of the Foot this evening, he turns to her while crouching, one arm across a knee, the other knee resting against the rooftop. "Your ears are better than mine. Listen. Do you hear anything we should be aware of before we go on?" He pauses, squinting across the open space. Was that a bit of movement from somebody? "Hmm. Thought I saw something."

Venandi has posed:
    The question from her superior was met with silence. Actions speak loud than words and just as she was asked, the door opened. It is then that the Velociraptor mutant responded, >>"I am in."<<

With that the dark brown reptile slipped in, closing the door behind her with swift, but gentle ease. Her eyes then looked down the flight of stairs. She gave a gentle head cant to the side, as examining the distances between the spiral down and how many flights she would need to go.

With a leap up with one hand, she flung herself off the rail. One by one, she moved down, using a bit of parkour to ease her way quickly down the stairs by just the grip of rails, push off, and snatching the next. One wrong move however could be her downfall, but she was confident enough to do this.

    Once she arrives to the proper floor, she flips herself over the rail and moves with care. Staying down low and trying to keep herself out of the view of cameras. Once more fiddling with the lock to get into the complex. >>"Entering main hall. Going silent."<< She transmits out, while carefully stepping into the hall.

Her eyes dart quickly, before she raises up her snout and inhale the air, trying to pick up any scent of security guards in the area. Surely this place would have some patrols, right?

Pippi has posed:
    Her ears and nose make up for her lack of ninja skills, she's paused at the advent of sirens and was able to tell if they were police, fire or ambulence. Good dog. The canine had been mostly quiet, unusual for her, and she brings her ears up and closes her eyes as Leo responds.

    "Ah... foot striking metal?" she sniffs the air "There's a lot of birds nearby I think. A hinge squeak maybe, but there's a lot of sound from the traffic a couple blocks up." Pippi admits, turning her two-toned face to Leo before she opens one eye.

    "Warrants investigation?" she asks, her tail giving a little bit of a wag.

Fiona Glenanne has posed:
Fiona's still working on opening up the door slowly enough to not attract suspicion, which is taking time. Fi though....has the door open enough to get a tiny, tiny view out of and debates opening it more. That'll put her in plain sight. Then again, she's on the clock so to speak and...she's not got time to waste. She could find a way down...or...she could sit up here and...and...she's not sure she can do this, keep an eye on things. Not only from a closed door, that she's trying not to get noticed opening. And oh, she's trying to not get too agitated too, mostly since Fiona thought this'd be easy. She was /assured/ it'd be easy. Just stand up on the roof. Don't worry.

Fi's not a happy bunny. She'll take her chances with the one she signed the contract with. Fortunately,it's just money in penalties, a few grand. Fiona's....making her way back downstairs again, the door forgotten as she's making her way back the way she came. Fi's so done with this door. The door, the contract, which she's not sure is worth the paper it was drawn up on....and...she could care less about watching this break in. She just wants to go home, and rest. Which is front and center in her mind.

Shredder has posed:
    The lab containing the chemical is rather ordinary. No super tech guarding it like lasers or robots. The white plain counters are clear of debris, properly cleaned for the evening. The smell of a guard has been recent on the hall, but there's only one fresh scent. The lab is locked, though it has clear windows to view into the area, a card lock in place.

Leonardo has posed:
"Yes, it does," Leonardo agrees. "But be careful." He always says that, doesn't he? "Try to look for anything that seems out of the ordinary. That's usually the first sign that something's going on. You might even notice it before I do. I know things to look for, but you can pick out other things I can't."

He closes the gap toward the rooftop of the building in question, still keeping to shadows. He steals a glance skyward but it isn't in the right direction to spot Koya overhead. If she gets involved, trouble will follow beyond whatever they may encounter. They draw close to the door Venandi used. The blue-masked turtle asks Pippi: "Anything?"

Venandi has posed:
    Venandi opens her moth slightly and lets out a minor, low hiss as she picks up the scent. Her head looking in the possible direction the guard has gone.

Her eyes then peer once more for cameras, before she moves over to the windows, looking inside the room. Those golden, raptor eyes look at all the different things inside the room. Looking for what she is after and also giving the room a once over for a quick escape, should she need to take it.

She then slowly moves over to the card reader and looks it over, giving it a slow, careful examination. She /could/ see if the guard has a keycard, or she could try to by-pass it. However, if she can't, then it could set off alarms. "It had to be a card reader..." She rumbles to herself silently.

