10511/Crimes and Punishers

Crimes and Punishers
Date of Scene:	22 December 2019
Location:	New York City dockyards, nondescript warehouse
Synopsis:	Selene meets Punisher, things go south and lycans join the party. The warehouse gets a new red paintjob.
Cast of Characters:	Selene (Underworld), Punisher, Phantasm (Drago)

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Selene (Underworld) has posed:
It's two in the morning in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the New York Port Authority's turf. That is a fancy way of saying Selene's holed up in a former warehouse. Now used by vagrants, homeless, and addicts. Selene herself is none of the above, being she's a vampire, has a very nice home, and isn't an addict to anything bar blood. She's got a little corner of the concrete floor, asbestos roofed, and concrete walled structure to herself, the furthest possible from the door. Nobody else is bothering her really. There's the hobos gathered around barrels, and the addicts shooting up in various places. It's here Selene's come for a meeting. It's raining outside, that nasty cold half hail and half rain, the sort that finds its way into any and all coats.R
Selene's alone tonight. No Death Dealers. She's pulled strings to get a meeting with the Punisher. They are....however loosely Selene sees it, just about on the same side. She's not one to kill randomly though, her targets always have a reason to die, simple as 'oh look, a lycan', up to complex reasons like...associated with lycans. Okay, so Selene's reasons aren't amazingly complex, but she's in a war that's raged for centuries. She's been pushed to this meeting by the elders. They see the Punisher as an asset to be used and thrown away.

Selene's out to throw a wrench in their plans. She's heard the stories. She's kicked in enough doors of humans shit scared of the guy to know he's bad news. The last thing she wants....is to get him mad at her. The Council? Whole different matter. Not her problem if they happen to be stupid enough to pick a fight with him. She'll just start with this meeting and see how it goes. So she's waiting as the clock ticks, and a few hobos huddle by her for warmth. Selene's not the nicest, but she points to blankets. "Use those. You don't want to huddle with me" she offers. True, vampires are usually cold and dead. Plus the whole infamous thing. She's known as a Death Dealer. And that little battle in Sunnydale didn't help, really. Despite the mayor trying to cover it up. Word still got out werewolves were slaughtered and Selene was seen there fighting them. The others? Nobody knows. Some military types. Selene though stands out. Point is. Word got out about her lycan killling activities. She's known as a heartless, cold killer. Or at least, that's her reputation.

Punisher has posed:
It isn't often that Microchip receives request for help outside the circle of confidants that feed the duo intel on underworld activities. Frank occasionally does law enforcement favors under the table to keep the information flowing, but otherwise, he wages a one man war. A one man war that's been in the news for years, now.

To say he's one of the most successful lethal vigilantes in the world is not an understatement. It's fact. His support network is too robust, and Frank himself is so incredibly good at what he does, he's taken on metahumans with ease before. He's right up there with the Dark Knight in terms of sheer skill

So, while it's a surprise anyone else found Microchips contact information... it's not a surprise that a militaristic organization seems interested in bringing the Punisher into their machinations. The request is so outlandish and from an outlandish contact that Punisher decided to actually respond with a meeting time, just to see what was going on.

With the Battle Van parked just down the block, Punisher was in full regalia this time; trenchcoat, skull vest, and full tactical kit on a gear web with a G13 carbine on his back. He was not being subtle in appearance, but was sneaking his way into the warehouse for the meeting, and setting up above in the catwalks.

He wasn't about to be caught in an ambush if this was indeed that.

Eventually, Selene would hear him from above, a grating tone. "I'm here. What do you want, girl?" Punisher asks.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's listening keenly, yher vampire senses feedding her everything going on. She looks up and smiles, "Ah you're here. So you responded to my meeting?" she asks. Shee's out to screw over the Council of Elders, yes. But....she's going along with her orderss for now.

Selene briefly considers leaping up to join the Punisher. Instead....she stays put, they can meet like this, then. Or they can be on the same literal level. But for now? Selene's fine with meeting like this.

"It's not what I want" she says. "If I had my way, I'd have not brought you into this. You're a one man war.I've heard your stories. I've heard of people praying to whatever they believe that you won't come after them. I've heard it all. And yet" she sighs, arms folded. "Yet, my masters are seeeing you as nothing more than a common gun for hire. I resent that" she adds, tone showing her anger at her vampire string pullers. "Lay down your guns and hear me out" Selene asks. That's a gambit and a half, Selene....

