10129/Ivy Island: For a good Vine call...

Ivy Island: For a good Vine call...
Date of Scene:	20 November 2019
Location:	South Channel Island, Nantwich
Synopsis:	Blackbird comes to Ivy Island to get supplies to the officers behind enemy lines. She leaves with more information and a few hostages in tow.
Cast of Characters:	Poison Ivy, Shadowcat
Tinyplot:	Ivy Island

---

Poison Ivy has posed:
The island has settled into something relatively close to quiet. The police have learned their position and are free to keep the piece in their section so long as nobody gets too close to the areas where Ivy has forbade any intrutions. The College is a deadzone where noboby but medical personele are allowed to go to care for the sick and elderly, and the Garden is a fortress. A massive tree has sprout out from it, as tall as some skyscrapers, and a clear indication of Ivy's authority over the whole of Nantwich.

Getting on or off the island is ney impossible, there's no power save for generators, and the reserve of fuel is at a critial low to keep those running for more than emergencies. The only places that DO have regular electric is the school and the garden.

Shadowcat has posed:
The sight of planes going overtop the island isn't a strange sight. Keeping an eye on things, checking for signs of change. And probably to have Ivy used to there being flights, so if a time ever comes the authorities wish to use planes in some fashion to deal with what is going on there, they won't seem out of place.

Though in this case, the plane is flying so high up as to likely go unnoticed. A black plane with no radar signature, moving in the dark of night. The Blackbird tonight is giving a ride to its namesake. As the plane flies overhead, the little-known Gotham hero that also goes by Blackbird drops out of the belly of the plane, a raven in hand. Once they are out and into free fall, the raven is released. Blackbird has a large backpack strapped to her back. If anyone had seen her they might even mistake it for a parachute. Though it turns out that isn't hte case.

Lockheed, with his Image Inducer turned on, wheels around and comes back to Kitty, grabbing her by the shoulders. The young woman immediately phases most of her body except where she's being held by Lockheed's paws, removing most of her weight. The little dragon doesn't really need her to do that, he's capable of carrying full grown men. But it makes his flight easier as he glides his long-time friend down towards where the police have been forced to hold station according to Ivy's demands.

Poison Ivy has posed:
Plants have taken over the Island completely, reclaimed even the habitable areas with thick foliage grown over windows and entrances like floral cages keeping the spread of society and civilization at bay. Street lights are bent beneath the weight of heavy vines that creep along the metal, hanging with fresh fruiting flowers and odd shaped spheres that resemble, but probably are not, apples.

The few people who come out at night are not the sort that people generally want to run into. There are no open super markets and very few places left to loot, so these traveling gangs are out robbing people.. or breaking into known safe houses where families reside. Cracking open tomblike cars that in only a few weeks look more like husks from a dead civilization than a major metropolitan area.

Shadowcat has posed:
Lockheed, or Midnight as she calls him when he's wearing his Image Inducer raven-disguise, and Blackbird come gliding in to land quietly on a rooftop. She carefully avoids the vines as she pulls out the binoculars and looks around the area. She could have gone straight to the police, but wanted to make sure her arrival was not noticed, did not put the police at risk should Ivy take any actions towards Kitty's arrival.

She looks across the area, having chosen a building with a vantage two blocks away from the police, high enough up to get the lay of the land. She reaches up to pet Lockheed, but doesn't say anything, having been forewarned by mission reports about Ivy responding to sounds.

A group off in the distance and to the side of her intended route draws Kitty's attention. She watches the group, standing outside of a building covered with vines but with the doorway left open and a bit of light inside. Their weapons, ranging from baseball bats and hockey sticks, to what looks like a machete in a sheath, and possible some guns, are noted. They will have to wait for now. First thing is to get the medicine to the police. Kitty nods towards Lockheed and she begins air walking between buildings. Staying off the streets and up at roof level as she makes the trip to the police station. When she gets near she flashes a flashlight towards them, hand around the end so the light will make it only to them and not be seen off to the side. Three blinks, a pause, and two more blinks. The signal she'd worked out on the radio with them.

Poison Ivy has posed:
As Kitty moves away from the group towards the Middle School where the police have set up their safe zone, the sounds from behind her are more in tune with a horror movie than a robbery. If she dares to look back, vines are coiling around their ankles, waists, and throats.. pulling them away from the building and hurling them bodily across the street to crash painfully against vine covered brick walls. One is whipped around until his neck snaps, then tossed at another cusp of plants that quickly devour him like some kind of man-eaters.