With that, the new member of the Foot Clan family makes her way down the hall, following the scent of the poor guard. Keeping low, and opening her mouth once and awhile to get a bigger inhale of his trace.

    oO'Come here little guard..'Oo she thinks to herself. oO'I just need your stupid little card key, so I can make my Alpha and pack siblings happy.'Oo

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi follows behind Leonardo, dull claws tapping very softly against the rooftop as she sneaks after. Koya doesn't have her attention, might be too high up. There's something different about this smell though. Something that was inhuman, hard to get a bead on. She makes her approach to the hatch, though her hackles rise up. She's sniffing. Her ears are up, and her eyes narrow.

    "It's new." she states quietly, and she sticks her head down into the hole, sniff! Sniffsniff!

    "Definitely new. I don't think I've smelled anything like this before." she comments quietly to Leo, holding onto the side of the rooftop access and drawing herself inside.

    "It's not human."

Shredder has posed:
    Koya seems to have been deceived as Pippi and Leo stick to the shadows, and the light from below makes it difficult for her to see them, regardless of how good her eyes might be.
    Down in the main corridor, the scent travels to a door which leads to an elevator in the primary lobby of that floor, the guard in question standing in front of it with the down button lit up. The man is simply waiting for the elevator to return, having finished his rounds for this hour.

Leonardo has posed:
"Then we need to be extra careful," Leonardo states, quietly. "If it's not human and new, it could be anything. I'm not sure what they do inside this place, but anyone sneaking in in the middle of the night can't be doing it for good reasons," he determines, but before going further after setting a foot inside the door, he asks her, "Pippi. If you aren't sure about this, we don't have to go in. It could be important, though. Do you think you can track the scent if we do?"

Venandi has posed:
    There was her juicy prey. Unaware of what is coming up on him as he waits for the elevator. Venandi is also unaware of the fact her scent has been picked up.

Slowly she moves toward the guard. Her raptor-like hands extending out. Her body ever low, as her tail moves just ever so slightly.

Closer and closer she moves. With then little to no warning, she leaps at the guard. Claws extended and foot claw ready to tear. Teeth ready to bite!

No matter how much they tried to teach her to be 'human' like, she was still a Jurassic predator at heart. She could have done it more silently. She /should/ have, but she was just to eager for the hunt. Maybe a bit to eager once she thinks about it later.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi takes a deep breath. It's a lab. It doesn't smell like mutagen, but it does have the astringent officy smell. She shifts her weight slightly and turns to Leo, and gives a nod.

    "I can track it." she replies gently, and then she passes Leonardo, giving her eyes a moment to adjust to the light as she takes a deep breath.

    "I trust you,: she gives a little smile to Leo, her ears pricking up.
    And with that, the pitboodle mutant decends down in pursuit of Venandi.

Leonardo has posed:
Nodding, Leonardo withdraws his katanas so they'll be at the ready. "All right, but no talking unless it's necessary. Hand signals only, otherwise." They've discussed things like this before for matters of stealth. Hold. Forward. Left. Right. He'd rather be the one in the front in case something leaps out at them, but it's easier for Pippi to take point with her nose and indicate what's going on.

In they go, and the raptor's scent will provide something clear and obvious for the mutant pup to follow. After all, it's as fresh as can be amid the other scents in the place. His feet make no sound whatsoever along the flooring, skilled as he is at silence.

Shredder has posed:
    The guard catches sight of a change in the reflection on the brushed steel of the elevator's door, and turns. It might have been better for him if he had never even seen it coming. His eyes go wide, and he starts to cry out, but before he can finish taking in the air to scream, he's struck by sharp teeth and claws, finding himself knocked backward into the still closed door of the elevator.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi continues on her way through, slowly, following the scent of the stranger through the halls. Her eyes close when she concentrates, raising her nose. Lots of human smells, mostly faded. The new smell is the strongest, though. New and curious. Nothing quite like it that Pippi can recall as she travels through the hallways.

Leonardo has posed:
While Pippi's nose is doing a large part of the work so far, Leonardo uses his eyes to scan the hallway for any signs of strangeness. Maintaining a steady pace behind Pippi, he nevertheless keeps himself close enough that he can react if they're hit with a surprise. Step by step, they come closer to a stairwell door, which seems to be where the scent trail leads. It does not enter any rooms on this level.