She takes a breath. "My masters want to use you to win our war without getting their precious hands dirty. They want you to kill so they can deny to the vampires they're sitting back and doing nothing. I, on the other hand" Selene says, hand over her heart. "Don't believe them in the least. Let me ask you something. Why would a military want somebody to fight their own battles? Why go to the trouble of tracking you down, and sending me to meet with you?" she asks, hands back by her sides. "You're a force to not piss off" Selene says bluntly, speaking softly. "But you're no fool. You don't dance to anyone else's tune. I'm wanting to screw over my puppet masters for a list of reasons. So" Selene says, "What do you know of lycans?"

That's one sudden subject change, Selene. She sits on the cold floor and listens for a response.

Punisher has posed:
There's a long moment of silence, before Selene hears a response. "I've got no idea what the fuck you're going on about, but all I heard is a bunch of backstabbing assholes want to backstab each other over how to approach me for some war between a bunch of supernatural assholes." There's a beat, "And for some reason you think there's a reality where I lay down my guns to talk to you."

Then, Punisher continues, "what the fuck am I doin' here, girl." There's an irritated tone to his voice.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene pauses, considering just what to say, "Right. Backstabbing. You're here to meet with me. That's what you're doing here. I don't care why you are here. Just that you're here. I didn't want this meeting. If I had my way, I'd never have organized this. But no. Elder vampires decided oh, let's bring somebody who is dangerous in to do our dirty work. So. I have issues with that" she says with a glance up to where Punisher's at. "Believe me. I don't want innocents involved in this"

Yes. Yes. Selene did just put Punisher in the innocents class. Mostly because he's on neither side. And 'civilian' is such a boring term. Selene smiles at Punisher's irritation. "I know exactly how you feel. I've been jerkd around for hundreds of years. Trust me, I get why you're angry and irritable" she says. Then gets down to business. "The vampire elders want you to do their work for them, kill werewolves. I have a better idea. Are you listening?" she asks. "Do your own thing and kill lycans if they get in your way" she says. A silent' fuck what the Council wants' unsaid. Selene's stubborn and she's got her mind made up to...oh yes, screw them over.

Selene keeps her gaze up to where Punisher is. "Be honest. Do you want to get involved in a war between vampires and werewolves? If not....then..." Selene says with a sweep of her arms, encompassing the whole warehouse. "Do your own thing. If you do want in, then do your own thing" Selene points out. She's not foolish enough to tell somebody like him what to do. Which is why she's giving him options. That's sitting better with her.

"You don't want to be involved. I understand. You've things to do" Selene says. She's getting to her point. There's anger in Selene's eyes, anger at how Punisher's been treated. She's trying to think of a good way to deal with it.

Punisher has posed:
"I have a better idea." Punisher replaces the magazine on his carbine with one with UV rounds in it, pulls the charging handle to replace the round with a UV one, and aims directly for Selene's head. "How about you come with me, and we can talk about what /I/ want to do, and what you know." Punisher gestures with one hand over to the entry. "Head for the exit, or I put a UV round between your eyes."

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene listens, watching him as she nods silently. She knows she's outgunned here. It's not a good idea to run and hide really, so she keeps her eyes on the Punisher., being shot in the back isn't on her 'to do' list tonight. "I'll come with you" she says, the homeless and addicts panicking at the gun being reloaded. Great, spook the locals, huh? Watching Punisher, Selene shakes her head at them all.

Punisher has posed:
"That's a good vampy." Punisher replies, a hint of smug condescension in his voice as he does so. He walks along the catwalk, keeping his aim for her head as he heads for the stairway down to the ground floor. "Keep going to just before the exit, then wait for me. Try to run, and know I was a scout sniper." Punisher deadpans, "I can tag you easily from anywhere in this warehouse."

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene smiles to herself and nods, following his orders. Play along, Selene. Play along. Well, shit. He knows /what/ she is. Great. And the Council wants him in on their war? Selene's not letting that happen. Staying silent, Selene walks, feeling like she's walking to her execution. Pausing, she raises a hand and waits for a moment.