Which they are.

The people inside the safehouse are terrified, but unharmed... and once the would be hoods are dealt with... the vines resume their stationary like position along the street.

Little she could have done to stop it...

"Yo, what the hell are you doin', get your ass out of the street..." Calls a voice from one of the alleys, a haggard looking police officer with a torn uniform waves her in with a glance around the corner at the freakshow that is Ivy Justice. "Come on, don't let those damn things see you..."

Shadowcat has posed:
The sight of the people being attacked by the plants causes Kitty's hands to tighten into fists. Even if they were marauders out to plunder anyone else with food or material items, it still isn't the kind of code that Kitty Pryde tries to live by, to kill them like that.

She sighs at being too far away to intervene. And she has a mission to accomplish as well. The sound of the cop's voice draws her attention. Kitty and Lockheed jump off the building, though she floats down to the ground at a much more gentle pace than gravity should dictate. Which, along with the costume, should probably let the cop know she's the one who signaled ahead she'd be coming.

"I've got supplies," she whispers, moving closer to not have to speak loudly. "Take me over to your commander?" she asks quietly. Blackbird looks around her. "Can Ivy see through the plants as well? Or is it just sound-based?" she asks.

Poison Ivy has posed:
"We don't know." The cop says in response to Kitty's question about whether Ivy can see through the plants, "But it's best not to find out..." He glances from vigilante to raven, then back again. "Come with me... it's not far." Moving away from his position near the entrance, deeper into the alleyway expecting for Kitty to be a few steps behind.

"We've only got a few officers left... twelve or thirteen. Some found a way off, the ones with families." Said conversational, but quiet, picking his way through the alleys in a way that indicates there's a very specific method to get to where they're going. While there /are/ plants, there are none of those red apple fruits anywhere to be seen along this path.

"Some got killed in shootouts with Marones men... who are all organized over at the Gen-tech building with some crazy bitch named Stockholm. She's been working with Ivy, we think... kind of enforcing the peace inexchange for territory."

Shadowcat has posed:
Blackbird's lips press together in a line at the mention of Stockholm. "Bad enough..." she murmurs to herself without finishing the thought aloud. Midnight-Lockheed takes wing, flying up around overhead and scouting the area. Looking for danger from the plants, but also making sure Kitty is actually being led to the police force.

"I know you all are in a tough spot. We want to resolve this, but it's been tough going with the hostages she has on hand," Kitty says to him. She's picking her way carefully. Blackbird carries a sword, unlike Shadowcat normally. It's strapped to her back, and she removes the backpack with the supplies to be sure to have easier access to it, carrying the supplies in her off hand instead.

"How are the folks who couldn't move for medical reasons? I brought the list of medicines you guys asked for," she says quietly. "Any more of them might be able to be evacuated?"

Poison Ivy has posed:
"Yeah, her guys gunned down two of my friends." The cop says with a cold sort of resignation in his tone. They're trained to be as delicate as they can with the mentally ill of Gotham, but there's a line and these guys are getting close to it. Too much longer and they might not be much more than a gang themselves.

Which could be Ivy's intention.

Show what happens when humanity is cut off from itself.

"We have about twenty five people we could evacuate if we had a way to get them off the island." Which they don't. Turning to look at the vigilante, upwards at her raven, then down at the bag she's carrying. The courtyard of the Middle school is visible through a chainlinked fence not far away. A hole cut in the side that he leads her through towards the double doors at the front of the school.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde follows along, passing through the fence with the cop and heading across towards the building. "We might be able to get a couple of heroes capable of flying in here to quietly remove them," she says. "The more people we can get off the island, the less leverage Ivy has. You guys have persevered through a lot. But we'd like to get you relief and get you away from here too," she says.

Kitty reaches into a pocket, pulling out an energy bar she offers over to the man. "Brought a few foodstuffs, but it's mostly medicine," she tells him. She eyes the area, gauging how far the plants are. "How fast is she able to overwhelm an area like this? Do the plants take minutes to cover this kind of distance, or does it take them longer to grow to reach far enough?" she asks.