Venandi has posed:
    The Raptor-Ninja's dark armor of cloth and leather is lightly dripping now with the blood of the guard. Her slits narrowed sharply, before they seem to relax, along with herself. ".. Idiot." She chastises herself for making such a mess.

When the elevator opens, she makes sure to grab the card-key, and then kick rolls the torn up security guard into the elevator.

Someone is going to have a very /bad/ morning when that elevator is opened.

Licking the blood of her hand claws, she makes her way carefully back over to the door. She goes to place the card key in the reader. First it gives a beep of 'denied', but then she tries again, before it gives her the green light.

She then carefully opens the door, moving in with due caution, and looking for the vial she was after. So many different things in the lab, each with different labels and names. This might take her a moment.

        ------

    The two would find another door that was unlocked, at least that is what Pippi's nose would lead her too. This door would lead them to the hall that the lab is on and to the possible smell of not only the strange creature who went into the lab; But to that of fresh blood.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi stops short as the next door opens. Metallic, wet, tangy smell, strong enough that she could taste it. Fresh.

    She smells blood. There's a quiet sort of whine before she breathes out, turning to Leo with a distressed expression, but she pushes forward. The lab's in this hallway. She could smell chemicals. She could smell blood and that new scent, this strange creature, she could smell that the strongest.

    Pippi is walking with trepedation now, her hackles fully raised up on the back of her neck, her eyes narrowed and her tail still.

Leonardo has posed:
It takes going down a few flights of stairs, but the scent opens up into a new hallway near the bank of elevators. Before they even get into the hallway proper, the pup will be aware of the blood scent starting to spread. As the door opens and they pause, Leonardo can also pick it out by now. It leads to a frown and he rests a hand against Pippi's shoulder before moving ahead of her. It's his time to take point, and he motions for quiet again before signaling for her to keep an eye on their rear.

By this point, some motion has been spotted on the other side of the lab windows, but the source of it may not even be aware they're present. As such, he gestures for the two of them to keep lower and use cover, pointing in the direction of what he saw, even if he didn't see /what/ he saw yet. This is, however, worse than what he was hoping for. With a card reader on the nearest door, just opening it seems out of the question.

Venandi has posed:
    This one? Nope. That one? Nope! Searching and Searching, before she at last finds it. Venandi gives out a mildly happy purr at her success, but she also knows the job is not done, into it is in her pack's official hands.

She tucks it away into a container, and then into her side pouch. Only to pick up-- was that a shadow? Movement?

Venandi's eyes narrow, as she starts to make her way for the window, but then goes low, almost down to a low crouch, with her hands gliding across the ground. As she comes to the crack of the door, she opens her nostrils; Taking in the air.

Then she opens her mouth, inhaling the scent, before guttering out a low growl, before a gentle hiss. Something or someone's was near by. Her toe claw taps the ground gently in thought, before she then lifts up a hand and opens the door, but she doesn't exit out.

Instead she lets it slowly open on its own, as she creeps around one of the tables. She wanted to know what it was she was smelling. New scents unlike she has smelled before. She has been around some of the other less-human like foot-clan members, but her curiosity was peeked. She just /had/ to know.

It also may give her a chance to slip out while their backs were turned. That would be ideal, but maybe unlikely, given the other scent-tracker who was just as much tracking her, as she was now them.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi was low to the ground, drawing back behind Leo as he took point. She glanced behind her, cocking an ear up to make sure nothing else was there before she followed behind. She kept her breathing even. She kept her toenails from tapping. She ducked down at Leo's signal, unarmed except her fists. Her ears flick up, hearing the purring sound, and her nose wrinkles. It wasn't a cat. But it wasn't human, and she hears the growl and hiss through the door.

    She slowly shifts back from the door itself, and as it opens, she looks to Leo for guidance.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo can hear something as well, and it doesn't sound natural to him. The glimpse of motion he picked up on before reminded him of something predatorial, even primordial. But...why? Could that even be possible?

They may soon find out, for better or worse.

Swords are kept low and he grasps both with one hand after the door has opened and nothing comes out. He holds up a palm for Pippi to see: wait. Nothing is coming out from another spot right now, and he doesn't bite on the apparent bait of the door opening, as if they were expected to rush in.

That tells him what's on the other side is smart. Clever, even, but it leads to a momentary standoff where creatures on both sides of the wall try to use what they're good at to figure out what's on the other side.