Punisher has posed:
Once he's down on the ground and moves around to get behind Selene by a good few meters, Punisher stops. Keeping his carbine aimed for her head all the while.

"Move. Head for the corner of the block directly ahead." Where the Battle Van is, he doesn't say out loud.

Punisher is probably /not/ going to torture Selene, given his Code, but he's definitely treating her as a potential hostile.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's there one moment. The next...she's gone in a blur. She's a good ten blocks away when she stops being a blur. The Council won't let her live this down easy. Oh and the guy she was meeting is just....yeah, she thinks, while she's ducking and diving. What else could go wrong tonight? At least there's no lycans...

Were none. Selene watches a few bikes roar past heading towards the warehouse's general vicinity. The guns they got are dangerous. Thankfully, they don't notice Selene. Though they do end up arguing over which warehouse she's in, and in true lycan fashion, decide to go for the wrong warehouse. So that's them out of the picture, thankfully.

Punisher has posed:
"Shit." Punisher wasn't prepared for supernaturals on this one. There are many varieties of vampire, and this one seems to be on the 'holy shit that's fast' end of the spectrum. Another lesson for later.

Did these assholes take him for a fool? Talking about lulling him into a false sense of security by talking openly about backstabs and betrayals. Like he was somehow naive to manipulation.

Still, those motorcycles... the timing of that can't be coincidence.

Turning back into the warehouse and back up the catwalk, Punisher waits, keying his commlink, "Contact ghosted. I might need the Van for this one, judging by the shit I just stepped in. Bring the turrets and gadgets to standby and start to head over here." Microchip replies over the commlink from the drivers seat, "You got it, Frank."

Just down the block, a non-descript van packed to the gills in high tech gear and weapons begins to come around. If Punisher is attacked, he'll have plenty of support.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
@emit Selene's fast when she wants to be. The wolves showing up? That's another reason to get out. She's target numero uno for the lycans, really. They all want the glory of taking her down. hence why she blurred the hell out of there. Ten times out of ten, the lycans will figure out where she's at. Maybe if she ditched the long coat and went jeans and a t-shirt? She'd just cause a vampire/lycan war in Hot Topic andshoot up the t-shirts. Admittedly, there'd still be teenagers in the city who'd buy them and crown it a new fashion trend. Selene's keeping herself out of this fight.

The wolves are honed in on the warehouses, up on their bikes...mostly since they're assuming the Punisher's allied with Selene. Oh if only they'd been in the warehouse. There's five lycans. Five bikes. And enough guns for a small bunch of gangsters, too. Selene's just watching till the bikes disappear behind a building. No need to follow them, she'll watch the blood and bullets fly once she's well, well out of the way. The alpha lycan of the small pack is looking at the van then the Punisher. "So you're allied with /her/ are you?" he spits. "I'll offer you $5000 to kill her"

Yeah, like paying peanuts was going to get anything done. Another of the lycans. The second offers double that for Punisher to off the alpha. Somebody's a little promotion happy....Selene, meantime, is working her way closer, roof at a time to keep an eye on the fight. The lycans think Punisher's working with her. Great. She shakes her head and sends a quick text. It's not her phone. It's one she borrowed before leaving the estate. It does, though, warn the estate the meeting went sour. The lycans are assuming three fatal things. 1. Selene's still in the warehouse. 2. Punisher's working with Selene. 3. He's a pushover. The alpha though is waving the pack to not open fire.

"You know who this guy is? If he works with her we're dead!" the alpha says. His second ignores it and aims his M4 (set to full auto) straight at Punisher. "You working with her, bitch?" he snarls. Up on the roof two buildings over, Selene's already working on an escape plan to run away when lead starts flying. These wolves are....going by their manners (awful), dress (khakis and bike leathers and faded 90s retro band t-shirts), new. No pity from Selene, really. she just waits, hunkered down out of sight from the ground, though she does blur herself a good dozen blocks over just to be sure. And give herself time to escape if the Punisher comes after her. No, she wasn't stupid enough to give up the Semira Estate's address. Instead, she gave a nondescript address as her residence. No way she's risking the coven with somebody like the Punisher...unless he's sedated, tied up, disarmed, and out cold, in a lead box....Selene's not taking any chances with the coven, period.