Poison Ivy has posed:
The officer takes the bag and slings it over one shoulder, leading Kitty more up right now that they're in the police safe zone... which isn't nearly as safe as the name suggests, but Ivy's been pretty good about not invading further than she said she would. "Some of the guys would probably willing go.." He sounds like he might be one of them, "But El Tee wont let us. She needs all the people she can get.. we're running low on ammo, too. After the gangs got ahold of our stocks in the station."

The doors push open into the gym which is more like a tent city now. Coughing and babies crying and the sound of quiet conversation around little gatherings can be heard in the darkness dotted with oil lamps or pit fires burning in portable tins. "El Tee, we got a guest." An older woman, late forties or early fifties glances up. She's weathered, dark skinned, and has intense dark eyes was conversing with a couple other offers. She steps forward and extends her hand to Blackbird, "Lt. Maryweathers." Greeting, clasping her hand against Kitty's upper arm. "She was wondering how fast the plants can spread."

El Tee nods, waving Kitty towards a map spread out on the wall beneath one of the basketball nets. "initially very quickly. She overtook the bridges in a matter of minutes, the station shortly after, and then most civilian and civil service buildings within the hours... they're not moving as quickly now, but I don't think she's as focused on it. If we get her attention, though?" The woman nods, "Ive seen them creep out of a sewage drain like an infection, moving quickly to cover a car full of thugs who tried to attack the garden. So... who knows."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty pauses to look around at the people gathered in the makeshift shelter of the gymnasium. Her attention turns to the lieutenant as she comes over, Kitty reaching out to shake the woman's hand at the offer. "You're doing a great job in a tough position," Blackbird says to the woman. "We're trying to work out a way to resolve the situation. The number of hostages is tying our hands so far," she says.

Kitty glances at the map, and at something the LT says she gives a soft wince. "Do you have any idea if the storm drains are generally overrun already? Across the island, but especially by campus where the largest group of hostages are? That was one idea I had for maybe getting some of the people out to where we could get them away," she comments.

Kitty looks at the map and then turns back to eye the people. "If there are one or two people can be moved, I can probably take them with me when I leave. I'm debating if we can get a number of flying heroes in here to do a bit larger of an evacuation. Quietly."

Poison Ivy has posed:
"Croc." The officer says that led Kitty in, El Tee shaking her head, "We haven't seen him since Batman showed up on the island, but Ivy punished one of the other safe groups for that..." She says with a frown and a glance at the map. Several zones are circle, a few of those are Xed out. "She leaves us alone, mostly. You know she's there, but as soon as someone screws up?" Nodding at a red X.

"Which isn't to say we're giving up on finding a way to get off the island, just that when we do... we better have all our ducks in a row or she better be very distracted." Glancing to Blackbird. Then over to the groups tents bundled together in the gym, "Yeah, I got some people you could take with you. Couple kids, teenagers. Parents got caught up by Marones thugs.." She doesn't see them, so she turns to her officer and waves for him to go track them down.

"Killer Croc is in the tunnels, we think... he dove into the bay, but we had to figure he came back. Free dinner bells for him. Ivy doesn't much care if he snatches a few crooks, so long as he stays clear of the safe zones."

Shadowcat has posed:
Blackbird nods in agreement, looking over the area that are X'd out. How many people can they slip out without Ivy catching on? Will she spot too many heroes coming and going?

But at least for tonight, Kitty can make sure one or two people make it off. "I can handle two, smaller kids. I'll have to hold them. Actually, best to strap them to me so there's no chance of them falling," she says, working out in her head how to best do that.

When the subordinate comes back with a pair of elementary school kids, the youngest to have lost their parents, Blackbird crouches down with them. "Going to take you off to the mainland ok. We're going to climb up into the sky, into an airplane, and then get to safety. Do you think you'd like that?"

When they both give timid nods, Kitty nods to the LT who sent someone to grab a couple of harnesses they can make do. The kids are hooked in, and Kitty puts one on as well. And then they are connected with carabiners and straps. "This should work fine," Kitty says with a nod, standing up with a child on each hip and her arms around them. She can phase them and most of herself to keep the weight down, but Kitty will still feel their weight even if Lockheed doesn't.

"Alright, I'll try to come back soon with ammo, and in the meantime we'll keep working on a plan to get people out all at once," she says.

With a few softly spoken goodbyes, Kitty then phases and climbs up to the ceiling and through, Lockheed on her shoulder until they are outside. Once there he grabs hold of her unphased shoulders and flies them up into the sky, to a rendezvous with the original Blackbird.