When nothing happens after another few breaths, Leo again motions for Pippi to hold, then points to himself followed by the door. The hand is used to give a countdown - he can only do 3-2-1 rather than more - and in one fluid motion he slides out from his spot, then into the lab area, still in a crouch. The katanas are positioned to attack or defend, whichever is needed first. If their target is not in a direct line of sight, he'll immediately rotate the opposite way. Good thing he's got a nigh-impenetrable shell at his back.

Venandi has posed:
    The raptor can smell them and she can pick up the shadow movements, though faint they were. Her gold eyes watching the shadow movements. How many were there? It was hard to tell. Given this went from an advantage to... Now being trapped with whatever it was.

Though as she gave another silent sniff to the air, she can smell not only the blood on herself and outside, but she can pick up two distinct smells. This told her that at least one at first, was in here with her. Might be more beyond the door.

The oddness of one smell was that of a stink. Pungent and grotesque. Not something that she would even desire to sink her teeth into.

Her eyes peered up at the windows leading out. They were probably reinforced. Then her eyes to the windows looking in. Those were probably no batter.

That just left the door.

As Leonardo went to move the opposite way, she almost started to head in the direction /he/ was going. Only to give pause when she spotted his shadow's movements once more. Her eyes narrowed and she went to move around, with slight haste. Pippi might at last heard the steps. Leonardo, might get a glimpse of the Raptor tail moving around low past a counter.

It was trying to make it for the door, which means that Venandi might come face to face here soon with someone.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi watches as Leo enters the door, and she stays put. She watches his footsteps. She keeps his scent in mind. Sewer -- wet and mildew and the moss that grows on the side of the brickwork, earthy-like and sword oil and incense and leather. She shifts her weight slightly, her tail shifting and giving the softest tap against the wall before she moves to the door, slightly blocking it.

    Venandi would get to see Pippi's half-white, half-red canine face, amber eyes peering into the darkness, nose giving little twitches as her ears draw up, listening intently to the dark lab room. Her hackles are still up, but she was happily going to protect Leonardo as she draws her hands up, settling back into a ready stance for a fight!

Leonardo has posed:
Was that a..tail? A reptilian one? Leonardo's mind cycles through all possible mutants he's seen up to this point that could possess something like that. Maybe the shark-like mutant from the museum, but that was a different color and that one did not seem smart at all, certainly not smart enough to nudge a door open and wait. No, subtlety was not Bludgeon's style at all.

They have the door covered, so unless there's another way out that doesn't involve the windows, things will soon come to a head. Now that Leo's spotted the tail, he locks on to the direction he needs to be facing. Then, he speaks, rising to his full height in the process. It's a voice that holds a youthful side to it, yet is is a practiced, authoritative one from someone experienced in leading. It's no-nonsense, stern, firm.

"All right. Whoever or whatever you are, show yourself. This doesn't have to be difficult. Just tell us what you're doing here. We already know you attacked someone." At least he's pretty sure this is the attacker. By now, his weapons are surely visible, and so is he.

Venandi has posed:
    Venandi spots Pippi and moves toward her, ever so slowly. Teeth on her maw starting to open, she was tempted to just snap her jaws at the little muzzle. Make the pup jump back to get out of the way.

However, when Leonardo speaks up and stands up fully, the raptor mutant goes to meet him eye to eye. She stands up fully and locks her gold, jurassic eyes to his.

The armor she wore had drying blood on it. Her body feminine and yet not. The helmet she wore was leather and metal, with strips of feathers going out of the back as decorative measure.

One of her toe claw snaps hard on the ground before dragging a little. She gives no response at first. Instead she gives a low growl, before a soft, shirlling hiss, followed by a few clicks in her throat. When she does speak after, her hand claws are sliding across the metal table, like nails on a chalk-board. "If you are smart, you will not challenge me. Neither of you, or you /might/ end up like that hairless, pathetic creature called a human."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi sees the maw open, and she pulls back her lips, displaying her own teeth, though not nearly as sharp, or threatening, but it's an answer back in challenge, shoulders drawing up, body tensing for a fight response. Why?

    That's blood, and clearly the mutant's a threat to Leo.

    When Leo speaks, Pippi keeps her eyes on the ancient creature, gripping her hands that much tighter as she admits where the blood came from.

    She stays back though, she gives Leo room even though her own tail curls slightly between her legs.

Leonardo has posed:
"Get behind me," Leonardo tells Pippi, sparing her a glance without using her name. Having her blocking the door may not be a bad idea, but it puts her in danger if the raptor decides to go that direction. She's going to have to get through him first.