Punisher has posed:
For the most part, Punisher is keeping his weapons idle, and is even exchanging his magazine for a normal lead one again, replacing the round in the chamber as he does so. It's all fast, with expert precision.

"I'm not working with /anyone/, but if you come in and start-" Then the guy aimed his M4 at the Punisher, and his own is aimed right back from behind cover.

"You have three seconds to calm the fuck down and drop your guns before I make you regret ever coming here. I won't say it twice." Under his breath, Punisher orders to Microchip under his breath, "Microchip, Sentinel mode. I've got the camera ready for the turret."

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene creeps to the edge of her roof, and leaps to the one nearest the lycans. She could start shooting, true, true...but, where's the fun in that? So she counts silently. One. No movement. Two. There's a whistle. Two more bikes show up. Thr....

All hell breaks loose. The lycans don't make it to three before the start firing. Loud, dangerous firing. M4s, Berettas, Uzis, and even a 12-gauge shotgun too. Admittedly, Selene's got the best view of the shootout, being up on a roof, easily able to drop back after...well....getting a look. She's so normally on the receiving end of these fights it's a nice change to sit and watch. It's not hard for her to imagine popcorn...

Hand goes into coat, and out comes a silver tipped throwing star. With enough time to aim, and the cover of the lycans firing, actually, the gunfire echoing in the warehouse, Selene's able too throw a shuriken and she catches a lycan in the shoulder. The wolf with the shotgun staggers looking around for a moment. "What the f..." he starts, another throwing star in his jaw. Selene's up /there/ doing her bit to help out. The wolves though are doing way more of trying for an ambush thann Selene did. They're trying to organize and storm the warehouse. One of them's even got a flashbang. That'd work....well, it'd work better if they didn't know who they were up against. To make things worse, the alpha surrenders, screaming not to shoot. he'd rather face the Punisher than Selene, though she edges to the roof and gets spotted. A hail of 5.56 bullets shred through the air, and she ducks back again. Problem is those bullets are going up into the air. All nine of them. Hey, it takes another gun out of the fight. The uzi wielding lycan on the other hand, is hiding behind cover, ducking behind it to wait out the mysterious guy's gunfire. And his pack mates too. They gotta stop shooting eventually. The wovles are outside. And all aiming inside the warehouse, save for the surrendered alpha.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The Christmas exchange went well last night. So much so that by the time Nick was done hanging out with the band it was technically morning. Some of the normal transportation options were not available leading to Nick doing what he could. Fly back home.

In Phantasm form, the fluffy, purplish black raven has taken to the skies and is flying home. It's simple enough of an objective. Shouldn't be too bad even if he had an extremely long day to recover from.

As he flies over the docks area and the sounds draw his attention, the raven gives a bit of a sigh and redirects his course.

Of course things are never SIMPLE...

Punisher has posed:
Without another word, Punisher brings up his G13, loads a custom tooled 40mm into the grenade launcher, and aims it dead center for the roof. With a hiss, the grenade pops into place, and the crucial data the targeting AI in the Battle Van needs begins to filter in wirelessly.

Within seconds, a custom fitted M134 pops out of a non-descript van outside, turns around, and aims precisely where the werewolves are, right through the wall.

The grenade was a custom battle cam, allowing the onboard computer of the Battle Van to extrapolate the interior with an audio and visual interface, and tag the hostiles inside without collateral damage.

The roar of a fully loaded minigun fills the night as the M134 begins to fire, giving Punisher ample cover as he begins to start making headshots in single fire.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene looks to the battle van. Now's a good time to leave the lycans to it. Looking over the fight, Selene shakes her head and edges back from the roof again, getting a whole roof between herself and this fight. She's still got the fight in her ears. Great. Great. Selene's in it now, isn't she?

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the bird flies in and the M134 sounds start kicking off, he immediately breaks mid-air, turns and flies over to a less active spot in the situation.. Geez. It sounds like a war is going on down there!

Having no idea of what's going on, the Phantasm opts to instead observe. There's just way too much stuff going on to just jump in blindly. There's peo- wolves? People Wolves? Ah- Werewolves! With. Guns.

The hell?

Punisher has posed:
6000RPM of 7.62. It's a scary number when you actually think about it.