With Venandi at her full height, she's revealed to be approximately the same range as Donatello, taller than Leo by a good half-foot. This alone does not trouble him. The razor-sharp claws, especially the larger ones at the feet, do. Eyes narrow, and he fends off the urge to grimace visibly from the sound those claws make. It's a screech meant to intimidate, and he will not give her the pleasure of seeing it out of him.

"Challenge me, and you're the one who might end up on her back, asking for mercy." A step toward her is taken, indicating he is not swayed by her threat, nor the danger of her natural weapons. "Tell me, are you one of Shredder's? Is he still caught up on making more failed experiments?" The words are designed to bite, sharp as they are. One thing is clear: the turtle knows who Shredder is. Has he told the raptor of them?

Venandi has posed:
    The little dog girl is kept a slight eye on, as she moves herself only slightly to see them both. Venandi doesn't know what to make of Pippi, beyond the smaller being was trying to maybe come across as tough.

Though for this Velociraptor, she was not very interested in finding out what dog tastes like. Looks like to much fur would get in the way, anyhow. Her same feelings were on the Turtle. Look like trouble to get her jaws or claws around. Yet, they were both in her way and it felt like they were in a stale-mate.

    Leonardo does not give into her threats, instead he steps forward and Venandi meets the same, showing off her razor teeth in a growl. Her pupil slights narrowing to points for a moment, as she makes a few clicks sound. Her head moves one way then to the other, studying him. Studying them both.

When he asks, her eyes narrow, but she does not answer directly, maybe her body language says it all. It says at least she did take some insult to being called 'failed', a she snaps her teeth, before growling out. "I do not have time for you or your other." Before she suddenly pushes off with great speed and power for the door, trying to make a run for it. For intellect says 'get out now while the getting is good'.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi had shifted her weight to get behind Leo, keeping her eye on the dinosaur before she slides behind one of the work stations, circling around as Leo talks to her. Takes step forward. Her head bobs and weaves along the side, trying to flank Venandi as she takes a deep breath.

    "Yeah, well -- make time!" Pippi barks, and as the raptor begins to move, Pippi kicks into action. She launches herself easily over the lab bench, upsetting a tray of beakers in the process, the sound of shattering glass accompanying her movements as she goes after that tail!

    Anything to try and keep her in place!

    Pippi's furred hands try to grasp onto the veliciraptor's back and the armoring, Pippi putting her three-ton-lift to good use as she tries to hold on and bring the other mutant down -- except for two things: Pippi is, indeed, smaller than Venandi, and if Venandi doesn't move outta her way, she might just be stuck piggy-backing.

Leonardo has posed:
Whatever happens, however close the three get to each other, the raptor has very sharp-looking teeth and claws to potentially contend with. Also, the closer the fight, the less room Leonardo has to work with those swords of his. "What are you here for?" he demands to know, the words coming out closer to a shout rather than a normal speaking voice.

The attempt to flee is something he seeks to cut off, for there are questions that need answering and little time to get them. If there are any security cameras pointed on them, someone will have an even more interesting time of it later on if nothing is done about the downed guard. His weight shifts as he leans in the direction of that door, though Pippi is already in the midst of her leap.

Calling out to be careful now seems pointless. Venandi came here for a reason, and Leo needs to know what it is! The turtle comes up with a smoke pellet, more of a localized effect, and even with Pippi there - they've begun to teach her about how to deal with their effects - it's thrown at the doorway before it breaks open upon impact.

Venandi has posed:
    Venandi was quick, but the pup was just as quick it would seem! Pippi would get ahold, but it would only make Venandi stumble from the sudden extra weight, along with impact.

Leonardo's question remains unanswered, the raptor seeming not so keen on giving even a bit of information on what she was doing here. Though when the smoke goes off, she can't see exactly where she is going and slams into the door frame, with her stumble. Just inches away from her exiting escape!

With a shrill screech, she spins herself around hard to try and throw Pippi off before trying to slam her back against the door frame.

    There was another shrilling roar, as she then swipes with her tail all sorts of instruments and throws them across the room. Trying to make a mess, before once more moving through the smoke with the knowledge of where the door frame is to escape into the hall.

Which she doesn't do gracefully, as her shoulder slams into the wall. Venandi shakes her head, before rushing quickly, with scampering claws for the way that she came in. Making a bee-line for that door and those stairs.