It's even scarier is when it's used without restraint against targets in a cityscape. When Punisher says he wages war against the underworld... he's not exaggerating in the slightest. Those things are what helicopters use as infantry support weapons. Granted, they're not silver bullets....

But that much lead in the air? It doesn't need to be. That much firepower can turn people into paste.

For now, Punisher starts heading down the catwalk again. This isn't a fight he wants to pick, and he's making a tactical retreat. As he passes by the alpha, that G13 is aimed at him, but he doesn't fire as he goes, "Tell whoever you work for I won't forget this." Punisher warns him as he heads for the Battle Van.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's doing her best parkour to avoid 6000 RPM bullets. Nope. No desire to find out just if aid bullets can get through buildings. She shakes her head. Meeting was a bust. And now, well, lycans ruined the party. Great. And Selene's back to square one with the council, too. Great. She'll just stay in her room like a good girl...or....something.

The alpha's got the guts to laugh. "Hey, you're a friggin' vampire lackey" he says. Totally not beleiving Punisher isn't working for either side. "Oh I won't forget this either, asshole. You're not Selene. What the hell were you doing with her anyway?" he growls.

By this point, Selene's booking it. it's not worth being on the news filmed fighting werewolves, really. She's going to learn as much as she can about these lycans, find their lair, and destroy it.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Well, they're obviously trying to get inside the building so... The raven hops over on its perch, trying to get a bit of a view inside the building through one of the higher windows to see what they're trying to get to. One guy?

The bird scootches closer to the window, squinting as he looks to the guy on the catwalk talking to another one of the werewolves. Then noticing the white spray-painted skull.

Oh.

It's THAT guy. Yeaaaah, he doesn't need any help. Least of all from him.

The movement on the roof draws the bird's attention over torwards the parkouring Selene. Recognizing the bloody coat from the club, the lower beak of the bird drops.

Punisher has posed:
Those words put Punisher at a dead stop, and he turns back around to look at the Alpha. "You're comin' with me." He aims that carbine at the alpha again. "Micro. Take out his legs. I want to see if they regen." Punisher mutters the order under his breath.

"On it." Microchip programs the minigun to shoot through the wall to turn the alpha's legs into paste out from under him.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's a blur. Double digit roofs away now. She's staying there. The sounds are still sticking in her head as she's staying at least ten roofs over, silhouettted against the night as she folds her arms, and turns back toward the warehouse. She stares at the warehouse.

The alpha's laughing until the gun's aimed at him. "I..I...didn't...I...I..." he starts. "I...didn't...I didn't...." he stammers, "I didn't mean it!" he said, bravado gone.

Selene for her part is looking to the warehouse again, or toward it from ten roofs over. She waits for whatever's going to happen next.

Punisher has posed:
*POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP*

Yeah, that lycan's probably a bit on the regretful side when his legs are suddenly chewed up. "Bring the van around. I've got a prisoner I think the silver shackles will be useful on." Punisher mutters to Microchip as he moves to the entry.

By this time, the rest of the werewolves are almost certainly not a threat, if not dead. Punisher couldn't honestly care either way. The Alpha?

Oh, he's gonna regret ever coming to this warehouse... and Punisher has many questions. So many questions.

Not to mention a new subject for weapons testing.

Once the shackles are grabbed, the Alpha is cuffed behind his back, and Punisher hefts the man over his shoulder, taking him to the back of the Battle Van.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
With Selene out of sight already and it already determined that Punisher is not needing help, the bird recovers from the surprise, turns around, and spreads his wings. He's already running on fumes. Probably best to-

The bird pauses at the sound of the gunfire. Frowning. Should he turn around?

...NNnNnnnooo...

The bird flies off.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's getting her bike she stashed and getting set to head home. Which, yes, is her standard modus operandi for running back home. The alpha on the other hand....is bleding everywhere. Yes. Everywhere. All over the catwalk, floor, walls, and....once Punisher grabs him, oh yes, that too. The other lycans are dead. Somebody's going to find them and call it in, but that is hours away. Though the alpha may not last if Punisher's not gentle. Selene, on the other hand, is back home within half an hour. Because speed limits are for humans.

All in all. A normal night for Selene and the Punisher.