Pippi has posed:
    The smoke cloud pops, and Pippi takes a deep breath, holding on and closing her eyes. She tries to swing ehr weight around, but there's no helping the process from Venandi's end!

    She's turned, one arm lifting from its grip in the armor and then, with a bodily and heavy SLAM the pound puppy partially busts the door frame with a heavy grunt of effort, finally letting go and dropping down, trying to roll to the hallway -- where she gets smacked by a tail as the dino swings around!

    Pippi seems stunned a moment, blinking dully as she sees stars, taking a deep breath in a gasp

Leonardo has posed:
Getting through the smoke is of no issue to the ninja-trained turtle, but the mess and noise being made is sure to alert anyone who may be nearby. Leonardo has no idea if this place is staffed at all hours or if it only has a day crew with bare-bones security patrolling at night. No alarms have sounded yet, which is good, and - no, there they are now, an even louder and constant ringing up and down the floor as someone in the control room has finally spotted what's going on.

Spotting a red light from a camera nearby, a smoke pellet explodes in front of the lens to temporarily obscure any views from that location, then as he passes Pippi in the hallway with room for a larger door created, he calls out, "Stop!" before flinging a trio of shuriken after the retreating tail and body it's attached to. The throwing stars fly straight and true, certain to stick in the door or nearby wall at the worst. Depending on how quick Venandi is will tell the story of whether she gets away unscathed or not, but chasing her down appears to be out of the question with the head start she's got.

Venandi has posed:
    The Alarms sound and she goes down on a crouch to skid across the floor for the door. As she then pushes off with a scratching foot claws across the floor, Leonardo throws his stars true. Her body is in mid run as they come.

Venandi turns her body to try and move herself out of the way. One spins by, clipping helmet feathered ornament, and the other clips her exposed upper arm on the very edge. Giving her a cut before they get stuck in the wall and she makes her way to jump up for railing and railing. The adrenalin pumping distracts her from the fact she had been cut by a very well, accuratly thrown star.

It wouldn't be long before she was gone and probably was getting an ear full from her superior. Though whatever they were after would remain a mystery, at least till it comes out publicly or someone does a little digging perhaps.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi comes back, shaking off the blow with a little difficulty, teetering slightly. Her tail is curled, and she coughs, eyes watering from the smoke pellets. "L-Leo, Leo we should go--" she trails off, backing away now. More blood, and knowing that somewhere the human blood came from someone... she didn't seem keen on taking the blame from their counterpart.

Leonardo has posed:
Leonardo looks through squinted eyes down the hallway, the alarms continuing to ring as strobe lights flash and red lights on the wall spin. He can see there wasn't much success in stopping Venandi, something which gets under his skin, but closing the distance now isn't going to happen. Instead, he grunts out something mostly under his breath, drowned out by the noise, and he pauses to offer Pippi a hand. "Yes, we need to go. Are you all right?"

Whatever help she needs or not, they start back toward the same stairwell. He knows the raptor isn't sticking around with the alarms and security about to respond. She already looked like she didn't want the fight in the lab itself.

Before they go, however, Leo has to find out something for himself. There's a small pool of blood in front of an elevator door, and as he slams the button next to it with the back of a fist he tells Pippi, "Look away." When the doors part, a grim expression is all she needs to see to know it's not good. "Too late for him. That's one death on her head."

Motioning for Pippi to keep the pace, he retrieves his shuriken, and as voices begin to register at the opposite end of the hallway three more smoke pellets fan out behind the pair, granting them hidden passage into the stairwell and back up, then out. By then, the coast is as clear as it will be.

"We need to get back to the Lair and report this. I have a bad feeling Shredder's just upped the ante." They'll probably need Donatello to keep an eye on the news feeds for any mention of the break-in. With any luck, there won't be a clear view of them that hits the news.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi shakes off the cobwebs again, and follows behind Leonardo as he puruses. She pauses a moment, looking at all the blood, and she grimmaces, turning to Leonardo as he punches the button. She watches him, and his expression, and she bows her head, turning to the side. The blood smell was very, very strong -- but she kept her stomach down.

    She tails behind him, looking over her shoulder, her ears drawing up at the osund of voices, and she takes off after the shelled leader, escaping into the night.

    "Leo..." Pippi begins, but lets the question sort of hang in the air as she follows after him, unwillling to put words to the question reeling in her mind.